Author: Vardiafrica

At least five persons have been confirmed dead, while 10 others were rescued alive after a three-storey building under construction collapsed on Saturday morning in the Durumi 3 area near Gudu Market in Abuja. The Federal Capital Territory Administration confirmed the incident in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, Mr Lere Olayinka. According to the statement, emergency responders are still carrying out rescue operations at the site amid fears that more victims may remain trapped beneath the rubble. “At least five persons have been confirmed dead…

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, identified as the second-in-command of ISIS globally, was killed during a joint counterterrorism operation carried out by American and Nigerian forces. The announcement was made by Trump on Friday via Truth Social, where he described the mission as a “meticulously planned and very complex operation” executed at his direction by U.S. forces and the Nigerian Armed Forces. The development marks a significant escalation in joint counterterrorism cooperation between Nigeria and the United States as both countries intensify efforts to contain the growing threat posed by ISIS and Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent groups across…

Yusuf Muhammadu Buhari, son of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, has defeated Auwal Lawal Musa, son of former DSS Director-General Lawal Musa Daura, to win the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for the Daura/Sandamu/Mai’Adua Federal Constituency in Katsina State. The APC primary election was conducted peacefully, with stakeholders commending the orderly conduct of the exercise, which was supervised by the constituency APC committee alongside party leaders in line with the party’s internal democracy guidelines. The Returning Officer, Hon. Lawal Garba, who announced and certified the results, said the process followed established electoral procedures. According to the official figures, the…

President Bola Tinubu has said that no one is a citizen if he does not pay taxes to the constituted authority. Tinubu stated this, Friday at the Africa CEO Forum currently taking place in Rwanda. He said nobody wants to pay tax ordinarily but wants to enjoy the infrastructural facility built by the government. “Taxation is not friendly to the wealthy, the middle class, or the poor. Everyone wants development, but the question they don’t answer is how the government pays for it. “Every human being expects development, but the question they don’t answer is, how do you pay for it? You…

The ECOWAS Parliament has adopted a resolution directing member states to take immediate action toward protecting street children, ending child exploitation, and banishing them from the streets in the sub-region. The lawmakers adopted the landmark resolution during the parliament’s ongoing 2026 First Ordinary Session on Thursday in Abuja. They also mandated the parliament’s speaker to transmit the resolution and the joint committee report to the ECOWAS Commission’s president for onward submission to the chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers. The MPs noted that street children, who are usually exposed to the gravest human rights abuses, were among the most…

In a major move to secure Nigeria’s borders and urban centres, the Federal Government has moved to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced anti-drone systems into the nation’s military architecture. The Honourable Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (Rtd), led a high-level delegation to Monaco to finalise the “Multi-domain Hybrid Intelligence Shield” (HIS) project. Key Highlights of the Modernisation:✅ AI-Powered Surveillance: Rapid identification of security threats using smart algorithms.✅ Anti-Drone Shield: Technologies designed to intercept and neutralize unmanned aerial threats.✅ Command Centers: Establishment of national and regional command-and-control hubs for real-time response.✅ Local Capacity: Focus on technology transfer and building…

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has unveiled a grand alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Allied People’s Movement (APM), which according to him, will allow the PDP to produce candidates from the House of Assembly to the Presidency in the 2027 general elections on the platform of the APM. The governor equally declared the birth of the Reset Nigeria Movement, rallying all Nigerians, who he said are hard done by the harsh economic policies and lack of direction by the APC government at the centre, to work in unity to give the country the reset it needs. Addressing…

The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from certain countries pay as much as $15,000 in bonds if they are confirmed World Cup ticket holders, the State Department told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The department imposed the bond requirement last year for countries that it said had high rates of people overstaying their visas and other security issues as part of the Republican administration’s broader crackdown on immigration. Travelers to the United States from 50 countries are required to pay the new bond, and five of those countries have qualified for the World Cup – Algeria,…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction backed by Nyesom Wike has commenced the screening of presidential, governorship, and national assembly aspirants ahead of the 2027 general election. In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, the party said the exercise was being coordinated by the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led national working committee (NWC). The statement was issued by Chinwe Nnorom, national director of publicity, on behalf of Jungudo Mohammed, national publicity secretary of the party. According to the statement, the screening of governorship aspirants was scheduled for noon on Thursday at the PDP national secretariat annex, Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja, while that of presidential aspirants was…

Tobi Amusan eased to another title in the women’s 100m hurdles at the ongoing CAA Senior Athletics Championships.  The world record holder clocked 12.83 seconds to finish ahead of the rest of the track in the event’s final held on Wednesday at the University of Ghana in Accra. The victory is her third title in the women’s 100m hurdles. She won her first African Championship title in 2018 in Asaba, then defended it in Mauritius in 2022. In Accra, Ebony Morrison of Liberia finishes second while Adaobi Tabugbo of Nigeria took bronze. In the women’s 100m sprint, Rosemary Chukwuma took a…