The Oyo State Police Command, in a major operation, uncovered a human trafficking ring in Ibadan, the State capital and rescued 83 individuals, including a child.
Naija Naija learnt that the victims were held for an undisclosed period in a house at the Orogun area of the state.

The police in a terse statement disclosed that the victims, believed to be nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo, were lured to Nigeria under the pretence of being offered employment opportunities.

The perpetrators reportedly extorted significant sums of money in dollars from the victims’ parents and relatives as part of the elaborate scheme.

The rescued individuals are currently at the Police Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, where authorities are conducting further investigations to ascertain the full details of the case.

At least 12 people were killed by suspected Boko Haram terrorists along Kirawa road and Bokko Ghide community in Pulka District, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State in the past 24 hours.

The Emir of Gwoza, HRH Alhaji Mohammed Shehu Timta, confirmed to Vanguard that two of the victims killed during the ambush along Kirawa road on Friday, April 25, 2025, were members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF). The remaining 10 victims, all firewood scavengers, were ambushed and killed on Saturday, April 26, 2025.

Timta condemned the spate of killings in Gwoza and other locations, expressing shock at the renewed attacks.

He warned that if these attacks are not addressed, they could undermine the Borno State Government’s ongoing efforts to reconstruct, rehabilitate, and resettle internally displaced persons (IDPs).

These latest attacks came just a day after Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, appealed to the military to intensify operations to eliminate insurgents from their enclaves. Governor Zulum made the call during a courtesy visit by a high-level Federal Government delegation led by the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, the Minister of State for Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, and other military chiefs at the Government House in Maiduguri.

“It is unfortunate that two of my people, who are members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, were ambushed and killed along Kirawa road on Friday, while another 10 civilians who went to a nearby bush to scavenge firewood were killed today (Saturday), with two others sustaining serious injuries,” Governor Zulum said.

“We have since buried the victims today according to their religious rites, while the injured ones were evacuated to Maiduguri for treatment. Let me use this opportunity to pray to Allah to grant Aljanatul Firdaus to the souls of the departed, and quick recovery to the injured ones.”

Timta expressed concern that despite the efforts of the government and military to manage the over-a-decade-long Boko Haram crisis, more action is needed in terms of technological warfare and the use of sophisticated equipment to effectively combat the terrorists.

“I can confirm to you that these renewed attacks would demoralize our resilient people who have started warming up for this year’s cropping season, as many would be scared from going to their farms,” Timta lamented

Armed bandits have reportedly killed five traders and injured seven others in a fresh attack at Yanriwa Market in the Kwande local government area of Benue State.

Naija News learnt that the armed gunmen invaded the market at about 3 pm when traders were transacting business and began shooting sporadically, leading to the death of five persons.

A resident of the community, Lawrence Akerigba, in an interview with Leadership Newspaper, lamented that the federal government reneged on its promise to deploy additional security operatives to the communities following the 2024 Christmas Day attack, where over 20 farmers were killed.

He explained that the herdsmen have blocked the Anwase road, where the Christmas attack and killings took place, “as I am talking to you, that road is no longer passable.”

Akerigba stated that most schools, churches and markets in the area have been shut due to the herdsmen’s activities.

He said, “Up till now, nothing of that nature has been done. Government has abandoned us to our fate.

“The attack by the herdsmen happened around 3pm in Liev 1 at Usambe in Ikyurav ya.

“However, the joy of selling turns bloody when the herdsmen invaded the market while people were buying and selling and started shooting at the people.

“Five persons were killed on the spot and 7 others sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. Some other people are still missing and the search is still ongoing.

“The security men on the ground are trying so much to prevent the attacks, but because they are few in number, their efforts are not much felt.”

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced that the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu State, will reopen from Monday.

Naija News reports that FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah, made this known while speaking with journalists on Saturday, April 26, 2025.

Orah said the re-opening followed the completion of emergency runway repairs at the airport, stressing that the runway is certified suitable for landings and takeoffs by the agency’s engineers.

FAAN appreciates all airport users and stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation during the closure period, assuring the public that all measures were taken in the interest of safety.

