As Nigeria grapples with a mounting tide of insecurity, Archbishop of Special Duties of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Most Rev. Dr. Sunday Ndukwo Onuoha, has issued a heartfelt call for honesty, unity, and immediate action to stem the crisis. Speaking on Sunday during a thanksgiving service for his investiture, Onuoha painted a stark picture of a nation where kidnappings, assaults, and attacks on communities have become distressingly commonplace. “We cannot continue pretending all is well while our young people are being taken and our women are attacked,” he said. “It is time to stand up and say enough.” Drawing on…
Author: National Update
Fifty schoolchildren have escaped captivity after last week’s mass abduction at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed on Sunday. The attack occurred in the early hours of Friday, 21 November, when gunmen stormed the co-educational boarding school, abducting 303 students and 12 teachers. The victims, aged 8 to 18, accounted for nearly half of the school’s 629 pupils. The escapes, which took place between Friday and Saturday, offer a glimmer of hope for families anxiously awaiting news of the remaining hostages. “This is welcome news, but we urge continued prayers for…
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…
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…