Delta Court Halts Development in ₦500 Million Land Dispute

Court Orders Parties to Maintain Status Quo in ₦500 Million Land Case The Delta State High Court sitting in Asaba and presided over by Hon. Justice C. D. Diai has issued an order restraining Mrs. Calista Ogechukwu Eziokwu, Patrick Eziokwu, Charles Ofoezie, Austine Ekeh, and Onyebuchi Nwagwu from carrying out any further development on a disputed property at the center of a ₦500 million land suit. The suit was filed by Solomon Atube, a Delta State based legal practitioner, through his counsel, Dr. A. A. Orunkoya. Dr. Orunkoya, representing the claimant, urged the court to restrain the defendants from continuing development on the land identified as Plot 71, Block VIII, Phase V, Core Area, Asaba, and registered as DTSR/18388 at the Asaba Land Registry. He argued that any further activity on the property could destroy the res (subject matter) of the ongoing litigation. After hearing the application, Justice Diai granted the order, directing all parties to maintain the status quo and refrain from any action concerning the disputed property pending the determination of the substantive suit. Delta State has, in recent times, witnessed a surge in land-related disputes, with allegations of land grabbing and the forgery of Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os) involving some officials in the Ministry of Lands and Survey. Critics have accused the state government of failing to implement a reliable digital verification system to curb the issuance of fake land documents. In the present case, it was alleged that the defendants attempted to register a mortgage over the land using particulars of a deceased person in an effort to fraudulently claim ownership. Officials of the Delta State Ministry of Lands reportedly uncovered the irregularity and raised an alarm, prompting the claimant to take legal action.

NIGERIA RISKS DISINTEGRATION IF INJUSTICE PERSISTS, it will survive on the basis of justice, fairness, and democratic integrity.– Wale Balogun

NIGERIA RISKS DISINTEGRATION IF INJUSTICE PERSISTS,it will survive on the basis of justice, fairness, and democratic integrity.– Wale Balogun Human rights advocate and political activist, Comrade Wale Balogun, has raised alarm over what he describes as Nigeria’s steady descent into authoritarianism and ethnic exclusion under the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In a strongly worded statement made available to the press, Balogun warned that the continued marginalisation of the Igbo ethnic group — particularly the coordinated denial of an Igbo presidency — may legitimize rising calls for Biafran self-determination. “You cannot continue to treat a people as second-class citizens and expect them to remain in a union based on oppression. If Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani political elites continue to gang up against Ndigbo, then the right to self-determination becomes not only justified but necessary,” Balogun said. He decried the ethnic profiling and voter suppression of Igbos during the 2023 elections in Lagos, calling it electoral apartheid designed to intimidate non-indigenous voters and rig outcomes in favour of the ruling APC. Balogun expressed concern over the Tinubu administration’s alleged efforts to turn Nigeria into a one-party state, citing the co-optation of the judiciary, the silencing of opposition voices, and increasing clampdowns on dissent. He pointed to the harassment of former interior minister Rauf Aregbesola, whom he described as a target for daring to speak out against Tinubu’s “cult-like political structure.” He further declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), under Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has lost credibility and must not be allowed to conduct the 2027 elections without comprehensive, citizen-led electoral reforms. “The rigging of 2027 has already begun , starting with flawed voter registration and an impending falsified census. Nigerians must act now to resist manipulation at every stage of the democratic process.” Balogun called on civil society organisations, youth movements, opposition parties, and community leaders to mobilise for genuine reform, and warned against allowing the current National Assembly, which he described as a “Yes-man institution”, to impose self-serving reforms. In his final appeal, Comrade Balogun urged Nigerians to rise in peaceful but determined resistance to dictatorship and injustice. “No one has a monopoly of violence. While we do not call for war, we will defend our rights with our voices, our votes, and our collective power. Let the ruling class know that power belongs to the people, not a cabal.” “Let it also be known: if equity fails, unity cannot stand. Ndigbo, and any other marginalised group, cannot be expected to pledge loyalty to a country that constantly excludes them.” Balogun reaffirmed his commitment to Nigeria’s survival, but only on the basis of justice, fairness, and democratic integrity.

