News
Coalition Urges EFCC To Charge Ex-Chairman, Bawa, To Court
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been called upon to arraign its former chairman, Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, in court over multiple corruption allegations against him.
The Coalition of Activists Against Corruption in Nigeria (CAACIN) issued this charge in a statement in Kaduna yesterday.
In the statement signed by the coalition’s spokesperson, Comrade Ahmed Aliyu, the Department of State Services (DSS) was also challenged to make public the report of their investigation into the over four-month detention and interrogation of the erstwhile EFCC Boss in their custody in 2023.
“It is not possible to detain a man of his calibre for five months for nothing. We invite the DSS to open the report of their findings. The EFCC and DSS were also aware of multiple corruption allegations against Bawa. Nigerians can’t afford to let these be swept under the carpet,” the statement read.
The coalition’s call comes barely three days after a group, Citizens Forum for Transparency and Integrity (CFTI), in a statement by its president, Alhaji Aminu Mustapha Gidado, in Lagos, accused Bawa of working secretly with opposition figures to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In what the group described as “coordinated and sinister,” move the CFTI alleged that Bawa recently met with key opposition figures in London, where discussions were held on using his former contacts within the EFCC to target four serving ministers in Tinubu’s cabinet.
While reacting yesterday, the Coalition of Activists Against Corruption in Nigeria also frowned at the rationale behind keeping the ex-chairman’s appointees and close allies in the Commission two years after he was sacked.
The coalition said, “It does not make any sense to keep the appointees and close allies of a man who was severally accused of embezzlement, fraud, bribery and other corrupt practices in the system. It is as good as still having the corrupt man in the system. Aside from the fact that the system will remain corrupted by them, it’s also a simple logic that the ex-chairman could use them to sabotage the commission and the government.
“Keeping those Bawa appointed or employed in his two-year sway in the commission is just to say that the EFCC is sitting on a time bomb, as it would only take time for his loyalists to begin sabotaging the fight against corruption and rubbish the integrity of Tinubu’s anti-corruption stance.
“It is on this note that we demand that the DSS should make the public report of their investigation available. The EFCC should, as a matter of urgent necessity, charge Abdulrasheed Bawa to court. The Commission should also purge itself by showing those Bawa brought in, the way out.”
It would be recalled that President Tinubu suspended Abdulrasheed Bawa as acting chairman of the EFCC in June 2023, exactly two weeks after he took office. The DSS subsequently picked him up the same day and detained him in the Yellow House for 134 days, without giving the reason for his arrest or disclosing the result of their investigation.
Several credible media houses within and outside the country have reported stories about the former EFCC boss’ alleged embezzlement of public funds. Many organisations, including the North Central Citizens Council (NCCC), have also called for a full investigation into the allegations levelled against Bawa, even when he was still in office.
One of the allegations was that the former chairman expended $300,000 on hotels and other activities, which is far beyond his income as a civil servant, while still in the office, during a visit to Mecca with his family on a lesser Hajj.
There were also reports that Bawa was probed by the current EFCC Chief, Ola Olukoyede, in 2019 over alleged sales of seized assets worth over N4.8 billion while Bawa was overseeing the Lagos Zonal Office of the commission, though the EFCC refuted this claim in 2021.
In his last days as governor of Zamfara State, Mallam Bello Matawalle, had also, during an interview with the BBC Hausa in May 2023, accused Bawa of demanding a bribe of two million dollars from him.
“If he exits the office, people will surely know he is not an honest person. I have evidence against him. Let him vacate the office. I am telling you that within 10 seconds, probably more than 200 people will bring evidence of bribes he collected from them. He knows what he requested from me, but I declined.
“He requested a bribe of two million dollars from me, and I have evidence of this. He knows the house where we met, he invited me and told me the conditions. He told me the governors were going to his office, but I did not. If I don’t have evidence, I won’t say this,” the governor said in the interview.
