President Bola Tinubu on Thursday approved the conferment of 959 national honours and endorsed reforms to strengthen the funding framework for the Nigeria Police Force.

This came as he presided over marathon meetings of the National Council of State and the Police Council at the State House, Abuja.

Addressing State House correspondents after the meetings, the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Affairs Office, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the President approved the report of the National Honours Award Committee for 2024 and 2025, as well as special awards that were earlier bestowed by the President from January 2025 to date.

According to Umobong, the current honours committee, reconstituted in August 2021 and chaired by Justice Sidi Bage, screened over 5,000 applications before recommending 824 recipients for the 2024/2025 National Honours and 135 special awardees, totalling 959 honourees.

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“The award of titles of honour and decorations of dignitaries is a yearly event at which the President honours deserving nationals and non-nationals who have distinguished themselves in the service of the nation and humanity,” she said.

Umobong added, “After diligent screening and selection by the committee, a total of 824 successful applicants were recommended for the 2024/2025 National Honours and 135 special awards by the President, bringing it to a total of 959 awardees.”

She noted that President Tinubu, in the spirit of inclusive national recognition, had already honoured several distinguished Nigerians and friends of Nigeria in the past year, including Bill Gates for contributions to public health, Uncle Sam Pemu for journalism, and the Super Falcons and D’Tigress for excellence in sports.

Others include the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four, honoured posthumously for environmental activism, and Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the outgoing INEC Chairman, recognised for service to Nigeria’s democratic process.

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The updated list of awardees, Umobong said, would be published soon.

Following the Council of State session, President Tinubu chaired the Nigeria Police Council, where members approved major reforms to the Nigeria Police Trust Fund.

In his first-ever briefing to journalists since assuming office in August 2023, Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Geidam, said the Council ratified proposals to repeal and re-enact the 2019 Police Trust Fund Establishment Act to remove its six-year limit and transform it into a permanent agency.

“The sunset clause of six years in the current Act limits the lifespan of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund and impedes long-term planning, thereby constraining sustainable police reform.

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“We also prayed that the Council approve the repeal and re-enactment of the Nigerian Police Transparency Establishment Act 2025 in order to remove the sunset clause and transition it into an agency,” Geidam said.

He explained that the Council further approved an upward review of the Police Trust Fund’s allocation from 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent of the Federation Account, as well as a directive to the Attorney-General of the Federation to incorporate all resolutions into an executive bill for submission to the National Assembly.

Established in 2019, the NPTF was designed to bridge funding gaps in policing by supporting training, welfare, technology acquisition, and logistics. However, its limited tenure and budget constraints have long hindered sustainable reforms.

“All these prayers have been approved without any omission,” Geidam confirmed, adding, “The Council also directed that the Honourable Attorney-General and Minister of Justice input all the approvals of the Council in the proposed Executive Bill.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has announced that the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has admitted additional evidence in the ongoing trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over an alleged $4.5bn fraud.

In a statement released on Thursday, the EFCC said Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court made the ruling during proceedings on October 9, 2025.

“Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on October 9, 2025, admitted more evidence against a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in an alleged $4.5bn fraud,” the commission said.

The former CBN governor is facing a 19-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, accusing him of soliciting and receiving illegal gratifications.

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His co-defendant, Henry Omoile, faces a separate three-count charge bordering on unlawful acceptance of gifts by agents.

The statement added that the trial judge had adjourned the case till December 2 and 3, 2025, for a mini-trial.

“The case was adjourned till December 2 and 3, 2025, for mini-trial,” the EFCC noted.

Thursday’s ruling marks another step in the ongoing prosecution of Emefiele, who was first arraigned in 2023 following investigations into alleged abuse of office and large-scale financial impropriety during his tenure.

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Emefiele, who was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014 and retained by President Muhammadu Buhari, came under intense scrutiny following controversial monetary policies during his tenure, particularly the 2023 naira redesign and cash withdrawal limits, which sparked widespread public criticism and economic disruption.

He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, insisting that all actions taken under his leadership at the apex bank were in line with the law and national interest.

In earlier proceedings, the anti-graft agency tendered several documents and digital evidence, including WhatsApp chat records retrieved from a mobile phone allegedly linked to Emefiele.

The defence team, however, has consistently challenged the admissibility of some of the evidence, arguing that the EFCC did not follow due process in obtaining or certifying them.

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The forensic analysis of one of the devices, reportedly an iPhone, has also been a major point of contention, with both parties disagreeing over the methodology and level of access granted to experts.

The EFCC had previously alleged that part of the funds in question; running into billions of naira and foreign currencies, were traced to bank accounts and assets connected to Emefiele.

In 2024, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the interim forfeiture of over $4.7m, ₦830m, and several properties allegedly linked to him, while another court later granted the final forfeiture of assets valued at more than ₦12bn.

Emefiele, who served as CBN governor between 2014 and 2023, has denied all allegations, maintaining that his actions were in line with the law and national interest.

The EFCC first arraigned him in December 2023, after his suspension and arrest by the Department of State Services. He was later re-arraigned on multiple amended charges involving alleged fraud, abuse of office, and unlawful receipt of gratification.
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The Council of State on Thursday approved the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy for 175 persons across various categories.

The decision followed a presentation by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s recommendations based on the report of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, at Thursday’s Council of State meeting held at the State House, Abuja.

Although the full names of the beneficiaries are yet to be published, our correspondent gathered that pardons were granted to one of Nigeria’s founding fathers, Herbert Macaulay and former FCT minister in the Babangida regime, Maj-Gen. Mamman Vatsa (retd).

Members of the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four are also beneficiaries.

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“Herbert Macaulay and Vatsa are among the two major ones on that list,” a source who attended the meeting told our correspondent.

Macaulay, often called the “father of Nigerian nationalism,” was twice convicted by the colonial authorities in Lagos.

In 1913, while in private practice as a surveyor, he was tried for misappropriating funds from an estate he administered and sentenced to prison; historians have long debated the fairness of that prosecution.

In 1928, after his Lagos Daily News published incendiary claims during the Eleko (Oba of Lagos) agitation, he was convicted of sedition in the so-called “Gunpowder Plot” case and jailed for six months with hard labour.

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Vatsa, a poet, former FCT minister and member of the Supreme Military Council, was executed by firing squad on March 5, 1986, after a secret military tribunal convicted him of treason over an alleged coup against then military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, his childhood friend.

The case has remained controversial for decades, with periodic calls for a posthumous pardon.

Out of the 175 beneficiaries, 82 inmates were granted a full presidential pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

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Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state explained, “82 of the inmates were granted full pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

“The decision underscores the President’s commitment to justice and correctional reform.”

The meeting, chaired by President Tinubu, also ratified key appointments, including Dr. Aminu Yusuf from Niger State as Chairman of the National Population Commission and Tonge Bularafa as Federal Commissioner representing Yobe State in the Commission. Both appointments received unanimous approval.