NEWS

The Senate has indicated its readiness to accelerate the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for the creation of state police, following renewed pressure from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for sweeping security reforms. Speaking in a telephone interview, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, said the National Assembly is giving heightened attention to the President’s appeal. According to him, lawmakers had already reached near consensus on the proposal even before the President’s recent public call. Adaramodu explained that broad-based support from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, state Houses of Assembly and traditional institutions has strengthened momentum for the reform. He noted that delays in the wider constitutional review were...

US Congresswoman, Nancy Mace has introduced legislation that would allow the federal government to impose the de@th penalty on people convicted of raping or sexually assaulting children. Arts & Entertainment The bill, titled the Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act, is intended to expand capital punishment eligibility to several federal child s£x crime statutes and to the rape of a child under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to the press release. “We have zero mercy for child rapists,” Mace said in a statement. “Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequences we can deliver. No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children.” The proposal would amend Title 18 of the U.S. Code to authorize capi...

The court of appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside a N38.9 billion judgement previously awarded against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a long-running dispute over consultancy fees linked to the Paris Club refund. In a unanimous decision delivered on February 20, the appellate court overturned the earlier ruling of the federal high court, which had entered judgement in favour of Joe Agi, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN). Agi instituted the suit in 2017 against the minister of finance, the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and the attorneys-general of the 36 states. He claimed entitlement to 20 percent of the Paris Club refund as consultancy fees. The court ruled in his favour in 2022, prompting appeals by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the st...

Clinton emphasized that he severed ties years before Epstein's crimes became public, following the financier's 2006 plea deal. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton testified under oath on Friday before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, emphatically denying any awareness of Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activities during their association in the early 2000s. The closed-door deposition, held at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center near the Clintons’ home, marks the first time a former U.S. president has been compelled to appear before Congress in over four decades. In his prepared opening statement, released publicly via social media, Clinton stated: “I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing. I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.” He described their con...

United States Congressman Rep Riley M Moore has accused Chinese involved in illegal mining in Nigeria of sponsoring terrorism in the country. The lawmaker made the revelation in an interview with Fox News on Friday, saying the alleged Chinese miners pay Islamic radicals protection money, which is later used for terrorism. He said, “Earlier this week, I delivered my report to President Trump detailing the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. “One key point that has been missing from much of the coverage is that the Chinese are running illegal rare earth mineral mining operations in Nigeria. “They are paying protection money to radical Islamic terrorists who use that money to finance their operations to persecute and kill our brothers and sisters in Christ”. The lawmaker, who...

The Independent National Electoral Commission has released a revised timetable and schedule of activities for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, shifting key poll dates earlier following the repeal of the Electoral Act 2022 and the enactment of the Electoral Act 2026. INEC previously scheduled the Presidential and National Assembly elections for Saturday, February 20, 2027, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections for Saturday, March 6, 2027. The original schedule was rejected by some Muslim stakeholders, who argued that the dates coincided with the Ramadan period. This prompted the Senate to amend Clause 28 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, reducing the mandatory notice period for elections from 360 days to 300 days, thereby enabling INEC to change ...

Residents of Waterfront Estate, Sekumade Estate, and NBC Community in the Ebute area of Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State on Friday staged a peaceful protest over what they described as eight months of total blackout in their communities. The protesters converged on the Ikorodu Business District office of Ikeja Electric, barricading the entrance to the operational office and preventing movement in and out of the premises for several hours. Clutching placards bearing various inscriptions, including, “IKEDC! You are supposed to be an agent of light, not an agent of darkness,” “Eight months in darkness. Enough is enough. Restore our light,” and “We burn fuel to run the generator for six months,” the residents lamented the hardship the prolonged outage had imposed on them. ...

A 38-year-old man has been arrested after the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square was defaced with graffiti overnight. The bronze monument in Westminster was sprayed with red paint bearing phrases including “Zionist war criminal”, “Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine”. Other slogans read “Never again is Now” and “Globalise the Intifada”. Officers from the Metropolitan Police were alerted shortly after 4am on Friday. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage and remains in custody. A Dutch-based group calling itself Free the Filton 24 said it was behind the action. The group describes itself as made up of relatives and supporters of activists charged over a 2024 break-in at a UK site linked to Israeli defence firm Elbit. ...

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has advised American embassy staff in Israel that anyone wishing to leave the country should do so “today,” citing heightened tensions and the possibility of a strike involving Iran. According to a source familiar with the message, Huckabee told staff there was “no reason to panic,” describing the move as a precaution taken out of an abundance of caution. He warned that flights out of Israel could quickly fill up and encouraged personnel to secure tickets to any available destination with onward connections to Washington. Earlier on Friday, the US embassy announced it had authorised the departure of non-essential personnel and family members due to safety concerns. A notice posted on the embassy’s website advised individuals to consider leavi...

About 263 stranded Nigerians have voluntarily returned to the country, arriving in Kano on Thursday aboard two Sky Mali flights from Agadez in the Republic of Niger. The returnees were reported to have touched down at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in two batches. Represented by the Commission’s Kano State Coordinator, Mrs Lubah Liman, the Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Aliyu Tijani, explained that the operation formed part of ongoing efforts to ensure the safe and dignified return of Nigerians stranded abroad. The first flight arrived at around 12:50 pm with 116 passengers, while the second landed at about 4:35 pm with 147 persons, the majority being young men, alongside a few women and children. To ensure the safe return of those affected, the exercise was f...