-Leadership
Entertainment
Davido breaks silence after Grammy Award loss
Five-time Grammy nominee, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has reacted after losing the Best African Music Performance category at the 68th Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles, United States.
The Afrobeats star shared a message of faith and resilience following the outcome of the ceremony, which took place on Sunday night at the Crypto.com Arena in California.
In a post on his Instagram page, Davido shared photos with his wife, Chioma, from the event and wrote, “Oluwa Dey my side,” alongside prayer and music emojis.
Hours later, he posted another set of pictures of himself and Chioma at the Grammys, reflecting on the loss in a longer caption.
“I said baby listen we lost again let’s not go ! she said ‘Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat’ we outside,” he wrote.
Chioma also reacted via her Instagram page, praising the singer, “You already know that you’re the perfect one, @davido,” she wrote, while sharing photos from the awards night.
Davido was nominated in the Best African Music Performance category at the 2026 Grammy Awards but lost to South African singer Tyla, who won with her song Push 2 Start.
Other nominees in the category included Burna Boy (Love), Ayra Starr and Wizkid (Gimme Dat), Davido (With You featuring Omah Lay), and Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin (Hope & Love).
The win marked Tyla’s second Grammy Award, following her first victory in 2024 for her hit single Water.
Speaking during the awards ceremony, the singer revealed that With You, featuring Omah Lay, almost did not make the final tracklist of his album 5IVE.
“Man, it’s so crazy because that song almost didn’t make the album. With You was not in anybody’s top five.
“And now look at it go. Every time I was performing it, my heart would just start beating like, what if I didn’t put this song?” he told OkayAfrica.
Davido also recounted how he learned about the Grammy nomination, saying the news came unexpectedly while he was in Dubai, days before his birthday.
“I was in the car, actually, checking a car, and then my phone rang. They were like, ‘Oh yeah, another nomination.’ I was like, wow. Thank God,” he said.
“With You” was released in April 2025 as the 17th track on Davido’s fifth studio album, 5IVE, and has since become one of his most successful recent records, surpassing 100 million streams on Spotify.
Despite the song’s success, Nigeria did not record a win at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
Davido said he is now focused on touring and releasing new music.
He is also billed to perform at Coachella 2026, where he will be the only Nigerian artiste on the festival lineup, performing on April 11 and April 18, 2026, in Indio, California.
-Guardian
Entertainment
Kunle Afolayan gives reasons to marry many women
Nollywood filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan, has stirred reactions after advising men to “marry many women” while reflecting on his upbringing in a polygamous home.
The actor and producer made the remarks at the watch party of Aníkúlápó: The Ghoul Awakens, with a clip from the event going viral on Tuesday.
Speaking at the event, Afolayan linked his existence and achievements to his late father’s decision to marry several wives.
“Without my father, there wouldn’t have been a KAP Village or even Kunle Afolayan. I am the seventh born of my father because my father had ten wives. For the men, marry many women, or rather be involved with many women. You know why? If my father didn’t, he would not have born me, and that is the honest truth. But today, a few of us are lifting his legacy. Life is short, death is constant. Nobody has life forever. Everybody has a period. Use your period,” he said.
While his daughter, Eyiyemi Afolayan, joined him on stage, the filmmaker compared his childhood experience with his relationship with his children.
“They are lucky. For her, staying by my side is luck. Do you know why? I couldn’t stand it with my father. My father didn’t know my school. My father didn’t know my date of birth. He did not know anything about me other than, ‘He is the son of that person.’ But today, I’m so proud of my father,” he added.
Afolayan also spoke about fatherhood.
“Sometimes when people say ‘Happy Father’s Day,’ I’m always saying whether he pays child support or not, he’s still a father. I have been going to court because I want to get a divorce. I don’t mind being in the witness box, and I experienced the shit, so that I can marry many wives,” he said.
He thereafter prayed for his daughter, praising her role in the series.
