President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday welcomed the newly crowned Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, marking the monarch’s first official audience with the president since his coronation last month. Oba Owoade, who ascended the historic Yoruba throne on April 12, 2025, was received at the State House shortly after Jumaat prayers and following President Tinubu’s closed-door security briefing with service chiefs and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. Sources within the presidency confirmed that the meeting was held behind closed doors, in line with protocol, but highlighted the symbolic importance of the royal visit,…
Author: Olaoluwa Vincent Ajayi
Vatican City, May 17, 2025 — In his first major public statement since ascending to the papacy, Pope Leo XIV on Friday affirmed the Catholic Church’s longstanding teachings on the sanctity of life and the traditional structure of the family. Speaking during his inaugural meeting with the Vatican diplomatic corps, Pope Leo declared that the family is “founded on the stable union between a man and a woman,” reinforcing the Church’s position on marriage. He further emphasized that both the unborn and the elderly possess inherent dignity as creations of God, offering a firm stance on issues surrounding abortion and…
By Alade Adisa A candidate who scored 326 in the recent UTME has been unexpectedly rescheduled to retake the exam, despite previously receiving what many would consider an excellent score. The news came to light after the candidate, posting under the handle @swagpriest2 on X (formerly Twitter), shared a screenshot of an SMS notifying him of the reschedule. “WTF, I got rescheduled… I’m not even in Lagos. Gosh, this country is so awful,” he wrote. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had earlier confirmed technical issues at some exam centers, leading to a mass rescheduling of affected candidates. However,…
Washington, D.C., May 16, 2025 — A federal judge in Pennsylvania has become the first in the United States to support former President Donald Trump’s controversial use of a centuries-old wartime law to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, marking a rare legal victory in his ongoing immigration crackdown. Judge Stephanie L. Haines, a Trump appointee to the U.S. District Court, ruled that the 1798 Alien Enemies Act — a law historically invoked during wartime — could be legally applied to expel foreign nationals deemed threats to national security, even in the absence of an official war or military invasion. The…
Abuja, May 16, 2025 — The All Progressives Congress (APC) has firmly rejected claims by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that members of the ruling party are participating in a multi-party coalition aimed at unseating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general election. Atiku, while speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during a meeting with political stakeholders from Kogi East Senatorial District, led by former Kogi State Deputy Governor Simon Achuba, asserted that individuals from the APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and other political platforms are collaborating under a new alliance to, in his words, “rescue Nigeria.”…
Political tensions in Osun State escalated this week as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) traded accusations over the legal status of local government chairmen and the perceived politicisation of the judiciary. The dispute, which has deepened political divisions in the state, centers on conflicting interpretations of recent court judgments and the legitimacy of local government authorities currently in office. In a statement released Wednesday, the Osun State chapter of the PDP accused the APC of deliberately misrepresenting court rulings in order to retain control of local government councils from which its members had been…
Abuja, May 16, 2025 — The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against political economist and former presidential adviser, Professor Pat Utomi, over his alleged plan to establish a “shadow government” in Nigeria. In court documents submitted on May 13, the DSS described Utomi’s initiative as a direct affront to the Nigerian Constitution and a calculated attempt to destabilize the country. The suit, filed through the office of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Akinlolu Kehinde, seeks a judicial declaration that the move amounts to an unlawful challenge to the authority of…
Akure, May 16, 2025 — A Magistrates’ Court in Akure, Ondo State, has ordered the remand of a private security guard, Joel Monday, at the Olokuta Correctional Centre for allegedly sexually assaulting and impregnating a 16-year-old girl. The defendant faces charges of unlawful sexual intercourse, physical abuse, and intimidation—offences that violate Section 31(2) of the Ondo State Child Rights Law, which prescribes life imprisonment for offenders found guilty of sexually violating minors. The teenage victim, whose identity is being protected, told the court that she had travelled from Cross River State to Akure in search of work to support her…
Lagos, May 16, 2025 — The Nigerian naira continued to display resilience in the foreign exchange market today, maintaining its stability against major global currencies including the U.S. dollar, British pound, and the euro. At the close of trading, the naira was exchanged at ₦1601.16/$1, nearly unchanged from the previous day’s rate of ₦1602.67/$1. This marginal improvement continues a week-long trend of relative stability in the foreign exchange market. Against the British pound sterling, the naira settled at ₦2135.94/£1, slightly down from ₦2131.74/£1 on May 14, but notably stronger than the ₦2140.71/£1 recorded earlier in the week on May 12.…
Barely 72 hours after three senators from Kebbi State—Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North), and Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South)—announced their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party has recorded yet another wave of defections. On Thursday, two members of the House of Representatives, Kabiru Usman and Abdullahi Sani—both elected under the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)—formally joined the APC. The lawmakers represent Rano/Bunkure/Kibiya and Karaye/Rogo Federal Constituencies, respectively, both located in Kano State. The notices of defection were read on the floor of the House by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas…
