NEWS
Anxiety: House C’tee Orders Tinubu’s Appointees’ Arrest
Total disregard of the House of Representatives by the highly placed, including key figures in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has moved the hand of the House’s Committee on Public Petition to order their arrest.
The committee passed the resolution on Tuesday, by adopting a motion by Hon Fred Agbedi (PDP-Bayelsa) at the committee’s hearing in Abuja.
The warrant of the arrest was issued against some top appointees of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, mostly Chief Executives of Federal Government Agencies and Departments as well as CEO of top oil majors.
Prominent among the 19 functionaries of the Federal Government listed for refusing to honour the committee’s invitation are the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein.
According to Hon Agbedi, the arrest warrant became inevitable following the attitude of the invitees.
He maintained that the legislators’ duties were time-sensitive and the CEOs having been invited four times and neglecting to honour the invitation, left the committee with no other choice.
The warrant of arrest meant that the CEOs would be brought before the committee by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) after due diligence by the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas.
Committee Chairman, Hon Michael Irom (APC-Cross River) said that the IGP should ensure the CEOs were brought before the committee on December 14.
The petitioner, Fidelis Uzowanem, had said the petition was anchored on the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) report of 2021.
According to him, the report was a summary of the transactions in the oil and gas industry for 2021 which NEITI put together could be challenged.
In his words, “We took up the challenge to examine the report and discovered that what NEITI put together as a report is only consolidation of fraud that has been going on in the oil and gas industry.
“It dates back to 2016 because we have been following and we put up a petition to this committee to examine what has happened.
“The 2024 budget of 27.5 trillion that has been proposed can be confidently be funded from the recoverable amount that we identified in the NEITI report.
“It is basically a concealment of illegal transactions that took place in NNPCL, they have been in sync with some oil companies where some companies that did not produce crude were paid cash core, an amount paid for crude oil production.”
Uzowanem also pointed out that the cash core payment was being used as a conduit to defraud Nigeria, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in concert with oil majors.
“We also found that the cash core payment was used as a channel for laundering funds by NNPCL and we found out that NEITI was able to conceal it in its report.
“In 2021 NEITI reported that Total Exploration and Production Nigeria-Ltd was paid 168 million dollars but examination of submission by the company shows that it received 292 million dollars.
“In other words, 124 million dollars was laundered by NNPCL through Total because monies that have been officially paid to Total could not have been concealed if it were not meant for fraudulent purposes.
“Also for Chevron, the dollar payment NEITI puts forward in its report was 76 million dollars but document emanating from Chevron showed that they received as much as 267 million dollars.
“In other words, 191 million was laundered under the cover of Chevron and NEITI concealed that; also, Nigeria Agip Company received 188milliom dollars but none of it was reported by NEITI,” he pointed out.
Some others affected by the warrant of arrest are, the Chief Executive Officer, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), that of Ethiop Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd, as well as the CEO of the Western Africa Exploration and Production.
Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Sunday Dare, has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his manner of addressing the President, describing it as “the height of insolence.”
In a statement posted on X on Saturday, Dare accused Atiku of political hubris for addressing the President simply as “Bola” while allegedly attempting to dictate how the government should be run.
“To seek to lecture a sitting president with the unbridled insolence of dropping his first name, petulantly barking instructions, and dictating how governance should be run within a truncated timeline is the height of political hubris,” Dare said.
ALSO READ: Sunday Dare Highlights Tinubu’s Key Achievements, Fires Back at Steve Osuji
He also dismissed Atiku’s comments on fiscal management, arguing that Nigerians do not need lectures from the former vice president on how to manage the economy.
Dare described Atiku as a “political wanderer” whose decades-long pursuit of the presidency, according to him, has been defined by “perpetual opportunism.”
He defended the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, saying the President was undertaking what he described as the “heavy, foundational lifting” required to restructure an economy affected by decades of structural challenges and subsidy costs.
“Atiku’s sudden conversion to the gospel of interventionism rings hollow,” Dare said, describing it as a strategy by what he called a “perennial seeker of power” to exploit national difficulties for electoral mileage.
Dare also accused Atiku of weaponising economic challenges for political purposes, while defending the Tinubu administration’s approach to economic reforms.
Biztellers reports that Dare was also reacting to a recent International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration ruling on the dispute involving Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and the Federal Government.
Recall that an ICC arbitration tribunal sitting in Paris on Thursday, September 17, 2026, issued a ruling rejecting Sunrise Power’s claims against the Federal Republic of Nigeria over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.
Speaking via a post on X on Friday, Dare said: “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s recent theatrical press conference, characterised by haughty condescension and an unbecoming disregard for the high office of the President of Nigeria, is nothing short of self-deprecation.”
Dare accused Atiku of attempting to distract Nigerians from questions surrounding the Mambilla project and his past, while criticising what he described as the former vice president’s renewed interventionist position on economic matters.
He further questioned Atiku’s criticism of the Tinubu administration, arguing that the former vice president should first address lingering questions surrounding his past before attempting to lecture the government on governance and economic management.
The comments come amid renewed exchanges between Atiku and the Tinubu administration as political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections continue to intensify.
