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Reverse fuel price within 24 hours or… – group tells Tinubu *Wants probe of NNPCL’s $6billion
Nothing short of immediate reversal of the current pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, will stay the hands of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a group of civil society organisation intent on driving corruption underground in Nigeria, from moving against the government of President Bola Tinubu.
Beyond that, the group is insisting that the President, apart from ordering the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), to immediately reverse the new price, institute a comprehensive probe into the finances of the company, solely responsible for the regulation of oil business in the country.
Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director, of the organisation, in a statement on Sunday, told Tinubu to direct Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF-MoJ), and other appropriate anti-corruption agencies, to probe the allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the NNPCL, including the spending of the reported $300 million ‘bailout funds’ collected from the Federal Government in August 2024, and the $6 billion debt it owes suppliers.
The statement, read: “Suspected perpetrators of alleged corruption and mismanagement in the NNPC should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any proceeds of corruption should be fully recovered. The increase in petrol price constitutes a fundamental breach of constitutional guarantees and the country’s international human rights obligations.
“Nigerians have for far too long been denied justice and the opportunity to get to the bottom of why they continue to pay the price for corruption in the oil sector. Rather than pursuing public policies to address the growing poverty and inequality in the country, and holding the NNPC to account for the alleged corruption and mismanagement in the oil sector, your government seems to be punishing the poor.
“The increase in petrol price has rendered already impoverished citizens incapable of satisfying their minimum needs for survival. The increase is not inevitable, as it stems from the persistent failure of successive governments to address allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the oil sector and the impunity of suspected perpetrators.
“Corruption in the oil sector and the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds to support the operations of the NNPC have resulted in persistent and unlawful hike in petrol prices. Holding the NNPC to account for alleged corruption and mismanagement in the oil sector would serve legitimate public interests.
“The increase is causing immense hardship to those less well-off. We are concerned that as the economic situation in Nigeria deteriorates, the increase in petrol price is pushing people further into poverty. We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 48 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.
“Increasing petrol prices at a time when millions of Nigerians continue to face worsening economic conditions is entirely inconsistent with your government constitutional and international obligations to ensure the minimum living conditions compatible with human dignity. The arbitrary increase has placed a disproportionate burden on the marginalised and most vulnerable sectors of society, particularly those disadvantaged by poverty.
“The increase is seriously jeopardising their living conditions, well as individuals’ physical, emotional, and individual development, and intensifying and worsening socioeconomic conditions in the country. The increase constitutes a serious human rights problem because of the intensity with which it undermines the enjoyment and exercise by Nigerians of their human rights and renders their civic participation illusory.
“The fundamental right to life includes not only the right of every Nigerian not to be deprived of his/her life arbitrarily, but also the right that he/she will not be prevented from having access to the conditions that guarantee a dignified existence. The growing poverty and inequality in the country has continued to adversely affect the right of Nigerians to participatory democracy, and impede their ability to participate in their own government.
“Persistent increase in petrol prices keep people in poverty which in turn perpetuates discriminatory attitudes and practices against them. Your government has a legal obligation to mobilize the maximum of the country’s available resources to ensure people’s socio-economic rights and to protect the most vulnerable and disadvantaged Nigerians.
“Your government also has the legal obligations to probe and prosecute allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the NNPC, and to ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims of corruption. Investigating and prosecuting allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the oil sector would be entirely consistent with the Nigerian Constitution, and the country’s international anti-corruption obligations.
“Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] imposes clear responsibility on your government to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution. Section 15(5) imposes the responsibility on your government to ‘abolish all corrupt practices’ including in the NNPC. Under Section 16(1) of the Constitution, your government has a responsibility to ‘secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity.
“Section 16(2) further provides that, ‘the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good. According to our information, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited recently increased the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, across its retail outlets.
“The price of the product increased to N855 per litre, from about N600, and in some instances above N900 per litre. The apparently unlawful increase in petrol price followed a scarcity caused by the reported refusal by suppliers to import petroleum products for the NNPCL over a $6 billion debt. The NNPC reportedly failed to remit USD$2.04 billion and N164 billion of oil revenues into the public treasury, as documented in the recently published 2020 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation.”
Justice Muhammad Nuraddeen Bello of High Court sitting in Sokoto State has sentenced three men, including a foreign national, to death by hanging, after convicting them on charges bordering on terrorism and arms proliferation.
The convicts, Yusuf Muhammad (alias Sallau), a Nigerien; Jabbi Alhaji Yalle; and Kabiru Muhammad, were apprehended on 13th June, 2025, by the Department of State Services (DSS) Counter Terrorism Unit in connection with cross-border criminal activities bordering on arms trafficking and terrorism.
Bello, who found all three defendants guilty as charged and sentenced them to death by hanging, while also ordering the forfeiture of all monetary exhibits recovered from the convicts to the Federal Government, said: “The conviction is the latest in a series of successful prosecutions by the DSS in its sustained operations against terrorism and organised cross-border criminal networks across Nigeria.”
