This week on 1914 Reader, Tobi and I got together for another episode of Matters Arising on Frontier Matters where we covered Detty December, Tax Reforms and a bit on “Tromp”.
Look out for Chapter 1 of The Whispering Class dropping on Monday.
Enjoy the usual selection below
Nigerian Media
The Nigerian football league is witnessing the rise of female referees. This article profiles a few of them:
Alongside established names, a growing number of emerging female referees are gradually building their profiles. Officials such as Oluwatosin Omotoye, Olufunmilayo Abigael Alaba amongst others have appeared on recent FIFA and national referees lists, officiating in domestic leagues and regional competitions.
Although many are still in the early stages of their elite careers, their inclusion signals a deliberate effort to broaden the talent base and ensure continuity. These referees benefit from increased visibility, structured training programmes and mentorship from senior officials who have already navigated the path.
The collective impact of these women has transformed refereeing in Nigerian football. From Olympic appearances and continental finals to domestic showpieces and administrative leadership, female referees are no longer exceptions but key contributors to the game’s integrity and professionalism.
While challenges remain, particularly in terms of societal perceptions and limited grassroots access, the progress achieved so far is significant. With pioneers, administrators and emerging talents working across all levels, Nigerian football now has a sustainable pipeline of female referees whose influence will shape the sport for generations to come.
Quite an innovative way to raise money to travel to the US:
A Lagos-based couple, identified simply as Fred and Goodness, have been arrested for allegedly staging their own kidnap and extorting N10m in ransom from their families and friends.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the couple faked the abduction on January 7 to solicit funds for the husband, who intended to return to the United States due to a lack of financial support.
A police source who spoke to our correspondent on Thursday said the suspects contacted relatives on both sides of the family and claimed they had been kidnapped while demanding ransom.
The source added that the families raised N10m within three days, believing the money was meant to secure their release.
“The couple faked their kidnapping, thereby calling on friends and families for contributions towards the ransom payment. And what happened was, according to them, the husband wanted to travel back to the US, and he needed some money, but their sponsors were not forthcoming, so they planned it together that maybe by the time they do that, they’ll be able to raise some money.”
Speaking on their arrest, another police source in the command said the couple arranged a location at a school in Cappa in the Mushin area of Lagos, where the ransom was to be delivered.
“Operatives monitoring the area noticed the woman entering the premises alone, while the man arrived separately moments later. However, suspicion was raised when both suspects later emerged together carrying a bag.
The headline of this story is “Pastor in police net for hiring cultist to kill rival in Bayelsa” :
Operatives of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit of the Bayelsa State Police Command have arrested one Pastor Elijah Oro over a plot to kill a rival pastor in the state.
According to the police, Pastor Oro allegedly hired one Samuel Daniel, a 21-year-old member of a notorious cult group, to execute his rival over a reported issue of membership drive and property.
In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Musa Mohammed, said, “On 28th January, 2026, at about 1035 hours, operatives attached to the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit, acting on credible intelligence, swung into action and arrested two suspects, namely Samuel Daniel ‘m’, 21 years old, from Nembe Ogbolomabiri Community, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and Pastor Elijah Oro ‘m’, 59 years old, from Ozoro Community, Delta State, both involved in an alleged plot to kill the prophet named [withheld].”
“Preliminary investigation revealed that one of the suspects, Samuel Daniel ‘m’, 21 years, was arrested in the premises of the prophet and had confessed to being a member of the Greenlanders Confraternity. He was allegedly hired by Pastor Elijah Oro ‘m’ to assassinate the prophet (name withheld). Investigation is ongoing to unravel the motive behind the alleged plot.
The article does not say what the intended use was but I’m almost certain it was for some mining operation. Wildcat miners are doing untold damage to the environment in the name of getting lithium or whatever else out of rocks:
The Oyo State Police Command has intercepted a truck conveying materials suspected to be explosives in the Sango area of Ibadan, the state capital.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ayanlade Olayinka, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the truck was intercepted during a stop-and-search operation based on an intelligence tip-off.
He said the driver of the truck and 42 suspected explosive materials were taken into custody. Olayinka added that the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Femi Haruna, has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
According to him, specialised personnel from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), unit and the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN), unit have been deployed to secure the items and conduct forensic examinations.
He noted that detailed forensic analysis is ongoing to determine the exact nature of the materials and their intended use. The police spokesperson assured residents that there was no cause for panic, adding that further updates would be provided as investigations continue.
