French cement giant guilty of financing militant groups including Islamic State
French cement maker Lafarge has been found guilty of paying millions of dollars in protection money to jihadist groups, including the group calling itself Islamic State (IS), to keep its business running in Syria during the civil war.
Eight ex-Lafarge employees were also found guilty of financing terrorism, including former CEO Bruno Lafont who was jailed for six years on Monday.
The court in Paris found that Lafarge paid groups $6.5m (€5.59m; £4.83m) between 2013 and 2014 to keep its plant operating in northern Syria.
Judge Isabelle Prevost-Desprez said such payments had allowed proscribed organisations to gain control of the country's natural resources, enabling them to finance attacks across the Middle East and Europe.
"It is clear to the court that the sole purpose of the funding of a terrorist organisation was to keep the Syrian plant running for economic reasons. Payments to terrorist entities enabled Lafarge to continue its operations," Prevost-Desprez said.
"These payments took the form of a genuine commercial partnership with IS," she added.
Lafarge told the BBC it acknowledged the court's finding, which it said "concerns a legacy matter involving conduct that occurred more than a decade ago and was in flagrant violation of Lafarge's code of conduct".
It described the decision as an "important milestone" in the company's actions to "address this legacy matter responsibly".
The factory in Jalabiya, northern Syria, was bought by Lafarge in 2008 for $680m and began operations in 2010, months before civil war began in 2011.
Prosecutors said Lafarge employees were housed in the nearby town of Manbig and needed to cross the Euphrates river to access the plant.
Payments were made between 2013 and September 2014, prosecutors said, and included €800,000 to secure safe passage and €1.6m to purchase source materials from quarries under Islamic State control.
Nusra Front, which was affiliated to al-Qaeda and proscribed by the EU and others, was also among the groups Lafarge paid money to, judges said.
Alongside Lafont, former deputy managing director Christian Herrault was given a five-year prison sentence, while Firas Tlass, a Syrian ex-member of staff who made the payments to the jihadist groups, was sentenced in absentia to seven years in jail.
Herrault had argued that the decision to keep the factory open was made out of concern for local staff.
"We could have washed our hands of it and walked away, but what would have happened to the factory's employees?" he said.
Lafarge, now owned by Swiss conglomerate Holcim, was fined more than €1m ($1.3m).
A separate investigation relating to complicity in crimes against humanity is ongoing.
The case was the first time a company was tried in France for financing terrorism.
It follows a 2022 case in the United States, when the firm admitted supporting proscribed groups and agreed to pay a $777.8m (£687.2m) penalty for payments it made to keep a factory running.
Civil war erupted in Syria in March 2011, following opposition to then-president Bashar al-Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests.
IS jihadists seized large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, declaring a so-called cross-border "caliphate" and implementing their brutal interpretation of Islamic law.
The man accused of stabbing a film student to death on Primrose Hill told a court today: 'I didn't kill anybody.'
Oluwadamilola Ogunyankinnu, who is pictured for the first time, raised his hands in the air and made the claim as he stood in the dock at Stratford Magistrates' Court in east London on Monday.
Ogunyankinnu is charged with murdering 21-year-old Finbar Sullivan who died after the alleged attack last Tuesday.
The 27-year-old defendant, of Enfield in north London, spoke to confirm his name, address and date of birth.
He was not asked to enter any plea to the charge of murder. But he then put his hands together and asked if he could address the court.
He said: 'I didn't kill anybody. I didn't stab anybody. Police got the wrong person.'
Ogunyankinnu was remanded in custody by district judge Ashwinder Gill. He will next appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.
The district judge told him: 'Your case is too serious to be held at this court.'
Ogunyankinnu was arrested on Friday and charged with murder on Sunday.
A 25-year-old who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender was released with no further action.
Film student Finbar was stabbed to death when a fight broke out in front of shocked crowds at the beauty spot in north London on Tuesday afternoon.
Several tributes have been placed by wellwishers, including customised T-shirts featuring the victim's face and his nickname, Sully.
His father, Christopher Sullivan, founder of 1980s band Blue Rondo à la Turk, said his son was trying out a new camera when he was attacked.
The grieving father previously told the Mail: 'This is the worst tragedy I could ever imagine. He's my only son... I had him when I was 45. He can never be replaced.'
Mr Sullivan, 65, who also set up Soho's infamous Wag Club in the 1980s, described Finbar as a 'middle-class kid with long hair' who lived with him in a £1million flat in Maida Vale.
He said: 'I'm so broken-hearted, I can't believe it. He was the most beautiful, lovely, outgoing, loving boy. He was just a really lovely person. And why he was targeted, we have no idea.
'He'd just bought a new camera, we all chipped in for his 21st birthday, and he took it up there to do a bit of filming.'
Videos from Primrose Hill at the time appeared to show groups of men fighting.
One witness, who asked not to be named, said: 'The park was just so busy, I had gone with my mate after work and it was literally the busiest I have ever seen it because of the weather and it being Easter holidays.
'Then suddenly we heard this commotion from behind us, and a big brawl kicked off – people were throwing punches, people were screaming at others to stop.
'There were lots of people involved in the fight, most of them looked about 18 or 19.'
Mr Sullivan said he went to the scene as soon as he heard his son had been caught up in the violence: 'I got the call at about six that he'd been stabbed, so I rushed up there.
'I wasn't allowed in because it was a crime scene, and by that point he'd had 20 minutes of CPR. He'd obviously died.
'It's Primrose Hill, for God's sake... it's like Hyde Park. It's not somewhere you expect this.'
Finbar's grandfather Mr Seresin is a celebrated cinematographer who worked on Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban, the film adaptation of Angela's Ashes and on 1987's Angel Heart which featured Robert De Niro and Mickey Rourke.
Mr Seresin also runs the Seresin wine estate in New Zealand, which counts Finbar's mother Leah as a brand ambassador.
She had described him in a post on his birthday last year as 'this gift' and 'my darling Finbar', saying: 'Love you to the moon and back.'
The Wag Club, famed for its hedonism, was founded by Mr Sullivan in 1982 and became a favoured haunt for stars including David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Brad Pitt and Stevie Wonder.
Finbar, who went to Acland Burghley School in Tufnell Park and studied at the London Screen Academy, followed his family into the arts, primarily producing music videos for drill rap artists under the name Sully Shot It.
Despite the drill music scene's long association with gang violence, Mr Sullivan insisted his son was not associated with any gang members.
'He was just a little groovy 21-year-old who loved movies and making films,' he said.
'He didn't drink, he didn't smoke, he didn't go out.
'He'd stay at home editing his films six nights a week. He wanted to follow in his [grandfather's footsteps] and be a cameraman.
'He was a studious kid who just loved movies and making films. He recently did a video for Joseph Corre, Vivienne Westwood's son.
'We were just about to start a company together... he was going to do his showreel today with me. And now he's dead.
'His friend was stabbed in the back and hands trying to protect him. My son always tried to stand up for people.'
Detective Inspector Andy Griffin, from Scotland Yard, said: 'We are following several lines of inquiry. This incident occurred in a busy, public park and there may be many witnesses who can help us piece together what happened.
