Author: Damilola

South African opposition politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of illegal possession of a firearm and discharging it in public. The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) showed little emotion as Magistrate Twanet Olivier delivered the judgment at a court in East London, South Africa, on Thursday. Malema’s legal team immediately filed an appeal in a bid to prevent his immediate incarceration. The sentence could also affect his eligibility to remain a member of parliament. The charges stem from a 2018 incident during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebration in the…

A 20-year-old student of the University of Lagos has told a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja how a lecturer, Samuel Obinna Ojogbo, allegedly assaulted her in his office. Read more breaking stories from our latest nigeria news The student gave her testimony on Wednesday before Justice Oyindamola Ogala as the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial. The Lagos State Government is prosecuting Ojogbo on a two-count charge of rape and sexual assault. Led in evidence by prosecution counsel A.O. Azeez, the witness said the incident occurred on August 22, 2025, at about noon on the university’s Akoka campus.…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Nigeria’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio will rise to 33.1% by 2027, a period when the country is expected to hold general elections. Although the figure represents a downward revision from the 35.3% estimate released in October, it is still higher than the 32.3% projected for 2026. The projection is contained in the IMF’s latest Fiscal Monitor report, launched on Wednesday in Washington DC during the IMF-World Bank spring meetings. Earlier, Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed that the country’s total public debt rose to N159.27 trillion at the end of the…

The Nigerian currency, naira, showed signs of strengthening against the United States Dollar in early trading hours on Thursday, April 16, 2026, supported by increased market supply and ongoing policy interventions. At the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the official window for currency transactions, the naira appreciated to about N1,344.20 per dollar. Early session data indicated relative stability, with the currency reaching a high of N1,343.83 before hovering around the N1,344 level. Analysts attribute the positive movement to improved foreign exchange inflows and sustained efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to clear outstanding FX obligations. In the parallel market,…

The Nigeria Police Force has extradited Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi to the United Kingdom to face trial over alleged murder and drug trafficking offences. In a statement on Thursday, the Force spokesperson, Anthony Placid, said Adebiyi, was arrested on January 23, 2025, by operatives of INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau (NCB) in Abuja. Placid said the extradition followed a request by UK authorities in September 2024 over Adebiyi’s alleged involvement in the murder of Joshua Boadu on June 18, 2018. “The extradition followed a formal request by United Kingdom authorities in September 2024 to locate, arrest, and extradite the fugitive over his…

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said he will push for a constitutional amendment to institutionalise rotational presidency if elected in 2027. Speaking on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television, Atiku said he supports zoning, noting that embedding it in the constitution would create a more equitable and stable system of power rotation. “If I am president, even if it is the only amendment I can make, I would move towards that,” he said. He added that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remains the only political party with a zoning arrangement enshrined in its constitution, noting that other parties appear…

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.38 percent in March 2026, up from 15.06 percent recorded in February. Read more breaking stories from our latest nigeria news The latest figure marks the first increase in 12 months, following a steady decline that began in April 2025, according to the bureau’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Wednesday. “The Headline inflation rate rose to 15.38%, up from 15.06% in February 2026 and stood 27.35% in the same month of the preceding year (March 2025),” NBS said. The report shows a 0.32 percentage point increase…

The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, has disclosed that 14,118 communities across 266 local government areas in 33 states and the FCT fall within high flood risk zones in 2026. Utsev made this known on Wednesday during the public presentation of the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency at the State Banquet Hall of Aso Villa, Abuja. “Fourteen thousand, one hundred and eighteen communities in 266 local government areas in 33 States and the FCT fall within the high flood risk areas. “The states are: Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross…

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has criticised Rauf Aregbesola over his comments on the administration’s Renewed Hope agenda. Aregbesola, national secretary of the African Democratic Congress, made the remarks on Tuesday during the party’s national convention in Abuja, where he argued that the promises of Bola Tinubu had yet to materialise three years into his tenure. “Four years ago, this government promised Nigerians renewed hope,” he said. “Now, three years into its tenure, it is still promising renewed hope. When exactly will this hope come into fruition? The answer is simple: it is…

A former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has called on the African Democratic Congress to present a formidable presidential candidate capable of defeating Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections. Amaechi made the call on Tuesday while addressing party members at the ADC convention in Abuja, urging delegates to prioritise competence over ethnic or religious considerations in selecting a flagbearer. “If you think President Tinubu will hand over power to you, you are wasting your time. ADC must come together and decide on a viable candidate,” he said. “When we joined APC [before 2015], we searched for a viable candidate,…