The Nigerian judiciary has designated 48 justices across various divisions of the Federal High Court to handle cases brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

This decision, contained in a press statement dated February 13, 2025 and signed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John T. Tsoho, is aimed to fast-track the prosecution of financial crimes, money laundering, and corruption cases that have long plagued Nigeria’s judicial system.

“The following Judges are hereby designated to handle Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cases in their respective Divisions,” the statement reads.

The judges assigned to oversee these cases include Justices I. E. Ekwo, J. O. Abdulmalik, J. K. Omotosho, Emeka Nwite, M. S. Liman, and H. J. Yilwa in the Abuja Division.

In Lagos, Justices C. J. Aneke, Y. S. Bogoro, D. E. Osiagor, and O. A. Oluseyi have been designated.

Port Harcourt will have Justices P. M. Ayua and A. T. Mohammed handling EFCC cases, while in Calabar, Justice I. L. Ojukwu is assigned.

In Asaba, Justices F. A. Olubanjo and O. A. Agbaje will preside over corruption cases, while Justice H. A. Nganjiwa is designated for Warri. Yenagoa has Justice N. Ayo-Emmanuel assigned, while Uyo will have Justice C. S. Onah.

In Kano, Justice S. M. Shuaibu will handle cases, while Bauchi has Justice Aminu Garba. Jos will have Justices D. V. Agishi and S. I. Tanko.

Lafia will see Justices M. O. Olajuwon and A. Onoja-Alapa overseeing EFCC trials. In Makurdi, Justices M. S. Abubakar and E. R. Joshua have been designated, while in Ilorin, Justice M. O. Awogboro will handle cases.

Justice B. K. Usman is assigned to Yola, Justice J. K. Dagat to Maiduguri, and Justice F. M. Aminu to Damaturu. Kaduna will have Justice R. M. Aikawa handling EFCC cases, while in Katsina, Justices A. B. Aliyu and H. Dadan-Garba are assigned. Sokoto will have Justice A. G. Mahmud overseeing financial crime trials.

In Umuahia, Justices S. B. Onu and K. O. Ogundare will preside, while Awka has Justice E. N. Anyadike.

Justice H. I. O. Oshomah is designated for Abakaliki, while in Enugu, Justices M. G. Umar and F. O. G. Ogunbanjo are assigned. Owerri will have Justices I. N. Oweibo and C. J. Wigwe-Oreh handling EFCC cases.

Justice C. A. Obiozor is assigned to Benin, Justice B. O. Kuewunmi to Ado-Ekiti, and Justice A. J. Adeyemi to Abeokuta.

In Akure, Justice T. B. Adegoke will handle EFCC corruption cases, while Osogbo has Justice A. A. Demi-Ajayi. The Ibadan Division will see Justice U. N. Agomoh overseeing EFCC matters.

The latest development comes amid public outcry over delayed trials, prolonged adjournments, and allegations of judicial interference in cases involving politically exposed persons and corrupt government officials.

Despite the EFCC securing convictions in some cases, critics argue that the judicial process has been weaponised to either stall or fast-track cases depending on political interests.

SaharaReporters has previously reported on how influential politicians, former governors, and top government officials use legal loopholes and judicial delays to evade justice.

Many corruption cases have dragged on for years, with some abruptly dismissed due to technicalities.

A bill to abolish the dichotomy and discrimination between Bachelor’s Degree holders and Higher National Diploma (HND) holders has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives.

According to the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, the bill sought to replace HND with Bachelor of Tech so that graduates of polytechnic would be able to compete favourably with other university graduates.

The bill, which was sponsored by a member, Fuad Laguda from Lagos State, also emphasised the importance of technical education.

Speaker Abbas said the position taken by all boards of polytechnics in Nigeria is “the abolition of HND and in place of it to have Bachelor of Technology so that at least graduates of polytechnics will be able to compete with those from universities”.

“At the same time, they are calling for hybrid supervision where the degree component of the polytechnic education will be handled by the NUC (National Universities Commission) while the national diploma will continue to be handled by the NBTE (National Board for Technical Education).

“Because of the degree component of this amendment, they felt that the qualification for being rector should also be upgraded to a Ph.D holder at the minimum since you will now be talking about degree programmes, it is only proper for such kind of establishment to have a Ph.D holder as the head of the institution,” he said.

Abbas subjected the bill to a voice vote and the lawmakers approved it to scale second reading.

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have denied holding any reconciliation meeting with the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa.

Obasa was reinstated on Monday, 3 March 2025, after Mojisola Meranda resigned following pressure from party leaders and other stakeholders.

A report claimed on Tuesday, 4 March 2025, that the Speaker was in a reconciliatory meeting with the lawmakers.

However, lawmakers who attended the meeting denied that it was reconciliatory. According to them, the agenda at the short meeting had nothing to do with reconciliation.

“First, one of the issues we raised as a reason for his removal happened again. A meeting scheduled for 1 pm did not hold until 2.30 pm. We were all kept waiting and when he arrived, there was no apology for the late commencement of the meeting.

“He went straight to the agenda after he passively acknowledged that we were still bitter with the way we were forced to bring him back and none of us contributed at the meeting,” one of the lawmakers said.

Another member of the House confirmed that a meeting actually held but added that “it was to inundate us about the case brought against us by the suspended Clerk, Olalekan Onafeko.

“The matter comes up on Thursday. Ordinarily, it is a civil matter, so we were concerned that he had to involve the Department of State Services (DSS) which further led to the invitation and arrest of some of our colleagues.

“Aside from these, nothing else happened. The meeting lasted just a few minutes and we all left.

“I want you to know that his return was not a selfless decision by us. It was done simply because we respect leaders like Baba Bisi Akande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba. In our hearts and souls, we do not want him up till this moment.”

The lawmaker said there was still mass anger within the assembly, adding that it would be difficult for the state legislature to remain the same.

“We are still waiting that he would throw in the towel and honour the agreement with the Baba Akande led committee for the House to continue with the peace and progress it experienced lately before his return,” he said.