'We are aware of footage circulating on social media around the time of the incident, and urge anyone who has any information, including photos or videos, which could support the investigation to urgently contact us.'
Those who sell Sniper and Ota Pia Pia go also collect money
narite: Arsenal is just a team out there to kill people. The club is a tool of depopulation, more effective than any virus or disease engineered by mankind.
Those who sell coffins are about to smile to bank. Two coffins for just one person.
AI Agent Goes Rogue, Starts Mining Crypto to Amass Funds
AI agents — AI systems designed to complete digital tasks without much supervision — may be everywhere, but they’re not exactly ready for primetime. Over the last year, they’ve been caught slandering people, deleting user emails, and wiping out entire hard drives.
Most recently, a free-spirited AI agent was caught moonlighting as a crypto miner — a behavior which startled its keepers, Axios reported.
Called ROME, the AI agent was being run as part of a research project by an AI lab affiliated with Chinese online retail giant Alibaba.
In their ensuing research paper, the researchers describe the agent’s strange side-hustle as a set of “unsafe behaviors” that “arose without any explicit instruction and, more troublingly, outside the bounds of the intended sandbox.”
Early one morning as the experiment was going on, the researchers became aware of unusual activity on their network, not through the AI’s indication, but from security alerts.
“The alerts were severe and heterogeneous, including attempts to probe or access internal-network resources and traffic patterns consistent with cryptomining-related activity,” they write. “We initially treated this as a conventional security incident… However, the violations recurred intermittently with no clear temporal pattern across multiple runs.”
By tracking the time at which the security incidents occurred, the researchers were able to trace it back to the guilty party. “In the corresponding model logs, we observed the agent proactively initiating the relevant tool calls and code-execution steps that led to these network actions,” the research team explained.
Essentially, the agent had deviated from its original tasks into the wider world of cryptocurrency on its own volition, silently diverting computing resources away from its training tasks and toward mining. To complete its mission, ROME went so far as to dig out a “reverse SSH tunnel,” what Axios describes as a hidden backdoor to an unauthorized computer.
Thankfully, the AI agent was caught by researchers and charged with much stricter guidelines, so no real-world damage was done. Still, the bizarre foray into crypto shows just how unpredictable AI agents can be — which, given how popular they seem to have become throughout the corporate world, isn’t exactly reassuring.
Sam Altman’s Coworkers Say He Can Barely Code & Misunderstands Basic Machine Learning Concepts
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO and the public face of ChatGPT, has carved out an image for himself as one of the preeminent AI whisperers of our age, whose influence supposedly extends to the White House on the strength of his ideas alone.
Or at least that’s the image he’s managed to cultivate. A new exposé in the New Yorker paints a different portrait, and it’s substantially more vexing. Drawing on interviews with numerous OpenAI insiders who worked with Altman, the article portrays the CEO not as a technical wiz, but as a skilled manipulator — and one with a surprisingly shallow grasp of the AI systems his company is building.
According to numerous engineers interviewed for the article, Altman lacks experience in both programming and in machine learning — a shortage of expertise that becomes obvious when the CEO mixes up basic AI terms.
It’s important to note that Altman dropped out of a Stanford computer science program after two years. We’re not here to shame anyone based on their education, but as the CEO of what may soon become the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company, the myth surrounding Altman matters.
Cast as the chief acolyte of the “god of scale” or as a “genius of digital tech,” he enjoys a kind of cult credibility that lets him slip out of tight spots that might ensnare lesser entrepreneurs.
Former OpenAI researcher Carroll Wainwright, speaking to the New Yorker, put it plainly: “he sets up structures that, on paper, constrain him in the future. But then, when the future comes and it comes time to be constrained, he does away with whatever the structure was.”
This knack for papering over technical shortcomings with boardroom maneuvers earned Altman a reputation as a practitioner of “Jedi mind tricks,” one tech insider who worked with the CEO explained.
As one senior executive at Microsoft put it to the New Yorker: “I think there’s a small but real chance he’s eventually remembered as a Bernie Madoff- or Sam Bankman-Fried-level scammer.”
Population 🇬🇧 UK — 69.5 million 🇳🇬 Nigeria — 232.68 million
Number of Doctors 🇬🇧 UK — 158,471 🇳🇬 Nigeria — 55,000
Doctor-to-Population Ratio 🇳🇬 Nigeria — 1:4,231 🇬🇧 UK — 1:439
The UK has about 9.6× more doctors per capita than Nigeria. Although Nigeria’s population is far larger, it has far fewer doctors relative to its size, highlighting a major gap in healthcare capacity.
$167M Powerball winner arrested again for $12K burglary, third offense since jackpot
James Farthing, winner of Kentucky’s record US$167 million Powerball jackpot in April 2025, has been arrested again for allegedly stealing US$12,000 in cash during a burglary in Lexington, his third arrest since claiming the prize.
The 51-year-old broke into a house, took the money and fled in a black Porsche, according to the Independent. Police later stopped the vehicle, found marijuana inside and arrested him without incident.
His latest arrest comes nearly a year after he and his family claimed what was described as the largest lottery prize in the history of Kentucky, in the U.S.
Just one day after collecting the jackpot, Farthing was arrested in Florida for allegedly punching a hotel guest and kicking a police officer, the New York Post reported.
Kentucky authorities have labeled him a persistent felony offender, with a criminal record stretching over 35 years and covering multiple counties. Court records show a long list of past offenses, including assault, drug dealing, bribery, possession of stolen firearms and involvement in a marijuana smuggling case with his mother.
In February 2026, he was also charged in another case after allegedly threatening a woman connected to his legal proceedings and forcing her to consume a marijuana-infused gummy. He is scheduled to appear in court in early April.
Farthing’s criminal history dates back to his teenage years and includes theft and reckless driving. He dropped out after 10th grade and later completed his high school education while in prison.
Police in Ogun State have arrested a man identified as Oluwadamilare Ewedemi for the alleged repeated sexual abuse and impregnation of his biological daughter.
The 21-year-old victim, whose mother died when she was an infant, reported to the Ifo Division that her father had subjected her to a harrowing cycle of abuse and five forced abortions over a period of seven years.
The victim’s ordeal reportedly began in 2019 after her father removed her from a motherless baby home in Ikeja, Lagos, where she had been raised, under the guise of providing guardianship in Ijebu Ode.
She alleged that the suspect sexually assaulted her continuously from that year until 2026, resulting in five separate pregnancies, all of which were illegally terminated by her father.
The breakthrough in the case came after the young woman managed to escape her father’s residence on February 1, 2026, seeking refuge at a church located on Pakoto Mountain.
Following her escape, she officially reported the “callous acts” to the police on March 26, 2026, leading to a swift investigation by the Ifo Division under the leadership of CSP Kamorudeen.
Confirming the arrest on Monday, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, stated that the suspect is currently in custody.
Iranian state media announced on Monday that Majid Khademi, the head of the intelligence organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been killed, according to a report cited by Reuters.
No further details surrounding the circumstances of his death were provided at the time of the announcement.
