Eight intriguing stories from last week

From politics to the courts, from crime to social media, and even to the bedroom, Nigerian stories that emerged last week ranged from the curious to the incredulous, the puzzling, and the dubious.

Benue State announced that “Her Excellency Mrs. Scholastica Ben‑Sor” would serve as “Coordinator, Office of the First Lady,” a first in the state’s public‑service history. Benue has had no First Lady since May 2023 because Governor Hyacinth Alia, a Roman Catholic Reverend Father, has sworn an oath of priestly celibacy and has no wife. A similar situation occurred from January 1992 to November 1993 when Governor Moses Adasu, also a priest, left the state without a First Lady. When First Lady Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu visited Benue last Friday, the state government decided to appoint a shadow First Lady to receive her, an idea borrowed from Malawi. During President Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s long reign, which ended in 1994, Malawi had no First Lady and instead appointed Miss Cecilia Kadzamira as Official Hostess, a role that carried the duties, powers, and privileges of a First Lady.

Politicians in Nigeria are already preparing for the 11th National Assembly, which will be elected early next year and inaugurated in June. A contest for the Senate Presidency has begun. Godswill Akpabio has changed Senate rules to disqualify two likely challengers, Adams Oshiomhole and Hope Uzodinma. Akpabio assumes he will be re‑elected in Akwa Ibom, that the APC will secure a majority, that President Bola Tinubu will be re‑elected, that the Senate Presidency will be re‑zoned to the South‑South, and that most of the incoming senators will reward him for aligning the 10th Senate with the Presidency. These are many assumptions.

Last week, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) adopted a new anti‑defection policy requiring all its candidates to sign indemnity forms and sworn affidavits pledging not to defect to another party after election. The party said the measure would strengthen discipline, promote loyalty, and curb the wave of defections that has weakened several parties. However, the NDC exempted its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and running mate, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, from signing the oath. Both men have switched parties many times—Obi from APGA to PDP to Labour Party to ADC to NDC; Kwankwaso from PDP to nPDP to APC to PDP to NNDP to NDC—raising questions about the exemption.

In London, a Southwark Crown Court jury acquitted former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison‑Madueke of all six bribery and corruption charges. The UK National Crime Agency had accused her of receiving over £100,000 in cash, millions in luxury goods, Harrods shopping sprees, and private jet flights from oil and gas figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria. The jury found her and two co‑defendants not guilty. Her acquittal after 13 years offers hope to other Nigerians facing mega‑corruption charges, such as former Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiyya Umar Faruk, who was recently declared wanted by the EFCC.

On social media, a Facebook storm erupted over Fatima, a young woman from Yobe who is the daughter of the late Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau. The controversy centers on the fact that no one is willing to marry her because of her father’s crimes. The law states that no one is punished for another’s guilt, yet some argue that she may be judged by association. This concern is amplified by a recent Federal High Court conviction in Abuja, where the mother and sister of former bandit kingpin Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo were sentenced to forty years each for passing information to Battujo and for concealing his firearms. The court also discharged them for receiving money and for traveling to Saudi Arabia on a Hajj sponsored by Battujo.

In Plateau State, a State High Court ruled that a Hausa woman born and raised in Jos North Local Government Area should be recognized as an indigene. Justice C. Donglong ordered the issuance of a Certificate of Indigene to Fatima Baba Akawu, who had been denied one. The ruling was praised by the Hausa community but criticized by the Berom Educational and Cultural Organisation, Middle Belt Forum, and former Governor Jonah Jang. The case highlights the tension between constitutional citizenship and locally defined indigeneeship, a source of conflict in many parts of Nigeria. While citizenship allows anyone to reside and exercise rights anywhere in the country, an indigeneship certificate is often required for school admission or civil service employment. Plateau State’s past law listed only certain tribes as indigenous, denying certificates to others, a practice courts alone cannot resolve.

In Lagos, Justice Oluwatoyin Odusanya of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, ended a five‑year dispute over the estate of late First Foundation Hospital CEO Dr. Tosin Ajayi by declaring Mrs. Adenike Ajayi the sole lawful widow. Former beauty queen Helen Prest had argued that the couple had been separated for a long period before Ajayi’s death in 2020, and that separation had legally terminated the marriage. The court held that prolonged separation does not automatically end a marriage; a legally contracted marriage remains valid under the Matrimonial Causes Act unless formally dissolved through court‑ordered divorce proceedings.

While the ruling aligns with legal principles, many tradition‑bound Nigerians may question what else ends a marriage if a couple lives apart for years. The court’s decision may prompt people to reconsider how they approach marriage, inheritance, and the legal recognition of marital status.