Orah said, “The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced that Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, Enugu State, will reopen for flight operations on Monday, 28th April 2025, following the completion of emergency runway repairs.

“On April 18th, 2025, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) announced that due to a sudden and significant rupture in the asphalt surface at a critical section of the runway, the runway would be shut down for emergency repairs.

“The work was scheduled to begin on April 22nd and conclude before reopening on May 6th, 2025. However, rehabilitation works on the runway have been completed, and the runway is cleared for landings and takeoffs by the engineers working with FAAN.”

A prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Uche Nwosu, cautioned the Federal Government on Saturday against promoting the idea of citizens obtaining firearm licenses, arguing that such a move would exacerbate the existing insecurity issues in the nation.

Nwosu, who previously served as Chief of Staff to former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, expressed his concerns during a virtual media briefing.

Naija News reports that Nwosu’s remarks were in response to a statement made on Friday by former Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung, rights activist Omoyele Sowore, and other members of the Coalition of Nigerian Patriots, who advocated for the right of Nigerians to possess firearms for self-defense.

Nwosu countered this perspective, asserting that allowing citizens to acquire guns is not a feasible solution to the ongoing violence in the affected areas.

He said, “I don’t support people being encouraged to carry arms around because it will become a lawless country.

“Instead, I think more security agents should be deployed to those troubled areas so this problem can be solved.

“When individuals start carrying arms, it connotes trouble. Some people can easily get angry and allow such emotion to push them to do what they are not supposed to do.

“Besides, these bandits are sometimes from outside the country. They are not people from those communities.

“They come from outside, carry out their act and run back to where they are coming from. My other suggestion is that there should be community policing.

“There should be the courage to go down to the rural area in which, as I said, it’s one of the most difficult areas of the government.”

The APC leader also commended President Bola Tinubu for assigning his security chiefs the responsibility of stopping the violence and reinstating peace in the impacted communities.

He stated that this reflects the true essence of a leader who prioritizes the safety and well-being of his constituents.

“I also want to commend President Bola Tinubu. He has also put in the work to ensure that these killings stop.

“I have had meetings with the security chiefs and heard the NSA say that the President had given them directive that this killing has to stop and they are doing it,” he stated

Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has raised alarm over the growing trend of transactional politics in Nigeria, where politicians allegedly bankroll young people to harass and discredit advocates of good governance on social media.

Speaking at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. in a video which started trending on Thursday, Obi condemned the disturbing practice, describing it as a betrayal of the very youth whose future is at stake.

“In the transactional politics of Nigeria, some people pay them to cause confusion. Go to social media, those that are being paid ₦20,000, ₦40,000 monthly to abuse you are the same youths you’re fighting for their live because I am over 60 and I have few years to go,” he said.

Obi called the situation both tragic and ironic: the same young Nigerians who should be champions of reform are being weaponized against it—used to defend a broken system they suffer under.

He stressed the urgent need for a political awakening among the youth, urging them to reject crumbs from corrupt politicians and instead embrace knowledge, critical thinking, and civic responsibility.

“We must move away from politics driven by money and manipulation. Our youths must be empowered with knowledge, not stipends to insult those seeking change,” he added.

His remarks come against the backdrop of increasing online misinformation and targeted harassment in Nigeria’s digital political space, especially aimed at opposition voices and reform advocates.

Watch the video below:

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— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) April 25, 2025

The Sole Administrator of Rivers, Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, has requested more time from the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Rivers to properly brief the committee on the developments in the state.

He requested on Friday at a meeting with the committee in Abuja after failing to appear before the committee on Thursday, April 17 and 24.

Ibas, who expressed regret for his inability to attend earlier engagements explains that the absence was not out of disregard, but rather due to the weighty and urgent demands of stabilising governance in Rivers.

“I have always held the National Assembly in the highest regard. I recognise the importance of your oversight responsibilities and your interest in the progress being made in River, which is presently relatively calm, but still fragile. 

“It is important that any engagement with this committee is done with the depth, accuracy, and clarity it rightfully deserves.

“I remain fully committed to cooperating with the committee and to ensuring that all relevant information is made available in due course to support your important work,” he said.

