General
Border Closure has Curbed Terrorism, Kidnapping, Smuggling—FG
By Adedapo Adesanya
Federal government may have to continue to leave the land borders closed on the premise that the action has brought about reduction in the number of illegal weapons and ammunition making it into the country.
Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, speaking recently at Seme, the border land between Nigeria and Benin Republic, said the move has brought about gains to the country.
Mr Mohammed was part of the federal government ministerial delegation on inspection and assessment of the potency of the border closure directive. He was with Ministers of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola; Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyema, Minister of State for Finance and National Planning, Mr Clement Agba.
Others were the National Security Adviser, Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mohammed Babandede and the Comptroller-General of Customs who was represented by a Deputy Comptroller-General.
The minister said that 95 percent of illicit drugs and weapons being used for acts of terrorism and kidnapping in Nigeria come in through the porous borders. Mr Mohammed explained that since the partial closure, the acts had been drastically reduced.
“Our conclusion is that, the arms and ammunition these terrorists and criminal elements were using no longer gain access into the country.
“In addition, the drugs which affect the health and the wellbeing of Nigerians have equally been reduced,” he said.
The Minister also added that the decision of the FG had seen illegal goods worth N3.5 billion seized as they could no longer make their ways into the country.
“The estimated values of the apprehended items are about N3.5 billion,’’ he said.
Mr Mohammed further said that the partial closure had so far curbed the smuggling of foreign rice into the country, in addition to other prohibited items
“Some items seized include 38,743-50kg bags of parboiled foreign rice, 514 vehicles, 1,012 drums filled with PMS, 5,400 Jerri cans of vegetable oil, 346 motorcycles, 10, 553 Jerri cans of PMS and 136 bags of NPK fertilizer used for making explosives.”
The minister also said that in the area of security, no fewer than 296 illegal immigrants had been arrested during the ongoing exercise.
“In the area of security, the ongoing exercise has recorded a number of seizures and arrests that would have had grave security consequences.”
He also noted that Nigeria’s neighbour, Niger Republic has already ordered the ban on rice imports from Nigeria and said this had brought about more engagement with local farmers.
“Our series of interactions and engagements with Rice Miller Association of Nigeria since the commencement of this exercise, has shown that the border closure has enhanced more production and milling of Nigerian rice.
“Patronage of Nigerian rice has increased and farmers are expanding their farms as well as engaging more hands,” he added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The United States government gave some terrorists in Nigeria a Christmas gift that sent many of them to the great beyond.
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, directed his country’s military to launch air strikes on camps of members of the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Sokoto State.
According to Mr Trump, the military action, which he threatened to carry out a few weeks ago if the Nigerian government does not stop the killing of Christians in the country, occurred on Thursday night.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of War of the United States posted the below video of the air strikes;
https://twitter.com/DeptofWar/status/2004351717131903272
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidency has reacted to speculations that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has been removed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
It was alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila has been replaced with the President’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Mr Muri-Okunola went to Abuja to take up this role after leaving as the Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service.
Reacting to the reports on social media on the purported removal of Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the presidency said no such change has been made.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, members of the public were advised to disregard the report as “there is absolutely no truth to this story.”
“The Chief of Staff remains in his position. The Principal Private Secretary likewise remains in his role. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has not replaced Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
“The viral claim is a fabrication by mischievous purveyors of fake news whose sole aim is to create disharmony within the government.
“We reiterate that news media should always verify their information before publishing or sharing on social media,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has assumed office with a clear message to advance the country’s upstream oil and gas sector in line with the mandate of the commission as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to a statement signed by Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, the Head of Media & Strategic Communications at the upstream regulator, the NUPRC boss made this assertation during her first town hall meeting with management and staff on Tuesday December 23, 2025.
She further disclosed plans to make the commission a business enabler and re-ignite investments in the upstream sector.
Recall that President Tinubu nominated Mrs Eyesan to take over the NUPRC after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor, Mr Gbenga Komolafe as well as his counterpart in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed.
In her new capacity, Mrs Eyesan also set a firm production ambition of growing Nigeria’s output and increasing gas production.
“The goal is that we must enable the industry, we are regulators. We must enable the industry from our interactions with the stakeholders, from our interactions with everybody.
“My main objective is to ensure that we make a difference. I believe the NUPRC is at the Center of the industry,” she said.
The commission boss who has served for over three decades in the oil and gas sector, promised to entrench digitisation, transparency and efficiency in operations.
The NUPRC head said with the support of staff and management, the NUPRC will become the gold-standard regulator in Africa. She also promised capacity development, stronger technical depth and sustained engagement with stakeholders, unions and professional teams.
On leadership style, Mrs Eyesan promised an open-door policy and frequent staff engagement, while also soliciting for support and cooperation as the industry embarks on the next phase of transformation.
“If we work together we can unleash opportunities, I don’t see impediments only opportunities,” she added.
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