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I’m Fully Vindicated of 11-Year-Old Case That Tormented Me and My Family – Diezani Celebrates UK Court Acquittal
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Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal of all corruption charges, on Wednesday by a United Kingdom (UK) jury.
Diezani who was found not guilty following an 11-year legal battle, is celebrating what she called “a decade of relentless vilification.”
Southwark Crown Court in London had cleared Alison-Madueke, 64, on all five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery after more than 46 hours of jury deliberations.
The verdict closes a case that began with her arrest in London in October 2015.
Speaking after the ruling, Diezani said the decision had restored her reputation.
“I am deeply relieved. My name is cleared. This nightmare is over,” she said in a statement. “I thank God Almighty for His faithfulness and for completely vindicating me.”
“For eleven long, gruelling years, this case has hung over my head and has tormented me and my family,” she added.
“Today, the past decade of relentless and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny has finally come to an end.”
Prosecutors had alleged that while serving as minister under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan from 2010 to 2015, Alison-Madueke received more than £100,000 in benefits from oil and gas executives seeking lucrative contracts.
The benefits cited in court included private jet flights, chauffeur-driven vehicles, luxury goods, use and maintenance of a London property, and payment of her son’s school fees.
She was tried alongside co-defendants Ayinde Olatimbo Bukola and Agama Doye.
The trial began in January 2026, with Alison-Madueke maintaining her innocence throughout proceedings.
Despite the UK acquittal, legal challenges remain for the former minister in Nigeria, where she still faces pending corruption and money laundering cases.
Alison-Madueke’s tenure as petroleum minister made her the first woman to hold the position in Nigeria and later the first female president of OPEC in 2014. Her arrest in 2015 marked the start of one of the most high-profile corruption investigations involving a Nigerian public official.
News
Nigerian Tech Founder Launches AI-Powered School Management Platform To Transform Education Administration
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Nigerian software engineer and technology founder, Ajibola Olajide Shokunbi, has launched EDUCAKESIMS V2, an upgraded school-management platform designed to help educational institutions improve administration, financial transparency, data-driven decision-making and teacher productivity.
The platform combines real-time analytics, financial dashboards, banking visibility and artificial intelligence-assisted report management to provide schools with a unified system for managing academic and operational activities.
Since its launch in 2022, EDUCAKESIMS has grown from a local school-management solution into a platform used by more than 12 schools and supporting the management of over 12,000 students.
Shokunbi said the platform was developed to address challenges faced by many Nigerian schools, including reliance on manual processes, fragmented records and spreadsheet-based reporting, which often make it difficult for administrators to access timely information about their operations.
As the founder of EDUCAKESIMS, Shokunbi has overseen the platform’s development into an integrated system supporting academic administration, financial management and institutional planning.
The latest version, EDUCAKESIMS V2, introduces several features aimed at improving how schools monitor performance and manage resources.
The School Analytics Dashboard provides real-time insights into student population, admissions, retention, attendance, gender distribution and demographic trends, enabling school leaders to make informed decisions.
The Income and Expenditure Dashboards allow proprietors and finance teams to track revenue, expenses, outstanding balances and overall financial performance, improving budgeting and accountability.
The School Banking Dashboard uses secure banking integration to give authorised finance personnel near real-time access to school banking transactions, helping to reduce reconciliation delays and improve cash-flow monitoring.
The platform also includes an AI-assisted Report-Card Management feature, designed to help teachers prepare student reports more efficiently while reducing repetitive administrative tasks.
Speaking on the upgrade, Shokunbi said EDUCAKESIMS was built around the realities of Nigerian schools and the need for practical digital solutions.
“EDUCAKESIMS was built from a deep understanding of the realities of Nigerian schools. Many institutions want to digitise, but they need solutions that are practical, affordable and designed around their own operating environment,” he said.
“With EDUCAKESIMS V2, we are bringing together data analytics, financial intelligence, banking visibility and artificial intelligence to help schools make faster, smarter and more accountable decisions.”
The founder said the platform would help schools operating across multiple campuses overcome challenges associated with managing separate administrative, billing, inventory and academic systems.
Dr Akinleye Akingbami, Proprietor of Grace Spring Schools, said EDUCAKESIMS had improved visibility and coordination across the organisation’s campuses spread across six states in Nigeria.
He said managing thousands of students across multiple locations was previously challenging due to fragmented financial reporting, payment reconciliation delays and stock-management issues.
“Since adopting EDUCAKESIMS, we now manage all our campuses through one integrated platform with real-time visibility into both our academic and financial operations,” Akingbami said.
He added that processes which previously took days could now be completed within minutes, while financial accountability and decision-making had improved through access to accurate data.