Likewise this story about chemicals from Zamfara which are almost certainly about illegal gold mining. The thing with stuff like this is the natural resources being mined might one day lose value but you will be left with the damaged environment anyway:
The Zamfara State Police Command has intercepted about 2,500 litres of suspected poisonous chemical substances in the Lalan area of the Gusau Local Government Area of the state.
The latest seizure came less than 24 hours after the command intercepted a vehicle conveying 954 explosive devices believed to have been intended for use by bandits in the state.
Announcing the recovery in a statement made available to PUNCH Metro on Thursday, the command’s spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar, said the chemicals were recovered in 100 jerricans, each containing 25 litres.
Abubakar said the interception was part of ongoing efforts by the police to curb the circulation of materials capable of endangering lives and property in the state.
“In furtherance of ongoing efforts to secure Zamfara State against the proliferation of items capable of endangering lives and property, the Zamfara State Police Command has recorded a significant operational success,” the statement read.
I believe N3m is the highest price I’ve come across in the years I’ve been monitoring the Nigerian baby market:
The Nigerian Army, in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons NAPTIP, has arrested seven persons over their alleged involvement in an attempt to sell a day old baby in Calabar, Cross River State.
The suspects were apprehended during an intelligence led operation carried out by troops of the Headquarters 13 Brigade, Nigerian Army, in the state capital.
According to the Army, the operation was triggered by credible intelligence on the activities of a suspected human trafficking network operating within the area. Acting on the information, troops conducted a coordinated raid on Glorious Amazing Grace Hospital in the Ikot Ekpo axis of Calabar.
The Army disclosed that the suspects were arrested while negotiating the sale of a day old baby boy for the sum of three million naira.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Headquarters 13 Brigade, Major Yemi Sokoya, the Army described the act as a grave violation of the law and a serious breach of fundamental human rights.
“The suspects were apprehended during an ongoing negotiation to sell a day old baby boy for the sum of three million naira. The operation followed detailed and credible intelligence on the activities of a suspected human trafficking syndicate operating within Calabar Municipality,” the statement said.
I don’t know why this part from a story warning people not to try to bribe their way to become Awujale made me laugh so much:
He also clarified reports that aspirants were required to pay N10 million, explaining that while the idea of contributions was initially discussed to address logistics, it was later abandoned and all funds already paid were refunded.
“Every person who paid was refunded. It was never a condition for participation,” he stated.
While condemning bribery and inducement in the selection process, Ogidan said culturally acceptable gestures should not be confused with attempts to manipulate the process, stressing that any gift intended to influence the outcome would not be tolerated.
“We frown at bribery and inducement. But in our culture, it is not unusual for someone to visit an elder with a gift. What we reject is anything meant to influence the process.”
We also cover a lot of fake things here and this is one of the biggest ones so far in terms of size of the fakeness:
The Kano State Police Command has arrested three suspects in connection with the alleged purchase of a luxury vehicle using a fake bank alert. This followed intelligence-led operations by its Special Intervention Squad (SIS).
The suspects, Ibrahim Tijjani, Jamilu Auwal, and Mohammed Nura Dauda, were arrested on January 28, 2026, at Kabuga Quarters in Kano, after a tip-off, police authorities said.According to the police, the suspects allegedly bought a white Mercedes-Benz GLE from Gwarinpa, Abuja, for ₦75 million using a fake transfer alert. The fake alert was reportedly sent by one Ibrahim Yahaya, who is currently at large.
The development was disclosed in a press release issued on January 30, 2026, by the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Kano State Command.
Non-Nigerian Media
Nigeria is so back?
Nearly three years on, Nigeria’s 230m people, especially the poor and the middle class, are still reeling from increases in fuel and food prices. Poverty has risen. But it looks as though Mr Tinubu’s bitter medicine is helping. The annual inflation rate, which hit a nearly 30-year high of 34.8% in December 2024, fell to 15.2% in December 2025. Growth is returning. The IMF expects the economy to expand by 4.4% in 2026. Following two steep devaluations in 2023, the naira has stabilised (see chart). The central bank’s foreign-exchange reserves have risen to $46bn, their highest level in seven years.
Improvements in macroeconomic stability are restoring investor confidence. On January 22nd Shell, a British company, said it hopes in 2027 to finalise plans, with partners, to develop a $20bn offshore oilfield that has been sitting untapped for over 20 years. Exxon Mobil, an American firm, has committed $1.5bn to deepwater development until 2027. Local business leaders are more upbeat, too. Oil-and-gas production is rising, much of it driven by local firms plugging leaks and improving output in onshore projects in the Niger Delta, which has become safer thanks to Mr Tinubu’s focus on security there.
