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Nigerian Customs Deputy Comptroller Alajogun Flouts Retirement Rules, Still In Office Months After February Terminal Leave Deadline —Sources

A senior official, Deputy Comptroller General Olaniyi Adisa Alajogun, has been accused of breaching service codes by remaining in office beyond the statutory retirement age of 60.
An investigation has revealed a disregard for the law within the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).
A senior official, Deputy Comptroller General Olaniyi Adisa Alajogun, has been accused of breaching service codes by remaining in office beyond the statutory retirement age of 60.
Sources within the Customs Service told SaharaReporters that Alajogun, who turned 60 on May 23, 2025, was due to retire fully on that same day.
A copy of the Customs statutory retirement list for 2025, exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, confirms that Alajogun (Service number 39279) was born on May 23, 1965, and began his service on August 31, 1990.
The document indicates that he was supposed to retire on May 23, 2025, citing age as the retirement condition. It also states that he should have gone on pre-retirement leave as of February 23, 2025.
However, sources allege that Alajogun has continued to act as if he were still an active member of the service, overseeing enforcement, inspection, and investigation activities despite having reached the mandatory retirement age.
“He was due for pre-retirement leave on February 23
, 2025, and full retirement on May 23, 2025,” one of the sources said.
“But Alajogun is still signing documents, and still carrying out his duties among others which should not happen.
“This is a total disregard for the laws guiding the Customs Service. His continued stay in office is setting a bad precedent, especially in the customs service,” said a dissatisfied staff member.
A Nigeria Customs Service circular dated May 7, 2025, with reference number HRD/2024/046, listed the names of officers who were either due for retirement or set to retire soon.
The document, signed by M.A. Yusuf, Acting Comptroller of Establishment, on behalf of the Deputy Comptroller-General (HRD), read: “I am directed to forward the attached list on the above subject matter as pre-retirement notice to all affected officers.
“In accordance with the Public Service Rule (PSR) No. 100238 and Federal Government circular No.63216/S.I/X/T; CR1/2001/5 of 20/03/2001, all affected officers due for retirement in 2025 are to disengage from the active service and proceed on three (3) months pre-retirement leave, three months to the effective date of retirement.
“All affected officers are to ensure compliance and forward their three months pre-retirement notice to the Comptroller General of Customs accordingly.
“Any observed error, omission or legitimate complaints should be forwarded to the office of the Comptroller General of Customs through the Deputy Comptroller General (HRD) on or before 30th Jul, 2024.
“Zonal Coordinators, Area Controllers and Unit Heads are requested to make the list available for circulation to all the affected officers in their respective Zones, Areas and Units.”
“This publication is for circulation within the Service,” it added.
The situation has raised concerns among staff about the integrity of the institution and created fertile ground for corruption, particularly in light of the controversial tenure of Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, who himself is reportedly due for retirement but has remained in office.
In February, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions summoned Adeniyi to explain why some senior officers of the Service had refused to retire upon reaching the mandatory retirement age.
This development followed the review of a petition submitted by the Obasi-Pherson Help Foundation, which alleged that certain Assistant Comptrollers and Comptrollers were due for retirement but had blatantly refused to leave the service.
A statement issued by the Head of Media, House Committee on Public Petitions, Chooks Oko, named the affected officers as Imam, Umar, and Egwu, all Assistant Comptrollers, and Awe, Fatia, and Faith, all Comptrollers.
Issuing the summons, the Committee emphasized that the Comptroller-General, as a public officer, had a responsibility to clarify the situation to the Nigerian public.
“In this era, when most of our youths are seeking employment, it is unfair for those due for retirement to refuse to leave,” the Chairman of the Committee on Public Petitions, Mike Etaba, was quoted as saying.
Contrary to the Public Service Rules (PSR), FIJ exclusively reported in December 2024 that President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) under Adewale Adeniyi had extended the service years of 12 senior officers who were already due for retirement.
Among the beneficiaries of this extension were Michael Awe, the Comptroller of the Murtala Muhammed Cargo Command; Baba Imam, an Assistant Comptroller of Customs and Secretary to the NCS Board; Kayode Kolade, the Comptroller of the Seme Area Command; and Umar Isah Gusau, an Assistant Comptroller of Customs. These officers were supposed to have commenced their compulsory three-month pre-retirement leave, as stipulated by the PSR.
In June 2024, documents obtained by SaharaReporters revealed that Adewale Adeniyi had claimed two different dates of birth in various official documents at different times.
The documents showed that Adeniyi had used these different birth dates at various stages of his career to manipulate the system to his advantage.
For instance, when he was employed by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in 1981, the customs boss listed January 19, 1964, as his date of birth on his curriculum vitae. He also used the same birth date when he applied for employment with the Nigerian Customs Service in 1990.
The documents revealed the customs boss turned 60 on January 19, 2024, by which time he should have retired based on public service rules.
Adeniyi now claims that he was born on January 13, 1966, in his curriculum vitae.