The launch of EDUCAKESIMS V2 comes amid growing interest in Nigeria’s education technology sector, as schools increasingly adopt digital tools to improve efficiency, accountability and communication.
The platform reflects efforts by local technology founders to develop solutions tailored to the operational needs of Nigerian institutions rather than relying solely on systems designed for other markets.
Shokunbi said the expansion of EDUCAKESIMS demonstrates the role locally developed software can play in strengthening digital infrastructure and supporting the modernisation of education management in Nigeria.
News
Rep OK Chinda’s political network sparks across Rivers
The battle for the political soul of Rivers State gathered fresh momentum on Monday, August 3, 2026, as supporters of the former House of Representatives Minority Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, activated what appears to be an early statewide mobilisation strategy, extending their campaign machinery to all 23 local government areas and ward structures ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The development signals that while the official electioneering whistle is yet to be blown, political camps are already laying claim to the grassroots in what analysts describe as a familiar contest where influence, structure and strategic alliances often determine who eventually occupies Brick House.
The pro-Chinda support group, Our Will, announced the expansion of its political network across the state, directing its state executive members to immediately establish functional local government and ward executives capable of driving voter mobilisation before formal campaigns commence.
State Chairman of the group, King Okene, said the organisation was determined to transform Chinda’s existing political popularity into what he described as an “unstoppable electoral mandate,” insisting that every ward must become a political fortress for the lawmaker’s governorship aspiration.
According to him, the publication of the electoral timetable has effectively opened a new phase of political calculations, making early grassroots organisation a strategic necessity rather than a luxury.
“We should double our efforts to ensure we meet the targets before electioneering campaigns officially begin. Every local government and ward structure must be fully operational within the first week of August,” he charged members.
In what appeared to be a calculated attempt to frame Chinda as the political heir to a tested governance model, President-General of Our Will, Glory Wobo, declared that the federal lawmaker’s years of public service and close political association with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, have adequately prepared him for the state’s highest office.
Wobo argued that leadership is cultivated through mentorship rather than chance, maintaining that Chinda’s political apprenticeship under Wike – combined with his experience as commissioner and long-serving legislator – has equipped him with the administrative depth required to govern Rivers State.
He cited ongoing infrastructure renewal in the Federal Capital Territory as evidence of the leadership tradition from which Chinda emerged, suggesting that effective governance leaves measurable footprints rather than campaign slogans.
According to Wobo, Chinda enjoys goodwill that cuts across political parties, ethnic groups and religious divides, describing the lawmaker as a consensus figure whose appeal extends beyond partisan politics into credibility, accessibility and public service.
The latest mobilisation drive underscores the intensifying political chess game ahead of the 2027 governorship election, where aspirants are increasingly investing in grassroots structures long before formal campaigns begin.
With support groups already deploying ward-by-ward political architecture and competing camps quietly consolidating influence, Rivers State is once again demonstrating that, in Nigerian politics, the contest for power often begins long before the first ballot is printed.
News
NBC files fresh appeal, justifies N5m fine regime for broadcasters
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has filed an application seeking the permission of the court of appeal to file a fresh appeal against the judgement of the federal high court in Abuja barring it from imposing N5 million fines on erring broadcast stations.
In the application filed at the court of appeal in Abuja by Dapo Akinosun, counsel to the NBC, the commission argued sanity in Nigeria’s broadcasting sector is under threat and that the public interest would be better served if the court grants the application.
In the application, the NBC urged the court to grant it leave to raise and argue a fresh issue on appeal relating to the legal capacity of MRA to institute and maintain the original suit before the lower court.
The commission argued that the defect in the earlier notice of appeal, which resulted in the dismissal of its appeal, arose “solely from an inadvertent misdescription” of its name by its lawyer.
The NBC told the court that the subsisting judgement raises questions on the commission’s statutory powers to regulate broadcasting and enforce compliance with broadcasting standards in Nigeria.
The commission argued that the subsisting judgment is capable of creating uncertainty regarding its regulatory powers if it is allowed to stand.
The NBC also argued that without the pronouncement by the appellate court on the issues raised in the appeal, its regulatory framework would be weakened.
“A weakened regulatory framework may embolden non-compliance with established broadcasting standards, thereby increasing the dissemination of false, misleading and unverified information capable of causing unnecessary public anxiety, panic and social unrest,” the NBC said.
“Absence of effective regulatory oversight may further encourage irresponsible broadcasting practices and the misuse of broadcast and digital media platforms by persons who deliberately publish sensational, inaccurate or inflammatory content to intimidate, harass or unduly influence individuals, institutions and public discourse.”
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