WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Trump dodges plea from Britain's Starmer for Ukraine security guarantee

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a minerals deal with Ukraine is the security guarantee Kyiv needs against Russia, brushing aside a plea from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a commitment of U.S. military support.

Starmer, who was meeting Trump at the White House for the first time since the U.S. leader took office, turned on the charm, saying peace in Ukraine had only become possible because of Trump.

Starmer also delivered an invitation from King Charles for a future state visit, which Trump accepted.

But underlying differences between the allies remained, including transatlantic frictions over U.S.-Russia talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war and Trump's tariff threats.

Before the meeting, Starmer had said there could be no long-term peace in Ukraine without firm U.S. security guarantees - an argument Trump all but dismissed.

"We are a backstop because we'll be over there, we'll be working," as a result of the economic partnership, Trump said. "We're going to have a lot of people over there."

Asked whether he could trust Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said, "trust and verify," echoing former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's views on negotiations with the Soviet Union.

He said he did not think Putin, who organized invasions of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, would do so again after a deal. Talks toward such a compact were moving briskly, he said.

"It will either be fairly soon, or it won't be at all," Trump said.

Starmer said not just any deal would do, underscoring the concern among European nations that a rushed peace deal with Russia might lead to further instability in Europe.

"We have to get it right," he said at a joint press conference with Trump. "It can't be peace that rewards the aggressor."

SHOCKING ALLIES

Starmer is the latest European leader to meet Trump after French President Emmanuel Macron came to the White House on Monday for a friendly encounter that also displayed stark differences about Russia's war with Ukraine.

Trump, who entered office on January 20, has shocked traditional U.S. allies in Europe by drawing closer to Putin, calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a "dictator," and demanding payback for U.S. financial support for Kyiv. On Thursday, Trump distanced himself from the dictator comment and said he gets along with the Ukrainian leader.

Zelenskiy is expected to be in Washington on Friday to sign a deal with Trump on rare earth minerals. Trump portrays the deal as a way to recoup American money that has been spent to support Ukraine. It includes no security guarantees for Kyiv.

Starmer has signaled that Britain will increase defense spending and tried to reassure the U.S. president that Europe will provide support and security guarantees to Kyiv if peace talks with Russia are successful.

On Thursday, Trump reaffirmed the United States' long commitments to the mutual defense of NATO nations even if European peacekeepers end up in Ukraine, saying "I support it. I don't think we're going to have any reason for it."

Putin on Thursday warned "Western elites" against trying to sabotagerapprochement between Russia and the U.S., saying Moscow would use its diplomats and intelligence services to thwart such efforts. The remarks were an apparent reference to the European Union and Britain.

Starmer has said he is open to British troops providing security guarantees to Ukraine but only alongside other European nations and with "the right conditions in place."

European countries are concerned about the high level of conflict in Ukraine now, the U.S. official said, while a ceasefire based on a strong political settlement would give them more comfort that their role is more about peacekeeping than deterring active conflict.

TRADE TALKS

Trump has shattered policy norms since the start of his second term, rattling allies by advocating for U.S. ownership of the Gaza Strip and promising trade tariffs on U.S. friends and foes alike.

During the joint press conference, Trump said the U.S. and Britain were negotiating a bilateral trade agreement.

A wide-ranging free trade deal has eluded the countries since Trump's 2017-2021 term in office, but the U.S. president said the two countries could reach a deal "very shortly."

Asked by a reporter whether Starmer had convinced him to abandon threats to impose tariffs on Britain, Trump said, "He tried. He was working hard, I'll tell you that."

"We could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn't be necessary," Trump said. "We'll see."

At the start of the visit, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the leaders also were discussing what he described as "infringements on free speech" in Britain that have affected U.S. technology companies.

"We've had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom," Starmer responded.

The British leader took care not to be drawn into any criticism of Trump. The U.S. president also dished out compliments.

"You're a very tough negotiator," Trump said, drawing laughter from Starmer. "I'm not sure I like that."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Trump extends Russia sanctions for another year

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending for another year certain sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict, according to documents released by the White House on Thursday.

Initially imposed in 2014 following Crimea’s reunification with Russia, the measures have been expanded through multiple executive orders and are now extended for another year through March 6, 2026.

“The actions and policies addressed in these Executive Orders continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” the document published in the Federal Register states.

“Therefore … I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13660,” Trump stated.

The document also references a 2022 order signed by then-President Joe Biden, which prolonged sanctions in response to the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics joining Russia. That order claimed the development “threatens the peace, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and thereby constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.” 

Four formerly Ukrainian regions – the Donetsk People’s Republic, Lugansk People’s Republic, Kherson Region, and Zaporozhye Region – joined Russia following a series of referendums in 2022. Crimea had previously voted to join Russia in 2014. Ukraine continues to claim its sovereignty over the regions.

