Author: TheLagosianMagazine

By Peter Omopo 2nd September 2025 The Federal Ministry of Works has announced urgent intervention on the damaged deck of the Benin-bound section of the Shagamu–Benin carriageway, assuring motorists of a swift and lasting solution. In a statement on Tuesday, the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Works, Uchenna Orji, said Minister David Umahi had ordered the immediate deployment of engineers to the site, located at the border of Edo and Ondo states. The ministry confirmed that the affected bridge, built in 1981, had developed a visible puncture on the Benin-bound side of one of its five spans…

By Peter Omopo 2nd September 2025 The National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN) has called on former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to provide evidence supporting his claim that the Federal Government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), pays ransom to bandits—or issue a public apology within 72 hours. El-Rufai had alleged that the NSA, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, was overseeing a policy of ransom payments and inducements to insurgents under the guise of a non-kinetic approach to insecurity. Briefing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, NCSCN’s Executive Director, Ambassador Blessing Akinlosotu, described the allegation as “unguarded, volatile,…

By Peter Omopo September 2, 2025 The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has announced plans to release its preliminary findings on the recent Abuja–Kaduna train derailment within the next 23 days. The derailment, which occurred on August 26, 2025, near Asham Station, left several passengers injured, damaged key railway infrastructure, and forced the suspension of services along the busy route. Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, NSIB Director-General, Capt. Alex Badeh, confirmed that the Bureau is working to make factual evidence available in the forthcoming report. “Within 23 days, we should be able to make public the preliminary report of…

By Peter Omopo September 2, 2025 President Bola Tinubu has said Nigeria remains confident and resilient in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade policies, including new tariffs that now affect Nigerian exports. Speaking on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during a solidarity visit by The Buhari Organisation, led by former Nasarawa governor Senator Tanko Almakura, Tinubu said the country’s expanding non-oil revenue base has provided a buffer against global shocks. “If non-oil revenue is growing, then we have no fear of whatever Trump is doing on the other side,” the president said. Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s…

By Peter Omopo September 2, 2025 First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has empowered 500 women in Nasarawa State with grants of ₦50,000 each to boost small businesses and improve livelihoods under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI). The initiative, launched on Tuesday in Lafia, was organised in partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which has committed ₦1 billion to support 18,500 women nationwide. Represented by Mrs. Tosin Akabe, wife of the state deputy governor, Tinubu said the empowerment scheme was designed to alleviate hardship among vulnerable women and strengthen household economies. “This is not a loan. It is a…

By Peter Omopo September 2, 2025 A fatal accident on Tuesday along the Idi-Iroko inward Ogolonto axis of Ikorodu Road, Lagos, has left one person dead and two others injured, triggering a major traffic jam on the busy route. The General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Olalekan Bakare-Oki, confirmed the incident in a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment, Taofiq Adebayo. According to LASTMA, the crash involved a commercial bus and a truck. One passenger was reportedly flung from the bus and crushed to death, while emergency responders rushed two injured…

By Peter Omopo September 2, 2025 Madagascar on Tuesday held a solemn state ceremony to receive three ancestral skulls repatriated from France, 128 years after they were taken during the colonial conquest of the island nation. The remains, believed to include that of King Toera of the Sakalava people and two of his warriors, were seized by French troops in 1897 following the monarch’s execution. Preserved in Paris as colonial war trophies, the skulls were stored in France’s national history museum until their return under a 2023 restitution law that permits the handover of human remains acquired during France’s imperial…

By Peter Omopo September 2, 2025 The Lagos State Government has unveiled a new flagship initiative, “101 Days in Lagos,” aimed at boosting culture, tourism, and youth empowerment while positioning the state as Africa’s leading cultural destination. The programme, which will run from September 26 to January 4, will feature cultural festivals, international sporting events, entertainment shows, and hospitality-driven activities across the city. Speaking at a strategic meeting with Pulse Africa and other stakeholders on Tuesday, the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Hon. Idris Aregbe, described the project as a bold step toward diversifying…

By Peter Omopo September 2, 2025 An 11-year-old boy in Houston, Texas, was shot dead after a doorbell prank popularly known as “ding dong ditch” turned tragic over the weekend. Police said the child had rung a neighbour’s doorbell and was running away when he was fatally struck by gunfire on Saturday. The suspected shooter, 42-year-old Leon Gonzalo Jr., has been charged with murder and booked into jail on Tuesday, according to Harris County court records. His listed address matches the home from which the shots were fired. “Officers were told the male was ringing doorbells of homes in the…

By Peter Omopo September 2, 2025 The Eddah community in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State has been connected to the national electricity grid for the first time in more than four decades. The electrification project, executed by the North South Power Company Limited (NSPCL) Foundation, was inaugurated on Tuesday as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility to host communities. Speaking at the event, Mr. Olubunmi Peters, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NSPCL, said the project provided Eddah with a 300 KVA sub-station to supply reliable power to residents. Peters, represented by Mr. Hassan Abdullahi,…