Judiciary Politics

Court Fixes March 17 to Hear Suit Seeking Sack of Three Rivers LG Chairmen

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has fixed March 17 for hearing in a suit seeking the removal of the chairmen of Port Harcourt City, Obio Akpor, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas. Presiding judge, Justice Stephen Jumbo, joined the Chairman of Obio Akpor Local Government, Gift Worlu, and 59 others as the

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Judiciary General

Weak Enforcement of Child Protection Laws Fueling Teenage Pregnancy — African Women Lawyers

The African Women Lawyers Forum has attributed the rising cases of teenage pregnancy and maternal mortality in rural communities to weak enforcement of child protection laws. Speaking in an interview, a former Rivers State Coordinator of the forum, Hilda Desmond, said the failure to effectively implement existing child protection frameworks has left many young girls

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Features General Judiciary

In the House of ‘My Lord’, There are Judgments, By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

Abdul Leigh Balogun became a judge of the High Court of Lagos State in 1976. In a career as a trial judge spanning 17 years and three different decades, the man better known as A.L.A.L Balogun earned a deserved reputation as one of the most knowledgeable trial judges to adorn the Nigerian judiciary. His reputation

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Politics Judiciary

Court Grants Malami, Two Others ₦500m Bail in Abuja

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and two others in the sum of ₦500 million each. The judge ruled that each defendant must provide two sureties with landed property located in Asokoro, Maitama, or Gwarinpa

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Features General Judiciary

President Tinubu’s Legal Practitioners Bill Seeks Capture and Reprisal, By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

Twenty-three days after the transmission by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the upper chamber of Nigeria’s National Assembly, better known as the Senate, held public hearings on 18 December 2025 to consider the Legal Practitioners Bill. At this pace, the bill will be certain to become law well before the middle of 2026. The journey to

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General Judiciary

Court Upholds EFCC Detention of Former Attorney-General

A Federal Capital Territory court has ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission can continue to detain a former Attorney-General of the Federation over alleged financial misconduct. The court dismissed the request for bail, stating that the anti-graft agency acted within the law. The EFCC says investigations are still ongoing. The ruling followed arguments

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Judiciary Politics

Appeal Court Upholds Ruling Restricting VIO from Stopping or Impounding Vehicles

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld a judgment of the Federal High Court that barred the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), popularly known as VIO, from stopping, impounding, or confiscating vehicles on public roads and imposing fines on motorists. In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the appellate court resolved all

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Judiciary General

Chief Judge Directs Christmas Vacation for Rivers State High Court Judges

The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, has approved the Christmas vacation for judges of the state High Court. In a statement issued by the Chief Registrar, David Ihua-Maduenyi, the vacation will begin on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, and end on Friday, January 9, 2026. Judges are expected to resume normal court sittings

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Features General Judiciary

Op-Ed: On Whose Mandate Do Judges Stand? By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

Atanda Fatayi Williams, the fourth Chief Justice of post-colonial Nigeria (CJN), has not always received the kind of credit that he probably should for a judicial career of impact. Few judicial careers in Nigerian history can compete with that of this grand-son of an Ijebu merchant in terms of both legacy and luminosity. Sworn in

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