Author: Opalim Lifted

Black Market, the Nollywood crime thriller, has set a Guinness World Records (GWR) record for the largest attendance at a film screening at a single location, with 51,000 people watching the movie in Lagos. The film screening took place on Saturday evening, drawing thousands of movie lovers to Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS). Crowds began gathering as early as 2pm, with long queues forming around TBS throughout the day as attendees arrived for the event. The main screening got underway at about 7pm. Guinness World Records confirmed the feat after the screening, officially recognising 51,000 viewers as the qualifying attendance for…

Lagos-based human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has filed a $10 million damages suit against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) at the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The suit, filed in Abuja as ECW/CCJ/APP/30/2026, alleges that Falana was subjected to unlawful arrests and detention, restrictions on his freedom of movement and other violations of his fundamental rights during successive military administrations. Falana is asking the regional court to declare the alleged violations unlawful and unconstitutional and award him US$10 million in damages. The case centres on…

The High Court of Imo State has dismissed a fundamental rights suit seeking $25 million in damages from Meta Platforms Inc. over alleged violations of privacy and data protection rights. Chika Chukwuemeka, the applicant, had accused Meta of collecting, processing, profiling and using her personal data for behavioural advertising without her consent. She argued that the alleged activities violated her constitutional right to privacy under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution and provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023. Chukwuemeka sought declarations that Meta’s alleged processing of her personal data was unlawful, an order stopping further processing and…

The European Union-funded Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFI) has committed $2.5 million to Tomato Jos Inc. to expand tomato processing, climate-smart farming and support for smallholder farmers in northern Nigeria. The investment, made through a convertible note by EDFI Management Company (EDFI MC) under the AgriFI ACP Regional Window, will fund packaging equipment, factory upgrades and expanded drip irrigation. Investment to boost tomato production Tomato Jos produces packaged tomato paste for the Nigerian market through an integrated model combining its own farms, smallholder sourcing and local processing. More than half of the company’s raw materials are currently sourced from smallholder farmers…

The Nigerian Navy has announced that its 2026 recruitment exercise for Batch 39 of the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School will begin on October 2 and close on October 31, 2026. The Navy disclosed the recruitment schedule in a post on its X handle on Monday, alongside guidelines for prospective applicants. The recruitment is open to eligible Nigerian citizens by birth who have a National Identification Number (NIN) and satisfy the Navy’s educational, age, physical and medical requirements. Applicants are required to complete their applications online through the Nigerian Navy’s official recruitment portal when the exercise opens. It said applicants…

British counter-terrorism police are questioning five British men arrested near RAF Fairford in western England over suspected explosives and terrorism offences. The arrests came after police received a report in the early hours of Sunday about three large white vans travelling towards the military airbase in Gloucestershire. Police said the five suspects, all in their mid-20s and living in London, were initially arrested under the Explosives Act before being detained on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Counter Terrorism Policing said investigators were working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the suspects’ knowledge and possible motivation. “At this…

The Presidency has clarified that President Bola Tinubu is hale and hearty, saying his absence from Nigeria is due to his ongoing working vacation. Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, said in an X post on Sunday that the President remained engaged in official duties while away from Abuja and was entitled to take his annual vacation. He said:“President is hale and hearty. He has been on a working vacation, which he is perfectly entitled to. In this digital age, he does not need to be physically present in Abuja to do the work for which…

More than 10 million Nigerians who benefited from the Federal Government’s conditional cash transfer programme are not on social media, according to Nentawe Yilwatda, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Yilwatda made the disclosure on Saturday after a three-day retreat of the APC National Executive Council in Maiduguri, Borno State. He said many of the beneficiaries, whom he described as poor and vulnerable Nigerians, do not have mobile phones or access to television, limiting their ability to participate in public discussions about government interventions. The APC chairman said the Tinubu administration used savings from the removal of the…

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has given the federal government a two-week ultimatum to address outstanding welfare and professional issues affecting its members. The association issued the ultimatum at its 46th annual general meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, on Sunday, warning that failure to resolve the issues could lead to industrial action. In resolutions read by its national president, Ogar Emmanuel Idoko, NARD expressed concern over the slow implementation of agreements reached with the federal government. The doctors said the prolonged delays had become unacceptable and demanded urgent action on remuneration, career progression, professional allowances, excessive workload,…

Grammy-nominated rapper Nicki Minaj has explained why she supports the Trump Accounts programme, saying the initiative could give young Americans access to investment opportunities she did not have while growing up. The rapper said Trump Accounts could provide children with investment accounts that family and friends can contribute to, allowing beneficiaries to access the funds and learn about investing when they turn 18. “Friends and family have been putting into this account since I was a baby and now I can invest from that account and I can learn about trading,” Minaj said. “We didn’t have those opportunities when I…