Trump recently suggested that Kiev might reclaim some of the lost territory, but added that a return to pre-2014 borders is “unlikely.” He also signaled that Washington could lift sanctions against Russia “at some point” as part of Ukraine peace negotiations.

On Wednesday, the US president said he wanted Ukraine to regain as much territory “as possible” under a potential peace deal with Russia. He claimed that Moscow would have to make concessions, but emphasized that any agreement should ultimately represent the best possible outcome for both parties.

Moscow and Washington are currently engaged in negotiations following a phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month and subsequent high-level talks between Russian and US delegations in Saudi Arabia.

In June, Putin outlined his conditions for peace negotiations with Kiev, which involves the complete removal of Ukrainian troops from all Russian territories, including the four former Ukrainian regions that joined Russia in 2022. He also demanded that Ukraine legally commit to never joining NATO or any other Western military blocs.

Russia has repeatedly argued that the Ukraine conflict was provoked by NATO’s expansion toward its borders.

Reuters/RT

You cannot quarrel about how a man tells his story. It is his business. However, the pseudo-autobiography of the former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, is more than the retired general telling a story of his own life. A Journey in Service is a long, tortuous journey to penitence, which arrives at its destination, if it does at all, leaving its memory behind.

After 32 years of deflecting, dissembling, dodging and denial, the former military president finally gets as close as possible to remorse, then stops short of saying sorry for his betrayal of his country by blaming several dead and a few feeble living.

And yet, Babangida, being Babangida, reserved the best part of his book for himself. He left the worst for those who might have challenged his account and others he believes should have forgotten by now. Babangida will not change, but that’s okay. He shouldn’t also make the mistake of thinking we have all forgotten.

Whitewash

The prologue says the book is “not about finding blame, inventing excuses or whitewashing known facts.” However, apart from chapters 1 and 2 on his early childhood, chapters 11 and 13 on his home front and retirement, and perhaps one or two other chapters in between, where he struggled to restrain himself, nine of the 12 chapters of the 440-page book are filled with blame, inventions, and whitewashing.

I start with his relationship with the press. In chapter 6, entitled, “Mounting the Saddle, Defining a Military President,” after throwing Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon under the bus for miscarrying their “initial rescue mission,” he praised his government for abolishing Decree 4, passed by Buhari, and granting state pardon to two journalists, Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson of The Guardian, who had been sentenced under the decree.

Babangida said his heroic act of press redemption warmed his relationship with the media.

The other side of the story

That’s one side of the story, done, like many things Babangida did, with a hidden agenda. Here’s what a report by the media watchdog Media Rights Agenda (MRA) said: “The regime of Ibrahim Babangida (August 27, 1985 to August 26, 1993) has the dubious distinction of having closed down or proscribed more newspapers and magazines than any other government in Nigeria’s history.

“Forty-one newspapers and magazines were victims of this practice under the administration; some closed down or proscribed on two different occasions. Twenty-five newspapers and magazines were shut down or proscribed by the Babangida administration in 1993 alone following public agitation for a return to civil democratic rule…”

The clampdown

The clampdown didn’t start in 1993. It began in 1987, roughly two years after Babangida came to power. The first target of this press saviour in shining armour was Newswatch magazine, which was banned for six months for publishing a report deemed injurious to the government’s political bureau. This was barely one year after one of the founders of Newswatch, Dele Giwa, was killed in a parcel bomb.

Press freedom went downhill from then on, with the government shutting down PUNCH, Concord, Guardian, and Sketch, among others. Another matter is how the military president, even out of office, manipulated the election of newspaper publishers.

MRA reported that three newspapers owned by John West publications were shut down for publishing the Jennifer Madike stories that “embarrassed the president’s wife.” And when William Keeling, a British journalist with the Financial Times, dared to publish a story alleging that about $5 billion windfall from Gulf War 1 was diverted, Babangida’s government wasted no time bundling him out of the country.

Seduced by power

Those too young or indebted to Babangida to see clearly may believe what they choose. But it would be defamatory of reptiles to call the man a chameleon. When Yakubu Gowon said in the Foreword that being a soldier and a politician was a virtue in Babangida, the old man was being economical with the truth. As Marshal Davout, one of Napoleon’s most outstanding soldiers, said, the best soldiers abhor politics. They take a professional stand. Many who are seduced lose their way.

A Journey in Service reminds us of how Babangida sucked in the crème de la crème of the academia to boost the legitimacy of his regime. Regrettably, this handshake across the Ivory Tower, which later extended to the judiciary, labour and sections of civil society, became a deadly stranglehold. Babangida’s book doesn’t contain a hint of the poisonous liaison.

We read nothing, for example, about how Babangida inflicted further damage on academia. Under Gowon, the field was already dented by awful interference as military administrators began appointing university visitors.

Our Gorbachev?

But it got even worse. In 1988, Babangida, who framed himself as Nigeria’s answer to Mikhail Gorbachev, ordered the deportation of Patrick Wilmot, a sociology teacher at the Ahmadu Bello University, for teaching “what he was not paid to teach.”

