NEWS

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced the extension of the application deadline for the 2025/2026 academic session to February 27, 2026. This was confirmed in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday. NELFUND stated that the deadline, initially set for January 31, 2026, was extended to give prospective applicants additional time to complete and submit their applications. According to the Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the decision was taken to ensure that no eligible student is excluded from the process due to timing constraints. The statement read in part: “The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has announced an extension of the application deadline for the 2025/2026 academic session from January 31, 2026, to February 27, 2026.” Speakin...

A senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is welcome to travel to Moscow for direct talks with Putin, with assurances that his safety would be guaranteed. Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Putin has consistently expressed openness to a meeting, emphasizing that Moscow is ready to host Zelenskyy if he is genuinely prepared for face-to-face negotiations. Ushakov also revealed that the possibility of a Putin–Zelenskyy meeting has been discussed in recent phone calls between Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump, with Trump reportedly suggesting that Moscow consider the option. The remarks come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Zelenskyy is willing ...

Kyiv said on Thursday that it had received from Russia 1,000 remains of people that Moscow said were Ukrainian soldiers killed fighting the Kremlin’s army. The exchange of prisoners of war and the remains of killed soldiers is one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between Kyiv and Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022. “Today, repatriation measures took place, under which 1,000 bodies of the deceased, which the Russian side claims belong to Ukrainian defenders, were returned to Ukraine,” Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement on social media. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky confirmed an exchange had taken place, writing on Telegram that the Russian side had received the remains of 38 killed Russian soldiers Med...

The House of Representatives on Thursday commenced debate on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2026 Appropriation Bill, approving the proposed ₦58.18 trillion budget for second reading. The budget is built around macroeconomic stability, improved security, and increased capital spending. Tagged “The Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” the 2026 fiscal plan was presented to the National Assembly on December 19, 2025, and was described by lawmakers as a major step in Nigeria’s economic restructuring. Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, House Leader Rep. Julius Ihonvbere said the Tinubu administration inherited weakened institutions and noted that while reforms would be challenging, they were unavoidable. “Development that is not susta...

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has presented 12 newly acquired ambulances to hospitals across the territory in a bid to strengthen emergency healthcare services in Abuja. The handover ceremony, held on Thursday in Abuja, highlighted the FCT Administration’s commitment to improving healthcare delivery, especially in emergency and life-threatening situations. Speaking at the event, Wike said the procurement of the ambulances forms part of the administration’s wider investment in critical sectors such as road infrastructure, education and healthcare. He stressed that effective emergency response depends largely on good road networks. According to him, without functional roads, emergency vehicles risk becoming ineffective when patients require urgent...

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. has suggested  that President Donald Trump's rhetoric toward her and the Somali community contributed to the attack on her at a town hall on Tuesday. Omar said Wednesday that the man at the town hall “was specifically upset that Trump’s order to deport Somalis was not yielding enough deportations of Somalis, so he wanted to come get the person he thought was protecting the Somalis.” “What the facts have shown since I’ve gotten into elected office is that every time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket,” Omar said at a news conference in Minneapolis. “I do believe that the facts of the situation are that I wouldn’t be where I am at today, ha...

Texas state police officers on Wednesday, Jan. 28, used tear gas to disperse a demonstration outside a US immigration detention facility where protesters gathered to demand the release of a 5-year-old Ecuadoran boy among others picked up in the Trump administration’s immigration clampdown. Scores of protesters gathered at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley on Wednesday, carrying signs accusing the federal agents of terrorizing communities. “We want Kristi Noem impeached. We want the US Senate to defund ICE, to not give it any more money. And we need people to pay attention to the midterm elections this year,” local elected official Christina Morales told AFP. Texas state law enforcement responded to the protest in riot gear, deploying tear gas cannisters, in...

The Enugu State Police Command has uncovered a suspected transnational human trafficking scheme for prostitution, leading to the arrest of a 50-year-old female suspect, Ibekwe Nkiru, and the rescue of a 20-year-old female victim (name withheld).  The arrest and rescue were effected on 16th January 2026 by operatives attached to the Igbo-Eze South Police Division, following swift action on credible intelligence. Preliminary investigations by the police indicate that the victim, a native of Abia State, was allegedly deceived into resigning from her job in Aba with the promise of a more lucrative employment opportunity in Senegal, which later turned out to be prostitution-related. On the same date, at about 7pm, the suspect, who operates from Amorji-Nike, Enugu, allegedly took the ...