Category Nigeria News

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Saturday gathered to elect chairmen and councillors who will oversee the administration of the six Area Councils.

Unlike the 36 states of the election where the polls are called local government elections, they are referred to as Area Council polls in the FCT.

The FCT is administered by a minister appointed by the President while states have elected governors and state assemblies.

Area councils are the closest elected bodies to the people, providing essential services such as water, sanitation, local roads, schools, and healthcare.

The more reason why their decisions directly felt in everyday life of the people at the grassroot.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Calls For Orderly Conduct Ahead Of FCT, Kano, Rivers Polls

Electoral body – the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) –  will conduct the elections in 2,822 polling units across 62 wards in the six area councils: Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali.

Channels Television reports that the last area council polls were held on 12 February 2022, resulting in a split outcome with three councils won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and three won by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to a list by INEC, only three women are contesting for chairmanship across the six area councils.

The figure represents less than five per cent of the total number of chairmanship candidates.

In Abaji, Anumnu Abigail of the Action Alliance is the only female candidate for chairmanship. AMAC has Richard Elizabeth of the Action Democratic Party, while Kuje features Aju Ukwa of the Zenith Labour Party as its sole female chairmanship candidate.

In Bwari, Gwagwalada and Kwali, no woman is contesting for the top seat.

Female participation is relatively higher in the vice-chairmanship category, where several parties fielded women as running mates.

As INEC announces readiness for the conduct of the FCT Area Council elections, some streets, marketplaces, and community halls of the territory are buzzing with expectations.

Orderly Condduct

Earlier, President Bola Tinubu called for peaceful and orderly conduct during Saturday’s elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kano State and Rivers States.

The President, in a statement on Friday by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, urged security agencies to exercise restraint and the electoral body to strengthen public confidence in the process.

“President Tinubu urged all eligible voters to come out and vote without fear, emphasising that the democratic process thrives best in an atmosphere of calm, tolerance, and mutual respect,” the statement read.

He appealed to voters, security personnel and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to carry out their responsibilities calmly and professionally.

Tinubu encouraged eligible voters to turn out without fear, stressing that democracy thrives in an atmosphere of peace, tolerance and mutual respect.

He also urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to avoid violence, inflammatory rhetoric and any actions capable of undermining the credibility of the polls.

The President warned security agencies against high-handedness, intimidation or any conduct that could disenfranchise voters or erode public trust. He emphasised that their role is to safeguard lives and property while protecting the integrity of the ballot.

Movement Restriction

On Thursday, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, declared Friday a work-free day and announced a restriction of movement from 8 pm on Friday to 6 pm on Saturday over the FCT Council elections.

Wike announced in a special broadcast on national television and radio stations on Thursday, urging residents of the FCT to come out en masse to vote for candidates of their choice.

In the broadcast, he said: “On Saturday, February 21, we will all have a crucial opportunity to shape the future of our great Federal Capital Territory.

“The election of either new or returning chairmen and councillors for the six area councils is a momentous occasion, and I urge you to come out in your numbers to exercise your right to vote.

“I urge you to go to the polls with a sense of purpose and responsibility.

“As we exercise our democratic right, let us do so in an orderly and lawful manner. Let us respect the rules, respect each other, and respect the outcome of the election. We must show the world that we are a mature and responsible electorate, capable of conducting ourselves with dignity and decorum.

“At this juncture, with the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, I hereby declare Friday, February 20, 2026, as a work-free day to enable the movement of residents to their various communities to participate in the elections.

“Similarly, the President has approved the restriction of movement within the FCT from 8 pm on Friday, February 20 to 6 pm on Saturday, February 21, 2026. Consequently, all security agencies are directed to ensure strict compliance with this directive.

“Let me again use this opportunity to appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 into law. This demonstrates his commitment to strengthening our democratic institutions and ensuring that our electoral processes are free, fair and transparent.

“My dear residents, democracy has always been a work in progress due to the evolving democratic process. However, we will keep getting better by continually reviewing the Electoral Act with a view to strengthening our democratic process.

“To all FCT residents, I urge you to make your voice heard. Come out on Saturday, February 21, 2026, and vote for the candidates of your choice.

“Our prayer, as an administration, is that the elections will facilitate the emergence of quality leaders who will contribute meaningfully to development, peace and prosperity in the FCT.

US President Donald Trump launched an extraordinary personal attack Friday on the Supreme Court justices who struck down his global tariffs, including two of his own appointees, and claimed they were being “swayed by foreign interests.”

“I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” Trump told reporters at a White House press conference.

“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution,” he said, deriding them at one point as “fools and lap dogs.”

