NEWS

President Bola Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Ahmed Abubakar Audi as the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for another five-year term. The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced that the renewed appointment took effect on Friday, February 27. Audi is expected to resume duties on Monday, March 2, under a fresh mandate. President Tinubu tasked him with strengthening and repositioning the Corps to assume a greater role in national security, particularly as the police concentrate on combating banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism. Audi was initially appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari. His first five-year tenure concluded last Friday, coinciding with activities marking the 202...

The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has warned that candidates and parents involved in examination malpractice will face strict penalties, describing the situation as a serious threat to the integrity of Nigeria’s education system. Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Saturday, Oloyede said the Board convened the briefing to address activities that undermine fairness, merit, and credibility in the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). He explained that JAMB has invested heavily in financial, technological, and institutional safeguards to protect the examination process, stressing that such measures are essential to preserve opportunities for honest candidates. Accordin...

Airspace across much of the Middle East has been shut down and international flights thrown into chaos after coordinated military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran on Saturday, Febuary 28. US and Israeli forces attacked Iran on Saturday morning in what the two countries described as a 'pre-emptive' strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons. The attack prompted retaliation from Iran, with missiles reported to have targeted Israel and countries across the Middle East. In the immediate aftermath of the strikes, several countries announced full or partial closures of their skies to civilian air traffic: Iran’s entire airspace was closed indefinitely following the attacks, halting all civilian flights. Israel also shut its airspace to civ...

Black smoke was seen rising over Dubai after debris from what officials described as an intercepted Iranian missile reportedly struck a hotel on the Palm Jumeirah. Footage shared online showed flames and thick smoke engulfing parts of the Fairmont The Palm, a luxury hotel on the man-made island, as witnesses reported hearing a loud blast in the tourist district. The incident came amid a wider escalation across the Middle East after Iran launched retaliatory strikes following a major US-Israeli operation earlier in the day. Tehran had vowed revenge, warning it had “no red lines” in responding to what it described as aggression. Authorities believe the damage in Dubai was caused by falling debris from a missile intercepted over the United Arab Emirates as Iran fired a barrage targe...

Two senior Iranian commanders are reported to have been killed in a wave of US-Israeli airstrikes targeting key figures and facilities in Tehran, as uncertainty surrounds the fate of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Sources cited in regional media claim Iran’s defence minister, Amir Nasirzadeh, and Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Pakpour were among those killed in the strikes. There is also speculation about the status of other high-ranking officials, though Iranian authorities have not formally confirmed the deaths. Satellite imagery circulating online appears to show significant damage to parts of a government compound in Tehran believed to be linked to Khamenei’s official offices. His current whereabouts have not been publicly disclosed. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas A...

The number of pupils reportedly killed in a strike on a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran has risen to 40, according to local media. The attack occurred in Minab, located in Hormozgan province, during a wave of strikes carried out early Saturday by the United States and Israel. Initial reports had placed the death toll at five. According to Al Jazeera, citing Iran’s Fars News Agency, the casualty figure has now climbed significantly. It remains unclear whether the strike on the school was conducted by US or Israeli forces. The school attack was part of a broader military campaign launched days after nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran. In response, Iran carried out retaliatory strikes that reportedly damaged a nine-storey building in northern Israel. Chan...

United States President, Donald Trump, on Saturday announced a large-scale military operation against Iran. In a televised address delivered after the United States and Israel began airstrikes on Iranian targets, Trump pledged to dismantle the country’s naval and missile capabilities and called on the Iranian people to rise against their government. He stated that the objective of the operation was to eliminate what he described as imminent threats posed by Iran’s leadership and to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons. Trump accused Iran of decades of hostility toward the United States, referencing past incidents including the 1979 US embassy hostage crisis in Tehran, the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, and other attacks on American personnel and ass...

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last monarch, has applauded the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iranian targets, calling the action a decisive moment and urging citizens to prepare for what he described as a “final battle.” The strikes, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, reportedly focused on missile and military facilities in several Iranian cities, including Tehran. Trump stated that the goal was to neutralize what he termed “imminent threats,” adding that American forces would dismantle Iran’s missile capabilities and military infrastructure. In a message shared on social media platform X in Arabic and later translated into English, Pahlavi said the promised support from the United States to the Iranian people had arrived. He characterized the op...

Iran has responded to American airstrikes by launching missiles and drones at Israel and US military facilities in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The escalation has prompted several Gulf nations to shut their airspace, leading to the cancellation and diversion of hundreds of international flights. According to Al Jazeera, Bahrain confirmed that the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet was hit by a missile strike. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Defence Ministry stated that one Iranian missile was intercepted using the Patriot air defence system. Reuters also reported a loud explosion in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Iran had earlier warned it would target American interests across the Middle East if attacked by Washington. Reports indicate that ...

The African Union has urged restraint after the United States and Israel carried out coordinated military strikes on Iran, cautioning that any further escalation could trigger far-reaching global consequences, including for African countries. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, appealed for dialogue and immediate de-escalation as tensions intensify across the Middle East. He warned that a deepening crisis could heighten global instability, with serious effects on energy markets, food security, and economic resilience — particularly in Africa, where many nations are already grappling with conflict and economic strain. The statement followed reports that Iran launched missiles toward Israel early Saturday in response to earlier strikes on its terr...