By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, says it has released N7.61 billion to nine Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, for the payment of retirement benefits to 4,237 retirees.

The Comptroller-General of NCS, Bashir Adeniyi, disclosed this during a dialogue with retirees, where he reaffirmed the service’s commitment to improving the welfare of its retired personnel.

NCS’s Spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, in a statement on Friday in Abuja said the C-G announced that the funds had been disbursed to the PFAs for onward payment into the retirees’ individual accounts.

Mr Maiwada said the meeting followed ongoing efforts to improve pension of retirees following the Federal Government’s decision to review the statutory provisions governing pensions.

This is includes Section 15(4) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, in line with Section 173(3) of the 1999 constitution, as amended.

He said that according to the breakdown presented at the meeting, Access-ARM Pension Managers accounted for 1,223 beneficiaries, Premium Pension 2,268, Leadway Pensions 403, TrustFund Pensions 156 and FCMB Pensions 144.

Others are Veritas Glanvills Pensions 28, Norrenberger Pensions 11 and Fidelity Pension Managers four, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 4,237.

Addressing the retirees, Mr Adeniyi underscored the need for the service to remain strong and financially capable of meeting its obligations to serving officers and retirees.

He emphasised that the welfare of officers who had dedicated decades to the NCS was integral to the institution’s future.

The NCS boss urged the retirees to sustain constructive engagement with the service, describing it as necessary to foster mutual understanding.

“I acknowledged your (retirees) concerns and suggestions raised and it is in view of this we called for this dialogue.

“This is to promote better understanding and reduce the effect of rumours and unofficial information on the relationship between the service and its retired personnel,” he said.

The retirees thanked the C-G and his management team for creating a platform for direct engagement.

They also urged the service to sustain the dialogue as part of efforts to strengthen the relationship between serving officers and retired personnel.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The supreme court has affirmed the final forfeiture of properties and $2.045m linked to Godwin Emefiele, former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to the federal government.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, the apex court overturned the decision of the court of appeal in Lagos, which had nullified the forfeiture order.

The court held that the court of appeal erred when it overturned the forfeiture order and directed that the matter be reheard by the trial court.

On November 1, 2024, Deinde Dipeolu, judge of a federal high court in Lagos, ordered the permanent forfeiture of monies (including $2.045 million), seven choice landed properties and the two share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust belonging to Emefiele, to the federal government.

The assets were said to be reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

The forfeited properties include two fully detached duplexes of identical structures situated at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped land, measuring 1919.592 sqm with Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340 at Oyinkan Abayomi drive (formerly Queens drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow at No. 65a Oyinkan Abayomi drive (formerly Queens drive), Ikoyi, Lagos and a four-bedroom duplex at 12a Probyn road, Ikoyi.

Others are an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta state; eight units of an undetached apartment on a plot measuring 2457.60sqm at No. 8a Adekunle Lawal road, Ikoyi, and a duplex together with all its appurtenances on a plot of land measuring 2217.87sqm at 2a bank road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

In June 2025, the court of appeal in Lagos overturned the final forfeiture order issued on assets owned by Emefiele.

Two of the three-member panel of justices of the appellate court set aside the trial court’s judgment and ordered a retrial of the case at the lower court.

In the judgment delivered by Abdulazeez Anka, the court held that it was convinced that the legitimate earnings of Emefiele could acquire the properties.

Anka, however, noted that the appellant, did not contest the forfeiture of the $2,045,000 forfeited to the federal government.

The judge ruled that the money should be forfeited to the federal government.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday, set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026, which nullified parts of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s electoral guidelines for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

The appellate court, in a unanimous judgment, held that the Youth Party, which instituted the suit challenging the guidelines, lacked the locus standi to do so.

The lead judgment, prepared by Justice Adebukola Banjoko and read by Justice Okon Abang, held that the party failed to demonstrate how the guidelines affected it or its members in the conduct of its primary election or the submission of names of its candidates for the 2027 polls.

Justice Banjoko held that the Youth Party did not establish any injury arising from the guidelines to justify the institution of the suit.

The three-member panel further held that Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court erred when, on May 20, he nullified the guidelines on the grounds that they were inconsistent with some provisions of the Electoral Act, adding that the decision occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

In the May 20 judgment, Justice Umar had ruled that INEC lacked the constitutional and statutory powers to compel political parties to conduct their primaries within timelines fixed by the commission.

The trial court also nullified aspects of INEC’s timetable requiring parties to submit their membership registers and candidates’ particulars ahead of the timelines prescribed by the Electoral Act, holding that the commission could not lawfully abridge statutory timelines.

Dissatisfied with the decision, INEC appealed, arguing through its counsel, Dr Alex Izinyom, that the Federal High Court failed to determine its preliminary objection that the suit was hypothetical and academic, thereby denying the commission fair hearing.

The Court of Appeal upheld the appeal, and vacated the Federal High Court’s judgment, thereby restoring the validity of INEC’s electoral guidelines for the 2027 elections.