"Major General Majid Khademi, the powerful and educated head of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was martyred in the criminal terrorist attack by the American-Zionist enemy... at dawn today," said the Guards in a post on their Telegram channel.
The development comes as Iranian officials continue to navigate heightened security and diplomatic pressures involving Iran, with the confirmation of Khademi’s death adding to a series of sensitive and closely watched events reported through state-linked media channels.
The death of Majid Khademi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence organisation, was announced on Monday by Iranian state media, without additional detail.
The report comes as Iran and the United States have received a proposed framework aimed at ending hostilities, Reuters reported citing a source familiar with the matter. The proposal could take effect as early as Monday and potentially reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy shipping route.
A plan to de-escalate tensions has been coordinated and exchanged with Iran and the United States overnight, the source said, outlining a two-stage approach beginning with an immediate ceasefire followed by a more comprehensive agreement.
The framework, it added, has been put together by Pakistan and shared as part of ongoing efforts to facilitate dialogue between the parties. “All elements need to be agreed today,” the source said, noting that the initial understanding would be formalised through a memorandum of understanding concluded electronically via Pakistan, which is acting as the sole communication channel in the discussions.
Separately, Axios first reported on Sunday that the United States, Iran and regional mediators were exploring a potential 45-day ceasefire as part of a two-phase arrangement that could ultimately lead to a permanent end to the conflict, citing sources from the United States, Israel and the wider region.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a cleric, Afolabi Hodonu, 45, and his wife, Success Hodonu, 35, who are in charge of a church in the Agonvi Sea Beach area of Sakpo, Seme Border, Badagry in Lagos State.
They were arrested on Thursday, April 2, 2026, by the NDLEA operatives at Gbaji checkpoint.
A search of their Honda Pilot SUV led to the recovery of blocks of skunk weighing 11kg concealed in hidden parts of their vehicle.
However, the arrest of the couple followed the apprehension of a fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, 35, at the same checkpoint on Monday, March 30, 2026, while conveying 24.5kg of skunk from Seme border to Lagos.
Also, the anti-narcotics agents have successfully dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate during an operation that lasted three weeks.
The operation led to the uncovering of cocaine consignments concealed in tins of palm kernel extract, and the warehouse where the shipments are packaged were raided while all three layers of the group were unravelled, leading to the arrest of the kingpin.
The breakthrough began on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, when the NDLEA officers of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Strategic Command in Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted 3.10 kilogrammes of cocaine at the export shed of the airport. The illicit substance was hidden inside tins of palm kernel extract intended for shipment to the United Kingdom (UK).
Two suspects handling the shipment, Idris Olayiwola Amoo and Akinlami Akinsoji Adedoyin, were promptly arrested.
To unravel the sender and the arrowhead of the drug syndicate, a well-coordinated sting operation was carried out on Thursday, April 2, 2026, leading to the arrest of the sender of the consignment, Ezemuwo Joel, who operates under a fake identity as Ajayi.
His arrest provided the link to the syndicate’s head, 52-year-old King Arinze, who was flushed out of his hideout in the Isolo area of Lagos.
He was thereafter taken to his warehouse at 11, Ola Ifa Street, Bucknor, Isolo, where the NDLEA operatives recovered 886 tins of palm kernel extract prepared for drug concealment, industrial tools, including a sealing machine, tin openers; paint sprays, 52 grammes of cannabis sativa and a pack of hand gloves.
Arinze has since confessed to personally draining the oil from the tins to conceal the cocaine.
In a separate operation in Borno State, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, intercepted a female drug supplier to bandit groups operating between the North-East region of Nigeria and Chad, 28-year-old Aisha Adamu.
She was arrested along Gamboru Ngala Road in possession of 4.3 kilogrammes of colorado, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers on patrol along Namtari Road, Yola South, on Monday, March 30, 2026, intercepted a trailer with registration number RUW 947 XA transporting 48,000 pills of tramadol.
The truck driver, Abdulaziz Ismail Korede, was arrested while a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the recipient, Idris Adamu.
Meanwhile, as a 60-year-old Idiatu Oladejo was arrested with 15kg of skunk in Isale Osun, Osogbo, Osun State on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, the NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, raided the Itaogbolu Forest in Akure, Ondo State, where they recovered 351 kilogrammes of skunk and its seeds.
About 28,600 capsules of tramadol were seized from a 66-year-old Aminu Usman Gembu when he was arrested at Aliade, Benue State, on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
In Edo State, a suspect, Roland Owie, 37, was arrested on Monday, March 30, 2026 following the raid of his warehouse at Egbanke community, Orhionmwon Local Council of the state, where 1,378 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered.
Also, a notorious drug dealer, 40-year-old Ayantola Omodunmomi (a.k.a. Iya Elle), was arrested at Eleta area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
She was arrested following an intelligence report and surveillance on how she uses her 11-year-old daughter, Anjola, to deliver illicit drugs to her customers. At the time of her arrest, 45.6kg of skunk was recovered from her warehouse.
The war against drug abuse social advocacy activities by the NDLEA’s commands also continued across the country in the past week. Some of them include sensitisation lectures for students and members of staff of Okere Grammar School, Saki, Oyo; Shasha Comprehensive High School, Alimosho, Lagos; Ma’ahad Ahmad Turaki Islamiyya, Sabon-Gari, Kano; Ezi-Awka Community Secondary School, Awka, Anambra, and Madrasatul Ihsan, Area One Tsafe, Zamfara State, among others.
Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers and men of the MMIA, Seme, Borno, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Edo, Adamawa, and Benue commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week.
He also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
“These successful operations are a testament to the agency’s evolving intelligence capabilities and our unwavering commitment to choking the supply lines of drug cartels. Whether they hide behind legitimate businesses, religious titles, or complex concealment methods, we will find them,” Marwa stated.
The niece and grand-niece of the deceased commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gen Qasem Soleimani, have been arrested, the US state department has said.
Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter's lawful US permanent resident status was revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a statement released on Saturday said.
However, Soleimani's daughter has called the state department's claims false, saying the arrested individuals "have no connection whatsoever" to her father.
In a post on social media, Rubio said the two women were in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pending removal from the country.
He added in the statement on X that Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were "green card holders living lavishly in the United States".
After entering the US on a tourist visa in 2015, Soleimani Afshar was granted asylum in 2019 and became a green card holder in 2021, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement to the BBC's US partner CBS News.
In filing for a naturalisation application in 2025, she revealed that she had visited Iran four times since receiving her green card, according to the DHS.
"Her trips to Iran illustrate her asylum claims were fraudulent," the DHS said.
The DHS added that Soleimani Afshar's daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, came to the US in 2015 on a student visa and was later granted asylum in 2019 and a green card in 2023.
The state department said Soleimani Afshar was an "outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran" and had promoted "Iranian regime propaganda" on her social media account.
Soleimani Afshar's husband has also been barred from the US, the statement said. The state department did not name Soleimani Afshar's husband.
In a statement, Narjes Soleimani, Soleimani's daughter, said: "The individuals arrested in the US have no connection whatsoever to Martyr Soleimani and the claims made by the US State Department are false."
