General
FG Threatens to Sanction DisCos Selling Prepaid Meters
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has said it will sanction any electricity distribution company or its representatives selling meters or asking Nigerians to pay money to get the item.
The Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Mr Ahmed Zakari, gave the warning at a stakeholders’ engagement on electricity tariff organised by the FGN/NLC-TUC Ad-hoc Committee.
Mr Zakari said, “We have made it clear through the regulator’s direct order as well as the intervention from the Ministry of Power that these meters are to be provided to Nigerians at no cost.
“Even for meters that will be paid for through the MAP, there is a directive from the regulator to the discos that they need to find a way to reimburse citizens over time.
“If we find any disco or its representatives selling these meters or exploiting Nigerians to be able to get them, we will sanction such disco.”
According to him, the presidential directive is that meters should be made available to Nigeria free of charge and that they must be produced locally in order to create jobs and revive the electricity industry.
“Though it is our belief that everyone will be obliged to do the right thing, we will still be vigilant and monitor developments,” Mr Zakari said.
In his address, the Minister of State for Power, Mr Festus Keyamo, said that the committee had been working to achieve an equilibrium figure that would reflect the true price and value for the service of the electricity consumed.
“We are not working from an answer to a question but from the question to an answer.
“To ask if there will be an increase or a decrease is premature. What we are doing is an honest and open fact-finding. We want to question the rationale for the service reflective tariff,” he said.
According to Mr Keyamo, the aim is to ensure that consumers are not strangulated by unnecessary exploitative tendencies of the discos and that the discos are also kept afloat so that they can employ more workers and deliver quality service to Nigerians.
“We are not saying service delivery will automatically mean a price increase. We are only saying there should be an acceptable equilibrium figure that everybody will be happy about.
“And that means that the discos can be kept afloat to deliver services without having to go and look for money to subsidise their operations.
“It is also to ensure that the ordinary consumer is not cheated but is made to pay the actual price for the service being rendered and that is why it is called service reflective tariff,” he said.
The minister further said that whatever consensus reached at the end of the day would form the agreement between the government and labour as far as electricity was concerned.
Also speaking, the representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Messrs Oroho’omhen Ebhommhen and Joe Ajaero respectively, said that the committee would address issues raised by the consumers and ensure that issues on electricity tariff were resolved amicably.
In his remarks, Mr John Ayodele, the acting Managing Director of IBEDC, said that the issue of banding was being fine-tuned, notwithstanding the current challenges.
Some of the electricity consumers, who spoke at the event, identified estimated billings and lack of meters as part of the major challenges facing the sector.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The share certificates, seven landed properties, and $2.1 million linked to the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, have been finally forfeited to the federal government.
The final forfeiture was affirmed by a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court on Friday, July 17, 2026.
The panel led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which had ordered the final forfeiture of the assets on the grounds that they were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
Following the final forfeiture order made by the Federal High Court, Mr Emefiele challenged the decision before the Court of Appeal, which reversed the judgment of the trial court.
Dissatisfied with the appellate court’s decision, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) approached the apex court, which has now restored and affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court.
The forfeited properties include a fully detached duplex of identical structures situated at No. 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped parcel of land measuring 1,919.592 square metres, covered by Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340, situated at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; and a bungalow situated at No. 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos;
Others are a four-bedroom duplex situated at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of undetached apartments on a plot measuring 2,457.60 square metres, situated at No. 8A Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; and a full duplex together with all its appurtenances on a plot measuring 2,217.87 square metres, situated at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Ebonyi State Police Command has insisted on conducting a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death of Miss Mary Habila, a physiotherapist who died at the residence of the Minister of Works, Mr David Umahi, in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The demise of the deceased, which occurred in late June, recently became public and has sparked calls for a probe from many quarters.
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased has approached the court to stop the autopsy, but experts tell Business Post that the family has no authority to file an affidavit, as this is a case of suspected murder against the state and not the family.
Mr Umahi has also called for a probe.
The Ebonyi Police Command said the autopsy was necessary to establish the cause of death and support its ongoing investigation, despite objections from the deceased’s family.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Joshua Ukandu, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, stating that the police had commenced a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms Habila’s death.
Mr Ukandu said preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased and a colleague were members of the medical team attached to the Minister of Works and had accompanied him to his hometown in Uburu, where she later died in a room within the compound of his residence.
According to him, detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) have visited the scene, documented relevant evidence and obtained statements from persons connected to the incident.
He added that the command had concluded arrangements to engage a qualified pathologist to carry out a post-mortem examination, which it considers crucial to determining the actual cause of death.
Mr Ukandu explained that the police became involved in the matter after receiving a distress call on June 27, 2026, from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ohaozara Division, informing the command of a medical emergency involving Habila and requesting his presence at the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu.
“On arrival, the DPO was informed by hospital authorities that Miss Mary Habila had been brought in dead.
He immediately briefed the Commissioner of Police, who directed that the matter be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for thorough investigation,” the statement read.
The police spokesperson disclosed that while the family of the deceased had opposed the conduct of an autopsy, the command considered the procedure necessary in view of the circumstances surrounding the death.
“The Command therefore awaits the attendance of the family or their duly appointed representative, as their presence is essential to the conduct of the post-mortem examination,” Mr Ukandu said, assuring the public that the investigation would be conducted professionally, transparently and without bias, stressing that every necessary step would be taken to uncover the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death.
Mr Ukandu further assured that the command would continue to provide updates as the investigation progresses.
Family Seeks to Stop Autopsy
The family of the deceased, who is a staff member of the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences and was seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works, formally requested the withdrawal of further investigation into her death and declined an autopsy.
In an affidavit titled Affidavit of Withdrawal of Case filed before the High Court of Justice of Ebonyi State, her father, Tanko Habila Wisdom, said the family was not alleging any foul play in her death and wished to proceed with her burial.
According to the affidavit, Mary Habila died on June 27, 2026, in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The deponent stated that before her death, Habila was a staff member of the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences and had been seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works in Mabushi, Abuja, where she served in the Office of the Minister of Works for about three years.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A Federal High Court in Apo, Abuja, has ordered the final forfeiture of billions of Naira worth of assets linked to businesswoman and socialite, Ms Aisha Achimugu, to the federal government.
Justice Jude Onwugbuzie granted the order following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), directing the permanent forfeiture of jewellery valued at N4.645 billion, 11 exotic vehicles worth N4.293 billion, $50,000 and N30 million in cash.
The ruling followed the EFCC’s request for the final forfeiture of the assets, which the commission said were linked to Ms Achimugu.
The forfeited assets include: Jewellery valued at N4,645,170,294.90; 11 exotic vehicles worth N4,293,000,000; $50,000 in cash; and N30,000,000 in cash.
The court’s judgment vests ownership of the assets in the federal government, bringing the forfeiture proceedings to a close.
In March, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja affirmed the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to the Lagos socialite. However, in an interview in April, she denied that $13 million was discovered by the EFCC in her residence, describing the claim as inaccurate and misleading.
Justice Nwite had, on August 22, 2025, granted the anti-graft agency’s motion ex parte for an interim order forfeiting the sum of $13 million linked to Oceangate Ltd to the federal government over allegations that the fund was proceeds of unlawful activity.
The judge had then directed the commission to publish the order in a national daily for interested people to show cause within 14 days why the fund should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.
In 2024, the businesswoman gained significant media attention for a seven-day birthday celebration in Grenada, which was attended by high-profile guests, reportedly including Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The socialite also defended her widely publicised birthday celebration, noting that it had been “planned for 10 years” and was not funded with any money under investigation.
