Category Nigeria News

Achraf Hakimi, a star for Paris Saint-Germain and currently facing charges of rape, said he has “peace of mind” and anticipates being cleared of the accusations.

The Moroccan international, 26, was charged with rape last month after French prosecutors demanded that he be tried for allegedly having raped a 24-year-old woman he had met on social media.

In an interview for the “Clique” show, which was broadcast on Wednesday night, Hakimi said, “I know that what I am accused of is a lie.”

The Madrid-born Hakimi expressed his knowledge in Spanish that he had never done anything and that he would never do that.

“I feel calm of mind today.” hoping to be told soon that the truth will be revealed.

Hakimi, who helped Morocco reach the 2022 World Cup’s semi-finals, was accused of raping the woman in March 2023.

READ ALSO:   Prosecutors Demand Achraf Hakimi’s PSG Face Rape Trial.

While his wife, from whom he has since divorced, and children were away on vacation, Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to visit his home on February 25, 2023, in Boulogne-Billancourt.

Following the incident, the woman alleges rape and is now being questioned by police at a police station.

Prosecutors decided to bring charges against the player despite the woman’s refusal to make a formal accusation.

Hakimi insists that an extortion attempt took place on his behalf.

READ ALSO:   Prosecutors Demand Achraf Hakimi’s PSG Face Rape Trial.

The Nanterre prosecutor’s office informed AFP on August 1 that they had requested that the rape case be sent to a criminal court.

Nothing about the investigation makes it possible to characterize extortion, according to the alleged victim’s attorney Rachel-Flore Pardo, who spoke to AFP on Thursday.

Mr. Hakimi is attempting to imitate what we have in sexual violence situations.

Hakimi hasn’t stopped playing for PSG and his country since the allegations first surfaced, winning the French champions league in May with the Qatari-owned club.

After an escalator, teleprompter, and sound system malfunctioned while he was speaking at the UN, US President Donald Trump demanded an investigation on what he termed “triple sabotage.”

The UN has claimed that Trump’s events on Tuesday at its New York headquarters were unintended and partly due to White House staff.

Trump, however, criticized the string of mishaps as “very sinister” in a protracted, angry social media post, demanded that people be detained, and claimed that the Secret Service was conducting inquiries as well.

“This was triple sabotage at the UN, not a coincidence.” Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform that they should be ashamed of themselves.

I’m requesting an investigation right away by submitting a copy of this letter to the Secretary General. It’s no wonder the UN hasn’t been able to accomplish the task for which it was created.

Trump Attacks the UN and Europe at the UNGA.

The 79-year-old president and First Lady Melania Trump were seen on camera entering UN headquarters on Tuesday, but footage from the elevator abruptly stopped and forced them to climb.

Then, as he began his speech, he noticed that his teleprompter wasn’t functioning.

The majority of his speech was spent criticizing the world body, accusing it of funding illegal migration that was “hell” and failing to back his peace efforts in Gaza and Ukraine.

‘Disgrace’

However, after the escalator, Trump’s mood turned more sour a day later, when he made a mostly jokey face.

Yesterday, the United Nations hosted a REAL DISGRACE. Not just one, but three ominous, ominous, events”! he wrote.

Trump claimed that the escalator stop was a “real disaster.”

He said, “It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t face first and fall forward onto these steel steps’ sharp edges.

Trump then blasted the UN auditorium’s “completely off” sound and that his teleprompter for his speech was “stone cold dark” for the first 15 minutes.

The Secret Service is involved, the US president demanded that the security tapes for the elevator be saved.

UN Points at White House

A videographer from the US delegation “may have unintentionally triggered the safety function” on the escalator, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement on Tuesday.

Since the White House runs the teleprompter for the US president, he said, “we have no comment.”

Under the condition of anonymity, a Secret Service official told AFP that the agency was “investigating what the UN said to support it.”

UN, World Leaders Should Reform Or Lose Relevance, [UNGA 80:] READ ALSO.

A UN official who was also speaking on condition of anonymity pointed to Dujarric’s earlier statement when Trump made a comment on the post on Wednesday.

The official explained that the sound system was designed to allow earpieces to be used to hear speeches being translated into six different languages.

The newly appointed US ambassador, Mike Waltz, stated on X that he had formally demanded a detailed explanation of the teleprompter failure’s root cause as well as “immediate plans to implement robust preventive measures.” Waltz also stated on X that he had formally demanded “complete results” from the UN’s investigation into the escalator incident.

