A widow, Mrs Sarah Akinya, has filed suit against Airtel Networks Limited and ATC Nigeria Wireless Infrastructure Limited before the Lagos State High Court, demanding N232m in damages over alleged noise pollution, structural damage and environmental nuisance caused by a telecommunications mast near her residence in Okota, Lagos.

Akinya, who instituted the suit for herself and members of her household, is also seeking an order compelling the companies to dismantle and relocate the installation or restraining them from continuing operations allegedly affecting her property.

The suit, marked LD/970/2007, is before the Lagos Judicial Division of the High Court and presided over by Justice Bashua.

In her amended statement of claim, the widow alleged that the defendants’ telecommunications facility, identified as LAG 101 Base Station, had subjected her household to persistent noise, vibrations, smoke and fumes since its installation in 2004.

She said she had lived in her four-bedroom bungalow at 2, Alhaji Adeniran Street, off Moshobolaje Street, off Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos since December 1995.

According to her, the problem began in April 2004, when Airtel started construction on the adjoining property at 4, Alhaji Adeniran Street, Lagos.

She alleged that the installation, comprising a telecommunications mast, heavy-duty generators, an energy reservoir and fuel storage facilities, was situated about four metres from her property’s perimeter wall.

The claimant, through her lawyer, Ajibola Ajiboye of Fadeson Legal Practice, alleged that the generators’ continuous operation produced noise and vibrations that caused cracks in the walls of her building and boundary fence.

She further claimed that smoke and fumes from the facility spread into her home, settling on furniture and floors and raising serious health concerns for members of her household.

Akinya demands N200m in damages for the alleged nuisance arising from noise, vibrations, noxious fumes, toxic smoke and radiation associated with the installation.

She is also seeking N32m in general damages for alleged annoyance, discomfort, illness, inconvenience, pain and suffering.

Apart from the financial claims, the widow wants the court to compel the defendants to dismantle the telecommunications installation and relocate it to a safer location.

Alternatively, she is seeking an injunction restraining the companies from continuing activities allegedly constituting a nuisance to her household.

The dispute also involves an allegation of negligence over damage to the claimant’s perimeter fence.

She alleged that a trailer conveying a generator to the telecommunications facility struck and damaged the fence in an incident witnessed by maintenance operators.

According to the court documents, the operators promised to repair the damaged section but failed to do so.

The claimant said the weakened fence subsequently collapsed during heavy rainfall, leaving her property exposed and creating security concerns for the occupants.

In support of her allegations, Akinya relied on an inspection reportedly conducted by the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, which found that noise levels around the facility exceeded the permitted limits for a residential neighbourhood.

The inspection report recorded noise levels of 71 decibels at the entrance of her property and 61 decibels at a distance of fivemetres.

The readings were reportedly above the prescribed residential limits of 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.

LASEPA, under its General Manager, Dr Babatunde Ajayi, reportedly directed the facility’s operators to address the noise pollution, install soundproofing measures, redirect exhaust pipes and comply with relevant environmental regulations.

The claimant relied on the agency’s intervention to support her contention that the facility’s operation has interfered with her right to the peaceful enjoyment of her property.

The proceedings took another turn on January 15, 2026, when Justice Bashua ordered the joinder of ATC Nigeria Wireless Infrastructure Limited as the second defendant.

ATC, with an office on the 10th Floor, Alliance Place, 33A, Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, was joined on the grounds that it is currently responsible for managing and operating the telecommunications mast.

The claimant’s solicitors, Fadeson Legal Practice, also wrote to ATC’s management on September 2, 2026, concerning the dispute.

Copies of the correspondence were reportedly served on the Registrar of the High Court of Lagos State, Yaba Division.

Source: punchng.com

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The National Pension Commission has disclosed that the Federal Government has funded the accrued pension rights of enrolled federal workers ahead of retirement until December 2029, reversing a previous 21-month funding backlog.

The Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this on Wednesday in her keynote address at the 2026 Pension Correspondents Association of Nigeria Conference in Abuja.

Oloworaran, represented by PenCom’s Head of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Buwai, said the government had moved from owing accrued pension rights for 21 months to maintaining a 41-month funding surplus.

“We are moving from a position where we had, where our full pension rights were 21 months in arrears, to where we are today, 41 months in surplus. And 41 months in surplus means that Federal Government employees who have not yet retired and who have enrolled have had their accrued pension rights paid up to December 2029,” she said.

The development means that accrued pension rights for the affected federal employees have been funded in advance.

Oloworaran also claimed that delays in pension payments had largely been eliminated, with retirement benefits now processed within 48 hours.

“The issue of delays of payment of pension has now become history, and now pensions are being paid within a maximum of 48 hours from retirement,” she said.

The PenCom boss highlighted the launch of the PenCare health insurance programme and the N52,500 minimum pension guarantee by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.

She explained that PenCare would reduce retirees’ medical expenses, allowing them to devote more of their monthly pensions to other needs.

According to her, the initiative is funded by pension operators and PenCom, with an independent board of trustees chaired by the commission’s pioneer Director-General, Muhammad Ahmad.

