Below The Headlines - 117
Turns out Shekau was chilling in Kano and who is the Nigerian celeb too famous to return to Nigeria?
This is the last edition of this newsletter for 2025. It will return on January 3, 2026. This will allow you enjoy your Detty December uninterrupted. But please note that the admonition to remain of good behaviour still stands - if you misbehave in December, it might appear in the January newsletter.
Thanks for sticking with us and hope you enjoy the holidays!
Enjoy the week’s selection below
Nigerian Media
This profile of Abubakar Shekau by Ahmed Salkida is quite an interesting read. It left me with so many questions:
Shekau, who was wounded during a night assault on the Police Headquarters on July 27, 2009 (a bullet tore through his thigh), went underground. From the dust-choked streets of Maiduguri, he was ferried to Kano and admitted to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala. Months passed as he nursed his wounds later in a rented house in the Rijiyan Zaki area within the Kano metropolis. This was when he adopted a pseudonym — Alhaji Garba — hiding his true identity from neighbours and strangers.
Shekau’s personal life was as regimented as his theology. He remarried after his first wife’s death, and later took an additional wife, Hajara, who was the younger sister of one of Mohammed Yusuf’s wives. By the time Boko Haram’s violent uprising erupted in July 2009, Shekau was married to Yana and Hajara. After Yusuf’s death, Shekau claimed one of his widows, Hajja Gana, as his third. By 2011, when he was still living in Rijiyan Zaki in Kano, he added a fourth wife, Fatima, from Potiskum in Yobe State.
“Alhaji Garba” defied the script, as bombs were being detonated at the Police headquarters, UN house, media houses and several mosques and churches in Abuja and across northern Nigeria. He cruised highways, dropped into towns, and traded pleasantries at checkpoints from the owner’s corner of his SUV and sometimes in the ’90s model of a Golf sedan.
Then came the nationwide search. Cornered in Kano, he bolted through Maiduguri to Bama, the ghost town he controlled and vanished into the Sambisa wilderness. He took with him his four wives and dozens of children
Crazy story:
Tension broke out on Tuesday at the main entrance of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, after multiple rounds of ammunition reportedly tumbled out of a speeding passenger bus along the Zaria–Katsina road.
A video posted on X by Zagazola Makama, a counter-terrorism platform, showed the incident unfolding directly in front of the university gate, sparking confusion among students, passersby and motorists.
According to the publication, an eyewitness identified as Musa said the bullets fell from a commercial bus heading towards Katsina. “We suddenly saw the bullets drop from the bus as it sped past the gate. Before people could understand what happened, the vehicle had already disappeared,” he said.
Musa explained that some onlookers immediately gathered the scattered ammunition and notified security personnel positioned nearby.
Another student, who declined to give their name, described the moment as “strange and frightening,” adding that many feared the items might be part of “supplies meant for bandits” operating in parts of Kaduna and Katsina.
Makama reported that security agents later moved to the location and retrieved the ammunition.
More data on the price of selling babies in Nigeria:
A syndicate including a pastor who specialises in abduction, trafficking and sale of children have been apprehended by the Niger state Police command.
The police, acting on an intelligence report, traced the 2-year-old girl to a Pastor resident in Abuja who had bought her for a sum of N2.8m.
During interrogation, it was discovered that the Pastor had also sold the girl to another buyer in Delta state for a sum of N3.8m, making a gain of N1.8m from the sale.
The breakthrough and success story was from a chain of investigation carried out by the police command in the past month since a woman, Chukwumezie, was arrested at Dikko junction with three children she had abducted and sold out.
The state police command, through its Spokesman, Superintendent of Police Wasiu Abiodun, said six children have already been recovered through the ongoing investigation, adding that eight suspects are also in the police net, helping with the investigation.
Good work by Punch newspaper to highlight this but isn’t this a new road?
The Federal Government has begun the repair of the damaged expansion joints on some bridges along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, PUNCH Metro findings have revealed.
This follows an earlier report by our correspondent in July 2025, detailing the concerns of motorists over the damaged expansion joints.
The report highlighted motorists’ fears that the damaged joints, if not repaired, could cause accidents.
Our correspondent, who had visited some sections of the expressway, observed that the rubber covers of the expansion joints had peeled off, while parts of the joints had begun showing signs of potholes.
The report also showed that several vehicles were seen avoiding the damaged sections at the Wawa end of the Long Bridge, while others, who seemed unaware, rammed into the bad portions.
Following the first report, the Federal Ministry of Works promised that plans were in top gear to ensure the expansion joints were repaired.
The then Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Olukorede Kesha, had given the assurance in a telephone conversation with our correspondent.
