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‘I’m entitled to $800M compensation for unlawful detention’ – Nnamdi Kanu

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Lawyer Cries Out Over Fear Of Kanu Contacting Tuberculosis In Jail Prince Mandela Umegborogu, one of the lawyers of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has bitterly complained over the alleged relocation of a tuberculosis inmate near Kanu’s cell at the Abuja headquarters of the Department of State Services, DSS. Kanu’s lawyer who spoke with Vanguard after a routine visit to the IPOB Leader on Monday expressed deep worry over the grave health implications of having a tuberculosis patient in one’s environment. He said that Kanu was highly enraged about the sad development which he alleged could be a deliberate attempt to infest him with an infectious disease. ”I met with Mazi Nnamdi Kanu today (Monday) at the DSS headquarters in Abuja, and he was complaining to me that they brought somebody suffering from tuberculosis close to his cell block. ”The patient, Emeribe Uduma was arrested in Ohafia on September 15, 2022 , and handed over to the DSS which brought him to Abuja. “Onyendu (Kanu) complained to me that that boy was suffering from tuberculosis and that he was moved near his cell block so that he would infest him and others with tuberculosis. ”You know that tuberculosis is very infectious. Do they want to infest him so he will die in detention? ”Onyendu also told me that he ( Kanu) was yesterday ( Sunday) bleeding from his nose. He requires serious attention by his personal physician.” The lawyer further said that when DSS officials came to fetch Kanu after their meeting, he raised the same complaint before them but they denied having any tuberculosis inmates around the facility. ”When we finished discussing and some DSS personnel came to take him back to his cell he raised the matter before them. ”He told them that it is immoral and inhuman to do certain things even if it’s an order from above. He told them to have a sense of their own and refuse to obey instructions that are inhuman and illegal. ”I also confronted them and told them it was wrong to bring a tuberculosis patient close to people especially those in confinement where you don’t have ventilation. But they said they had tested everybody and nobody had tuberculosis but Onyendu told them it’s a lie”. Reacting to the development, Kanu’s family has called on the international community to prevail on the Nigeria Authorities not to allow Kanu to die in detention. The family which spoke through Prince Emmanuel Kanu expressed worry over the development and renewed the call for his release in compliance with various court orders. ” They should bear in mind that Kanu is an innocent man who has been set free by the Court. Any plan to bring him down through infectious disease should be dropped. The international community should prevail on Nigeria to ensure nothing happens to him”. Meanwhile, efforts to reach the DSS were unsuccessful as the secret police Spokesman could not be accessed as at the time of filing this report.

 

 

The leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has said that despite being granted bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja where he is being prosecuted alongside others on charges of treasonable felony, he is still entitled to the $800m compensation for his alleged unlawful arrest and detention in 2015.

This is contained in his response to the motion filed by the Federal Government asking the Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States sitting in Abuja to dismiss a fundamental human rights enforcement suit filed by the IPOB leader.

Kanu had filed the suit on March 3, 2016 demanding $800m as compensation from the Federal Government for his alleged unlawful arrest in 2015 and detention.

But the Federal Government, through its lawyer, Mrs. Maimuna Shiru, filed its motion on November 13, stating that Kanu having been granted bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja on April 25, 2017, and allegedly jumped bail, the judgment of the ECOWAS Court on the suit would serve no purpose.

But Kanu, through his lawyer, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, objected to the Federal Government’s motion contending that granting bail to the IPOB leader was just a partial satisfaction of prayers sought in the suit.

He maintained that the ECOWAS Court had the power to grant his client the $800m compensation sought since the IPOB leader’s rights had been violated.

Ejiofor stated in his written address, “We submit therefore that the court has powers to order for payment of compensatory damages when found that the plaintiff’s right has been violated.”

 

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Dennis Ekamah Isn’t Building Houses—He’s Redefining What Home Means for Africans Through PropTech

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Dennis Ekamah Isn’t Building Houses—He’s Redefining What Home Means for Africans Through PropTech.

 

The founder of coHouse.ng is reimagining how millions of Africans access, experience, and share housing through technology.

 

In Africa’s rapidly evolving innovation landscape, the most transformative companies are no longer defined by the industries they enter, but by the systems they redesign.

 

For Dennis Ekamah, the opportunity was never about constructing buildings, it was about confronting a deeper question.

 

why is access to housing still so structurally difficult for millions of Africans in a digital age?

 

Rather than stepping into real estate as a developer. Dennis chose a different path, positioning coHouse.ng as a PropTech platform rethinking how housing is accessed, experienced, and shared. At the heart of this vision which is connecting potential home owners together via resource pooling for the purpose of either Living or Growth. Simply, *Connect. Live. Grow.*

 

*A Platform Not a Property Company*

 

coHouse.ng is not a real estate company. It is a technology-driven ecosystem connecting like-minded individuals into structured communities where they can live intentionally, invest collectively, and grow within a shared system.