Yet, if you think Babangida’s attempt to rewrite history was limited only to the press and academia, then you underestimate the disservice of the book. Chapter 12, “Transition to Civil Rule and the June 12 Saga,” is at the heart of the book: it reveals Babangida for who he is – duplicity, the milder version of which is an evil genius. However, anyone remembering this trying period in Nigeria will pinch himself at Babangida’s convenient attempt to take responsibility by shifting the blame.

In this chapter, he blamed the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) for going to court on the eve of the election. Then, he blamed Justice Bassey Ikpeme, an agent of his own Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Clement Akpamgbo, for granting the order to stop the election.

Then, he blamed the National Electoral Commission (NEC) chairman, Humphrey Nwosu, for stopping the announcement of the election result. He blamed Nduka Irabor for announcing the annulment of the election from a rough sheet of paper, claiming it was without the knowledge of Augustus Aikhomu, his second-in-command.

Abacha as scapegoat

Finally, he blamed Sani Abacha for leading the fifth columnists in his government to sabotage the process. This comprehensive blame account indicts everyone around the boss. Still, it leaves the boss a generous latitude to accept responsibility for the glaring and monumental lapses without apologising to the country he had betrayed.

“These nefarious ‘inside’ forces opposed to the elections have outflanked me”, Babangida said he remembers saying on Page 275. He didn’t say to whom he was speaking. A whitewash by the whitewasher-in-chief never looked whiter.

What did he do to “outflank” the “nefarious forces?” By his own account, he convened the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) after he claimed announcements stopping the elections were being made without his authority.

He admitted knowing when Nwosu stopped announcing the result without his approval and when Irabor made the so-called unauthorised announcement. Even before that, his minister Akpamgbo, at whose behest he insinuated that Ikpeme may have acted, attended the AFRC meeting with him. Yet, the commander-in-chief present amidst the chaos lacked the courage to call the shots.

He did something, though. He yielded to the law of self-preservation, the love of self, and then, only later, like a scoundrel, claimed he was stepping aside for the love of country. He left behind the Interim National Government, a contraption he knew wouldn’t last.

More questions than answers

Writing off the book as a triumph of cowardice and dissembling would be harsh. There are a few strands of consistency. For example, Babangida admitted that Dele Giwa was his friend but didn’t say and has never said what became of the multiple investigations into how Giwa was killed by a parcel bomb decades after the tragic event. Yet, Giwa was his friend.

Babangida said 159 persons, mainly middle-level military officers, were killed in the C-130 NAF aircraft crash in Ejigbo, Ikeja, because of poor aircraft maintenance, but failed to say whose responsibility it was to maintain the aircraft or what happened to the negligent officers in charge.

His Mamman Vatsa coup story was also conveniently consistent. Vasta had always envied him from secondary school, even though they sometimes shared bed spaces and clothes. He wasn’t surprised Vatsa would bribe soldiers—one of them with N50k—to put his head on a plate despite the consequences of such a treasonable act.

Plea for Vatsa

Why didn’t he commute the death sentences on Vatsa and others despite the cloud of suspicion around their sentencing and his promise of a review after strong appeals by many, including Nigeria’s leading literary lights, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and JP Clark? Again, he was conveniently consistent. It’s an elementary fact, he says, that plotters don’t live to tell the story, except if, like him, they succeed.

But Babangida conveniently forgot at least two notable exceptions of commutation: Kukoi Samba Sanyang’s failed coup against Gambia's President Dawda Jawara in 1981 and Olusegun Obasanjo/Shehu Musa Yar’Adua failed coup against Abacha in 1995.

Perhaps the book's most surprising accounts included his admission that his friend MKO Abiola won the June 12, 1993, election hands down and his rare praise of Buhari for cleaning up his mess by acknowledging Abiola as “a former head of state” 25 years later. This is surprising because when I interviewed him nine years ago, he said the presidential election result was “inconclusive.” He knew he was lying at the time.

The five-letter word

It would be remarkable if Babangida took responsibility for his mistakes and apologised. He is right that life can only be understood backwards. However, to complete the quote by the Danish philosopher and existentialist Soren Kierkegaard, whom he did not name but quoted in part, honesty in living forward is essential for understanding life backwards.

Instead of the five-letter word – sorry – Babangida tried vainly to use 111,281 words to exorcise the demon within. He failed. In his book On Writing, Stephen King, one of my favourite authors, said honesty is necessary for good writing. Babangida’s pseudo-memoir fails that test.

A heartfelt thank you…

My profound thank you to President Bola Tinubu, a man of all seasons, and all who sent messages and prayers on my 60th birthday. I’m overwhelmed. May your kind wishes and prayers return to bless you and yours.

** Ishiekwene is the Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the book Writing for Media and Monetising It.

I started reading ex-Head of State Ibrahim Babangida’s recent memoirs, aiming to look for the moment in the narration that gives an inkling into his becoming a tyrant. Ultimately, it was the little details that gave him away as still narcissistic. One example was the image of his secondary school, Government College Bida.

