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.

Former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has said he helped president Bola Tinubu become president in the 2023 general elections.

Fayemi made this known during an interview on State Affairs, a podcast hosted by Edmund Obilo.

He reflected on the dramatic outcome of the 2023 presidential election, describing the rise of former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as a political phenomenon that disrupted Nigeria’s traditional power calculations.

He opened up on the deepening crisis inside the All Progressives Congress, APC,
admitting that the party he helped build has drifted away from its founding ideals.

According to him, Nigeria cannot survive on a winner-takes-all political culture that excludes millions from governance.

He called for inclusive politics, transparent primary elections and the restructuring of the Nigerian federation.

“I helped Tinubu to Become President, but the APC has Lost its Bearing, and Peter Obi is a Phenomenon,” he said.