The Supreme Court has overwhelmingly sided with Trump since he took office in January of last year and the tariffs ruling was the first major setback for the Republican president before the conservative-dominated court.

READ ALSO: US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Global Tariffs

Asked if he regretted nominating justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch — who both voted against him — to the top court, the president said he did not “want to say whether or not I regret.”

“I think their decision was terrible,” he said. “I think it’s an embarrassment to their families if you want to know the truth, the two of them.”

Chief Justice John Roberts, Coney Barrett and Gorsuch, all conservatives, joined with the court’s three liberals in the 6-3 ruling that Trump’s sweeping global tariffs were illegal.

Trump heaped praise on the conservative justices who voted to uphold his authority to levy tariffs — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee.

He thanked the three “for their strength and wisdom, and love of our country.”

Trump in particular singled out Kavanaugh, who wrote a 63-page dissent to the tariffs ruling, calling him a “genius” and saying he was “so proud of him.”

The president also alleged there was foreign influence behind the ruling.

“It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests,” he said. “I think that foreign interests are represented by people that I believe have undue influence.

“They have a lot of influence over the Supreme Court, whether it’s through fear or respect or friendships, I don’t know,” he said.

Asked by a reporter if he had evidence of foreign influence on the court, Trump replied: “You’re going to find out.”

Vice President JD Vance added his voice to the condemnation of the tariffs ruling, calling it “lawlessness from the court, plain and simple.”

Trump was also asked whether the six justices who voted against him would be welcome at next week’s State of the Union speech before Congress.

“Three are happily invited,” the president said.

The others are “invited, barely,” he said, before adding “I couldn’t care less if they come.”

Human rights activist and politician, Omoyele Sowore, has said he has endured more arrests under Nigeria’s democratic governments than during military rule.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Inside Sources programme on Friday, Sowore recalled that he was arrested only twice under the military, which he said is far fewer than his experiences under the current democratic dispensation.

“I have suffered more arrests in 2025 than I did between 1989 and 1996, when I graduated from university,” Sowore said. “I was arrested by the DSS once, even though we fought the military, maybe twice.

“When I was at the University of Lagos, I was abducted and detained for about two weeks. Later, during my NYSC in Yola, I was arrested and held for a week without a court order. But since civilian rule began, I have spent months in detention—I spent five months in DSS custody and was even abducted from a courtroom under democracy,” he added.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress also revealed that he currently faces about nine ongoing court cases filed against him by the Federal Government and the police.

Watch the video below:

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled that the Nigeria Police Force acted unlawfully when it declared human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, wanted in 2025.

Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Musa Kakaaki held that the police action violated constitutional provisions and amounted to an abuse of power.

The court subsequently awarded ₦30 million in damages against the Nigeria Police Force, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh.

In a strongly worded decision, Justice Kakaaki reaffirmed that no Nigerian can be criminalised for exercising the right to free speech, peaceful protest, or for holding government authorities accountable.

The judge criticised what he described as the “lawlessness” of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police and held the Inspector-General of Police responsible for the misconduct carried out under his command.

Tracing the historical evolution of declaring citizens wanted in Nigeria, Justice Kakaaki explained that the law now requires strict procedural safeguards.

He emphasised that a person can only be declared wanted after a valid court-issued warrant, proper notice, and credible evidence that the individual is deliberately evading lawful judicial process.

The court further ruled that the warning issued by Commissioner Jimoh on 27 October 2025, directing Sowore to stay away from Lagos State, was arbitrary, unconstitutional, and beyond the lawful powers of the police.

Similarly, the public notice issued on 3 November 2025 declaring Sowore wanted was described as illegal, ultra vires, unconstitutional, and a grave abuse of authority.

READ ALSO: Sowore Remains Wanted, We’ll Do Everything To Get Him Arrested – Lagos CP

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, on 3 November 2025, publicly declared Omoyele Sowore wanted, accusing him of attempting to mobilise a protest on the Third Mainland Bridge over the demolition of properties in Oworonshoki.

The declaration followed an earlier directive issued in October 2025 in which the commissioner ordered the activist and former presidential candidate to stay away from Lagos State.

Challenging the police action, Sowore filed a suit against the commissioner, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Nigeria Police Force, seeking enforcement of his fundamental rights.

In his application, Sowore asked the court to uphold his rights to dignity, personal liberty, freedom of movement, expression, and peaceful assembly as guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

In an affidavit supporting the suit, the activist maintained that he was declared wanted without any prior police invitation, arrest warrant, or formal charge. He argued that the action not only breached his constitutional protections but also tarnished his reputation as a journalist, activist, and former presidential candidate.

