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99 panels sat over election petitions in 2023, says Appeal Court President
The President of the Court of Appeal , Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, on Monday said 99 panels were set up to sit on election petitions in 2023.
Dongban-Mensem, made this known on Monday in Abuja at the opening of a- two-today workshop to review the 2023 Election Petition Tribunals/Court and Appeals.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised in partnership with the International Foundation For Electoral System (IFES), Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC).
Others are the United States Agency for International Development(USAID) the UK international Development and the European Union.
The workshop, she said, was organised to ensure that the country ‘s electoral process excel and also to learn from errors made and ways to proceed in the process better.
” The need to review the judicial process that preceded the election 2023 was very important. It was a very difficult task, very challenging at the same time.
” A total of 99 panels were set up with three judges sitting in each of them drawn from high courts.
” That was a huge number of judges taken out of our judicial system and dedicated to the electoral process.
” This workshop is important because we are dedicated and committed to ensuring that our electoral process excels.
” We want to learn from our errors, we want to discuss want we found as wrong with our legislation during this election having tried and applied the provisions.
” We are now in the position to say whether or not those provisions can actually move our electoral process forward” she said.
She expressed appreciation to the justices, of the court of appeal, judges of the high courts and Customary courts, she also thanked development partners for their commitment.
Similarly, the Attorney General of the Federation and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN in his remarks, commended the judiciary for the stabilising role it plays in the electoral process as a nation.
He noted that the Court of Appeal in particular, plays a more pivotal role in shaping and strengthening the electoral jurisprudence, through the exercise of its constitutional mandate in that regard.
” I will like to note that the vision of this workshop which is targeted at promoting judicial excellence, electoral integrity, and democratic governance, accords with the vision of the current administration in the areas of advancing judicial reforms and good governance.
” I am confident that the array of diverse and esteemed judicial icons, legal minds, electoral experts, and other stakeholders will no doubt satisfactorily dissect the issues arising from the theme of this workshop.
” I therefore look forward to the resolutions of this workshop to provide further guidance for me in my commitment to enhancing the quality of administration of justice and adherence to democratic principles in our country.
” Once again, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to the President of the Court of Appeal, IFES and PLAC for the vision, leadership, and dedication to promoting judicial excellence and electoral integrity.
” I also commend all our noble lordships who served either as Chairman or members of the various election petition tribunals/courts, for their hard work and commitment to the course of justice and national development” he said.
Speaking, the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Olukayode Ariwoola noted that political matters always tend to occupy the front burners of the adjudicatory activities .
He added as all existing electoral laws have placed some time frame within which they must be heard and decided.
” So many things have been thrown up in the course of the various adjudications that took place at the different tribunals and courts that we now have to serve on our workshop table for intense rumination and digestion, as it were.
” This workshop is no doubt, coming at the most auspicious time. It will, undoubtedly offer us the rare opportunity to review those things that we may have done at our various levels which may not have been done with the best of intention and professionalism.
” Like they always say, it is better late than never. Every given opportunity in life, offers us a free ticket to do something novel and more impactful, especially misapplication of discretion.
Speaking, Mr Clement Nwankwo , executive director , Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre said the outcome of the judgments as preserved by the citizens matters.
He noted that when the election umpire fails the judiciary should stand to correct.
” Review of the past election is very important, review is meant to make us know how to move next time.
” As judges, I know you are guided by the law, the perception and interpretation make judiciary more prominent.
” You should be able to look at what was done the judgments given and the decisions taken to ensure that it will be able to be seen as justice ” he said. (NAN)
The Association of Senior Civil Servants in Nigeria has accused the leadership of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) of alleged favoritism and unjust placement of pool officers over the commission workers.
They said that if not addressed urgently, these problems may undermine the morale of dedicated NAHCON staff and hinder the commission’s efficiency in fulfilling its mandate.
The union revealed this in a letter titled, “Urgent concerns regarding the placement of pool officers and administrative lapses”, dated March 3, 2025, and addressed to the NAHCON executive council and board members.