“He is still in service because he falsified his date of birth by changing it from January 19, 1964 to January 13, 1966,” a source told SaharaReporters at the time.
“If going by his real age, he should have retired from the federal service in January but he used his position and connections to falsify, alter and manipulate his records to attain this position.”
As if that was not enough, the documents also revealed that Adeniyi altered his years of service to remain in customs service.
He graduated from secondary school in 1979 when he took the West African School Certificate Examination and was employed into the service of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in 1981 as a Public Relations Assistant.
Adeniyi worked as a public servant at the NRC from November 1981 to 1990 from where he was employed in the service of the NCS.
The documents showed he included his nine years of public service experience in his documentation form with the customs.
Adeniyi while documenting for the customs job in 1990 in ‘Details Of Employment Since Leaving School,’ wrote, “Nigerian Railway Corporation November 1981 to Date.”
His customs staff information form is numbered 39554. He was appointed into the customs service on 2-11-1990 as ASC (Assistant Superintendent of Customs).
Other information provided by Adeniyi showed he attended the University of Ife from October 1983 to June 1987, where he obtained a BSc in International Relations and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism from July 1989 to September 1989, and also from May 1990 to May 1990.
He also disclosed that he earned a certificate in Basic, Advanced Public Relations in 1989, adding that he learnt to speak French at Alliance Francaise in Ibadan, Oyo State.
He said he attended Modakeke High School from September 1974 to June 1979 and Ejigbo Baptist High School from September 1980 to June 1981.
Meanwhile, the Customs boss has denied the allegations.
In a statement issued last year, Adeniyi denied the reports that he had falsified his age, describing them as untrue.
He said the report might be aimed at distracting him but he would remain focused and committed to leading NCS well.
Sources within the Customs Service say that officers are increasingly frustrated, fueling discontent that could potentially escalate to strike action. Many feel the promotion system has become skewed, with allegations that Adewale is running the NCS as a personal enterprise or “household affair.”
This perception is reinforced by the widespread belief that only those who align with his interests are favored for promotion, fostering a culture of nepotism and disillusionment among the ranks.
When SaharaReporters reached out to the spokesman for the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, for reaction, he simply said in a text message, “I am not aware of this development.”
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Omoba Tanimowo Oluremi Okupe and Olu Oyesanya Wedding (1960)

Event Summary:
On December 24, 1960, Princess (Omoba) Tanimowo Oluremi Okupe, aged 28, daughter of His Highness, the Alaperu of Iperu, Oba Samuel Adedoyin Okupe II (Agbonmagbe II), married Olu Oyesanya, aged 32, the son of a Nigerian Chief, at St. Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, London. The ceremony took place just a few months after Nigeria gained independence (October 1, 1960), making it one of the first high-profile Nigerian royal weddings to take place in post-colonial Britain.
About the Bride:
Full Name: Omoba (Princess) Tanimowo Oluremi Okupe
Father: His Highness Oba Samuel Adedoyin Okupe II (Agbonmagbe II), the Alaperu of Iperu in the Ijebu Division of Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria.
The title “Omoba” signifies “royal child” or “princess” in Yoruba, indicating her noble birth.
She was part of a generation of educated Nigerian women from royal or elite families who studied or lived in Britain during the 1950s and 1960s.
Her wedding symbolized a union between traditional Nigerian royalty and the new class of educated, cosmopolitan Nigerians emerging in the postcolonial era.
About the Groom:
Name: Olu Oyesanya
Age at marriage: 32
Background: Son of a prominent Nigerian Chief (likely from the southwest, given the surname and cultural ties).
He, too, represented the educated Nigerian elite in London during that time — many were students or professionals in law, medicine, or public administration.
About the Ceremony:
Venue: St. Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, London — a historic Anglican church often referred to as the “journalists’ church,” renowned for its striking tiered spire.
Date: Saturday, December 24, 1960 (Christmas Eve).
The ceremony attracted attention from the British press and Nigerian expatriate circles in London.
The couple’s attire likely reflected a blend of Western wedding fashion and Nigerian cultural identity, consistent with other high-profile Nigerian weddings of that era.
The event was covered by PA Images (Press Association) and has since appeared in several image archives as part of postcolonial Nigerian history in Britain.
Historical Context:
The wedding took place less than three months after Nigeria’s independence.
Many elite Nigerian families, including royal households, had close ties with Britain due to colonial education and diplomatic relations.
Such marriages often symbolized cultural diplomacy representing modern, educated Nigerians while maintaining traditional roots.
Significance:
This wedding was one of the first Nigerian royal weddings in post-independence Britain, reflecting the blending of Nigerian royalty, Western education, and Christianity.
It underscored the visibility of Nigerians in the British social landscape during the early 1960s.
The image and event are often cited in archives documenting Nigeria’s elite presence in London around independence.
Columns
King Alfred Diete-Spiff: Joined Nigerian military at 22, became governor at 24

King Alfred Diete-Spiff is one of the luckiest Nigerians in history. He joined the Nigerian military at 22 in 1964 and became governor just two years and 10 months later. Today, he is a king.
