General
Fani-Kayode Cites Ideological Reasons for Choosing S’Africa Over Germany
By Adedapo Adesanya
The former Minister of Aviation, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, has been redeployed from Germany to South Africa as Nigeria’s ambassador.
Mr Fani-Kayode disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday, stating that President Bola Tinubu has approved his reassignment to South Africa upon his request, contrary to reports that he was rejected by the European nation.
The request, he said, was put forward days after his posting was announced in March alongside that of 64 other ambassadorial appointees.
The former aviation minister said he “personally sought” redeployment due to personal and ideological reasons.
“I expressed the fact that I would rather serve in a country that shares some of my convictions, beliefs and values when it comes to world affairs, that has the biggest economy in Africa, that has closer ties to Nigeria, and that is more proximate to my political thinking when it comes to foreign affairs and a pan-African vision,” Mr Fani-Kayode stated.
He also said, “I was not comfortable with Germany for several personal reasons. Given that I have lived in Europe most of my life, I would prefer to go to South Africa, which is a country that I have never been to and for which I have so much interest.”
He disclosed that he had presented his request and reasons to the then former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, who was still in his seat at the time.
He said Mr Tuggar considered his request favourably and subsequently presented it to President Tinubu, who approved the redeployment.
The former minister said he had spent much of his life in Europe and wished to serve in a country within Africa that aligns more closely with his views on foreign policy and Pan-Africanism, describing South Africa as a country with strong bilateral ties with Nigeria and as occupying a strategic position on the continent due to its economic influence.
He expressed gratitude to both the president and the foreign affairs minister for what he described as a “gracious” consideration of his request.
He also acknowledged Mr Sam Enang, the appointee initially posted to South Africa, for agreeing to swap places with him. This thereby makes Mr Enang the ambassador-designate to Germany.
He also denied the report that Germany rejected him for previously making tribalist and ethnic slurs. He insisted that the decision to switch was made solely by him.
“Germany never rejected me,” he wrote, adding that the report published by People’s Gazette in March was inaccurate.
The report stated that Germany rejected Mr Fani-Kayode’s ambassadorial posting due to his past “rabid ethnic and religious slurs as well as his erratic behaviour.”
Responding to this, however, Mr Fani-Kayode said, “The story was not only irresponsible and insulting but was also a total and complete fabrication based on hearsay, beer parlour talk and cheap gossip and designed to embarrass me, the President.
“Worse still, they listed a number of clearly outlandish and absurd reasons for this purported and fake ‘rejection’ which they patched together and concocted reflecting the malevolent condition of their perverse imagination.”
The minister claimed that preliminary findings from an internal investigation showed that the report was sponsored and written with malicious intent.
He also added that petitions had been submitted to relevant security agencies regarding the publication and the individuals allegedly responsible for the report.
“I have also briefed my lawyers…and we shall be suing them in a civil action for defamation,” he said.
The former minister maintained that no formal rejection was ever issued by Germany, stating that the report emerged after diplomatic communication relating to his redeployment to South Africa was leaked and misrepresented.
“What actually happened was that the day an “agreement” was sent to South Africa by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was on March 13th, it was leaked to them and they falsely and maliciously reported that it was sent only because I had been formally rejected by Germany, which they knew to be false,” he noted.
He added that he looks forward to serving Nigeria in South Africa, which he described as a country with a “remarkable and inspiring history.”
Meanwhile, Mr Fani-Kayode’s posting to South Africa comes amid growing tension of xenophobia and anti-black immigrant campaigns in the country.
The Foreign Minister, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, summoned the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria following the murder of two Nigerian nationals allegedly by officials of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
One of Mr Fani-Kayode’s first tasks will likely be addressing the xenophobic violence as it affects the lives and interests of Nigerians in the country.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A former member of the House of Representatives, Mr Onamusi Onadeko, has been sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment with an option of a fine of N50,000.
The former lawmaker, who represented Ogun East Federal Constituency in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2003, was sentenced by Justice Chizoba Oji of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
He was found guilty on count 11 and convicted for making inconsistent statements but discharged and acquitted on counts 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Mr Onadeko’s journey to the court started in 2017, when he was charged by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for his alleged involvement in the award and execution of a N68.7 million contract.
