NEWS

Social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has responded defiantly to threats of legal action from the Presidency following a viral doctored video allegedly containing a fake audio clip of President Bola Tinubu. Naija News reports that the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had accused VDM of circulating false content online, describing the act as an abuse of social media and calling for him to be held accountable under the law. Onanuga stated that VDM should face legal consequences for allegedly sharing an AI-generated audio attributed to the President, insisting the matter amounted to misinformation. In reaction, VDM said he would not attempt to defend the allegation, but instead expressed readiness to co...

Social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has reacted strongly to an alleged AI-generated video linked to him, accusing the Presidency of prioritising online criticism over Nigeria’s worsening insecurity. The controversy began after the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, called for VDM’s prosecution over claims that he circulated a fake audio recording allegedly imitating President Bola Tinubu. An 𝕏 user, @Pious_minister, had earlier alleged that the viral audio was AI-generated and used in one of VDM’s posts. In the clip, the voice purportedly attributed to President Tinubu suggested that insecurity in Nigeria would persist because some citizens did not vote for him in the 2023 election. Onanuga described th...

United States Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, has disclosed that President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon to prioritise the protection of Christians in Nigeria facing attacks from ISIS-linked groups. Speaking during a White House press briefing on Wednesday, Hegseth said Trump issued the directive about a year ago after becoming aware of the killings and attacks against Christians in Nigeria. According to Hegseth, Trump told him to ensure the War Department took every possible step to safeguard affected Christian communities. He explained that the mission involved covert coordination and the deployment of military assets to support operations in the region. Hegseth further revealed that recent military actions led to the killing of an ISIS leader in Nigeria believed to be...

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Wednesday, allayed the fears of abducted teachers’ and students’ family members, assuring that his administration was making serious efforts to secure their release. Makinde gave this assurance while receiving the state Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, alongside other Muslim faithful at his private residence in Ikolaba, Ibadan, the state capital, during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. Makinde said, “The challenges that we have, especially in Oyo with our school children being kidnapped, we are working round the clock to ensure that the children are reunited with their families. “So, I also use this opportunity to say to those that are in despair right now, that God Almighty will meet them at their point of need.” undefined He expressed symp...

The Edo State Police Command has disrupted a cultists' gathering in Ohonre community, Benin City and arrested two suspects.  The spokesperson for the command, ASP Eno Ikoedem disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. According to the PPRO, operatives attached to Ugbowo Division responded to a distress report indicating that some suspected cult members were converging in the community. The police team stormed the location and arrested two suspects while others escaped.  The suspects identified as Victor Peter and Iyemoma Ogbewe, confessed to being members of the notorious Maphite cult group.  "The Edo State Police Command has recorded another operational breakthrough following the swift disruption of a suspected cultists’ gathering in Ohonre...

The first group of about 300 Ghanaian nationals left South Africa on Wednesday, May 27, as Ghana began a voluntary evacuation programme amid rising anti-immigration tensions in the country. Families gathered at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport as officials coordinated the departure process. The move follows growing protests in parts of South Africa over illegal immigration, with frustrations linked to unemployment, crime and access to public services. Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, said even more people than expected showed up for the evacuation, with additional registrations being processed ahead of another flight scheduled for Sunday. Ghana had earlier summoned South Africa’s ambassador over reported attacks on Ghanaians before announci...

The Lagos state government has unveiled plans to introduce a new tenancy law aimed at curbing arbitrary rent increases, illegal charges and other exploitative practices in the real estate sector. The State Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, disclosed this during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing held in Alausa, Ikeja. According to Akinderu-Fatai, the proposed legislation, currently before the Lagos State House of Assembly, is intended to address growing concerns over excessive rent hikes, arbitrary agency fees and fraudulent practices by unregistered estate agents operating in the state. According to him, the tenancy bill is presently at the committee stage in the House of Assembly and is expected to introduce major reforms capable of sanitising the housing and real...

The Republic of the Congo has announced that it will grant visa-free access to all African nationals starting from January 1, 2027, making it the latest country to join a growing continental movement toward open borders across Africa. The announcement was made by President Denis Sassou Nguesso during the African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings 2026 in Brazzaville, as African leaders gathered to mark Africa Day. "As from the first of January 2027, nationals of all African countries will have visa-free access and will no longer need a visa to come to Congo," Sassou Nguesso said, urging African countries to move beyond what he described as "selfishness and nationalism" and accelerate regional integration through practical implementation of the African...

The Presidency has called for legal action against social media influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), over the circulation of an alleged fake audio linked to President Bola Tinubu. Speaking on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused VDM of spreading false information online through the controversial audio recording. According to Onanuga, the social media influencer should face prosecution for allegedly distributing misleading content involving the President. He described the incident as a serious misuse of social media platforms. In a post shared on 𝕏, Onanuga stated that VDM must “face the weight of the law” for allegedly disseminating the fake audio of Tinubu, insisting that such actions...

Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has declared that President Bola Tinubu and other political leaders lack the moral right to celebrate Nigerian children on Children’s Day while failing to protect them from widespread insecurity and abductions. In a strongly worded statement released on Tuesday to mark the annual celebration, Ezekwesili warned the President, state governors, and lawmakers against issuing customary, performative messages. “A warning to President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian government, the national assembly, the Senate, the House of Representatives, Governors’ Forum, State Houses of Assembly, and the Nigerian political class at large: Do not dare wish our children ‘happy Children’s Day’ today. To the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the V...