President Bola Tinubu has sworn-in General Christopher Musa as the country’s minister of defence in a major push to restructure Nigeria’s security setup.
Musa’s swearing-in ceremony took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, a day after a five-hour grilling by the Senate, leading to his confirmation.
Details later ….
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have commended the governors of Abia and Sokoto states, Dr Alex Otti and Ahmad Aliyu, for their recent visit to the group’s detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, describing the gesture as both “historic” and “surprising.”
In a statement issued on Thursday by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, IPOB said Kanu’s arrest, extraordinary rendition from Kenya, continued detention, trial, conviction, and life sentence, as well as his transfer to a correctional facility in Sokoto amid worsening insecurity, amounted to what it described as extreme provocation against the group and the Igbo people.
The group further alleged that the Federal Government deployed security agencies to carry out what it termed “false-flag operations” in the South-East to fabricate evidence of violence and terrorism against IPOB and its leader.
IPOB also claimed that Kanu was imprisoned through what it described as a biased legal process, maintaining that his only offence was advocating for the rights of his people and pursuing self-determination in a country it accused of marginalising them since independence.
According to the statement, IPOB insisted that the alleged injustice would not be ignored until a comprehensive and independent investigation is conducted.
Part of the statement read: “The global family and movement of IPOB express appreciation to the Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, and the Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmad Aliyu, for their surprise visit to our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, at the Sokoto Correctional Centre.
“We also commend other concerned Igbos, including residents in Sokoto. The alleged kidnapping, extraordinary rendition, prolonged detention, unlawful trial, life imprisonment, and transfer to Sokoto prison will not stand.
“The alleged use of state security forces for false-flag operations in the South-East to manufacture evidence of violence and terrorism against IPOB and Kanu is an injustice that must not be overlooked without a thorough independent investigation.”
President Bola Tinubu has nominated the immediate past Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, for appointment as a non-career ambassador.
Also nominated are a former senator, Ita Enang; former First Lady of Imo State, Chioma Ohakim; and a former Minister of Interior and ex-Chief of Army Staff, Abdulrahman Dambazau.
The nominations come barely one week after the President forwarded the names of Reno Omokri, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmoud Yakubu, among others, to the Senate for confirmation as ambassadors.
The Federal Government has reportedly proposed a 40 per cent salary increase for lecturers under the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, according to sources familiar with the development in Abuja.
The offer comes as ASUU leadership prepares to return to the negotiation table with the government’s team, led by Yayale Ahmed.
It was gathered that the union’s decision to resume talks followed a consensus reached at its National Executive Council meeting held in Abuja on Sunday.
Branch leaders who attended the NEC meeting are expected to brief their members nationwide on the new proposal and the next steps in the negotiation process.
The Northern States Governors’ Forum and the Northern Traditional Leaders Council are currently holding an emergency meeting at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna as insecurity worsens across the region.
The high-level session is examining the recent surge in banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and farmer-herder clashes, which have claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of residents in recent months.
The closed-door meeting is chaired by the Forum’s chairman and Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, alongside the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, who is leading the traditional rulers’ delegation. Discussions are said to be focused almost entirely on the escalating security crisis in Northern Nigeria.
The Senior General Manager, Corporate Communications at Dangote Industries Ltd., Sunday Esan, says the Dangote Refinery has saved Nigeria more than ₦10bn annually in foreign exchange by replacing fuel imports with locally refined products.
Esan stated this on Thursday in Lagos during the 2025 Media Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Council, with the theme: “Unlocking Opportunities for Businesses in a Challenging Economy: The Role of the Media / Roadmaps to Energy Security in Nigeria.”
He described the refinery as “more than a national landmark,” noting that it is reducing foreign exchange outflows, driving GDP growth, creating jobs, positioning Nigeria as a regional energy hub, and strengthening the country’s energy security.
According to him, the refinery, which began operations nearly two years ago, has significantly reduced Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, helping to curtail PMS and diesel importation, support naira stability, create thousands of jobs and boost the national energy supply chain.
Citing recent trade data, Esan said fuel imports declined by 1.54 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.
“While Nigeria spent $2.6bn on fuel imports in Q1 2024, the figure declined sharply to $1.2bn in Q1 2025. Dangote Refinery has saved Nigeria over ₦10bn annually in foreign exchange by replacing imports with local production. It has significantly curtailed oil imports and created measurable economic impact,” he said.
