The House of Representatives has renewed calls for robust reforms in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, positioning it as a critical engine for economic diversification beyond oil dependence. Speaker Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, represented by Rep. Mark Oseni, said on Thursday that transforming the sector into a key driver of growth was “an imperative, not an option” for building a resilient and inclusive economy. He spoke at a public hearing on 12 reform bills aimed at overhauling the legal and institutional framework for solid minerals development. “This hearing is not just a procedural requirement,” Abbas told participants. “It is a fundamental…
Author: National Update
The West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC) has lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, for Nigeria’s historic hosting of the 11th WAAPAC Regional Conference and General Assembly. Held for the first time in Nigeria since the body’s creation in 2009, the conference drew delegates from 13 African nations, along with public finance experts, the National Assembly, and state legislatures. WAAPAC President Hon. Traore Issouf, speaking at the closing ceremony, praised Nigeria’s hospitality and the House of Representatives for “setting a model for parliamentary standards in Africa,” describing the…
Seventeen kidnapped passengers are safe and recovering after a coordinated security operation in Kogi State, and they’re crediting the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) and the Nigerian Army for saving their lives. The victims—traveling from Ilesha, Osun State, to Abuja—were ambushed on Thursday by armed men along the Lokoja–Obajana road and forced deep into the forest. Hours later, a swift, joint response by the NFSS and Army turned the tables: pursuing the kidnappers, closing escape routes, and compelling the release of all 17 captives without harm. The rescued passengers were taken to medical facilities for evaluation. One survivor, speaking anonymously,…
In a dramatic turn of events, Mary Moore, widow of an American citizen, has been rescued after spending 72 harrowing hours in the hands of kidnappers in Abuja. The abducted woman was reportedly seized on September 8, 2025, around 5:30 p.m., in Wuse Zone 3 while en route to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to catch an Air Peace flight to Lagos for a U.S. immigration visa interview. Security operatives traced Moore to Kubwa, in Abuja, near Nasarawa State, where she was found nearly unconscious on September 11. Authorities confirmed that her abductors had taken $2,000 and other valuables before abandoning…
By Ken Harries Esq In Nigeria’s political landscape, the National Assembly is meant to be a sanctuary of sober deliberation and a place where rules and processes are observed with discipline, decorum and responsibility. Yet in this same hallowed chamber, the suspended Kogi Central Senatorial District Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has continued to demonstrate a determination not to play by the book but to tear it up altogether. Her rebuffed threat to resume legislative duties on 4 September 2025, after a six-month suspension, has exposed a troubling mix of arrogance, hypocrisy, and legal incoherence. It is one thing for a politician…
Chairman of the NBA Disciplinary Committee, North West, Yakubu A.H. Ruba, SAN, has lavished praise on NBA President Mazi Afam Josiah Osigwe, SAN, for steering the recent NBA Annual Conference to unprecedented success. Ruba in a statement on Thursday, described Osigwe’s leadership as “instrumental in advancing the legal profession, setting new benchmarks for excellence, and empowering the next generation of lawyers.” The conference, he said, showcased Nigeria’s top legal minds, fostered critical debates on governance and human rights, and solidified the NBA’s reputation as a global force for justice and ethical practice.
Former Senate Leader Ali Ndume has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dismiss growing calls for the removal of Nigeria’s Service Chiefs, insisting that strengthening the Armed Forces through funding, training, and better welfare, not leadership changes, is key to defeating insecurity. Ndume’s statement on Thursday followed a demand by the Northern Ethnic National Forum, which accused the military leadership of underperforming despite heavy funding and pressed for a total overhaul of the security hierarchy. Countering the criticism, Ndume, former Senate Committee on Army chair, said the Service Chiefs possess “the requisite training and battlefield experience” but lack the resources…
The Edo State Government has ramped up its war on kidnappers and cultists, rolling out an aggressive, state-wide security offensive that dismantled suspected criminal camps and recovered weapons. The operation—codenamed Operation Flush Out Cultists and Kidnappers was directly supervised by Governor Monday Okpebholo’s Chief Security Officer and Principal Security Officer. It spanned Ovia North-East, Esan North-East, Esan West, and Esan South-East LGAs, with heightened focus on the Benin–Akure Road corridor, where passengers of a transport company were recently abducted. The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Fred Itua in a statement on Thursday indicated that security operatives recovered two locally…
By Teejani Jimoh, Esq. In the last couple of days, supporters of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had eagerly counted down to the expiration of her six-month suspension from the Senate, imposed on 6th March 2025. To them, the effluxion of time seemed to promise an end to months of controversy and exclusion. The suspension itself had been mired in dispute: critics denounced it as unconstitutional and overreaching, while the Federal High Court, in a judgment described by many as neither here nor there, stopped short of a definite pronouncement that would have settled the matter once and for all. Thus, while…
BY Prof. Mike Ozekhome SAN, CON, OFR, LL.D Introduction The ongoing drama in Nigeria concerning the Senate and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has once again spotlighted the uneasy intersection of law, politics, and institutional power. At its centre stands Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the outspoken lawmaker representing Kogi Central, whose suspension has since become more than an internal disciplinary matter. Yes, it has become a test case for the limits of legislative authority, the sanctity of judicial process, and the huge price of dissent in a chamber often accused of jealously guarding its own with unflinching zeal. How come it now strips…