Author: Opalim Lifted

Hackers have breached the mobile phones of two of Nigeria’s most influential businessmen, Aliko Dangote, chief executive of the Dangote Group, and Femi Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo Plc. Sources close to both camps confirmed that their devices were compromised within the last week. While Otedola suffered a single intrusion, Dangote’s phone was hacked twice in just two days. It is not yet clear whether the two billionaires have fully regained control of their phones, but insiders say the attackers have already issued financial demands. “The hackers are asking for money from both men,” TheCable reported. Dangote and Otedola share…

President Bola Tinubu says his administration’s sweeping economic and institutional reforms are built to secure a safer, more prosperous future for Nigerian youths by equipping them with globally competitive skills. Hosting the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, at the State House in Abuja on Monday, Tinubu stressed that young people sit at the heart of his reform agenda. He said their full participation is vital to driving national growth and ensuring the sustainability of the government’s policies. Prince Edward, who chairs the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, visited the President ahead of the global award ceremony scheduled to take…

A major slice of the internet’s hidden backbone faltered on Tuesday after Cloudflare, the US firm shielding millions of websites from cyberattacks, suffered a global outage triggered by a still-unexplained surge in traffic. The disruption left users worldwide staring at error messages, with several high-profile platforms, including X and OpenAI, recording increased downtime in the same window, according to Downdetector. Some website owners were also unable to log into their performance dashboards, deepening the frustration. Cloudflare confirmed that the issue began at 11:20am GMT, when engineers detected a “spike in unusual traffic” hitting one of its key services. The flood…

Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed it killed Brigadier General M. Uba after ambushing a military convoy on Damboa Road near Wajiroko, Borno State. The ambush occurred on Friday as troops and Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) operatives were transporting military equipment. ISWAP fighters reportedly opened fire on the convoy, sparking a fierce gun battle. The insurgents seized at least 17 military motorcycles, while two CJTF operatives and two soldiers were confirmed dead. Initial reports suggested the brigadier general had been abducted. The Nigerian Army swiftly rejected the claims on Saturday, with spokesperson Onyechi Anele insisting that Uba…

President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed that his administration’s wide-ranging economic and institutional reforms are geared towards securing a brighter, more competitive future for Nigeria’s young people. Hosting the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, at the State House in Abuja on Monday, Tinubu stressed that youth remain the driving force of his economic agenda, saying their active ownership of ongoing reforms will help push the country towards long-term prosperity. Prince Edward, who chairs the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, was in Nigeria to brief the President on the upcoming global award ceremony set to take place in Lagos. Tinubu said…

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Waidi Shaibu has directed troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA to leave no stone unturned in the ongoing search-and-rescue mission for abducted students. The pupils were kidnapped on Monday from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS), Maga, in Kebbi state. During the attack, the gunmen killed Hassan Yakubu Makuku, the vice-principal, and abducted 25 students. Speaking during a visit to the state, Shaibu ordered soldiers to intensify day-and-night operations until all the abducted schoolgirls are safely rescued. According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication, the army chief arrived in the state with a delegation of…

President Bola Tinubu has directed security agencies to move swiftly in rescuing the 25 female students abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State. The students were seized on Monday morning when armed men stormed the school. The attackers killed the vice principal, Hassan Makuku, during the raid, while a security guard, Ali Shehu, was shot in the hand. Mohammed Idris, the minister of information, condemned the assault in a statement and said Tinubu remains firm in his commitment to protecting every Nigerian — especially schoolchildren. According to Idris, the president has issued “clear directives” to security and…

President Bola Tinubu has warned that no judicial reform will succeed unless the courts confront corruption head-on, insisting that integrity is the backbone of Nigeria’s democracy. Speaking on Monday at the opening of the 2025 All Nigerian Judges’ Conference of the Superior Courts in Abuja, Tinubu praised the judiciary as the nation’s most dependable stabilising force in difficult times. “Whenever Nigeria has faced moments of uncertainty, the Judiciary stood firm as the stabilising force of our national life,” he said, noting that judges’ courage had repeatedly restrained tyranny and protected constitutional order. But he cautioned that public trust in the…

President Bola Tinubu has urged the Super Eagles to recover their lost glory by winning the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco. Tinubu gave the charge on Monday in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who said the president commended the Super Eagles for putting in their best efforts toward qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite their playoff loss on Sunday. According to Onanuga, the president encouraged the team to put behind them the defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo and focus fully on the AFCON, scheduled to…

In a dramatic reversal, Donald Trump has publicly backed a vote in the United States House of Representatives to release previously withheld documents connected to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Just days ago Trump appeared opposed to opening up the files—raising accusations that he was trying to stifle disclosures that might implicate him. But in a post on his platform (Truth Social) he declared: “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.” The shift comes as critics accuse Trump of earlier seeking to block the vote in order to avoid revelations about…