Esan added that the refinery is currently reviewing plans to scale up its installed capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.
Armed bandits have abducted a 16-year-old boy and six young girls from Gidan-Bijimi in Kawu ward, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
Gidan-Bijimi is a border community sharing a boundary with Marke village near the Kaduna State border.
A resident of Kawu, Suleiman Shuaibu, confirmed the incident to reporters via telephone on Thursday morning.
He said the bandits, armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed two houses in the community at about 9:47 p.m., shooting sporadically before whisking away the victims.
According to him, the attack threw the community into panic as residents scampered for safety.
Shuaibu disclosed that local vigilantes tried to repel the attack but were overpowered by the bandits’ superior firepower.
He added that the abducted girls are aged between 17 and 23.
“It was around 9:53 p.m. when a call came from Gidan-Bijimi community that some bandits invaded the village and abducted six young girls; unfortunately, my cousin happened to be among the victims,” he said.
He further stated that some residents fled their homes after the incident, adding that contact had yet to be established with the abductors as of the time of filing this report.
Nigeria’s struggle with insecurity is often discussed in terms of guns, surveillance, and military deployments. Yet one powerful tool remains underused: social security. A nation cannot be peaceful when millions of its citizens live without basic protection against poverty, unemployment, illness, and economic shocks.
Social security simply means safety nets cash transfers, pensions, health insurance, and programmes that help people survive and thrive. In Nigeria, these tools are often viewed as welfare perks, but their impact on peace and stability is far greater.
No society can be stable when the majority of its people struggle to meet basic needs. Poverty fuels resentment, protests, and conflict. Strong social protection reduces desperation and gives families breathing room, easing social tension.
Many of Nigeria’s security problems kidnapping, banditry, militancy, and extremist recruitment—are rooted in economic hardship. When young people lack jobs or opportunities, criminal activity becomes more attractive. Social security programmes that provide income support, skills training, and employment reduce this vulnerability and keep young Nigerians on a productive path.
Trust in institutions is essential for national unity. When citizens feel abandoned, they become alienated from the state. Social protection sends the opposite message: that the government cares. This strengthens the social contract, making communities more cooperative and more likely to support peace efforts.
Support for the elderly, persons with disabilities, widows, children, and internally displaced persons contributes to a more humane society. When vulnerable groups are ignored, crime, exploitation, and social resentment grow. Protecting them strengthens our collective security.
Social security helps households withstand crises such as job loss, inflation, or illness. This stability prevents social unrest during tough economic times. When families survive shocks, society becomes more resilient.
If Nigeria hopes to reduce violence and build a peaceful future, social security must be seen as part of national security strategy. Expanding and properly funding these programmes will address the root causes of insecurity far more sustainably than force alone.
A nation that protects its people protects its peace. Nigeria must invest in both.
Alaribe Obinna Esq. is a social justice, social welfare, and human and girls child rights advocate. He lives in Abuja and can be reached via obinnaalaribe@yahoo.com
Nigerian fintech firm, Paystack, has terminated the appointment of its co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ezra Olubi, over allegations of sexual misconduct.
Olubi disclosed his dismissal in a post on his personal blog at the weekend, stating that the decision was taken even before the company concluded its “independent investigation” into the allegations.
He added that his legal team is currently reviewing the circumstances surrounding his exit from the company he co-founded.
“On Saturday, 22 November 2025, I was informed that my employment had been terminated.
“My legal team is now reviewing the process that led to my purported termination, including its consistency with internal policies. They will take the steps they consider appropriate, and I will not be commenting further on this matter at this time,” he wrote.
The Auditor-General for the Federation has uncovered 28 major financial infractions involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), with suspicious transactions totaling about N61.1bn when converted to naira.
The red flags, contained in the Auditor-General’s 2022 Annual Report on Non-Compliance (Volume II), cover activities carried out in the 2021 financial year by NNPCL and its subsidiaries. The document, obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, details questionable payments, undocumented expenditures, and serial breaches of financial regulations amounting to N30.1bn, $51.6m, £14.3m and €5.17m.
According to the report, NNPCL was indicted for weak internal controls, unauthorized virements, tax infractions, irregular procurement processes, abandoned projects and unsubstantiated settlements.
“These findings highlight systemic weaknesses that continue to expose public funds to avoidable risk. Where documents were not provided, payments were unjustified. Where approvals were absent, expenditure breached the law. Recovery and sanctions must follow,” the Auditor-General’s office stated.
