NIGERIAN NOTCH

A classified U.S. military reconnaissance operation has reportedly entered Nigerian airspace multiple times within the past 48 hours, gathering intelligence on ISWAP and Boko Haram positions across Borno State, according to authoritative security sources in Washington and West Africa. The high-altitude RQ-4B Global Hawk, operated by the United States Air Force, was said to have taken off from a covert AFRICOM facility in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday, November 29, conducting three undetected entries into Nigeria within 24 hours. During the mission, the aircraft allegedly captured high-resolution imagery, video recordings, thermal signatures, and audio intercepts from terrorist hideouts around Lake Chad and the Sambisa axis. Security insiders claim the round-the-clock surveillance is part of a larger joint counter-terrorism arrangement between Abuja and Washington, though neither government has publicly confirmed the operation. The reported missions come amid a major restructuri...

The youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has thanked President Bola Tinubu over the inclusion of former Enugu State governor, Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi among the ambassadorial nominees sent to the Senate. It could be recalled that the presidency confirmed on Saturday that President Tinubu has sent a list of ambassadorial nominees to the Senate.  Reacting, the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike described the inclusion of Ugwuanyi as well deserved.  The youth group said Ugwuanyi made a mark as a three-time member of the House of Representatives, adding that he delivered excellency in all the committees he chaired without any form of controversy or compromise.  “He also continued to demonstrate excellence in public service as the governor of Enugu State,” Okwu noted, adding that as “as bridge builder, His Excellency, Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi left a legacy of peace and security in Enugu State. He is no doubt a man of ...

The Presidency has issued a dramatic call to Nigerians nationwide: name and shame VIPs and private individuals still parading police escorts in defiance of President Bola Tinubu’s sweeping security directive. The warning came from the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Daniel Bwala, during a televised interview on TVC on Sunday. Bwala said the era of “untouchables” enjoying illegal police protection is over and urged citizens to become active watchdogs of the enforcement process. According to him, the President’s order withdrawing police escorts from private individuals is a decisive move to reclaim thousands of officers needed for real policing—not escorting celebrities, businessmen, and political big shots. “If you see any celebrity, business mogul or private individual flouting the President’s order, capture it—photo, video, anything. Send it to the authorities,” Bwala declared. He stressed that public vigilance is now critical as the administ...

President of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced that the ongoing pause on asylum decisions will remain in effect “for a long time,” following the fatal shooting of two National Guard members near the White House last week. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said he had set “no time limit” for lifting the suspension, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says is tied to existing travel restrictions placed on 19 countries. “We don’t want those people,” Trump said when asked to clarify the scope of the measure. “Many have been no good, and they shouldn’t be in our country.” The policy was introduced after the November 26 shooting in Washington, D.C., which resulted in the death of 20-year-old National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom and left another officer critically injured. Authorities have arrested 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, and charged him with first-degree murder. According to investigators, Lakanwal previously served as par...

Northern Nigeria is confronting an escalating security emergency as a loose but deadly convergence of local bandits, armed herders, and foreign jihadist fighters tighten their grip across nine states in the North-West and North-Central regions. Investigations reveal that communities in Sokoto, Kwara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kogi, and Niger have become targets of interlinked criminal factions whose activities now mirror insurgency-level operations—kidnappings, mass raids, extortion, territorial occupation, and ideological policing. Security sources confirm that local bandit groups are increasingly integrating foreign fighters fleeing instability in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic, resulting in more coordinated, sophisticated, and mobile attacks. Unlike structured terror organisations such as Boko Haram or ISWAP, these groups operate fluidly,shifting alliances, leadership, and camps with little traceable pattern. This investigative report presents a stat...

The Anambra State Police Command has reassured residents of the state of their safety following the circulation of panic-inducing voice notes and unverified security messages on social media by unidentified individuals. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Command said it has taken the situation seriously and has consequently strengthened security surveillance, enhanced visibility policing, and expanded both routine and targeted patrols, particularly in areas referenced in the viral recordings. According to the Police, preliminary assessments show that the circulating messages lack verified credibility. Nonetheless, the Command has adopted proactive measures to ensure that no potential security threat—real or fabricated—is ignored. The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, fwc, mnips, PhD, has directed all Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, Tactical Units and Joint Security Teams to remain on heightened alert, intensify intelligence gathering and sustain aggr...

As party may face leadership vacuum, loss of INEC recognition A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Otunba Segun Showunmi, has raised alarm over what he described as an imminent “legal extinction” facing the party if urgent constitutional steps are not taken before December 8, 2025, when the tenure of the current National Working Committee (NWC) expires. Showunmi, in an emergency advisory posted on his Facebook page, said the PDP is entering its most vulnerable constitutional moment in years, with overlapping legal deadlines that could render the party leaderless and unrecognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He warned that unless the party moves within the next 48 to 72 hours, it could slide into what he termed a “self-inflicted legal paralysis”. “The party will become extinct if they allow December 10 to go by. The law will not encourage contempt, and not even the President would be able to help,” he wrote. Convention crisis deepens...

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to provide a detailed briefing on the political developments surrounding the recent elections in Guinea-Bissau. Jonathan, who led an ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to the country, clarified that what has been widely reported as a coup was, in his words, merely a “ceremonial coup” executed by the Head of State. Speaking with journalists after the meeting, the former Nigerian leader explained that the electoral process in Guinea-Bissau had been largely concluded and that the results were already known before the political disruption occurred. “I came this evening to brief Mr President on what happened. That is the tradition for former Presidents,” Jonathan said. “Whenever you are involved in regional or continental engagements, you must brief the President upon your return because ECOWAS leaders will meet, and I may not be there. He needs first-hand information...

Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has declared that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has emerged as the most credible alternative to rescue Nigerians from the widespread hardship under the current All Progressives Congress (APC) administration. Atiku made the assertion in Jalingo during the official inauguration of the ADC State Secretariat, where he addressed party leaders, stakeholders, and supporters. He stressed that with the deepening internal crises within the PDP and the growing disillusionment among Nigerians, the ADC stands strategically positioned to secure victory in the 2027 general elections. He urged citizens across the country, particularly the people of Taraba State, to register and obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), noting that genuine efforts to change the government in 2027 would be meaningless without the tools to exercise political choice. “At this critical moment, N...

One hundred staff of the Federal Polytechnic Oko have completed a five-day intensive training on advanced digital skills, data analysis, cyber security and emerging technologies, courtesy of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) through its Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), Abuja. The capacity-building programme, held at the institution’s ICT Academy, was executed under the NCC’s Advanced Digital Empowerment Programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADEPTI) and formally declared open by the Rector, Dr. Chioma Irene Awuzie, who was represented by the Deputy Rector (Administration), Dr. Kenneth Ezekwe. Participants were trained on digital skills development, SPSS and Microsoft Power BI for data analysis and visualization, cyber security best practices, ICT productivity tools, e-teaching/e-library systems, and the use of emerging technologies for academic and administrative efficiency. Dr. Awuzie expressed delight that Federal Polytechnic Oko was selected as a beneficiary of t...