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Be Warned, Every Campaign of Calumny Against FCC Chairperson Will Not Be Tolerated-MNAW
The Middlebelt and Northcentral Association of Women Group (MNAW) has descended heavily on what it calls untold and unwarranted attacks on the person of the Chairperson of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), against whom they described as “our very own Ambassador and an Arewa woman leader, Dr Muheeba Dankaka.”
The group recalled that they have silently and diligently watched “these orchestrated campaigns of calumny by a few Labour Party (LP) committee members in connivance with some Commissioners from few states, represented on the FCC board.”
MNAW noted emphatically that “it behooves on well-meaning Nigerians to look carefully at the clandestine plots of the honourable members in seeking the assistance of disgruntled commissioners who are hell-bent on tarnishing the image of the Commission, all in a bid for stomach infrastructure and mesh of porridge.”
These, they noted, are displayed openly, by accusing the Chairperson of the FCC, simply because of her avowed support for the Presidency of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “during the February 25, 2023 presidential elections.”
The Middlebelt and Northcentral Association of Women Group (MNAW) is miffed by the disloyal attitude and uncouth behaviourial pattern embarked upon by these “disgruntled elements” as unbecoming, as “these are coming from the backdoor, as ethical crimes are being committed, by hoarding and making internal documents available to fifth columnists and traducers, all in a bid to achieve their self-serving ordinate ambitions.” The Association wants to know ” When has it become a crime to be a Woman ” as this is definitely a gang-up against an executive officer who happens to be a woman Muslim, who has done all her best to transform the organization and we will not take it lightly. These same commissioners have threatened her severally that they will deal with her if she doesn’t succumb to their blackmail and Nigerians are not surprised that they were used as pawns against the leadership for pecuniary benefits.
“We emphatically state that ‘enough is enough’ of these wild goose chase of the honourable members from the Southeast and their ilk, including Commissioners who are hell-bent on tarnishing the hard-earned reputation of not only the Commission, but that of Dr Muheeba Dankaka,” the group insisted.
They further averred that the entire women folks occupying government offices or positions of authority in the country have been affected and their psyche demoralized.
These, they went ahead to acknowledge, “is done with the full knowledge that Dr Dankaka has become a rallying point for women and youths as well as a role model for the disadvantaged young ladies across the Northern region.”
In view of the foregoing, “we vehemently castigate and condemn in the strongest terms, the entirety of these measures and pressures put on the Chairperson, including making her to swear by the Holy Quran under duress, and ambushing her in a gestapo style in a bid to paint her in bad light in the public domain.”
In a press release issue signed by the National Convener of the Middlebelt and Northcentral Association of Women Group (MNAW), and the General Secretary, Dr Onoche Agnes Agims and Madam Esther Tor respectively, the duo, on behalf of their group, condemned the gangster and gestapo approach orchestrated by the so-called “honourable members.”
They also warned against the disloyal attitude of the “honourable members” and their collaborators, “who, in agreement with the members, stole internal documents from the Commission.”
They also referred to the unruly, unethical attitude and approach against the Chairperson as “unheard of in the history of maltreatment meted out to a hard-working female executive, as well as the media trial clandestinely orchestrated by the ‘honourable members’ in consonance with the Commissioners, these all in a bid to cast aspersions on Dr Dankaka’s hard-earned personality.”
They therefore maintained: “We vehemently oppose the religious bias, gender maltreatment, blackmail tactics, including using the Chairperson’s religion as a tool to blackmail her to a pulp.”The group added, “We condemn and discountenance these attitudes and call for an immediate halt of the investigation by the ad-hoc committee, because it has gone beyond the normal norm, as it is rather being used as a witch-hunt by aggrieved members of the Labour Party (LP) and disgruntled Commissioners who are only out to remove the Chairperson, so as to gain unfitted access to the treasury of the Commission.”
The group equally condemned all the allegations levelled against Dr Dankaka as “hogwash, fallacy and mischievous orchestrations, by drowning Commissioners and members who have an axe to grind, because they were not allowed or given what they have previously asked for, from the Chairperson.”
The association also asserted: “boldly say that these so called Commissioners have no moral standing and obligations to represent the Commission in whatever position, as they have grossly abused their offices and privileges, by dining and washing their hands, including putting sensitive documents in the public domain in a bid to bring down the organization.
“We have no hesitation to assert that these Commissioners have goofed and their decision taken too far as trying to malign the image of Dr Dankaka, who, according to pundits, have repositioned and rebranded the Commission, since coming on board,” they noted.
“We condemn in strong terms and in its entirety all the statements credited to the Commissioners as fake news, hate speech, falsehood, blatant lies and fallacies concocted to smear the image of Dr Dankaka and her leadership,” adding, “these statements, in question, by the so-called Commissioners have, no doubt, generated a lot of dusts and controversies,” and “we view the innuendoes created, the power-play and comments as undiluted bias, and unbecoming of Commissioners of their repute,” further emphasizing that “their utterances are hollow without specifics and parochial, that must not be taken seriously, by the leadership of the National Assembly and right thinking Nigerians,” the group insisted.
In view of the foregoing, “We equally agree that Dr Dankaka has followed the required due process in all her dealings with the Committee members and should therefore be accorded the respect she so deserves, instead of this mudslinging.”
The association further affirms that the Chairperson had redefined her office and repositioned it like never before in its annals.
Therefore, “We still make bold to ask this rhetoric question: ‘Who is afraid of Dr Dankaka’s rising profile and who is using ‘hand of Esau and Voice of Jacob’ to witch-hunt, blackmail and malign the irrepressible Chairperson of the FCC?” This, they insisted, is despite her patriotism and determination to change the status quo, that is known to all and sundry.
At this juncture, the group calls on the National Assembly leadership and well-meaning Nigerians to disregard, disparage and discountenance the campaign of calumny against Dr Muheeda Dankaka, whose legacies in the Commission are yielding dividends for the nation.
“We call on the disgruntled Commissioners and few Labour Party honourable members spearheaded by a woman of the Southeast extraction to be mindful of her clandestine plots that are already in the public domain,” as those “who live in glass house don’t throw stones,” as there is more to it than meet the eyes. This, the group insists are calculated ethnic, religious and gender coloration from the member’s perspective on this vexed issue.”
On this premise, the association avers that “these disgruntled Commissioners are ethnic and religiously bias.” Therefore, “these members have goofed, have equally become parochial, myopic, partisan, clannish,” whose behaviour is alien to the genuine sacrifices of Dr Dankaka in repositioning the Commission.
“We therefore pass a vote of confidence on Dr Dankaka’s sterling leadership of the FCC and kindly advise that she should be allowed to concentrate on her job and not be distracted by any person or authority,” because through our painstaking investigation, “we have discovered that these detractors are only out to milk and empty the treasury of the FCC as they do not have the interest of Nigerians at heart, but are only self-serving and hell-bent on destroying anyone who does not tow to their whims and caprices.”
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The Most Shocking A/Court ‘Judgment’ in Nigerian History: An unfortunate precedent that should not be allowed to stand
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
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.
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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.
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The Most Shocking A/Court ‘Judgment’ in Nigerian History: An unfortunate precedent that should not be allowed to stand
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