Category Nigeria News

Over 20 major wildfires raging across western Spain, where officials claim a record-breaking amount of land has already been burned, were waged on Monday by thousands of firefighters supported by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft.

Southern Europe has been particularly affected by heatwaves and drought brought on by climate change, particularly in Spain and Portugal.

On Sunday, two firefighters died in Portugal and four in Spain, both of whom were killed in road accidents and one in each country.

Virginia Barcones, the country’s civil protection chief, claimed that 23 blazes were “operational level two,” meaning they directly threaten nearby communities.

The western regions of Castile and Leon, Galicia, and Extremadura, where thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, are where the fires are now in their second week.

Residents expressed frustration with what they thought was limited resources and poor preparation.

No one has been seen in the village of Vilamartin de Valdeorras in the Galician province of Ourense, according to Patricia Vila, 42, who spoke to AFPTV.

Not a single helicopter, not one plane, has escorted water to cool things down a little.

‘Fire Everywhere’ , p.

In the province, there were numerous warning signs of the fires, ranging from destroyed homes to ashen forests and soil, to thick smoke that made residents wear masks.

Locals in shorts and T-shirts used water from hoses and buckets to try to stop the spread, and firefighters battled the flames.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), more than 343,000 hectares (848, 000 acres) of land in Spain have been completely destroyed this year, making it the equivalent of nearly half a million football pitches.

Three years ago, the previous record for 306 000 hectares was broken.

Portugal is receiving air support from Sweden and Morocco, while Spain is receiving firefighting aircraft from France, Italy, Slovakia, and the Netherlands.

However, “airborne action” was difficult due to the size, severity, and intensity of the fires, according to Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles.

She continued, “It’s a very challenging, very complicated situation.”

Since the wildfires started last week, thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.

Isidoro, 83, in Vilamartin de Valdeorras, said, “We had to flee because the fire was coming in from everywhere—everywhere, above us, below us, all around.”

‘ At War’&nbsp,

On Monday, about 2, 000 firefighters from across Portugal’s north and center were stationed across the country, with the majority of them residing in the town of Arganil.

Since the start of the year, 216 000 hectares of Portugal’s land have been completely destroyed.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro declared that the nation had experienced “unprecedented weather” with high temperatures and strong winds for 24 days.

He continued, “We must win this battle because we are at war.”

Both governments’ officials hoped the weather would improve to help with the firefights.

The heatwave, which has gotten to 45C in some parts of Spain, was coming to an end, according to Spain’s meteorological agency.

A firefighter was killed on Sunday night when his water truck flipped over on a steep forest road and down a slope, according to Castile and Leon officials, days after two other volunteer firefighters were also killed in the area.

A riding school north of Madrid, in Romania, lost his life in a firefight between horses and staff.

A firefighter died in a traffic accident that resulted in the death of two of his colleagues in Portugal, according to Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

During the re-run election on Saturday in Ghari/Tsanyawa and the by-election in the Bagwai/Shanono constituencies, the Kano State Police Command announced the arrest of 333 suspects.

The arrests came on the heels of coordinated security operations intended to preserve the integrity of the democratic process, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, said Monday at the Command Headquarters in Kano.

According to Bakori, “the elections were held under difficult circumstances, and unscrupulous individuals attempted to stifle the process through the massive import of thugs from within and outside the state.”

He disclosed that security personnel had a number of weapons and election documents taken from the suspects. One pump-action rifle, five locally made weapons, 94 sticks (gora), 16 swords, 18 cutlasses, 32 locally made weapons, 18 knives, one bow, and 23 arrows, as well as 14 allegedly used vehicles to accompanies the violence, according to a report of police.

READ MORE: Why Kwankwaso Might Not Support Tinubu in Galadima in 2027.

Two ballot boxes, 163 thumb-printed ballot papers, and cash totaling $44, 048, 000.00 were also seized.

The CP reported that “everyone who has been arrested has been detained has been charged with bringing charges against them in connection with a number of electoral crimes,” including “probating the arrests of suspects in Kano.”

He cited a criminal conspiracy, unlawful election-day solicitation, intimidation, loitering without a valid excuse after voting, and snatching or destroying election materials.

Bakori praised the security personnel’s efforts, but claimed that the Command had prevented what might have turned into widespread violence by cooperating with other organizations under the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

He said, “I would like to take this opportunity to commend the combined security agencies for their devotion, commitment, and selfless service during this difficult electoral period.” Their diligence and coordinated efforts prevented the violence from spreading even further.

The Police Commissioner urged residents to support security forces in keeping the peace and continue to follow the law.

25 women have been saved from a human trafficking ring thanks to the work of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

The women suspected of being victims of labor exploitation were traveling to Saudi Arabia before being intercepted in Abuja, Nigeria, according to NAPTIP spokesman Vincent Adekoye in a statement.

The victims had gathered in front of a well-known hotel in the opulent Wuse II, Abuja, and were waiting for their trafficker.

The victims, who range in age from 17 to 43 years old, claimed that some people had arranged for them to travel to Saudi Arabia to work as domestic workers, specifically house workers.