“I only request the understanding and the indulgence of this committee to grant me additional time to adequately prepare and present a comprehensive and constructive briefing, given the complexities and sensitivities surrounding the current transitional period in Rivers. 

“It is important that any engagement with this committee is done with the depth, accuracy, and clarity it rightfully deserves.

“I remain fully committed to cooperating with the committee and to ensuring that all relevant information is made available in due course to support your important work,” he said.

Addressing newsmen after a close door meeting, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Julius Ihonvbere (APC-Edo) said that the committee resolved to give a new date to the sole administrator.

Ihonvbere underscored the constitutional role of the National Assembly in legitimising and overseeing the state of emergency declared in Rivers.

According to the chairman, the federal legislature remains central to the state’s transitional process.

Ihonvbere reaffirmed the committee’s constitutional mandate and expressed satisfaction that the administrator had finally honored the invitation after earlier delays.

He emphasised that the committee’s mandate was rooted in constitutional authority and that some of its terms had already been communicated to the administrator in an earlier letter.

The chairman encouraged the administrator to feel at ease, stressing that the committee members had been carefully selected to ensure broad representation across geopolitical zones and legislative experience.

“I want you to feel relaxed because the members you see here were carefully selected based on zonal representation and membership of the House to advance the progress that Rivers needs to make to be part and parcel of the holistic structure of democracy that Nigeria represents today.

“We have demonstrated again and again our preparedness to do this job efficiently and effectively,” he assured.

NAN

The World Bank has projected that poverty will increase in Nigeria by three percentage points in five years to 2027. 

The World Bank made this projection in its Africa Pulse report released on the sidelines of the ongoing Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington DC. 

The report, among other information, painted a dire picture of poverty in Nigeria, noting that while economic activity has shown some positive signs, the underlying challenges associated with resource dependence and fragility are projected to escalate poverty levels, demanding focused and effective governance reforms and inclusive economic policies.

The report noted that while Nigeria saw higher-than-expected economic growth in the final quarter of 2024, particularly in its non-oil sector, the country’s status as a resource-rich and fragile nation means it faces a concerning outlook for poverty reduction.

The report indicates that poverty rates in resource-rich, fragile countries, including Nigeria, are expected to increase by 3.6 percentage points between 2022 and 2027, making it the only group in Sub-Saharan Africa with a projected rise in poverty.

The report stated: “Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest extreme poverty rate globally, and a large share of the poor is concentrated in a few countries. About 80 percent of the world’s estimated 695 million extreme poor resided in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, compared to 8 percent in South Asia, 2 percent in East Asia and the Pacific, 5 percent in the Middle East and North Africa, and 3 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.”Within Sub-Saharan Africa, half of the 560 million extreme poor in 2024 resided in four countries. Non-resource-rich countries are expected to continue reducing poverty faster than resource-rich countries. “Thanks to higher prices of agricultural commodities, non-

resource-rich countries will see higher growth overall, despite fiscal pressures. Conversely, resource-rich countries are not expected to grow at the same rate given decelerating oil prices. As a result, resource-rich countries are expected to see less progress in terms of poverty reduction.”Importantly, poverty in resource-rich, fragile countries (which include large countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria) is expected to increase by 3.6 percentage points over 2022–27, being the only group in the region with increasing poverty rates.

“This follows a well-established pattern: resource wealth combined with fragility or conflict is associated with the highest poverty rates—an average poverty rate of 46 per cent in 2024, 13 percentage points above non-fragile, resource-rich countries.

“Meanwhile, non-resource-rich, non-fragile countries saw the biggest gains in poverty reduction since 2000 and fully closed the gap in poverty with other non-resource-rich countries by 2010.”

Consequently, the report suggests that for resource-rich countries like Nigeria, improving fiscal management and developing a stronger fiscal contract with citizens is crucial.

A former presidential adviser and ex-member of the House of Representatives, Usman Bugaje, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of using financial inducements to orchestrate the defection of key figures from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

Bugaje made the statement during a televised interview on Arise TV on Thursday.

He expressed concern over what he described as the monetisation of politics and its implications for Nigeria’s democracy.

“For what I know—and I don’t claim to know everything—the APC is basically using money to buy off PDP,” he said. 

