NEWS

The United States Embassy in Nigeria has restated that visa restrictions affecting Nigerians will take effect from January 1, 2026, in line with an existing presidential directive. In a post shared on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday, the embassy reminded applicants that the policy is enforced under Presidential Proclamation 10998, which aims to limit the entry of certain foreign nationals to protect US national security. According to the embassy, the directive places a partial suspension on the issuance of non-immigrant visas to Nigerian nationals, including B-1/B-2 visitor visas, F and M student visas, and J exchange visitor visas. The restriction also applies to immigrant visas. The policy, first announced on December 19, 2025, affects citizens of 19 count...

A former prison officer has been jailed after engaging in illicit relationships with two inmates and conspiring to smuggle drug-soaked envelopes into a Kent jail. Entertainment center Isabelle Dale, 23, became romantically involved with prisoners Shahid Sharif and Connor Money while working at HMP Coldingley in Surrey. Judge Christopher Hehir said Dale had been “swearing them undying love, saying she wanted to be with both of them on the outside,” and accused her of using her vulnerabilities as “a shield and an excuse” for her actions. Dale was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to three and a half years in prison for two counts of misconduct in a public office between September 2021 and December 2022, and one count of conspiring to convey a List A article into prison. Sharif,...

UK's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will not bow to US President Donald Trump’s demands over Greenland, rejecting what he described as pressure tactics aimed at forcing Britain to soften its stance on the strategic Arctic territory. Entertainment center At Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer dismissed Trump’s latest outburst, in which the US president accused him of “great stupidity” over the Chagos Islands and threatened tariffs, as an attempt to compel the UK to abandon its “values and principles”. “President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House,” Starmer said. “He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain ...

The names of 177 worshippers abducted on Sunday  Jan. 18, from three churches in Kajuru LGA of Kaduna state have been revealed. The Kaduna police command had released a statement on Monday, Jan. 19, one day after the attack, to dismiss reports of the attack as falsehood spread by “conflict entrepreneurs” seeking to disrupt the state’s relative peace.   Speaking during a press briefing in Kaduna, Muhammad Rabiu, commissioner of police, challenged persons spreading the reports to provide names and details of the victims, insisting that there was no record of such abductions.  Their denial drew criticism from Nigerians, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide-Nigeria (CSW-N), a human rights group, who accused security operatives of obstructing...

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abayomi Mumuni, has warned against any attempt to replace Vice President Kashim Shettima on religious grounds ahead of the 2027 general elections Mumuni said this on Wednesday in reaction to the controversies erupting from the omission of Vice President Shettima’s photograph from a banner displayed at the North-East Zonal Public Hearing on the amendment of the APC constitution. According to him, the North presently lacks a Christian candidate with the political clout and followership needed to deliver substantial electoral support. He said the idea of dropping Shettima could undermine the APC’s chances of retaining power. There have been speculations about a possible plan to drop Shettima from the party’s 2027 presidential tick...

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has started lectures at Northwest University, Kano, after enrolling as a 200-level law student. Photos shared online show the monarch in class on Tuesday, Jan. 20, with other undergraduates.   The university offered Sanusi special admission into its Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) programme in Common and Sharia Law.   According to the institution, the admission was granted in recognition of his vast experience in governance, economics and public service. Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is already a PhD holder.

Usha Vance, the wife of US Vice President JD Vance, has announced she is pregnant with her fourth child. In a post on X, the second lady said she is looking forward to welcoming a boy in late July. "Usha and the baby are doing well," a statement posted on Tuesday to the second lady's social media account read. Vance and his wife, Usha, 40, have three young children: Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel, who have often joined them on travels across the country and the globe. This will mark the first time a sitting second lady has had a baby while in office, but it’s not without precedent for first ladies. JD Vance, 41, and Usha Vance, 39, met at Yale Law School and married in 2014. They are the nation's first millennial second family.

Several senior officers of the Benue State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, along with some consultants, are currently under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged ₦4.6 billion fraud. The officials were reportedly arrested about a week ago and are being held at the EFCC zonal office in Makurdi, the state capital. The anti-graft agency is probing the alleged misappropriation of ₦4.6 billion meant for the state’s 23 local government councils. Preliminary investigations suggest the funds were allegedly diverted through consultants under the pretext of auditing local government staff, pensioners, Primary Healthcare workers, and personnel of the Local Government Education Authorities. All 23 local government chairmen hav...

US President Donald Trump has sparked global concern by suggesting that his newly formed “Board of Peace” might one day replace the United Nations, raising fears that the body, intended to oversee Gaza reconstruction, could sideline the nearly eight-decade-old international organization. Diplomats had already expressed doubts over the board’s structure, membership, and the controversial provision allowing countries to secure permanent seats for $1 billion. These concerns come as Trump heads to the World Economic Forum in Davos, amid tensions with NATO allies and his repeated insistence that the US should own Greenland. The White House announced the board’s founding Executive Board, which includes Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and former B...

Yoruba nation activist Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has called on the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, to set aside disputes over the Oyo State Council of Obas’ chairmanship and focus on tackling insecurity in the South West while promoting regional development. Igboho’s appeal comes amid a disagreement over the rotational leadership of the council, which Governor Seyi Makinde recently addressed by appointing Oba Ladoja as the new chairman. The new arrangement stipulates that the permanent chairmanship will rotate among the Olubadan, the Alaafin, and the Soun of Ogbomoso. In a statement aimed at reducing tensions among the traditional rulers, Igboho described it as unproductive for prominent monarchs—whose lead...