…Says he’s neither Enugu State Chairman, nor represents NDC

The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) and entire leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has been drawn to the nefarious activities of a certain John Paul Anih who is purporting to be the Enugu State Chairman of NDC, there by impersonating the authentic and legally recognised Enugu State Chairman, in the person of Engr. Ibuchukwu Obeta.

Apart from impersonating our state Chairman, the said Mr. John Paul Anih, we learnt also conducted a kangaroo state Congress where he allegedly installed himself as state chairman. He has also approached a court in Enugu, seeking to compel NDC to recognise him as our state Chairman for Enugu State.

Mr. John Paul Anih did not stop at that. While his case is yet to be heard, he went ahead to forge and reproduce copies of the NDC Expression of Interest Forms which he sold to unsuspecting prospects.

The NDC hereby warns unsuspecting members of the public that Mr. John Paul Anih does not represent the NDC in any category whatsoever, and whoever transacts any business with him on behalf of the NDC does so at his/her own risk.

Earlier today, we learnt that John Paul Anih has also seized the opportunity of the ongoing screening of aspirants by the party and set up what he called an aspirant screening Committee for Enugu State, which he is using to further defraud and extort some gullible politicians.

For the avoidance of doubt, the National leadership of the NDC has set up screening committees to screen aspirants for the state houses of assembly across the 36 states of the Federation. The three-man team for Enugu State comprises the following:

Hon. Sylvester O. Nwankwo – Chairman
Barr. Ifeanyi Emmanuel Agbom- Secretary
Ngene Helen Funmilola – Member

Any other person outside of the above mentioned, purporting to be a member of the Enugu State House of Assembly aspirants screening Committee is a fraud and should be treated as such.

We reiterate that John Paul Anih is a fraud, does not represent the NDC, and is not by any stretch of the imagination, the Enugu State Chairman of NDC.

Signed:

Osa Director Esq.
National Publicity Secretary,
Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC)

The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark constitutional judgement limiting the federal government’s powers over lands adjoining inland waterways across the country, declaring portions of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) Act unconstitutional.

In a major victory for Lagos State in Suit No. SC/CV/541/2025, the apex court held that Sections 12 and 13 of the NIWA Act are invalid to the extent that they empower the federal government to regulate and control lands adjoining waterways for purposes unrelated to navigation, maritime activities and fishing.

In addition to Lagos, other states that joined the suit against the federal government were Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Cross River, Kaduna, Enugu, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Benue, Rivers, Osun, Oyo and Anambra.

Lagos State’s legal team was led by the State’s former Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, alongside Olasupo Shasore SAN, and Muiz Banire SAN, while the federal government was represented by Akin Olujinmi SAN.

The court affirmed that state governments retain constitutional authority over adjoining lands used for non-navigational purposes, thereby restricting the federal government and the NIWA from exercising sweeping control over such areas.

The seven-member panel of the court, led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, also issued a perpetual injunction restraining the federal government from dealing with lands adjoining waterways within Lagos State and other states of the federation for non-navigational purposes.

The matter was determined by a panel comprising Justices Garba, Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa, Haruna Simon Tsammani, Stephen Jonah Adah, Abubakar Sadiq Umar and Mohammed Baba Idris. Justice Umar, read the lead judgment.

Although the court was unanimous on most issues, the decision recorded a 5-2 split on the constitutionality of Sections 10 and 11 of the NIWA Act.

Justices Agim and Idris dissented on some aspects of the decision, maintaining that Lagos State ought to have succeeded on additional reliefs relating to federal control over waterways.

Lagos State had approached the Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction, challenging the constitutional validity of several provisions of the NIWA Act.

The state argued that the National Assembly exceeded its constitutional authority by enacting provisions empowering the federal government and NIWA to exercise control over lands adjoining waterways within states.

Specifically, Lagos contended that Sections 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the NIWA Act conflicted with Sections 4 and 315 of the Constitution, the Land Use Act, and Items 36 and 64 of the Exclusive Legislative List.

The state further argued that the federal government could not validly exercise powers over inland waterways that had not been designated as international or interstate waterways by the National Assembly.

Lagos also maintained that the federal government lacked constitutional authority to regulate lands adjoining waterways for purposes unrelated to navigation.

The state sought multiple declarations and orders nullifying the disputed provisions and restraining federal authorities from exercising control over adjoining lands within its territory.

Before delving into the substantive issues, the Supreme Court first considered preliminary objections filed by the federal government and other defendants challenging the jurisdiction of the court. The objections were dismissed for lacking merit.

The court subsequently proceeded to determine the constitutional questions raised in the suit.

One of the key issues addressed by the court was whether the case had already been settled in the earlier dispute between NIWA and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LSWA).

The defendants had argued that the doctrine of res judicata applied because the issues had been determined in the earlier NIWA v. LSWA decision.

However, the Supreme Court rejected the argument, holding that the present suit was distinguishable from the earlier case and therefore not barred.

That finding cleared the way for the court to fully examine the constitutional validity of the disputed provisions of the NIWA Act.

In its substantive findings, the court held that Sections 12 and 13 of the NIWA Act went beyond the constitutional powers granted to the National Assembly.

The apex court ruled that while the federal government possesses authority over navigation, maritime activities, fishing and international waterways, those powers do not extend to general control over lands adjoining waterways within states.

The court held that the National Assembly acted ultra vires by attempting to regulate adjoining lands for purposes outside navigation-related activities.

Accordingly, the court declared Sections 12 and 13 unconstitutional to the extent of their inconsistency with the Constitution.

The court specifically held that the federal government cannot rely on those provisions to deal with lands adjoining waterways for non-navigational purposes.

The judgment is expected to have far-reaching implications for waterfront development, land reclamation, urban planning, environmental regulation and revenue generation in Lagos and other coastal states.

497 Nigerian migrants evacuated from Niger Republic through the Jibia border have been received in Nigeria by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI).

‎The returnees arrived at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport at about 12:25pm on Friday, May 22, from Agadez in Niger Republic.

‎The migrants were received by officials of the commission’s Kano Field Office alongside other relevant agencies.

‎Speaking during the reception, the Federal Commissioner of the commission, Dr. Tijjani Aliyu Ahmed, said the evacuation followed a coordinated humanitarian effort by the Federal Government in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Represented at the exercise by the Kano Field Coordinator of the commission, Lubah Liman, the commissioner said the returnees were evacuated under the Voluntary Humanitarian Return programme of the IOM.

‎He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Consular and Migration Affairs Division, had earlier notified the commission of the planned evacuation of stranded Nigerian migrants from Agadez between May 22 and 25, 2026.

‎According to him, the evacuation exercise is being carried out in two batches in collaboration with the IOM and relevant government agencies.

‎“The first batch, initially projected to comprise about 600 returnees, arrived with a total of 497 persons,” he said.

The reception exercise was coordinated by the commission in collaboration with agencies including the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Department of State Services (DSS), SEMA and the Nigerian Red Cross Society.

‎He explained that the returnees were taken through documentation processes, including MIDAS registration by the Nigeria Immigration Service, before being moved to the Immigration Training School in Kano for feeding, profiling and other humanitarian support services.

‎A breakdown of the returnees showed that there were 174 adult males, 97 adult females, 137 boys, and 89 girls.