The Supreme Court of Nigeria will hold a valedictory court session on Wednesday, May 14, to honour the late Justice Emmanuel Ogwuegbu, a former Justice of the court who passed away in October last year.

The session is scheduled to take place at 2.pm in the main courtroom of the Supreme Court.

A statement issued yesterday by the Director of Information and Public Relations of the apex Court, Dr Festus Akande, revealed that the late judicial icon died peacefully in his sleep on October 28, 2024, at the age of 91.

Born on March 16, 1933, in Amainyi, Ihitte-Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State, Justice Ogwuegbu rose from a humble background to become a towering figure in the legal profession.

He was appointed a judge of the High Court of Imo State in November 1976, serving as Administrative Judge of the Owerri Judicial Division from 1976 to 1979. He later served in the same capacity in the Aba Judicial Division in 1980.

Elevated to the Court of Appeal in September 1987, Justice Ogwuegbu served in the Ibadan and Lagos Divisions before his appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in April 1992.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the judiciary, he was seconded by the Federal Government to serve on the Supreme Court bench of The Gambia from December 1999 to 2002.

He returned to Nigeria to continue his meritorious service at the Supreme Court until his retirement on 16 March 2003.

The valedictory session will be presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.

Tributes will be paid to the late Justice Ogwuegbu by the Chief Justice and other key stakeholders in the nation’s justice sector.

The session will also be attended by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).

A total of 86 Nigerian Army captains will be sitting for the 2025 written promotion examination in Benin.

The week-long examination will run from May 12 through May 16 and is being hosted by the Nigerian Army School of Supply and Transport (NASST).

Speaking at the opening session on Sunday in Benin, Maj. Gen. Kevin Aligbe, commander, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and president of the examination saluted the candidates for reaching this pivotal point in their careers.

He described the examination as a major stepping stone to higher responsibilities and called for professionalism, discipline and zero tolerance for examination malpractice.

“The examination is part of the Nigerian Army’s structured promotion process aimed at building a professional, disciplined and merit-driven officer corps, in line with the Chief of Army Staff’s vision of a capable and responsive force.

“This is an opportunity to make a solid progression in your chosen career.

“Let me assure you that if you have prepared well, you will pass this exam without resorting to any form of malpractice. We expect nothing short of a 100 per cent success,” he said.

According to him, the examination is a key prerequisite for promotion to the rank of major while also urging all participants to give it their best, especially those making a second attempt.

He noted that only three chances were allowed by the army policy.

Mr Aligbe however, warned that any candidate caught cheating, discussing answers in the hall or violating security protocols would be disqualified and made to face further disciplinary action.

He also disclosed that awards and commendation letters, including cash prizes would be given to candidates who rank first, second and third.

He added: “our desire is to see all of you pass”, while assuring fairness and transparency in the marking process.

In his welcome address, Maj. Gen. Adebayo Adegbite, commandant of NASST, said the school was honoured to host the promotion exam.

He noted that the examination marks a critical milestone in the career development of officers.

“You have undergone a rigorous one-month preparatory cadder.

“The mock exam assessed your readiness. We expect good performance.

“Be reminded of the security situation in Benin. Avoid unnecessary movements. Move in pairs and be security conscious,” he said.

Human Rights Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has demanded a probe into what he described as the diversion of a $3.4 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Falana made this known in a statement he signed yesterday.

Last week, the IMF confirmed that Nigeria had fully repaid the $3.4 billion in COVID-19 financial support it received under the Rapid Financing Instrument. Although Nigeria’s principal balance stands at zero, scheduled charges, including net charges, basic interest, and administrative fees, amount to SDR 125.99 million. At the current exchange rate, this translates to approximately N275.28 billion.

“It is pertinent to recall that in the wake of the COVID-19 in 2030, Nigeria requested emergency assistance of about US$3.4 billion — equivalent to 100 percent of its quota from the International Monetary Fund to shore up the country’s economy and help businesses weather the storm of a deadly pandemic that disrupted global markets and plunged the world into a recession,” Falana said.