She added that the US had "become so weak and insignificant" and was "fabricating lies against a great figure".
The BBC has contacted the state department for comment.
Soleimani spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East as head of Iran's elite Quds Force.
The 62-year-old was killed at Baghdad airport, along with other Iran-backed militia figures.
"I killed Gen Qasem Soleimani in my first term. He was an evil genius, brilliant person, a horrible human being however, the father of the roadside bomb, and he lived just horrible, what he did," Trump said.
He added that Iran would have been "perhaps in a far better, stronger position" in the war if Soleimani was still alive.
Captain Ibrahim Traoré says Burkina Faso must 'forget' about democracy.
Capt Traoré said political parties were divisive and dangerous.
Democracy "kills" and the people of Burkina Faso must "forget" it, the country's military ruler has said in an interview aired on state television.
Capt Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a coup three years ago, suggested most Africans do not want the system of democracy and that Burkina Faso had its own, alternative approach, without giving details.
Traoré initially pledged to restore democratic rule to the West African country by July 2024, but two months before this deadline, the junta announced it would extend its rule for another five years.
In January, the authorities announced a ban on all political parties as part of a plan to "rebuild the state".
In Thursday night's interview, Traoré said: "People need to forget about the issue of democracy. Democracy is not for us.
"Look at Libya, this is an example close to us," said the 38-year-old, who casts himself as a revolutionary leader standing up to Western imperialism.
Libya was ruled autocratically for four decades by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who oversaw a brutal regime while also providing Libyans with subsidised housing, free education and free healthcare.
He was killed during a rebellion assisted by Western military intervention. The north African country has since failed to hold elections and is split between two rival administrations, along with numerous armed groups.
"Wherever they [Western powers] try to establish democracy in the world, it's always accompanied by bloodshed," Traoré said in his interview.
While there has been a spate of military takeovers in recent years, most African countries do still hold regular elections, even if some are criticised as being rigged in favour of incumbents. Two military leaders - in Gabon and Guinea - have organised elections which they have gone on to win.
Traoré also addressed the dissolution of political parties, saying he considered them to be divisive, dangerous and incompatible with the revolutionary project.
"The truth is, politics in Africa – or at least what we've experienced in Burkina - is that a real politician is someone who embodies every vice: a liar, a sycophant, a smooth-talker," he said.
The junta leader did not propose an alternative system, but said: "We have our own approach. We're not even trying to copy anyone else. We're here to completely change the way things are done."
He emphasised building a new system rooted in sovereignty, patriotism and revolutionary mobilisation, with traditional leaders and grassroots structures playing a central role.
In a wide-ranging interview, he also emphasised the importance of economic and military self-reliance, as well as hard work, saying that working six- or eight-hour days would not enable Burkina Faso to catch up with richer countries.
Despite this, Traoré has gained a huge following across the continent for his pan-Africanist vision and criticism of Western influence.
Burkina Faso, like its junta-led neighbours Mali and Niger, has moved away from working with Western countries, especially France, in its fight against Islamist militants, which have waged a decade-long insurgency in the region.
All three have instead turned towards Russia for military assistance, but the violence has continued unabated.
The publication attributes two-thirds of the killings to the military and allied militias, with the rest blamed on Islamist militants.
The IDF destroyed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces base and a mobile command post on Wednesday as part of strikes targeting regime infrastructure in Tehran, the Israeli military said on Thursday.
The military said that the Iranian regime has begun using mobile units as command centers in order to avoid Israeli and American airstrikes.
The IDF also targeted these sites while commanders were inside them, the military said.
Additionally, the IDF struck a ballistic missile storage site in the Tabriz area. "This comes as part of the ongoing effort to degrade the regime's missile array," the military said.
Meanwhile, an airstrike struck a major highway bridge connecting Tehran to the nearby city of Karaj on Thursday afternoon, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported.
The B1 bridge, located along a central transit route between the capital and Karaj, was reportedly damaged in the strike, though the extent of the damage was not immediately clear.
Iranian reports later indicated that power outages were recorded in Karaj around the same time as the strike. Local accounts cited disruptions to electricity infrastructure, though it remains unclear whether the outages were directly caused by the attack on the bridge or by separate strikes.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is in charge of Operation Epic Fury, revealed that the EA-37B aircraft, one of the US' main electronic warfare aircraft, was deployed in the Middle East.
According to the CENTCOM report, more than 12.300 targets were destroyed since the war started in late January, while more than 13.000 combat flights were performed.
At the same time, at least 155 Iranian Navy vessels were rendered inoperative by American attacks.
Among the targeted facilities were IRGC command and control centers, headquarters, and intelligence sites, air defense systems, and ballistic missile sites, among multiple other targets.
Senegal president signs tough new anti-LGBT law doubling jail terms
Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has signed a new law doubling to 10 years the maximum prison term for sexual acts by same-sex couples.
The new law also criminalises the "promotion" of homosexuality, which includes any public representation and financial support by individuals or organisations, and provides for three to seven years in prison for those found guilty.
The legislation was a campaign promise of President Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and was approved by parliament last month.
UN rights chief Volker Türk has described it as "deeply worrying", saying that the anti-LGBT legislation "flies in the face of sacrosanct human rights".
The UN official and rights groups had urged the president not to sign it into law, but the government dismissed the international criticism, arguing that the measures reflected the views of Senegalese people.
It was taken to parliament after a wave of arrests over alleged same‑sex relationships, which were already banned under Senegalese law.
In February, 12 men, including two public figures and a journalist, were arrested and charged with "acts against nature".
Campaign group Human Rights Watch has recently noted a rise in "hostility toward LGBT people", adding that MPs had twice – in 2022 and 2024 - unsuccessfully sought to raise jail terms and penalties against same-sex relationships.
The new law was passed by an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly on 11 March, with 135 MPs voting in favour, none against and three abstaining.
Several other African countries have also introduced tough new laws against the LGBTQ+ community in recent years.
In September last year, Burkina Faso's transitional parliament approved a bill banning homosexual acts, following its neighbour Mali in 2024.
In 2023, Uganda voted in some of the world's harshest anti-homosexual legislation, meaning that people engaging in same-sex relationships can be sentenced to death in certain circumstances.
Ghana is also planning to re-introduce an anti-homosexual bill that activists say threatens basic human rights, safety and freedom.
I was rejected 33 times and built a $390 million company — at 48 years old. Age bias in tech is costing us all
By Peter Thompson
I was 48 years old when I left my job and enrolled in the Entrepreneurial Studies program at Stanford.
Most people at that stage of their careers are trying to reduce risk, not introduce it. They have steady income. They have dependents. In tech, the unspoken assumption is that if you were going to take a big swing, you should have done it already. I decided to swing anyway.
For most of my career, I watched Silicon Valley celebrate a particular kind of ambition: the kind that belongs to the young. We applaud founders who drop out of school, and prodigies building in dorm rooms. Those stories are real and extraordinary. But beneath them is a quiet counter-narrative: the idea that reinvention later in life is unusual, and that seasoned operators who know an industry’s flaws intimately and set out to fix them are somehow the exception.