He further noted that in some cases, individuals facing investigations might also be pressured through threats.

“Of course, if there are people with records in the EFCC, they might threaten them. They might do these kinds of things, and this has been the practice right from the time of President Obasanjo,” he added.

Bugaje stressed that the deeper issue lies in how money has become a central factor in political allegiance, warning that such trends could signal the demise of democracy. 

“For as long as money is going to be the determining factor, then that’s the end of democracy and that’s the end of politics. We would be heading towards something completely different, maybe on the path of Peru and Fujimori,” he said.

Reacting to recent mass defections in Delta State, the PDP’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, had said the party was not expecting the wave of departures but insisted that the next election would be a contest between Nigerians and the APC.

Bugaje, however, described the PDP’s response as weak. He argued that the PDP had already lost its ability to function as an opposition party, citing internal failures and a lack of resolve.

“There has not been opposition right from the time the Minister Wike did what he did. PDP has lost that opportunity to become an opposition party,” he stated.

He cited poor conduct by PDP members in national matters such as emergency rule debates and budget sessions, claiming that the party had failed to hold government to account.

Bugaje also pointed to structural flaws within Nigeria’s political parties, recalling his own experience during the merger that formed the APC. He said efforts to introduce merit-based criteria for party leadership were thwarted.

“We should develop a criteria for people who are going to hold responsibilities of the party. They all opposed it, except a few of us,” Bugaje said, adding that personal political interests had overshadowed institutional development.

He warned that the dominance of transactional relationships in party politics, where loyalty is exchanged for money or influence, has eroded the values of political engagement.

“People who don’t have the character to hold a party, people who don’t have sufficient education to understand the implication of some of the things they do—these are the people now in charge,” he said.

Bugaje concluded by affirming his long-standing opposition to these practices.

“I fought this as much as I could. I pulled back when I realised that, but I made my point. If you have people who are qualified, who have character, who have got the passion for the party, you can be sure one thing: that party is going to remain intact,” he said.

A former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that the weakness of the National Assembly opened the door for President Bola Tinubu’s constitutional breach in the country.

The ex-minister of transportation disclosed this on Thursday while condemning the suspension of Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and lawmakers of the state assembly.

He spoke at the ninth edition of the Akinjide Adeosun Foundation’s Annual Leadership Discourse, themed “Fearless Leadership: A Panacea for Sustainable Development,” organised in Lagos.

He said, “Do you agree that there is nothing like a fearless leader and there is nothing like courageous leadership? Do you (Nigerians) need a courageous leader where the system works? Just push the button, and everything will give you the answer. It is only when there is a failed leadership that you begin to look at who is the courageous leader. There are different types of leadership traits, and fearless leadership is not one of them. There is the authoritarian leadership trait, which is one who knows it all. Such leaders tell you what to do without consulting and expect you to obey. 

“You can either have a fearless followership or a docile followership. Does Nigeria resonate here as per the docility of followership? Does it resonate here? Yes. Good governance is about constitutionality and the rule of law. It is also about the concept of the separation of powers. The absence of good governance and the rule of law breeds arbitrariness in governance. Arbitrariness here has to do with the non-observance of the basic principles of law.

“For a governor or a president, who subscribes to such a concept, it is what he or she does that is law. It is not what is in the book that is the law. There is also the non-observance of the basic principles of law. This is where government is not by law, but by the whims and caprices of an individual leader, like the current pronouncement of an illegal and unconstitutional state of emergency in Rivers State, aided by weak institutions like the National Assembly, which is very weak.”

The former governor also urged Nigerians to be proactive in reacting to poor governance, saying docility was an enabler of bad leadership.

“What is even more alarming is that the breach in the situation is not even about the law. The president didn’t break any law. He broke the Constitution. Now, this breach of the Constitution is a breach of the sacredness and sanctity of the Constitution.

“The constitution of a country is the Bible of that country. And its sanctity must be protected. Can we say the same in Nigeria? Obviously, the response would be a resounding no. The president looked at the whole of Nigeria and removed an elected governor in Rivers State and appointed a military man, yet the country continued. Nothing happened.”