The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has launched a sweeping nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking networks, dismantling six major syndicates, seizing tons of illicit drugs, and arresting nine kingpins in coordinated intelligence-led operations. In Onitsha, Anambra State, two suspects—Ebulue Lotanwa Uzochukwu (30) and Christopher Michael Ndibuisi (51)—were arrested attempting to collect a shipment of methamphetamine, Loud cannabis, cocaine, phenacetin, methcathinone, and caffeine hidden inside imported machine cylinders from South Africa. The shipment had arrived at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport on 13 November. At Lagos Airport, NDLEA operatives intercepted 2.3 kg of cocaine concealed inside a brake servo auto…
Author: National Update
A new wave of attacks on schools across northern Nigeria has forced governors in several states to shut institutions and ramp up security measures. Yobe, Kwara, Kano, Kebbi, Kaduna, Plateau, Sokoto, Katsina, Niger, and Taraba are among the states taking urgent action to protect students. In Yobe, Governor Mai Mala Buni ordered all boarding secondary schools closed after a security review across the state’s 17 local government areas. The closure, confirmed by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, is aimed at preventing further attacks while security agencies strengthen protections. Buni urged citizens to pray for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,…
Former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, has raised alarm that the recent surge in mass abductions across northern Nigeria may be a desperate strategy by bandits who fear potential U.S. military action following comments credited to President Donald Trump. Speaking at an Abuja reception in honour of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who was recently elected Chairman of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), Gana said emerging intelligence suggests that criminal gangs are seizing schoolchildren and villagers as human shields. According to him, a phone call he received shortly before the event pointed to a…
By Janet Samuel Nigeria is standing “on the brink of an industrial and economic rebirth,” the Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce, Hon. Ahmed Munir has declared. Speaking at the Made-in-Naija Trade Exhibition organised by the House Committee on Commerce held at the National Assembly in Abuja, Munir said the country must now “forge prosperity with our own hands” by embracing local manufacturing, innovation, and strong legislative backing. Munir, who represents Lere Federal Constituency in kaduna State, said Nigeria’s renewed commitment to local content is projected to create over five million new jobs by 2030, moving young people from…
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reaffirmed his administration’s determination to end Nigeria’s security challenges and unlock the full economic potential of the northern region, declaring that the government is pushing forward with decisive reforms and strategic investments. Speaking through the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, at the 25th Anniversary of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in Kaduna, Tinubu said the government is demonstrating unprecedented urgency in tackling terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, and is steadily closing the space for criminal networks across the country. He noted that his administration is implementing far-reaching measures to stabilise affected communities, rebuild…
The scale of the tragedy unfolding in Niger State has widened dramatically, with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirming that 315 students and teachers were abducted during the brutal raid on St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area. The updated figure—far exceeding the earlier count of 227—followed a painstaking verification exercise led by the CAN Chairman in the state, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese. “88 More Children Were Taken” — Fresh Headcount Reveals Hidden Horror According to Bishop Yohanna, the revelation came after anxious…
The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono has expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Chief Dan Agbese, OFR, describing him as one of Nigeria’s most influential journalism icons whose legacy will endure for generations. In a heartfelt condolence message addressed to the family of the late media legend, Echono said the news of Chief Agbese’s death came as a painful loss not only to his immediate family, but to the entire Nigerian media community and the Idoma Nation. Chief Agbese, co-founder of the trailblazing Newswatch magazine, was celebrated for his unmatched contributions to…
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has demanded that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu resign if he cannot protect citizens, particularly schoolchildren, from terrorist attacks. The group condemned recent abductions in Niger and Nasarawa States, where hundreds of students were kidnapped from Catholic schools in Nasarawa’s Rukubi and Niger’s Papiri. HURIWA also slammed Catholic clerics Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, and suspended Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia for opposing U.S. military intervention against terrorists targeting Christians. The group warned that their stance amounts to betrayal of their flocks and pledged to petition the Pope for sanctions, including defrocking…
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has dismissed claims by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, that over 13,000 terrorists have been killed and 17,000 arrested since President Bola Tinubu assumed office. In a statement on Saturday, HURIWA said the government’s “propaganda” is no longer credible, citing the continued presence of armed Islamic and Fulani terrorists in states including Niger, Kwara, Borno, and Kebbi. “Given widespread access to information, Nigerians can no longer be persuaded by half-truths or unverifiable statistics,” HURIWA said. The rights group stressed that the only way to convince citizens of success…
A high-profile forgery and property fraud case took a dramatic turn on Thursday as the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice minister Lateef Fagbemi assumed full control of the prosecution of Miss Uzoamaka Onukwubiri, Managing Director of Sow Real Estate Nigeria Ltd. Onukwubiri, accused of orchestrating a scheme involving forged documents and the unlawful acquisition of property, was arraigned before Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a nine-count charge. She pleaded not guilty. Despite efforts by her legal team to secure bail, Justice Liman ordered that the 42-year-old developer be remanded in Suleja Correctional…