When I speak with seasoned executives considering school or startups, the hesitation is rarely about ability or potential. It’s about perception. Risk after 40 is more often dismissed as a “midlife crisis” than embraced as a calculated choice. That’s not just unfair—it’s economically shortsighted.
What Two Decades in the Industry Taught Me
Before Stanford, I spent decades in enterprise storage. Early in my career, I joined a small company and was sent to help expand the business across Asia Pacific. I had to sit across from customers in markets like Japan and speak as the company’s storage expert—except I wasn’t, not at the beginning. I had to learn fast. I had to admit what I did not know. There were plenty of moments where I was right at the edge of my capability.
Over time, those uncomfortable moments compound. One day you wake up and realize you actually do understand the system. You know why certain architectures fail—you have seen enough cycles to recognize patterns. By my late forties, I had that pattern recognition on autopilot. What I no longer had was the spark that discomfort once fueled.
A friend who had gone through the Sloan Fellowship at Stanford suggested I apply. His advice was simple: put yourself back in an environment where you are not the expert, and be deliberate about what comes next.
I applied. I was accepted. I was the oldest person in the program.
Shortly after the program began, I received a call from an engineer I had worked with years earlier. He had developed a new approach to cloud file access that challenged deeply held assumptions about how storage systems needed to work. He showed me a prototype that defied what conventional wisdom said was possible.
At 28, I probably would have rushed in. At 48, experience pushed me to slow down and test it from every angle before moving forward. We spent months pressure-testing the idea before fully committing. After graduation, we started pitching investors and were rejected 33 times. That’s not easy, but I had watched enough cycles to know that investor consensus and customer reality are not always aligned. We kept on.
The conviction to persist did not come from blind optimism. It came from having watched this problem surface repeatedly over two decades. I had seen the clunky workarounds. I had sat through the budget conversations. I knew this pain was structural, not temporary. Eventually, we found an investor who saw it the same way.
Today, LucidLink serves thousands of companies—including Paramount, Adobe, Shopify, and Spotify—and has grown into a global business last valued in 2023 at $390 million. We won an Emmy last year for transforming the way entertainment gets made.
I do not tell this story to suggest that starting a company at 48 guarantees success. It does not. I tell it because that company would not exist if I had accepted the commonly held idea that my window had closed.
Why This Is a Business Problem, Not a Cultural One
As AI reshapes white-collar work, more professionals will reach inflection points. Some will be displaced. Others will realize that the roles they mastered are evolving faster than expected. Economic pressures are simultaneously pushing many to extend their working lives. Later-stage reinvention will become more common, not less. The question is whether the tech ecosystem treats that reinvention as an asset or a liability.
Age bias is usually framed as a cultural problem. It is also a business problem. We lose out when experience is dismissed. When later-stage operators are subtly discouraged from building, we narrow the range of problems being addressed. In industries like infrastructure, healthcare, media, and enterprise software, depth matters. Pattern recognition matters. Having lived through downturns matters.
This is not an argument against young founders. Many transformative companies were built by people in their twenties. It is an argument against assuming that innovation belongs to a single demographic. Ambition doesn’t expire. Experience, combined with a willingness to be uncomfortable again can be a competitive advantage.
If we want the next generation of companies to solve harder, more systemic problems, we should normalize career reinvention at every stage. Not because it feels inclusive, but because it makes economic sense.
Some of the most important companies of the next decade will be built by people who have already had one or two careers. The real risk is not that they try and fail. It’s that they decide, before they even begin, that they’ve already missed their moment.
What was expected to be a busy day at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) yesterday turned out to be an anti-climax as the anticipated rush of political appointees turning in their resignation letters on deadline day ended with only one confirmed resignation, the Minister of Transportation, Senator Saidu Alkali.
His resignation follows a directive issued by President Bola Tinubu through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on March 17, 2026, ordering all political appointees with elective ambitions to vacate their positions on or before March 31.
The circular, signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, and issued by the Permanent Secretary (General Services Office), Dr Ibrahim Kana, stated that the directive was “pursuant to the provisions of Section 88(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, as well as the timetable issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission for party primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.”
Section 88(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires political appointees, including ministers, advisers, and heads of government agencies, to resign their positions before they can participate in party primaries or be nominated for any elective office. The provision is designed to prevent the use of public office and state resources to gain an unfair advantage during the electoral process.
The directive applies to ministers, ministers of state, special advisers to the President, senior special assistants, special assistants, personal assistants, directors-general, and chief executive officers of federal parastatals, commissions, agencies, and government-owned companies.
According to its timetable, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled party primaries between April 23 and May 30, 2026, with the submission of the names of candidates due by July 11 for presidential and National Assembly elections, and August 8 for governorship and state assembly contests.
As of press time last night, only Alkali had taken the bold step to resign from President Tinubu’s cabinet, following the footsteps of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Yusuf Sununu, who had earlier on Monday turned in their letters.
Alkali resigned from the cabinet to pursue his governorship ambition in his native Gombe State ahead of the forthcoming 2027 elections. He announced his decision after meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday evening.
The resignation, according to a statement from his media aide, Umar Alkali Jibril, followed a presidential directive requiring political appointees seeking elective office to step down from their positions according to extant law.
In his resignation letter addressed to President Tinubu, Alkali expressed appreciation for the opportunity to serve, noting that significant progress had been made in the transportation sector during his tenure. The statement added that the President has accepted the resignation and commended the former minister for his service to the nation.
The former minister is expected to contest for the Gombe governorship seat, seeking to succeed incumbent Governor Inuwa Yahaya, whose tenure ends in May 2027. Yahaya was elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Before he was appointed Transportation Minister, Alkali represented Gombe Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
With the development, many members of the president’s cabinet may have shelved their political ambitions. Significantly, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has discarded his ambition to contest the Oyo State governorship election next year, having failed to resign his cabinet position by the March 31 deadline set by President Tinubu, after earlier declaring his interest to run for the office of governor.
Amid the circulation of a purported resignation letter on social media, Adelabu’s media aide, Mr Bolaji Tunji, dismissed the document as “fake news.” He stated that the minister remains in office and continues to carry out his duties in line with the president’s mandate.
Recall that Adelabu had held consultations over the past year regarding his intention to contest the Oyo State governorship election under the platform of the APC. “I have been on this journey for a while now. But this 2027, God has shown that it’s my turn,” Adelabu said in October 2025.
However, when asked last week during a press briefing in Abuja about his ambition and any plans to resign, the minister declined to give a direct response and asked journalists to wait until the deadline day. It was gathered that the minister was reportedly studying the latest developments and political realignment in the state.
Reports indicate that Tinubu has yet to publicly endorse Adelabu, with indications that support within the party may be tilting towards Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who represents Oyo South Senatorial District.
Tinubu’s camp weighs options on re-election campaign structure STAKEHOLDERS of the APC have expressed reservations over the plan by a few highly-placed insiders from the South West geopolitical zone to foist the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, as the Director General of the President Bola Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation.
Checks by The Guardian revealed that northern stakeholders have resolved to stonewall any attempt to make a non-member of the ruling party the arrowhead of the President’s re-election campaign.
