Author: Lawbreed Limited

The Chief Registrar, Supreme Court of Nigeria, Barrister Kabir Akanbi, has urged judiciary correspondents in the country to always be balanced, fair and objective in reporting activities of judiciary at all levels. He charged them to protect the sector’s image and credibility through well informed, researched, unbiased and factual reportage of its activities. Akanbi who gave the charge at the weekend in Abuja, while playing host to the Executive members of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents, (NAJUC), Abuja chapter, who paid him a courtesy visit, expressed dismay that reports in public space about the judiciary have been disappointing and…

The supreme court has dismissed a suit filed by the 36 state governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) challenging the federal government’s management of recovered looted funds. In the lead judgment prepared by Chidiebere Uwa and read by Mohammed Idris, the seven-member panel of the apex court unanimously held that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. The court held that the dispute, marked SC/CV/395/2021, falls within the jurisdiction of the federal high court, not the supreme court. BACKGROUNDIn the suit filed in 2021, the states alleged that between 2015 and 2021, the federal government recovered looted funds…

The Kaduna State Police Command has arrested a housewife, Zaliha Shuaibu, for allegedly killing her co-wife’s three-month-old baby by feeding him acid in Malari village, located in the Soba Local Government Area of the state. The disturbing incident occurred on May 13, 2025, inside the family compound shared by the suspect, her husband, and the baby’s mother, Maryam Ibrahim. The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, in a statement made available to Saturday PUNCH on Friday, confirmed the incident and said the suspect was arrested following a swift investigation by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the…

Kogi Central senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has been charged over her allegation that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello conspired to assassinate her. The Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Federal Ministry of Justice, filed the charges against her on 16 May at the FCT High Court in Abuja. The case marked: CR/297/25, has the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the complainant and Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan as the sole defendant. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended from the Senate in March for six months, faces criminal defamation charges over the claim she made in a televised…

A United States District Court has sentenced a 37-year-old Nigerian, Henry Ezeonyido, to 27 months imprisonment for his role in a $1m insurance fraud. PUNCH Metro learnt in a statement by the US Department of Justice on Thursday that Ezeonyido perpetrated the fraud between October 2019 and February 2022. The statement noted that during the period mentioned above, Ezeonyido submitted fraudulent health insurance claims to five insurance companies, claiming that he was involved in a series of accidents while travelling abroad. The convict was also said to have filed similar fraudulent claims for seven other people, leading to a total…

The Federal Trade Commission, joined by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, filed a Statement of Interest in a multistate antitrust case against asset managers BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. The case, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, alleges that BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard engaged in an anticompetitive conspiracy to drive down coal production as part of an industry-wide “Net Zero” initiative to further anti-coal Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals. BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard allegedly exercised their influence as shareholders in competing coal companies to push them to reduce industrywide coal output. The multistate lawsuit…

The judiciary is often heralded as the last hope of the common man, a pillar of democracy and good governance. Yet, in recent times, the Nigerian legal landscape has become riddled with contradictions—judicial decisions that clash not just in nuance but in essence. In a powerful and thought-provoking paper delivered at the 2025 NBA Owerri Branch Law Week, Chief J.S. Okutepa, SAN, unpacks the alarming reality of conflicting decisions of courts in Nigeria, outlining its root causes, implications, and the urgent need for reform. A Judiciary Under SiegeChief Okutepa opens with a searing indictment: Nigeria’s judiciary is under threat—not from…

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has released the comprehensive list of its Judges as of April 10, 2025. The document, signed by the Court Administration, outlines the names, judicial designations, and court postings of judges across various divisions of the FCT Judiciary. According to the announcement, the Honourable Chief Judge, Justice H.B. Yusuf presides over Court 1 located in Maitama. The roster also highlights judges assigned to handle specialised cases including those related to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), FCT Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS), as well as matters…

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Jos Branch, has successfully intervened to secure the release of two of its members, Hero Tawal, Esq. and J. A. Chaka, Esq., who were unlawfully detained by the Eagle Eye Unit of the Nigerian Police Force at the Abattoir Division in Jos. The lawyers were detained on May 10, 2025, in a clear violation of their constitutional rights, with the NBA condemning the incident. Tensions escalated when Ralph Money, a former Chairman of the NBA Jos Branch, was allegedly assaulted by the head of the Eagle Eye Unit during the event. In response to the…

Lawyers under the Jos Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) are preparing petitions to the national NBA leadership, the Inspector-General of Police, and key human rights bodies, protesting what they describe as the unlawful detention of their colleague, Barrister Hero Tawal Habila, by officers of the Eagle Eye Unit, Abattoir Division, Jos. According to NewsMen, the incident occurred on Saturday, May 11, 2025, when Barristers Hero Habila and Jerry Chaka visited the police station to represent detained clients. Rather than being granted access, the lawyers say they were insulted and denied entry, with Habila ultimately detained without explanation. NBA…