From a court trial in Kano:
The Kano State High Court No. 1 sitting at the Audu Bako Secretariat has continued hearing the murder trial of Ayuba Sani, accused of killing Ibrahim Dan Larai in Tumfafi town, Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area.
The alleged incident occurred last year. Ayuba Sani allegedly stabbed the deceased in the neck with a knife following repeated disputes over waking him up at dawn for morning prayers at a mosque despite warning to desist from doing so.
At the resumed sitting on Thursday, the state prosecutor, Barrister Amina Uba, called two witnesses including ASP Cindu Cuwa and Inspector Buhari who testified on the investigation they conducted into the case.
The court subsequently discharged both witnesses after their testimonies.With their appearance, the total number of prosecution witnesses presented so far has risen to three.
News from Katsina:
Katsina State Police Command has arrested a newly married woman for allegedly killing her husband three days after their wedding in Jibia Local Government Area of the state.
The Command’s spokesperson, ASP Abubakar Aliyu, confirmed the incident in a statement on Tuesday.
He said the groom, identified as Abdullahi (not his real name), was discovered in a pool of blood at his residence in Tashar Buja community and later pronounced dead at the hospital.
“On November 23, 2025, at about 1:30 p.m., a report was received at the Jibia Division that one Abdullahi, a newly wedded groom, was found motionless in a pool of blood in his residence at Tashar Buja Quarters, Jibia LGA,” the statement read.
“Detectives were immediately deployed to the scene, where the victim was found with a deep cut to his neck. He was rushed to the hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival,” he added.
Aliyu added that the prime suspect, believed to be the wife of the deceased, was arrested and is currently in custody as investigation continues.
The suspect, Zainab Muhammad, reportedly stabbed her husband while he was asleep before leaving the house. Neighbours alerted authorities after discovering the deceased lying lifeless.
Family members of the deceased dismissed claims that the marriage was forced, stating that the couple had maintained a cordial relationship prior to their wedding.
Getting a scholarship from the government to study abroad does not really mean anything:
The House of Representatives has initiated a probe into claims that scholarship stipends meant for students studying both within Nigeria and overseas have not been paid, a situation said to have placed many of them under severe hardship and disrupted their academic progress.
This was revealed as the House Committee on Students Loans, Scholarships, and Higher Education Financing, chaired by Hon. Ifeoluwa Ehindero began its investigative hearing on Wednesday.
During the hearing, parents of the affected students presented their concerns to the committee, expressing deep anxiety about the consequences the delayed payments have had on their families and their children’s welfare.
The parents, speaking under the umbrella of the Forum of Parents and Guardians of FGN Bilateral Education Agreement Scholarship Recipients, Abuja, Nigeria, alleged that the Federal Government has violated the terms of the scholarship awards.
They stated that the programme had previously run smoothly across various host countries and that numerous former Nigerian beneficiaries had gained significantly from it and were now contributing meaningfully to national development.
The parents noted that although the host nations had largely adhered to the provisions of the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA), Nigeria had failed to consistently fulfill its obligations to pay the stipends as required.
They further explained that within the past three years, the situation had deteriorated, adversely affecting the scholars.
They urged the committee to examine the specific contractual commitments outlined in the award letters.
The parents recalled that as of 2018, the award letter provided beneficiaries with $500 per month and $600 annually for feeding, local transportation, and books/equipment; an annual warm clothing stipend of $250; and $200 for health insurance.
The package also included a $60,000 take-off grant prior to departure, along with a one-way ticket to the host country and a return ticket at the end of the study period to be obtained from the Nigerian Mission.
They added that a similar letter issued to another scholar in September 2022 listed the same benefits: a monthly supplementation allowance of $500 and $6,000 annually for feeding, transportation and equipment/books; $250 for warm clothing; $200 for health insurance per year; a $60,000 take-off grant; and one-way and return flight provisions to be collected from the Nigerian Mission abroad.
Non-Nigerian Media
Latest from UK immigration tribunal:
A Nigerian asylum seeker claimed that her “celebrity status” would put her at risk if returned to her home country.
The unnamed woman lodged a human rights claim to remain in the UK after saying her political activism combined with her high profile as a “well-known model and actress” would put her at risk.
She was initially denied asylum by the Home Office after lying about her salary on her visa application, but an immigration judge said her case needed to be reheard as the facts of her situation had not been fully considered.
Her case comes after Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, announced major reforms to the asylum system, making refugee status temporary and giving ministers powers to return migrants to their home country once it was deemed safe.
Ms Mahmood is also overhauling immigration appeals by replacing judges with adjudicators, as well as limiting illegal migrants and foreign offenders’ ability to exploit human rights laws to fight deportation.
The Nigerian woman, known only as OO, sought asylum in November 2021, which was refused by the Home Office in November 2023. She claimed that because she coordinated and attended a demonstration hoping to shut down the Nigerian government’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) – a federal police unit accused of widespread rights abuses – she would be at risk upon returning home.
