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The United States Government has said the recent removal of security restrictions on vessels from Nigeria would improve shipping operations between the two countries. It is also expected to reduce shipping costs and strengthen existing trade ties. In a letter dated 26 August and addressed to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, US Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia also commended Nigeria for “sustained” reforms that led to the removal of the 12-year restrictions. Mr Garcia described the removal of US restrictions as evidence of the country’s “sustained strengthening of port security and anti-terrorism compliance.”…

Nigeria’s Falconets produced a record-breaking performance at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, hammering New Caledonia 10-1 to secure their place in the Round of 16. The emphatic victory marked the biggest-ever win for Nigeria at the U-20 Women’s World Cup, as the Falconets finished second in Group F and advanced to the knockout stage. Nigeria took control of the match from the opening stages, scoring four goals in the first 27 minutes. Ramotalahi Kareem opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 17th minute before Rebecca Adegbemile doubled the advantage two minutes later. Janet Seimeyeha Akekoromowei added a…

The country star amplified the rock vibes of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” for the 14th season of the NFL on NBC Fourteen seasons in, and Carrie Underwood is still waiting. The country music star kicked off the 14th season of the NFL on NBC on Sunday night with her latest rendering of ’s theme song, “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night.” This year, Underwood played up the rock vibes of the anthem, which is based on Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ 1988 radio hit “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” That shouldn’t come as a surprise to Underwood…

Lanre Olagunju A few days into the administration of Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu, one sentence from his inaugural address appeared to stick in the national memory: impunity is over. Many Nigerians understandably heard that as a warning to policemen. But perhaps the more interesting interpretation was that the warning was broader: impunity, whoever wears it, has no uniform. That distinction matters. In April, when 28-year-old Mene Ogidi was shot dead in Effurun, Delta State, after police operatives reportedly intercepted him over a parcel containing a Beretta pistol and four rounds of ammunition, the response from the Force was…

By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo Following an alert by the Department of State Services, DSS, over an alleged plan to attack worship centres in Osun State, the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the Muslim community have adopted measures to prevent possible attacks. The development followed separate meetings between the DSS and religious leaders in Osogbo last week, where they were reportedly advised to take precautionary measures against possible attacks. The alert came amid an intelligence report that terrorists were allegedly planning to spread insecurity to the southern part of the country, particularly the South-West, and create tension ahead of the…

Pfas companies are launching a “tidal wave” of forever chemicals production to meet demand from the AI industry, a campaign organisation has warned.Despite alarm over the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, a survey of the 10 biggest manufacturers found most had plans to increase production.Many frame their investments around the “AI revolution”, because of the role Pfas play in semiconductor production and next-generation datacentre cooling systems.But opponents warn that the chemicals, which never degrade in nature, are a ticking timebomb for human and planetary health. They say increased production risks undermining nascent moves to restrict Pfas in Europe,…

UBA Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced the commencement of the 2026 edition of its annual National Essay Competition (NEC), with a total of N41.5 million in educational grants and prizes to be awarded to the top five winners. Now in its 16th consecutive year, the competition continues to provide senior secondary school students in Nigeria and Africa, with a platform to showcase their creativity, writing skills and critical thinking while earning financial support towards their university education. A major highlight of this year’s competition is the expansion of educational grants…

Another Y Combinator Demo Day took place on Thursday, but this batch looked a little different. While every cohort brings a fresh wave of founders, the startups presenting this week skewed far more toward deep tech than in past years. As we do every quarter, TechCrunch asked early-stage VCs to name the hottest startups in this batch — both their top picks and the deals everyone was talking about. And as usual, we put together a list of startups flagged by at least two investors as the buzziest in the batch. The tech in this batch felt “like science fiction,”…

A recent report by SBM Intelligence revealing that 7,825 people were abducted and N7.78 billion paid in ransom between July 2025 and June 2026 alone shows how lucrative the business of kidnapping has become in Nigeria, which makes it difficult to stop the scourge, Davidson Iriekpen writes  It is no longer news in Nigeria that one of the greatest threats to the country’s security system is kidnapping.  This was further confirmed when the SBM Intelligence revealed a report that no fewer than 7,825 Nigerians were kidnapped in 1,713 incidents between July 2025 and June 2026, representing a 66% increase from the previous…

Welcome to the Week 1 grades. The start of the 2026 season is here, and like we do every year, we’re going to be grading every game that’s played between now and January. The first week of the season always seems to get a little crazy, and this year was no exception. In the early games on Sunday, we saw the Saints claw back from a 21-0 deficit to force overtime against the Lions, only to lose on a two-point conversion attempt. We also saw the Bears and Panthers make NFL history by combining for 96 points, the highest total ever in…