So dilapidated was the entrance arch into the school that the photograph of it printed in the book could not capture the faded name. They had to superimpose the name of the school on the image with printed letters. A whole IBB could not endow funds for his own secondary school to refurbish its crumbling glory and even maintain it in perpetuity! Yet, he will build a multi-billion-naira presidential library named after himself. For a man who wrote in his book that he believes so much in Nigeria’s youths and the future they can build, he could not be bothered to make a symbolic gesture by investing in the education of children walking the same path he once did. Even in their old age, these selfish rulers are still vain and lack charity.

Other things being equal, IBB will be the second Nigerian president to monumentalise his ego in concrete buildings. In a country where almost all public and university libraries are comatose, the ex-presidents who made away with the collective patrimony are the ones who get to build one for themselves. It is bad enough that we are a country where public schools at every level are gradually becoming history and public hospitals need resuscitation. Now we have reached a new low in our national history where children growing up in Nigeria will think what constitutes a library is a vanity project that is only inaugurated by ex-presidents who want to rewrite public memory. Nigerians will perhaps never have public libraries again, but our successive failed leaders can be counted on to build private ones for themselves.

Presidential libraries contain the records of defining moments in a presidency. Incidentally, some of those of the IBB regime are the very ones he once told us he loathed to be asked to account for anymore. In 2010 while he still had an interest in running for president, IBB warned the journalists who confronted him during a condolence visit to then-bereaved Zamfara Deputy Governor Muktar Ahmad Anka not to pose questions to him on June 12, Dele Giwa, or even the raging issue of PDP zoning. I am amused that IBB not only wrote a memoir, but he even chose to engage those topics! What happened in those 15 years that he now thinks his self-justification on those issues will ever matter? Who even asked him?

So, he now admits that MKO Abiola won the election, but didn’t the late former Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, Humphrey Nwosu, already tell us that? Was he on vacation away from the planet when Muhammadu Buhari posthumously conferred the GCFR honours on Abiola, an acknowledgement of the wrong done to him. IBB says he accepts responsibility for annulling the June 12 election, but what difference does it make? What are we then to do with his confessions? What he owes us is restitution. I doubt it ever crossed his mind to make any effort to recognise the people who died because of the riotous transition programme he facilitated.

On Dele Giwa, another topic he did not want to address, IBB had nothing useful to say in his memoir. It is not like we expected him to admit culpability, but it was also not too much to assume he would shut up if he could not improve on the protracted silence. While he might not have personally ordered the hit against Giwa, it is unthinkable that a prominent journalist and his “personal friend” would die like that, and IBB would not have given anything to know who did it. We are talking of an unprecedented mode of killing like a parcel bomb. IBB cannot be as ignorant as he feigns. And that was one of my problems with his memoirs. If he had admitted everything he knew and did, nobody would do anything to him. He could have died the way he lived: as a villain. The difference does not matter in our ethically bankrupt society.

My impression while reading through the book was that IBB is looking for some moral exculpation from a country he wronged. Perhaps he wants to reassure himself that despite all he did wrong, he still has something to do with the vibrance that post-military Nigeria demonstrates. He has lived long enough to observe the nation move on from his time. Now, from the vantage height of his Minna mansion, he gets to observe that the country he and his soldier boys thought would always need their overbearing hand wakes up daily without them. Perhaps in his quiet moments, he realised that with a different set of choices, he could have been the hero that present Nigeria would fondly celebrate.

Like a man watching his ex-wife thrive after divorcing him, IBB wants to convince himself that even his moral failings and shortsightedness one way or another contributed to his resilience. I was amused to read that IBB gave himself credit for contributing to freedom of expression in Nigeria through media liberalisation that allowed private ownership of the media to bloom. What he did not say about his so-called gift of “freedom of expression” was that he was also the leader who serially shut down media houses, throwing thousands of people out of jobs and livelihoods. Today, he valorises the same media that survived in spite of him and attributes their feisty spirit to himself. Now he is going to build a presidential library to monumentalise the misattribution. To square up his recollection of history, we, the people who survived him, should also be allowed to include our refutations in the library. If he is going to write about our national history with the money he took from us, it is only fair that we too should get a say.

Presidential libraries will likely become a fad among our egoistic rulers seeking to ascribe to themselves a record of legacy they do not deserve. For a man who was technically never a “president” to suggest building a presidential library is, in fact, an affront; evidence he is still playing his silly Maradona games. Looking at Bola Tinubu seated beside IBB during the book presentation, I am almost convinced that he too will launch his presidential library project. The whole idea of a presidential library started with US President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 as a dedicated space to archive the materials of his tenure. His predecessors had suffered a loss of the official documents that defined their presidency, and he created the presidential museum to house his papers. Every US president since then has created their presidential library as both an archive and a museum to house the artefacts of their respective administrations for the public.

