Crime
Fraud: D’banj’s Lawyer Requests His Release 48 hours After His Arrest
....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
“That D’banj has dutifully cooperated with the Commission in the course of their investigation and demonstrated a shared zeal to help the Commission make its impassioned and honest findings on the matter as he is interested in clearing his name as well,” the lawyer said.
He added that after Wednesday’s interview session, “we were informed he would be released as a matter of course having found nothing on him and with no further grounds for his continued detention. However, the Chairman of the Commission was required to sign off on his immediate release before it could be effected and that never happened.
“We were at the Commission today (Thursday) to give D’banj the required legal representation and all we waited for was still the ‘approval from above’ that never came. D’banj was also not interviewed today on any other issue before his lawyers.”
“While holding on to the sustained hope that D’banj will not somehow become the victim of targeted blackmail or faceless malice from certain quarters with perhaps vested interest in his downfall, we want to reassure the general public and the Commission by implication that we are fully ready and willing to cooperate to the extent of the law that makes for the finding of the truth in this matter which we take quite seriously,” the statement said.
D’Banj’s lawyer sought the provision of names of government officials allegedly involved in colluding with the singer to perpetuate the alleged fraud.
“We in the same vein reiterate that D’banj has no such access nor colluded with any government officials over any dubious transaction. The very allegation is a nightmare that must be dissipated by an assertion of the truth of D’banj’s unimpeachable innocence.
“As a matter of course, we now place a major demand on the oversight Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to immediately cause the release of the names of the government officials alleged to have colluded with D’banj and the investigation of same should be made public. We also demand that the ministry should make public immediately money alleged to have been traced to D’banj’s account.
“We call on the National Assembly’s Public Account Committee to open a wide investigation into the N-Power scheme through an open and all-free entry public hearing without protecting any sacred cows.
“It is alarming and incongruous to design such an allegation against D’banj who does not have access to government accounts or government platforms to have been alleged to have diverted such huge sums without any single government official in custody with him.
“We have opted to treat this matter with all sense of diligence and with the benefit of doubt extended to the Commission given that we are mindful the Commission is headed by a Professor of Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria whom we believe reckons with the principle that an accused is innocent until proven guilty and would constitutionally comply with same,” Olajengbesi said.
“It is to this end that we implore the Commission to be mindful of having detained D’banj beyond the constitutionally allowed limits without a charge made in court, following which we encourage the Commission to have him brought before a competent court with the necessary charges forthwith or duly release him while continuing their investigation which we understand can be a demanding and pressing task.
“D’banj is innocent of all the laughable allegations and deliberate publicity and has demonstrated patriotism by encouraging the Commission and such an act in good faith must not be unfairly rewarded,” he added.
On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja handed down death sentences to three individuals following their convictions for terrorism-related crimes. These rulings occurred as part of a broader series of terrorism trials, with the defendants receiving their sentences after entering guilty pleas to charges brought by the Federal Government.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The individuals condemned to death by hanging are Danladi Lawal, Abdullahi Mohammed, and Mohammed Gulama Shaibu.
Case Summaries
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Danladi Lawal (alias Dankawu): Presiding over the case, Justice James Omotosho sentenced the 33-year-old to multiple penalties, including death by hanging, life imprisonment, and additional prison terms, following his guilty plea to a five-count charge. Lawal was accused of abducting an elderly man in Katsina State in 2020 and collecting a portion of the demanded ransom, an act prosecuted under the Terrorism (Prevention Amendment) Act 2013.
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Abdullahi Mohammed and Mohammed Gulama Shaibu: Justice Salim Ibrahim issued death sentences to both men after they pleaded guilty to their respective terrorism charges. In addition to the death penalty, Shaibu received a sentence of life imprisonment.
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Additional Convictions:
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Mohammed Dezami Sherife was sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice Ibrahim across three counts of a ten-count charge.
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Shamsudeen Muhammad Ibrahim (alias Abu Harira) received a life sentence and an additional 35-year term from Justice Omotosho for supporting the ISWAP terrorist group and failing to report information regarding their activities.
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Lawi Abubakar Mohammed was sentenced by Justice Emeka Nwite to a cumulative 40 years in prison—running consecutively—with a mandate that he undergo rehabilitation and deradicalization prior to his eventual release.
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A Kogi State High Court, presided over by Justice Abdul Nicodemus Awulu, has sentenced Jibrin Halilu to death for his role in the kidnapping and murder of Uche Andrew Offo, a hotel owner in Obajana. Halilu was found guilty of conspiracy and kidnapping, in violation of the Kogi State Kidnapping and Other Related Offences Prohibition Law, 2023.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The incident occurred on March 23, 2023, when Halilu and an armed gang abducted Offo from his hotel, the Everready Hotel. Although Offo’s family paid a ₦2.5 million ransom, he was killed after recognizing Halilu—his own neighbour—among his abductors. Halilu was eventually arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on December 4, 2025, and was also linked to the April 2, 2023, kidnapping of Ibrahim Abdullahi in Lokoja, for which a ₦5 million ransom was paid.
This verdict is part of a series of recent major legal successes for the DSS:
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Owo Church Attack: On June 3, 2026, a Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced four men—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris—to death for the 2022 terror attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, which resulted in over 40 deaths and 100 injuries.
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Katsina Arms Courier: Just 24 hours prior to the Kogi ruling, a Katsina State High Court sentenced a female arms courier apprehended by the DSS to death.
Security sources stated that these consecutive convictions serve as a strong message that those involved in terrorism, kidnapping, and violent crime will be held accountable and face the full extent of the law.
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has argued that electoral manipulation persists in Nigeria largely because voters fail to remain at polling units to safeguard their ballots. During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., Obi pledged to do everything in his capacity to protect votes leading up to the 2027 general elections. However, he emphasized that the ultimate responsibility for ensuring electoral integrity lies with the citizens, urging them to actively monitor the counting process rather than leaving immediately after casting their votes. Obi stated that if voters insist on monitoring their polling units, their votes will be counted; he criticized the tendency of some citizens to vote and then rely on prayer instead of taking ownership of the electoral process, asserting that Nigeria’s core challenge is a leadership issue.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi claims that election rigging continues in Nigeria because citizens do not adequately defend their votes at the polling stations. While promising to work toward protecting the ballot for the 2027 elections, Obi noted that true electoral accountability depends on the public’s willingness to stay and ensure that votes are correctly tallied. He suggested that many Nigerians contribute to the problem by leaving their polling units early and expecting supernatural intervention, reaffirming his view that the nation’s primary struggle remains one of leadership.
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