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A Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, has adjourned the trial of Bola Oyebamiji, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), over allegations that he oversaw the public auction of vehicles belonging to the agency while in office.
Oyebamiji resigned his appointment as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIWA last year to participate in the Osun State governorship race and is currently the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate.
The case was instituted by a Kogi-based lawyer, Dr Julius Elukpo, who dragged the immediate past NIWA helmsman before the court under the Freedom of Information Act 2011.
In a letter dated April 9, 2026, addressed to the Acting Managing Director of NIWA, Dr Elukpo alleged that nearly all of the agency’s vehicles were sold through public auctions last year, shortly before Oyebamiji’s resignation.
The lawyer is demanding full disclosure of the details surrounding the sales, including the make, year of manufacture and year of purchase of each vehicle, the amount realised from each sale, and the identities of the individuals, bodies and organisations that purchased them.
Beyond the vehicle sales, Dr Elukpo is also seeking a list of NIWA staff from Levels One to Six, along with their states of origin, as well as an explanation for the continued disrepair of the Lokoja-to-Shintaku jetty. He further questioned why most of the agency’s top management staff reside and operate from Abuja and is demanding to know who bears the cost of their accommodation and transportation.
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Monday’s scheduled hearing did not hold after counsel representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Transportation were absent from the proceedings.
The plaintiff, however, insisted that the hearing should have proceeded, noting that all parties had been duly served with the court summons.
Counsel to NIWA was present in court and has since filed a counter-affidavit, with the plaintiff expected to respond within seven days.
Dr Elukpo expressed displeasure over the absence of the other respondents, stating that they had all been served with notice of the proceedings last month.
The presiding judge, Justice Judith N. Binjin-Eigege, adjourned the case until September 28, after the court’s annual vacation, for continued hearing.