 

From Insight to Recognition

 

In 2025, coHouse.ng was recognised among the Top 50 Tech Startups in Africa. Even ahead of its official launch, the platform attracted over 1,000 early waitlist users, individuals eager to be part of a new way of living and investing.

 

Solving for Access, Alignment, and Trust

 

Dennis Ekamah’s diagnosis goes deeper than supply shortfalls. The real barriers he argues are access, coordination, and trust. coHouse.ng tackles all three through identity verification powered by a third party verification system api. coHouse is not flying solo without the help and collaboration with government bodies across Nigeria and other African countries.

 

In his words;

“Imagine what you would achieve as an individual or group if you’re living with the right people or like-minded individuals around you.”

 

I’m not a developer, I’m not a professional realtor, I’m just someone who sees the need for this solution based on the problem we face as youth/young entrepreneurs in today’s housing deficiency across Africa.

— Dennis Ekamah

 

Join our waitlist by visiting www.cohouse.ng

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Landmark Judgment: Federal High Court Dismisses ₦50bn Oil Spill Claim Against ExxonMobil

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Landmark Judgment: Federal High Court Dismisses ₦50bn Oil Spill Claim Against ExxonMobil

 

The Federal High Court sitting in Uyo has dismissed a ₦50 billion lawsuit filed against ExxonMobil, sued as Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, now Seplat Energy Producing, in a ruling analysts say could significantly reshape oil spill litigation and compensation claims in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

Delivering judgment on April 29, 2026, Justice Onyetenu held that the suit instituted by the Ejige Ore Njenyisi Muma & Fishing Co-operative Society Ltd was incompetent and liable to dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

The plaintiffs had sought ₦50 billion in damages over an alleged hydrocarbon spill said to have occurred on September 12, 2021.

However, counsel to the defendant, Chinonso Ekuma of KENNA LP, successfully argued that the claimants failed to disclose any legally recognisable violation attributable to the oil firm.

In its findings, the court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish any actionable wrongdoing against the defendant.

A key element in the court’s decision was the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) Report tendered by the plaintiffs themselves, which showed that the alleged spill incident was confined within ExxonMobil’s operational facility and did not impact the members of the cooperative society or their sources of livelihood.

The court further ruled that claims arising from such incidents must be pursued strictly under the statutory compensation framework provided in Section 11(5) of the Oil Pipelines Act, rather than through common-law claims founded on negligence or nuisance.

Justice Onyetenu held that the plaintiffs’ attempt to circumvent the statutory regime by framing the suit as a tort action rendered the matter incompetent before the court, thereby depriving it of jurisdiction.

Legal analysts say the judgment reinforces the supremacy of the Oil Pipelines Act in determining compensation procedures relating to oil pipeline incidents and environmental claims in Nigeria.

The ruling is also seen as strengthening the evidential weight of Joint Investigation Visit Reports, particularly in cases where such reports indicate no direct impact on claimants or host communities.

Industry observers believe the judgment will have far-reaching implications for future oil spill litigation, especially regarding the procedural requirements for compensation claims against oil operators.

The court’s decision further provides clarity for operators within Nigeria’s energy sector by reaffirming that compliance with Section 11(5) of the Oil Pipelines Act is mandatory and cannot be sidestepped through alternative legal formulations.

While K.O. Uzuokwu appeared for the plaintiffs, the defence was led by Chinonso Ekuma of KENNA LP on behalf of ExxonMobil.

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Union Bank Honoured by ASBON at Nigeria National SME Business Awards

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Union Bank Honoured by ASBON at Nigeria National SME Business Awards

 

 

Lagos, Nigeria – Union Bank of Nigeria has reaffirmed its reputation as a strong supporter of Nigerian businesses, receiving the Best SME Growth Banking Initiatives Award for 2025 from the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON) at the Nigeria National SME Business Awards, held recently in Lagos.

The award was presented to the Bank in recognition of its strategic leadership in advancing the growth and resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises, through a differentiated suite of solutions designed to enable business expansion and long-term value creation.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Bank, Ayokunnumi Abraham, Head of SME Segment at Union Bank, described the recognition as a strong endorsement of the Bank’s commitment to supporting small and medium-sized businesses. He said:

“We are honoured to receive this recognition, which reflects Union Bank’s continued commitment to helping SMEs grow by making banking simpler, faster, and more accessible. Through enhancements to our specialised platforms such as Union360, we have meaningfully reduced the time it takes for businesses to come on board and begin transacting. These improvements have shortened onboarding, increased digital adoption among our SME customers, and supported the acquisition of new business clients. Our focus remains on delivering practical solutions that help Nigerian businesses thrive.”

Organised by ASBON in partnership with the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, the event convened stakeholders from the public and private sectors to recognise individuals and organisations driving meaningful impact across Nigeria’s SME ecosystem.

Union Bank remains focused on deepening its support for SMEs through customer-led solutions and processes that strengthen business growth across the ecosystem.

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