IRANIAN Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday the Strait of Hormuz was open following a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, while U.S. President Donald Trump said talks could take place this weekend and he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come “soon”. Araqchi said in a post on X the strait was open for all commercial vessels for the remainder of the U.S.-brokered 10-day truce that was agreed on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon to halt fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Shortly after Araqchi’s statement, Trump posted on Truth Social: “IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF…
Author: National Record
A FACTIONAL National Chairman of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr Nafiu Bala, has described national convention held on April 14 by the David Mark-led faction of ADC as not only a nullity but an affront on the court. Bala, who stated this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday, dismissed the convention, saying it was a flagrant disregard of the Court of Appeal judgment. “Any action taken in flagrant disregard of the Court of Appeal judgment delivered on 12th March, 2026 is not only of questionable legality but is liable to be declared null and void. “The noticeable absence…
DIVISIONAL Police Officers (DPOs) are the primary, frontline, and most critical entry point into the criminal justice system. The Executive Secretary (ES) of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr Tony Ojukwu, SAN, made this known during a townhall for DPOs in FCT on rights-based policing and oversight. Ojukwu, represented by the Head, Civil and Political Rights of the Commission, Mr Halilu Adamu, said as the head of a police division, the DPO is responsible for receiving reports, initiating investigations, and ensuring compliance with the law at the community level. The commission, he said, handed over the Nigeria Police Regulations…
THE UNIVERSITY of Abuja (UNIABUJA) (now Yakubu Gowon University), has awarded automatic employment to its overall best graduating students to further their academic career in the university. The Vice-Chancellor, UNIABUJA, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, made this known during the combined 29th and 30th convocation ceremony of the university on Friday in Abuja Cross section of graduands. Fawehinmi said that the employment was part of the university’s commitment to the development and advancement of academic excellence. There were 12,624 graduands drawn from the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 academic sessions. The Vice-Chancellor gave the breakdown to include 48 First Class, 2,048 Second Class Upper,…
SINCE Jesus Christ departed over two millennia, some have proclaimed themselves as the Jesus who promised to return. In this tribe are also those like Donald Trump who present themselves in the image of Jesus; in his holiness, solving human problems. In Nigeria, was a man, Emmanuel Olufunmilayo Odumosu, a professional carpenter like Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. He shared the same first name as Jesus. Donald, the son of Trump’s sense of messianism, and comparing himself with Jesus Christ was apparent in 2025 when he demanded to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The White House had put…
LARGE crowds gathered outside a stadium in Douala, Cameroon’s biggest city and economic hub, for a Mass with Pope Leoon Friday that was billed as the biggest event of the pontiff’s four-nation Africa tour. The Vatican, citing local authorities, estimated that 120,000 people had headed towards Japoma Stadium to be part of the celebration and hear an address from the pope, who has become outspoken on war and inequality and drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump. Amid a heavy security presence, some Cameroonians made their way to the stadium on Thursday, sleeping there overnight so they could witness Leo speak in person.…
FRANCE and Britain will chair a meeting on Friday of around 40 countries aimed at signalling to the United States that some of its closest allies are ready to play a role in restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow. Iran has largely closed the strait to ships other than its own since the start of U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against it on February 28. On Monday, Washington imposed a blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. U.S. President Donald Trump has called on other countries to help enforce the blockade and has criticised NATO allies for not doing so. Britain,…
POPE LEO blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants”, in unusually forceful remarks in Cameroon on Thursday days after U.S. President Donald Trump attacked him on social media. Leo, the first U.S. pope, also decried leaders who used religious language to justify wars and urged a “decisive change of course” in a meeting in the biggest city in Cameroon’s anglophone regions, where a simmering conflict going back nearly a decade has left thousands dead. “The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a…
NIGERIANS have not had it so bad in recent history. The country is unravelling and the government is vacillating between denial and a pompous lack of concern to multiple unfolding crises. Trump’s United States of America that promised to kill off security threats in the country, and rescue Christian victims “guns a blazing” are running out of the country with their tails between their legs. The US State Department, in a travel advisory, authorised non-emergency government employee and their family members to leave its embassy in Abuja due to the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria. Visa services in the Embassy have…
JUSTICE Jude Onwuegbuzie of an Abuja High Court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant against the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq. The judge also ordered for the arrest of Bashir Alkali, a former permanent secretary in the same ministry. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed charges against the former minister, who served in the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari, Alkali and Sani Rabiu. They were to be arraigned sometimes in 2025 but the arraignment could not hold due to the absence of the defendants in court. On…