“Some people visited our village and promised to let me work as a housekeeper in Saudi Arabia abroad. They assured us that our employment there will provide for our families and that we will be able to visit and visit.

They requested that we wait for them here so they could give us the travel document and the necessary travel instructions. One of the victims reportedly claimed that neither of them is coming to our house as promised despite them not having provided any documents, including an international passport or a visa.

Many of the victims reportedly told authorities they were stranded in Abuja for the first time.

Binta Bello, the director general of NAPTIP, criticized the traffickers’ activities and warned that some trafficking gangs now coordinate trafficking in Abuja.

She continued, “The sad thing about this is that they (unsuspecting victims) jumped at the chance to work for the traffickers without understanding the agonizing circumstances and level of exploitation that lay ahead of them in the destination country.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has convicted three additional people who were detained at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) complex for internet fraud after a court found four of the four people guilty at a hotel in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The defendants each entered a guilty plea to the charge that was brought against them on Monday, according to the Federal High Court in Lagos, Justice Deinde Dipeolu, the judge’s temporary judge.

Adenekan Ayinde, Oyatokun Qudus, and Adisa Okikiade, three of the 93 suspected internet fraudsters detained on August 10, 2025, at a pool party held by the EFCC, make up the larger group of those detained.

The total number of people who have been found guilty by the court has now reached seven with the conviction of these three. At their arraignment on Friday, August 15, 2025, Justice Dipeolu had previously found four others guilty. The prosecution’s EFCC, which is in charge, announced that it would start a batch of the other suspects’ arraignments after they were arraigned at the OOPL.

Read more about police arresting eight suspects in Delta, Kaduna, and rescue a kidnapping victim.

Adenekan Ayinde was charged with one count of attempting to defraud himself of a white woman from the United States of America on his Google account on Monday, violating and punishable by Section 22 (2) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act. Act, 2015. “

He entered a guilty plea and confirmed to the court that the victim of his crime had already received money in the sum of N200,000. Saadatu Yabo, the prosecutor for the EFCC, also submitted an iPhone 14 Pro Max as an exhibit, which the defense attorneys were able to object to.

Adenekan was given a month’s imprisonment by Justice Dipeolu with the option of a N300,000 fine after reviewing the evidence.

Oyatokun Qudus, a second convict, was allegedly the one who allegedly falsely identified himself as white woman Eric Melissa on an Instagram account in an effort to gain unfair advantage. He was also found guilty and given a month in prison with the option of receiving a N300,000 fine.

After all their rice farms were destroyed by floodwaters from the River Niger, rice farmers in the Yauri, Ngaski, and Shanga Local Government Areas of Kebbi State, have urged the State Government to intervene.

Due to the devastating floods that ravaged their farmlands, hundreds of farmers lost their produce, which is thought to be worth millions of naira.

The farmers lamented how vulnerable their farms are because many of them had invested a lot of money into them in the hope of a good crop. That hope is now at risk.

One of the farmers who were affected described the situation as strange and unprecedented.

He claimed that the River Niger’s water first seized our farms before the rains completely wiped everything out.

“We have already lost everything because God has brought this challenge.” All I can say to the farmers of Shanga, Yauri, and Ngaski is, “Put God’s hand on our situation,” Shuaibu continued.

He fervently urged political leaders to intervene urgently, saying, “I’m urging our politicians to come to our aid.” Some farmers no longer have anything after bringing in more than 100 bags of rice. Everything is being taken over by the water.

We need genuine support, the statement states. “This is not about sympathizing with us.” Some of us invested the majority of our wealth in these farms. His plea was heard, “Please, Governor, your people are in desperate need of assistance.”

The Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), which is scheduled to take place in Yokohama from August 20 to August 22, has President Bola Tinubu visiting Japan.

Due to the eight-hour difference, the President’s plane touched down at the Presidential Wing of Haneda International Airport in Tokyo on Tuesday, which was still Monday in Nigeria.

Ambassador Hideo Matsubara, the ambassador in charge of TICAD’s Haneda Airport, Yusuf Tuggar, the country’s foreign minister, and officials from the Nigerian Embassy, welcomed him.

After making a brief stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before heading to Japan, President Tinubu made a brief stopover there on Friday, August 15 with senior government officials, including ministers and special advisers.

President Tinubu will meet with the chief executive officers of some Japanese companies with investments in Nigeria, according to Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Jets To Japan, Brazil For Tokyo Conference, State Visit

The theme of TICAD9, “Co-create Innovative Solutions with Africa,” will be “The Promotion of a Resilient and Sustainable African Society for Human Security, Peace, and Stability, and the Promotion of Improved Business Environment and Institutions through Private Investment and Innovation.

The Japanese government spearheaded the triennial conference, which is held in conjunction with the World Bank, UNDP, the African Union Commission, and UNDP. Tunisia will host the final edition in 2022, while Japan will host the other.

At the president’s request, President Tinubu will travel to Brasilia, Brazil’s capital, for a two-day state visit from Sunday, August 24 to Monday, August 25, according to Onanuga, who further disclosed that the president will make the announcement at the conclusion of the TICAD9 summit.