The Senate has yesterday approved President Bola Tinubu’s external borrowing plan of over $21bn for the 2025–2026 fiscal cycle, which is believed to allow for the full implementation of the 2025 Appropriation Act. The detailed borrowing package includes $21.19bn in direct foreign loans, €4bn, ¥15bn, a $65m grant and domestic borrowing through government bonds summing upto approximately N757bn.
The Catholic Bishop of Maiduguri Diocese, John Bakeni, has praised the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Army for the successful rescue of Reverend Father Alphonsus Afina, who was abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on June 1. Father Afina was kidnapped in Gwoza, Borno State, drawing international concern due to his previous service as a priest in Alaska from September 2017 to 2024. He was taken along with an unspecified number of fellow travelers on the Liman Kara-Gwoza road in the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
Retired police officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS had yesterday marched in protest shutting down the National Assembly main gate and that of the Force Headquarters in Abuja for hours, demanding that the police should be removed from the pension scheme, which they say has trapped them in poverty. After much plea from the authorities to rescind the idea, the elderly ex-officers refused to disperse until they secured a meeting with the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
The Kaduna State Police Command has halted a planned rally in honour of 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, which was to take place in the state. The Command issued a warning that it would “take necessary legal action against any individual or group found violating this directive.” The rally was intended to commemorate Obi’s birthday. Explaining the rationale behind the ban, the Command cited intelligence reports indicating that “certain criminal elements are planning to infiltrate and hijack the proposed rally, using it as a platform to cause disruption, incite violence, and disturb the prevailing public peace in the state.”
The number of casualties from the deadly attack on Jebbu Binde village in the Ta-Hoss District of Riyom Local Government Area, Plateau State, on Monday night has climbed to over 30, up from the initial reported figure of 20. On Tuesday, reports emerged detailing how gunmen, suspected to be Fulani militia, launched an assault on the village around 11 pm, killing 20 individuals and injuring several others as terrified residents fled for their lives.
A coordinated air operation under Operation FANSAN YAMMA has led to the elimination of numerous armed bandits by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), following a precise strike on a convoy of terrorists traversing the Kebbi-Zamfara corridor. The air assault, conducted on July 9, 2025, targeted a large formation of armed militants reportedly moving in a convoy of motorcycles. The success of the operation was disclosed in a statement issued by Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations and Information at NAF Headquarters.
