The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) represents one of Nigeria’s most significant financial interventions in response to systemic banking distress. Its debt enforcement history reflects a blend of aggressive statutory powers, evolving legislative enhancements, notable operational successes, persistent challenges, and occasional perceptions of uneven application influenced by political or economic factors. Below is a thorough, chronological exploration of AMCON’s enforcement journey, including context, key mechanisms, statistics, notable cases (with nuances around the Ben Murray-Bruce/Silverbird matter), challenges, and broader implications.
Navigating the Void: Why Nigeria Needs a Corporate Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) Framework
In a standard DPA regime, a company that self-reports and cooperates can avoid the "corporate death penalty" of a criminal conviction. In Nigeria, we are currently forced to rely on the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015. While the ACJA provides for Plea Bargaining, it is a fundamentally different animal from a DPA:
Life Imprisonment for Child Sexual Assault: Legal Basis and Constitutional Considerations by Lawson Akhigbe
The primary statutory authority for this sentence is Section 260 of the Kebbi State Penal Code Law, 2021, which criminalizes "unnatural offences." While the exact wording of Kebbi State's provision isn't publicly available in full, similar provisions in northern Nigerian penal codes typically define "unnatural offences" as carnal intercourse against the order of nature, which judicial interpretation has extended to include same-sex sexual acts and anal intercourse.
The Changing Face of Justice: A Deep Dive into Nigeria’s Judicial Funding Reforms (2024–2026) by Lawson Akhigbe
Nigeria has finally built the legal architecture for a self-sufficient judiciary. The challenge for the remainder of 2026 and beyond is ensuring fiscal discipline. With the judiciary now managing its own billions, the public is shifting its focus from "Why is the court broke?" to "How transparently is the court spending our money?" For the first time in history, the Nigerian judiciary has the tools to be truly independent, now, it just needs to prove it can manage them.
Law Practice and the Rule of Law in Nigeria: A Mirror of Its Society by Lawson Akhigbe
If you want to understand why Nigeria’s law practice struggles to find solid ground, you don’t need a commission of inquiry — just attend a random court session. There, you’ll see the Nigerian lawyer in full regalia: a powdered wig, a trembling robe, and an irresistible urge to speak Latin in a country where half …

