NEWS

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...

Burkina Faso has dissolved all political parties and political formations and repealed the laws governing their operation. The decision was announced in a statement by the presidency’s communications directorate after junta leader Ibrahim Traoré presided over a meeting of the council of ministers. Minister of Territorial Administration and Mobility, Émile Zerbo, said the move was deliberate and far-reaching. He said the “great and important decision is part of the re-founding of the state.” According to the presidency, the proliferation of political parties in the country had resulted in political drift, encouraged divisions among citizens, and weakened the nation’s social fabric. The statement said the dissolution was aimed at preserving national unity, strengthening the coher...

South Africa has declared Israel’s top diplomat in the country “persona non grata” and ordered him to leave within 72 hours, the foreign ministry said on Friday, January 30, citing what it described as a “series of violations”. Relations between the two countries have already been severely strained, following South Africa’s decision in 2023 to approach the United Nations’ top court, arguing that Israel’s war on Gaza, an illegally occupied Palestinian territory, amounted to genocide. In a statement, the foreign ministry said the Israeli government had been formally informed that its charge d’affaires, Ariel Seidman, had been “declared persona non grata” and was “required to depart from the Republic within 72 hours”. “This decisive measure follows a series of unacceptable violations...

The Bauchi State Economic Council has approved the payment of monthly stipends to Imams and Pastors across the state. Governor Bala Mohammed presided over the council meeting on Friday, January 30, which was attended by senior officials from the finance and revenue sectors. Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Head of Civil Service, Barri. Mohammed Sani Umar, said the approval covers Imams of Juma’at mosques as well as clerics from different Christian denominations, stressing that the payments would be made without discrimination. “The council has approved the payment of monthly stipends to Imams of Juma’at mosques and Pastors of various Christian denominations across the state,” Umar said. “The payments will be implemented without discrimination.” He added that the gove...

Yoruba nation activist Sunday Adeyemo, widely known as Sunday Igboho, has revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu granted him permission to return to Nigeria after spending nearly five years in exile. Igboho returned to the country on Monday, having fled Nigeria in 2021 after he was declared wanted by the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari over allegations of illegally stockpiling arms and ammunition. On July 1, 2021, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), supported by military personnel, stormed Igboho’s residence in Ibadan in an attempt to arrest him. During the raid, two of his associates were killed, while 13 others were taken into custody. In a statement released on Friday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Igboho said his return was made po...