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There’s a mafia at the Supreme Court that must be broken- Agbakoba
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Dr Olisa Agbakoba has alleged that there is a mafia in Nigeria’s Supreme Court, adding that for the country’s judicial system to work for the good of the people, the mafia must be broken up.
The former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), development law expert and founder of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), stated this at a media parley in Abuja.
According to him, the constitution of Nigeria is not so much the content but lack of acceptance and legitimacy, adding that if you allow people to speak and own something, you will be surprised they may arrive at the same answer.
He said: “What we need is to identify the owners of Nigeria before 1914. In previous national conferences, professional associations, such as the NBA, were invited. We (lawyers) have no ethnic stake per se. Invite those who were owners of Nigeria – Benin Kingdom; the emirs, the Obi of Onitsha. Excluding them from the development process is a huge error. We need to bring in Ohanaeze, PANDEF, Arewa, and Afenifere. These are the people that will shape Nigeria and give us political peace for development. The government needs to resolve critical national questions. Are we a country, state, or nation? Do we intend to live together as one country and how? Once these questions are answered, it will set the stage for a new political arrangement that can be articulated in a new constitution. Sub-national ethnic leaders (Ohaneze, Arewa, and Afenifere) have national appeal and can provide alternatives. The current National Assembly has powers to facilitate this process under the constitution.
“One of the things that is ignored in development discussions is law. Little attention is paid to the law. My background is development law, and a sub-speciality of it is governance, which is like a foundation. A country that has been struggling with the foundation for 23 years cannot be considered a serious country. So, there is a need for speed. The 10th Assembly must address the issue. The late Bola Ige once said, in a political arrangement like Nigeria’s, the first question is, just like having a wife: do I want to be married? In Nigeria, do we want to be one? It’s an assumption that we want to be. It’s a terribly big and wrong assumption. Croatia was one of the six countries that formed Yugoslavia. But they’re doing very well. Macedonia is doing very well. Slovenia is doing very well. It’s not sacrosanct that we must be one country if in being one country, you have all the killings. In looking at President Tinubu’s governance programme, I will remind him of a structural engineer who says: ‘I can’t build Nigeria based on a weak governance structure.’ It is a fundamental process if you want a country to grow. Nigeria’s governance structure is very weak.
“The Judiciary in my 45 years in the profession has never been as low as this. Even the Supreme Court – Justice John Okoro – castigated the Court of Appeal for the terrible judgment where they removed virtually everybody in the Plateau political system. We can’t grow if we have a weak judiciary.
“Therefore, the only way to grow is to break up this mafia in the Supreme Court. You have to break it up. It’s like saying no woman in Nigeria is entitled to political office. That’s what they’ve done to us in the judiciary. No lawyer is entitled to be appointed to the Supreme Court. It’s only them. They create a mafia, block us out, and appoint themselves – like an incestuous relationship. They cannot be at their best. So, the National Assembly should understand the difference between the administration of justice and judicial administration. In respect of judicial administration, the National Assembly can intervene. The Federal High Court, Court of Appeal Act and Supreme Act already have provisions relating to qualification for appointment and composition of courts. The only thing the constitution says is that you must have practised for 15 years, nothing else. We need a law, a Supreme Court Appointment Act, to regulate the appointment and composition of courts. The Court of Appeal Act for instance, provides that appeals from the Customary Court shall be heard by not less than three Justices of the Court of Appeal learned in customary law. Nothing stops the National Assembly from including in the Act that the Supreme Court shall be composed of Justices from the bench Bar and academia. To keep excluding the Bar and the academics will only result in a weak judicature. The National Judicial Council (NJC) is too strong an institution.
“I think all the tough decisions President Tinubu took were correct, painful as they are. What needs to happen is major legislation and major legislative action to cushion the hardship Nigerians face. The removal of the petrol subsidy was the right thing because it was a very corrupt policy. But where is the money? I don’t like these personal palliatives. I prefer institutional palliatives because they’re more transparent and the people will feel it more. For instance, if you say: that for all Nigerians under the age of 12, there will be no school fees. You will find the impact immediately. But where are the people being given N5,000 each? The President has got off to a good start on the runway, but the most difficult time for a pilot is when he’s climbing. An air return is a possibility,” the legal luminary stated.
On the economy, Agbakoba said- “The President has set a very ambitious goal to grow Nigeria’s GDP to $1 trillion in seven years. This is a huge task. Achieving these goals requires massive legislation and executive action. Two countries that achieved major turnaround by the enactment of major legislation and executive are the U.S. (Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal) and the UK (Margret Thatcher’s Big Bang). The primary tool Tinubu needs is governance. Governance is a critical tool in development planning. It is the equivalent of a building plan. Nigeria’s Governance structures are weak and so what is required is to strengthen them through critical laws and policies,” he said.