Since such libraries reflect the values, dispositions, defining moments, interests and introspections of each leader, the one IBB will build should be painted in bleeding red. That colour will signify the ethos of his presidency—the lives that he extinguished in his desperate bid to hold on to power, and the vitality his ambition drained out of the nation. The architectural design of the building should be a jackboot trampling on the heads of poor people, a visceral reminder of what his reign felt like. Since we are also copying American presidents, every shelf wherein that library where the copies of his new memoir will be displayed should be appropriately labelled “Profiles in Cowardice”.

Punch

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has seized over N1 trillion worth of banned, expired, and substandard medical products in a nationwide crackdown, while also sealing 11,000 shops. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday. However, she also raised concerns over threats to her life and the safety of NAFDAC staff, calling for increased protection as the agency intensifies its fight against counterfeit drugs.

The operation, which targeted major open drug markets in Onitsha, Aba, and Lagos, resulted in the confiscation of 87 truckloads of illicit drugs, including antiretroviral drugs donated by USAID and UNFPA, as well as male and female condoms. These items were found expired and repackaged for sale, undermining public health efforts. Adeyeye described the operation as the largest in NAFDAC’s history and part of the agency’s National Action Plan (NAP 2.0) 2023-2027, aimed at eliminating counterfeit medicines and safeguarding public health.

Adeyeye revealed shocking violations during the operation, including the improper storage of life-saving medications in toilets, staircases, and rooftops, exposing them to extreme temperatures that rendered them ineffective or harmful. She also highlighted the discovery of banned drugs like Tafradol, recently prohibited in India, and narcotics such as Tramadol and Rohypnol, which are linked to rising drug abuse and insecurity in Nigeria.

The NAFDAC DG called for stricter penalties, including life imprisonment and the death penalty, for counterfeit drug dealers. She urged the National Assembly to expedite the amendment of the NAFDAC Act and the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs Act to include these severe punishments. Adeyeye also emphasized the need to relocate open drug markets to coordinated wholesale centers within a year to improve regulatory compliance.

Despite the successes, Adeyeye expressed concerns over the dangers faced by NAFDAC operatives. She revealed that her life and those of her staff are under constant threat, citing an attempted murder six months ago and the kidnapping of a staff member’s child in Kano. Adeyeye disclosed that she lives with 24/7 police protection in Abuja and Lagos, stating, “I don’t have a life. I cannot go anywhere without police, and to me, that is not my way of living. But I don’t have a choice because we’ve got to save our country.”

The operation, which began on February 9, 2025, involved 1,100 security operatives, including military personnel, police, and Department of State Services (DSS) agents. So far, 40 suspects have been arrested and will face prosecution. A database of offending shops and their owners has been compiled for further legal action, and the seized drugs will be publicly destroyed in the cities where they were confiscated.

Adeyeye drew parallels between her current challenges and those faced by former NAFDAC DG Dora Akunyili, who was targeted by drug cartels for her efforts to combat counterfeit drugs. She reiterated her commitment to protecting public health, despite the risks, and called for collective efforts to rid Nigeria of illicit and substandard medical products.

Financial fraud within Nigeria's banking sector has seen an alarming increase, with losses escalating from N11 billion to N52 billion in just four years, according to recent data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

In a comprehensive analysis published Wednesday, NIBSS revealed that fraud-related losses reached N52.3 billion in 2024, representing a nearly fivefold increase from the N11.6 billion recorded in 2020. The report further disclosed that cybercriminals attempted to steal a staggering N86.4 billion in 2024 alone.

"The amount lost to fraud has increased over the past five years alongside the growth of financial transactions in the digital payments sector," NIBSS stated in its report.

The analysis highlighted sophisticated fraud techniques employed by perpetrators, including diverting stolen funds to gift cards and creating fraudulent accounts using stolen identities of vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, minors, and foreigners. "Over 400 million naira were received in accounts opened with the stolen identities of senior citizens," the report detailed.

NIBSS confirmed that recovery efforts are underway for some of the stolen funds, and investigations are currently proceeding against implicated banking staff.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a reduction in the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to N825 per litre. This latest price cut was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by Esan Sunday, Head of Media Relations and Branding Communications at Dangote Group.

The adjustment comes just over three weeks after the refinery lowered petrol prices from N950 to N890 per litre. With this new reduction, the ex-depot price has dropped by N125 since January, when it stood at N950 per litre. According to the statement, the new pricing will enable Nigerians to purchase petrol at pump prices ranging between N860 and N865 per litre in Lagos.

The refinery attributed the price reduction to its commitment to easing the financial burden on Nigerians, particularly during the Ramadan season.

This marks the second time in February 2025 that Dangote Refinery has reduced PMS prices, following an earlier cut of N60 at the beginning of the month. Additionally, in December 2024, the refinery lowered petrol prices by N70.50, from N970 to N899.50 per litre, as part of its efforts to support Nigerians during the holiday season.