Here’s the summary:
– Born on 30 July, 1942, he joined the Nigerian Navy and was commissioned as a ship diving officer in 1964.
– In 1965, he became the first Commanding Officer of the NNS Quorra (later NNS Calabar).
– By January 1966, he was a member of the Wår Council and worked during the Nigerian Civil Wår era.
– On May 27, 1967, following General Yakubu Gowon’s creation of 12 states from Nigeria’s four regions, Diete-Spiff—then a Lieutenant Commander—was appointed Military Governor of the newly formed Rivers State at age 24. He was just two months away from being 25 years old at the time.
– He served for 8 years until July 1975 when Yakubu Gowon’s military regime was tøppled in 1975.
– Three years later in 1978, he was crowned king, the Amayanabo of Twon-Brass, Bayelsa State.
– He clocked 83 30 July, 2025.
Credit: Ethnic African Stories
Columns
Elechi Amadi (1934 – 2016)

Full Name:
Chief Elechi Amadi
Birth and Early Life:
Born on May 12, 1934, in Aluu, near Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
He was of Ikwerre ethnic origin, one of the ethnic groups in the Niger Delta region.
Amadi attended Government College, Umuahia, one of the most prestigious secondary schools in colonial Nigeria.
He later studied at University College, Ibadan (now University of Ibadan), where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Mathematics in 1959.
Career and Public Service:
After graduation, Amadi served as a science teacher and education officer.
He joined the Nigerian Army and served during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), fighting on the side of Biafra.
After the war, he returned to public life in Rivers State, serving as:
Permanent Secretary,
Commissioner for Education, and later
Commissioner for Lands and Housing.
He was also a writer-in-residence at the University of Port Harcourt and lectured in English and Literature.
Literary Career:
Elechi Amadi is best known as a novelist, playwright, and poet who explored traditional African life, moral order, and spiritual realism. His works are often described as classical, philosophical, and ethnographic, highlighting the dignity and depth of pre-colonial African societies before contact with the West.
Major Works:
1. The Concubine (1966)
His most famous novel and considered a classic of African literature.
Set in a traditional African village, it tells the tragic story of Ihuoma, a beautiful and virtuous woman whose lovers mysteriously die because she is spiritually married to a sea god.
Themes: Fate, destiny, love, traditional belief systems, and the conflict between human will and supernatural forces.
The novel portrays a harmonious and ordered traditional society, where the supernatural world interacts closely with human existence.
2. The Great Ponds (1969)
Centers on two rival villages, Chiolu and Aliakoro, fighting over the ownership of a sacred fishing pond.
Themes: Conflict, honor, pride, superstition, and the futility of war.
It reflects Amadi’s concern with human greed and the consequences of communal rivalry.
3. The Slave (1978)
Explores issues of slavery, identity, and freedom in traditional African settings.
The protagonist, Olumati, experiences betrayal and loss, symbolizing the harsh realities of servitude.
The novel continues Amadi’s exploration of moral codes, loyalty, and the metaphysical forces governing life.
4. Sunset in Biafra (1973) (Memoir)
A non-fictional war diary recounting Amadi’s experiences during the Nigerian Civil War.
Offers a rare perspective from an intellectual and soldier who lived through the tragedy of war.
It’s one of the earliest personal accounts of the Biafran war, written with restraint and objectivity.
5. Estrangement (1986)
Focuses on the impact of modernity and alienation on traditional African societies.
Examines how individuals lose their sense of belonging when caught between old and new cultural values.
6. Plays and Poetry:
Isiburu (1973) – a verse play exploring heroism and the tragic fate of a wrestler.
Peppersoup and Dancer of Johannesburg (both 1977) – dramatic works dealing with corruption and urban struggles.
Themes and Style:
Traditional African life: Amadi’s works celebrate the integrity, values, and complexity of African societies before colonial disruption.
Fate and the supernatural: His characters often struggle with destiny and spiritual forces that shape their lives.
Moral realism: He portrays moral order and ethical behavior as central to community stability.
Simplicity and clarity of language: His prose is lucid, restrained, and elegant, focusing on storytelling rather than political agitation.
Non-political tone: Unlike Chinua Achebe or Wole Soyinka, Amadi’s works are less overtly political and more existential and philosophical.
Awards and Recognition:
Amadi received several national and literary honors, including the Rivers State Silver Jubilee Merit Award.
He was widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most disciplined and traditionalist writers.
His works are taught in schools and universities across Africa and beyond.
Later Life and Death:
Chief Elechi Amadi continued to write and teach until his later years.
He died on June 29, 2016, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at the age of 82.
He was buried in his hometown, Aluu, with full cultural honors.
Legacy:
Amadi’s works are often compared to those of Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi, though his focus on pre-colonial moral order and metaphysics makes his voice unique.
He remains one of the most authentic chroniclers of traditional African life, preserving the belief systems, customs, and human values of the Niger Delta peoples.
The Concubine remains a masterpiece of African literature a story of beauty, tragedy, and spiritual mystery that transcends time.
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