The Nigeria Police Force has launched a Special Enforcement Team to ensure compliance with the presidential directive banning police from providing VIP escort and guard duties. According to Punch, the operation began in Lagos on December 6, 2025, covering strategic locations including the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge and the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The Force PRO said early monitoring showed commendable compliance, with no arrests reported during the initial sweep. The police leadership reiterated that the policy is intended to redeploy personnel to core policing tasks for broader public safety. Source: Punch, December 6, 2025.
Category: Nigeria
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Security emergency: Army freezes retirement of officers
Following President Tinubu’s declaration of a nationwide security emergency on November 26, 2025, the Nigerian Army has reportedly suspended statutory and voluntary retirements for certain categories of officers. Punch links this decision to the escalating crisis of mass abductions, citing a surge in kidnappings in November, including major incidents involving students and worshippers in different states. The directive appears aimed at maintaining manpower and operational continuity while security agencies expand recruitment and intensify deployments. Source: Punch, December 7, 2025.
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Akpabio dares Natasha over sexual harassment suit
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has challenged Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to present evidence of her sexual harassment allegations in court. Punch reports that Akpabio’s media office argues the defamation suit was filed about three months earlier, countering claims that it was newly initiated. The statement characterises the allegations as unproven and accuses the Kogi Central senator of misleading the public by framing the legal action as a sudden response. The dispute adds another layer to the intensifying political and reputational battle playing out between both figures. Source: Punch, December 7, 2025.
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Low offers halt sale of president’s jet
The Federal Government has reportedly withdrawn Nigeria’s Presidential Boeing 737-700 Business Jet from an international sales listing after receiving offers deemed far below expectations. Sunday Punch cites senior presidency and security sources indicating that some bids were around $10 million, which officials considered inadequate for the 20-year-old aircraft. Aviation market logic mentioned in the report suggests older VIP jets attract fewer serious buyers, as high-net-worth purchasers often prefer newer airframes with stronger manufacturer support and updated bespoke interiors. Source: Punch, December 7, 2025.
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Heavy security in Sokoto prison over Nnamdi Kanu
Security around the Sokoto Correctional Centre has reportedly remained unusually tight weeks after the transfer of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu. Punch states that Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment on November 20, 2025, after being found guilty on terrorism-related counts, and that the court raised concerns about his safety at Kuje, given past jailbreak incidents. The report describes a visible security buildup including armoured presence and heavily armed personnel, with journalists denied access without clearance from national headquarters. The paper also notes that only family, lawyers, and select high-profile visitors are reportedly permitted limited access. Source: Punch, December 7, 2025.
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Buratai, Malami, Yahaya deny links with terrorism financiers
Senior former officials—ex-COAS Tukur Buratai, ex-AGF Abubakar Malami, and ex-COAS Faruk Yahaya—have pushed back against allegations linking them to terrorism financiers. The Nation reports that the claims, said to have been amplified by an online publication referencing a retired officer, were described by Yahaya’s camp as false, malicious, and agenda-driven. Buratai also reportedly rejected the accusations, stating he has never been investigated or indicted for terrorism financing by any competent authority. The account suggests the officials may pursue legal redress if retractions are not issued. Source: The Nation, December 7, 2025.
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NAF pilots escape death as fighter jet crashes in Niger
Two Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet pilots reportedly survived an in-flight emergency during a post-inspection functional check flight from the Kainji base in Niger State. The story says the pilots ejected safely after steering the aircraft away from populated areas, helping to prevent civilian casualties. The Air Force spokesperson, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, confirmed the incident and noted that the pilots were undergoing routine medical evaluation. The Chief of Air Staff also reportedly ordered a Board of Inquiry to investigate the cause of the crash, reiterating the NAF’s commitment to operational safety. Source: The Nation, December 7, 2025.
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156 additional seats to be injected into parliament
A constitutional amendment proposal seeking reserved seats for women could add 156 new positions across national and state legislatures if passed and assented to. The report explains that advocates view the measure as a strategic corrective response to Nigeria’s long-standing gender imbalance in political representation. The bill’s architecture reportedly includes one reserved seat for women per state in both chambers of the National Assembly and three per state assembly, though the Senate is said to be considering an alternative model that would allocate reserved seats by geopolitical zones. Proponents insist the plan is designed to expand representation rather than displace male legislators, and may run for a defined number of election cycles as a temporary special measure, though extensions or removal of a sunset clause are also being discussed. Source: The Nation, December 7, 2025.