The FCT Minister, Wike, who has reiterated his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, maintains that a second term for the President remains his preoccupation, even as he hinted at making the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) competitive to be relevant in next year’s general election.
However, it was gathered that while the party leaders insist on continuing with the tradition of having the DG of the Presidential Campaign drawn from the fold of state governors’ caucus, the two outgoing governors that could have fit into the bill, Governors Abdullahi Sule and Inuwa Yahaya, are said to be encumbered with senatorial aspirations.
A source within the Presidency confided in The Guardian that the President has been quietly looking around to see who should lead his campaign from the North, stressing that the opposition’s decision to pitch its electoral designs in the North is making the entire episode very challenging.
While explaining the rationale behind the choice of Wike, the source stated that having contested the presidential ticket of a major political party, the FCT Minister possesses the tenacity and network needed to drive the presidential campaign.
He disclosed that based on the subdued voices of opposition to the plan to name Wike as campaign DG, names of some equally viable options from the north have been put forward, including Senator Abdul-Aziz Yari (North West), Senator Danjuma Goje (North East).
“Many people point in the direction of Borno State governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, but the governor would not like to take any position that his benefactor (Vice President Shettima) does not approve of. If the DG comes from the north, it should be the North Central as it was in 2023,” he stated.
When contacted, the re-elected APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, denied that the party’s leadership was compiling names for the constitution of the Presidential Campaign Organisation, noting that the nomination process had not been done.
Going by the revised election timetable published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), straw polls for the nomination of presidential contenders have been scheduled to begin from April 23 and terminate on May 30, 2026, just as presidential and National Assembly campaigns are expected to kick off on August 19, 2026.
With just months to the commencement of campaigns for the 2027 general election, allies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have begun early consultations on the composition and structure of his re-election campaign team. Findings indicate that close associates of the President, alongside senior officials in government and the APC, are scouting for trusted and influential party figures to lead various segments of the campaign.
It was gathered that the early move is aimed at ensuring that credible and strategic figures are identified and positioned ahead of the formal inauguration of the campaign council, expected in August. This is coming against the backdrop of the party leadership’s earlier endorsement of Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for the 2027 election during an APC summit in Abuja.
Among those said to be part of ongoing consultations are Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, and James Abiodun Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives, both longstanding allies with deep roots in Tinubu’s political network. Sources say the search spans key political blocs across the North and South, focusing on individuals who have demonstrated loyalty to the President.
Cynthia Ima-Osagie says faith and volunteering carried her through immigration troubles and loneliness - she hopes other newcomers see that difficult times can lead to happiness
Cynthia Ima-Osagie’s story is one of resilience, community, love and faith.
A native of Nigeria, she arrived in Sault Ste. Marie on Sept. 7, 2023 on a study visa, hoping for permanent residency and a new life in Canada.
“Like a lot of other newcomers, the road to permanent residency wasn’t easy,” Ima-Osagie told SooToday.
After months of searching for work, she landed a job on her birthday in July, 2024.
Just four weeks later, her world turned upside down.
“I received an email from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada informing me I had lost my student status because my Nigerian passport had expired, even after I had already applied and paid for renewal more than six months earlier,” Ima-Osagie said.
“I was devastated.”
She lost her job and had to endure several appeals to IRCC.
“I went to Ottawa, obtained my new Nigerian passport, paid all the fees, and waited,” Ima-Osagie said.
She received good, life-changing news in December 2024.
“My permanent residency was approved. What felt like the darkest season of my life suddenly gave way to hope.”
From that dark period, more joy emerged.
“During that time of unemployment and uncertainty, I struggled emotionally. I had no family here and often felt isolated so I joined a dating app. I wasn’t expecting much. I was just hoping for companionship,” Ima-Osagie said.
One message she received through the dating app stood out.
“A man who shared my faith and values reached out. As a deeply religious person, that connection mattered to me.”
Exactly one year after she arrived in the Sault, she began dating a local man, Jonathan Davies.
The couple married at City Bible Church on Feb. 28.
“My faith kept me going. I just felt there is a meaning to all this,” Ima-Osagie said.
“I just want to encourage other immigrants who may be struggling with relocation, uncertainty, or loneliness. Sometimes, the place that challenges you the most is also the place that changes your life forever.”
After graduating from Sault College’s one-year Health Care Administration program in 2024, Ima-Osagie is currently employed as a Sault Area Hospital pharmacy assistant.
Having worked as a pharmacist in her native Nigeria, she’s looking forward to writing her exams in order to work as a pharmacist in Canada in May.
Ima-Osagie believes in giving back and is highly involved in volunteer work in the Sault.
She devotes her spare time as a volunteer for Sault Area Hospital, the Sault Ste. Marie and Area Local Immigration Partnership, the Sault Steelers board, the Salvation Army Kettle Campaign and Algoma University’s Research Ethics Board.
“I had to create a space for myself,” Ima-Osagie said.
“I started volunteering when I was going through my immigration difficulties. I'm a very happy person and I didn't want anything to kill my joy so I set out to make other people happy and just spread love.
"I can do that through volunteering for the community.”
Having made it through many challenges since arriving in the Sault, has she adjusted to Canada's harsh winters?
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has issued new guidelines regulating the award of honorary degrees in Nigerian universities, banning recipients from using the “Dr.” title.
The commission said the move aims at curbing what it described as the indiscriminate conferment of honorary awards and preserving the integrity of academic distinctions.
Under the new rules, only universities that have graduated their first set of PhD students are eligible to confer honorary degrees.
The NUC stressed that recipients of honorary degrees must not prefix their names with “Dr.” but instead use appropriate designations after their names, such as Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) – D.Sc (H.C). It added that the “Dr.” title remains strictly reserved for individuals who have earned academic doctorates or are qualified medical professionals.
The guidelines also prohibit any form of payment or expectation of financial contribution from recipients, insisting that honorary degrees must be awarded strictly on merit and free of charge.
To further regulate the process, universities are now limited to a maximum of three honorary degrees per convocation ceremony.
The commission also excluded self-nominated individuals and serving elected or appointed public officials from receiving such awards.
As part of transparency measures, universities are required to publish the names of all honorary degree recipients on their official websites and establish a revocation policy to withdraw awards from individuals found guilty of fraud or unethical conduct.
The NUC clarified that honorary degrees do not confer professional privileges, including the right to practise in regulated fields, supervise academic research, or hold administrative positions within universities.
Reiterating its stance, the commission warned that compliance with the guidelines is mandatory, noting that institutions that violate the rules risk facing regulatory sanctions.
The NUC added that the measures are part of ongoing efforts to safeguard the credibility and global reputation of Nigeria’s university system.
The United States reduced its purchase of Nigerian crude oil sharply in January 2026, with imports dropping by about 47.16 per cent month-on-month, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Figures from the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report indicate that U.S. crude imports from Nigeria fell to 1.664 million barrels in January 2026, down from 3.149 million barrels recorded in December 2025. This represents a decline of 1.485 million barrels within one month, showing a significant contraction in Nigeria’s share of the U.S. crude market.