The politician, according to a statement from the ICPC, was accused of using his private companies, Stanton Engineering Limited and Haines and Baines Limited, to execute several constituency projects while working as a Senior Legislative Aide to late Senator Buruji Kashamu, who represented Ogun East Senatorial District between 2015 and 2019.
The commission, had in the course of the eight years trial told the court that several contracts like buying of ambulance vehicles, supply of hospital equipment and drugs for Primary Health Centres, as well as construction of classrooms for some selected schools in six communities of Ogun East Senatorial District, were awarded to both Stanton Engineering Limited and Haines and Baines, where the convict doubles as a Managing Director and nominal Director, respectively, an action that violates Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
ICPC also accused Mr Onadeko of making an inconsistent statement that contradicted the one previously made to the Commissioner for Oaths, where he stated that he is a Director of Haines and Baines Limited in an affidavit dated June 30, 20216, but subsequently wrote another statement while under investigation on May 5, 2017, that he is not a shareholder or Director of Haines and Baines Limited.
This action violates Section 25(1)(b) of the ICPC Act and, upon conviction, is liable to a fine not exceeding N100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
However, Mr Onadeko, through his counsel, Mr Wahab Olatoyebi, argued in the course of the trial that his client was not a public officer as his appointment at that material time was on a short-term basis and non-pensionable, hence he, (Onadeko) did not fall within the category of those that could be tried under Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 which criminalize and punish abuse of office by public officers.
But this argument was rejected by Justice Oji, who stressed that based on the defendant’s letter of appointment as well as the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Federal Government of Nigeria v. Farouk Lawan, legislative aides are public officers and therefore could be prosecuted under the relevant provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, has inaugurated a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the abduction of students and teachers from Esinele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The governor formally inaugurated the commission at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Speaking at the event, Governor Makinde said that although the successful rescue of the victims brought relief to the state, it did not provide complete closure.
He explained that the decision to set up an independent commission was not intended to undermine the efforts of security agencies but to ensure that every question surrounding the incident is thoroughly addressed and lessons are learnt to prevent a recurrence.
He charged members of the commission to conduct a thorough, impartial, and evidence-based investigation, assuring them of the state government’s full support. He also called on individuals and relevant institutions to cooperate fully with the panel.
Speaking on behalf of the commission, its chairman, Professor Mojeed Owoade, pledged that members would carry out the assignment with integrity, professionalism, and fairness. He added that the panel would seek an extension if necessary to complete its work.
Governor Makinde gave the commission four weeks to submit its report.
Earlier this month, the pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State regained their freedom after 56 days in captivity.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, eight of the kidnappers had been arrested, but the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 23 sentenced three suspects in the abduction to life imprisonment.
According to the court, the sentencing of Mr Abdulrazak Umar, known under the alias Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid; Mr Yunusa Musa, alias Yunusa Bin Musa; and Mr Shamsu Adamu Sani, alias Abu Itisar, will start from the date of their arrest.
Before their sentencing by Justice Salim Ibrahim, counsel for the defendants pleaded with the court to sentence them on liberal terms, adding that they were first-time offenders and had pleaded guilty.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Two Chinese, Mr Zhang Hong Lin and Mr Gao Pei Hai, have been convicted and sentenced by Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, for conspiracy and the illegal mining of solid minerals.
They were both found guilty on all five counts levelled against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and sentenced each to five years’ imprisonment on each count, with an option of a N50 million fine covering all five counts.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the mineral resources recovered from them to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The defendants were arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession of mineral resources intended for export without lawful authority.
“That you, Zhang Hong Lin, Gao Pei Hai, and Gao Pei Yu (currently at large), sometime in 2025 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court, conspired among yourselves, with the intent to defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria of revenue accruing therefrom, and without the permission of the appropriate authority, engaged in the exportation of mica products, copper-bearing, and lithium-bearing mineral resources out of Nigeria, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(8)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983, and punishable under Section 8 of the same Act,” one of the charges read.
The defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them, with the prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, calling the investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who reviewed the facts of the case and tendered documentary evidence before the court.
After presenting the evidence, Kofarnaisa urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants in line with the charges.