“Hephzibah, her mother is the one who gave her the name. I don’t care, but I am proud of you. You started with the film, you did the first season, and now with the second season, you did amazingly well. My good Lord will continue to increase you in wisdom, in knowledge, and in understanding. If this is your path, the good Lord will see you through.”
However, this is not the first time the filmmaker has spoken about his late father’s polygamous lifestyle.
In March 2021, Afolayan told BBC Pidgin that his father, Adeyemi Afolayan, who died in 1996, married 10 wives and had 25 children, a decision he said took a toll on the family.
“I would not want to marry many wives because my father had 10 wives and I knew what happened throughout that period. I knew that really distracted my father. In this age, nobody needs to tell you before you know what’s right,” he said at the time.
He also disclosed that growing up in a polygamous home affected bonding among the children due to language and other barriers.
Afolayan further narrated how he battled poverty in his early years, revealing that he once lived in a one-room apartment in Ebute-Metta and sometimes had to deal with flooding.
“I was born in Ebute-Metta and have lived in one-room apartment before that we even have to grapple with flood sometimes. It’s not shame to say have been poor before. But if you see how l made it, it’s a matter of consistency. My father was a very popular filmmaker and ordinarily, people would expect me to life the kind of live akin to Hollywood stars,” he said.
“But that wasn’t the case. How would one live such life when you’re living in a room with ten women. That doesn’t mean there was no love among us.”
He had advised young filmmakers to start with the little resources available to them while working towards their dreams.
-Guardian
Article
Court adjourns Ganduje’s corruption trial to April 15
A Kano State High Court has adjourned until April 15 the trial of former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Umar, and son, Abdullahi Umar, alongside five other defendants, over alleged misappropriation of public funds amounting to billions of naira.
The defendants are facing an 11-count charge bordering on bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds. The remaining accused persons are Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lasage General Enterprises Ltd.
At the resumed hearing, the prosecution told the court it was ready to proceed and drew attention to a motion dated November 24, 2025, seeking leave to file additional proof of evidence.
However, defence lawyers raised objections, informing the court that multiple applications were pending and must be resolved before the trial could continue.
Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, counsel to some of the defendants, said the defence had filed a motion dated July 17, 2025, seeking a stay of proceedings.
Adekunle Taiye-Falola, representing the third and seventh defendants, also referred to a separate motion dated May 23, 2025.
In addition, Muhammad Shehu, counsel to the fifth defendant, told the court that an affidavit had been filed notifying it of a pending application for stay of proceedings before the Court of Appeal.
Abubakar Ahmad, counsel to the sixth defendant, informed the court that he had filed a notice of preliminary objection and an application for extension of time to respond on points of law dated February 2, urging the court to fix a date for hearing.
Only Faruk Asekome, counsel to the eighth defendant, indicated readiness to proceed with the trial.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the presiding judge, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, adjourned the matter to April 15 for the hearing of all pending applications and preliminary objections.
The trial has suffered repeated delays due to legal challenges. The high court had earlier dismissed preliminary objections raised by the defence as “incompetent” and affirmed its jurisdiction to hear the case.
That ruling was appealed by the defendants, who argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. However, in October 2025, the Kano Division of the Court of Appeal struck out the appeal, citing failure to properly transmit the record of appeal.
-Guardian
-
Article10 months ago5 Life Lessons from Manchester City EPL Current woes
-
Sports10 months agoLiverpool Announce Jürgen Klopp Return To The Club
-
Business10 months agoMTN Teams Up With Meta To Boost WhatsApp Call Quality
-
News10 months agoCommonwealth Observers Prepare For Gabon Presidential Election
-
Article10 months agoPonzi Scheme CEO Francis Uju Udoms of Addfx Case still Unresolved Despite SEC certification
-
News10 months agoChibok Girls: 11 Years Of Anguish, Broken Promises
-
News8 months agoNASRE Promises Support To Daily Times Group Business Editor, Oseni, Over Serious Road Accident
-
News10 months agoWike’s Enviable Road Construction Method along Nyanya- Maraba Highway
