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Amotekun: ”It’s sad people of Northern extraction are never happy when we want to organise ourselves on regional basis” – Itse Sagay reacts
Professor Itse Sagay, the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) has said that it is very sad that people of Northern extraction are never happy when Southerners want to organise themselves on regional basis.
Sagay who is a staunch Pro-Buhari government official, said this while reacting to the comment made by the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who on Tuesday January 14th, declared Amotekun, the newly created security outfit by SouthWest governors, as an illegal entity.
Sagay in an interview with Daily Independent, said Malami was only speak out of prejudice. He wondered why Amotekun can be described as illegal when it is the same laws that created it that was used in to create the Northern security outfits, Hisbah police and the Civilian Joint Taskforce. He stressed that Malami was only expressing his personal prejudice and not the law when he declared Amotekun illegal.
Read excepts from his interview below
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has described Operation Amotekun, a security arrangement put together by South-West governors as illegal. He said the governors should have consulted him so that he can give them legal advice on whether they can go ahead or not. As a legal expert, what is your perspective on this?
I believe that the governors have no duty to consult him. He is Attorney- General of the Federation, not Attorney-General of South-West states. The state governors have their own Attorney-Generals who are equally as qualified as Malami is. So, if this is part of the conspiracy that anything that smacks of regional arrangements or organisation offends some people who believe there has to be direct federal rule in every nook and cranny of the country, that is own misery. But it has nothing to do with the law. As far as i am concerned, Malami is just expressing his personal prejudice, it has nothing to with the law. The Amotekun people are not paramilitary organisation. They are to apprehend those committing crimes and report to the police or they themselves can exercise their rights of citizen’s arrest which we all can do as individuals. I can arrest somebody who I suspect has committed a crime.
So, the AGF is just speaking out of pure prejudice and it is very sad that people of Northern extraction are never happy when we want to organise ourselves on regional basis. I don’t understand that. if you don’t want to organise yourselves, how can you stop others from doing it? It is pure prejudice and it has nothing to do with the law. The governors have no duty whatsoever to consult him and he shouldn’t aggrandise himself and arrogate to himself powers that he doesn’t have. I think the governors should just ignore him and carry on with what they are doing. If he feels aggrieved that people in some parts off the country are trying to secure themselves against crime, he can go to court to challenge it. That arrogant authority that he can dictate to states is very insulting.
Since the pronouncement by the Minister, there has been this debate about why Sharia Police in some Northern states popularly called Hisbah should be legal while Amotekun was declared illegal. Is there any difference between the two?
In a sense, they have the same legal status; in the sense that each one is a creation of the state and not of the federal government. It is a very good point to raise and others have also raised the issue of the Civilian JTF in the North East. Those people are organised to identify Boko Haram terrorists and alert the military. When necessary, they defend themselves against the terrorists. Nobody is complaining because it is for a good purpose. Let me make a general statement here. In law, if something is not expressly prohibited, then that thing can be done legitimately. There is no law, either in the Police or any other act, is there a prohibition of one state or many states coming together to organise the promotion of the security of the peoples of the state. The primary duty of the state is the protection of the security of the people. It is in the section 14 (2) of the constitution. That is their primary duty and this falls not only on the federal government but on all states. If you look at the constitution, the powers are equal in that sense. The federal covers the whole country and the states cover their territorial areas. They can make laws for good governance which is also provided for in the constitution. What I am saying is that the concept of Amotekun is not banned and if it is not prohibited, it can be legitimately embarked upon.
On the non-legal side, if you think about our security, the insecurity challenge which is confronting Nigeria now is so high everywhere. People are afraid of traveling by road or going out at nights and so on. I think we should welcome any effort by a group or individual state to help to secure lives and property and improve the security situation in the country. .
It is the duty of the federal government to collaborate with them to improve the security of everybody in the country. The state government also has a duty to protect the lives and security of everybody so, several state governments can decide to exercise that duty together collectively and the federal government should assist them. So, there is nothing illegal at all about Amotekun. If they now want to carry arms such as AK-47 and other powerful arms aside dane guns, at that stage, they will need federal permission. But if they are not doing that, and they are not an armed body in the modern sense, they do not need any other authority to operate
An aide of the Minister yesterday said they wonder if you have any personal scores to settle with him given your opposition to some of his actions in the last few days. Do you have anything personal against Malami?
I want to advise the gentleman not to personalise issues of public interests. The position of Attorney-General is a very important one and its authority affects all of us. So, when he as a lawyer makes a statement or takes any decision that one considers wrong, there is nothing wrong in expressing a contrary view. That is what a debate is all about in a democratic society. It is not personal. Personally, I like Malami as a person. It is just unfortunate that he issued statements one after the other within a short period and the media wanted me to express my views on the issues and I don’t agree with the steps Malami took on the two occasions. I have nothing against him; in fact, I’m favorably disposed towards him because in a sense, we are all working together in the same theatre. So, it’s not correct for anyone to say I am having any personal scores to settle with him and it is wrong for anyone to interpret my objective views on statements issued by Malami in that light. It is not right. I can call Malami now and chat with him on issues of interests to the country. I have nothing personal against him.
Source: City News

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Investors Affirm Support For Fidelity Bank Plc With 238% Oversubscription In The First Phase Of Equity Capital Raise

Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has announced the successful conclusion of the first tranche of its equity capital raise through its Public Offer and Rights Issue (the Combined Offer) following the completion of the capital verification exercise conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and approval of the Basis of Allotment by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A total of 108,046 applications for 23,791,687,463 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦231,968,952,764.25 were received on the Public Offer. Out of these, 107,588 applications for 23,768,724,000 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦231,745,059,000.00 were found to be valid based on the terms of the Offer and the CBN’s verification. However, 458 invalid applications for 22,765,143 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦221,960,144.25 were rejected, while 548 applications which included odd lots amounting to 198,320 Ordinary Shares (i.e. ₦1,933,620.00) were also rejected. The Public Offer was 237% subscribed and 150% allotted.
With respect to the Rights Issue, 7,559 applications for 4,430,290,237 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦40,980,184,692.25 were received of which 656 applications for 23,037,442 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦213,096,338.50 were invalid based on the terms of the Rights Issue. The Rights Issue was 137.73% subscribed and 100% allotted.
“We are delighted to announce the successful completion of the first phase of our capital raising initiatives through a Public Offer and Rights Issue. The positive result recorded in our Combined Offer is a testament to the strength of the Fidelity Bank franchise in the capital market. It is both gratifying and humbling to note this level of investor confidence in our Bank. We extend sincere gratitude to our investors for their continued confidence in the Bank, as evidenced by the 237.92% and 137.73% oversubscription of our Public Offer and Rights Issue respectively. As we go into the next phase of our capital raising drive, we reaffirm our commitment to providing cutting-edge financial solutions to our customers and sustainable returns to our stakeholders”, commented Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, OON, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc.
The funds realised from this initial phase of capital raising will be deployed to local and international business expansion, enhancement of technology infrastructure and deepening customer service initiatives.
With the successful conclusion of the first phase of capital raising, the Board of Directors recently obtained the approval of shareholders to commence the second phase and is confident of meeting the new regulatory capital for banks with international authorisation before the CBN’s deadline of March 31, 2026.
Following the CBN’s publication of the revised minimum capital requirement for banks in March 2024, Fidelity Bank with its combined offer of June 2024, became the first financial institution undertake a public offer on the Nigerian Exchange Group.
From an offer price of N9.75 per share for the Public Offer and N9.25 per share for the Rights Issue in June 2024, the Bank’s shares traded at a high of N21.15 on February 7, 2025, a growth rate of over 116%, the highest for any financial institution in the banking industry.
Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 8.5 million customers through digital banking channels, its 251 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Awards; the Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023; and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards. It was also recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023 and the Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.
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Video: I Won’t Apologise For Your ‘Forgetfulness’ – Naja’atu Muhammad dares Ribadu

Founder and Chairman board of trustees of the Northern Star Youth Initiatives, Hajia Naja’atu Muhammad, has reacted to reports of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, demanding apology over her viral TikTok video.
Naja’atu, in a recent video sighted by our correspondent, dared the NSA to go to court if he has issues with her statement, saying she’s not ready to apologise for his ‘forgetfulness’.
Meanwhile, Hajia Muhammad, in the viral TikTok video, claimed that the current NSA is serving in President Bola Tinubu’s government, whom he had criticised as ‘corrupt’ when he was the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
However, Tribune Online reports that the NSA Ribadu, through his lawyer, Dr Ahmed Raji (SAN), said he never publicly or privately accused Tinubu of being a corrupt government official.
The NSA therefore urged Naja’atu Muhammad to tender an unreserved apology, noting that the damage had been done to his reputation.
But Naja’atu Muhammad, while responding, said she stood by her original statement and would never be intimidated by those she referred to as “attack dogs” from the NSA.
She said, “There’s no retreat. No surrender. No apologies to Nuhu Ribadu. I’m speaking in response to the recent threats and intimidation by Nuhu Ribadu using his attack dogs and his lawyer, Ahmed Raji and Co.
“Regarding my statement that the then chairman of the EFCC had publicly accused the then Governor of Lagos State, Ahmed Bola Tinubu of being and I quote ‘a corrupt government official who will not escape justice’.”
Continuing, she noted her acknowledgment of the possibility of Nuhu Ribadu to have forgotten or retracted his past comment, but stated that her words accurately reflected her views on the matter already in public domain.
“While I acknowledged that Nuhu Ribadu might have forgotten or chosen to retract his comment from the past, I stand by my statement and do not believe an apology is warranted. Apology to whom exactly? To President Tinubu for the earlier comments made by his now National Security Advisor? Or apology to Nuhu Ribadu for his forgetfulness and master-serving mindset.
“I stand by my original statement and will not be retracting it. My words accurately reflect my views on the matter based on what is already in the public domain. And I do not believe an apology or retraction is necessary,” Naja’atu Muhammad added.
The Northern Star Youth Initiative leader urged the NSA to approach the court as he has threatened, saying, “I will not compromise my position to appease Nuhu Ribadu and his attack dogs. I will not retract my statement nor will I apologize for speaking the truth as I see it. You have issues, as you’ve threatened; please go straight to the court. But nothing will silence me.”
Video:
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Speaker Mojisola Meranda Calls For United Action To End Female Genital Mutilation

Lagos Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda has reaffirmed commitment to ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), calling for a united front against the practice.
In a statement marking the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, Meranda condemned the violation of human rights that affects millions of girls and women worldwide.
Meranda emphasised the need for accelerated efforts to end FGM, stressing that it’s a responsibility that goes beyond governments to every individual. She vowed to push for policies that raise awareness and protect potential victims, ensuring the health, dignity, and rights of young girls are safeguarded.
She said: “This year’s theme, #StepUpThePace, is a call to action. We must accelerate efforts to end this barbaric practice once and for all. It is not just the responsibility of government but of every individual – whether you are a legislator, a healthcare worker, a professional or simply a concerned human being.
“We must unite to protect the future of our daughters and ensure their health, dignity and rights are safeguarded. I commit to pushing for policies that protect girls, raise awareness and put an end to this atrocity.”
The Speaker urged everyone to take action in their respective capacities to put an end to FGM, emphasizing that together, a world free of this harmful practice is possible.
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Video: I Won’t Apologise For Your ‘Forgetfulness’ – Naja’atu Muhammad dares Ribadu