Through his legal team led by Tope Temokun, Sowore contended that he would have honoured any lawful invitation extended to him by the authorities.

He therefore sought an order restraining the police from harassing, intimidating, or arresting him and asked the court to nullify the public notice branding him “wanted.”

Additionally, he demanded ₦500 million in general and exemplary damages for what he described as the unlawful and oppressive violation of his fundamental rights.

The police opposed the suit, insisting that the commissioner acted within his legal authority in declaring Sowore wanted. They maintained that anyone dissatisfied with the decision was free to seek redress in court.

Appearing on Sunrise Daily on Channels Television on 5 November 2025, Jimoh defended his action, claiming Sowore had failed to honour an agreement to report to the police.

“My declaration that Sowore is wanted is still in force,” the commissioner said during the interview.

He explained that Sowore’s lawyer had contacted him via text message while he was responding to a riot situation and was subsequently referred to the Officer-in-Charge of the Legal Department. According to him, the lawyer agreed that Sowore would appear at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Yaba, where the matter was being investigated.

“But throughout yesterday, he failed to report,” Jimoh said, adding, “We will do everything within the ambit of the law to get him arrested, investigated, and prosecuted.”

The senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, has taken a swipe at the administrative style of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, accusing him of autocracy.

Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the lawmaker said Wike is not willing to work with anybody.

Kingibe decried that despite writing to the minister, she hasn’t gotten a positive response on how to deliver the dividends of democracy to FCT residents.

“If the Minister were my younger brother, he wouldn’t behave this way. I am only about governance.”

”You can see the letters I have written to the minister, all of them telling how I am willing to work with him; the minister is not willing to work with anybody,” Kingibe said.

“The minister is not willing to work with the FCDA people; he is not willing to work with the Mandate Secretary. The minister thinks governance is about what he alone thinks and what he alone wants.”

READ ALSO: Senator Kingibe Asks Wike To Review, Suspend FCT Movement Restriction

Curfew

Wike, in a special broadcast on national television and radio stations on Thursday, declared a curfew on the FCT, calling on residents of the nation’s capital to come out en masse to vote for candidates of their choice.

He also declared Friday a work-free day and announced a restriction of movement from 8 pm on Friday to 6 pm on Saturday.

But the senator faulted the minister for declaring a 22-hour curfew ahead of the bye-election slated to hold in the nation’s capital on February 21.

She described the curfew imposition as unnecessary, saying FCT is not at risk security-wise to warrant that action.

“If the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is fully prepared, the security forces are all in place, what is the need for this draconian measure? There is no need.

“From 8 pm to 6 pm tomorrow, just because we have a local government election? I have lived here for a very long time. This is the first time that any minister would ever find it necessary. It makes us wonder why such a measure is necessary, since there have been no security issues.

“Even when there was a protest, they didn’t put in a 22-hour curfew, not to talk of just a local government election in a capital where embassies all are, high commissions, ECOWAS Secretariat. A lot of people are forbidden to move around tomorrow,” Kingibe said.

Justice J.O.E. Adeyemi-Ajayi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, has granted an interim injunction restraining activist Omoyele Sowore and Sahara Reporters from publishing further content concerning the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, his family, or his office, pending the hearing of a defamation suit.

In the order, the court specifically restrained the defendants from publishing content alleged to be defamatory and derogatory of Victor Egbetokun, son of the IGP, including a recent claim that he received N100 million from Anambra State security votes.

According to the order, the ruling followed an ex parte motion for an interim injunction filed by the claimant through counsel, Ayotunde Ogunleye, SAN. The motion was dated February 10 and filed on February 11, 2026.

The application was brought pursuant to Section 6(6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Order 30 Rule 3 of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (Civil Procedure) Rules 2025, and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court.

The court granted the interim injunction after hearing the applicant’s counsel, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The case has been adjourned to April 14, 2026, for further hearing.

READ ALSO: Court Rejects Sowore’s Documents In Trial Over Claims Against Tinubu

The enrolled court order reads: “This enrolled court order is consequent upon hearing Chief Ayotunde Ogunleye, SAN, counsel for the claimant/applicant, who moved the motion ex parte for interim injunction under reference M/2035/2026, dated the 10th day of February, 2026 and filed on the 11th day of February 2026.

“The motion is brought pursuant to Section 6(6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, Order 30 Rule 3 of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (Civil Procedure) Rules 2025 and under the inherent jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, praying this Honourable Court for the orders as contained on the motion paper.”

The ruling further states: “The defendants/respondents, its servants or agents, privies or any person or authority deriving power and instruction from them are hereby restrained from making any publications concerning the claimant, his office and/or family members or on such other matters relating to the subject matter of this suit pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”