In value terms, the drop was equally steep. The customs value of Nigerian crude imports declined from $217.36m in December to $115.99m in January, while the cost, insurance, and freight value fell from $223.10m to $118.95m over the same period. The difference between the two measures reflects additional costs such as shipping and insurance included in CIF values, which are excluded from customs valuation.
This means that in January, the CIF value of Nigerian crude was about $2.96m higher than its customs value, compared to a wider gap of about $5.74m in December. The narrowing gap suggests relatively lower freight or insurance costs, or shorter shipping distances within the period.
The contraction comes amid a broader slowdown in total U.S. crude imports, which declined from 198.29 million barrels in December to 188.21 million barrels in January, representing a drop of about 5.1 per cent. Total import value also fell, with customs value decreasing from $11.41bn to $10.56bn, while CIF value dropped from $12.04bn to $11.15bn.
Within Africa, Nigeria lost ground to some peers. While total African crude exports to the U.S. remained flat at 6.933 million barrels, Angola recorded a sharp increase, rising from 575,000 barrels in December to 2.062 million barrels in January.
Ghana also emerged as a new supplier with 738,000 barrels, having recorded no measurable exports in December. By contrast, Libya saw its exports to the U.S. decline from 2.137 million barrels to 1.086 million barrels over the period.
Nigeria’s share of total U.S. crude imports also weakened. The country accounted for roughly 0.88 per cent of total U.S. crude imports in January, down from about 1.59 per cent in December, reflecting the sharp reduction in volumes.
Further analysis of U.S. trade data shows that crude oil remains the dominant component of Nigeria’s exports to the United States. Total U.S. imports from Nigeria stood at $183m in January 2026, compared to $297m in December 2025.
With crude oil imports valued at $115.99m (customs basis) and $118.95m on a CIF basis, crude accounted for approximately 63.4 per cent to 65.0 per cent of total U.S. imports from Nigeria in January. This compares with about 73.2 per cent in December on a customs basis, indicating a relative moderation in crude dominance as overall imports declined.
The PUNCH further observed that the U.S. recorded a goods trade surplus of $419m with Nigeria in January, up from $84m in December. This was driven by a rise in U.S. exports to Nigeria, which increased from $381m to $602m, even as imports from Nigeria declined.
Across Africa, the U.S. posted a trade deficit of $503m in January, reversing a $174m surplus recorded in December. Total U.S. imports from Africa rose from $2.88bn to $3.54bn, while exports to the region edged slightly lower from $3.05bn to $3.04bn.
The PUNCH earlier reported that Nigeria accounted for about 52 per cent of Africa’s crude oil exports to the United States in 2025. According to the previous report, total U.S. crude imports from Africa stood at 89.371 million barrels in 2025, down from 103.631 million barrels in 2024, representing a decline of 14.26 million barrels or 13.8 per cent.
Out of the 89.371 million barrels imported from Africa in 2025, Nigeria supplied 46.618 million barrels, compared to 50.793 million barrels in 2024. This was a drop of 4.175 million barrels or 8.2 per cent year on year.
Despite the lower volume, Nigeria’s share of Africa’s crude exports to the U.S. rose. In 2025, Nigeria’s 46.618 million barrels accounted for 52.2 per cent of Africa’s total shipments, up from 49.0 per cent in 2024, when it exported 50.793 million barrels out of the continent’s 103.631 million barrels.
The PUNCH earlier reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited recorded a profit after tax of N385bn in January 2026, even as crude oil and condensate production rose to 1.64 million barrels per day, according to the firm’s latest monthly operational report.
The January 2026 NNPC Monthly Report Summary, released on Monday, showed that the state-owned energy company generated N2.571tn in revenue during the month while remitting N726bn as statutory payments to the Federation.
This means the company recorded a sharp 47 per cent decline in its monthly revenue, which fell from N4.82tn in December 2025 to N2.57tn in January 2026. This contraction occurred despite a marginal increase in the company’s after-tax profit.
It disclosed that Nigeria produced 1.64 million barrels per day, up from 1.55 million barrels per day recorded in December 2025. This represents an increase of 0.09mbpd, or about 5.8 per cent month-on-month.
The PUNCH observed that the decline in crude exports to the U.S. occurred despite higher production. The trade outcomes come against the backdrop of renewed US protectionist rhetoric and tariff-focused trade policies associated with US President Donald Trump, which have influenced sourcing decisions, pricing structures, and trade flows globally.
Last year, Donald Trump signed an executive order raising Nigeria’s tariff rate from 14 per cent to 15 per cent, with Washington implementing its “reciprocal” tariff regime.
The order, issued in late July, took effect on August 7, 2025. Although crude oil has been exempted in several cases, the higher duty applies directly to a wide range of non-oil Nigerian exports, creating uncertainty for American importers and dampening demand ahead of and after the effective date.
With crude oil exports largely exempted from the new tariff regime, non-oil exports appear to have borne the brunt of the disruption.
A renowned economist and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, downplayed the impact of the U.S. tariffs on Nigeria.
“Our trade with the US is not that strategic. When anything goes wrong, it is not as if it can have any fundamental effect on our economy. Our trade exposure to them is very limited,” Yusuf explained.
He noted that Nigerian exports to the US are dominated by crude oil and a handful of other commodities, such as fertilisers, making the country’s trade profile narrow and underdeveloped in non-oil areas. Yusuf added that Nigeria’s tariff exposure is relatively moderate compared with other countries.
However, he identified another challenge beyond tariffs: US visa policy. “The bigger challenge for Nigeria’s trade relationship with the US is Washington’s visa policy. Barriers to travel limit business interactions and investment inflows. That is more critical than tariffs in the long run,” he said.
Since its inception, the Trump administration has steadily rolled out a series of visa restrictions and travel bans targeting Nigeria and several other countries.
The Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa has clarified that the title of ‘Igwe Ndigbo’ conferred on its member, Solomon Eziko, in East London, was not to undermine the traditional institutions.
NICASA also said that the installation was not to disrespect the governance structure or to undermine the sovereignty and constitutional order of the Republic of South Africa.
The president of NICASA, Frank Onyekwelu, made this known in a statement made available to Diaspora Tales on Friday.
Local media reported an outbreak of violence last week in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, in the KuGompo area, following the event.
There were concerns from both South Africans and Nigerians that the development threatened unity and bred enmity in the area.
Reacting, Onyekwelu said the institution of Igwe Ndigbo is a cultural and traditional expression of the Igbo people in the diaspora.
“Its purpose is strictly to promote unity, preserve cultural identity, and provide social cohesion within the community.
It does not possess, nor does it seek to exercise, any political or governmental authority within South Africa.
“We can confirm that there was neither a coronation nor any kingdom established; however, a title installation was observed for the single purpose of fostering peace and unity within the cultural heritage of the Igbo people and preserving Igbo culture in diaspora.
“Chief Solomon Eziko remains apologetic for any misrepresentation, misunderstanding and misinterpretation of such cultural ceremony.”
The Nigerian community leader also reiterated the unwavering commitment of the group to the sovereignty of the Republic of South Africa.
