General
Lagos to Take Full Ownership of Lekki Concession Company
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos State Government is set to buy out the stakes of other shareholders in the Lekki Concession Company (LCC), which operates the Lekki toll plaza, making it the sole owner.
This followed the approval of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s loan request of $53.9 million by the Lagos House of Assembly.
In June, the Mr Mudashiru Obasa-led house received the request for the conversion of an African Development Bank (AfDB) loan to LCC as a privately owned company of the state government and to assume full ownership.
It was then committed to Committee on Finance to further look into it and report its findings to the House.
Giving his presentation, Chairman of the Committee, Mr Rotimi Olowo, posited that upon the buy-out of all the shareholdings interest of the Concession Company Limited by the state; Lagos State Government became the subsisting shareholders of LCC with 75 per cent shareholding and the Office of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), shareholding 25 per cent respectively.
He further stated in the report that the original $53.9 million loan obligation from a private sector facility, AfDB had been resolved after series of engagements between AfDB, LCC and the state government to convert the loan to a public sector facility with the benefit of a considerable reduction in interest charges of 1.02 per cent of $1.12 million bi-annual as against the 4.12 per cent of $2.746 million per bi-annual thus giving a savings of $1.16 million bi-annual or $3.24 million per annum.
The House, therefore, granted the executive the approval to convert the AfDB loan to the public sector loan backed up by a sovereign federal government guarantee on behalf of the state government.
It also authorised the state government to issue a counter-guarantee in favour of the federal government along with an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) to deduct from Lagos State Government statutory allocations.
According to the report, the servicing of the loan obligations would mature in August 2034.
Debating on the report before the initial approval; Mr Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti-Osa II) supported that the recommendation, saying it was a smart move as the interest rate would not injure what the state was spending on capital expenditure. He added that it would also reduce the interest risk as well as the rate by moving the loan from the private to the public sector.
Contributing, Mr Abiodun Tobun (Epe I), while going in tandem with the recommendation of the Committee, stated that saving 3.1 per cent in interest rate difference would further reduce the burden on the state government and encouraged the savings to be used to develop other sectors of the economy.
On his part, Mr Femi Saheed (Kosofe II) reasoned that the restructure of the loan was an indication of transparency in the state’s financing, saying it gave add-on flexibility for the additional years granted for the repayment of the loan. He deemed the request a standard financial procedure practised all over the world.
The Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, following deliberations, directed the Acting Clerk of the House, Mr Olalekan Onafeko, to send a clean copy of the resolution of the House to the Governor.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has remanded the former Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Mr Danladi Umar, at the Kuje Custodial Centre after he was arraigned on corruption charges brought by the federal government.
Justice Peter Kekemeke on Thursday ordered Mr Umar’s remand following his arraignment on a four-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office and corruption.
According to the prosecution, investigations revealed that the former CCT Chairman used his position to obtain financial benefits from contractors while in office.
The federal government alleged that in 2021, Mr Umar received N5.5 million through his wife’s bank account from a contractor engaged to repaint the CCT headquarters in Abuja.
The prosecutors further claimed that on January 25, 2024, he also received N6 million, again through his wife’s account, from a contractor responsible for the digitisation of the tribunal’s records.
In another allegation, the government accused Mr Umar of directing a contractor to pay N2.43 million as tuition fees for his daughter at Baze University, Abuja.
The alleged offences are said to contravene Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
Mr Umar pleaded not guilty to all four charges. Following his plea, prosecuting counsel, Christopher Mshelia, asked the court to remand the defendant to a correctional facility and fix a date for trial.
The counsel of defence, however, urged the court to admit him to bail pending the hearing of the case.
The prosecution opposed the request, informing the court that it had only just been served with the bail application and required time to file its response.
Justice Kekemeke subsequently adjourned proceedings until July 15 for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded in Kuje Custodial Centre pending the determination of the application.
Mr Umar served as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and presided over several high-profile cases during his tenure, including the 2019 trial of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.
Mr Umar was responsible for issuing the ex parte order that paved the way for Mr Onnoghen’s suspension, after which the late President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Justice Tanko Muhammad as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Although Mr Onnoghen later resigned from office, Mr Umar proceeded to convict him over allegations of false asset declaration and ordered the forfeiture of funds in several of the former CJN’s bank accounts while also removing him from key judicial positions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) distributed a total of N1.5 billion to 6,129 students across three institutions in the country for the 2025/2026 academic session.