All this should give the government some fiscal breathing room, particularly as the cheaper naira begins to raise the competitiveness of Nigeria’s non-oil exports such as cocoa and cashew nuts. Recent reforms to taxation and tax collection, Mr Tinubu’s latest project, should help improve revenues further in the coming years. Falling inflation should eventually begin to ease the cost-of-living pain.
This story about Yewande Komolafe made me feel sad and angry all at once. Life can be so unfair:
In December 2023, I went to a hospital in New York City with flulike symptoms and the onset of a sickle cell crisis, for what I thought would be a routine stay. But I did not receive the care I needed, and the results were catastrophic. My memory of this time exists only in text messages I sent to family and close friends: “I’m still in so much pain.”
On the afternoon of Jan. 11, 2024, I woke up from a six-week-long coma, in a different hospital, not knowing how I’d gotten there. This was followed by six more weeks of high fevers and a fog of confusion. A breathing tube had been inserted into my throat. I could only mouth what I felt — a horrendous amount of pain — adding another layer of trauma.
It was a few weeks more before I could turn my neck sideways to take in the hospital room beyond its patterned ceiling. The room was bright, sunlight filtering in through large windows along my bed. Friendly nurses spoke to me in loud, high-pitched voices, and stoic doctors rattled off my circumstances in their detailed, matter-of-fact way.
I was able to recognize my mother, who had flown in from Nigeria, where I was raised, to spend nights with me, and my husband and younger brother, who would visit during the mornings and afternoons. My constant and singular thought during that time was this: If they could see me, then I was safe.
In a meeting with family and medical staff in early March 2024, I learned that both my legs would not survive, and neither would my fingers. Several amputations were scheduled, and, after seven months in the hospital, I would be sent home as a bilateral below-the-knee and digital amputee, navigating the world in an electric wheelchair. I’d later be fitted with prosthetic hands and legs.
William Foege, who helped eradicate smallpox, has died at 89:
When civil war broke out in Nigeria, pitting secessionists in the east against the federal government in Lagos, Dr. Foege’s family was evacuated. But Dr. Foege, having rejoined the C.D.C., stayed behind in the eastern region to lead the effort to stamp out smallpox there. It was dangerous work: He was constantly encountering roadblocks, often maintained by armed teenage rebels, who, he later wrote, “mixed guns, alcohol and bravado.”
When officials in Lagos cut off vaccine supplies to the east, threatening the success of his program, Dr. Foege was defiant, and undeterred. He and one of his C.D.C. team members hopped in his white Dodge pickup truck and drove 350 miles, across a bridge over the Niger River and into the capital city to raid a government warehouse.
While his C.D.C. colleague distracted a security guard, Dr. Foege loaded up the truck with stolen vaccine, cold packs, jet injector parts and other supplies. He drove back, terrified of being caught — only to run into a wall of trucks and bulldozers blocking the bridge at the river’s western edge, cutting off his passage back to safety. He fast-talked his way through in a meeting with the rebel leader.
“I explained that we had just stolen vaccine from the federal government, and he was happy about that,” Dr. Foege recalled in an interview with The New York Times in 2023. “He cleared a path for us, and when we got across the bridge, we could breathe a sigh of relief.”
By the summer of 1967, smallpox had been eradicated in eastern Nigeria, and Dr. Foege reported the results at a C.D.C. meeting in Ghana. Dr. Millar and his C.D.C. specialists in Africa soon embraced the containment approach as the primary tactic for eradicating smallpox in West and Central Africa, a goal that was achieved in the spring of 1970.
I did not know how much demolition has been going on in Makoko. This photo essay has 20 photos:
Called the largest floating slum in the world, authorities in Lagos have begun demolishing thousands of homes in Makoko, displacing families that have lived there for generations.
A French-Nigeria Afrobeat collabo is happening:
Will the next global hits from Nigeria have a French accent? Perhaps. Nine French rap, pop and urban music composers recently joined forces with Afrobeats artists to produce 60 tracks for international audiences.
In under a week, French, English, Nigerian Pidgin and Creole blended in musical melodies for future hits at the premises of renowned Nigerian label Mavin Records in the economic and cultural hub, Lagos.
The label produces Afrobeats stars such as Rema, Ladipoe, Ayra Starr and Magixx.
