NEWS

The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved medical fellowships awarded by recognised professional medical colleges as equivalent to PhD degrees, ending a long-running debate about academic qualifications required for medical professionals in Nigerian universities. The decision follows years of disagreement over whether medical doctors must obtain a traditional PhD before advancing to the rank of professor in academic medicine. In 2016, the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria set up a committee that concluded that a PhD should remain the qualification for teaching basic medical sciences. However, the committee also recommended that teaching clinical aspects of medical programmes should require a fellowship from the National Postgraduate Medical College of Ni...

UK's Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood has announced a new pilot scheme that will offer some migrant families up to £40,000 to voluntarily leave United Kingdom, as part of a broader overhaul of the country’s migration system. Under the proposal, up to 150 migrants will be eligible to receive £10,000 per person, including children, with a maximum payment of £40,000 per family if they agree to leave Britain within seven days. Mahmood said the increased incentive would be offered to failed asylum seekers and argued the policy could reduce the cost of supporting migrants who remain in the country. “Failed asylum seekers will now be offered an increased incentive payment of £10,000 per person, and up to a maximum of £40,000 per family,” she said while outlining the reforms in Westminste...

The management of University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, has complained about the large number of unclaimed corpses in the hospital mortuary. Speaking in a local broadcast station in Benin City, Professor Adebola Ehizele, Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee in charge of Research and Ethics, said the bodies, which have been in the hospital’s mortuary from January 2023 up until June 2025, risk being given mass burials by the hospital. Ehizele added that the unclaimed corpses are about 462, out of which 350 are children. She said the management has given a grace of six weeks for the owner’s of the corpses to claim them and that at the expiration of the deadline the corpses would be disposed off through mass burial. A statement issued by the management of the ...

A fire outbreak has destroyed St. Mary's Catholic cathedral in Wukari, Taraba State. It was gathered that the incident, which occurred on Wednesday night, March 4, 2025, completely razed the church building.  Fr. John Laikei, Director of Communications for the Catholic Diocese of Wukari, said the fire started shortly after electricity was restored in the area where the church is located. He described the incident as a “major setback” for the diocese, adding that members were still in shock over the development. The priest said the exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined. "I can confirm that it coincided with the restoration of electricity. I must also inform you that the authorities have yet to evaluate the extent of the damage caused by the fire,” h...

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) were conspicuously missing in the final list of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2026 Osun Governorship Election. According to a statement issued by INEC’s Public Relations Officer in Osun State, Musa Olurode, the cleared parties include Accord (A), Action Alliance (AA), African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Democratic Party (ADP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Action Peoples Party (APP), Boot Party (BP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Young Progressive Party (YPP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP). Naija News reports that th...

The Nigeria Police Force has reportedly relieved Assistant Commissioner of Police Benjamin Hundeyin of his position as Force Public Relations Officer, barely six months after he assumed the role. According to reports, the decision was approved on Thursday, March 5, 2026, although the reason for the development had not been disclosed at the time of filing this report. The change comes shortly after a leadership transition within the police hierarchy. On Wednesday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu officially inaugurated Tunji Disu as the substantive Inspector-General of Police. Disu was recently appointed as the 23rd Inspector-General following the removal of Kayode Egbetokun, who had held the position since 2023. Sources within the police indicated that Hundeyin’s removal was carried...

Countries in the Middle East have expressed concern to European officials that the escalating conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel could trigger a civil war within Iran, according to the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. Speaking on Thursday ahead of a virtual meeting with EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Kallas said several countries in the region are worried about internal instability in Iran amid the ongoing tensions. “When we talk to countries in the region, they are worried about the possibility of civil war inside Iran due to the leadership situation and the developments taking place there,” she said. Kallas noted that the European Union is pushing for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, stressing t...

Senator representing Borno South at the National Assembly, Ali Ndume, has confirmed that several civilians, soldiers, and terrorists were killed during an attack on Ngoshe community in Borno State by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters. Speaking in an interview with Vanguard, Ndume said full details of the incident remain unclear but disclosed that many of the fleeing insurgents were eliminated by the air component of the Joint Task Force North East, Operation HADIN KAI. The lawmaker lamented that the attack claimed the lives of the Chief Imam of Ngoshe, some community elders, and several soldiers. He added that more than 100 people are still missing or have been abducted by the attackers. Ndume condemned the assault and expressed sympathy ...

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja, has discharged and acquitted suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, in 23 count charge of alleged non declaration of Assets filed against him by the NDLEA. Kyari is being charged alongside his two brothers who were accused of swearing to a false affidavits to conceal the origin of some properties. The court in it judgment delivered today March 5, held that the NDLEA failed to provide sufficient evidence in proving its case against the defendants, which is mostly non declaration of land properties. Justice Omotosho noted that proving ownership of landed properties can be done through traditional history, title, acts of possession and possession by connection. The judge held that the prosecution did not pro...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of committing an atrocity by sinking an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka and warned it would "bitterly regret" the precedent set. "The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning," he posted on X. "Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set," he added. His comments came after US officials confirmed that an American submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, in what they described as part of Washington’s expanding war against Iran. US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strike demonstrated the reach of ...