1. Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Thursday inaugurated the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs after 15 years, with the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, emerging as its first chairman.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, was conspicuously absent from the inauguration, which was held at the House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Secretariat, Ibadan
2. The United States plans to spend N587 billion ($413.046m) on counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria and other African countries in 2026 amid worsening security conditions across West Africa. The allocation is contained in the US National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2026, obtained by The PUNCH on Thursday. The funds were approved under Title XLIII – Operation and Maintenance
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3. Two Nigerians, Chukwudi Okafor, 31, and Samuel Eze, 34, who are living in India, have been arrested for allegedly beating their friend, Emeka Christian, to death following a dispute over a woman in Pune, India
4. Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped to 15.15 percent in December 2025, down 2.18 percentage points from 17.33 percent in November, the National Bureau of Statistics has reported. The decline was revealed in the NBS Consumer Price Index report for December 2025, which also showed that inflation remains significantly lower than the 34.8 percent recorded in December 2024.
5. The Army said on Thursday that its troops of Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Peace (JTF OPEP) on Operation Peace Shield have achieved positive operational results against criminal elements, with neutralisation of seven criminal elements in gun duels in Kaduna. It said these successes include neutralising criminals, rescuing kidnapped victims and recovering arms and ammunition.
6. Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, says anyone seeking to defeat President Bola Tinubu must be prepared for intense resistance rather than relying on the court. Baba-Ahmed spoke in an interview with Nigeria Right Now, uploaded on YouTube on Thursday
7. Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, failed to resume plenary on Thursday, exactly one week after adjourning its last sitting. The development came amid rumours that some lawmakers were plotting to impeach Amaewhule during the scheduled sitting.
8. The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), has warned state governments to immediately stop engaging in peace deals with bandits, describing such arrangements as counterproductive and harmful to Nigeria’s security efforts
9. Yobe State Police Command says it has commenced an investigation into the cause of a road crash that claimed six lives along the Potiskum–Damaturu highway on Thursday. It was learnt on Thursday from eyewitnesses that the accident occurred when a truck and a trailer collided, allegedly due to wrong-way driving.
10. Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar has described the decision of his son, Abba Abubakar to join the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as “entirely personal”. Abba had joined APC and pledged to work for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