According to the World Bank, seventeen African governments have approved reforms and action plans to improve access to electricity under Mission 300.

The initiative, which aims to connect 300 million Africans by 2030, is led by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group.

On Wednesday, the commitments were made public at the New York-based Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum.

Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, So Tomé and Principe, Sierra Leone, and Togo all signed the new Energy Compacts.

These blueprints, according to the World Bank, will guide public spending, spur reforms, and entice private investment in national electricity projects.

“Growth And Opportunity”

According to the World Bank, Mission 300 has connected 30 million people, with 100 million more still connected, as of its release.

Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, said that “electricity is the foundation of jobs, opportunities, and economic growth.”

CBN also warns that Naira Abuse “inflates printing costs.”

He emphasized that Mission 300 is more than just a goal, adding that it will “slash costs, strengthen utilities, and draw in investment.”

The quickest multiplier is “reliable, affordable power for small and medium enterprises, agro-processing, digital work, and industry.” You’ve given a young entrepreneur a paycheck, according to AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah.

Mission 300’s guiding principles for energy compacts are specific to each nation’s infrastructure, funding, and policy requirements.

Similar compacts were approved earlier this year by Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Liberia, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Leaders’ National Commitments

As a fundamental national need, Botswana’s president Duma Boko pledged access to affordable, reliable, and affordable energy.

Paul Biya, president of Cameroon, pledged to support renewable energy in order to promote sustainable development and universal access.

By 2030, Comoros’ President Azali Assoumani vowed to have universal access to electricity.

Denis Sassou Nguesso, president of the Congo, urged investors to exploit the country’s vast hydro potential for exports of regional power.

Taye Atske Selassie, president of Ethiopia, emphasized regional cooperation and renewable energy growth.

Adama Barrow, the president of the Gambia, pledged to increase renewable energy sources and strengthen governance.

John Mahama, president of Ghana, cited equal opportunities and universal access as two key factors.

Mamadi Doumbouya, president of Guinea, promised to use trustworthy, clean energy to spur industrialization, particularly in the mining sector.

Under Kenya’s economic agenda, Kenya’s president, William Ruto, pledged to have 100% renewable energy by 2030.

Sam Matekane, the prime minister of Lesotho, described universal renewable access as the nation’s cherished right.

Daniel Chapo, president of Mozambique, stated that his nation is on track to meet goals and establish regional dominance.

The compact, according to Sierra Leone’s president Julius Maada Bio, is the country’s most ambitious energy plan.

To promote industrialization, Togo’s president, Faure Gnassingbé, pledged clean, affordable power to everyone.

Américo dos Ramos, the prime minister of So Tomé and Principe, aimed to raise $ 190 million from private investors.

A two-story building collapsed on Modupeola Street in Mangoro, Alimosho, Lagos State, on Wednesday, resulting in six rescues.

Around 6 p.m., the collapse occurred, and the cause has not yet been determined.

Gbenga Omotoso, the commissioner for information for Lagos, confirmed the development in a statement posted on X (previously Twitter).

Omotoso reported that a two-story structure had collapsed at the Lagos State intersection of Modupeola Street, Mangoro bus stop, and Alimosho.

He continued, “It was not immediately known the cause of the incident, which occurred around 6 p.m..”

Read more about the arrest of three suspected kidnappers and their retribution for weapons in rivers.

Five rescued victims were taken and treated at a nearby private hospital.

The victim, who was a fractured and bruised, was transported to LASUTH Surgical Emergency by LASAMBUS.

Omotoso claimed that after the patient was admitted for further care, he was declared to be in a stable condition. Additionally, he added that the victim, 44, lives at 10 Olabode Street in Alimosho.

According to him, authorities have already opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collapse.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Authority led the rush of emergency personnel to the location.

On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu addressed the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York. His address was delivered by his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima. &nbsp ,

Read full text below:

PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU GCFR, THE NATIONAL STATEMENT OF HIS EXCELLENCE,

DELIVERED BY

KASHIM SHETTIMA, GCON, AND HIS EXCELLENCE

VICE-PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA,

DURING THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S 80TH SESSION

NEW YORK

THEME: BETTER TOGETHER: 80 YEARS AND MORE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, DEVELOPMENT, AND PEACE

24th SEPTEMBER 2025

. . . .

