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Nigeria has firmly ruled out any immediate recourse to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), maintaining the growing confidence in the country’s homegrown economic recovery strategy.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, made this position clear while addressing African Finance Ministers on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Meetings in Washington.

Edun stated that Nigeria’s reform programme which has been sustained over the past two years has begun to yield tangible results, restoring credibility to economic management and strengthening the country’s ability to withstand mounting global headwinds.

He further underscored the government’s deliberate shift towards market-led policies, stressing that Nigeria has resisted the temptation of administrative controls, particularly in the areas of management of foreign exchange and petroleum pricing.

“The direction is clear,” the Minister indicated, “Nigeria is staying the course with internally driven reforms rather than turning to multilateral financing.”

He however cautioned that despite Nigeria’s improving outlook, that the broader African landscape remains fragile. He therefore called for accelerated and better-coordinated international financial support for vulnerable economies, as discussions intensify around a proposed $50 billion global assistance package.

While reforms have enabled Nigeria to build critical buffers, the Minister noted that many African countries remain highly exposed to external shocks and urgently require support to stabilise their economies.

Edun concluded that Nigeria’s reliance on market mechanisms has helped soften the impact of necessary adjustments, reducing dislocations and keeping the economy on a steady macroeconomic trajectory even as global uncertainties persist.

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The Kwara State Government has charged former Senate President Bukola Saraki, former Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed and others to court for culpable homicide over the Offa robbery; possible death penalty upon conviction.

The government officially filed a 20-count charge against the defendants over their alleged arming of top suspects convicted in the tragic Offa armed robbery incident of April 2018.

Those charged alongside Saraki and Ahmed included Ahmed’s Chief of Staff, Yusuf Abdulwahab, and another aide, Alabi Olalekan.

If convicted, the two former governors of the state and other defendants could be handed the maximum death sentence.

The long-awaited trial with charge No: kWS/114C/26 came after the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of the suspects, including Ayo Akinnibosun, who had confessed during the trial to being a hit man of Saraki’s political dynasty.

The charge dated April 9, 2026, was filed by Attorney-General of Kwara State, Ibrahim Sulyman, and would be served on the defendants on Friday, April 17, 2026.

Saraki and the other defendants were specifically charged with culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy, among others, and would be arraigned before Hon. Justice Haleemah Salman of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin, on June 4.

It would be recalled that vehicles and some exhibits traceable to the crime scenes were recovered from the Kwara State Government House and a government ministry in 2018, and the same were used as exhibits, leading to the conviction of the suspects.

Although Saraki had denied knowing Akinnibosun, the two had been seen together in photographs taken during the wedding of Saraki’s child. Akinnibosun and his gang members also escorted Saraki to Offa on a condolence visit following the same bank robbery.

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. hails Judiciary, NDLEA officers; says swift justice the most potent deterrent to drug syndicates

NDLEA boss, Brigadier General Buba Marwa, rtd is breaking every known barrier in the war against narcotics as no fewer than 974 offenders have been convicted and sentenced to various jail terms including 11 drug kingpins who bagged 254 years imprisonment in the first quarter of 2026 as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) ramped up the arrest, prosecution and forfeiture of the assets of drug traffickers and their collaborators across the country.

Of the 974 drug traffickers convicted between January and March, 899 of them are male and 75 females, while a further breakdown of the conviction figure shows that 265 were secured in January, 316 in February and 393 in March.

Top on the list of the 11 drug kingpins who were successfully prosecuted and convicted within the period include a notorious Italy-based 42-year-old businessman, Adegbite Solomon (a.k.a Obama) who was arraigned on 15-count charge before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court Lagos in suit number: FHC/L/851C/2025. Delivering his ruling on the matter on 18th March, Justice Kakaki convicted the repeat offender on all 15 counts and sentenced him to a total of 130 years in prison.

Specifically, Justice Kakaki sentenced Adegbite to 15 years’ imprisonment on count 1; 15 years on count 2; 15 years on count 3; 15 years on count 4; 15 years on count 5; 15 years on count 6; 10 years on count 7; four years on count 8; four years on count 9; four years on count 10; four years on count 11; four years on count 12; and 10 years on count 15. While the prison sentence is to run concurrently, the trial judge also ordered the revocation of the convict’s pharmacy license and the forfeiture of two branches of his pharmacy store as well as the forfeiture of funds in his three bank accounts to the Federal Government, among others.

Another top drug kingpin sentenced to long years in prison in the first quarter of the year is 32-year-old Ridwan Animashaun who was arraigned by NDLEA before Justice Nkenoye Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo state in charge number: FHC/IB/97C/2025. In her judgment delivered on 26th February 2026, Justice Maha convicted and sentenced Animashaun to 25 calendar years for drug trafficking. The convict was first convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment for a similar offence on 15th July 2022 by Justice Uche Agomoh of the Federal High Court following his arrest by NDLEA along Lagos/Ibadan expressway on 27th March 2022.

Two other convicts who bagged long years imprisonment are: Rauf Asogba, 28, and Seun Olaniyi, 24, who were convicted and sentenced to 17 years in jail each by Justice Abiodun Jordan Adeyemi of the Federal High Court Abeokuta, Ogun state on 28th January 2026 after NDLEA arrested and charged them to court for trafficking 1,779 kilograms of skunk in suit number: FHC/AB/160C/2025.
Another set of two convicts got 15 years imprisonment each. They are: 54-year-old Jonathan Nuhu (a.k.a Doctor) who was convicted by Justice Mohammed Nasir Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Kano, Kano state on 17th March 2026 following his arraignment by NDLEA in charge: FHC/KN/CR/96/2023, and 40-year-old Idris Yusuf who was sentenced on 31st March 2026 by Justice Fatima Murtala Nyako of the Federal High Court, Damaturu, Yobe in suit number FHC/CR/6/21, in addition to another eight years sentence for a similar case brought against Yusuf by NDLEA in charge number FHC/CR/DM/16/24.
Other convicts who got seven years imprisonment each for drug trafficking offences in parts of the country include: Godday Obizuo in FHC/AK/64C/2024; Asabe Abubakar in FHC/BAU/CR/16/2026; Godwin Peter, Asuquo Christian and Olabode Sunday in FHC/AD/CR/66/2024.
In his reaction to the conviction of the drug offenders, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) described the sentencing of the 11 drug kingpins to a combined 254 years in prison as a watershed moment in the country’s war against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.

He noted that the conviction of 974 offenders between January and March 2026 sends an unambiguous message that Nigeria is no longer a safe haven for those who trade in human lives and derive pleasure in destroying the lives of the nation’s youth.
According to him, “Securing 974 convictions in just three months is a testament to the relentless spirit of our officers and the thinning patience of the Nigerian state toward drug merchants. To the 11 kingpins who thought they were untouchable, their 254-year collective residency in correctional centres is a firm reminder that the long arm of the law has finally caught up with their greed.”
Marwa commended the Judiciary for the accelerated hearing of the cases, noting that swift justice is the most potent deterrent. To officers, men and women of the Agency, he said
“Your bravery in the face of danger is yielding fruit. We will continue to prioritize your welfare and provide the tools needed to stay ahead of these criminal syndicates.”
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant, adding that “these victories belong to the citizens who provide the intelligence that fuels our operations.”