NEWS

The Chairman of Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, Chinedu Enwereuzo, has cautioned residents against releasing their Permanent Voter’s Cards, National Identification Numbers, Bank Verification Numbers, and bank account details to individuals or groups. He said no government agency has authorised the collection of such information from the public. According to the council chairman, sharing personal data with unauthorised persons exposes individuals to fraud, identity theft, and other criminal activities. Similarly, the Chairman of Isuikwuato Local Government Area, Chinedu Ekeke, said he received reports about individuals allegedly demanding sensitive personal information from residents in the name of a political party’s registration. In a statement signed by his...

A fire outbreak has occurred at the Amuwo Odofin Industrial Estate, Mile 2 area of Lagos State. Confirming the incident in a short statement on Saturday, the Controller General of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said firefighters were already on the ground battling the blaze and working to bring the situation under control. She assured residents and business owners that there was no cause for panic, adding that the service was fully on top of the situation. Adeseye urged members of the public to remain calm as emergency responders continue operations at the scene. The statement read, “The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service is currently attending to a Fire outbreak at Amuwo Odofin Industrial Estate, Mile 2, Lagos. “We’re assuring the public tha...

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has sounded a strong warning on immigration, declaring that “London is living proof” of the benefits migrants bring, while cautioning against what he described as the continued demonisation of immigrants in Britain. Speaking at the Fabian Society on Saturday, January 24, 2026, Khan criticised the tone of the immigration debate and called for a reset away from what he termed “hysteria, hatred and fearmongering.” The mayor took aim at political rhetoric emerging across Europe and the United States, arguing that such narratives threaten both social cohesion and economic progress. Khan noted that London has an ambitious plan to grow its economy by £107 billion by 2035, but warned that this goal could be undermined by a sustained fall in net migration. His co...

The Jigawa State Police Command has arrested a newly married woman over the alleged poisoning of her husband, who reportedly died after eating a meal she prepared. The incident occurred on January 23, 2026, at about 5:00 p.m. in Gauza village, Jahun Local Government Area of Jigawa State. Confirming the development in a statement issued in Dutse on Saturday, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Shi’isu Adam, said the deceased had eaten lunch at home before suddenly falling critically ill. He was rushed to a hospital for treatment but was confirmed dead while receiving medical attention. Following the incident, detectives from the Jahun Division launched an investigation and arrested the deceased’s wife as the main suspect. According to the police spokesperson, the suspect ...

A Nigerian-born nurse, Chimzuruoke Okembunachi, has had her nursing licence cancelled in Australia after a tribunal found she repeatedly slept during night shifts at an aged care facility, putting elderly patients at risk. As reported by Daily Mail on Friday, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on January 20th ruled that Ms Okembunachi’s actions in March 2024 amounted to professional misconduct, leading to the cancellation of her nursing registration. Ms Okembunachi, 25, began working at Hardi Aged Care in Guildford, western Sydney, in February 2024. Barely a month later, she was suspended and subsequently resigned. During the tribunal proceedings, it emerged that between March 13 and 27, she was the sole registered nurse on night shifts supervising three or four assistants-...

The Senator representing Edo South, Neda Imasuen, has voiced concern over the poor condition of facilities at the temporary site of the National Obstetrics Fistula Centre in Ugbor, Benin City. In a statement released on Saturday by his media aide, Moshood Karim, the lawmaker also criticised the slow pace of work at the centre’s permanent site, calling for urgent federal intervention to salvage the institution. Imasuen, a member of the Senate Committee on Health, visited the centre on Friday as part of the committee’s oversight responsibilities to evaluate progress since the hospital was established and following the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Federal and Edo State governments last year. According to the senator, the state of the facility fell far below the stan...

The University of Ibadan has emerged as the best Nigerian university in both law and medicine, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2026. The rankings were obtained by PUNCH Online on the Times Higher Education website on Saturday In the law ranking, UI and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka made the 301–400 band, marking Nigeria’s presence among 425 top global law schools. The assessment covered teaching, research, international outlook, and performance across constitutional, criminal, corporate, and international law. THE said, “The Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2026 reveal the world’s top universities for law. “The 2026 Law ranking evaluates excellence across: constitutional and adminis...

The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has confirmed that discrepancies exist between the tax reform laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions later published in the official government gazette after being signed by President Bola Tinubu. The caucus stated that parts of the recently gazetted tax laws were unlawfully altered, a revelation contained in an interim report submitted by its Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws. The committee was established to investigate allegations of inconsistencies between the Acts approved by lawmakers and those eventually gazetted. The seven-member fact-finding committee was inaugurated on January 2, 2026, under the leadership of the House Minority Leader, Rt. Hon. Kingsley Chinda. The panel is chaired by Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, with...

The United Nations, through its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nigeria, said that about 35 million Nigerians are at risk of acute hunger this year, including 3 million children facing severe malnutrition, The United Nations disclosed this on Thursday, Jan. 22, following the collapse of global aid budgets. Speaking at the launch of the 2026 humanitarian plan in Abuja, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohamed Malick Fall said the long-dominant, foreign-led aid model in Nigeria is no longer sustainable and that Nigeria’s needs have grown. Conditions in the conflict-hit northeast are dire, Fall said, with civilians in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states facing rising violence. A surge in su!cide bombings and widespread attacks k!lled mor...

TikTok has finalised a $14bn deal to establish a US subsidiary, averting a nationwide ban on the popular video-sharing platform. The new ownership structure includes US private equity firm Silver Lake, Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company MGX and Oracle, the technology giant co-founded by Larry Ellison, an ally of US President Donald Trump. Each of the three firms will hold a 15 per cent stake in the US joint venture. TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, will retain a stake of just under 20 per cent, while the Dell Family Office, the investment arm of Dell Technologies chairman and CEO Michael Dell, is also participating. The agreement follows legislation passed by Congress in April 2024 requiring TikTok to be sold to US owners by January 19, 2025, or face ...