NEWS

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to uphold its policy banning transgender Americans from serving in the military, the latest significant case involving trans Americans to reach the conservative court in recent years.   Days after taking office last year, Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to ban transgender service members as incompatible with military service. The administration is appealing a ruling from a federal court in Washington, DC, that sided with a group of trans Americans who were already serving.   “The authority of the US military to determine who may serve in the nation’s armed forces is a matter of exceptional importance,” US Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court, according to a copy of the appeal revi...

Togo, Benin and Niger owed Nigeria $11.16 million for electricity supplied by Nigerian power generation companies under bilateral arrangements in 2025, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). NERC disclosed this in its 2025 annual report, saying the Market Operator (MO) issued invoices totalling $73.91 million to the three international electricity customers during the year. However, only $62.75 million was paid, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.16 million and representing an 84.90 percent remittance performance. The international customers identified by NERC are Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (NIGELEC) of Niger, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) of Benin and Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET). “The international bilateral custo...

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has published the names and photographs of 10 more Nigerians on its “worst of the worst” register of suspected criminal offenders. The names and photographs were published on the website of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as the Trump administration continues its immigration enforcement and deportation campaign. DHS said the initiative was part of efforts to carry out President Donald Trump’s pledge to pursue mass deportations, beginning with individuals it considers serious criminal offenders. “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is highlighting the worst of worst criminal aliens arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” the department said. It added: “Under DHS leadership, the h...

Simon Ekpa, the pro-Biafra separatist campaigner, has appealed his six-year prison sentence for terrorism-related offences in Finland. According to BBC Pidgin, the Finnish prosecutor handling the case has also appealed, seeking a longer prison term on the grounds that the sentence imposed was insufficient for the offences. The Finnish Court of Appeal is expected to hear the case within the next three weeks. Ekpa was arrested by Finnish authorities in November 2024 and subsequently charged with inciting terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist group. In September 2025, the Päijät-Häme District Court sentenced him to six years in prison after finding him guilty of the offences. The court said Ekpa had used his “significant social media following” to esc...

The Federal Government has urged healthcare facilities not to send cancer patients home when they still require hospital-based care, stressing that treatment and support should continue even when a cure is no longer possible. The National Coordinator of the National Cancer Control Plan at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Uchechukwu Nwokwu, made the call in an interview on Friday, August 28. Nwokwu said a hospital’s inability to provide further curative treatment should not automatically lead to a patient being discharged without arrangements for continued care. He said where a facility lacked the capacity to provide the required treatment, the patient should be promptly referred to another appropriate facility to ensure that care continued without interruption. “...

Some members of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, and journalists reportedly escaped death by the after an alleged attack by youths from the Ologbo community in the Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State. The civil society members and journalists were reportedly attacked on Thursday, August 27, 2026, when officials of Ossiomo Power Company were about to switch on the Independent Power Plant II unit in a bid to restore electricity supply to its customers in Benin City and its environs. It was alleged that the members of the CSO were driving out of the area when a large group of irate youths from Ologbo stormed the place in commando style, threatening fire and brimstone. The youths allegedly held everyone hostage for nearly an hour, fuming over the visitors’ pre...

No fewer than 11 people have died from diphtheria in Niger State within the past few days, raising fresh concerns over the spread of the potentially deadly disease in Chanchaga and Katcha Local Government Areas. The latest fatalities are part of the 17 deaths recorded from 124 confirmed diphtheria cases in the state between January and early August. The Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency, NSPHCDA, said 74 patients have so far been treated and discharged from focal areas in Bida and Agaie Local Government Areas, while surveillance has been stepped up in Suleja. Executive Director of the agency, Dr Junaidu Inuwa, blamed part of the rising casualty rate on the failure of some parents and guardians to have their children vaccinated. Inuwa spoke in Minna duri...

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported a major decline in cholera cases but warned that the disease is still spreading in parts of the country. NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, gave the warning on Friday during a briefing on the cholera and diphtheria outbreaks in Nigeria. Idris said more than 65,000 suspected cholera cases had been reported in 35 states and around 195 local government areas since the beginning of the year. Although the number of cases has fallen, he said the death rate among reported cases was much lower than during the same period last year. “This is important progress. But I want to be very clear: the outbreak is not over,” Idris said. He warned that cholera infections could rise again between late August and Oc...

Gunmen have k!lled Hon. Ishaq Onu Yunusa, the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman of Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.  Yunusa was attacked and m8rdered along the Itobe–Ochadamu Expressway, around Ojuwo Olijo, in Ofu Local Government Area on Thursday, August 27, 2026. The spokesperson for the Kogi State Command, ASP Afusat Saliu, confirmed the attack in a statement on Friday.  The PPRO stated that the command has launched a manhunt for the assailants. According to Saliu, the incident occurred at about 5:00 p.m. when the gunmen reportedly emerged from the surrounding bush and opened sporadic fire on motorists. Following the attack, a blue Toyota Corolla with registration number GWA 636 CH was found abandoned along the highway. The driver, identifie...

The traditional Ugandan ruler named as the world's youngest monarch has di£d aged 34, his prime minster announced. Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV was just three years old when he became king of Tooro in western Uganda in 1995 after the de@th of his father. The cause of King Oyo's de@th was not disclosed, but a Ugandan government minister was quoted in local media saying that he had been critically ill and was seeking treatment in the US. Oyo, who Guinness World Records listed as the world's youngest reigning monarch, ruled over more than two million people. He was the 13th monarch of his kingdom. Announcing his de@th, Tooro's Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki called his passing on Thursday, August 27, an "immeasurable loss" to the royal family and the people of Tooro. "I ...