Author: kajarbi54

The United States has deployed a small team of troops to Nigeria, marking the first official American military presence on the ground since Christmas Day 2025 airstrikes targeting terrorists. At a briefing Tuesday, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, commander of U.S. Africa Command, explained that the deployment comes after an agreement between Washington and Abuja to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats in West Africa. Nigeria has faced growing pressure from the U.S. over its handling of terrorist attacks, particularly after President Donald Trump claimed the government failed to protect Christians in the North-West, a claim the Nigerian government has denied. Officials…

A Federal High Court in Abuja has arraigned Nigeria’s former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, alongside his son, Abdulaziz Malami, on allegations of terrorism financing and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. The charges were filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) and presented before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Tuesday. The five-count charge sheet alleges that Malami “knowingly abetted terrorism financing” by failing to prosecute suspected terrorism financiers whose case files were forwarded to his office while he served as attorney-general. In addition, prosecutors accuse both men of unlawfully possessing a Sturm Magnum 17-0101 firearm, live ammunition…

President John Mahama has directed the National Investigation Bureau (NIB) to investigate alleged irregularities in the award of international scholarships. The directive was issued in a letter and signed by Callistus Mahama, Secretary to the President, and addressed to the Director-General of the National Investigation Bureau. Minister in charge of Government Communications, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, disclosed that the directive followed a discussion on local media, where a former government official alleged that an individual had paid money to secure a scholarship to study abroad. The minister identified as  Mr. Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, a former CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and…

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), in partnership with the World Bank’s ID4D initiative, has launched a nationwide initiative to bring identity enrollment directly to communities, aiming to reach millions of Nigerians previously excluded due to distance, insecurity and poor infrastructure. The Commission’s Director-General, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, explained that enrollment is shifting from local government offices to community-level outreach, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. She emphasized that effective verification is critical and warned that enrollment is completely free, urging Nigerians not to pay for the service. Starting February 16, a six-week community outreach will focus on…

The Nigerian Senate has called on state and municipal governments to establish coordinated emergency referral and response systems to ensure the adequate stocking and availability of anti-venom in public and private hospitals nationwide. The call followed a motion sponsored by Senator Idiat Oluranti Adebule (APC, Lagos West), in the wake of the death of a fast-rising gospel singer, Ifunanya Nwangene, who reportedly died after suffering a snakebite and being unable to access antivenom treatment promptly. Lawmakers proposed that effective measures be put in place to ensure easy and rapid access to life-saving medicines, particularly during emergencies such as snakebites, scorpion…

The Auditor General of The Gambia, Cherno Sowe, has demanded documentary evidence of payments made on fines imposed on arrested fishing vessels, following concerns over unaccounted funds totaling more than 50 million dalasis. In his 2023 management letter on government accounts, Sowe disclosed that vessels arrested by the Gambia Navy were fined a total of GMD 60.45 million. However, only GMD 10.05 million could be verified as paid. “The audit was unable to confirm the outstanding balance of GMD 50.4 million due to the absence of supporting payment documentation,” Sowe said. He warned that the lack of records poses a…

In Nigerian hospitals, everyone is “a victim waiting in line” for the next systemic failure – Dr. Olisa Agbakoba The Morning That Changed Everything On January 7, 2026, at 4:00 AM, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the woman whose novels have been translated into 30 languages, whose TED talks have been viewed 30 million times, became a statistic. Her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi, died at Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Lagos, South West Nigeria. Not from an incurable disease. Not from lack of resources. But from what his mother would later describe as “fatally casual and careless” medical practice at one of Nigeria’s…

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) on Tuesday launched a two-day media training aimed at enhancing ethical reporting and adherence to the code of conduct for journalists in The Gambia. The programme, organized in collaboration with the Gambia Press Union (GPU), forms part of the EU-funded initiative to consolidate democratic governance in the country. Key media policy documents launched at the event include: President of the GPU, Isatou Keita, said the documents were developed to strengthen professionalism, ethical standards, safety, and accountability. She added that they provide practical frameworks for ethical reporting, effective self-regulation, safer workplaces,…

The AFC/M23 rebel group and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government on Monday agreed to operationalize a ceasefire to reinforce the Doha peace process and ease tensions in eastern DR Congo. According to a communique from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the signing of the Ceasefire Monitoring and Verification Mechanism formalizes the framework for monitoring the truce, ensuring regular meetings and reaffirming both parties’ commitment to the ceasefire and the Doha Framework Agreement for Peace, signed on November 15, 2025. Following the agreement, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo will deploy its first team in the coming days…

Ethiopian Airlines has announced the resumption of flights to the Tigray region, days after services were suspended due to clashes between regional and national forces, according to an official statement. Diplomatic and government sources report that the clashes erupted last week in disputed areas of western Tigray, sparking fears of renewed conflict. A two-year conflict between Ethiopia’s national army and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ended in 2022. The war resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, as well as the collapse of healthcare services and famine in the region. According to a senior Tigrayan official and a humanitarian…