The refinery emphasized that its consistent price reductions have positively impacted the cost of living and benefited various sectors of the economy. It also highlighted the high quality of its refined petroleum products, which have gained popularity both domestically and internationally.

Dangote Refinery assured the public of a steady supply of petroleum products, with sufficient reserves to meet local demand and a surplus for export, thereby contributing to the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The refinery urged marketers to support the initiative, ensuring that Nigerians remain the primary beneficiaries of its efforts.

The refinery’s products are distributed nationwide through key partners, including MRS Holdings, Ardova Petroleum (AP), and Heyden.

Four female students from Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University (JOSTUM) in Makurdi were abducted Tuesday evening while heading to study, triggering campus protests and a temporary university shutdown.

According to witnesses, the incident occurred around 8:30pm when armed men intercepted the students—identified as Emmanuella, Fola, Susan, and Ella—as they traveled from Zamfara Hostel to a lecture hall near the North Core campus area. The students were ambushed before reaching the ring road.

A student speaking anonymously reported that five armed assailants surrounded the victims and demanded they follow them. When the students attempted to escape into nearby bushes while calling for help, the kidnappers threatened to shoot, forcing them to surrender. Two additional students reportedly managed to escape during the confrontation.

The abduction sparked widespread protests across campus on Wednesday, with students gathering outside their hostels demanding immediate action. "This is unacceptable," one protester stated. Another student, identified only as Mary, expressed the growing fear among the student body: "We live in constant fear. If we can't even move freely to read at night, then how are we supposed to focus on our studies?"

Police spokesperson Catherine Anene confirmed the incident but reported that two students were kidnapped, while university authorities stated in an official release that three students were abducted. Following emergency meetings with security agencies and stakeholders, the university administration announced a one-week mid-semester break.

"All students are to vacate their hostels before 4:00 PM today, Wednesday, 26th February, 2025," stated university Registrar John David, adding that "security agencies are working tirelessly to effect the release of the abducted students."

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU-FUAM) condemned the rising insecurity on campus and expressed solidarity with affected students and parents. Union chairman Paul Igber Anyagh called for urgent security improvements, noting previous incidents including the kidnapping of a staff member at university quarters.

This marks the third kidnapping incident at the institution in recent years. In May 2024, two female students were abducted along the North Bank/UniAgric road in Makurdi, and in 2021, three students were forcibly taken at gunpoint while studying at the College of Engineering premises.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Hamas hands over bodies of four hostages, Israel frees Palestinian prisoners

Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages while it waited for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in return, in an overnight exchange marking the final swap as part of a fragile truce in Gaza.

The ceasefire came into effect on January 19 and has largely held, despite numerous setbacks. But its first phase is due to end this week and the fate of its next phase, which aims to end the war, remains unclear. Hamas said that it has not received any proposals so far.

After days of impasse, Egyptian mediators secured the handover of the bodies of the final four hostages in the deal's first phase, for 620 Palestinians either detained by Israeli forces in Gaza or jailed in Israel.

Israel had refused to release prisoners on Saturday after Hamas handed over six hostages in a staged ceremony.

Hamas had been displaying living hostages and coffins carrying hostage remains on stage in front of a crowd in Gaza before handing them over, to sharp criticism including from the United Nations.

The final handover did not include such a ceremony.

Israel received coffins carrying the remains of the four hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in the early hours of Thursday.

Hamas had previously identified the bodies as those of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Shlomo Mantzur, all of whom were abducted during the October 7, 2023 attack from their kibbutz homes near Gaza.

The bodies were undergoing initial identification in Israeli territory and official notice would be given to the hostages' families once the process is complete, Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

The handover agreement had also been held up previously after Hamas handed over the remains of an unidentified woman instead of Shiri Bibas, before delivering the correct body the next day.

A full forensic examination to determine cause of death for the final four will come later, according to the Israeli health ministry.

Around 30 hostages have been killed in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Some were slain by their captors and some were killed in Israel's offences.

FREED PALESTINIAN DETAINEES

The Palestinian detainees due to be released include 445 men and 24 women and minors arrested in Gaza, as well as 151 prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis, according to a Hamas source.

A bus carrying some of the released Palestinian prisoners left Israel's Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank and arrived in the Palestinian city of Ramallah a few minutes later, live footage showed.

The group got off the bus to cheers from hundreds congregated outside, with some of the released men - clad in green jackets and keffiyehs - hoisted aloft by the crowd.

Released prisoner Bilal Yassin, 42, told Reuters he had been in Israeli detention for 20 years. The West Bank native said he had faced oppression and poor conditions the entire time.

"Our sacrifices and imprisonment were not in vain," Yassin said. "We had confidence in the (Palestinian) resistance."

It was not immediately clear when the next detainees would be released.

The first phase of the ceasefire included the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages in total for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from some positions in Gaza as well as an influx of aid.