Someone thought this was a good idea:
The UK government has rejected a request by Nigeria to deport a former senior Nigerian politician convicted of organ trafficking.
Ike Ekweremadu, 63, a former deputy president of the Nigerian senate and ally of the former president Goodluck Jonathan, is serving a sentence of nine years and eight months after being found guilty in 2023 of conspiring to exploit a man for his kidney.
Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice, and a co-conspirator, Dr Obinna Obeta, trafficked a young man to London with a view to harvesting his kidney, which they planned to transplant to Ekweremadu’s daughter Sonia in a private unit of an NHS hospital.
It was the first conviction for organ trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act.
Last week, a Nigerian government delegation, led by the foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, met officials at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to discuss Ekweremadu’s case. The delegation requested his deportation so he could serve his remaining sentence in Nigeria.
A source at the MoJ has confirmed the request was rejected. It is understood the UK government was concerned that there are no guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue his prison sentence after being deported.
News from North Carolina:
A Nigerian romance scammer was found guilty by a federal jury of laundering more than $120,000 from a Triangle area man, officials announced Wednesday. Saheed Sunday Owolabi, 34, was convicted Oct. 16 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, court records show. He was arrested in July 2024, about four months after he arrived in the United States on a spousal visa, according to court documents. Owolabi was indicted in June 2022, along with another Nigerian man and two American men, court documents show. He and Stephen Ojo, the other Nigerian, posed as women online and convinced men to send and receive money for them, the indictment states.
“Investigators recovered chat messages in which Owolabi admitted he was running a romance scam until he realized he was actually communicating with another fraudster,” a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice states. “That individual mocked Owolabi’s efforts and told him to ‘learn how to do a cleaner job.’”
One of those victims was Derrick Donahue Davis of Concord, according to court documents. Davis fell for Ojo, who was allegedly going by the name “Kyra Carter,” after meeting the fake woman on a dating app in 2018, court documents state.
Davis ultimately played a crucial role in an April 2020 scam where the men sent a Triangle area man identified as “KCN” an email pretending to be KCN’s attorney. KCN was closing on a home in Apex, and the fake email used the COVID-19 pandemic as a ploy to get KCN to wire $120,768.17 to Davis’ bank account to avoid a delayed closing, court documents allege.
Davis then sent the money to several other people, and at least $1,500 made its way back to Owolabi, according to court documents. The victim didn’t realize he’d been scammed until he arrived at the closing appointment. Law enforcement noticed the large transaction and told Davis he was participating in criminal activity, but he allegedly continued to move money for Ojo and Owolabi nonetheless, court documents state.
Some ‘foreign’ investors are in town for some lithium:
Perth-based lithium explorer Chariot Corporation has moved decisively to unlock near-term cash flows from its Nigerian lithium portfolio, signing a binding agreement to formalise small-scale mining across its four highly prospective project areas.
The deal, struck with local partner Continental Lithium Limited via JV entity C&C Minerals Limited (Chariot 66.667%, Continental 33.333%), is conditional on completion of Chariot’s acquisition of its interest in C&C Minerals and the Nigerian projects under a share sale agreement announced to ASX in mid July 2025, upon which C&C Minerals will then serve as the holding company for Chariot’s Nigerian lithium portfolio.
Once settled, Continental will manage on-ground mining and logistics, taking advantage of its in-country expertise, while Chariot will handle project financing, offtake agreements and regulatory compliance.
The transaction positions Chariot as one of the first publicly-listed lithium explorers with significant holdings in Nigeria, one of Africa’s most prospective yet underexplored areas hosting lithium mineralisation.
Continental Lithium is a Nigerian-based private mining and trading company, incorporated in 2017, which began operations in 2018.
The four Nigerian assets - eight exploration licences and two small-scale mining leases - that comprise the Fonlo, Gbugbu, Iganna and Saki target clusters span about 254 square kilometres in Nigeria’s Oyo and Kwara states, which host widespread artisanal lithium mining.
The assets provide valuable exposure to the rapidly developing Africa-China lithium supply corridor. Since 2021, local miners have been hand-picking and selling spodumene-rich lithium ore to Chinese buyers, demonstrating product quality and market demand.
Grenada citizenship now being marketed in Nigeria by Nigerians:
A Nigerian company with an office in a residential area known for its luxury apartments and duplexes is the latest to be granted a marketing license by the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Committee.
“Notice is hereby given that pursuant to Section 13 of the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Act, 2013, VTA Global Services, Block 4 Osborn Foreshore, Ikoyi Lagos, Nigeria, has been granted the license of a Marketing Agent and is therefore authorised to conduct business in the State of Grenada, pursuant to the terms and conditions specified in the said Grenada Citizenship by Investment Act, 2013,” said a notice published in the 21 November 2025 edition of the Government Gazette.