corrupt political elite — Yoruba by name but anti-Yoruba by action — who have held this state by the jugular not Ndigbo - Wale Balogun

*STATE OF THE NIGERIAN NATION* Comrades, I stand before you today not only as Comrade Wale Balogun, a proud member of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, but also as a Nigerian — one who bears the daily burden of failed leadership, unfulfilled promises, and the persistent erosion of our dignity as a people. It is 2025, and yet, Nigeria continues to limp on the broken crutches of corruption, insecurity, economic hardship, and social injustice. The state of the Nigeria state today is a mirror of our failures, but also a call to action for every one of us committed to the ideals of freedom, equity, and accountability. Our democracy, 26 years into the Fourth Republic, remains a democracy only in name. Elections have become rituals of imposition and manipulation. The will of the people is constantly subverted by the machinery of the powerful. We see a government that claims legitimacy but governs with impunity — a ruling elite more interested in consolidating wealth than in serving the people. The recent spate of unconstitutional actions, the suppression of dissent, and the targeting of activists should alarm us all. The harassment of journalists, the freezing of civil society accounts, and the deployment of security forces against peaceful protesters — these are signs not of strength, but of fear. Fear of an awakened citizenry. The average Nigerian is suffering. The cost of living has skyrocketed beyond comprehension. Inflation is eating deep into the pockets of even the working class, while millions remain unemployed or underemployed. Our youth — full of energy, talent, and dreams — are either fleeing the country - the Jappa syndrome or languishing in hopelessness. The removal of fuel subsidies, though theoretically sound, was implemented without a social cushion for the poor. The naira continues to plummet, and public infrastructure is deteriorating. Where is the accountability for the billions claimed to be invested in development? We cannot continue like this. Poverty is not a natural condition — it is the result of bad policies and worse politics. Whether in Lokoja, Asaba, Plateau, or even the streets of Lagos, insecurity has become our daily reality. Kidnappings, banditry, terrorism, and communal violence persist with alarming regularity. Our security architecture is overstretched, underfunded, and in many cases, compromised. The Nigerian state is gradually losing its monopoly on violence — a dangerous sign for any country. When citizens lose faith in the state’s ability to protect them, they begin to look elsewhere, often to dangerous alternative. As members of the CDHR, we must speak without fear: human rights are under siege in Nigeria. The freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press are constantly being curtailed. Court orders are ignored with impunity. Citizens are detained without trial. Whistleblowers are hunted, not protected. This is not the democracy we fought for alongside President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is not the Nigeria the APC presidency promised Nigerians. History has never been kind to those who stood on the sidelines of injustice. It has always favoured the bold, the persistent, and the principled. The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights must rise again — louder, stronger, and more united than ever. We must continue to: * Speak truth to power, even when it is dangerous. * Defend the rights of the oppressed, even when it is unpopular. * Mobilize the people, educate the masses, and build coalitions that will challenge the status quo. The struggle is not just against bad leaders — it is against a system that enables impunity, marginalisation, and injustice. *A United Front of the Oppressed: The Path to Liberation* Fellow comrades, if there is one truth that history has taught us, it is that the oppressed must unite — or remain divided and defeated. Across Nigeria’s — North, South, East, and West — the suffering is the same. The poor farmer in Benue, the unemployed graduate in Bayelsa, the overtaxed trader in Kano, and the displaced villager in Southern Kaduna all cry the same tears. This pseudo-federal structure has pitted communities against one another, not in service of justice, but in service of elite domination. They divide us along ethnic and religious lines while they dine together in Abuja and Lagos, united in exploitation. We must reject this false dichotomy. The oppressed in Nigeria must come together across ethnic, regional, and class lines to build a united front against the oppressors. Our power lies in our numbers, in our shared struggle, and in our collective refusal to be used as pawns. Let the fisherman, the students, the artisans, the women, the peasants, the workers, and all marginalised peoples come together under one banner: the banner of justice, dignity, and democratic emancipation. It is only through a broad-based, grassroots, pan-Nigerian alliance of the oppressed that we can dismantle the chains of this unjust order and forge a truly people-oriented Federal Union. Nigeria is bleeding, but it is not dead. We are battered, but we are not broken. The soul of our nation cries out for justice, and it is our duty to answer that call — not tomorrow, not next year, but now. Let this meeting today be more than a talk shop. Let it be a recommitment to our cause. Let us leave here ready to organize, ready to resist, and ready to build a genuinely restructured Federal Union that truly belongs to all. *REJECT ETHNIC DIVISION : YORUBA-IGBO UNITY IS ESSENTIAL* Comrades, we must now speak on a dangerous poison that is being deliberately fed to our people — the ethnic profiling and scapegoating of Ndigbo in Lagos. This is not just an issue of morality; it is a strategic political deception that must be exposed and destroyed. Let it be said clearly and without apology: the Igbo are not the enemies of the Yoruba in Lagos. The narrative that pits us against each other is not from the grassroots — it is manufactured from the top, from those who benefit from our disunity. It is no coincidence that each time elections approach, there is a sudden surge in anti-Igbo rhetoric. This is not grassroots anger; this is elite manipulation. And we must call it by its name. The failed and still failing political dynasty of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is playing the ethnic card — not for the progress of the Yoruba nation, not for the good of Lagos, but simply to score cheap, undeserved electoral victories. Since 1999, Yoruba have ruled Lagos under this so-called dynasty. For 26 years, they have controlled the treasury. If Lagos is broken today, it is not the fault of Ndigbo — it is the fault of those who have looted Lagos dry. Ask yourselves: * Who has held the keys to the Lagos State treasury for a quarter of a century? * Who awards inflated contracts without completion? * Who enriches cronies while public schools rot and hospitals decay? * Who turned Lagos into a political empire while the masses suffer in traffic, slums, and insecurity? * It is not the Igbo trader at Alaba or the mechanic in Ojo. It is the so-called custodians of Yoruba interest who only remember they are Yoruba when it is time to divide the poor. Let it be known: the real enemy of Lagosians is not any ethnic group. It is the corrupt political elite — Yoruba by name but anti-Yoruba by action — who have held this state by the jugular. Lagos has been run like a private estate — with no transparency, no accountability, and no shame. We must reject this divide-and-rule tactic. Yoruba and Igbo, Hausa and Ijaw, must unite in Lagos and across Nigeria — not as ethnic blocs but as oppressed peoples facing the same hardship, ruled by the same class of exploiters. * We must say NO to ethnic profiling. * We must say NO to election-time hate campaigns. * We must say NO to being used and dumped. Our unity is our weapon, and our solidarity is our strength. CDHR ! My Right is my right, is my right!!! Comrade Wale Balogun August 10, 2025 Lagos, Nigeria