But with the 42-day truce due to expire on Saturday, it remains unclear whether an extension that could see more of the 59 remaining hostages go free will happen or whether negotiations can begin on a second stage of the deal.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Trump confirms Zelenskiy visit to sign Ukraine minerals deal

U.S. President Donald Trump said Volodymyr Zelenskiy would visit Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on rare earth minerals, while the Ukrainian leader said the success of the deal would hinge on those talks and continued U.S. aid.

Under the deal, which Ukraine's prime minister has called "preliminary," Kyiv would hand some revenue from its mineral resources to a fund jointly controlled by the U.S. The agreement is central to Ukrainian attempts to win strong support from Trump as he seeks a quick end to Russia's war. U.S.-Russian talks that have so far excluded Kyiv were set to continue on Thursday.

Trump said Zelenskiy would sign the agreement on rare earths and other topics during his visit, but suggested Washington would not make far-reaching security guarantees.

Kyiv has been seeking U.S. security guarantees as part of the deal, cast by Trump as a payment for U.S. aid to Kyiv during the war. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

"I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond - very much. We're going to have Europe do that," Trump said, without elaborating.

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Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said his talks with Trump would stress the importance obtaining security guarantees "to ensure that Russia no longer destroys the lives of other nations" and added that continued U.S. aid was vital.

"For me and for all of us in the world, it is important that American aid is not halted. Strength is needed on the path to peace," he said.

Last week, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson said there was "no appetite" for another funding bill for Ukraine. Johnson's comments came a day after Trump called Zelenskiy a "dictator" and warned he must move quickly to secure peace with Russia or risk losing his country.

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On Wednesday, Zelenskiy said the most important thing was that the current draftagreement did not portray Ukraine as a debtor that would have to pay back hundreds of billions of dollars for past military assistance.

"This agreement could be part of future security guarantees... an agreement is an agreement, but we need to understand the broader vision," he said.

"This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly. And the big success depends on our conversation with President Trump."

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Zelenskiy said it would be a success if the U.S. provides security guarantees for Ukraine, which wants protection from future Russian attacks if a peace deal is reached.

Trump has repeatedly claimed the U.S. has sent $350 billion to Ukraine, without explaining the figure. Congress has approved $175 billion in assistance since Russia’s full-scale invasion began three years ago.

Fighting has continued during the flurry of diplomacy, with Ukraine frequently coming under attack from Russian missiles and drones in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

QUESTIONS OVER WASHINGTON TRIP

Trump said on Tuesday that Zelenskiy wanted to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal."

Trump has been fiercely critical of Zelenskiy as the U.S. president has upended Washington's policy on the war and ended a campaign to isolate Russia.

Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12 and a Russian-U.S. meeting took place in Saudi Arabia on February 18.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russian and U.S. diplomats would meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss resolving bilateral disputes that are part of a wider dialogue the sides see as crucial to ending the Ukraine war.

Lavrov again ruled out "any options" for European peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine. Trump has said some form of peacekeeping troops are needed in Ukraine if an agreement to end the conflict is struck.

"Nobody has asked us about this," Lavrov said during a visit to Qatar.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to meet Trump on Thursday and on Sunday will host leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland and other allies to discuss their response to Trump's moves.

European leaders, including Starmer, held an emergency meeting in Paris this month where they were split on the idea of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine.

'PRELIMINARY' AGREEMENT

A copy of a draft agreement, seen by Reuters and dated February 25, said: "The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace."

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Washington would commit to supporting Kyiv's efforts to obtain security guarantees under the finalised deal. The Americans offered no security pledges of their own.

Shmyhal said Ukraine was giving its approval to the agreed wording so it could be signed and described it as a "preliminary" agreement.

"After the Ukrainian president and the U.S. president agree on security guarantees, agree on how we tie this preliminary agreement to security guarantees from the United States for our country, in the presence of (both) presidents, a representative of the Ukrainian government will sign this preliminary agreement," he said.

In a comment aimed at calming the fears of worried Ukrainians, Shmyhal said Ukraine would never "sign or consider ... a colonial treaty that did not take into account the interests of the state."

Shmyhal, outlining the agreement in televised comments, said Kyiv would contribute 50% of "all proceeds received from the future monetisation of all relevant state-owned natural resource assets and relevant infrastructure."

Those proceeds would go into a fund under joint U.S.-Ukrainian control, he said, adding that no decision about the governance of the fund could be taken without Kyiv's agreement.

"Already existing deposits, facilities, licenses and rents are not subject to discussion when creating this fund," he added.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

US to ‘get back’ money spent on aid to Kiev – Trump

The US is going to “get back” the money it has spent on military and financial assistance to Kiev through the upcoming mineral deal with Ukraine, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday ahead of his first cabinet meeting. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky will travel to Washington on Friday to sign the agreement, Trump added.