At the meeting of the IMF Executive Board held on April 28, 2020, the financial support of $3.4 billion was approved to provide critical support to shore up Nigeria’s health care sector and shield jobs and businesses from the shock of the COVID-19 crisis. In particular, the loan was designed to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices and also help limit the decline in international reserves.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion of Nigeria, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, stated that, “The emergency financing under the RFI will provide much-needed liquidity support to respond to the urgent BOP needs. Additional assistance from development partners will be required to support the government’s efforts and close the large financing gap. The implementation of proper governance arrangements—including through the publication and independent audit of crisis-mitigating spending and procurement processes—is crucial to ensure emergency funds are used for their intended purposes.”(emphasis ours)

“Characteristically, the IMF Management, which jointly manages the neocolonial economy of Nigeria with the Federal Government, failed to ensure emergency funds were used “for their intended purposes.”

Recall that a 2020 audit report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, released in January 2024, flagged several irregularities in the handling of the fund. The report stated that on April 30, 2020, $2.4 billion of the loan was transferred to the CBN’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, while the remaining balance went to the CBN’s account at the Bank of China, Shanghai. The report further stated that by June 1, the $2.4 billion had been moved to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for short-term investments. The funds in China were similarly transferred to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

“These transactions, according to the audit, were not supported by documentation or approvals from the Federal Government or the CBN’s Investment Committee, and the funds were subsequently reclassified as part of the CBN’s external reserves rather than the Federal Government’s holdings. This reclassification, the report noted, allowed interest to be earned on the funds, contrary to the emergency spending purpose for which they were approved,” Falana argued.

Speaking further, Falana noted that the report stated that on August 7, 2020, the Federal Ministry of Finance requested the monetisation of $700 million to support the 2020 federal budget. One week later, the CBN approved a debit of N265.65 billion, applying an exchange rate of N379.5/$, higher than the official N360.5/$ rate at the time. The funds were credited to three separate accounts: N252 billion to the COVID-19 Public Sector Account, N13.3 billion to the Forex Equalisation Account, and N350 million to the Exchange Commission Account.

“The audit noted that a 2% commission was deducted from the monetised amount, even though the funds were categorised as Federal Government property. At the end of 2020, an unmonetised balance of $2.7 billion — equivalent to approximately N1.02 trillion — remained unaccounted for, according to the Auditor-General’s report.

“The report recommended that the CBN Governor should explain the movement and classification of the funds without proper authorisation. It also requested bank statements to confirm the unmonetised balance and demanded the recovery of N13.3 billion and N350 million into the Federal Government’s account. It further called for the remittance of all interest earned from the investments and warned that sanctions under relevant financial regulations would be applied if there was no accountability.” the senior lawyer stated.

According to Falana, the Auditor-General wants the money recovered and remitted to the public treasury, and for the evidence of remittance to be forwarded to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.

He also said the Auditor-General also recommended that anyone suspected to be involved should be ‘sanctioned and handed over to the EFCC and ICPC for investigation and prosecution, as provided for in paragraph 3112 of the Financial Regulations’.

“Even though the Auditor-General of the Federation submitted the 2020 Annual Report to to each House of the National Assembly, both Houses have failed to cause the report to be considered by the committees responsible for public accounts, to cover up the criminal diversion of the $3.4 IMF and several trillions of Naira set out in the Auditor-General’s report, in utter contravention of section 85(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

“Given the foregoing, the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond hereby calls on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the criminal diversion of the $3.4 billion loan obtained by Nigeria to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We also call on the IMF Board to probe the deliberate refusal of its management to ensure that the emergency funds were used for their intended purposes.” Meanwhile, the IMF should suspend the collection of the scheduled charges, including net charges, basic interest, and administrative fees, amounting to SDR 125.99 million (N275.28 billion) pending the conclusion of its investigation,” he said.