On May 27, 2025, the scheduled arraignment of Ms. Halima Buba, Managing Director of SunTrust Bank Ltd., was abruptly stalled—not due to any resistance on her part, but because the prosecution failed to properly serve her with court documents. Despite this glaring procedural lapse, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had already waged a full-blown media offensive, painting her as guilty before she ever saw the inside of a courtroom.
This disturbing pattern of conduct raises urgent questions—not only about due process, but about the integrity of our institutions, the weaponization of public narrative, and the increasingly troubling trend of high-profile Nigerian women being dragged through the mud without recourse to a fair hearing.
EFCC: Prosecutor or Propagandist?
The EFCC’s constitutional mandate is to investigate and prosecute financial crimes—duties that demand impartiality, professionalism, and a deep respect for the rule of law. Instead, we are witnessing a prosecutorial culture where media trials are prioritized over court procedures, and where accusations are leaked and amplified before charges are even confirmed.
Rather than effect service through available and reasonable legal channels, the EFCC reportedly opted for an ex parte motion for substituted service—even after Ms. Buba’s legal counsel openly offered to accept service. This signals not diligence, but theatre. It echoes a wider pattern in which law enforcement agencies appear more interested in scoring public relations victories than achieving justice.
The result is a dangerous erosion of credibility. As the Supreme Court warned in FRN v. Ibori (2014), media prosecution undermines the fairness of trials and shakes public confidence in judicial outcomes. The EFCC should not be allowed to act as investigator, accuser, and storyteller—an unholy trinity that collapses the presumption of innocence and replaces evidence with innuendo.
Are Nigerian Women Under Attack?
This case does not stand alone. Ms. Buba’s experience joins a troubling list of recent episodes where prominent Nigerian women—such as Senator Natasha Akpoti and Aisha Achimugu—have found themselves publicly vilified, often on the back of unproven or exaggerated claims. A pattern is emerging that cannot be ignored: women in leadership are being disproportionately targeted, tried in the media, and shamed before due process has a chance to function.
This isn’t justice. It’s persecution wrapped in procedure.
An Appeal to the First Lady: Protect the Integrity of Women in Public Life
At a time when Nigeria should be celebrating the advancement of women into roles of influence and leadership, we are instead witnessing what feels like a calculated attempt to silence or tarnish them. We call upon Her Excellency, the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to stand as a moral compass in this moment.
We implore her to speak out against the gendered double standards being weaponized against accomplished women like Ms. Halima Buba. Women who have earned their place at the table should not be shamed for sitting at it. They should not be prosecuted in the court of public opinion before ever entering a real courtroom.
Justice Must Be Lawful—Not Loud
Ms. Buba has shown her readiness to face any lawful process, demonstrated by her legal team’s presence in court, despite not being properly served. This is not the conduct of someone evading justice; it is the posture of a citizen respecting the law.
But justice must work both ways. Institutions must be held to the same standards they demand of the accused. The EFCC must pursue its mandate with integrity, not headlines. The media must report with caution, not sensationalism. And we, as a society, must remember that in a democracy governed by law, no one is guilty until proven so.
Until then, let the evidence—not the noise—decide.
By Indo Yohanna Ude, Esq