According to an update on its verified X handle on Thursday, it was disclosed that the beneficiary schools include Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology (BOUESTI) in Ekiti State, Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology in Ogun State, and the Edo State College of Nursing Sciences in Benin City, Edo State.
A breakdown of the documents noted that N1,360,920,800 was disbursed to Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ekiti State, covering 5,396 students across five tranches, N104,530,000 to Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology, Omu-Ajose, Ogun State, covering 680 students, and N36,485,000 to the Edo State College of Nursing Sciences, Benin City, Edo State, covering 53 students.
The largest disbursement went to BOUESTI, which received N1,360,920,800 across five tranches covering 5,396 students, followed by Sikiru Adetona College, which received N104,530,000 for 680 students, and the Edo State College of Nursing Sciences, which received N36,485,000 covering 53 students.
The Registrar of Sikiru Adetona College, Dr Bukola Makinde, confirmed the funds had already reached individual students.
“The said money had since been disbursed into the bank accounts of the students’ beneficiaries,” she said, describing the support as enabling students “to enjoy financially hitch-free academic progress.”
The Provost of the Edo State College of Nursing Sciences, Mrs Mabel Omobude, pledged full accountability in the use of the disbursed funds.
“The disbursement will be judiciously applied strictly for its intended educational purposes in tandem with global best practices,” she said, adding that the college reaffirms its “continued commitment to compliance, transparency, and accountability in the administration of this facility.”
BOUESTI Vice-Chancellor Prof. Andrew Babatunde Omojola confirmed receipt of the full N1,360,920,800 disbursed across five tranches and commended NELFUND’s leadership for delivering the funds efficiently.
“We hereby confirm the receipt of a total sum of One Billion, Three Hundred and Sixty Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty Thousand, Eight Hundred Naira only, being the total payment of the five tranches of student loan approved to 5,396 students of BOUESTI, disbursed for the 2025/2026 academic session,” he said.
“We want to appreciate the Federal Government and sincerely applaud the Managing Director of NELFUND and his team for their efforts and efficiency in ensuring the objectives of the scheme are achieved nationwide,” he added.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The leader of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Mr Bello Bodejo, has been arraigned before Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja for an alleged $2.33 million fraud.
Mr Bodejo was brought before the court on Thursday, July 9, 2026, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering.
At Thursday’s proceedings, prosecution counsel, Mr Wahab Shittu (SAN) drew the attention of the court to a 12-count charge application dated June 24, 2026, and filed June 25, 2026, urging the court to allow the defendant to take his plea to which the judge granted his request.
“That you, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo (male, adult), on or about the 11th day of January 2022, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, did knowingly and wilfully, without lawful authority or excuse, accept a cash payment of the sum of $100,000 in physical currency from one Sa’idu Abubakar, a former Accountant-General of Bauchi State who is currently in the lawful custody of the Nigeria Police Force, which sum exceeded the statutory cash transaction threshold of 5 million prescribed under Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), without routing the said transaction through a financial institution as required by law, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 16(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act,” Count one of the charge read.
The Count four stated, “That you, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo (male, adult), on or about the 7th day of February 2024, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, did knowingly and wilfully, without lawful authority or excuse, accept a cash payment of the sum of $980,000 in physical currency from one Sa’idu Abubakar, a former Accountant-General of Bauchi State, who is currently in the lawful custody of the Nigeria Police Force, which sum exceeded the statutory cash transaction threshold of N5 million prescribed under Section 2(1)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, without routing the said transaction through a financial institution as required by law, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.”
After pleading “not guilty” to the charges, the prosecution counsel asked the court for a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service, while the defence counsel, Mr Ahmed Raji (SAN), prayed the court to admit his client to bail in respect of his bail application, filed on June, 30, 2026.
The bail application was, however, strongly opposed by prosecution counsel, who drew the attention of the court to his counter-affidavit of 28 paragraphs, dated July 6, 2026.
He pointed out that the defendant is a public risk as the Department of State Security Services (DSS) is on the lookout for him, and that being an influential person, he may manipulate the witnesses and the progress of the case.
Justice Ekwo ordered the remand of the defendant in EFCC’s holding facility and adjourned the matter till July 20, 2026, for ruling on the bail application.
