Author: Vardiafrica

The U.S. has dispatched a small team of military officers to Nigeria, the general in charge of U.S. Africa Command told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday. General Dagvin R.M. Anderson said the move followed his meeting with Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, in Rome late last year. “That has led to increased collaboration between our nations, to include a small U.S. team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years,” Anderson said. It is unclear when the team arrived in Nigeria. The military officers are the latest…

Nigeria’s economic reform drive won rare global plaudits yesterday, with the World Bank describing the country as an emerging reference point for steady and credible reform leadership, citing sustained policy consistency, tough fiscal choices and growing investor confidence under the current administration. Also, President Bola Tinubu has vowed that he won’t abandon ongoing economic reforms in Nigeria, declaring that his government remains committed to sustaining the structural changes and will not reverse course despite the initial pains of adjustment. Charging the World Bank to deepen and fast-track its partnership with Nigeria, the President, who made the call at the State…

Spain will ban social media for under-16s and require platforms to employ strict age verification tools, joining Australia, France and Denmark in moves to curb the influence of digital platforms on children. “Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone. A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation and violence,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Tuesday. “We will no longer accept that, we will protect them from the digital Wild West.” Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Sánchez said his government would also introduce new laws to hold social media executives criminally…

The Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday arraigned a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), alongside his son, Abdulaziz Abubakar Malami, before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over allegations bordering on terrorism financing, aiding and abetting terrorism, and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. The defendants were brought before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, where the DSS filed a five-count criminal charge against them under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Firearms Act, 2004. According to court documents, Malami, who served as Nigeria’s chief law officer until 2023,…

A Kano State High Court has fixed April 15 for the hearing of pending applications in the ongoing trial of a former Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and others, over alleged misappropriation. The defendant is standing trial alongside his wife, Hafsat Umar, on an 11-count charge bordering on bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds running into billions of naira. Others charged are Abubakar Bawuro, Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lasage General Enterprises Ltd. When the case was called, the prosecution, a state counsel, Mr Victor Oni, informed the court that he was…

In a major shift in Nigeria’s fiscal policy, the Federal Government has announced it will no longer bear the cost of electricity subsidies alone. Starting with the 2026 budget, the financial burden will be shared across the federal, state, and local governments. The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed the directive on Monday during a training session for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in Abuja. He revealed that President Bola Tinubu has ordered the operationalization of existing electricity sector laws to create a “practical, transparent, and enforceable” sharing framework. End of “Federal Residual”: The FG…

The National Industrial Court, on Monday, restrained the workers, under the auspices of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), from going ahead with the mass protest scheduled for Tuesday or any other day. Justice Emmanuel Sibilim gave the interim order in a ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the FCT Administration (FCTA) against the Labour Unions and their leaders. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that others joined in the motion alongside NLC and TUC include Comrades Benson Upah, General N.A Toro, and…

The Federal Government announced on Monday it has completed its final obligations for the launch of the Africa Energy Bank, paving the way for the institution to begin operations. At a handover ceremony in Abuja, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the Federal Government had finished procuring, constructing and furnishing the bank’s headquarters, which has now been formally transferred to APPO and Afreximbank. He said Nigeria had met all the conditions required for the bank to take off. “Nigeria has fulfilled all her commitments, and the last commitment was this bank,” he said. The…

Ademola Lookman has completed his move to Atletico Madrid from Atalanta. The Spanish club announced the official signing on Monday — a few hours before the close of the 2026 winter transfer window in Europe. According Fabrizio Romano, the Italian journalist, Atletico paid a €35 million fixed fee and €5 million add-ons for the 28-year-old winger. The deal makes Lookman the second-most expensive Nigerian player, behind only Victor Osimhen, who saw both Napoli and Galatasaray pay over €70 million for him. Lookman penned a four-a-half-year deal with the Rojiblancos which and will play at the Wanda Metropolitano until June 2030 Lookman had arrived in…

Former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to vacate the interim order placed on 57 properties traced to him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Mr Malami, who served as the AGF during the late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, sought two categories of orders lifting the interim forfeiture orders on the seized assets. In the first prayer, he urged the court to discharge three particular properties listed by EFCC as No. 9, No. 18 and No. 48 in the ex-parte motion with which the anti-corruption agency…