Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

The Donald Trump administration is issuing a new round of heavy-handed measures that could rapidly deport immigrants who entered the United States through recently established legal pathways, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo obtained by the New York Times. The directive, signed on Friday by the acting homeland security secretary, Benjamine Huffman, grants Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials unprecedented authority to expedite deportations for immigrants who entered the country with government authorization through two key Biden-era programmes. These programmes, which have allowed more than a million immigrants to enter the country since 2023, had provided…

*Final female Israeli civilian held in Gaza not on list Hamas has published the names of four female Israeli soldiers being held captive in Gaza who it says it plans to release this weekend as part of the continuing ceasefire agreement between the armed group and Israel. In the hours following the release of the names, however, the office of Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to indicate it believed Hamas had breached the fragile ceasefire deal because the four names did not include that of the remaining female civilian hostage in Gaza. Israeli media later reported the Israeli prime minister had consulted…

…President called her ”Radical-left hard-line Trump hater.” Following the fallout of her address to President Donald Trump during a prayer service at Washington’s National Cathedral Tuesday, the Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde joined NPR’s ”All Things Considered” on Friday to discuss her hope that the new administration would show compassion toward vulnerable communities following a sermon she made on Tuesday. Addressing concerns that the President did not take her address in a good light, as his (Trump) utterances regarding the issue have shown, the Bishop said she has nothing to apologise for as she has said the right thing. During…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has withdrawn the arrest warrant against Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu, the former manager of gospel musician Mercy Chinwo. Justice Alexander Owoeye issued a bench warrant against Onyedikachukwu last week after the EFCC filed an ex parte motion seeking to compel the music producer’s appearance in court to answer to alleged criminal charges. The motion, presented by EFCC counsel Mrs. Bilikisu Buhari, cited constitutional and legal provisions for the warrant. Buhari explained that the manager was accused of criminal activities related to financial mismanagement, including diverting royalties from Chinwo’s digital platforms and events. The EFCC claims…

The alleged maltreatment of a junior soldier by a senior officer in the Nigerian Army’s 93 Battalion has stirred outrage and calls for accountability. According to SaharaReporters, the incident occurred on the morning of January 12, 2025, during preparations for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day parade in Jalingo. Reports say Lance Corporal Samuel P. reportedly arrived late for the mustering, prompting Lieutenant B. Mohammed to reprimand him. A photograph obtained by SaharaReporters shows the soldier’s leg bandaged and stained with blood, corroborating the allegations of physical abuse. The alleged act has sparked widespread discontent among soldiers in the battalion, many…

Reprieve seems to be coming the way of some inmates as the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) is preparing a list of prisoners eligible for a nationwide presidential pardon. According to reports, this directive, issued by Acting Controller General of Corrections Sylvester Nwakuche, applies to inmates in all state and Federal Capital Territory commands. Nwakuche assumed office on December 16, 2024, after President Bola Tinubu appointed him following the retirement of Haliru Nababa. According to a memo dated January 17, 2025, factors such as old age, poor health, and length of time served in prison will determine eligibility for the clemency.…

245 passengers, eight flight attendants, and three pilots escaped certain death as a Boeing 787-8, belonging to United Airlines flight, flying from Lagos to Washington declared an emergency and made an air return to Lagos on Thursday. According to a PUNCH report, the aircraft crew having established a return track to Lagos, maintained the emergency transponder code 7700 (Emergency signal) with the control tower till it landed. The report said the aircraft, an over 13-year-old widebody aircraft belonging to the US carrier, United Airlines, was initially bound for Washington Dulles International Airport with registered N27903, adding that it had 245…

The Lakurawa sect has been proscribed. The Federal High Court, Abuja presided upon by Justice James Omotosho, on Friday, proscribed the Lakurawa sect, classifying it as a terrorist organisation. The court made the order following an ex-parte application filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN). Justice Omotosho, in the ruling, equally proscribed similar groups operating in Nigeria, especially in the North West and North Central regions of the country. The judgment held, “It is hereby ordered as follows: That an order is hereby made declaring the activities of the Lakurawa Sect and other…

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested two suspected fake pastors identified as Bassey and Elijah with fetish items recovered from their churches in the Rumuduru community of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The spokesperson for Rivers Police Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement she issued on Friday in Port Harcourt, said Bassey and Elijagh were arrested by youths of Rumuduru who later handed them over to the police. The police spokesperson said Bassey and Elijah were operating two separate churches within the community. Iringe-Koko said, “The fake pastors were handed over to the police by…

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order banning transgender women from being housed in female prisons across the United States. He also ordered that any medical treatments related to gender transition be halted. -The ban was part of a broader executive order by Trump aimed at limiting the federal government’s recognition of gender to an individual’s biological sex at birth. The order also impacts transgender immigration detainees and is among the most concrete aspects of the broader initiative. While Trump had imposed some restrictions on housing and medical care for transgender inmates during his previous term, this new order…