General
Supreme Court Empowers Tinubu to Declare Emergency Rule, Suspend Elected Officials
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Supreme Court has upheld the power of the President to declare a state of emergency in any state to prevent a breakdown of law and order or degeneration into a state of chaos or anarchy.
In a split decision of six-to-one, the apex court held that the President, during a state of emergency, can suspend elected officials, but within a limited period.
In the lead majority judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris held that Section 305 of the Constitution empowers the President to deploy extraordinary measures to restore normalcy where emergency rule is declared.
Justice Mohammed Idris noted Section 305 was not specific on the nature of the extraordinary measures, thereby granting the President the discretion on how to go about it.
The judgment was on the suit filed by Adamawa State and 10 other Peoples Democratic Party-led states challenging the propriety of the state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State, during which elected state officials, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara, were suspended for six months.
On March 18, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State following a reported attack on crude oil pipelines; and in the same breath, suspended the sitting governor and his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu. He then put in place a sole administrator.
This was challenged at the apex court by some states.
Justice Idris, in the earlier part of the judgment, upheld the preliminary objections raised by the two defendants against the competence of the suit.
In upholding the objections raised by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the National Assembly (the defendants), Justice Idris held that the plaintiffs (the 11 PDP states) failed to establish any cause of action capable of activating the original jurisdiction of the apex court.
He struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction, proceeded to also determine the case on the merits, and dismissed it.
However, Justice Obande Ogbuinya dissented and held that the case succeeded in part.
Among others, Justice Ogbuinya held that although the President could declare a state of emergency, he cannot use such powers as a tool to suspend elected state officials, including governors, deputy governors, and members of parliament.
General
NDIC Seeks EFCC Enhanced Support on Asset Tracing, Recovery
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has sought an enhanced collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in areas including asset tracing, recovery, and management.
This was hinged on a recent visit by the chief executive of the corporation, Mr Thompson Oludare Sunday, to the chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr Ola Olukoyede.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr Sunday stressed that the visit offered an opportunity for formal engagement with the EFCC for further collaboration between the two organizations.
“We aim to further strengthen our collaboration, deepen institutional synergy and explore additional avenues for mutual support in the pursuit of national financial system stability. The EFCC has been our partner and we want this to continue. We look forward to an expanded and more impactful partnership between our two esteemed institutions,” Mr Sunday said.
Further in his request, he stated that the NDIC sought to leverage on the EFCC’s technical expertise in asset tracing, recovery and management, particularly in cases involving debtors of banks in liquidation.
“Your experience has and will continue to greatly enhance our recovery efforts. Additionally, we have that strategic responsibility for prosecuting individuals whose actions contribute to the failure of banks. We therefore seek closer collaboration with the Commission in this critical area.”
On his part, Mr Olukoyede, remarked that both agencies of government have a longstanding record of collaboration, pledged to amplify the working relationship.
He emphasized that the NDIC and EFCC are like inseparable twins, working together for years. He reminded the NDIC’s boss that the EFCC had been supporting his agency in the area of investigation, while the NDIC had been supporting the EFCC in the area of training.
“So, there has been this mutually beneficial relationship between NDIC and EFCC and we never intend to stop. We’ll continue to take it to a higher level, and continue to strengthen it,” he said.
Mr Olukoyede reiterated that his policy directive was to stimulate the Nigerian economy with the anti-graft war, leverage productive entities and enhance the capacities of other government agencies through needful interventions.
“One of the things I promised when I resumed was to use the instrumentality of this work to stimulate the economy, not just to make noise all over the place; to strengthen and encourage the internal processes of entities that are doing well and design fraud risk assessment for them. That was what necessitated my establishing a new department called Fraud Risk Assessment and Control.
“We don’t have to always wait for money to be stolen. Let us work with you and stakeholders in the economy to fine tune our system and make sure that we clean our financial ecosystem. You’re a key player in that area, and we are always willing to collaborate with you,” he added.
General
Again, Nigeria’s Electricity Grid Collapses, Triggers Nationwide Blackout
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s electricity grid collapsed again on Tuesday morning, cutting power supply nationwide after generation and load allocation dropped to zero across all distribution companies,.
The incident marks the second recorded collapse of the national power grid in 2026, the second as well in five days following last Friday’s inclident.
This also means the third time in one month after a similar failure on December 29, 2025.
The system failure occurred at about 10:50 a.m, when electricity allocation to all electricity distribution companies fell to zero. Data from the grid operator showed that power generation plunged to zero megawatts, triggering a total shutdown of supply across the country.
A review of the national distribution load profile at the time of the incident indicated that all distribution companies, including Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola, recorded zero load, confirming a nationwide outage.
All 23 power generation plants connected to the national grid reportedly lost output during the incident, resulting in zero power allocation to each of the 11 electricity distribution companies.
As of time of filing this report, no official confirmation has been provided by the government authorities.
General
Military Confirms Attempt to Overthrow Tinubu, to Arraign Coup Plotters
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Nigerian military on Monday, January 26, 2026, confirmed that some of its personnel actually attempted to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu in October 2025.
It was earlier speculated that the October 1 parade last year was abruptly cancelled due to an alleged attempt to remove Mr Tinubu from office by some members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), with 16 persons arrested over the issue.
Providing an update on the matter today, the Director of Information for the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, Major General Samaila Uba, said investigations have “identified a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government” and would be “formally arraigned before appropriate military judicial panel to face trial.”
“It would be recalled that the Defence Headquarters issued a press statement in October 2025 regarding the arrest of sixteen officers over acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations. The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) wishes to inform the general public that investigations into the matter have been concluded and the report forwarded to appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.
“The comprehensive investigation process, conducted in accordance with established military procedures, has carefully examined all circumstances surrounding the conduct of the affected personnel. The findings have identified a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government which is inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the AFN.
“Accordingly, those with cases to answer will be formally arraigned before appropriate military judicial panel to face trial in accordance with the Armed Forces Act and other applicable service regulations. This ensures accountability while upholding the principles of fairness and due process.
“The AFN reiterates that measures being taken are purely disciplinary and part of ongoing institutional mechanisms to preserve order, discipline and operational effectiveness within the ranks. The Armed Forces remain resolute in maintaining the highest standards of professionalism, loyalty and respect for constitutional authority,” the statement read.
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