Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has denied reports that he was arrested by the Nigerian Police and released on bail after an hour of interrogation.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has filed a ₦5 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Department of State Services (DSS) over an alleged assault and forcible removal from the Federal High Court in Abuja.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2480/2026, was filed on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, against the DSS, its Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, and a deputy director of the security agency, Benjamin Bulus.

Sowore alleged that DSS operatives assaulted him and forcibly removed him from the court premises on June 22, 2026, despite a subsisting court order directing that he be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.

He said the incident occurred after Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his remand pending the hearing and determination of his application seeking a stay of the order revoking his bail and the bench warrant issued against him.

According to Sowore, armed DSS operatives, including hooded male and female officers, stormed the fourth floor of the court building while he was waiting for correctional officers to arrive and execute the remand order.

He claimed that the operatives physically assaulted him, forcibly removed him from the area and took him against his will to the basement of the court complex through elevators reserved for Federal High Court judges. He said the incident left him with physical injuries.

The activist maintained that the remand order did not authorise the security operatives to assault him, remove him forcibly or subject him to degrading treatment within the court premises.

Through the suit, Sowore is asking the court to determine whether the DSS operatives acted beyond the scope of the judicial order and whether their alleged conduct violated his fundamental rights.

He is seeking ₦5 billion in aggravated damages over the alleged violation of his constitutional rights to dignity and personal liberty.

A key aspect of the case is video footage reportedly recorded during the incident using Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

According to the court documents, Sowore intends to rely on the footage as evidence to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged assault and the conduct of the security operatives involved.

Former Nigerian Minister of Finance and Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has recounted how her efforts to uncover an alleged $2.4 billion fuel subsidy fraud resulted in threats against her and the kidnapping of her mother.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Okonjo-Iweala disclosed this during an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua, explaining how irregularities in Nigeria’s fuel subsidy programme prompted her to request an audit of payments made to fuel importers.

She explained that although Nigeria produces crude oil, the country relied on imported refined petroleum products because its refineries could not meet domestic demand at the time.

Under the subsidy arrangement, fuel importers brought refined petroleum products into the country and received government payments that enabled them to sell the products at subsidised prices at filling stations.

However, Okonjo-Iweala said the claims submitted by importers began to rise sharply, raising suspicions about possible fraud within the programme.

Concerned by the growing figures, she approached the then president and requested approval to audit the accounts. The request was granted, and the subsequent investigation uncovered what she described as approximately $2.4 billion in fraudulent claims.

Following the discovery, the government refused to pay the disputed claims, a decision that she said triggered threats against her and eventually led to her mother’s abduction.

According to the former finance minister, the kidnappers demanded that she resign from her position and leave Nigeria in exchange for her mother’s release.

Recalling the incident, Okonjo-Iweala said the ordeal was among the most painful experiences of her life.

She explained that the subsidy fraud investigation began after officials noticed that unusually large sums were being claimed under the programme.

“Nigeria is an oil-producing country, but we cannot refine everything that we consume. So we do bring in refined oil from outside,” she said.

She added that importers received subsidies from the government and sold fuel at lower prices, but the amounts claimed under the scheme suddenly increased beyond what appeared normal.

“So I went to the president and said, look, something is going on here. Could we audit the accounts? And he said, yes, go ahead. And we found about $2.4 billion worth of fraud. So we refused to pay,” she recounted.

Okonjo-Iweala said the decision was followed by threats and the kidnapping of her mother, with the abductors insisting that she quit her job and leave the country.

Describing the five-day ordeal, she said the possibility that her actions could lead to her mother’s death placed her under enormous emotional strain.

She disclosed that her mother was held in a forest before eventually escaping one night.

Despite the traumatic experience, Okonjo-Iweala said she was grateful that her mother survived. Now 96, her mother still reacts emotionally whenever the incident is mentioned.

Reflecting on the difficult choice she faced, the WTO chief said her mother’s life would always take priority over her position.

“Having my mother alive and staying in a job, I will pick my mother any day,” she said.