Tinubu cannot silence dissent as Democracy thrives on dialogue, not detention- FEDERAL WORKERS FORUM

Federal Workers Forum Calls for the Unconditional Release of Omoyele Sowore The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) strongly condemns the continued detention of Comrade Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), and demands his immediate and unconditional release. Comrade Sowore is currently held on charges instituted and investigated by the Office of the Inspector General of Police, which, upon critical examination, remain untenable and politically motivated. The fact that the same office serving as accuser also assumes the role of investigator raises serious questions about fairness, impartiality, and due process. It is ironic and unacceptable that Sowore—a citizen who has boldly advocated for better welfare, improved working conditions, and retirement benefits for serving and retired police officers—is now being punished by the same system he sought to improve. His calls were never criminal; they were a patriotic push for reform in the Nigeria Police Force Rather than clamp down on constructive criticism and advocacy, the Inspector General of Police and other relevant stakeholders in the security sector should have welcomed Sowore’s proposals and engaged in meaningful dialogue to implement needed reforms. The Federal Workers Forum stands in unwavering solidarity with Comrade Sowore and views his detention as part of a disturbing trend of repression against voices of justice, equity, and progress. We therefore demand: The unconditional release of Omoyele Sowore A public explanation from the Office of the IGP regarding the legal basis for his detention and others An immediate halt to the use of state institutions to stifle advocacy and reform Urgent attention to the demands for better welfare and retirement packages for officers of the Nigeria Police Force Democracy thrives on dialogue, not detention. Nigeria cannot afford to continue silencing those who speak for justice and institutional reform. Signed: Comrade Itoro Obong (National sec.) Comrade Razak Oseni (National P. R. O) Comrade Ogundele John (National Ass P. R.O) Comrade Lazarus Bur (Head of protest coordinarion)

