Author: Gbenga Olaleye

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), Professor Cornelius Omonokhua, has described the escalating violence in Nigeria as a form of genocide, affecting both Muslims and Christians across the country. Speaking at the close-out event of the “Promoting and Protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief” project in Abuja on Tuesday, organised by Search for Common Ground with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Omonokhua condemned the attacks carried out by bandits and terrorist groups, saying they constituted a “war on humanity.” “Just like recently, the word genocide has become problematic. The question is, what…

Former acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagum, has formally handed over leadership to the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC), following the expiry of his tenure on 8 December 2025. The handover ceremony took place at the Bauchi State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, marking a transition after a prolonged leadership tussle between Damagum’s faction and the group led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. During the event, Damagum commended the new NWC and stressed their responsibility to restore unity within the party. He said, “The beauty of it is that…

President Bola Tinubu is currently meeting behind closed doors with the nation’s service chiefs and heads of key security agencies at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, amid heightened national security concerns. The security chiefs were seen arriving at the Villa’s forecourt at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, then filing into the President’s office complex for what sources describe as an urgent strategic briefing. Tuesday’s meeting comes less than three hours after President Tinubu nominated the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa (rtd.), as the new Minister of Defence. His nomination followed the sudden resignation of the immediate past Defence…

The incumbent Owa of Igbajo in Osun State, Oba Ademola Stephen Makinde, has dismissed widespread rumours claiming he is dead, clarifying that it was the immediate past monarch, Prince Adegboyega Famodun, who passed away. The clarification was issued in a statement released on Tuesday in Osogbo by the Traditional Secretary of the Royal Court of Igbajo, Gbonjubola Olorunnisola. He stated that the misinformation had led to an influx of calls and visits from concerned Nigerians seeking to verify the monarch’s well-being. Olorunnisola attributed the confusion partly to the ongoing legal dispute between Oba Makinde and the late Famodun. Famodun, a…

The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire, and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) has postponed the opening of its online portal for shortlisted candidates scheduled to participate in physical screening and document verification for the 2025 recruitment exercise. The portal, which had initially been slated to open from Monday, 1 December to Wednesday, 3 December, will now be activated at a later date, the Board confirmed. The announcement was made in a statement signed by the Board’s Secretary, Major General (Rtd) A. M. Jibril, and shared on the Board’s official X account on Monday night. According to the statement, the portal “will now…

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has announced Thursday, 18 December 2025, as the official passing-out date for members of the 2024 Batch C, Stream II. The decision was confirmed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the NYSC’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Caroline Embu. According to the statement, the ceremony will be conducted in a low-key format, with Certificates of National Service distributed to qualifying Corps Members across local government areas nationwide. This decentralised approach has been adopted in recent years to ensure seamless coordination and to ease logistical pressures. In the days leading up to the…

Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.98 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, slightly higher than the 3.86 per cent recorded in the same period of 2024, according to the latest Gross Domestic Product report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday. The data shows that although the country continues to experience moderate and uneven recovery, key non-oil sectors helped stabilise overall performance. The NBS report stated: “Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.98 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the third quarter of 2025. This growth rate is higher than the 3.86 per cent recorded in…

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has revealed that Governor Ademola Adeleke may no longer be interested in seeking the party’s nomination for the 2026 governorship election, unless the crises rocking the party at the national level are resolved within the timeframe recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This was disclosed on Monday in Osogbo by the Osun State PDP Chairman, Sunday Bisi, who addressed journalists on the party’s inability to hold its governorship primary earlier slated for 2 December 2025. Bisi explained that although Governor Adeleke had fully complied with the party’s…

The Presidency has urged Nigerians to play an active role in monitoring compliance with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to withdraw police escorts from VIPs nationwide. The call was made by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Daniel Bwala, during an interview on TVC on Sunday. He emphasised that public cooperation is essential to the policy’s success, which aims to redirect police personnel to core law-enforcement duties. Bwala encouraged citizens to document and report any individual still using police escorts in violation of the President’s order. “If you identify a celebrity, a private sector person, or…

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Igbajo, in Boluwaduro Local Government Area, following a breakdown of law and order that erupted on Sunday night and spread into the early hours of Monday. The disturbance is reported to be connected to tensions surrounding the death of Prince Adegboyega Famodun, the former Osun All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman and embattled 30th Owa of Igbajo, who passed away last week after a brief illness. In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the governor ordered an immediate lockdown of the community…