Mr. Secretary-General,

Distinguished Ministers and Ministers of State and Government

Distinguished Delegates,

The world’s chaos serves as a reminder that we cannot afford to be inactionary. We would have been consumed by our differences had there been no community such as this to remind us that we are one human family. We have refused to be broken, even in the darkest of times. This community was born from the ashes of despair, a vehicle for order and for the shared assurance that we could not afford to falter again. Our unwavering faith in humanity’s redemption transcends moral superiority, not a presumption of moral superiority. It is, therefore, with profound humility that I stand before you today, as Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to renew this pledge on behalf of my country.

. . . .

1. Nigeria joins the comity of nations in congratulating you on your election as President of the General Assembly for the 80th Session and assures you of our unalloyed support during your tenure. In these extraordinary circumstances, I commend the Secretary-General, His Excellency António Guterres, and your brother, His Excellency Philémon Yang, for their outstanding stewardship and unifying leadership.

2. This anniversary shouldn’t be a sentimental escape into the past. It must be a moment of truth, a pause to measure where we have stumbled and how we might have done better in turning our values into action that meets the demands of today. We are here to create a world where human rights are most important and are respected. We must recalibrate the delicate balance between our roles as sovereign governments and our duties as collective partners, to renew multilateralism in a world that has evolved far beyond what it was in 1945.

3. The pace of change across borders is a force without pause. It manifests in the use of technology, the flow of money, the movements of information and finance, the corrosive ideologies that promote division and violence, the climate emergency’s growing tide, and the tide of irregular migration. We must own this process of change. We must acknowledge the truth when we discuss global conflicts, small arms proliferation, fair trade and finance, and nuclear disarmament. These are stains on our collective humanity.

4. For all our careful diplomatic language, the slow pace of progress on these hardy perennials of the UN General Assembly debate has led some to look away from the multilateral model. The most sought-after voices were no longer the heads of state, as I had noticed a change at this gathering a few years ago. These are troubling signs. Nigeria is still firmly persuaded of the benefits of multilateralism, but to support that conviction requires evidence of the integrity of the existing structures. We must make real change, change that works, and change that is seen to work. The direction of our travel is already predetermined if we fail.

5. We are here to strengthen the prospects for peace, development and human rights. . . . . I want to make four points today to outline how we can do this:

One: The UN Security Council must have a permanent seat for Nigeria. This should take place as part of a wider process of institutional reform.

Two: To promote trade and financing, we must take immediate action.

Three: Countries that host minerals must benefit from those minerals.

Four: The digital divide needs to be filled. As our friend the Secretary General has said: ‘ A. I. ‘ must be pronounced “Africa Included” .

6. Regarding my first point, the UN only retains relevance when it is able to reflect the world as it is and not as it once was. Nigeria’s journey tells this story with clarity: when the UN was founded, we were a colony of 20 million people, absent from the tables where decisions about our fate were taken, today, we are a sovereign nation of over 236 million, projected to be the third most populous country in the world, with one of the youngest and most dynamic populations on earth. Our demand for a permanent seat in the Security Council is based on fairness, representation, and reform that restores credibility to the very institution on which multilateralism rests. It is a consistent partner in global peacekeeping.

7. In light of the Secretary-General’s UN80 Initiative and the Assembly’s bold decision to reform the wider UN system to improve relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency in the face of unimaginable financial strain, Nigeria strongly supports both the UN80 Initiative and the resolution adopted on July 18, 2025. We support the drive to rationalise structures and end the duplication of responsibilities and programmes, so that this institution may speak with one voice and act with greater coherence.

. . . .

8. None of us can achieve a peaceful world in isolation. The burden of sovereignty is this. Sovereignty is a covenant of shared responsibility, a recognition that our survival is bound to the survival of others. We must collaborate with our neighbors and partners to live up to this challenge. We must follow the trails of weapons, of money, and of people. Because these organizations, which are frequently driven by conceited non-state actors, stoke conflict all over the world.

. . . .

9. Soldiers and civilians of Nigeria leave a lasting legacy. They have participated in 51 out of 60 United Nations peacekeeping operations since our independence in 1960. Through the Multinational Joint Task Force, we have partnered with our African partners to resolve conflicts. At home, we confront the scourge of insurgency with resolve. One thing is clear from this protracted and difficult battle against violent extremism: While military strategies may win battles that last months or years, generations-long wars are won over by values and ideas.