A former employee of Air Peace, who simply identified herself as Tade, has made a social media post on her recent encounter with the Chairman/CEO of the airline, Dr. Allen Onyena and praised him for his exceptional goodwill, benevolence and kind word of encouragement.
Tade who said she resined from Air Peace last year to set up a fashion outfit, after receiving blessings from Allen Onyena, quoted the airline’s CEO to have commended her for establishing her own business, said the encounter took place on Wednesday when the Air Peace boss paid a visit to her business premises
The obviously excited lady said- “It was such a beautiful moment having my boss visit my factory. And honestly, I still struggle to call him my former boss. Some people may be former bosses by designation, but the place they occupy in your life does not change simply because you no longer work in the same organisation.
“Two days ago, when he told me he wanted to come see the factory, I honestly wondered if he would be able to make it. I had seen how incredibly busy his schedule was, meetings, guests, engagements, one thing after another, and some of those meetings stretched well into yesterday evening.
“But around 7pm, after what I can only imagine was an incredibly long and stressful day, he still came.
“And he didn’t just come in, take a quick look around and leave. The entire house came alive.
“We received him warmly, and his presence brought such a beautiful energy into the building. He took time to speak with the staff, interacted with my friend, Mr. Jire, and his wife about their business, and then came into my office and sat with me.
“And for a while, it was just my boss being my boss.
“We talked about entrepreneurship, people management, business management, governance, leadership, and the challenges that come with growing a business, including some of the challenges I cannot even see yet. He reminded me, in his own way, that growth does not mean the challenges stop. They simply change.
“And then came that moment:
“You are now an employer of labour yourself, Tadé.”
She continued – “I don’t think he knows what those words meant to me. October will make it a year since I resigned from Air Peace and left with his blessing.
“And here I was yesterday, almost a year later, standing in my own factory, surrounded by people who now work for the fashion company I am building, while the man I once reported to was standing there looking at what has grown from that decision.
“There was something deeply emotional about it. Because when I met this man in 2023, I could not have known all that the years ahead would hold.
“Meeting you, sir, and working with you was never a coincidence. It was a necessary chapter in my life. A needed season. A significant part of the journey that brought me here. And I will always cherish it.
“Thank you, sir, for your leadership. Thank you for the opportunities, the lessons, the corrections, the wisdom, and most especially, for your consistent belief in me.
“Thank you for showing up. And thank you for coming to see what that little girl who once worked with you is building today. It meant more to me than I can properly put into words.
“And on behalf of the entire TADÉ house, thank you for the generous gift. We are deeply grateful.
“Some moments are bigger than the moment itself. Yesterday was one of them.,” she concluded.
All pictures were taken in the moment
Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic in Congress (NDC), Fiidi Council Ward in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State, Igbu Terhemen, has reportedly been killed by unknown assailants.
Terhemen was said to have been attacked and left unconscious in a bush near his residence around the NNPC Depot, along the Makurdi-Otukpo Road, on the outskirts of Makurdi, the state capital.
A friend of the deceased, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Terhemen left his residence on Tuesday evening to watch a local football match in the Kanshio axis of the town but did not return home.
According to him, family members and friends became worried after the deceased failed to return and subsequently began searching for him.
He said, “He left home to watch the match Tuesday evening and he was expected back home, but nobody saw him. It was while people were looking around for him that he was discovered around 2am Wednesday in a bush near his residence unconscious.
“Unfortunately, he died before he could get medical attention. Strangely, his attackers did not take his phone, which was discovered on him when he was taken to the morgue.
“There was also a needle-like injury on his body, indicating that he could have been injected with a substance by his attackers, dumped in the bush and left to die.
“All that is left for the police to uncover in the course of their investigation because this is a sad development in the state.”
The incident has sparked concern among members of the NDC, with the state chapter condemning the alleged killing and calling on security agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding Terhemen’s death.
In a statement issued by the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Agile Bem, the NDC described the deceased as a committed member who contributed significantly to the growth of the party in the state.
The statement said, “The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Benue State Chapter, has condemned the gruesome murder of Hon. Igbu Terhemen, who, until his death, was the NDC Chairman of Fiidi Council Ward in Makurdi Local Government Area.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed into law the Appropriation (Amendment) (No.4) Bill, 2025, extending the implementation period of the 2025 budget from September 30, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga stated this in a press release on Wednesday, saying the president’s assent followed the amendment’s swift passage by both the Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
According to Onanuga, the extension gives Ministries, Departments and Agencies more time to complete ongoing capital projects. It ensures that funds already appropriated are fully put to work for Nigerians, without disrupting critical programmes.
“The President commended the leadership and members of the National Assembly for their prompt consideration of the bill, a further sign of the cooperation between the Executive and the Legislature in the service of the nation,” Onanuga said.
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