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Mrs Adepoju, Leave NIS alone and face your family matters- COYAC demands

Published

2 years ago

October 7, 2023

Since her appointment as Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mrs Carol Wura-ola Adepoju has continued to court controversies that tend to not only put the Service in bad light, but also affect the service from achieving its mandate.

Under her watch, the public rating of the NIS has fallen so low. Her actions do not allign with the renewed hope agenda of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Mrs Carol Wura-ola Adepoju appears to be a clog in the wheel of progress at the NIS.

To the surprise and dismay of officers and men of NIS, the husband of the Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has literally taken over the day-to-day running of the affairs of the NIS, as he is seen giving orders to, and beckoning on officers and men on a daily basis.

Mr Adepoju has gone the extra mile, by situating a permanent office for himself on the premises of the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, where he daily dishes out marching orders to officers and men. He is at the helms of affairs and runs the NIS, while his wife, Mrs Carol Wura-ola Adepoju (the Acting CG) is behind the scene.

It is on record, that the Acting CG has been bragging at every little opportunity to all and sundry that this is the turn of the Yoruba ethnic stock and that nothing can happen and that she is in control and, as such, threatens contractors alike, if any one of them refuses to tow her line.

She has nicknamed them “disloyal contractors.” She has, as well, boasted severally that, she will be confirmed as a substantive CG and given extension of service when, even the rank and file are aware that she has outlived her usefulness at the NIS.

It will be recalled that the Federal Character Commission (FCC) recently wrote a letter to the Ministry of Interior, informing the Ministry that she violated the Federal Character Commission’s extant rules of recruitment of candidates into the NIS and she has arbitrarily given employment to select people from her geo-political zone, not minding the query issued to her by the FCC..

It is in view of the above, that the attention of the Coalition of Youths Against Corruption (COYAC) and Good Governance Initiative (GGI) a prodemocracy, human rights and civil society group has been drawn to the unethical sharp practices been perpetrated currently by the leadership of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mrs Carol Wura-ola Adepoju, in the on-going recruitment of candidates into the service without due process; not following the Federal Character Commission (FCC) laid down rules of recruitment of candidates into the organization; the misappropriation of funds meant for foreign missions by the acting CG; the unethical procurement practices of spending tax payers’ money with her husband, particularly making sure that the husband is perpetually listed on the travel manual with her on every trip; approving unethical recruitment racketeering ring organized by one so-called Babangida and Nasiru, a self-acclaimed religious bigot always playing the religious card who sell out employment letters to cronies, friends and family members, instead of capable Nigerians seeking employment and enabling the bragging rights of the Acting CG who has consistently said she is going nowhere, whereas her three months extension has expired, despite knowing full well she is deficient in the management of the affairs of the NIS.

The Nigerian Immigration Service is a government agency mandated and saddled with responsibilities to control persons entering or leaving the country, issuance of travel documents to bona fide Nigerians at home and abroad, issuance of resident permits to foreigners in Nigeria, border surveillance and patrol and the enforcement of the above laws and regulations rests on its oars. Regrettably, since the advent of the incumbent administration under the leadership of Mrs Carol Wura-ola Adepoju, it has been observed by keen watchers that, the Nigeria Immigration Service has been bedeviled with poor leadership, cronyism, official high handedness, passport racketeering and poor border surveillance/patrol leading to the influx of illegal aliens exacerbating the poor security situation in the country.

In a press release made available to journalists in Lagos by the pressure group, the Coalition of Youths Against Corruption (COYAC) and signed by the President of COYAC, Mahmud Bello and National Coordinator (GGI), Com. Sani Ninjiba Sarki, the duo lamented that the Wura-ola Adepoju-led NIS has negated the core values of the organization by entrenching cronyism and sharing the slots of employments/recruitments to Nigerians between herself, a former Minister in charge of the Ministry of Interior and giving same to Mr Nasiru, an officer of the service to sell and use at will to favour some select few instead of making it available to majority of Nigerians.

Mahmud Bello and Com. Sani Ninjibi Sarki emphasized that “the Acting CG of the Nigeria Immigration Service has been entrenching her kinsmen and cronies in juicy positions at the detriment of quality service delivery and efficiency which was the hall mark of the NIS before she came on board as acting leader not long ago.”

COYAC also emphasized that the border patrol funds are not properly utilized for effective border management, but are going into private pockets, instead of government coffers and that there is lack of transparency in passports administration which has affected passport insurance to a lot of Nigerians across the country, which has also affected the Greater Washington levy to address verification for all passport clients. The non-functionality of operational vehicles across the country at various posts is giving officers and men cause for concern and worries which has also affected the lack of adequate facilities at the airports and sea borders.

Accordingly, we condemn in the strongest terms the procurement process presently on-going at the NIS which is poorly managed and coordinated. The due process regime are not followed for contracts, contractors and purchases which are also given to cronies without following the laid down rules and guidelines. The productivity of staff which was foremost and paramount then has now nose-dived as command and control of personnel deployments across the country is at the lowest ebb with low morale and low espirit-de-corps of officers and men. Narrating further, the group lamented and chided the poor management regime of Wura-ola Adepoju’s leadership, noting that it has engendered low morale in the service. The group added, that the spirit of oneness and discipline peculiar to the paramilitary organization has taken flight in the NIS, thereby reducing productivity and revenue generation for the country.