Signed by Thomas Anthony, Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Migration Agency (IMA), the license, which came into effect as of 3 November, states that the Agent License number GCBI-MA-094.
A Google search for the address of the company shows that Block 4, Osborne Foreshore in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria, is a residential area with a variety of properties, including luxury apartments and duplexes. Properties in this area are known for being high-end, secure, and amenity-rich, with options for sale and rent that often include features such as waterfront access, private security, and recreational facilities.
Besides Grenada, its website shows that it offers global citizenship services to St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda and the Dominican Republic. “We provide expert team to create great value for immigration. Our certified and reliable Immigration Consultant professionals can help you get a positive decision on your case. We provide immigration services in all countries.”
Data published by the CBI Unit, which was rebranded the IMA in 2024, shows that a significant number of people granted Grenada citizenship through the CBI are from Nigeria, one of the West African nations targeted by the IMA.
Good piece on Ladi Kwali. I came to a renewed appreciation of her work after I visited the Nigerian Modernism exhibition at the Tate Modern:
When Ladi Kwali was alive, her genius was recognized in Nigeria and internationally. She was the most famous potter of her community, and her work was collected by an emir. She toured the world with her handmade Gbari pottery, demonstrating how she made it in front of big crowds and wowing audiences with her skill and the motifs — lizards, scorpions and geometric patterns — on her pots.
But her work, and her words, did not reach her international audiences directly. She was taken to Europe and the United States for demonstration tours by the English potter Michael Cardew, whom scholars have criticized; one, Lisa Bagley, described him as “a gatekeeper between African ceramists and Western audiences.” As a senior potter officer of the Nigerian colonial government, Cardew employed her, worked alongside her and learned from her, and introduced her to glazing, wheel throwing and kiln firing. Internationally, Kwali (1925-1984) and her work was mediated through him, and much of what we know of her comes through his papers and his biographer, Tanya Harrod.
So the exhibition “Body Vessel Clay: Black Women, Ceramics & Contemporary Art,” where her work is presented largely among other Black women working in clay, feels like a revelation — a far clearer picture of one of Nigeria’s most famous but least seen and understood artists.
This U.S. debut of the exhibit, on view at the Ford Foundation Gallery until Dec. 6, coincides with the centenary of Kwali’s birth. The curator, Jareh Das, has spent years gathering information about Kwali’s life, personality and work, which has long been obscured, despite her fame.
Kwali’s face is on the 20 naira note — the only woman on Nigerian currency — but, as Das notes, she “holds a paradoxical position in Nigeria.” Though her name is well known there, her work is not, as most of it is in Western museums. And because she was a woman from Northern Nigeria and was not formally educated, she was excluded from Nigerian modernist discourse. That is changing, fortunately, with this exhibition and with her inclusion in major international shows like the continuing “Nigerian Modernism”exhibition at the Tate Modern in London.
Twitter making public the location information on user profiles has turned out to be quite an interesting week for Nigeria:
Both Maga Nation, which has nearly 400,000 followers and posts multiple times a day, and the similarly named MagaNationX, which boasts the rather unlettered slogan, ‘Patriot Voice For We The People’, have been traced to Eastern Europe.
Then there is ULTRAMAGATRUMP2028, which claims to hail from Washington DC but turns out to be based in Africa. Dark Maga, which presents as an ultra-conservative voice, is posting from Thailand; MAGA Scope, with more than 51,000 followers, operates from Nigeria; and TRUMP_ARMY_ , with more than half a million followers, hails from India.
[…]
Meanwhile, the hugely popular Yookay Aesthetics, with 51,000 followers, which claims to hail from Bradford, is based in South America. And the now-deleted ReformWatford - with the tagline, ‘we can’t go on like this’ - posted from Nigeria.
A very sad story:
A former refugee has appeared in court charged with murder of a Nigerian man in a shared student accommodation block.
Congolese national Benjamin Katabana, 27, is accused of stabbing to death Ucheena Okirie at Somerleyton House, Norfolk, on Saturday.
Social media accounts describe Mr Okirie, 33, as having been a post graduate student at the University of East Anglia’s School of International Development from 2021.
Katabana, who came to the UK as a boy with his family and wore a blue sweatshirt in the dock, spoke only to confirm his name, his date of birth and his address at Somerleyton House during the two-minute hearing.
[…]
Mr Okirie was pronounced dead at the scene, and a post mortem established that he had died from a stab wound to the chest.
His LinkedIn profile described him as an international student ambassador to Nigeria and an economics graduate from the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta.
His studies are said have included preparing a report on climate change and health outcomes in sub Saharan African countries.