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Illegal land allocation: Abiodun inaugurates Judicial Commission of Inquiry
Illegal land allocation: Abiodun inaugurates Judicial Commission of Inquiry
-cautions members against inducement
By Olorunfemi Adejuyigbe
Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun has inaugurated a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to undertake a comprehensive review, analysis, and investigation of land allocation, documentation and general land dealings in the State for the past eleven years.
A statement issued by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin in Abeokuta on Thursday said the inauguration of the 8-member Commission was done on Wednesday evening.
According to the statement the Commission head by Justice S.A Olugbemi (Rtd), Chairman has three months, in the first instance; to carry out its assignment.
The other members of the Commission are a lagal practitioner, Adetunji Onabowo; a former Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Awolowo Ajogun; the Chairman, Ethics Committee, Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Oyebanji Akinhanmi; an estate valuer, Toyin Aluko and a representative of the Directorate of State Services (DSS), in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Speaking at the inauguration on Wednesday, the governor emphasized the important role of land in the economic development of any nation.
Abiodun highlighted its mandates to include unraveling the circumstances surrounding rampant illegal land transactions that have been carried out in the Ogun State land
allocation MDAs; identify and unravel all illegal land transactions that have taken place to date; identify all perpetrators involved in any discovered illegal dealings.
He added that Commission of Inquiry is also to receive and investigate general complaints from the public around land acquisition and documentation in Ogun State; make recommendations to curb bottlenecks, delays, and corruption in land acquisition and documentation in Ogun State; unravel various sums of money involved in the illegal dealings, identify the value of government loss, and recommend methods of recovery.
The governor further charged the Commission to recommend necessary punishment to be meted out to erring person(s); suggest ways to curb or forestall re-occurrence of any identified illegalities or inefficiencies; and, make any other suggestions and recommendations that could assist the state government in all other related matters.
He, however, noted that the members of the Commission are people of high integrity who are also experts in land matters and are not expected to yield to inducement or blackmail of any kind, assuring them of government support.
“I have authorised the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade SAN; and, all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to provide the required support – personnel and material – that the Commission will need to perform its task.
“In our own peculiar situation, land is our gold. It is our crude oil and thus plays a crucial role in our Administration’s “Building our Future Together” Agenda. This is more especially in the areas of agricultural production and industrialisation; affordable housing and urban renewal; rural- infrastructural development as well as employment generation.
“For us in Ogun State, providence has been very good to us and blessed us with a land mass of approximately 16,762km2. The land is rich with abundant and commercially viable mineral resources such as limestone, bitumen, granite, mica, clay, feldspar, silica sand, gypsum, kaolin, shale, phosphate, quartz, sillimanite, gemstones, etc. The land is also suitable for different agricultural and agro-processing industries”, he stated.
Quoting a data released by the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) on the production of goods nationwide across 14 industrial zones, Abiodun said Lagos and Ogun States are responsible for about 86% of all goods manufactured in Nigeria from January till May of this year translating to about ₦3.2 trillion worth of goods, while Ogun State accounted for ₦867.3 billion as of May.
He noted that by the end of the year, goods worth more than one trillion naira would have been produced in the state.
According to the governor, “we have achieved this by marketing, protecting, and transforming the vast and arable land that we are blessed with in Ogun State. We cannot afford that all these are wished away by the activities of a few dishonest people. These achievements must be supported by transparent, modern, and informed policymaking. We must identify any threats to these achievements, then take proactive effective steps to neutralise those threats and consolidate on our achievements”.
Speaking, Chairman of the Commission, Retired Justice Olugbemi, assured that his members would do their best to unravel all illegal and improper allocations of land as stipulated in the Commission’s term of reference.
He said the Commission at the end of its assignment would make recommendations that would lead to greater ease of doing business in the state, assuring that the report would also move the atate to greater height in the use of land for economic purposes.
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
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Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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