By Barr. Ifeanyi Ogenyi,

Virtual court sitting and hearing of cases will officially commence today Friday, the 23rd January 2026 in the Enugu State High Court.

This initiative is a testament to Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s unwavering commitment to transforming Enugu State into a Tech- Driven public service.

It is geared towards adopting hybrid virtual court proceedings to enhance efficiency and transparency in justice delivery as well as an integrated case management system and building responsive public service.

The virtual court proceedings will enhance fast tracking of cases, reduce cost of litigation and provide for convenience for both legal practitioners, litigants and judges alike.

With this development, lawyers can conveniently stay in the comforts of their offices to conduct their cases ,likewise litigants can now stay in their homes to give evidence in their cases without necessarily appearing physically in the court.

It is pertinent to note that Enugu state is the first State in the South East to introduce and fully implement virtual court proceedings and unarguably, one of the foremost States in Nigeria that has embraced these digital tools to enhance efficiency, transparency and access to justice, while allowing the traditional courts proceedings to coexist in the mean time.

Nigerian Courts for too long have been operating in an era defined by rising caseloads, evolving public expectations and rapid technological advancement, thus ,the need for modern justice delivery system adapting to these realities.

There is no doubt that technology, when properly deployed, is not a disruption, but an enabler of judicial excellence.

To this end, Enugu State judiciary has fixed 26th January 2026 for the inaugural and unveiling ceremony making the digitalization and automation of the justice sector.

This ceremony will form part of the programmes for making the opening of the legal year.

Obviously, governor Peter Mbah is on the right track with his transformation agenda and he is evidently leveraging technology to drive every sector in Enugu State.

Indeed, Tomorrow Is Here !

By Dr. Malachy Chuma Ochie,

In a landmark moment that will be etched into the annals of Enugu State’s governance history, the Enugu State Government has successfully recovered ₦1.28 billion from the controversial Sujimoto Smart Schools contract, following a rigorous investigation and prosecution process coordinated with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The recovered funds, representing public money previously paid for unexecuted or abandoned projects, were officially handed over to the state at the EFCC Enugu Zonal Office, marking a decisive victory for transparency and fiscal probity.

This milestone is the culmination of a relentless pursuit of justice and resource recovery initiated and championed by Governor Peter Mbah, whose administration refused to be deterred by distractions, detractors, or the noise that often accompanies processes of accountability.

From the outset, the governor asserted that every kobo of public funds entrusted to the state would be defended, protected, and, where necessary, fully recovered.

The EFCC, acting on a petition submitted by the Enugu State Government, applied its full statutory mandate to trace, recover, and restitute these public funds.

In doing so, the anti-graft agency demonstrated not just procedural diligence but a commitment aligned with the very essence of good governance, which is ensuring that government contracts deliver value, and that breaches of trust do not go unchecked.

This achievement is historic for Enugu in the sense that for the first time in the state’s history, stolen or misapplied public funds have been methodically tracked, legally reclaimed, and restored to the treasury through cooperative, lawful action.

It sends a powerful message to citizens and contractors alike that no amount of money misappropriated through contract breaches or financial impropriety will remain beyond the reach of the rule of law.

For detractors who once went to town to cast aspersions on the administration, deriding efforts to pursue accountability as political theatre or unfounded attacks, the results now speak louder than rhetoric.

What once was cynicism and scepticism has given way to vindication: the people of Enugu now know that their resources matter, that governance under Peter Mbah is not a passive exercise of authority, but a proactive stewardship of public trust.

Governor Mbah’s leadership in this process reflects a broader commitment to prudent maximization of scarce resources, accountability, and probity in public office.

His administration’s insistence on legal process, collaboration with anti-corruption institutions, and firm resolve to hold defaulting contractors accountable sets a new standard for governance in Nigeria.

It is not enough to simply initiate projects; the state must ensure that such projects yield public benefit, and that citizens’ funds are never squandered with impunity.

The recovered funds will now be reinvested into critical infrastructure and development projects that genuinely improve the lives of the people of Enugu State; a testament to the fact that good governance and accountability are cornerstones of sustainable development.