Duly, the group therefore “Passes a Vote of no Confidence” on the management for the low level of leadership and the factors mentioned above and hereby describe the scarcity of passports nation-wide and other travel documents, which it attributed to the evil machinations of a syndicate chaired by Nasiru and Babangida oiled by the Acting CG for her personal gain and the cabal she operates within the system.

COYAC and GGI have it on good authority, that the present led management is systematically destroying the legacies met on ground and witch-hunting those patriotic personnel and officers who are opposed to her machinations and therefore, “we ask Mr President to remove her immediately from office to pave the way for a more pro-Tinubu loyalist, effective, efficient and proactive officer who is determined to lead by example for the betterment of the NIS and to improve revenue generation for the total wellbeing of the nation.”

We further reiterate that the Accountant of the Civil Defence, Immigration, Fire and Prisons Board (CDIFPB) should be made to account for his stewardship for the past eight years he piloted the affairs of the Board as we have it on good authority, that there are a lot of financial infractions, fleecing and loopholes presently noticed on the Board as procurement procedures are not followed and due process abandoned totally in all ramifications.

The group is using this medium to also ask that the husband of the Acting NIS CG, should vacate the premises of the NIS. If not, “we would be forced to carry out a one million man-march protest to the National Assembly, Aso Rock Villa, ministry of Interior and the Office of the National Security Adviser as the husband is not an employee of the NIS.”

News

The Most Shocking A/Court ‘Judgment’ in Nigerian History: An unfortunate precedent that should not be allowed to stand

Published

6 hours ago

November 30, 2025

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The last is yet to be heard of wide ranging ex-parte orders as this time around, the charade has moved to the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division. In the case of FBN Quest & Another vs. Nestoil & Others, the Court of Appeal’s ex parte orders are not only egregious but a chilling sign of judicial capture, smacking of dirty practices at best and corruption at worst.

On Thursday, 27th November 2025, at exactly 2:00pm, Justice Yargata Nimpar delivered a ‘ruling ’ that appeared like a thief in the night, a ghost and unscheduled, the said decision came upon a Motion Ex-parte which was not heard not argued in open court, yet it surfaced, fully written, signed, stamped, and delivered as though it had lived a full life on the Court of Appeal docket.

For many Nigerians, the judiciary has again weathered the storms. Veterans of the legal system describe this episode as “a daylight heist… a judicial armed robbery without guns.”

The controversies over wide ranging ex-parte applications, it would seem, has found its way to the Court of appeal, an intermediate court with limited original jurisdiction as donated to it by statute.

In this instance, barely two weeks ago, we reported the ex-parte orders against NESTOIL and the other defendants listed in the suit before the Federal High Court which led to the transfer of the suit to another judge.

The said interim orders were vacated by effluxion of time, being that ex-parte orders last for only 14 days.

The court however ordered parties to maintain status quo and adjourned the Motion on Notice for hearing by the consent of the parties. That Motion is still pending before the Federal High Court.

It would seem that in order to frustrate that pending Motion, the Plaintiffs somehow filed a similar application to the Court of Appeal which was granted an order ex-parte directing the Lower Court not to take any further steps, including determining the pending application filed by Plaintiffs (now Appellants).

This magically resurrected, fast-tracked application seem to have been rubber-stamped at the fictional “Appeal Bench of Shadows,” as insiders have begun calling it.

A CASE THAT NEVER EXISTED — YET RECEIVED A JUDGMENT

Our Judiciary correspondent gathered that when the court’s official list for the day was released, nothing seemed amiss. No controversial cases. No unexpected hearings.

But somewhere inside the dusty chambers of bureaucracy, a secret file was already being prepared and by 2pm, a judgment carrying the signatures of an entire appeal panel had surfaced — even though none of them had appeared in open court and when the case itself had never been argued before any High Court, making an appellate ruling legally impossible.

By evening, whispers had turned into rumblings. Court workers who handled the mysterious document reported unusual instructions: No public sitting; No mention on the court list; No access to case filings; No digital record and No audio recording of proceedings. Yet an order was made retrospectively to undo a completed act! which is yet another impossibility in law, because the exparte order cannot restore what has been already executed.

“It was like dealing with a ghost file,” one clerk said. “It appeared from nowhere and disappeared into official archives as though it had always existed.”

This judgment, once delivered, spread like wildfire, with legal scholars calling it “a constitutional impossibility.” Veterans said they had never seen anything similar since the 1970s.

Enquiries from our judiciary correspondents indicate that an application can only be hinged upon a valid Notice of Appeal against a decision of a lower court before any application can be entertained at the Court of Appeal.

Further Investigations by our judiciary correspondent reveals that no such Notice of Appeal has been filed nor served on the respondents; no parties have been invited to Settle Records and no Records of Appeal have been transmitted.