Trump had initially demanded the equivalent of up to $500 billion worth of natural resources as compensation for the aid provided to Kiev. Washington then proposed a deal that would grant the US sweeping rights to Ukraine’s reserves of natural resources as a form of compensation.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Trump said that the Ukrainian leader “is going to be coming on Friday” and “that is now confirmed.” The two sides are expected to sign what the US president described as a “very big agreement” that will cover Ukraine’s reserves of rare earth metals among other things.

Trump doubled down on his claim that the US had spent $350 billion on various forms of assistance to Kiev, adding that “we’ve been able to make a deal where we're going to get our money back and we're going to get a lot of money in the future.” American taxpayers “should not be footing the bill” for assisting Ukraine, he added.

The US president did not reveal the parameters of the future agreement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Zelensky confirmed to journalists that Ukraine and the US had agreed on a “framework” deal on the nation’s minerals. He insisted that the document does not include any mention of Ukrainian “debt” to the US “either amounting to $350 billion or $100 billion.”According to Zelensky, the agreement also says nothing about Kiev being obliged to compensate US expenditures on aiding Ukraine in a ratio of “2 to 1.”

The Ukrainian government reviewed and greenlighted the agreement on Wednesday, according to Prime Minister Denis Shmigal, who called it “an important step towards implementing a victory plan.” The Ukrainian media outlets Strana.ua and Evropeiskaya Pravda published what they claimed was the text of the future agreement.

According to the publications, Ukraine and the US will create a joint fund to which 50% of all revenues from the future development of Ukraine’s natural resources will accrue. Already existing enterprises are exempt from the arrangement. The accumulated assets can be used for investment in the Ukrainian economy “at least once a year,” according to the reports. In exchange, the US will reportedly “assume long-term financial obligations to develop a stable and … prosperous Ukraine.”

Washington will not offer any security guarantees to Kiev under the agreement and will only “support its efforts” to secure such guarantees in the future, the reports said. Strana.ua criticized the document as too vague and full of loopholes that could be exploited by either side.

Reuters/RT

It's an item that most people use at least twice a day.  

But you might look at your toothbrush a bit differently after reading this.

Samuel Choudhury, a doctor based in Singapore, has revealed the disgusting mistake too many of us continue making with our toothbrushes. 

According to the expert, many people still store their toothbrush next to their toilet. 

While this might be practical, it can also expose your toothbrush to everything from faeces, to bacteria, and viruses. 

'Did you know that flushing the toilet can send bacteria flying up to 6 feet in the air?' he said. 

'If your toothbrush is chilling next to your toilet, you might be brushing with more than just toothpaste!'

While you might think that a toothbrush cover would do the trick, Choudhury also explains why these are a no-go. 

Choudhury cites a 2015 study which analysed the germs on toothbrushes in a shared dormitory. 

'When they did a study at a dormitory, they found 60 per cent of the toothbrushes contained fecal matter,' he said. 

Toothbrush covers only make matters worse, the expert added. 

'You may think that this will keep it safe, because it is closed off from aerosolised particles,' he said, while showing a toothbrush cover on screen. 

'Think again. Research has shown that keeping a toothbrush in a closed container increases the bacteria load because it gives a very good environment for bacteria to grow. 

Thankfully, Dr Choudhury has also revealed the easy ways to keep your toothbrush clean and safe. 

'Number One, always keep them upright, so that water drains properly,' he advised.

'Two, change the toothbrush or its head every three to four months. 

How to keep your toothbrush clean

1. Always keep them upright, so that water drains properly
2. Change the toothbrush or its head every three to four months
3. Keep the toothbrush away from the toilet bowl, and when flushing, try to keep the toilet lid closed

'Three, keep the toothbrush away from the toilet bowl, and when flushing, try to keep the toilet lid closed. 

'As much as possible, try to keep it away from the toilet and in a well ventilated area so that it dries.'

While the disgusting findings might have you reaching for a UV cleaner, Dr Choudhury says that this isn't necessary. 

'Things like UV containers and cleaning them in mouthwash are good to have, but not necessary,' he explained. 

Choudhury's video has garnered over 30,000 likes on Instagram, with many disgusted fans taking to the comments. 

'Close the lid when you flush. That's what it's there for,' one user wrote. 

Another added: 'Great video! Really important info that touches our daily lives and can make a huge difference.'

And one joked: 'How big do you think our bathrooms are?'

Research shows impact of flushing toilet using lasers and cameras

The video comes shortly after scientists warned that flushing the toilet can send an enormous plume of tiny water droplets up into the air surrounding it.

Among the most common potentially harmful airborne bacteria propelled from the toilet bowl in indoor bathrooms are E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

These can be inhaled, raising the risk of getting a nasty stomach bug or respiratory infection.

Wajid Ali, who led the study from China University of Geosciences, said: 'Our findings underscore the substantial health risks posed by bioaerosol exposure in public washrooms.

'Enhancing ventilation systems by optimising exhaust fan efficiency and air exchange rates can effectively reduce bioaerosol concentrations and exposure risks for the public.'

Daily Mail