Author: Damilola

French President Emmanuel Macron has assured President Bola Tinubu that France will deepen its cooperation with Nigeria in responding to terrorism and other security threats. In a message posted on Sunday, Macron said he expressed France’s solidarity as Nigeria confronts “various security challenges, particularly the terrorist threat in the North.” He noted that France will scale up its collaboration with Nigerian authorities and extend additional assistance to communities affected by violence. Macron also urged greater international involvement, stressing that “no one can remain a spectator” in confronting extremist groups. “I spoke with President Tinubu of Nigeria, @officialABAT. I conveyed France’s…

Benin Republic presidency speaks on President Talon’s safety after coup

Military officers in Benin Republic have seized power, declaring the federal government dissolved in a televised broadcast on Sunday. The soldiers, who identified themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, said the president and all political officeholders had been removed from office. They also announced the dissolution of all state institutions. President Patrice Talon, in office since 2016, had previously stated he would step down in April 2026 after the next presidential election. This takeover comes roughly a year after the September 2024 arrest of Djimon Tevoedjre, then commander of the republican guard and head of Talon’s security, over an…

Trump government has unveiled a new visa policy targeting people accused of enabling or driving violent attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Announcing the measure on Wednesday, December 3, America Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the action followed reports of “mass killings and violence against Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and beyond.” Rubio explained that the policy, applied under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, empowers the United States Department of State to refuse visas for individuals who have “directed, authorised, significantly…

Rivers Assembly

Nigeria’s Senate has started vetting General Christopher Musa for the role of Minister of Defence, following his nomination by President Bola Tinubu to lead the security-critical ministry. The senate fast-tracked Musa’s entry into the chamber after Senate President Godswill Akpabio invoked a suspension of standing rules during plenary on Wednesday. Akpabio told lawmakers the screening was necessary to “consider and approve the ex-CDS” as successor to former minister Mohammed Badaru, who resigned this week over medical grounds. Tinubu’s request, sent to the senate on Tuesday, described Musa as capable of “strengthen Nigeria’s security framework” and steer the ministry at a…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased cash withdrawal limits on all channels to N500,000 weekly for individuals and N5 million for corporates. This was announced in a circular on Tuesday as the apex bank pegged automated teller machine (ATM) withdrawals at N100,000 daily, with a weekly cumulative withdrawal of N500,000. The CBN said the cash-policy update is part of a broader push to lower cash-handling costs, improve public safety, and reduce financial crimes fueled by high cash dependency. It explained that earlier directives were designed to discourage physical cash transactions and fast-track digital payments, but evolving economic and…

US lawmakers convened in Washington DC on Tuesday for a joint briefing to examine Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, mass abductions, and allegations of systemic religious persecution. The session followed a directive from US President Donald Trump, who on October 31 asked Congress to investigate claims of large-scale killings of Christians in Nigeria and deliver recommendations to the White House. The briefing united two congressional panels, the House Appropriations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, with the hearing anchored by Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart. Religious-freedom experts and civil-rights advocates provided testimonies documenting kidnappings, forced conversions, and deadly attacks, particularly across the…

Adedamola polled a total of 919 votes to emerge victorious at the party’s primary held on Tuesday at Adolak Hall in Osogbo, the Osun state capital.

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke is set to officially join a new political party before December 13, 2025, according to the state’s Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi. The development follows Adeleke’s exit from the Peoples Democratic Party, with his resignation submitted on November 4, 2025, to party leaders in Sagba Abogunde, Ward 2, Ede North Local Government. Speaking on a political show on Rave FM in Osogbo on Tuesday, Alimi attributed the decision to lingering internal divisions within the PDP. He said: “The governor of Osun State and the Asiwaju of Ede has formally resigned his membership from the Peoples…