NEWS

Adebayo Shittu, former Minister of Communications, has cautioned that granting amnesty to bandits could encourage criminal behavior and further worsen insecurity in Nigeria. Shittu issued the warning on Wednesday during an appearance on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM in Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, in reaction to Katsina State’s recent decision to release around 70 suspected bandits under a peace arrangement. “If you give amnesty to hundreds of criminals, you might as well open the prisons. It sends the wrong message,” Shittu said, describing such actions as counterproductive. He argued that offering amnesty to armed criminals would embolden others to engage in crime, expecting similar concessions, and emphasized that decisive law enforcement—not negotiations...

Israeli fire k!lled at least 11 Palestinians, including children and journalists, in separate incidents across Gaza on Wednesday, according to local medics, further undermining a three-month-old ceasefire in the war-ravaged enclave. Palestinian health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian journalists who were travelling in a car on assignment to film a displaced persons camp in central Gaza. In another incident, three people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed by Israeli tank shelling in the same area. Medics also reported that two others, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed in separate Israeli shooting incidents in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.Additional Israeli attacks across the territory brought the day’s death toll to at least 11, the Gaza health mini...

Clement Nwankwo, Executive Director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue election notices at least 360 days before any election, in line with constitutional and legal requirements. Nwankwo made this statement on Wednesday during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time, emphasizing the importance of certainty in the electoral process. The civil rights advocate also warned that the National Assembly can no longer afford to delay the passage of the Electoral Bill, noting that time is running out and electoral reforms must now be prioritized. He explained that adequate election preparation largely depends on the stability and clarity of the legal framework governing the process. “We need time ...

US President, Donald Trump has stepped back from a threatened wave of tariffs on European countries following what he described as a new framework agreement involving Greenland and the wider Arctic region. Speaking after meeting NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump announced that the United States and NATO had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.”  He made the announcement late Wednesday on his Truth Social platform, framing it as a strategic development tied to security, trade, and geopolitical cooperation in the Arctic. When pressed by reporters on whether the framework aligned with his long-standing interest in the United States owning Greenland, Tr...

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Ogun State has expressed concern over what it described as the state government’s undue interference in local government administration. In a statement released after its State Executive Council meeting in Abeokuta, the union said it regrets that, despite the Supreme Court judgment, directives from the National Assembly, and President Bola Tinubu’s clear instructions, Governor Dapo Abiodun has yet to implement local government autonomy. According to NULGE, this failure has left local councils without basic furniture, operating with poor infrastructure, and employing demotivated staff working under harsh conditions—factors that have hampered effective administration at the grassroots level. The communiqué was signed by NULGE P...

The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele continued on Wednesday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, as a prosecution witness detailed alleged cash transactions and bank transfers totaling over ₦1.6 billion, carried out on Emefiele’s instructions. Emefiele is facing an eight-count charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery, and unlawful possession of properties allegedly linked to proceeds of crime amounting to ₦7.83 billion. He is being tried before Justice Yusuf Halilu. Testifying as Prosecution Witness Three, Richard Agulu, a former staff member of Zenith Bank, said he worked at several branches, including the Maitama branch in Abuja, betwee...

Operatives of the Abia State Command of the Nigerian Police Force have arrested a 47-year-old man, identified as Chukwuemeka Nwaobilor, for having the voters’ registration machine of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).  According to The Nation, Nwaobilor was arrested at a football field in Mbawsi, Isiala Ngwa North local government area of the state, with an INEC registration machine that was meant for the registration of voters in Isiala Ngwa South local government area. Unconfirmed reports noted that Nwaobilor, a staff member of INEC who works in Isiala Ngwa South, was alleged to be working with yet-to-be-named politicians from the same Isiala Ngwa North and South federal constituency. Nwaobilor was apprehended by the police personnel from the Criminal and...

The Federal Government is set to arraign Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Mike Ozekhome before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday, January 26, 2026, over alleged fraud involving a property in London, United Kingdom. A hearing notice obtained on Wednesday indicates that the arraignment will take place at Courtroom 4 by 9:00 a.m., with the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the plaintiff and Ozekhome as the sole defendant. The prosecution will be led by Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha, Head of the High-Profile Prosecution Department of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The criminal case, filed under Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/010/26, accuses the 68-year-old SAN, resident at 53 Nile Street, Maitama, Abuj...

The head of Finland’s Defence Intelligence has warned that the risk of drones inadvertently entering Finnish airspace is rising due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Major General Pekka Turunen, Chief of Finnish Defence Intelligence, spoke to AFP ahead of the release of a Finnish military intelligence report updating the country’s security situation. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia. A key concern highlighted in the report is the potential for long-range drones to drift into Finnish territory. “The risk of a drone drifting into Finnish airspace or onto Finnish territory is growing all the time, especially as Ukraine conducts strikes near the Gulf of Finland,” Turunen said. He explained that Ukrainian attacks on nearby oil ports and Russia’s use of GPS...

Former US President Donald Trump has said he would not resort to military force to acquire Greenland, while urging what he described as “immediate negotiations” on the issue. Trump made the remarks while addressing global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in an apparent effort to calm concerns in Europe following earlier comments in which he said he would not rule out the use of force. Referring to those earlier statements, Trump said his clarification was significant because many people believed he was prepared to act militarily. “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I will not use force,” he said. “All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.” During the speech, Trump also criticised NATO, claiming the United States contributes...