Category Nigeria News

An unidentified Customs officer attached to the Fingila checkpoint in the Dandi Local Government Area of Kebbi State was allegedly shot dead by suspected gunmen on Monday.

According to a local resident of Fingila village, identified simply as Malam Abdulrasheed, the gunmen had earlier stormed nearby farms where they reportedly harassed farmers, seized food items, and forced them to eat portions of their own meals before confiscating the rest.

“They entered the farms and asked the farmers to taste the food they brought from home. After forcing them to take a bite, the gunmen ate the remaining food and told the farmers to leave, saying there would be no farming today,” Abdulrasheed recounted.

READ ALSO: Judge Refers Nnamdi Kanu’s Medical Transfer Motion To CJ For Reassignment

He further explained that the attackers, about seven in number and riding motorcycles while carrying heavy weapons, later moved toward the main road. There, they encountered the Customs officer sitting near a mosque and opened fire on him.

Although the first shot missed, the second hit him as he attempted to flee into a nearby maize field. A third shot fatally struck him inside the field.

Two other officers, who were not in the open during the attack, managed to escape by crawling through the maize field, though they reportedly sustained minor injuries in the process.

The deceased officer, according to locals, was believed to be from Maiduguri in Borno State and was known to regularly sit near the mosque.

Dangote Refinery’s newly acquired Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks have begun loading petroleum products at the facility for direct supply to filling stations nationwide.

Channels Television reports that the trucks have begun taking turns at the gantry to load products despite mounting criticism from industry unions and marketers.

Lat week, the refinery revealed it would begin the direct supply of free petrol across the country on September 15. It described the gesture as part of its commitment to easing the burden on Nigerians. The announcement, however, was met with swift opposition.

Though the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) dismissed the initiative as a “Greek gift,” the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) argued that the claim of “free delivery” was misleading, insisting that marketers were required to lift at least 25 percent of their allocations directly from the refinery gantry.

But the refinery accused some actors of waging an orchestrated campaign of sabotage against its operations.

“From the outset, it has been evident that certain actors are intent on undermining the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, particularly the planned deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks for the distribution of fuel,” the company said in an advertorial published on Sunday.

It described the CNG-powered trucks as a “transformative step towards Nigeria’s long-sought goal of energy self-sufficiency,” adding that the resistance to the project was being fuelled by vested interests threatened by progress.

The refinery also countered DAPPMAN’s claims on product quality, recalling a 2022 incident in which the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) confirmed that one of DAPPMAN’s members had supplied petrol containing over 15 percent methanol, a practice the refinery called “unsafe and questionable.”

“The result was widespread engine damage for thousands of end users. Yet, no transparent government inquiry or independent investigation was ever conducted to determine the source, intent, or full impact of the adulterated fuel,” the refinery stated.

See photos from the refinery below:

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 20.12 per cent in August 2025 when compared to the July 2025 rate, which stood at 21.88 per cent, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS said the rate showed a decrease of 1.76 per cent, as against the July 2025 headline inflation rate.

The statistics office says in its report that the month-on-month headline inflation rate in August 2025 was 0.74 per cent, while the food inflation rate was 1.65 per cent on a monthly basis.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Falls To 21.8% —  NBS

On a year-on-year basis, the rate was 12.03 per cent lower than the rate recorded in August 2024 (32.15 per cent).

This, the NBS said, showed that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) decreased in August 2025 compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., August 2024), “though with a different base year, November 2009 = 100”.

On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2025 was 0.74 per cent, which was 1.25 per cent lower than the rate recorded in July 2025 (1.99 per cent).

“This means that in August 2025, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in July 2025.

“The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 126.8 in August 2025 reflecting a 0.9-point increase from the preceding month (125.9) ,” the NBS said in the report.

There have been calls on the Federal Government to introduce measures that will cushion the effect of the rising cost of living for Nigerians.

In August, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, urged the government to put social safety nets in place for poor Nigerians affected by economic reforms.

“We think that the President and his team have worked hard to stabilise the economy. You cannot really improve an economy unless it is stable. So, he has to be given the credit for the stability of the economy. The reforms have been in the right direction, she said in a chat with newsmen after she met with the President Bola Tinubu, the WTO boss said,

Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) star Conor McGregor announced Monday that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the country’s presidential election, but added that his “commitment to Ireland does not end here”.

Nicknamed “The Notorious”, McGregor is a leading figure in the anti-immigration movement in Ireland and was hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House in March for St. Patrick’s Day.

He was convicted last November in a civil rape case and has also been sued in the US federal civil court by a woman accusing him of sexually assaulting her in Miami in June 2023.

“Following careful reflection, and after consulting with my family, I am withdrawing my candidacy from this presidential race,” McGregor wrote on X.