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Tinted Glass Permits: Why Nigerians Shouldn’t Pay Twice for One Car
Policeman checking vehicle particulars of a vehicle For years, motorists in Nigeria have endured a frustrating ritual: registering their vehicles with the state licensing offices, only to be stopped on the highway by police officers demanding an additional permit for factory-fitted tinted glass. The irony is painful — every new vehicle, including those with tinted or shielded glass, is already captured in the National Vehicle Identification Scheme (NVIS), the centralized database managed by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). So why are Nigerians being compelled to re-register with the police?
The answer lies not in necessity but in bureaucratic silos and institutional turf wars. By law, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) retains the authority to issue tinted glass permits under the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act of 1991. But in practice, FRSC already has the data. Every plate number, chassis number, and glass specification is captured the moment a car is registered. The logical solution would be for the police to access NVIS directly, extract a filtered report of all vehicles with factory-fitted shields, and enforce compliance seamlessly.
Instead, motorists are dragged through a second, often opaque process at police stations. This duplication breeds confusion, harassment, and informal revenue collection on the highways. Worse, it undermines public trust in law enforcement, turning a legitimate security concern into yet another avenue for extortion.
Yes, there are genuine worries. Aftermarket tinting is a security risk. Criminals exploit heavily darkened windows to evade detection. Police must have the authority to check and sanction illegal modifications. But this can be done through inspection points and digital cross-checks, not endless manual registrations.
Nigeria cannot claim to be pursuing digital transformation while its agencies cling to outdated silos. A simple reform could save time, money, and lives:
• Mandate FRSC to auto-flag tinted vehicles at registration.
• Provide NPF secure access to NVIS.
• Automate permit issuance electronically, with a transparent fee schedule.This way, motorists deal with one system, not two. Police officers enforce compliance using real-time data, not roadside guesswork. And the state builds trust by showing that regulation is about safety, not rent-seeking.
The time has come to end this double compliance burden. Nigerians deserve a system where technology replaces intimidation, and where institutions collaborate rather than compete. In an era of insecurity, the Police need the public’s confidence more than ever. Simplifying tinted glass permits would be a small but powerful step in that direction.
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Editorial Opinion: When Nigeria Happens to the Powerful: A Wake-Up Call for Leadership Beyond Privilege
Not too long ago, a former senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria—no longer in office, no longer surrounded by the trappings of power—was approached by a young citizen. In response to a casual exchange, the former lawmaker, with a tone of sincerity and fatigue, uttered a deeply revealing phrase:
“May Nigeria not happen to you.”
That brief remark has reverberated beyond its moment. It wasn’t just a statement—it was a confession, an admission of how quickly the illusion of safety and privilege dissolves when public office ends. It was also a mirror held up to the very soul of Nigeria’s dysfunctional socio-political system.
This man had once been part of the machinery that ran the country. He had the power to influence budgets, pass laws, and shape policy. And yet, as soon as his tenure ended, he found himself swallowed by the same dysfunction that haunts ordinary Nigerians daily: insecurity, administrative chaos, crumbling infrastructure, and the silent indifference of the system.
If a former senator can be so brutally vulnerable, what hope is there for the average Nigerian—those who never had the benefit of title, privilege, or armed escort?
This story is not unique, but it is symbolic. It exposes a fundamental failure in our approach to governance. Public office in Nigeria is too often treated as a sanctuary from the hardship of the nation, rather than as a platform to transform that hardship. For many, leadership is reduced to a fleeting window of protection and accumulation—a time to secure wealth, enjoy prestige, and escape the daily grind of the masses.
But here’s the painful truth: that escape is temporary.
When power fades, the failing system you helped uphold comes for you too. That reality should frighten anyone in leadership who still believes that political office is about securing the moment instead of changing the system.
This is a moral reckoning. We must ask: Why should any citizen have to fear that their country might “happen” to them? Why do even our lawmakers, governors, and ministers dread the same system they once managed? Why is Nigeria a place you survive while in office, but suffer once you’re out?
Until we abandon the model of power as refuge and embrace leadership as responsibility, we will remain in this cycle. We need leaders who understand that the true measure of success is not what they gain while in power, but what they leave behind after power.
A senator should not have to plead for mercy from the same country he helped lead. And a citizen should not have to pray that their nation does not “happen” to them.
Leadership must become a legacy, not an escape.
It is time to stop using the privilege of office for pecuniary gain, and start using it to build the kind of nation we won’t have to apologize for—even after we leave office.