This is the first time in the history of the commission and Hajj industry in the country that staff are officially groaning over alleged misconduct and irregularities by the commission’s leadership.
The letter obtained by this newspaper was signed by the union’s executive officers in NAHCON.
The workers’ petition came weeks after the media reported the chairman’s leadership deficiencies and alleged nepotism, and how he is being influenced by some inexperienced family members including his biological brother Surajo, who is one of the chairman’s special assistants.
Mr Surajo is accused of misleading the chairman —who is reported to have a gross deficiency in reading and writing in the English Language — to minute on official memos, a development irking the commission staff members, state pilgrims boards and tour operators.
The chairman also reportedly appointed his biological son Aliyu as his assistant.
There is also the case of Abdulmalik Diggi, the chairman’s nephew, who was brought by the chairman as SA and deployed to the department of account as a deputy director. The DD is being accused of circumventing financial regulations – in cahoots with some aides of the chairman— to approve funds without due process
Findings by this newspaper have shown that another challenge facing the commission is how one state in the Northeast cornered all the critical leadership positions in NAHCON.
Borno state currently corners most of the juicy positions in the commission — in glaring disregard to federal character principles, an insider said.
Five critical positions are all occupied by Borno state indigenes namely — the secretary to the commission, the Director of Admin and Human Resources, the Deputy Director of Audit, the Director of Protocol, the Deputy Director of Procurement, and a Board member representing Northeast.
The workers also raised the cases of civil servants who retired from their parent organizations but only to be posted to NAHCON.
Another alleged impunity is the case of Mr Usman Mamza, from Borno State, who served as legal adviser in NAHCON after he retired from the Federal Ministry of Justice in April 2024. The Director of Admin, who hails from the same state as Mamza is allegedly blocking the investigation of the case.
The commission’s Director of Protocol Bulama is reportedly still at NAHCON even though he has reached retirement age.
Insiders said there are plans to recall a staff identified as Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale, who contested the governorship election in Oyo State under the Labour Party (LP) in 2023.
Mr Akinwale contested the elections and lost while still staff at NAHCON in violation of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Public Service Rules. The Zikirullah Kunle Hassan-led leadership had to sack him after mounting pressure from the commission workers.
It was learned that a former minister from the Southwest had given a note to the incumbent NAHCON leadership to facilitate his return to the commission.
Also, many staff members of the commission, this newspaper reliably gathered, are grumbling over the alleged overbearing influence of some DSS personnel attached to the chairman. One of the DSS details, Ibrahim Abubakar, was accused of abandoning his protective detail role and dabbling into the operational and administrative affairs of the commission. An insider said the DSS detail, allegedly in cahoots with some of his colleagues outside, is deeply interfering in the administrative activities of the commission.
“There have been several administrative lapses, particularly with regards to the actions of the Chairman/CEO’s Special Assistant (SA) who has been involved in matters of payment and approvals without adhering to proper protocols,” the union said in its petition.
The union also lamented the case of a special assistant to NAHCON Chairman and CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, “who has been involved in matters of payment and approvals without adhering to proper protocols.”
One of his SA’s scandals was detected, and the cabal allegedly destroyed the evidence— by shredding the official documents. Some staff members who spoke to this newspaper have called on EFCC to probe this case diligently.
The workers are miffed that at a time the commission’s chairman is busy trying to deploy the majority of the staff to the office of the Head of Service of the Federation for posting over alleged redundancy, he is at the same time appointing personal aides and deploying them to many critical departments.
Insiders told this newspaper that the chairman has already penciled down the names of 70 staff to be sent to the head of service for posting.
The union’s executives were reportedly summoned by a member of the NAHCON board representing the NIA. They were accused of “blowing up the cover of the NIA officer in NAHCON” in their petition.