10. Because we favor tolerance over tyranny, terrorists dislike us. Their ambition is to divide us and to poison our humanity with a toxic rhetoric of hate. Our differences are indistinguishable from those between the promise of order and the shadow of light, hope and despair. We do not only fight wars, we feed and shelter the innocent victims of war. We are not indifferent to the destruction of our neighbors, both close and far away, because of this. This is why we speak of the violence and aggression visited upon innocent civilians in Gaza, the illegal attack on Qatar, and the tensions that scar the wider region. Such acts of violence are intolerable because of the culture of impunity, as well as because our own bitter experience has taught us that such violence never ends where it begins.

11. We don’t think that endless debate should be a conduit to the preservation of human life. That is why we say, without stuttering and without doubt, that a two-state solution remains the most dignified path to lasting peace for the people of Palestine. This society has endured moral conflict for too long. For too long, we have been caught in the crossfire of violence that offends the conscience of humanity. We are peacemakers, not partisans. We come as brothers and sisters of a shared world, a world that must never reduce the right to live into the currency of devious politics. In a civilization seeking order, Palestine’s citizens are not collateral damage. They are human beings, equal in worth, entitled to the same freedoms and dignities that the rest of us take for granted.

12. We want to make the choice crystal clear: civilised values over fear, civilised values over vengeance, civilised values over bloodshed. We demonstrate the benefits of peace, just as extremists aim to splinter opposing religions and communities. We work through multilateral platforms within the rule of law, to build the consensus and support that makes this immensely difficult and dangerous task that much easier. In this way, we prevent our adversaries from creating tension and despair. It is our experience that this offers the best, perhaps only hope for peace, reconciliation and victory for the civilised values of a shared humanity. As a diverse nation, Nigeria also acknowledges the variation in the geometry of democracy, its various forms, and speeds. For this reason, we are working with the United Nations to strengthen Democratic institutions in our region and beyond, through the Regional Partnership for Democracy.

. . . .

13. Point two: the price of peace is eternal vigilance. Many Member States are now counting the costs of the emerging world order because of the increasingly challenging security outlook. We in Nigeria are already familiar with such difficult choices: infrastructure renewal or defence platforms? Tanks or schools? Our view is that the path to sustainable peace lies in growth and prosperity. The government has implemented difficult but necessary reforms to our economy, including removing distortions like those that favor the few over the wealthy, and removing currency controls.

14. I think the market’s ability to change is. Our task is to enable and facilitate, and to trust in the ingenuity and enterprise of the people. However, the transition process is challenging and requires unavoidable hardship. This year, we held the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit in Abuja to bring investors and opportunities together. The outcomes demonstrated what innovation can do beyond what we had anticipated, and they speak for themselves.

15. I invite the UN to reevaluate how to make the most of scarce resources in the same spirit of dynamic review. One critical area is climate change. It is not an abstract problem about a fate that will be decided at a later time. It is not even solely an environmental issue. National, regional, and international security are the topics. It is about irregular migration. This is truly an “everyone issue.” We are all stakeholders, and we are all beneficiaries of the best outcomes.

. . . .

16. This is why relevant Ministers have been instructed to work with the UN to make the best use of climate funds. We think that increased funding for resilient housing, access to technology, and funding will result in significant, shared benefits for disadvantaged communities, including the ability to participate in solutions rather than problems.

17. In recent years, Nigeria and Africa have made significant progress in putting order in our affairs. We can take that progress to the next level, a level that presents new opportunities for trade, investment and profit, if we can access reforms to strengthen the international financial architecture. To promote debt relief, we must take immediate action to ensure that there is a clear path to peace and prosperity for everyone, not just charity.

18. I want a new, legally binding system of sovereign debt management that will let emerging markets break free from the constraint of primary production and unprocessed exports.

19. Since the Lagos Action Plan foretaped a path out of debt and dependence that highlighted opportunities, which should still be looked at for local added value for processing and manufacturing in everything from agriculture to solid minerals and petrochemicals, have been decades since. The African Continental Free Trade Area is a remarkable achievement of co-operation. We continue to be fully committed to achieving the SDGs, and we are convinced that focusing on our main goal of growth and prosperity will do the trick.