One wonders the platform or upon which grounds the ex-parte order was made, observed one senior lawyer, especially as a similar pending application filed by the Appellants has been adjourned for Hearing by the Federal High Court.

Furthermore, the case at the trial court before Justice Osiagor has not been heard on its merits, which documents was placed before the appellate court and all applications before the judge has not been heard or is the court of appeal now a trial court.

A JUDICIARY AT A CROSSROADS

Public outrage rose quickly. Lawyers described the situation as “a hijacking of justice by shadowy interests.” Civil society groups demanded explanations.

A Judiciary where justice can be manufactured behind closed doors…a legal system where influence not merit, decides outcomes…and an institution tested by the weight of powerful external forces, et cetera should not be allowed to thrive.

AN ERA-DEFINING SCANDAL

This judgement will stand as one of the most dramatic challenges ever faced by Nigeria’s justice system. The shockwaves has rippled far beyond the courtroom — touching politics, business, security agencies, and public trust.

One thing is clear: This is the kind of judicial earthquake that rewrites history, shakes institutions, and forces a nation to confront the truths it fears the most. Our judicial correspondences were able to get an incline of the ex-parte orders made by the Court of Appeal as follows:

AN ORDER of interim restorative injunction reversing all steps taken by the Respondents and/or persons purporting to act on the instructions of the Respondents and which steps or actions were taken pursuant to the order of the Federal High Court coram Osiagor, J made on the 20th day of November 2025 pending the hearing and determination of the Appellants’ Motion on Notice filed on the 26th day of November 2025.
AN ORDER of interim injunction restraining the Respondents, their agents, servants, affiliates, and privies from interfering with and interrupting the Receiver/Manager in the performance of his duties pending the hearing and determination of the Appellants’ Motion on Notice filed on 26th November 2025.
AN ORDER staying further proceedings at the lower court pending the hearing and determination of the Appellants’ Motion on Notice filed on the 26th November 2025.

A SHOCKING DEPARTURE FROM JUDICIAL NORMS

Therefore, the Lagos Court of Appeal’s decision to grant ex parte orders in FBN Quest & Another vs. Nestoil & Others stunned the legal community as ex-parte rulings are meant for rare emergencies and hardly exercised by appellate courts. By acting without hearing both sides, while the matter was already before the Federal High Court, the Court of Appeal has undermined the principle of natural justice and distorted its own role.

NIGERIAN IMAGE AT RISK

At a time when Nigeria is striving to reposition its global reputation, this case sends the wrong message. It portrays the country as one where courts can be hijacked by private interests, where fairness is discarded, and where corruption lurks behind judicial robes. For investors and international partners, it reinforces damaging stereotypes of weak institutions and compromised justice.

AN URGENT CALL FOR INVESTIGATION

These orders are not just irregular — they are evidence of judicial capture. They must be investigated urgently. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, the National Judicial Council, the President of the Court of Appeal and the Nigerian Bar Association cannot remain silent. If appellate courts become arenas for ex-parte adventures, Nigeria’s justice system risks collapse under the weight of manipulation.

CLOSING NOTE

The Court of Appeal’s conduct in FBN Quest & Another vs. Nestoil & Others is more than a misstep, it is a warning sign of judicial capture. If Nigeria is serious about restoring its image and strengthening democracy, this case must be investigated, accountability enforced, and reforms implemented. Anything less would be an abdication of the judiciary’s sacred duty to uphold justice. We must not allow that to happen.
A very Senior lawyer emphasize that the exparte order of the court of appeal lagos division in Nestoil has the possibility of eroding administrative control of Heads of superior Court from assigning or re assigning matters within their respective courts. Furthermore both the President of the Court of Appeal and the Chief Justice of Nigeria may not have the authority to disband a panel and re- constitute another panel over any matter in their respective courts. This decision is a total anarchy to the judiciary and urgent steps must be taken to vacate the strange Court of appeal exparte order.

The conduct of the court of appeal justices is not excusable anywhere in the world and it’s indeed has brought the court of Appeal justices who constituted the panel to ridicule

News

Pius Akutah’s Alleged Fraud at Nigerian Shippers Council Uncovered

Published

2 days ago

November 28, 2025

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Investigations by Nigerian Concord Newspaper reveal that the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr. Pius Akutah, has allegedly misappropriated public funds for a lavish lifestyle.

According to our findings, within months of assuming office, Akutah allegedly purchased a bulletproof SUV valued at approximately N850 million. In addition, he is reported to have acquired over twenty exotic SUVs for use as a convoy.

Akutah is also said to have acquired multiple high-value properties, including three in Abuja’s Maitama and Asokoro districts worth over N2 billion, and two in Lagos’ Banana Island valued at N1.8 billion. These acquisitions appear far beyond the scope of his official salary and allowances.

Further investigation suggests that Akutah may be using public funds to support political ambitions, including allegedly grooming militants across 23 local government areas in Benue State for a potential 2027 gubernatorial bid.

Staff of the Shippers Council reportedly claim that Akutah frequently accesses the council’s treasury without proper authorization. Some insiders have indicated that a petition will soon be filed with the EFCC, ICPC, and the Presidency to report his alleged misconduct.