Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

Not less than 28 soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Benin as violence blamed on jihadists based in neighbouring countries increases, a security source told AFP on Thursday. According to the high-ranking official, the strike took place on Wednesday evening near the border with insurgency-hit Burkina Faso and Niger. Reports say attacks in northern Benin have increased in recent years with authorities accusing members of the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda groups based in neighbouring countries. The military source said, “We are continuing cleaning-up operations. Forty assailants have been neutralised so far.” The violence has largely struck the border…

The US will send half a billion dollars in military aid to Ukraine ahead of US president-elect, Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the country’s top diplomat has announced. Speaking during the 25th and possibly final meeting of Ukraine’s western backers at the Ramstein air base in Germany, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Washington would supply one more trove of military support. The $500m (£406m) package includes air defence missiles, air-to-ground munitions and support equipment for F-16 fighter jets. The US has sent roughly £50 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion nearly three…

The police command of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has intercepted a group of suspected human traffickers transporting 59 children. The FCT police commissioner, Tunji Disu disclosed that operatives led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sarki Umar halted a white Peugeot 15-seater bus, commonly known as a J5 on January 6. The vehicle was en route to Nasarawa State when it was intercepted. According to Disu, the bus was carrying children aged between four and 12 years, allegedly trafficked from Kano. He added that Ali Ibrahim, the driver, and Alhassan Ibrahim, his assistant, both Kano State residents, were arrested…

The Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka has denied reports that she physically assaulted a man by slapping him for recording her on phone. In a widely circulated video by Sahara Reporters, the Commissioner was seen asking a man recording her with his phone to leave the premises but the unidentified man responded that no one will leave the venue. The commissioner who got up from her seat later approached the man and said ‘Maa fo phone owo e’ (literally translated as ‘I will smash the phone you are recording with’). An unidentified man was…

A Nigerian graduate has lamented that after spending five years at Lagos State University (LASU), she had to end up vending a local flavoured drink, zobo.. Taking to her TikTok page, she shared the disheartening story, explaining how she now works as a zobo vendor to make ends meet. She lamented that after spending half a decade pursuing her education at the university, she eventually ended up a zobo seller after graduation, Eyes Of Lagos reports. “If I had known it would be zobo I’d end up selling, I wouldn’t have wasted 5 years of my life in LASU,” she…

Lebanon’s parliament has elected the US-backed army chief to be the country’s new president, ending a years-long political stalemate and presidential vacuum. Army chief, Joseph Aoun was voted president after two rounds of voting. This came after a robust efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United States to rally support for Aoun, who is close to Washington and Riyadh. After he was declared president, Aoun effectively stepped from his military role. He arrived in parliament to be sworn in as president dressed in civilian clothing. Lebanon has been without a president since the end of the tenure of former President…

An attack on Chad’s presidential palace left 18 assailants dead and six in custody, with one soldier killed and three wounded, state media reported Thursday. The attack on Wednesday night occurred while Chadian President Mahamat Deby itno was inside the palace, but authorities said the situation was quickly brought under control. “The situation is completely under control. There is no fear,” Foreign Affairs Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said while surrounded by soldiers in a live Facebook broadcast filmed inside what appeared to be a quiet presidential palace late Wednesday. In an interview with state TV, Koulamallah praised the vigilance of the…

A primary school teacher at Christ Mitots School in Ikorodu, Lagos State, has been suspended indefinitely after a disturbing video surfaced on social media showing her physically abusing a toddler in a numeracy class. The incident has sparked widespread outrage, with many calling for the teacher’s arrest. The video, which was shared on social media on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, shows the teacher violently smacking the toddler for failing to answer a question correctly. The child is seen crying and trying to defend themselves as the teacher continues to assault them. The Lagos police have since arrested the teacher, who…

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has signed the 2025 Appropriation Bill into law, approving a record-breaking budget of N3.366 trillion. The budget, themed “Budget of Sustainability,” aims to provide a blueprint for continuity, resilience, and prosperity for Lagos residents. The governor presented the Appropriation Bill to the Lagos State House of Assembly on November 21, 2024, proposing a total budget size of N3.005 trillion, comprising a total revenue of N2.597 trillion and deficit financing of N408.902 billion. The assembly later increased the budget to N3.366 trillion, which was passed into law. According to Sanwo-Olu, the budget has a recurrent expenditure…

Police have confirmed that two Catholic nuns have been abducted by gunmen along Ufuma Road in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The nuns, identified as Vincentia Maria Nwankwo and Grace Mariette Okoli, were kidnapped on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, while returning from a vocational association meeting in Ogboji community. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the congregation to which the nuns belong, expressed sorrow over the incident and called for prayers for their safe release. The statement read, “With sadness, we write to inform the general public of the…