Court

Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, May 11, 2026, convicted and sentenced Taofeek Daniel Oriola to nine years imprisonment for money laundering.

Oriola was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, Ikoyi, on three counts bordering on money laundering and concealment of proceeds of unlawful activities.

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, May 7, 2026, convicted a former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, on 12 counts of money laundering amounting to N33.8 billion.

The former minister, who was absent from court, was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for money laundering to the tune of N33,804,830,503,73 (Thirty-Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Four Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Five Hundred and Three Naira, Seventy-Three Kobo).

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja has issued a warrant for the arrest of a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Bashir Nura Alkali, over an alleged fraud totalling $1.3 million and N746.6 million.

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie made the order on Thursday, 16 April 2026, after both defendants failed to appear in court for their arraignment. Only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, was present.

Young was convicted on one count relating to the spraying and trampling of naira notes, contrary to Section 21(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007.

The charge read in part: “That you, Agbanashi Young (m), on or about 10 November 2023, at Akari Etiti Community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while dancing during a cultural event known as ‘Afor Day’, tampered with the sum of N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira) in N200 denominations issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying and trampling on same, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 21(3) of the Central Bank Act 2007 and punishable under Section 21(1) of the same Act.”

The trial of Akindele Akintoye, Platforms Capital Investment Partners Limited and Duport Midstream Company Limited continued on Tuesday before Justice Ekerete Akpan of the Federal High Court, Abuja, with the court fixing April 14, 2026, to rule on the admissibility of a document presented by the defence.

The defendants are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended six-count charge bordering on dishonesty and the alleged conversion of $35 million belonging to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.

The High Court of Akwa Ibom State, Ikot Ekpene Judicial Division, has sentenced a cultist, Innocent Nicholas Ntokon and a lecturer at Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Abel Udo Jacob to various prison terms for their roles in a relentless four-year campaign of terrorism, cultism and financial extortion.

In a landmark judgment delivered on 4 March 2026, the trial judge, Hon. Justice Augustine Odokwo, found Ntokon and Jacob guilty of subjecting a local businessman, Edikan Jacob Jackson, to a “merciless extortion scheme” that resulted in the loss of over ₦50,000,000 and the near-collapse of his legacy family business.

The Akwa Ibom State High Court has sentenced a police corporal, Mbazigwe Chinedu Friday, and a bus conductor, Isaac Eddy Ndeesor, to death by hanging for the kidnapping of Elder Akara Johnson Mendie, Vice Principal of Community Secondary School, Nkek, in Ukanafun Local Government Area.

Delivering judgment in Uyo, Nsemeke Daniel found the two men guilty of conspiracy, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms.

Delivering a judgment that lasted over two hours, Justice Archibong Archibong held that the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted the defendants on charges of conspiracy and kidnapping.

“I hope this judgment will serve as a deterrent to those who are inclined to engage in crimes like the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th defendants,” the judge said.

Justice Muhammad Maina of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri, on Friday, November 14, 2025, convicted and sentenced Bukar Umar Alhaji to two years’ imprisonment.

Alhaji was first arraigned on November 27, 2024, by the Maiduguri Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on two counts for the offences of obtaining by false pretence and criminal misappropriation to the tune of N2,100,000.00 (Two Million, One Hundred Thousand Naira).

The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, before Justice Maryanne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, continued on Wednesday, November 13, 2025, with the defence counsel cross-examining the sixth prosecution witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank.

Bello is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of ₦110.4 billion.