Author: Vincent Osuwo

Security agencies have moved to reinforce airport and jail facilities in Abuja and neighboring Niger State following a suspected insurgent plan. The Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service, and Nigeria Correctional Service told newsmen on Thursday that they have proactively increased security around airports and custodial facilities. The Washington Post reported on an official memo from the Nigerian Customs Service that revealed terrorist preparations to assault the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, the Kuje Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory, and a prison facility in Niger State. According to the report, the attacks are planned by fighters from the Islamic…

A 63-year-old pastor, Chris Douglas, has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja for raping a church member’s daughter. Justice Rahman Oshodi ruled on Thursday that Douglas, the General Overseer of Peculiar Generation Assembly Church in Oshodi, abused his position of authority and trust to exploit the victim. The judge described the act as a severe violation of trust, stating that “the convict occupied a position of spiritual authority and was regarded as a father figure by the victim and her family.” He went on to say that rather of…

President Bola Tinubu On Thursday, he stated that no amount of pressure or intimidation will divert him from his decision-making duties. Tinubu underlined his administration’s commitment to the reform agenda, which he claimed is already producing results for Nigerians. Tinubu challenged critics and political opponents at the State House in Abuja during a meeting with the leadership and coordinators of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, a political mobilization network established weeks earlier to carry the administration’s message to the grassroots. He declared that he is the legitimate successor to former President Muhammadu Buhari. He said, “They want to scare me off.…

World Athletics has rejected Turkey’s bid to change the allegiance of Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili, throwing a major setback to the athlete’s requested nationality shift ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games. The decision was detailed in a document obtained by Chronicle NG on Thursday. According to the paper, the World Athletics Nationality Review Panel determined that the Türkiye Athletics Federation’s application would not be allowed after considering the facts surrounding the request. The panel, which included Donna Raynor, Cydonie Motherskill, and Susanne van Waert, said granting the motion would undermine important regulatory principles governing international athletics. It observed that the…

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, slammed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday, calling him a serial failure and dismissing his criticism of the current administration. Wike spoke to reporters during a routine tour of infrastructure projects in Kuje and other parts of the FCT, rejecting Atiku’s recent remarks on national television that Bola Tinubu’s government had failed to alleviate Nigerians’ poverty. Responding immediately, the minister urged the former vice president to compare his performance in office to current developments in the FCT. “At a certain age, one should be able to look at facts objectively.…

Gunmen abducted travelers on the Makurdi-Otukpo route in Benue State, including candidates for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME. The victims were reportedly riding on a Benue Links bus from Makurdi to Otukpo when it was assaulted on Wednesday night. A source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity owing to the sensitive nature of the situation, said the bus, which was carrying about 18 passengers, was stopped near Otukpo about 8 p.m. by suspected bandits, who carried the majority of the passengers into the jungle. According to the source, the passengers were…

The Gbong Gwom Jos and Chairman of the Plateau State Council of Chiefs and Emirs, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, declared on Thursday that the 2026 Nzem Berom Festival would be suspended due to rising insecurity in Plateau State and other parts of the country. The festival was originally slated to take place on April 24. The supreme ruler revealed this while speaking to journalists at his palace in Jos, the state capital. He stated that the decision was made during a meeting of the Jos Joint Traditional Council, Berom groups, and elders, during which the current security situation was thoroughly…

Over 744 repentant terrorists and victims of violent extremism on Thursday graduated from the Federal Government’s De-radicalization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration Camp under Operation Safe Corridor. A breakdown of the 744 repentant terrorists shows that two are from Abia State, 10 from Adamawa State, one from Akwa Ibom State, two from Anambra State, 12 from Bauchi State, 597 from Borno State, three from Ebonyi State, one from Enugu State, 15 from Kano State, three from Katsina State, one from Kebbi State, five from Kogi State, four from Nasarawa State, two from Niger State, two from Plateau State, two from Sokoto State,…

John Arum Azi, the University of Jos (UNIJOS) student who was abducted by bandits in Kaduna state, was forced by his captives to deny his Christian faith. Chronicle NG reports that Arum, in a video clip that has gone viral, was severely flogged and brutalized at gun point by the captives. The Plateau State native was on his way to Zaria on a business trip before he was kidnapped along with six other passengers. In the video clip, Arum was brutally flogged, while his captives urged him to beg his parents to hasten up the payment of the N30 million…

Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s comments about the North-South power rotation ahead of the 2027 election. He stated President Bola Tinubu must serve two terms and that the South should maintain the presidency until 2031. “Since Buhari completed his eight years, Tinubu too must complete his own,” Onanuga wrote in a post on X on Thursday. He added, “All Atiku needs to do is to bury the thought of running again, as it is still the South’s turn in the 2027 election.” The presidential adviser accused Atiku of…