Author: News Room

At least 170 people have been killed in Woro, a remote community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, by suspected Boko Haram terrorists during an attack that lasted several hours. The assault came about five months after the group sent a letter to the district head of Woro, Salihu Umar, notifying him of their intention to visit the community for [radical] preaching, residents and local leaders told PREMIUM TIMES. Woro is located on the fringes of Kainji National Park, a vast forest reserve covering about 5,341 square kilometres. The area has increasingly become a hideout for armed groups,…

Nigerian NGO leaders. Picture credit: TY Danjuma Foundation. For Nigerian NGOs that remain active into 2026 and continue to deliver impactful work despite funding constraints, this is a period of forced innovation, building new networks, leveraging new funders, and collective action to advocate for sustainable funding for the sector. On 20th January 2025, the American government issued Executive Order 14169 (EO 14169), which effectively ended 65 years of USAID’s assistance to Nigeria, rolled out in 1961 with grants to four major colleges of agriculture in Nigerian universities in Ibadan, Nsukka, Zaria, and Ife. An in-depth review of USAID’s official assistance…

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has recorded a significant operational milestone with the reactivation of a Super Puma helicopter. The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, reaffirmed the Service’s resolve to sustain decisive airpower in defence of the nation. In a statement, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information, Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force, said the assurance followed the commissioning of the reactivated Super Puma helicopter (NAF 565) at 205 Rotary Wing, Ikeja, Lagos, on February 4, 2026. Speaking at the ceremony, the CAS described the event as a powerful symbol of renewed capability…

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has expressed his joy for Kai Havertz following the German’s decisive goal against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Tuesday. Havertz came off the bench and scored the game’s only goal as Arsenal won 1-0 against their Premier League London rivals to qualify for the Carabao Cup final. However, Arteta believes that the former Chelsea star deserves the best after scoring against his old club at the Emirates Stadium. “Everyone who knows Kai is genuinely happy for him because he deserves the best,” Arteta said. “His work and the way he behaves to…

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating agricultural subsidies, intervention funds, aids, and grants programmes from 2015 to 2025 has decried the persistent disregard for parliamentary invitations by government agencies and financial institutions. At an investigative hearing held on Wednesday at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, the committee expressed strong displeasure over the continued failure of several invited institutions to honour its summons, warning that it would no longer tolerate the practice. The committee, therefore, directed NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, SunTrust Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and the National Bureau of Statistics to appear without fail,…

A 59-year-old Chinese national has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman at a quarry site in the Kobape area of Ogun State. PUNCH Metro gathered on Wednesday that the incident occurred on January 25, 2026, at the facility located within the area. A senior security officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the suspect was apprehended following a complaint by the victim. “A 59-year-old Chinese national was arrested following an allegation of indecent assault at a quarry in the Kobape area of the state,” the source said. “The…

The 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos laid bare a truth that too often goes unspoken: the world’s economic architecture is fragmenting even as global challenges converge. The annual meeting shone a light on tensions that matter deeply to emerging markets like Nigeria, including inequality, artificial intelligence, social enterprise, Africa’s young population outlook, the tangles of energy transitions, and the dynamics of global trade. For decades, the town of Davos-Klosters in Switzerland has been the global destination where geopolitical rivalry, market optimism and economic strategy intersect. In 2026, amid competing national interests and shifting priorities, those conversations have taken on…

MoMo PSB, the fintech arm of MTN Nigeria, has entered a strategic partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria to provide digital and financial tools aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises run operations more efficiently and scale sustainably. The deal, formalised in Lagos on Wednesday, will allow registered businesses to use MoMo PSB’s apps, point-of-sale systems, USSD channels, and partner portals to manage payments, payroll, tills, and multiple outlets from a single platform. The collaboration also promises access to MTN’s broader network and capacity-building programmes, signalling an attempt to make Nigeria’s fragmented SME sector more…

The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation has unveiled its 2026 calendar of activities with emphasis on grassroots development and talent discovery, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. The calendar was presented and approved at the federation’s board meeting held at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja. In the communique shared with our correspondent, the board resolved that zones should be encouraged to organise more tournaments to scout for young athletes. It was also agreed that zonal national camps be held to select players for the national camp and discover talents. Board members agreed to scout for young athletes with good physical attributes who can…

Startale Group and Japan’s financial conglomerate SBI Holdings have launched Strium, a layer-1 blockchain designed to support exchange-layer and settlement infrastructure for institutional trading of foreign exchange, tokenized equities and real-world assets (RWAs).The platform is designed as an exchange-layer network, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph. “Tokenization is an inevitable trend, and equities tokenization is clearly the next big market,” said Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Group. He added that Strium aims to bridge the gap between traditional offchain finance and the onchain ecosystem by enabling compliant dividend and royalty payments.The launch represents the first major milestone since the…