The Federal Government has constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the reported deaths of 37 people held in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Niger State Command, over alleged illegal mining.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the development in a statement on Saturday, saying the action followed a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a comprehensive, transparent and unhindered investigation into the incident.
Recall that the deaths occurred on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
RELATED NEWS: 37 Miners’ Deaths: Interior Minister Arrives Minna, Set to Inspect Detention Centre
The Minister also ordered the suspension of all officers involved in the incident pending the conclusion of the independent committee’s investigation.
Tunji-Ojo described the deaths as “deeply disturbing”, stressing that the government owes the families of the deceased and the Nigerian public a transparent account of the events that led to the incident.
According to the statement, the committee will establish the identities of the deceased and investigate their arrests, detention, as well as the cause and circumstances surrounding their deaths.
It will also determine responsibility, complicity, negligence and misconduct and recommend appropriate action, including compensation where applicable, as well as measures to prevent a recurrence.
The Minister directed the NSCDC leadership and all relevant officers to cooperate fully with the committee.
He further ordered that all records and material evidence connected to the incident be preserved and made available to investigators.
“Any attempt to destroy or conceal evidence, intimidate witnesses or obstruct the investigation will be treated as a serious offence,” the Minister warned.
Members of the investigative committee
The 10-member committee is chaired by Mr Jonathan Kure, mni, a retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, while Prof. Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, former Director-General of the Nigeria Law School, will serve as Secretary.
Other members are:
AIG Hosea Hassan Karma (retired)
Prof. Olayinka Buhari, Professor of Histopathology and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital
Representative of the Minna Emirate Council
Representative of the Niger State Government.
Alhaji Liman Sulaiman, National Secretary, Miners Association of Nigeria
Mr Deji Adeyanju, lawyer and human rights activist
Mrs Zainab Suleiman Okino of Blueprint Newspaper
Dr George Agbakahi, Public Affairs Analyst
The committee may co-opt relevant experts, access all necessary facilities and documents, visit relevant locations and request memoranda from members of the public.
It has two weeks to complete its work and submit its report to the Minister.
20 NSCDC officers suspended
The Federal Government also released the names of 20 officers suspended in addition to the Niger State Commandant of the Corps.
The suspended officers are:
O/C Station Guard, SC Usman Isah Ndamaka
Station Guard, ASCI Hassan Mohammed
Station Guard, CCA Bala Mohammed
Arresting Officer/O/C Investigation, CSC Oluwadare Sunday
Arresting Officer, DCC Obafemi Elvis
Arresting Officer, CSC Annas Shitto Lamino
HOD INT/INV, DCC Philip Ajayi
O/C Legal, ACC Barr. Stephen Tsado
Day/Night Duty Officer, ASCI Alhassan Mohammed
Guard Duty, IC Abdullahi Sale
Guard Duty, IC Mohammed Sonfada
Guard Duty, CAI Liman Abubakar
Guard Duty, CAI Bala Usman
Guard Duty, IC Mohammed Jiya
Guard Duty, DSC Isah Suleiman
Guard Duty, CAI Ahmed Wushishi
Guard Duty, IC Sale Adamu
Guard Duty, IC Haruna Mohammed
Guard Duty, ASCI Aliyu Sallah
Guard Duty, CAI Isah Sanusi
The Minister extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and appealed for calm while the investigation continues.
Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is set to address a world press conference at his residence in Abuja on Friday.
The specific reason for the media briefing has not been disclosed as of the time of filing this report.
SEE ALSO: Mambilla: ICC Orders Sunrise Power to Pay Nigeria $11.8m After 9-Year Battle
Atiku’s planned engagement comes amid several developments attracting public attention, including a recent report from TheCable concerning a $500,000 payment allegedly transferred in 2003 to his former wife, Jennifer Douglas, by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
TheCable reported that Adesanya told an international arbitration tribunal that the payment was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku.
The report further stated that the payment was made through China Castle Investments Limited, an offshore company controlled by Adesanya.
The development comes shortly after an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal ruled in favour of Nigeria in the $2.35 billion arbitration dispute brought by Sunrise Power over the Mambilla hydropower project.
The tribunal also ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter to reimburse Nigeria for a portion of its legal fees and expenses.
However, there is currently no official indication that Atiku’s scheduled press conference is connected to the Sunrise Power report, the arbitration ruling or any other specific issue.
The Soludo, Obi Spat – When Brothers Fight to the Finish
‘Calling Tinubu Bola, Giving Him Orders Is Insolence’ — Sunday Dare Blasts Atiku
37 Deaths in NSCDC Custody: FG Suspends 20 Officers, Sets Up Independent Panel
JUST IN: Atiku Set to Address World Press Conference in Abuja
‘No One Will Be Shielded’ — FG Vows Justice Over Death of 37 Miners
37 Miners’ Deaths: Interior Minister Arrives Minna, Set to Inspect Detention Centre
Trump’s Family Unveils New Cryptocurrency Platform
Senate Denies Receiving Petitions Against Tinubu’s Ambassadorial Nominees
Dangote Cement Lights Up Benue Host Communities With CSR Initiatives
Reps Recommend 3-year Jail Term For Aviation minister
Tems Sets New Record On Billboard Hot 100 Chart