Indeed, Governor Peter Mbah has proven to be an exceptional leader dedicated to the highest ideals of public service: integrity, transparency, and the tireless defence of the public purse.

This victory is not merely financial; it is moral, symbolic, and a clarion call to all public officials that stewardship without accountability is no longer acceptable.

Nigeria’s national electricity grid collapsed on Friday afternoon, plunging the country into another nationwide blackout after power generation and distribution dropped to zero across all electricity distribution companies.

Data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator showed that the system failure occurred at about 1:00 pm, when electricity allocation to the 11 distribution companies nationwide fell to zero.

Power generation simultaneously crashed to zero megawatts, triggering a complete shutdown of supply.

A review of the national distribution load profile confirmed that all distribution companies, including Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola, recorded zero load at the time of the collapse.

Prior to the outage, electricity demand had been high in major cities.

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company was receiving about 639 megawatts, while Ikeja Electric had an allocation of approximately 630 megawatts, underscoring the scale of the sudden system failure.

Further checks showed that national power generation plunged sharply from over 4,500 megawatts to about 24 megawatts by 1:30 pm.

All 23 power generation plants connected to the national grid reportedly lost output during the incident, leaving no electricity available for distribution.

As of the time of filing this report, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, which manages the national grid, had not disclosed the cause of the collapse.

Although restoration efforts were said to be underway, there was no clear timeline for the full recovery of power supply.

Repeated attempts to reach officials of the company for immediate comment were unsuccessful.

The latest outage is the first recorded collapse of Nigeria’s national grid in 2026 and comes just weeks after a similar system failure on December 29, 2025, which also resulted in widespread blackouts across the country.

In recent years, recurring grid collapses have been linked to technical faults, poor maintenance of transmission infrastructure and instability in generation capacity.

Power sector stakeholders have continued to urge the Federal Government and industry operators to strengthen contingency measures and invest in grid resilience to prevent repeated nationwide outages.

The Supreme Court on Thursday formally brought to a close the protracted murder case of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, dismissing an appeal by the Lagos State Government seeking to reopen the prosecution of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.).

In a unanimous ruling, a five-member panel of the apex court held that Lagos State abandoned its appeal against Al-Mustapha’s acquittal by failing to take any procedural steps for nine years.

Al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer to late military ruler, General Sani Abacha, had been tried over the killing of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola.

Kudirat Abiola was assassinated in Lagos on June 4, 1996, during widespread protests against the annulment of the June 12 election.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Uwani Aba-Aji described the conduct of the Lagos State Government as inexcusable, noting that the state failed to act despite being granted leave by the Supreme Court in 2014 to pursue the appeal.

When the case was mentioned, counsel to Al-Mustapha, Paul Daudu (SAN), informed the court that Lagos State neither filed a notice of appeal nor took any steps to comply with the court’s directive over a nine-year period.

Daudu said the state was given 30 days in 2014 to file its appeal but failed to do so, arguing that the prolonged inaction clearly showed a lack of interest in pursuing the case.

He urged the court to dismiss the appeal on the ground of abandonment.

Justice Aba-Aji confirmed that court records showed Lagos State was duly served with hearing notices but neither appeared nor offered any explanation for its absence.

In a brief ruling, the court held that nine years was more than sufficient for the appellant to file the required processes and dismissed the appeal marked SC/CR/45/2014.

A related appeal filed by the Lagos State Government, marked SC/CR/6/2014, was also struck out on similar grounds.

The Supreme Court had, in 2014, granted Lagos State permission to appeal out of time against the July 12, 2013 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which discharged and acquitted Al-Mustapha.

The order directed the state to file its notice of appeal within 30 days.

That decision followed claims by the state that it needed time to review the case and challenge the appellate court’s finding that the evidence against Al-Mustapha was weak and unreliable.

At the trial court, a Lagos High Court had on January 30, 2012 sentenced Al-Mustapha, Mohammed Abacha and Lateef Shofolahan to death by hanging for conspiracy and murder.

However, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in 2013 and freed the accused.

With Thursday’s ruling, the Supreme Court has effectively shut the door on all legal efforts to revive the case, nearly three decades after the assassination of Kudirat Abiola.