By TINA TOLUTOPE, Investigations Desk AS Nigeria inches closer to the 2027 general elections, a familiar drama is unfolding across the political landscape — and, once again, it could play directly into President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s hands. From Abuja to Awka, and Port Harcourt to Kano, opposition figures are plotting their comeback. Yet, beneath the surface […]
By AUGUSTUS ISICHEI AT 65, Nigeria’s sporting landscape tells a troubling story. Once the pride of Africa, the nation’s stadia now stand as decaying relics of past glory, symptomatic of a broader culture of neglect and short-term thinking. From Surulere to Abuja, the decline of facilities paints a grim picture of wasted opportunities and shrinking […]
By DAVID JOHN-FLUKE An Economy of Desperation WHEN Temitope Afolabi’s husband faced imprisonment over a ₦48 million debt, she turned to surrogacy to save her family. Paid just over ₦2.2 million for carrying another couple’s child, she was promised transportation, accommodation, and medical support. But in reality, she was underpaid, overworked, and left with serious […]
By DAVID JOHN-FLUKE THE courtroom in Abuja was tense on Friday as Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court paused proceedings to consider whether Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), should be allowed treatment at the National Hospital. What appears on the surface as a routine medical request […]
By ANITA KNIGHT NIGERIA’S Ministry of Education has disowned controversial posts on its website promoting Russia’s Alabuga Start Programme, saying hackers uploaded the content without approval. Federal Scholarship Board Director, Ndajiwo Asta, said the scheme—which recruits young women from developing countries—was never part of Nigeria’s bilateral education agreement with Russia. Investigations across Africa revealed Alabuga […]
By ANITA KNIGHT Introduction LATE last year, reports emerged that Russia was recruiting hundreds of young African women, mostly aged 18–22, to work in drone production at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, 1,000 km east of Moscow. Promising attractive salaries and skills training, the programme—known as Alabuga Start—has instead left many recruits facing dangerous working […]