. . . .

20. third point, please. We welcome steps to move towards peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We all share the view that international investment and cooperation can end the cycle of violence and decay. Access to strategic minerals, from Sierra Leone in the 1990s and Sudan today, has for too long been a source of conflict rather than prosperity. Nigeria is one of the countries with the most important minerals that will drive the technologies of the future, which is abundant in Africa. Investment in exploration, development and processing of these minerals, in Africa, will diversify supply to the international market, reduce tensions between major economies and help shape the architecture for peace and prosperity, on a continent that too often in the past has been left behind by the rivalries and competition between different blocs.

21 . We know in Nigeria, that we are more stable when those communities that have access to key resources are able to benefit from those resources. Our journey through the Niger Delta’s oil-producing region has been this. I believe that we will strengthen the international order, when those countries that produce strategic minerals benefit fairly from those minerals – in terms of investment, partnership, local processing and jobs. Tension, inequality, and instability fester when we export raw materials, as we have done for a while.

. . . .

22. A dedicated initiative aims to bridge the digital divide by bringing together researchers, the private sector, governments, and communities is the fourth pillar of change for which I am advocating. As we stand on the threshold of new and dramatic technological change, we are still absorbing the impact of the revolution in information and communication of the past 20 years. We now better comprehend the benefits that technology offers as well as the safeguards necessary to promote growth and reduce the risk of corrosion. Some worry about fake news. Both rich and poor countries have a lot of that, which has the potential to have devastating effects in the real world. I am more worried about an emerging generation that grows ever more cynical, because it believes nothing and trusts less. I’m calling for a new dialogue as technology transforms public administration, law, finance, conflict, and much of the human condition, to ensure we promote the best of the opportunities that are emerging, and promote the level of access that makes emerging economies more quickly, and to close a wealth and knowledge gap that is in no one’s interest.

23. I want to reassert that Nigeria’s commitment to human rights, development, unity, multilateralism, and peace cannot be overstated. For none of us is safe until all of us are safe. We are aware that the challenges facing humanity’s spirit will not be easy, and we are aware that there are no quick fixes. Yet history reminds us that bold action in pursuit of noble ideals has always defined the story of the United Nations. We have consistently found the balance between collective responsibility and sovereign rights. That balance is once again in question, but I believe that a renewed commitment to multilateralism, not as a slogan but as an article of faith, remains our surest path forward. Nigeria dedicates itself fully and without a doubt to the noble cause.

Two senior government officials have been fired by the Bauchi State Civil Service Commission as a result of alleged forgery.

According to the state, the offense goes against the State Public Service Rule 0327, (ii, iii, and vi), which prohibits the falsification of official documents.

The commission‘s information and public relations officer, Saleh Umar, made their dismissal known in a press release.

A Principal Executive Officer I, Suleiman Ahmed, and an Administrative Officer, Yusuf Ningi, who were previously assigned to the Government House from the Office of the Head of Civil Service, are the affected officials, according to the statement.

The Commission’s 35th plenary on September 23, 2025, considered and officially adopted the dismissal, according to the statement.

The Commission acknowledged that the move was necessary to uphold the state civil service’s code of conduct.

Read more about this story: The Abia government fires six civil servants for fraud.

Workers are promoted by the government

The Commission also approved the promotion of a number of senior civil servants in a related development.

It authorized the appointment of four deputy directors to the director position during its meeting, as well as the formalization of three substantive directors’ appointments to the state service.

Directors in management, human resources, and audit are among those who are promoted. Directors of planning, research, statistics, civil litigation, and land and valuation were given promotion ad hoc approval.

Additionally, a chief land officer and eight chief state attorneys were promoted to deputy director positions.

In the course of performing their duties, the commission chairman, Ibrahim Muhammad, reportedly urged all state employees to abide by the Public Service Rules, internal and external circulars, and ethical standards during the plenary, according to the press release.

According to him, “adherence to laid-down laws and procedures is essential to eradicating the system’s unlawful practices and enhancing corruption-free service delivery.”

The Chairman reiterated the commission’s commitment to upholding ethical behavior and upholding integrity at all levels.

He commended the newly promoted officers for their continued commitment to the state.

This development occurred shortly after the commission fired an education officer on September 11 for gross misconduct involving sexual harassment.