On the minimum pension guarantee, she said eligible retirees receiving less than N52,500 would have their pensions increased, adding that some beneficiaries received payment alerts during Tuesday’s launch.

Oloworaran further disclosed that the Federal Government had approved additional exit benefits equivalent to 100 per cent of terminal emoluments for eligible retirees, effective 1 January, 2026.

“The Federal Government has just approved the payment of 100 per cent of terminal emoluments as additional exit benefits,” she said, adding that eligible 2026 retirees, who submitted their documents, had received payments.

The Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, Tolulope Odunaiya, represented by the Head of Corporate Communications, Olugbenga Ajayi, said the directorate had introduced remote verification and enhanced life-status checks for pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme.

“With the new initiative of this verification without borders, pensioners in the US, in Uganda, in our villages can as well do their verification,” she said.

Odunaiya also disclosed that registration had commenced for PTAD’s proposed health insurance programme, ahead of its formal launch.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, Anthonia Ifeanyi-Okoro, represented by Olajumoke Akinwa, called for responsible investment of pension assets in infrastructure, housing, energy and productive sectors to support Nigeria’s $1tn economy target.

“Properly channelled into infrastructure, housing, energy, and productive sectors, these funds can help finance the growth we seek, while still protecting the retirement benefits of contributors,” she said.

Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of Awabah, Tunji Andrews, disclosed that personal pension enrolment requirements had been reduced from 25 fields to just four, making it easier for Nigerians in the informal sector to register and contribute through Point of Sale terminals in partnership with Moniepoint and Interswitch.

“As of today, those fields have been reduced to four fields only. Because of that innovation, we’ve been able to put onboarding and payments for PPP on POS terminals,” he said.

Andrews added that Awabah had launched an initiative known as Pension Oga, which would deploy agents to markets and communities to register informal workers, collect contributions and educate Nigerians about pension savings, while calling for greater public awareness to expand participation in the Personal Pension Plan.

The acting Managing Director of NPF Pensions Limited, Mohammed Dutse, represented by Chukwuma Ohaka, commended improvements in pension administration, particularly efforts to strengthen police retirees’ welfare.

A representative of Citizens Pension Limited, Khayran-Yunusa Aliu, called for greater financial inclusion through expanded micro-pension participation.

Meanwhile, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Godwin Abumisi, represented by Ahmad Ibrahim-Gazali, demanded the extension of the new exit benefits to retirees who left service between 2004 and December 2025.

Source: punchng.com

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President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday launched a N52,500 monthly minimum pension guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, ending a 22-year delay in implementing the provision of the Pension Reform Act.

The President also inaugurated the Pension Industry Healthcare Plan for Retirees, known as PenCare, to provide free essential healthcare services to low-income pensioners.

Tinubu, who was represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, announced the initiatives during the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives ceremony at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.

Declaring the minimum pension guarantee operational, he said, “By the authority vested in me as President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I hereby declare the Minimum Pension Guarantee Scheme commenced.”

The President explained that the guarantee, first provided for under the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and retained in the 2014 legislation, had remained unimplemented despite successive administrations.

“From this day, there is a floor beneath the Nigerian retiree. No one who contributed under the Contributory Pension Scheme will ever be allowed to fall below,” he said.

Tinubu urged future administrations to maintain the guarantee, declaring, “Raise it. But never remove the floor.”

On healthcare, he said the PenCare initiative would protect vulnerable retirees from medical expenses capable of exhausting their pension savings.

“PenCare gives our low-income retirees access to essential health care without charge,” he said, adding that beneficiaries would begin receiving healthcare access cards in the coming months.

The President also disclosed that his administration had issued a N758bn bond to address longstanding pension arrears and approved a N32,000 monthly consequential adjustment for affected federal pensioners.

He said states had spent over N1tn settling pension obligations, attributing their improved financial capacity partly to subsidy removal.

Citing a World Bank report, Tinubu said states’ revenues increased by about 93 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025, while the share of their budgets devoted to capital projects rose from 46 to 61 per cent.

He also disclosed that government-backed credit initiatives had unlocked over N64bn for 174,000 borrowers, while more than 350,000 Nigerians had accessed approximately N53bn in consumer credit.

In her opening remarks, the Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, announced that the guaranteed minimum pension had been fixed at N52,500 monthly.

“The minimum pensions in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is 52,500 naira every month,” she said.

According to her, 173,209 retirees qualify for the guarantee, comprising 34 per cent from federal service, 12 per cent from state employment and 54 per cent from the private sector.

She explained that the amount had been actuarially validated and would be subject to periodic review.

“The figure was not plucked from the air. It has been validated by an actuary, and it is subject to review,” Oloworaran noted.

She disclosed that more than N400bn was available in the Pension Protection Fund to finance the guarantee, while more than 65 per cent of private-sector retirees currently earned below the new threshold.

The PenCom boss also revealed that states inherited over N2tn in pension liabilities, of which N1.07tn had been settled.

Source: punchng.com

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