Ebun Adebusoye exposed her ignorance and hatred because Sowore always speaks his mind loudly and clearly...when issue of humanity and principled activism is involved. - Adeola Soetan

TEACHER , DON'T TEACH US NONSENSE. By : Adeola Soetan "Madam Tribal Bigot, I'm surprised you didn't express this your fake Yoruba nationalism love when some terrorist Fulani herdsmen were sacking your ancestors, taking grazing land forcefully without payment, killing and maiming your Yoruba kings, fathers, mothers youths and farmers. You kept quiet like your rogue leaders because of politics of appeasement and indulgence for power transfer from Seriki Integrity Buhari at the risk of the lives of your people you now claimed to love. Laughable! Duplicitous moralists. Selective Yoruba nationalism". I'M A Quick Response to a dangerous prowling ethnic bigot, Mrs. Ebunola Adebusoye. Deputy Women's Leader, Indigenous Lagos Teachers Association. Mrs Ebunola Adebusoye has just written as an uncultured, uncivilized, intolerant Yoruba person lacking sound Yoruba wisdom and intellect. Yoruba accommodate divergent opinions on issues and respect views because they don't subscribe to enslavement by anyone. She's really not a democrat, an illiterate to civilization and democratic rights of expression she wrongly called Sowore. Well, may be Sowore didn't win and can't win election according to her, because he's not a drug baron, a certificate forger, an identity thief with no identifiable root. May be Sowore is not a grand looter of a state and offered himself post - office looting for life pensions running into billions of naira to buy voters and their conscience, rig elections and unleash thugs on the people. May be that's why Sowore can't win and unconscientious people like Ebun can't and won't vote for Sowore but would prefer to vote, serve and be enslaved by desperate moral wrecks. Madam & her supporters should know that democracy allows freedoms of choice, opinions on all issues including naming and renaming streets and bus stops done with sincerity or with vendetta. Oh ye pretenders to "One Nigeria" the "Unity of Nigeria is not negotiable" at daytime but senseless ethnic bigots with violent mind at night and by actions should come out plain that you are spreading ethnic hatred that may lead to terrible ethnic war just because Igbo are exercising their independent right of choice on who to vote for. That's a universal right and no one should be punished for that. Perhaps if they had voted for your morally bankrupt leader (s) as they did in 1999, this renewed ethnic hostility won't occur. It's when totalitarian unprincipled leaders failed to perform that they cling to ethnic, religious straw & gangsterism to divert attention from concrete socio-economic problems to pedestrian sentiments. Ask yourselves, why is it that it's only when Janduku, unprincipled moral scoundrels without character & integrity are in power in Lagos and in Nigeria that they always resort to dangerous ethnic & religious hatred to divert attention. I have been in Lagos since 1976 - 1978, ethnic hostility was not noticeable during Jakande who popularly declared on his swearing in day that "Lagos is no man's land". Not because Jakande was saying Lagos has no root, no indigenous people, Awori & Benin early settlers. But because as a scrupulous man of high ideals like many other members of his political group led by Chief Obafemi Awowolo, with focus on collective development among tribes and foreigners, he understood that development knows no tribe or religious bias. Also because Jakande appreciated the traditional and historical status of Lagos as a colony, federal capital territory that has enjoyed full support of the indigenous people, all Nigerians across tribes & ethnic regions and by foreign nationals and multinational companies. That's what Abuja as a federal capital is enjoying now with contributions to its development by the federal government, by all citizens across ethnic nationalities of Nigeria and foreigners. Will Gbari indigenous people of Abuja now claim tomorrow that Abuja exclusively belongs to them? That will be very insincere of them because "Abuja is now a no man's land" literally speaking. When Jakande declared Lagos as a "no man's land" now being wrongly attributed to Igbo people, the best governor