In a lengthy message, he criticised Ireland’s electoral law, which requires the endorsement of 20 members of parliament or four local government authorities to validate a candidacy.

He denounced a “democratic deficit against the will of the Irish people”, particularly the “‘forgotten Irish’ who feel abandoned and ignored by Establishment woke politics”.

“There is now a very visible and vocal movement of Irish Patriots reverting to our cultural and historical origins seeking to maintain and protect our way of life as Irish,” he said, adding “this tide cannot be held back”.

READ ALSO: Former World Boxing Champion Hatton Dead At 46

The Irish presidential election, scheduled for October 24, will decide the successor to Michael Higgins, who has held the office since 2011.

There are already three confirmed candidates: the left-wing Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin of Fianna Fail and Heather Humphreys of Fine Gael — two parties in the ruling centre-right coalition.

The largest opposition party — the leftist-nationalist Sinn Fein — is expected to decide on September 20 whether to nominate its own candidate or support the independent Connolly, who is backed by several leftist parties.

A number of other independent candidates are still seeking endorsements ahead of the September 24 deadline.

Other prominent figures expressing an interest in the mostly-honorary position included musician Bob Geldof and “Riverdance” star Michael Flatley, but both dropped out of the race.

Dangote Refinery’s newly acquired Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks, on Monday, began loading petroleum products at the facility for direct supply to filling stations nationwide.

Our correspondent at the launch of the first batch of the trucks reported that the trucks have begun taking turns at the gantry to load products.

The refinery announced in August that it had received the first batch of its 4,000 CNG-powered trucks for the fuel distribution programme, which was initially set to commence on August 15.

During a courtesy visit by the AfricaRice Centre at his Lagos office on Sunday, Aliko Dangote reiterated that the decision to adopt direct fuel distribution was to reduce dependency on third-party carriers for fuel distribution in Nigeria.

According to him, the move was not only a matter of strategic choice but a national imperative.

Last week, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) accused the refinery of “offering lower prices to international buyers while quoting higher rates to local off-takers”.

According to them, while they welcomed the Refinery, they noted that the facility’s contribution is between 30 to 35 per cent of national demand.

They alleged that the refinery does not offer free product delivery to buyers, adding that constant price slashes by the refinery, and to bypass them in distribution, were not patriotic, but a business move intended to monopolise the downstream market.

But Dangote said it decided to jettison the Single Point Mooring (SPM) system for fuel distribution to avoid an extra cost of N75 per litre in handling charges, which would translate to N1.5 trillion annually.

The statement said, “If the Dangote Refinery were to load 40 million litres of PMS and 15 million litres of AGO (diesel) via the Single Point Mooring (SPM) at an extra cost of N75 per litre in handling charges, it would amount to approximately N1.5 trillion annually in avoidable charges.

“By contrast, utilising gantry loading and direct trucking would eliminate these costs entirely, resulting in substantial savings that could be redirected towards critical infrastructure investments.

“Losing N75 per litre to intermediaries who cannot guarantee that the products will be delivered to the Nigerian consumer is not a viable option. Rather than enabling such exploitation, we are committed to partnering with credible distributors and expanding humanitarian outreach, ensuring that petroleum products get to the Nigerian people transparently and affordably.”

READ ALSO: DMO Allots N3.05bn FGN Savings Bond In September

The Refinery’s 4000 CNG truck is a project representing an investment of over N720 billion.

Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court Abuja, has sent back to the Chief Judge, a motion filed by the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, for reassignment.

Kanu, in the motion ex parte, is seeking an order of the court transferring him to the National Hospital, Abuja, for urgent medical attention.

In a short ruling, Justice Liman ordered the transfer of the case file back to the CJ of the Federal High Court, following an application by Kanu’s counsel, Uchenna Njoku, SAN, considering the fact that the annual vacation of the court will end on September 15 (today).

Counsel to the Department of State Services, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, did not oppose Uchenna ‘s application.

At the resumed hearing earlier, the judge hinted that there was no time for the vacation court to decide Kanu’s motion.

He said not less than 30 cases were listed for the day’s proceedings by the registrar, and since the court would be unable to take all, the cases were pruned down to six.

Justice Liman added that, in line with Section 46(8) of the FHC Rules, any case that could not be completed within the vacation period would have to be sent back to the CJ for reassignment.

He said that though Kanu’s motion was an urgent one in view of the health ground, it was filed late.

Responding, Awomolo said in case management, the court had the overriding decision on which case to go on and which is not to go on.

Awomolo said it was unfortunate that the matter was coming up rather late.

“Had it been that they filed the application earlier, it would have been taken during vacation. But we are ready to take the motion any time, any day,” he added.