“If one or two songs hit like Ayra Starr’s ‘Rush’ or Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ then we would have achieved it all,” said Akotchaye Okio, the director of international artists’ rights group Sacem, which organised the camp in collaboration with the French embassy and Mavin Records.
Sorry to that country where those who can afford to stay on the grid are the ones leaving it:
Churches of all sizes and types in Nigeria are embracing solar energy to avoid power outages that disrupt their services.
Blackouts are extremely common in the West African nation because of aging infrastructure and an unreliable grid.
As BusinessDay reported, many churches across the country have installed solar panels to replace diesel generators prone to power failures. This movement involves urban megachurches, remote congregations, and everything in between.
Not only are the churches’ solar panels keeping lights on, but they’re also reducing the noise and toxic fumes caused by the gas generators. As a result, parishioners can worship with greater peace and fewer distractions.
Maro Itoje lost his mother:
England will kick off their Six Nations training camp in Spain this week without their captain, Maro Itoje, who has travelled to Nigeria for his mother’s funeral. Itoje was absent from the official Six Nations championship launch in Edinburgh on Monday and is not expected to join his squad until Wednesday evening.
With the tournament commencing on Thursday week every team is scrambling to be ready, but the Saracens lock has been given permission to miss the start of the training block in Girona this week.
“He is in Nigeria for the funeral of his mother and we are all deeply saddened for him,” said Steve Borthwick, whose side open their campaign at home against Wales on Saturday week.
“When I have talked to him I sense emotionally he has found it very tough, very challenging. I also sense from him that his family all going to Nigeria for the funeral is an important aspect for him. I know he will be looking forward to rejoining us and we look forward to having him back.”
Nigerian adoption meets Trump immigration policies:
A Missouri couple who have been in Nigeria for more than 10 months is petitioning President Donald Trump to lift visa restrictions preventing them from bringing their adopted child back to the United States to continue living as a family.
Kaylee and James Wilson told NewsNation they are no strangers to international adoptions. They adopted their first child, a daughter from Ghana, in 2016, before adding another daughter, who is deaf and unable to speak and was rescued from the streets of Nigeria in 2021.
The family of seven also includes two biological children who have remained with their parents in Nigeria since last March because of a proclamation signed by Trump on Jan. 1 prohibiting visas from being granted to adopted children from 39 foreign countries.
What is a Jogodo?
Asake and Wizkid are making streaming history in Nigeria. Their collaborative single “Jogodo” delivered a record-breaking debut on Spotify Nigeria, earning 1.388 million streams in its first day. The release now stands as the highest single-day total ever for a duo or collaborative song on the platform in the country.
The momentum continued throughout the week, with “Jogodo” also setting a new all-time benchmark for first-week streams in Spotify Nigeria history at 6.632 million. The success extended beyond Spotify as their joint project REAL, Vol. 1 – EP dominated global charts.
The EP charted in 105 countries on Apple Music and became the first African EP to reach No. 1 on the UK Apple Albums Chart. All four tracks from REAL Vol. 1 also swept the top spots on the Apple Music Nigeria Top Songs chart.
News from Australia:
A young nurse has had her registration cancelled and struck off the register after ‘improper conduct’ during night shifts at a nursing home, including falling asleep on the job up to six times.
Chimzuruoke Okembunachi, 25, started work as a registered nurse at Hardi Aged Care (HAC) in Guildford in western Sydney in February 2024.
But after a month on the job, she was suspended and resigned from her position.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Tuesday found Ms Okembunachi guilty of professional misconduct and ordered the cancellation of her nurse registration.
The tribunal panel heard that Ms Okembunachi had been rostered for night shifts from 13 to 27 March 2024.
On each shift, the panel noted that Ms Okembunachi was the only registered nurse supervising three or four assistants-in-nursing (AIN) and 100 elderly residents.
But, on six of these nights, she failed to discharge her duties and responsibilities as she slept while on duty.
The tribunal heard that on three occasions, the nurse failed to give a patient her regular dose of morphine because she was asleep.
[…]
Born in Nigeria, Ms Okembunachi moved to Australia in 2018 and graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing Science at University of the Sunshine Coast in 2021.
She then embarked on a graduate degree in medicine at Western Sydney University, (WSU) which she balanced with her work at HAC while suffering from migraines.
During her second degree, Ms Okembunachi had to take a leave of absence after failing the mid-year anatomy exam. She then returned to her studies in 2024.