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Don Hails Court Order On Accounts Without BVN

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An academic, Prof. Charles Nwekeaku has commended the court order stopping the Federal Government from freezing accounts without Bank Verification Number (BVN).
Nwekeaku, an Associate Prof. at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, described the order as a great relief while speaking with newsmen in Abuja, recently.
The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court had on June 22, stopped the Federal Government from freezing all accounts without BVN
The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, held that government failed to fulfill certain condition precedents that would entitle it to secure final forfeiture order in respect of funds in such accounts
Dimgba held that the government failed to comply with section 17 of the Advanced Fee Fraud.
He maintained that for government to succeed in obtaining final forfeiture order, it must be proved that funds in such accounts were abandoned or unclaimed and were also products of unlawful activity.
Dimgba also held that government must have placed an advert for anyone laying claim to such funds to come forward for it to succeed in freezing the accounts.
“Advertisement, therefore, is a necessary condition to be fulfilled”, the court held, adding, “relief sought by the plaintiff cannot be granted at this stage”. he said.
Dimgba noted that the Federal Government neither adduced any evidence to prove that funds in the accounts were proceeds of crime, nor indicated efforts it made to ensure that banks complied with interim orders of the court.
The court had in an ex-parte order on October 17, 2017, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and 19 commercial banks in the country to disclose all accounts in their custody without BVN and amounts in them.
The court further granted an interim order directing the banks to freeze funds in such accounts by stopping “all outward payments, operations or transactions”, pending the hearing of a substantive application.
The application was filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) seeking permanent forfeiture of funds in such accounts to the Federal Government.
Nwekeaku described the decision by the government as unfair because Nigerians were not given conditions at the time they opened their accounts.
“I think it was a great relief when the court ruled that government should stop action on that because a number of people may not be in country.
“We agree that the banks have given notice to people to obtain the BVN, but there are some Nigerians who have been outside the country since then.
`There may be some people who also tried to obtain this BVN but for one reason or the other did not succeed and the process is not yet completed.
“I think it was a terrible decision on the part of the government, moreover, when Nigerians opened this account there were no conditions for opening the accounts.
“And to implement conditions now is not good, it is against the rule of law, so I think the court was right and it is a good development,” Nwekeaku said.
The don said that the benefits of BVN could not be overempharsised, thus more time should be given for the process to be completed.
He said it was important for every person to get the BVN done as it would help reduce the high rate of fraud and dissuade people from making money illegally.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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