of Lagos only wanted a Lagos for all and he started building Lagos into a state of pride for all. It may interest you that despite these remarkable achievements in many legacy projects yet to be surpassed, Baba Jakande never engaged in primitive accumulation of Lagos wealth and property like your morally and character deficient corrupt leaders. Nothing like ethnic blackmail during Governor Otedola, or during any military administrator of Lagos. . It's only when janduku politicians many of whom are not even original Omo Eko (Lagosians) come to power that a resort to ethnic war comes to play. I'm a proud Egbaman and a Yoruba man to the core. I don't have any problem with Igbo, Hausa-Fulani, Ijaw etc. I don't nurse any inferiority or superiority complex. I have done biz and have romantic affairs with ladies from different tribes and I don't see any hatred in them to me and vice varsa. So, if you have wahala with Igbo, that's your personal headache. Don't drag Yoruba who are also suffering same economic hardship if not more than Igbo, Fulani and other tribes because a harsher and more roguish heartless member of a rogue anti-people capitalist class is unleashing IMF - World Bank neo-liberal economic policies of subsidy removal, devaluation, deregulation, commercialisation of all social infrastructure and privatization of our commonwealth into private hands and fronts. I'm educated and civilized not to be deceived by any member of the corrupt ruling capitalist class across ethnic regions using ethnic or religious bait for me to consolidate their totalitarian power. Only fools and crazy automated Abobakus will fall for that because the criminal ruling class is one when looting and patronage is the subject. Whatever good or bad Charly Boy did at Gbagada he did it as a gifted canterkerous man not on behalf of Igbo or because he's Igbo. Just like the good, the bad and the ugly things Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Abami Eda, Onile Orisa of Afrika did in Ikeja including battle with his landlord and owing the Benite family for years because of major disagreement till Fela died. He did all as Fela a weird philosopher king, great artiste, he didn't do those things because of Yoruba or because he was Yoruba. So why hanging all Igbo with your expressed hatred for Igbo because of Charly boy and few others? Madam Tribal Bigot, I'm surprised you didn't express this your fake Yoruba nationalism love when some terrorist Fulani herdsmen were sacking your ancestors, taking grazing land forcefully without payment, killing and maiming your Yoruba kings, fathers, mothers youths and farmers. You kept quiet like your rogue leaders because of politics of appeasement and indulgence for power transfer from Seriki Integrity Buhari at the risk of the lives of your people you now claimed to love. Laughable! Duplicitous moralists. Selective Yoruba nationalism. No street or bus stop was named after Fela but when going to his house, just tell any Olokada and n Ikeja that you are going to "Ile Fela" or Kalakuta Republic, you are there immediately. Why are you exposing your ignorance and hatred for Sowore and how Sahara Reporters is being funded because he always speaks his mind loudly and clearly because he has no friend, no foe when issue of humanity and principled activism is involved. He just led the protest by frustrated retired policemen & women. Where were you then? Where were you when Sowore led democratic struggles including June 12 and where were you when Sowore led campaign against killings and police /military brutality? Ask DSS who investigated Sowore and his Sahara Reporters, at least he was arrested, tortured, thoroughly investigated, illegally detained and persecuted for 3 years under Seriki Integrity Buhari regime and NOTHING implicating was found on him. If you are not satisfied, please commence your own investigation. Or goggle it to know how SH is funded. It's an open secret Sowore has revealed many times to the press. Madam Ebun, you claimed to be a Teacher with this your embarrassing "Alatika - Serekode Bolekaja" undignified mentality and spurious claims? That's interesting. Ebun means Gift in English language. Definitely, you must be a bad gift to the noble teaching profession. Madam Teacher, Don't Teach Us Nonsense. Adeola Soetan 08037207856

