AFNews World

Don’t Pull the Plug: Why Nigerians Are Pleading for the U.S. to Extend Its Police Training Program — and Why It Must Synergize With New Military Arrivals *By Kingsley Okafor When approximately 100 American troops touched down at Bauchi Airfield in northern Nigeria on February 16, 2026, the development made international headlines. Major global news organizations — including the BBC, Associated Press, Deutsche Welle, and Task & Purpose — quickly moved to cover the story. It marked the first large-scale deployment of U.S. military trainers to Nigeria, arriving nearly two months after American strikes targeted Islamic State-linked militants in Sokoto State on Christmas Day 2025. For many Nigerians — particularly Christians and peace-loving communities across the embattled Middle Belt region — the sight of American boots on Nigerian soil felt like the long-awaited answer to years of desperate prayers for meaningful international support against insurgency and banditry. Yet ...

Renewed Hope Initiatives: President Ahmed Tinubu and the Solarization Drive in Nigeria’s Energy Sector Since assuming office in May 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has positioned energy reform as a cornerstone of his administration’s economic transformation agenda. Among the most consequential initiatives is the accelerated push toward solarization—the large-scale deployment of solar energy systems across public institutions, rural communities, and critical infrastructure. In a country long challenged by unreliable grid electricity, high diesel costs, and energy poverty, the solarization project represents both an economic and social intervention with far-reaching gains. In actualizing these gains, the Renewed Hope Agenda, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu saw the need to appoint someone with the right capacity, knowledge and verve to lead the sectors drive towards solarization of the nation, for a more focused sector that will ensure steady energy supply to all Nigerians. The ...

Ex-Councilors Demand Immediate Arrest of El-Rufai  Over Alleged Security Claims ...Say he's a security threat  The National Forum of Ex-Councilors of Nigeria has called for the immediate arrest of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over allegations bordering on national security. The group made the demand at a press conference held in Kaduna on Monday, February 16, 2026. National President of the Forum, Hon. Amb. Auwal Kasim Hassan, described El-Rufai as a threat to national security, alleging that the former governor had confessed to tapping the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. Hassan said the allegation by El-Rufai that he was marked for death through food poisoning allegedly orchestrated by the Office of the National Security Adviser was too serious to be ignored. According to him, the gravity of the claims warrants immediate action by security agencies to prevent what he described as attempts to whip up public sympathy from opposi...

Kaduna Victims' Coalition: Survivors and Families Demand Full Accountability for Abuses Under Nasir el-Rufai – No More Impunity, No More Silence We speak today as representatives of countless individuals, families, and communities who endured eight years of profound hardship, terror, fear, and loss under the governorship of Nasir el-Rufai in Kaduna State (2015–2023). Our coalition includes citizens from all walks of life: community and business leaders, serving and retired public servants, traditional rulers, faith leaders, academics, journalists, lawyers, and other professionals. Among the many victims are high-profile cases that symbolize the era's impunity: HRH Dr. Maiwada Raphael Galadima, the Agwam Adara (paramount ruler of the Adara Chiefdom), abducted in October 2018 and brutally murdered despite ransom payment. His killing occurred amid efforts to restructure traditional institutions, including the controversial conversion of the chiefdom into an emirate str...

Shehu Sani Defends Ribadu,Dismisses Elrufai’s claims Former Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has defended the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, dismissing allegations made against him by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as diversionary and unfounded. Sani, in a statement via his X handle @shehusani on Sunday, said the former governor should concentrate on addressing allegations reportedly raised against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission rather than making what he described as “phantom claims” against the National Security Adviser. “The ex-governor of Kaduna State should focus on the allegations before him and clear his name instead of diverting attention with his purported and phantom claims against the NSA,” Sani said. He questioned the timing of the allegations, asking why such sensitive information was not made public earlier. “Why the delay in disclosing such sensitive information to the public until when he was invit...

EFCC Invitation: Group Accuses El-Rufai of Diversionary Tactics, Urges Him to Face Charges A northern advocacy group, the Northern Progressives Forum for Development (NPFD), has asked former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, to “face the charges against him with the courage he claims to possess” rather than allegedly attempting to divert public attention with accusations against the National Security Adviser. The group’s position follows reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited El-Rufai over allegations bordering on corruption and mismanagement of public funds during his tenure as governor between 2015 and 2023. In a statement signed by Mal Musa Mohammed Sule and made available to journalists , the NPFD said it was concerned about what it described as “a pattern of diversionary narratives” coming from the former governor at a time he is expected to respond to anti-graft inquiries. El-Rufai had, in a letter dated January 30, 202...