However, the workers argued that the presence of NIA in the commission is illegal because it has no statutory role to play. They also said, after all, they didn’t mention the name of the affected “officer” in their petition. The workers also raised the membership of the security agency on the NAHCON board.
“This is new to us. The NAHCON Act doesn’t make provision for membership of the security agency on its board. This is another flagrant violation of the commission law,” a senior staff who spoke to our reporter anonymously said.
Another development that drew the ire of the commission’s workers is the plans by Professor Usman-led leadership to spend N640 million to sponsor 50 staff to “travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah monitoring.”
Many of the staff described this as a jamboree, particularly at a time when the commission is always cup at hand begging for operational funds from the government.
Part of the union’s letter reads: “It has come to our notice that pool officers recently posted to NAHCON have been placed in critical leadership positions ahead of seasoned NAHCON staff, who have dedicated years of service to the Hajj industry.
“A recent instance is the replacement of the Head of Policy and Research, a NAHCON staff, with an officer from the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), despite the absence of a vacancy.
To address this anomaly, the union has urged the executive council and board members to immediately withdraw all pool officers in major divisions.
The union said, “Pool officers who have been placed in strategic positions ahead of NAHCON staff should be withdrawn to ensure fairness and recognition of institutional experience.
The union also said, “Pool officers should also not be allowed to participate in the pre-hajj visit or the 2025 hajj operations at the expense of NAHCON staff.”
Veteran federal civil servants said populating the commission with seconded staff would degrade the institutional memory of the Hajj organization. “NAHCON staff should be trained to rise from bottom to top, to preserve the institutional memory of the commission. But when you adopt a revolving door policy — where staff are deployed and redeployed after some years – the founding father’s idea of establishing the Hajj commission is defeated,” one of the founding fathers of NAHCON told this newspaper.
Other staff members who spoke anonymously for fear of a backlash expressed concern over the ongoing face-off between the NAHCON chairman and his board members and commissioners. “This is unprecedented and it dampens the morale of the workforce,” one of them said. The officials said the earlier the commission gets a competent and experienced person to bring back the staff confidence, the better.
The chairman, it was impeccably gathered, is allowing all these problems to fester, including watching his aides threatening the commission staff, because of his alleged closed relationship with the office of the Head of Service of the Federation and the Vice President’s office.
Some commission officials have called for the sacking of the chairman and the board, saying, “It is glaring that the Vice President can’t properly supervise the commission as expected because his office has been compromised.”
They urged EFCC to investigate the commission leadership over the alleged financial recklessness and indiscipline.
The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the conditional cash transfer programme of the Federal Government.
Honourable Abass Adigun who moved the motion reminded the House that in order to ensure effective and efficient delivery of the programme in August 2024, nominees for the programme were informed that they will be paid the sum of N50,000 each for three months.
However, some nominees received payment months after information was completed and submitted to the portal, while other nominees have not, and the National Cash Transfer Office has not responded to the payment of other nominees to date.
President Bola Tinubu suspended the scheme – initiated by his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari and administered by the National Social Investment Programme – in January owing to alleged corruption in programme.
But in February, the Federal Government said it was restarting the scheme and is targeting an extra 12 million households that could qualify for these direct payments.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested Sirajo Jaja, the Accountant General of Bauchi State for alleged N70 billion fraud.
He was arrested in Abuja on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 alongside Aliyu Abubakar of Jasfad Resources Enterprise, an unlicensed bureau de change (BDC) operator and Sunusi Ibrahim Sambo, a Point of Sale (PoS) operator.
They were arrested in connection with investigations of money laundering, diversion of public funds and missapropriation to the tune of N70 billion.
The Commission is investigating the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, regarding the matter.
The EFCC said investigations showed that cash withdrawal of N59billion had been made through various bank accounts opened and operated by the Accountant General on behalf of the state government.
The money was allegedly moved to Abubakar and Sambo, who in turn made cash payments to party agents and associates of the governor.
The BDC operator, Abubakar, earlier jumped bail and has now been rearrested.