Police hunt for Comrade Wale Balogun for supporting opposition candidates in Lagos LG elections

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS : COMRADE WALE UNDER THREAT OF POLICE ARREST.* - Daisi Ogunniyi The July 12th Local Government elections in Lagos state is becoming worrisome with the threat to arrest a community leader in Yaba LCDA, Comrade Wale Balogun, leader of Mekunnu Koya. Comrade Balogun crime is said to be his support for the candidates of opposition political parties in Lagos state particularly, Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency. He had warned political thugs of the ruling party not to repeat the anti democratic practice in which a well known political thug Murtala Rahman aka Muri Cooordinator and his gang snatched ballot boxes at Saint Dominic, Sabo, during the 2023 general elections. Evidence of this was on tape He was also said to have appeal for a Non-violence process of One Man, One Vote. In spite of this, eligible voters in Adekunle - WARD A, Abule Ọja - WARD D, Abule Ijesha - WARD i, Iwaya - WARD - F and G, and Makoko - B, all in Yaba LCDA are being threatened not vote for opposition parties or dare the consequences. Security reports shows that a tactical team directly from the Lagos State Commissioner of Police office have linked up with the SCID Panti Yaba, to effect Comrade Wale Balogun's arrest. However, the fearless pro-democracy activist is in the neighborhood and remains undaunted. In a related development, the Councillorship candidate of PDP, Babatunde Dosunmu is said to be under threat of attack by APC thugs or being arrested on trumphed up charges.

The "rat race” for political power in Nigeria is borne out of selfishness, greed for power, opportunism, sycophancy, kleptocracy, corruption and despotism

2027 Election: A Rat Race, Chess Game In Nigeria’s Distraught Polity Opinion & Interviews By David ADENEKAN On Jul 9, 2025 The two phrases; ‘a rat race’ and ‘a chess game’ are intertwined and entangled in the same end game, the prowess to capture political power or position. In a very simple narrative; “a rat race” is a way of life in which people are caught up in a fiercely competitive struggle for wealth or power. Similarly, the goal of a chess game is to capture the opponent’s King by placing it in “checkmate.” When one player’s King is in check (under attack) and there is no legal way for it to escape on the next move, that’s checkmate. Emphatically, it is called checkmate and signifies the end of the game; a new power bloc has emerged. Prejudice apart and without mincing words, the phenomenon of politics of “a rat race” in the Nigeria polity, is borne out of selfishness, greed for power, opportunism, sycophancy, kleptocracy, corruption and despotism (naked power). Truth be told, this is a compendium of what we are witnessing in today’s Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general election. Historically, our experience of a politics of “a rat race” since our independence on October 1, 1960 is limitless in deadlocks that have forestalled a trajectory for a true nation building. The military incursion into our democracy led by General Mohammadu Buhari (rtd) in 1983 to almost the end of twentieth century in 1999 continues to plunge the country into a myriad of socio-political economic problems of “a rat race politics” that seems not to have a dead-end. The reality of this rat race’s anomaly is that, a country whose foundation is not built on fairness, equity and justice, cannot stand the test of time. The issue of north/south dichotomy, vis-a-vis; the northern hegemony will continue to underscore the bane of our so-called unity in diversity. Understandably, today in Nigeria, power has changed hands and to the political elites in the north. It is no longer Northern hegemony. To them, it is unsavory southern hegemony and the new political slogan of some elites in the north may be that, power must change hands by fire by force, back to the north. It is noteworthy to say that, it is only two years of the miserable economic policies of a southern President; Bola Ahmed Tinubu and some elites in the north seem ready to burn down the roof of the house to return a northerner back to the centre of power in Aso Rock Villa.