UN Security Council approval be damned. On Saturday, after weeks of heightened naval, aerial and military pressure, without Security Council approval, US forces attacked Venezuela, destroyed air bases, “captured” President Nicholas Maduro, his wife and his son, and said it will bring them to trial in a New York court over drug and weapons charges. President Donald Trump then said the US will take over the running of the South American country, send US oil firms to take over its huge oil reserves [the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, bigger than even Saudi Arabia’s]. UN Secretary Antonio Guterres said…
Author: Editor
Fifteen years ago, I remember Professor Akin Oyebode of the Faculty of Law University of Lagos sharing copies of the UN Charter with us, insisting that all students of International Law and Diplomacy must chew and digest the Charter. Professor Oyebode who himself knew the Charter like the back of his hand referenced the Charter with ease. UN Charter is the document that binds every state member of the United Nations to their rights and obligations. This weekend, I am certain many of my colleagues would be shocked reading about the brazen violation of the letter and the spirit of…
At the close of 2025, the Nigerian military recorded sustained operational activity across all theatres of engagement, reflecting a year of intensified counter-terrorism, anti-banditry and internal security operations. The year under review was characterised by expanded joint operations, increased deployment of intelligence-led tactics and closer inter-agency collaboration aimed at degrading terrorist and criminal networks, protecting civilians and securing critical national assets. According to the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), troops neutralised several terrorist and criminal elements, arrested over 4,300 suspects, secured the surrender of more than 1,600 insurgents and rescued thousands of kidnapped victims across the country within the period. The Chief…
The Rivers State Executive Council (EXCO) has approved a proposed ₦1.854 trillion budget for the 2026 fiscal year, describing it as a “Budget of Resilience for Growth and Development.” The approval was granted on Friday, January 2, 2026, after extensive deliberations at the first EXCO meeting of the year, held at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt. The meeting was presided over by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, with the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, in attendance. Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Economic Matters and Social Development, Prof. Peter Medee, disclosed that the…
Barely after the first edition of the write-up with the above caption, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated a Committee on Strategy, Conflict Resolution, and Mobilisation to resolve conflicts within the All Progressives Congress, APC. He tasked the committee with strengthening party cohesion, resolving lingering disputes, and crafting a unified mobilisation strategy to sustain APC’s dominance at the polls. He deemed it appropriate to appoint Governor Mai Mala Buni as its chairman. Governor Buni was the first elected national secretary of the APC and served for five years. He left to become the Governor of Yobe State. He was also the…
In a bold move to tackle rising transport costs, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko has assumed full responsibility for ferrying law students and staff to Northwest University Sokoto’s (NWUS) Wamakko Campus. NWUS Vice Chancellor, Professor Mukhtar Umar Bunza, announced the intervention today, effective immediately. It covers Faculty of Law members facing daily commutes amid fuel price hikes that have jacked up fares and eroded punctuality. Bunza highlighted how the support eases financial pressures, cuts absenteeism, and sharpens focus. Students, especially from modest backgrounds, have called it a game-changer for their studies. Wamakko, ex-Sokoto Governor and NWUS founder, continues championing education through…
CBN Nigeria’s economic activity recorded its strongest momentum in nearly five years in December 2025, as the Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 57.6 points, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The PMI remained well above the 50-point benchmark that indicates expansion, reflecting sustained growth across key sectors of the economy. Data from the December PMI Survey showed that agriculture continued to lead the expansion with a reading of 58.5 points, while the industrial sector posted 57.0 points. The services sector also remained in positive territory at 51.9 points, pointing to broad-based improvements in business activity. The…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shared its economic plans for 2025. It shows a mix of hope and caution. The year ahead promises a slow but steady recovery after years of tough policies. But big growth numbers alone won’t fix poverty or improve lives for most people. The CBN expects Nigeria’s economy to grow by about 4% in real terms. This is better than the recent slow years. Other reports put it at 4.1% to 4.17%. This depends on oil reforms, freer foreign exchange rules, and stronger non-oil sectors. This growth shows that key changes are working. These…
On assuming office, President Bola Tinubu placed food security at the core of his administration’s agenda, framing it as both an economic necessity and a national security imperative. This priority informed his declaration of a state of emergency on food security in July 2023, a move officials say reshaped Nigeria’s agricultural strategy. The declaration shifted emphasis from policy debates to practical, on-the-ground initiatives aimed at boosting production, stabilising markets, and improving food access nationwide. Central to this shift is Nigeria’s partnership with Belarus to acquire 10,000 tractors over five years under the Belarus Agricultural Mechanisation Programme. Officials said the initiative…
As I was concluding this article last week, news broke of a significant milestone in the ASUU-FGN impasse: FGN and ASUU had signed a comprehensive agreement signaling the end of the 8-year ASUU industrial action. It was an impasse that cost billions of Naira in lost person-hours, unquantifiable economic losses, and, in some cases, the supreme price. The tragic case of a professor who was neck-deep in debt due to the imposed “no-work, no-pay” policy, watching the news on TV when it was announced that the “no-work, no-pay” policy would be sustained even after suspending the 2022 ASUU industrial action,…