Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed that its seized 87 truckloads of banned, expired and substandard medicinal products, including USAID and UNFPA-donated antiretroviral drugs, male and female condoms, among others. Disclosing this on Wednesday, NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who briefed State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, said NAFDAC is currently on a nationwide crackdown on illicit drug trade, which saw it raiding the country’s three major open drug markets of Ariaria and Eziukwu in Aba, Bridge Head Market in Onitsha and Idumota Drug Market in Lagos. She said the…

…To expand energy access The Federal Government has commissioned a 990kWp Interconnected Mini-Grid in Lambata Community, Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State, as part of its efforts to boost rural electrification and expand access to clean energy solutions. The project, implemented under the Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (IMAS) of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), was officially inaugurated by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power and the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), Abba Aliyu, MD/CEO of REA stated in a tweet on his X account on Wednesday. The Lambata mini-grid is one…

In furtherance of its anti-fake products war, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has introduced GreenBook, Traceability Project, and Pediatric Policy to combat counterfeit medical products. Speaking on Wednesday, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who was represented by Bitrus Fraden, the agency’s Director of Post-Marketing Surveillance, said GreenBook serves as a tool to help consumers identify and avoid potentially fake or substandard products. The NAFDAC boss spoke at a meeting for sensitizing stakeholders on detecting substandard and falsified medical products in the Northwest Zone. She disclosed that Traceability is a legal framework for tracking products…

Older brother and former manager of Paul and Peter Okoye of the defunct P-Square music group, Jude Okoye Chigozie has been ordered to be remanded at Ikoyi Correctional Centre by a Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos. Justice A.O. Owoeye, the presiding judge gave the order after Okoye was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. Okoye was arraigned alongside his company, Northside Music Ltd, on a seven-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N1.38 billion, $1million and £34,537.59. One of the charges reads:…

A leading independent journalist and book author from Vietnam has been sentenced to 30 months in jail over Facebook posts critical of the government. Following a trial that lasted only for a few hours, a court in the capital Hanoi convicted 63-year-old Huy Duc of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state” through posting 13 articles on Facebook. “These articles have a large number of interactions, comments and shares, causing negative impacts on social order and safety,” the indictment quoted by Vietnam News Agency read. Huy Duc worked for influential state-run newspapers before authoring one of…

Armed bandits have killed 16 people in two separate attacks in southwestern Niger, state radio has revealed. The reports stated that though the assailants have not been identified, the attacks were similar to jihadist raids that have plagued the central Sahel region in recent months. State radio said Wednesday that the bandits gathered people from a village in Dioundiou on the night of February 22-23 and “opened fire, killing 14 people.” The report stated that two nights later, attackers killed two people in a neighbouring town. The area around Dioundiou, which borders Nigeria and Benin, is a haven for jihadist…

The Johannesburg high court has convicted seven Chinese nationals and their company on numerous charges related to crimes, including human trafficking that were committed at Village Deep in Johannesburg several years ago. “The accused faced 158 charges, including offences such as human trafficking, labour law violations and breaches of occupational health and safety regulations,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane. The accused are Shu-Uei Tsao, 42, Biao Ma, Hui Chen, 50, Quin Li, 56, Zhou Jiaquing, 46, Junying Dai, 58, Zhilian Zhang, 51, and their company Beautiful City (Pty) Ltd. “The police received a tip-off about an illegal…

Four female undergraduates at the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, formally known as Uni Agric, Makurdi have been kidnapped by unknown assailants. The reports indicated that the young women were abducted by unknown gunmen on the university premises on Wednesday. The victims’ names were given as: Emmanuella Msenuter, Orakaa Susan, Iember Apebo, and M. Folashade. According to sources, the Chairman of Makurdi Local Government, Hon. Keffi has visited the school with a strong security presence to emphatise with the school management and ensure the safety of other students while search and rescue operations are underway. Efforts to speak with the Dean…

…Including children who ate a bat An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to doctors in the central African nation and the World Health Organization. The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been just 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The latest disease outbreak in Congo began on January 21, and 419 cases had been recorded as of Monday, including 53 deaths. According…

The United States government has officially released its 2025 Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) list, with Nigeria and other African nations completely excluded amid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation. While 40 countries, including European, Asian, and select Middle Eastern nations secured visa-free entry into the US, no African nation made the cut as the country introduced policy updates on permit privilege eligibility and others. Major US allies like the United Kingdom were also left out, although British citizens remain eligible under specific conditions. According to the US Bureau of Consular Affairs website, the Visa Waiver Programme allows most citizens or nationals…