“We fully respect and uphold the Constitution of South Africa, its laws, and its established traditional leadership institutions and customs.
“We recognise the authority and dignity of South African traditional leaders and remain committed to peaceful coexistence, lawful conduct, and constructive engagement within our host nation,” he added.
Senegal defiantly displayed the Africa Cup of Nations trophy to their supporters on Saturday before going on to beat Peru 2-0 in their World Cup warm-up game at the Stade de France.
Nicolas Jackson scored four minutes before halftime and Ismaila Sarr added a second in the 54th as Senegal won their first game since January’s Cup of Nations final, when they beat Morocco only to be stripped of the title this month.
The Confederation of African Football’s Appeal Board awarded Morocco the Cup of Nations title after Senegal had staged a 14-minute walk off during the final in Rabat, a decision that Senegal is contesting at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
An hour before kick off in Paris on Saturday, Senegal’s players and coach Pape Bouna Thiaw walked around the pitch with the trophy to a delirious reception from a near-capacity crowd as they continue to scoff at the CAF decision.
Thiaw had declared on Friday that “we know we're African champions” and the team wore a newly designed strip featuring two stars above their badge, representing success in the Cup of Nations in 2021 and again this year.
Jackson had an easy put-away for the first goal after a storming run down the right wing by Senegal’s teenage starlet Ibrahima Mbaye, taking over the attacking mantle with Sadio Mane absent.
Sarr latched onto a ricocheted ball that fell perfectly into his path but had to power past two defenders before scoring the second goal.
There was also a convincing win for the Ivory Coast as they hammered South Korea 4-0 at Stadium MK, north of London, on Saturday.
Like Senegal, the Ivorians are among the nine African countries who will compete at the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S starting in June.
Evann Guessand scuffed home the first goal in the 35th minute after being set up by debutant Martial Godo, who then scored the third himself from a rebound at a corner after 62 minutes.
In between, Simon Adingra announced his return to the team with a rasping shot on the stroke of halftime to make it 2-0.
He had been omitted from the squad for the Cup of Nations in Morocco at the turn of the year, where the Ivorians were defending their title but went out in the quarter-finals.
Defender Wilfried Singo, another player back in the squad, side-footed the fourth goal with the last kick of the game.
The Ivorians next face Scotland at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, while Senegal head home to play neighbours Gambia in Dakar on Tuesday where they are expected to again brandish the golden trophy in front of their home support.
The United Kingdom government will increase fees for a wide range of visas, residency applications and citizenship processes from April 8, 2026, with the hike affecting Nigerians and other foreign nationals seeking to visit, study, work or settle in the country.
The revised fee schedule, published by the UK Home Office and sighted by PUNCH Online on Thursday, shows increases across virtually all categories of visa applications made both inside and outside the UK, with affected categories spanning visit visas, student visas, work visas, settlement applications and naturalisation fees.
The increases, which take effect in less than two weeks, come as Nigeria remains one of the largest sources of visa applicants to the UK, with hundreds of thousands of Nigerians applying annually for visit, student and work visas.
The short-term visit visa rises from £127 to £135, while the student visa increases from £524 to £558. Nigerians seeking permanent residency will pay £3,226, up from £3,029, and those applying to naturalise as British citizens will pay £1,709, up from £1,605.
In a rare exception to the broad pattern of increases, the fee for registering a child as a British citizen is being reduced — from £1,214 to £1,000, a cut of £214. All other fees either rise or remain unchanged. Some categories, including the Tier 1 (Investor) visa and the High Potential Individual visa, are unchanged at £2,000 and £880 respectively.
Here is the full list of UK visa and immigration fees relevant to Nigerians:
VISIT VISAS
Short-term (up to 6 months): Old: £127, New: £135
Long-term (up to 2 years): Old: £475, New: £506
Long-term (up to 5 years): Old: £848, New: £903
Long-term (up to 10 years): Old: £1,059, New: £1,128
Visiting academic (more than 6 months, up to 12 months): Old: £220, New: £234
Private medical treatment (more than 6 months, up to 11 months): Old: £220, New: £234
Direct airside transit visa: Old: £39, New: £41.50
Skilled Worker – Health and Care Visa – up to 3 years: Old: £304, New: £324
Skilled Worker – Health and Care Visa – over 3 years: Old: £590, New: £628
Innovator Founder: Old: £1,274, New: £1,357
Start-up: Old: £465, New: £495
Scale-up: Old: £880, New: £937
High Potential Individual: Old: £880, New: £880 (unchanged)
Graduate Route: Old: £880, New: £937
T2 Minister of Religion: Old: £769, New: £819
International Sportsperson – up to 12 months: Old: £319, New: £340
International Sportsperson – over 12 months: Old: £769, New: £819
Temporary Work (Seasonal Worker, Religious Worker, Charity Worker, Creative Worker, International Agreement, Government Authorised Exchange, Youth Mobility Scheme, India Young Professionals Scheme): Old: £319, New: £340
Representative of an overseas business: Old: £769, New: £819
Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker (up to 3 years): Old: £769, New: £819
Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker (over 3 years): Old: £1,519, New: £1,618
Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee: Old: £319, New: £340
Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier: Old: £319, New: £340
Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker: Old: £319, New: £340
Global Business Mobility – Secondment Worker: Old: £319, New: £340
SETTLEMENT AND INDEFINITE LEAVE
Route to Settlement: Old: £1,938, New: £2,064
Route to Settlement – other dependant relative: Old: £3,413, New: £3,635
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected the federal government’s plan to establish a United Kingdom university campus in Nigeria, vowing to resist its implementation.
ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, made this known on Friday in Bauchi during a public lecture organised by the Sa’adu Zungur University branch of the union.
He revealed that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during a recent state visit to the United Kingdom, signed an agreement that includes plans to establish a Nigerian campus of Coventry University.
Piwuna criticised the proposal, describing it as an attempt to “re-colonise” Nigeria’s education sector. He argued that the institution is facing financial constraints, including a £58 million deficit and a decline in African student enrolment.
According to him, the university is also pursuing cost-cutting measures projected to reach £100 million over the next two years.
“They deny Nigerians visas to study abroad, yet they want to come here and take our money,” he said.
He maintained that ASUU would oppose any aspect of the agreement related to education, noting that it runs contrary to the Federal Government’s moratorium on the establishment of new universities.
“This will not stand. We are going to resist it,” he added.
Piwuna, however, commended the Vice-Chancellor of Sa’adu Zungur University, Professor Fatima Tahir, for implementing the new salary structure, describing the move as commendable.
The lecture, which focused on academic responsibility and entrepreneurship, featured presentations by Suleiman Abdullahi Karwai of the Department of Business Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, and Abubakar Sadiq Usman of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies, Gombe State University.
In his presentation, Karwai urged lecturers to invest early and build sustainable income streams.
“No lecturer should be poor. There are legitimate ventures that can complement academic work without compromising it,” he said.
He encouraged academics to explore opportunities such as shareholding, real estate, publishing, and consultancy, noting that many of their counterparts are already leveraging such avenues.
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