The Federal Government has finalized plans to sell a large estate linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to Nigerians in the low- and middle-income brackets. The estate, comprising 753 housing units, was seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in December 2024. Spanning over 150,000 square metres and featuring duplexes and other types of residences, the property represents the EFCC’s largest single asset recovery since its establishment in 2003. The recovery followed a final forfeiture order issued by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on December 2, 2024. In April 2025, Emefiele attempted to reclaim the estate through legal action, alleging that the EFCC had withheld information about the forfeiture despite ongoing interactions over other charges. His bid was ultimately rejected by the court.

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has denied allegations linking him to a covert meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Rome and a purported ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank. According to Obi, “It is obvious that the biggest business for blackmailers now is to speak about Peter Obi from every negative angle,” he said. “Even my solemn spiritual trip to Rome has been distorted into yet another blackmail campaign by paid merchants intent on spreading falsehoods against me.” Obi described the report as part of a blackmail campaign aimed at tarnishing his reputation. Recent media reports claimed that Obi met secretly with Tinubu in Rome to seek intervention in a purported financial scandal involving Fidelity Bank, where Obi once served as a board member.

A Lagos High Court in Ikeja has ruled against social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), ordering him to pay ₦200,000 in fines. This follows the dismissal of his preliminary objections in a ₦1 billion defamation lawsuit filed by renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, popular musician Folarin Falana, also known as Falz.

The Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), a prominent public procurement advocacy group in Nigeria, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for overhauling public procurement thresholds for Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). The reform aims to enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency, and decentralisation in government contracting. According to a statement released on Friday by NEFGAD’s Country Head of Office, Mr Akingunola Omoniyi, in Abuja, the group praised the restructuring of contract approval thresholds across the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Ministerial and Parastatal Tenders Boards, and Accounting Officers.

President Bola Tinubu will travel from Abuja to Rome, Italy, on Saturday following an invitation from Pope Leo XIV. According to a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu will attend a solemn mass marking the beginning of the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church. The statement, titled ‘Pope Leo XIV invites President Tinubu to his inauguration on Sunday’, noted that the invitation was formally extended through Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of the President’s presence “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and a world grappling with numerous tensions and conflicts.”

Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has signed into law the creation of five new autonomous communities in Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state, as a step to end the age-long communal crisis in the area, demarcation exercise, and a 25.5km boundary road between Effium and Alioma Ezekuna communities.