General
State vs Ugwuonye: Court Adjourns to July 6
By Destiny Ugorji
A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse zone 2 area of Abuja, presided over by Chief Magistrate Mabel Bello, Monday, adjourned a case of false evidence and injurious falsehood against disbarred Lagos lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye to July 6, 2018.
The adjournment was at the instance of Mr Ugwuonye, who could not produce a lawyer to defend him in court; but opted to defend himself; a proposal that was turned down by the presiding Chief Magistrate.
The court which frowned at what appeared like a delay tactics employed by Mr Ugwuonye in the matter, awarded N10,000 cost against him for wasting the time of the court.
Earlier in the day, the Police Prosecutor, E. O. Ochai served the accused, Ugwuonye, with evidence, including inciting posts on his Facebook group, The Due Process Advocates, electronic evidence/broadcast, his statement to the Police and a copy of the letter from the Supreme Court, addressed to Mr Ugwuonye, notifying him that his name has been struck off the roll of legal practitioners in Nigeria, a development that evidently ruffled him.
Relying on the evidence and the apex court’s decision on the accused, the prosecutor told the court that Mr Ugwuonye’s integrity is in doubt, urging it not to treat him as a lawyer; an argument that was allowed by the presiding chief magistrate, who then ordered Mr Ugwuonye to produce a lawyer to defend him on the next adjourned date.
It would be recalled that Mr Ugwuonye was first arraigned alongside two Abuja-based lawyers, Nsikak Udoh and Farouk Khamagam before the Chief Magistrate Court for their alleged criminal roles in the disappearance of missing Abuja woman, Charity Aiyedogbon.
Emeka Ugwuonye is charged with false evidence and injurious falsehood, contrary to sections: 158 and 393 of the Penal Code; while the other two lawyers were charged with criminal conspiracy, forgery, impersonation, giving false information with intent to mislead a public servant contrary to sections 97, 364, 179, and 178 of the Penal Code.
Ugwuonye is on court bail in the sum of N5 million with a surety, a Civil Servant that earns not less than N300,000 monthly, with a traceable address in the Federal Capital Territory.
Ugwuonye, who had claimed in the exhibits tendered before the court, to have an overwhelming evidence that the missing woman, Charity Aiyedogbon was dead, and that she was killed by her estranged husband, David Aiyedogbon, is expected to show the evidence before the Court.
His trouble may have started when, in different posts on his Facebook group, Due Process Advocates- DPA, he said, “I now have overwhelming evidence that Mr David Aiyedogbon killed his wife, Chacha. David has an idea of the kind of evidence at my disposal.”
In another post, he said: “this is the headless and dismembered body of Charity Aiyedogbon (posting a corpse on his DPA Facebook group). DPA has been able to identify this as her body within the limits of resources at our disposal.
“I will describe David as a low-life and cold-blooded murderer of his own wife. The only reason I would not go further to describe David in the most despicable language that he rightly deserves is that I would rather focus my argument on points that would lead to justice for Chacha.
“…the issue is not whether Emeka’s account is accurate or not, but, rather, the issue is whether Emeka has evidence that would send David to the hangman. Yes, I do…”
When invited by the Police to produce evidence, after several meetings, Ugwuonye was unable to produce any to substantiate his claims.
Ugwuonye is already facing a N10 billion defamation suit filed by Mr David Aiyedogbon. The suit, with number CV/2750/16, before Justice Peter Kekemeke of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court 14, Apo Abuja, also prays that the defendant be ordered to pay the cost of the suit.
Similarly, the other two Abuja-based lawyers, Nsikak Udoh and Farouk Khamagam, charged alongside Ugwuonye are said to have confessed in writing to the Police that they forged the signature of their missing client, Charity Aiyedogbon in a suit filed at Federal High Court, Lokoja and served on Mr David Aiyedogbon, two weeks after the disappearance of Charity Aiyedogbon. The suit has since been resolved in favour of Mr Aiyedogbon.
Their trouble started when, those believed to be close to the missing woman were quoted as saying that she went missing on the 9th of May, 2016, but her lawyer, Barrister Nsikak Udoh, handling a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lokoja on 29th April, 2016 against 29 respondents, including her biological children and former husband, David Aiyedogbon, claimed she (Charity) came to his house on the 18th of May, 2016.
Following questions arising from the lawyer’s claim of meeting with the missing woman eight days after her purported disappearance, the Police invited him for questioning, wherein he allegedly confessed that her signature was forged.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court ordering the freezing of the bank account of the Osun Srate government.
In a statement today by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President said he’s “deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order” because of its timing, which is just a few days to the governorship election in the state next Saturday.
According to him, actions of an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference. I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers. While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” the statement stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