The sentencing is coming about two weeks after the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja sentenced each of the five suspects arrested on May 31, 2026, by the DSS for their involvement in the November 21, 2025, attack on St Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State, to 25 years’ imprisonment.
Justice Binta Nyako, had handed down the judgment after the men, including two Nigeriens, pleaded guilty to all four terrorism-related charges, bordering on support for the commission of an act of terrorism, breaching both Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Firearms Act, were pressed against them.
According to Count One, the men were accused of jointly conspiring to assist a terrorist by agreeing and intentionally playing various roles towards conveying 15 AK 103 rifles as well as about 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from the Diffa region, Republic of Niger, to one Malam Ahmad, a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group based in Borgu, Niger State, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Primate Elijah Ayodele, is on the verge of coughing out a whopping N10billion, if he fails to offer unrestrained apology to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former Governor of Kano State within the next 24 hours, and retract his claim that the former Minister of Defence is bidding his time to betray Peter Obi, to whom he is to contest the 2027 presidential election as a running mate.
Without doing so, the controversial cleric, should be ready for a major court battle with the vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), the platform on which the pair is to contest the election.
In a letter indicating a legal action against Ayodele of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church over defamatory remarks, Kwankwaso, through Magaji Mato Ibrahim, SAN & Co., his lawyers demanded an immediate retraction and apology from the cleric over the allegations.
Details of the letter, dated June 11, and unveiled through the X platform of the legal team, was based on a viral video recorded during a live-streamed church service, where the preacher made allegations targeting Kwankwaso’s integrity as Peter Obi’s running mate under the NDC.
Quoting the cleric as stating: “KWANKWASO IS A FAKE TO OBI, KWANKWASO WILL BETRAY YOU. KWANKWASO HAS BEEN PAID TO BE VICE PRESIDENT TO OBI AMONG OTHER LIBELOUS COMMENTS WHILE PRETENDING TO BE A PREACHER,” the former governor said the comments were unprovoked, grossly unfounded, and carefully designed to create a rift within the ranks of the political party and its supporters.
Handing Ayodele a 24-hour ultimatum to publish a full and unequivocal retraction across all social media platforms and news outlets with the same prominence as the original video, they also demanded a written undertaking that he would cease and desist from making any further malicious statements against their client, warning that failure to comply, would lead to full legal actions.
The letter stated: “We shall claim substantial damages to the tune of Ten Billion Naira and cost of the action on a full indemnity basis amongst other reliefs.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday demanded the immediate end to the exportation of minerals from countries in Africa in their raw forms, which he said had led to massive exploitation of the continent.
The President, told member countries of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), a forum of Ministers in charge of Mining and Solid Minerals on the continent to speak with one voice to promote, collective interests, ensure value addition, and prevent the continent from becoming merely a source of raw materials for the rest of the world.
As the Grand Patron of the group, chaired by Dele Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, gave the charge while receiving a delegation of AMSG in the State House, Tinubu told the delegation that the group had a critical role to play in strengthening Africa’s bargaining power in the global mineral market and ensuring that the continent derives maximum value from its natural resources.
His words: “ What we should do is avoid bureaucracy and deceit; we must put an end to exploitation. The rest of the world won’t mind if your country is a cesspit of dams and rubbish and excavates your raw materials without giving value.
“It is our responsibility to collaborate and cooperate to ensure that these metals and minerals bring value to us, bring technology to us, and we can do it. It is how much each country will put into the research, development and refinery. I don’t see reasons we cannot demand centralisation of that conversation somewhere on the continent. So why not utilise that in our research and development and knowledge-based economy to enhance the quality of life and bring prosperity to our people.”
Emphasising that Africa possessed enormous mineral wealth that should be strategically harnessed to drive industrialisation, create jobs and accelerate economic transformation across the continent, the President, said the era of exporting raw minerals without local processing and beneficiation must give way to a new model that encourages investment in local industries, technology transfer and the development of value chains that retain wealth within Africa.
Alake, who had earlier expressed gratitude to the President for his exemplary leadership under the Renewed Hope Agenda, said the gesture had shown support for Nigeria’s mineral sector, especially in the local value-addition and economic diversification drive, where artisanal miners are empowered.
He told the President: “You encouraged us to look at the focal point of the establishment of this group, which is to ensure that the African natural resources, especially with regards to minerals, critical matters, are localised, the beneficiation coming directly to Africans generally.
“You charged us that we should set our sails very high and ensure that local value addition is a pivot around which all the objectives of this organisation should revolve.
“So, sir, we have gone implemented your charge and we are quitted that today local value addition is reverberating all over Africa.”
He added that some member countries have gone ahead to ban the export of raw minerals.
He explained members of the body were in Abuja for the Fifth edition of the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS 2026), to push for a new continental approach to resource management and industrial development.
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