By Cynthia Alo The Port and Terminal Multi-Services Limited (PTML) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has handed over seized arms and ammunition to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW),    reaffirming its zero-tolerance stance against arms smuggling and unlawful trade. Speaking at the handover ceremony in Lagos, […]

When President Bola Tinubu returned to Abuja a month ago after a prolonged holiday in Paris and brief stopover at a summit in Abu Dhabi, a newspaper headline sardonically announced that the “Nigerian Ambassador to France pays his first official visit to Nigeria in 2026”. Tinubu, frequently criticised for his frequent sojourns in foreign locations, France […]

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger – three rogue states that have formed an Alliance of Sahelian States, AES, to resist external pressure from ECOWAS on military rule – have just won the biggest diplomatic jackpot beyond their wildest imagination.  Not even a sorcerer would have guessed that, as a reward for their delinquency, this trio would […]

Liam Conejo Ramos, five, a preschooler  at Colombia Heights Public School, Minnesota, returned home on January 20, 2026. He might have looked forward to the warm embrace of his mother, but in the drive way of his home, United States, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE,  agents  captured him and his father, Adrian. The family had […]

What initially began as isolated incidents after the death of Mohammed Yusuf, the late founder of Boko Haram after his death in July 2009 later balooned into full-scale insurgency with which we have struggled to no end for 16 years. Then, the insurgents were trying to establish control over ungoverned spaces in parts of Borno State […]

By the end of this year, or even earlier, the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nigeria’s ruling party, may control 30 or more of Nigeria’s 36 state governors. Currently, the party has 29 state governors in its fold. Of these 29, only 21 are APC governors by election, the others are APC governors by defection. The gale […]

In the past decade, I developed a habit: whenever Nigeria confuses me as it often does, I visit one of the country’s elder statesmen to help me get a handle on otherwise senseless situations. No protocols. All I do is visit, most times unannounced. The cathartic experience from such discussions is always profound. Sadly, many […]

In an era where information travels at the speed of a tweet and attention spans are measured in seconds, professionals across industries face an unprecedented challenge: how to maintain integrity when sensationalism pays the bills. Every day, algorithms reward the outrageous over the accurate, the inflammatory over the informative, and the clickable over the credible. […]

“Warnings are vain, the printed word is futile, experience teaches no lessons”“-  Douglas Reed There are certain phrases that never die in Nigerian politics. They reappear like clockwork at critical moments, uttered with solemnity and flourish, yet met with skepticism by the public. Chief among them is the oft-repeated line: “I remain loyal.” It is spoken […]

The sometimes-careless manner it reports without bothering to admit its errors probably did it for me. But when Sahara Reporters broke the news of a foiled coup, I didn’t pay it serious attention. The fact that no other mainstream medium followed its lead was a red flag. Premium Times, as I recall it, later followed up […]

Just a look at the story, a flash went off in my head. At this age one shouldn’t engage in protest writings or spew out materials that hover on malcontent or, in the extreme, frustration. Or are my thoughts simply just cyclical? I have had to review my writings in the past few years and I […]

  “In moments of crises, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build dams”- African proverb. The nation should be concerned about the delays in passing amendments to the Electoral Bill, which will provide the legal and operational framework for the 2027 elections. The bill contains several key amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act. The House […]

By Dele Sobowale The Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has embarked on the wrong battle based on absolute ignorance. For weeks, since it was announced that a gold refinery will soon start operating in Lagos State, while a lithium processing plant would be established in Nasarawa State, the NEF has been at war with the Federal Government, […]

The simple and straightforward appointment of the Awujale of Ijebu Kingdom, one of the most revered, is stalled like a car with a dead battery. Actions associated with the Benin monarchy, one of the most famous in Africa, is clanging like a faulty engine.   Meanwhile, the new Alaafin of Oyo’s public displays are like a man […]

Abdul Leigh Balogun became a judge of the High Court of Lagos State in 1976. In a career as a trial judge spanning 17 years and three different decades, the man better known as A.L.A.L Balogun earned a deserved reputation as one of the most knowledgeable trial judges to adorn the Nigerian judiciary. His reputation for fairness […]