Author: Vincent Osuwo

The United Nations (UN) has expressed concern over the spate of indiscriminate kidnapping of civilians by bandits in Nigeria. The Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Stéphane Dujarric, stated during a daily briefing on Monday that the continued attacks on civilians by bandits were unacceptable. “We are very much concerned at the fact that so many other students, young people, young men, and young women continue to be detained by armed groups,” Dujarric said. “And obviously, we’re continuing to see violence.” In November, armed men abducted at least 25 pupils and killed a teacher at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary…

The Nigeria Police Force has released Adenike Atanda, wife of an investigative reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), following her reported detention alongside her nine-month-old baby in the Owutu area of Ikorodu, Lagos State. According to FIJ, Adenike and the infant were released on Monday evening, shortly after police arrested her husband, Sodeeq Atanda, a senior reporter with the organization who was eventually released. According to the FIJ, Adenike and the infant were transferred to a police station in Owutu and kept for several hours before authorities allegedly urged her to call her husband. In an account published…

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has condemned President Bola Tinubu over the 2026 budget proposal, describing it as a deadly debt trap that threatens to mortgage Nigeria’s future and exacerbate the country’s financial predicament. In a preliminary analysis of Tinubu’s budget presentation to the National Assembly, the opposition party stated the proposal reveals rising economic recklessness, administrative instability, and a troubling lack of care for future generations. Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, disputed the government’s claim that the proposal represents a ‘Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience, and Shared Prosperity,’ arguing that the document reflects a continuation of…

The Presidency, yesterday, distanced itself from alleged alterations of the tax law approved by both chambers of the National Assembly. Responding to inquiries from reporters, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, rejected allegations of executive involvement in the tax law procedure, stating that any differences noted were a matter for the National Assembly. Mr. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) claimed last week that the official version of the tax laws differs from what was discussed and approved by lawmakers, leading the House of Representatives to form a seven-member committee to look into the issue and provide a report.…

Human and vehicular traffic was suspended for many hours on Monday as people of the Idokpa Community in Aduduwawa barricaded a major route leading into and out of Benin, Edo State. Residents barricaded the bypass in protest at the community’s weeks-long power outage, causing hours of traffic. Travelers heading to various regions of the North were also stranded, as demonstrators refused to clear the route until government officials and media representatives arrived to address them. A resident named Doris told newsmen that the outage had a negative impact on their companies and that the demonstration was intended to attract attention…

Yoruba nation activist Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, on Monday raised the alarm over the killing of three farmers during a fresh attack by gunmen in Igboho, his hometown in the Orelope Local Government Area of Oyo State. Adeyemo, in a statement made in Ibadan, urged President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government to address the escalating insecurity in rural areas across Oyo State and other parts of the South-West to avoid additional carnage and anarchy. Adeyemo’s statement identified the victims as Aderoju Mukaila, Olawuwo Saka, and Ojeniyi Ojebayo. “Though the victims were rushed to a hospital after…

The US Department of Homeland Security has unveiled a limited-time campaign to encourage undocumented migrants to voluntarily depart the nation during the holiday season. Migrants who register to self-deport through the CBP Home app by the end of the year will get a $3,000 compensation, as well as a free airfare back to their home country, according to a DHS statement released Monday. Participants will also be eligible for forgiveness of any civil fines or penalties associated with refusal to depart the United States. According to the DHS, approximately 1.9 million unauthorized migrants have voluntarily departed the nation since January…

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…