Author: Vincent Osuwo

The US will partially suspend the issuance of certain visas to Nigerian nationals from January 1, 2026, following a new presidential proclamation on border and national security. The US Mission in Nigeria disclosed on Monday that the restriction will take effect at 12:01 am Eastern Standard Time in line with Presidential Proclamation 10998, titled “Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States.” According to the statement, Nigeria is among 19 countries affected by the directive. Others include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania,…

The US has been carrying out intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, signalling heightened security cooperation between both countries, according to flight tracking data and US officials. According to an exclusive report released on Monday, the purpose of the surveillance missions could not be independently confirmed. However, the planes come after US President Donald Trump threatened to engage militarily in Nigeria in November, citing the government’s refusal to cease violence against Christian communities. Reuters said that the surveillance efforts come months after a US pilot working for a missionary outfit was kidnapped in neighboring Niger. Flight…

Officials have reported that a car bombing in Moscow, Russia, has resulted in the death of a Russian general. Russia’s Investigative Committee reported that Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov passed away on Monday morning when an explosive device hidden beneath a car exploded. He is the third military officer to be killed in bomb attacks in the Russian capital during the past year. The committee stated that Sarvarov, 56, was the leader of the operational training department of the armed forces. One theory under investigation suggested that Ukrainian intelligence services were involved in planting the bomb. Ukraine has not made a…

The Federal Government has designated kidnappers and violent armed groups as terrorists, signaling a significant shift in Nigeria’s reaction to abductions, attacks on farmers, and communal unrest. The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, made the news on Monday at the end-of-year press briefing in Abuja. This approach represents a shift from treating large kidnappings and rural attacks as routine crimes to fighting them with full counterterrorism tools. “Henceforth, any armed group or individual that kidnaps our children, attacks our farmers, and terrorizes our communities is officially classified and will be dealt with as a terrorist. “Now, the era of ambiguous…

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Monday swore in Abdul-Ganiyu Obasa as Chairman of Agege Local Government, encouraging him to promote grassroots development and link his administration with the state’s development program. The swearing-in ceremony, which included the appointment of Toyin Adejimiwa as Permanent Secretary, was conducted at Lagos House in Ikeja. Abdul-Ganiyu Obasa, the son of Mudasiru Obasa, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, has served as council chairman prior to his confirmation and formal inauguration. Sanwo-Olu addressed the freshly sworn-in officials, describing local government as the tier closest to the people and emphasizing the importance…

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has spoken out on the scandal surrounding Farouk Ahmed, the former CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, accused Ahmed of spending over $5 million on his four children’s secondary school education in Switzerland. During a news conference in Lagos, Dangote publicly demanded a comprehensive investigation into the matter, claiming that the claimed expenditure contradicted Ahmed’s status as a public servant and raised questions about transparency and integrity in public service. Following intense public scrutiny of the charges, Ahmed resigned as head…

US President Donald Trump has reportedly recalled the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, and other career diplomats from their ambassadorial posts. According to Politico, the directive is part of an effort to align US diplomatic representation abroad with President Trump’s “America First” priorities. A State Department official confirmed to the news outlet that the ambassadors affected by the shake-up were first chosen during the Joe Biden administration but will now serve until January. According to the official, the diplomats’ appointments as chiefs of mission will come to an end, although they may return to Washington for other duties.…

Kwara State residents of Bayagan Ile in the Ifelodun Local Government Area are fleeing in droves after bandits attempted to abduct them again on Sunday morning. Chronicle NG gathered that the community has been left in fear and confusion following the sudden abduction of the monarch, Alhaji Kamilu Salami, the Ojibara of Bayagan, on November 29, 2025, while working on his farm on that fateful Saturday morning. It was also learned that inhabitants of the village have begun relocating from Bayagan Ile as a result of unsuccessful attempts to gain the monarch’s release, who is widely regarded as a rallying…

The Federal Government has announced Thursday December 25, and Friday, December 26, 2025, as official holidays to celebrate Christmas and Boxing Day. The government announced Wednesday, January 1, 2026, as the date for the New Year festivities. The Christmas and New Year holiday announcement was included in a statement released on Monday by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, representing the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. The minister encouraged Nigerians to contemplate the principles of love, peace, humility, and sacrifice linked to the arrival of Jesus Christ. Tunji-Ojo urged all citizens, regardless of their religion…

A total sum of N288,188,772,947.06 has been flagged in the operations of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. This was discovered in the recently released Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Noncompliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in MDAs for 2022. The report discovered various audit irregularities relating to procurement processes, contractor payments, non-retirement of advances, and the commission’s failure to remit required deductions between 2018 and 2019 while Mahmood Yakubu was chairman. According to one audit observation, the Auditor-General found that N5,312,238,499.39 was paid for the provision of Smart Card Readers for the 2019 general elections using a restricted procurement technique without…