NEWS

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Oyo State Command, has arrested a 28-year-old housewife over alleged human trafficking. In a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday, January 31, 2026, in Ibadan, the Command’s spokesman, Mr Samuel Opebiyi, said that efforts were on to apprehend her accomplice and husband, who is on the run. Opebiyi said the housewife and her husband allegedly trafficked a 17-year-old girl, to Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) for prostitution. He said the suspect was arrested on January 22, after the victim’s sister reported the case to the command’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit on Jan. 20. Opebiyi said that preliminary investigation indicated that the offence was committed on Nov. 25, 2025, when the suspect and her husband orchestrated the traffi...

The United States has added Niger to its Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory, citing worsening security conditions marked by terrorism, kidnapping, violent crime, civil unrest, and limited access to emergency and healthcare services. The advisory, issued by the U.S. Department of State on January 30, 2026, warns Americans against all travel to Niger and notes that U.S. authorities are unable to provide routine or emergency consular services outside the capital, Niamey. A state of emergency and movement restrictions remain in place across large parts of the country. U.S. officials referenced recent terrorist activity, including a gunfight involving Islamic State–affiliated militants at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, as evidence of the deteriorating security situation and h...

A fully loaded 40-foot container truck has overturned at Oke Gbegun along Ishagamu Road, close to LASPOTECH in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, reportedly due to brake failure. The incident, which occurred around midnight, left the driver trapped in the truck’s tractor head. Confirming the crash, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) said its Rescue and Recovery Team was swiftly dispatched to the scene to manage traffic and carry out emergency operations. In a statement shared on X, LASTMA explained that the accident involved a fully loaded containerised truck that lost control after experiencing brake failure and subsequently overturned at Oke Gbegun on Ishagamu Road. The agency noted that the driver became trapped following the crash. LASTMA added that a Su...

The Taraba State Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, has intercepted a suspected human trafficker and rescued 10 minors in Jalingo. The State Commandant, Mr Bako Amos, disclosed this in a statement issued to Journalists this weekend. He disclosed that the arrest followed actionable intelligence received by the agency. According to Amos, the interception was carried out at about 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026, at Kurmi Park in Jalingo, in collaboration with the Special Adviser to the governor of Taraba State on Human Trafficking, Mrs Sarah Ishaya. “The suspect was apprehended while making preparations to traffic the 10 children to an unknown destination,” he said. Amos added that both the victims and the susp...

Tensions between Iran and the European Union have intensified after Tehran declared the armed forces of European countries “terrorist organisations,” in retaliation for the EU’s decision to label Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist group. The announcement was made on Sunday by the Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, against the backdrop of growing friction between Iran and Western nations. During the parliamentary session, Iranian lawmakers donned green uniforms linked to the IRGC as a symbolic show of support. Footage aired on state television showed legislators chanting anti-Western and anti-Israeli slogans. Condemning what he described as Europe’s “irresponsible move,” Ghalibaf said Iran’s response was grounded in existing law. “Ba...

The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has stated that the military officers arrested over an alleged coup attempt were fully aware of the consequences of their actions, while assuring that they will be granted a fair and transparent trial. Musa made the remarks during an interview with Turkish news outlet, TRT World, where he also spoke about government arrangements to support the families of the accused officers. A total of 16 officers, including a brigadier general and a colonel, were taken into custody in October 2025. At the time, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said their arrest was linked to acts of indiscipline and violations of military regulations. However, on January 26, the DHQ confirmed that the officers were connected to a thwarted plot aimed at removing President...

Fresh details have emerged on weapons, vehicles and funds recovered from military officers and civilians accused of plotting to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration last year. An inter-agency investigation panel headed by the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lieutenant General Emmanuel Undiandeye, has concluded its probe into the failed coup attempt, uncovering what security officials described as a well-coordinated operation involving surveillance, funding, logistics and propaganda. Security sources told Premium Times that investigators recovered two gun trucks, anti-aircraft (AA) guns, PKT machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) bombs, AK-47 rifles, large caches of ammunition and tactical equipment from a lieutenant colonel attached to the Nigerian Army’s 130 B...

The spokesperson of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Emma Powerful, has dismissed comments by the group’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who advised residents of the South-East to disregard the sit-at-home scheduled for Monday, February 2, 2026. The sit-at-home was announced by IPOB in solidarity with traders at Onitsha Main Market, which was shut for one week by Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, over alleged non-compliance with the state’s ban on Monday sit-at-home observance. IPOB had opposed the market closure and urged traders to resume business despite the governor’s directive. However, the state government enforced the shutdown, reportedly deploying armoured vehicles and heavily armed security personnel to the market. In response, IPOB, through its spokesman Em...

A late-night fire outbreak on Friday destroyed offices used as storage facilities at the Kwara State University of Education, Ilorin, resulting in the loss of official records, including files, documents and academic journals. According to reports, the incident occurred around 9:14 p.m. in a block containing four offices, with three offices affected by the blaze. The fire also impacted parts of the institution, including the biology laboratory. Eyewitness accounts and reports by Daily Trust indicated that the fire may have been triggered by an unidentified individual who set nearby dry bushes ablaze, which later spread to the building. Confirming the incident in a statement on Saturday, the spokesperson of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, said firefighters swiftly re...

There is a growing frustration and anxiety among parents over perceived developmental regression in children following routine vaccinations, raising difficult questions at the intersection of public health, parental experience, and scientific evidence. In this report, Gift Oba takes on the challenges of the parents, medical experts’ views and the broader implications for vaccine confidence in Nigeria. When the world speaks in a chorus, for five-year-old Samson (not real name), it’s a vast, echoing silence. The little boy, who lives with his parents in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, knows the words for “mama” and “dada,” but the phrases are trapped behind a wall of sound he cannot pull through. Instead of asking for his favorite toy, he stretches his hand...