Court Orders Forfeiture of 40+ Properties Linked to Ex-AGF Malami — A Win for Accountability [IMAGE: Photo of the Federal High Court, Abuja] Introduction As Nigeria weighs how to spend new oil revenue like the Shell investment covered in our related post above, a Federal High Court ruling this week has put a spotlight on where public trust so often breaks down: accountability for public officials. The court has ordered the final forfeiture of more than 40 properties linked to a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. What the Court Found Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the respondents failed to rebut the presumption that the assets in question were proceeds of unlawful activity, granting the EFCC's request for permanent forfeiture. The ruling adds to a string of recent high-profile anti-corruption actions, including separate allegations involving a former appoin...

Shell's $11.50-Per-Barrel Tax Credit: Nigeria Bets Big on Oil to Fund Its Future [IMAGE: Photo of an offshore oil rig] Introduction While security dominates the headlines, Nigeria's economic engine room has been just as busy. The federal government has approved a special production-linked tax credit of $11.50 for every barrel of crude oil produced by Shell Plc and its partners under the Bonga Southwest Aparo deepwater project — a move aimed at unlocking an estimated $20 billion in fresh investment. Why the Government Is Sweetening the Deal The incentive, approved by President Tinubu, is more than double the standard production tax credit and is intended to help the long-delayed deepwater project finally reach its Final Investment Decision. Government sources say the same fiscal incentive will be extended to other international oil companies developing new deepwater projects until at least 2029, part of a broader strategy to revive investment, boost crude output, and strengthen ...

 Nigeria's School Kidnapping Crisis: A Nation on Edge [IMAGE: Map representing Northern/Central Nigeria security zones] Introduction The joy of the Ogbomoso rescue, covered in our lead story above, cannot mask a harder truth: Nigeria's mass school abduction crisis has been getting worse, not better. Since the phenomenon began years ago, more than 2,300 students and teachers have been kidnapped nationwide, and data compiled by investigative journalists shows the trend has sharply accelerated under the current administration compared to the years before it. The Numbers Behind the Fear Since President Tinubu's government marked three years in office in late May, it has already recorded well over a dozen mass school kidnapping incidents involving hundreds of students and staff — a dramatic increase compared to a similar period under the previous administration. The Oyo State attack happened in the same stretch of weeks as the abduction of dozens of students from a primary and s...

Nigeria Breathes Easier: The Ogbomoso Rescue and the Long Road to Healing [IMAGE: Aerial or symbolic photo of a rural Oyo State school compound at dawn] Introduction For 56 days, three small communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State held their breath. Gunmen had stormed Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Community Grammar School, and LA Primary School in Ogbomoso in mid-May, dragging away dozens of children and their teachers into the forest. This week, that ordeal finally ended — but the conversation it has triggered about school safety, security funding, and government accountability is only just beginning, and it is now tangled up with three other stories dominating Nigerian headlines: a major oil investment deal, a corruption forfeiture ruling, and a growing debate over who is really protecting Nigeria's classrooms. The Rescue and the Reaction President Bola Tinubu confirmed that a joint military, police, and intelligence-led operation had freed all the abducted...