News

On Tuesday, the National Grid experienced its second 2026 collapse.

Data at the time of filing this report revealed that the 11 electricity distribution companies had no megawatts of power supplies.

The Grid’s first collapse in a year occurred last Friday, just two weeks after a similar incident on December 29, 2025, which had resulted in widespread power outages nationwide.

Transmission line maintenance, fluctuation in generation capacity, and technical issues have been the causes of grid collapses.

As of 11:00 AM, electricity generation dropped dramatically from more than 4,500 megawatts to as low as 0 megawatts.

During the incident, all 23 power generation plants connected to the grid reportedly lost output, leaving none of the 11 electricity distribution companies with no power.

READ MORE: Nigeria’s Gas Output Increases By 8% To 2.706 TRF SCF.

Femi Falana, SAN, a human rights lawyer, has criticised the Nigerian military for declaring that some officers will face a military court hearing over an alleged plot to overthrow the government.

More than three months after it announced in October 2025 that 16 officers had been detained for obstructing service rules, the military made the disclosure on Monday.

The military at the time dissented from reports that the 2025 Independence Day parade had been suspended in response to an alleged coup plot, calling the claim false, malicious, and liable to inflict unnecessary tension and distrust among Nigerians.

Falana said Falana’s response to the military’s most recent statement, which acknowledged an alleged plot to overthrow the government, suggested that the authorities had purposefully misled the public.

Also read: Military To Protest Officers Over Accusable Plan to Overthrow Government

Falana claimed that the military should have apologized to Nigerians for their earlier denial in a statement released on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.

“The military authorities should have expressed regret to Nigerians yesterday. Falana argued that those in charge must learn to take our country as a people seriously.

He added that it was unacceptable to reverse such a grave position without making an apology.

You ought to have apologised to the Nigerian people if you had admitted there was no coup plot three months ago and discovered that the matter went beyond indiscipline during your investigation, he said.

A public apology after the allegations had been confirmed and a public acknowledgement of the earlier denial, in Falana’s opinion, would have been preferable.

However, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria expressed hope that the military would continue to make amends to Nigerians.

He claimed that a court martial could not try the detained officers. If the issue were merely one of indiscipline, he claimed, a court martial would have been sufficient.

He claimed that the officers can only be accused of treason or treasonable felony, offences that can only be determined by a Federal or State High Court because it involves an alleged coup plot.

Falana criticized the detained officers’ lack of legal representation, arguing that their legal representatives have the right to meet with their attorneys, members of their families, and doctors, rights that, in his opinion, have been denied.

Law Mefoh, the state’s commissioner of information, assured that the state’s business environment is safe and that there is no risk associated with the sit-at-home order.

Mefoh claimed that the state offers adequate security for business in an interview with Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday.

The fear factor has vanished, and Nambra is safe for business. He speculated that this sit-at-home problem may have existed when it first started, but it has since vanished.

Therefore, the continued shutdown of Anambra’s markets, particularly the Onitsha Main Market, which is arguably the biggest market in West Africa, is in vain.

READ MORE: Soludo shuts down Onitsha Main Market for a Week Over Sit-At-Home.

His statement comes after the governor ordered the well-known Onitsha Main Market to close for a week because local businesses had not done so on Monday.

The commissioner continued, “The governor and this government have every right to ensure that the state and the state as a whole operate smoothly.”

He further explained that, despite the fear factor making the market and even offices closed on Mondays in the past, “the traders have now made Monday a weekend extension,” which is seriously affecting the state’s socio-economic life.

According to statistics, Anambra loses an average of $8 billion every Monday during the market shutdown. He continued, “The government has a responsibility to make sure that the economy is running.”

Sit-At-Home Order

A Monday sit-at-home order has been in effect for years in some Anambra State locations, causing disruption to business and social activities and deserting places of employment.

The South-East’s non-state actors have been widely criticized for putting pressure on traders, transport workers, and students indoors, especially in cities like Onitsha, which has been done so.

However, the state government, led by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, has urged residents to avoid the illegal order, which it describes as economic sabotage against the area, and to go about their lawful activities fearlessly.

The ongoing recruitment exercise for 50 000 police constables will now take a two-week break, according to the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

The application portal, which was first launched on December 15, 2025, will now close on February 8, 2026, according to a statement signed by Mr. Torty Njoku Kalu, the Police Service Commission’s Head of Protocol and Public Affairs.

He explained that the extension comes after a review that found significant differences in participation between states and the receipt of over 400, 000 applications nationwide.

READ MORE: Police Intercept Truck Carrying Suspected Explosives in Oyo

While states like Adamawa, Benue, and Kaduna reported high submission rates, the PSC discovered that others like Lagos, Ogun, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, and Anambra reported comparatively low submissions.

The extension is intended to ensure that all states’ representation in the hiring process is equitable, according to the Commission.

The PSC urged all qualified Nigerians to apply through the official recruitment portal, npfapplication, especially those from states with low application numbers. psc. gov. ng.

Before the new deadline, it also directed state governments, local government councils, socio-cultural organizations, religious organizations, community leaders, and other stakeholders to mobilize and inform qualified applicants outside of their areas of responsibility.