The latest revelations add to earlier investigative reports by reporters this year, which exposed long-running financial discrepancies at the national oil company. The Auditor-General’s annual reports for 2017 to 2021 had previously indicted NNPC for the diversion of N2.68tn and $19.77m over a four-year period.
Those earlier audits flagged N1.33tn in 2017; N681.02bn in 2019; N151.12bn and $19.77m in 2020; and N514bn in 2021, indicating a persistent pattern of unremitted funds, unsupported transfers and irregular withdrawals that have heightened concerns over governance and accountability in the petroleum sector.
One of the most striking issues in the new report is Issue 2, which covers the expenditure of £14,322,426.59 at NNPC’s London Office without documentation. The auditors said the company failed to provide utilisation details or supporting schedules for the amount.
Citing the 2009 Financial Regulations, the Auditor-General stressed that accounting officers are required to maintain adequate internal controls and proper records for all public expenditures. Paragraph 112 mandates clear rules and procedures to safeguard revenue, while Paragraph 603(1) requires every payment voucher to contain full particulars—such as dates, quantities and rates—and be supported by invoices, purchase orders, letters of authority and other documents sufficient for independent verification.
However, the audit found that these statutory provisions were flouted in the operations of NNPCL’s London Office during the 2021 financial year.
The report stated that the foreign office spent a total of £14,322,426.59 on personnel costs, fixed contracts and other operational needs. A breakdown showed personnel costs of £5,943,124.74; fixed contract and essential expenses of £1,436,177.11; and other operational costs of £6,943,124.74.
Despite the scale of the expenditure, the auditors said they were not provided with supporting documents or granted access to verify how the funds were utilised, making it impossible to determine whether the spending followed due process or complied with the Financial Regulations.
The Auditor-General warned that the absence of documentation points to “weaknesses in the internal control system” at NNPCL, leaving the organisation vulnerable to diversion and misappropriation of public funds.
In its response, NNPC management said the London Office functions as a service unit with an approved annual budget and that the £14.32m allocation for 2021 was implemented in line with operational and financial requirements. It maintained that the office keeps detailed records of all transactions, including personnel and contract-related expenses, and expressed readiness to provide documents upon request.
Management further argued that the audit query did not specify which transactions or line items were in contention, making it difficult to give targeted explanations. It added that the company remains committed to strengthening internal controls and ensuring compliance across its units.
The Auditor-General’s office, however, dismissed the explanation as unsatisfactory. It insisted that the query would remain in force until NNPCL offers full accountability for the funds and implements the recommended corrective measures.
Consequently, the audit report recommended that the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd be summoned by the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly to explain the utilisation of the £14,322,426.59 spent by the London Office in 2021.
It also ordered that the entire amount be recovered and remitted to the Treasury. Failing that, the Auditor-General advised that sanctions for irregular payments and failure to account for public funds, as provided under Paragraphs 3106 and 3115 of the Financial Regulations, be applied to the responsible officers.
“Audit observed that the sum of £14,322,426.59 (Fourteen million, three hundred and twenty-two thousand, four hundred and twenty-six pounds and fifty-nine pence) was expended for the London Office during the 2021 financial year.
“Audit was not availed the necessary documents and the opportunity to confirm the utilisation of the funds that were managed by the London Office and to ascertain that the expenditure was made following due process and economy as required by the extant regulations. The above anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at the NNPC, now NNPC Ltd,” the report stated.
In a related case, the auditors flagged a payment of €5,165,426.26 to a contractor (Issue 12), noting that there was no evidence of engagement or contract documentation to justify the disbursement.
Several dollar-denominated transactions were also queried. These include $22,842,938.28 in unsubstantiated Direct Sales Direct Payment (DSDP) settlements (Issue 4); $12,444,313.22 for delayed generator procurement at the Mosimi depot (Issue 24); and $1,801,500 paid under an irregular contract extension for a bunkering vessel (Issue 7).
Other queries listed $2,006,293.20 in provisional payments made without invoices (Issue 10) and $1,035,132.81 paid to a company without power of attorney (Issue 13). Altogether, the report flagged $51,674,020.15 as irregular.
On the naira side, the Auditor-General accused NNPCL of authorising payments without approvals or documentation, implementing budgets beyond approved limits and failing to remit statutory surpluses to the Treasury, in violation of extant financial laws and regulations.
