Author: bibncollar

Renowned human rights advocate and public affairs analyst, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has taken a swipe at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over what he described as the party’s hypocrisy in criticizing the opposition’s early mobilisation for the 2027 general elections. This comes in response to a front-page report in The Nation Newspaper of Wednesday, July 9, 2025, where the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, was quoted as saying: “Oppositions’ early 2027 moves won’t distract Tinubu.” The report, which emphasized the President’s focus on delivering the “dividends of democracy,” featured the Minister asserting that: “President Bola…

Two former governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede and Chief Agboola Ajayi, have officially joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), aligning with a growing coalition seeking to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2027. Other prominent defectors to the coalition include former Senator representing Ondo South, Nicholas Tofowomo; former House of Representatives member, Prof. Bode Ayorinde; ex-PDP State Chairman, Tola Alabere; and former PDP Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, among others. Speaking at the inauguration of the state chapter of the coalition, the coordinator, Prof. Bode Ayorinde, declared that the movement is gaining momentum across…

As hundreds of aspiring legal minds don their wigs and gowns in the July 2025 Call to Bar Ceremonies, respected legal practitioner and former NBA national officer, Okey Leo Ohagba, Esq., has extended warm congratulations to the newly admitted barristers, hailing their achievement as the start of a promising journey. In a message titled “Heartfelt Congratulations to New Wigs on Call to Bar Ceremony of 8th – 10th July, 2025”, Ohagba welcomed the new lawyers to the noble profession with words of encouragement, inspiration, and a call to purpose-driven legal practice. “Dear New Wigs, my learned friends,” he began, “as…

Prominent human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has issued a stirring call for urgent reform of Nigeria’s electoral legal framework, advocating for the direct participation of voters — the real stakeholders — in post-election court proceedings. Speaking at the launch of his latest book, The Selectorate: When Judges Topple the People, in Abuja, Prof. Odinkalu decried the current jurisprudence that restricts locus standi in election petitions exclusively to political parties and their candidates. He described this as a systemic disenfranchisement of the Nigerian electorate, who, despite casting the votes in…

In a dramatic turn of events, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mbano/Etiti Branch successfully conducted its Branch election on Saturday, 5 July 2025, following a court-ordered rescheduling from its original date of June 28, 2025. The election, which saw K.C. Nwaokorie emerge as Chairman, Juliet Ijeoma Kester-Duru (formerly Juliet Nwaiwu) as Vice Chairman, and Ifeanyi Chukwuocha as Secretary, was preceded by a legal battle that gripped the attention of the legal community in Imo State. The election was initially postponed due to a suit filed by Mrs. Chisara W. Egwim Chima, a chairmanship contestant who was disqualified following a petition…

KO MBADIWE UNIVERSITY Ideato is a state owned institution. The Government of Hope Uzodimma successfully recovered the institution from the grips of Owelle Richest Okorocha. The University is growing in all spheres. With a population of less than 200 students in 2021, the University has not less than 1200 students at the moment with a projection of over 1700 by the next academic session. The hostel accommodation can not stretch to the needs of the rising population of the school. Four students live in a room, contrary to the intention of the founding father of the University, who set out…

Although not an entirely new phenomenon, there is no arguing the fact that “coalition” is the latest vocabulary in Nigeria’s political lexicon. Nigerians are not new to coalition and the fear of coalition is the beginning of political wisdom. There was coalition of political parties in 2013 leading to the formation of APC that resulted the voting out of PDP in 2015. PDP had ruled Nigeria since 1999 but coalition removed them from office at the centre and installed the ruling APC. The immediate past week witnessed the coming together of many opposition members including disgruntled elements of the ruling…

For the avoidance of doubt, I do not speak on behalf of any individual or group, nor do I align myself with any party in the ongoing controversy involving Senator Natasha. My position is neutral and principled: I stand for all, in general, and more specifically for the rule of law, truth, and justice. With due respect to all concerned, particularly some of our distinguished legal colleagues and commentators, I find it necessary to offer this clarification in the interest of legal accuracy, public enlightenment, and the integrity of legal discourse: 1. *NO CRIMINAL CONVICTION TOOK PLACE IN NATASHA’S CASE:*…

“The mind grows old, no less than the body.” – Aristotle, The Politics, Book II, Ch. 9, 146 (Penguin Classics, 1981) A little over two decades ago, away from its perception as a shrine for the resolution of the most rarefied disputes in the country, the Supreme Court of Nigeria played host to a Nigerian drama. With less than two years to go before retirement, a senior justice of that court approached then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mohammed Lawal Uwais, with a discovery. A wise, old uncle of his from the village in one of the states of southern…

Following the Federal High Court’s ruling against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, legal expert Dr. Monday Ubani has weighed in with a sharp reaction. The court mandated Senator Natasha to issue a public apology to the Senate—not only within the Senate chamber but also in two national newspapers and on her Facebook page—and imposed a ₦5 million fine payable to the Federal Government. Dr. Ubani described the outcome as a clear vindication of the Senate’s position after months of defiance by the senator. He emphasized that despite the Senate’s resolution since February requesting an apology, Senator Natasha chose to challenge the body…