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An Oyo State High Court in Ibadan has stalled the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national elections by restraining the electoral committee and the association’s president from proceeding with any electoral activities.
An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has issued an interim injunction restraining the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) from performing any duties related to the upcoming 2026 national officers’ election. In an ex parte order delivered on March 4, 2026, the presiding judge, G. A. Opayinka, granted the application filed by four lawyers—Ibrahim Lawal, Raymond Oki, Omotan Olusola Ogunmodede, and Gabriel Ojo Adekunle Ijalana—who are challenging the legitimacy of the current electoral framework. The court’s intervention effectively freezes all preparations for the leadership transition until the substantive legal issues are resolved.
The court also took the significant step of barring the NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, from further involvement in the electoral process. According to the ruling, the second defendant is restrained “from taking any steps whatsoever towards the constitution and composition of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association or from participating in, supervising, influencing, or otherwise interfering in any manner whatsoever with the conduct of the said 2026 NBA National Officers’ Election.” This directive aims to ensure the independence of the process following allegations of interference leveled by the applicants.
Furthermore, the enrolled order specifically targets the leadership of the electoral body, prohibiting them from acting in their official capacities. The court restrained the fifth to ninth defendants from “parading or holding themselves out as the chairman, secretary or members of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) or from performing, undertaking, or participating in any act, step or process whatsoever in furtherance of the conduct of the 2026 National Officers’ Election of the Nigerian Bar Association.” The case has been adjourned for further proceedings, leaving the bar’s election calendar in a state of uncertainty.
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President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a five-man delegation to represent Nigeria at the burial of American civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, conveying condolences and honoring his legacy.
President Bola Tinubu has sent a five-man delegation to represent him and Nigeria at the final burial rites of Rev. Jesse Jackson, the American civil rights leader, activist, and former presidential candidate who passed away at age 84 on February 17, 2026, in Chicago. Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, will lead the delegation, which also includes the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; the Special Presidential Envoy for Global and Pan-African Affairs, Brian Browne; and the Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye.
The delegation is tasked with delivering President Tinubu’s message of condolences to the Jackson family. In an earlier tribute, the President described Rev. Jackson as “a moral voice and a formidable resistance to apartheid in South Africa. He played a leading role in the campaign for the release from prison of Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress leaders. He won critical support for sanctions against the then apartheid government.”
Rev. Jackson’s burial programme began on February 26 with a lying-in-state at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago, followed by services in South Carolina and Washington, D.C., and a lying-in-state at the South Carolina Statehouse from March 1-5. A “People’s Celebration” will take place at the House of Hope in Chicago on March 6, culminating in a private homegoing ceremony on March 7 at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
🚨| Sir Lewis Hamilton: “I think (Africa) is the most beautiful part of the world and I don’t like that the rest of the world owns so much of it and takes so much from it and no one speaks about it. And I’m really looking forward to and hoping that the people that are running… pic.twitter.com/H5GDWRX4sw
— sim (@simscircuit) March 5, 2026
Full Question from SuperSport and Full Response from Lewis Hamilton: pic.twitter.com/2vrjQ2sezV
— sim (@simscircuit) March 5, 2026
Sir Lewis Hamilton: “I think (Africa) is the most beautiful part of the world and I don’t like that the rest of the world owns so much of it and takes so much from it and no one speaks about it. And I’m really looking forward to and hoping that the people that are running those different countries all unite and come together and take Africa back.”
“That’s what I want to see. Take it back from the French. Take it back from the Spanish. Take it back from Portuguese and the British.”
“It’s so, so important for the future of that country and for that continent. I mean, they have all the resources to be the greatest and most powerful place in the world and that’s probably why they are being controlled the way they are.”
[F1 2026 Australia Press Conference]
Tinubu suspends airport cashless toll.
Nasir El-Rufai says his refusal to answer ICPC questions is a constitutional right and insists he will only address allegations against him in court.
Former Kaduna State governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has defended his refusal to answer questions from the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), describing his silence as a constitutional right and a protest against what he termed a politically motivated investigation.
In handwritten statements made under caution on February 19 and 20, 2026, and in the presence of his lawyer, Ubong E. Akpan, El-Rufai said he would only respond to allegations in court.
“I have, on the advice of counsel, decided to exercise my right to silence. I will make no further statement or respond to any question,” he wrote, adding, “I will respond to any allegations in a court of law only.” He argued that after nearly two years of investigation, the ICPC should present its findings before a judicial tribunal. His 14-day remand order, obtained from a Bwari Chief Magistrate Court, is set to expire on March 5, 2026.
Officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria vacated the access tollgate at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos shortly after President Bola Tinubu ordered the suspension of the airport cashless toll policy over complaints of gridlock and missed flights.
Officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) vacated the access tollgate at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, just hours after President Bola Tinubu ordered the suspension of the airport cashless policy.
A motorist who passed through the access gate shortly after the announcement said no FAAN personnel was on ground, while barricades at the toll point had been left open, allowing vehicles to move in and out without any form of payment or checks.
“I’m surprised I passed through the tollgate about 20 minutes ago and no single official of FAAN was on ground. I guess they are restrategising,” the motorist said.
The development followed the Federal Government’s decision to halt the recently introduced cashless regime at airport tollgates, which had sparked confusion and traffic gridlock at major airports, particularly in Lagos and Abuja. Eyewitnesses said the sudden absence of officials created a free flow of traffic at the usually busy tollgate, in sharp contrast to the long queues experienced earlier when the policy was being enforced.
As of the time of filing this report, FAAN had yet to issue an official statement clarifying operational directives at the MMIA access gate following the suspension order.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, announced the directive of the President while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting.
“Mr. President was very concerned about the welfare of Nigerians and the fact that most Nigerians were missing their flights.
“So Mr President, out of empathy, directed today that we should suspend the present system because it creates a lot of gridlock and Nigerians are suffering as a result of it”, Keyamo said.
IGP Tunji Disu says state police is inevitable and that the Nigeria Police Force will actively support its implementation as a collaborative reform.
Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu has declared that state police “has come to stay,” affirming the readiness of the Nigeria Police Force to support its establishment. Speaking after his swearing-in as the 23rd IGP in Abuja, Disu described the initiative as a partnership rather than a threat to existing structures.
“The committee was set up early this morning to look into the issue of state police from the angle of the Nigerian police,” he said. “We want to ensure that the best thing is done… The police are not afraid, our jobs are not being taken.” President Bola Tinubu has urged constitutional amendments to enable the reform.