Author: niyidaram

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (@officialEFCC) has traced 41 properties they alleged belonged to Abubakar Malami, the former attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice. According to TheCable, the properties — hotels, residential buildings, lands, schools, and a printing press — are scattered across Kebbi, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The properties in Kebbi state are valued at N162,195,950,000, while the assets in Kano state are said to be worth N16,011,800,000, and the value of the FCT properties was put at N34,685,000,000. The federal government has also filed a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering against…

The United States Department of State has announced visa bans against five individuals, including a former European Union commissioner, accusing them of attempting to coerce American social media companies into suppressing viewpoints they oppose. In a statement, Marco Rubio said the move targets what he described as “radical activists and weaponized NGOs” that have promoted censorship by foreign governments while targeting American speakers and US-based companies. Among those named is Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner for the internal market. The State Department described Breton as the “mastermind” behind the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), legislation that imposes content moderation…

A newly released batch of Jeffrey Epstein files contains repeated references to Donald Trump, including records detailing flights he took on Epstein’s private jet during the 1990s. An internal email dated January 7, 2020, written by an unidentified New York prosecutor and included in the release, states that flight logs show Trump flew on Epstein’s aircraft eight times. At least four of those flights reportedly included Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. The prosecutor’s email notes that on one flight, the only passengers were Trump,…

The months-long search for nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard has ended in tragedy, with authorities confirming that her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, acted alone in killing her. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that Melodee was shot in the head during a premeditated killing. Her remains were discovered in Utah earlier this month, roughly two months after she vanished during what investigators described as a sudden and suspicious mother-daughter road trip. Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown said the killing was “premeditated, ruthless, calculated and heartless,” noting that maternal filicide is rare and deeply disturbing. Investigators believe Melodee was murdered shortly after she and…

A US federal judge has upheld the Trump administration’s plan to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers. US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled in Washington DC on Tuesday that President Donald Trump acted within his legal authority when issuing the proclamation, rejecting a lawsuit filed by the US Chamber of Commerce. The business group had argued the fee violated federal immigration law and would force employers, including hospitals and small businesses, to cut jobs and services. Howell said the proclamation was issued under an “express statutory grant of authority to the President,” adding that…

The Trump administration has recalled dozens of US ambassadors from posts across the world, removing 48 envoys stationed in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America. The move follows an earlier wave of dismissals targeting ambassadors appointed under former President Joe Biden during the early months of President Trump’s second term. A senior State Department official described the action as routine. “This is a standard process in any administration,” the official said on Monday, December 22. “An ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and it is the president’s right to ensure that he has individuals in…

The United States Department of Homeland Security has announced a temporary incentive designed to encourage undocumented migrants to voluntarily leave the country during the holiday season. In a statement released Monday, DHS said undocumented migrants who register to self-deport through the CBP Home app before the end of the year will receive a $3,000 stipend, along with a free, government-funded flight to their home country. Participants will also qualify for forgiveness of civil fines or penalties linked to overstaying or failing to depart the United States. According to DHS, approximately 1.9 million undocumented migrants have voluntarily left the US since…

Foreign nationals working as prison officers in the UK have been granted a temporary exemption from new visa salary rules after warnings that jails were facing a severe staffing shortfall. UK prisons have increasingly relied on overseas recruits, particularly from Nigeria and Ghana, to fill officer roles. However, changes to immigration rules introduced in July raised the minimum salary for a skilled worker visa to £41,700, well above the typical starting pay for prison officers, especially outside London. Unions and prison officials warned the change could force more than 2,500 overseas prison staff out of the system, risking what the…

Elon Musk has moved significantly closer to becoming the world’s first trillionaire after a court reinstated his multibillion-dollar Tesla stock options. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires index, Musk’s net worth surged to $749 billion on Friday, making him the first person in history to surpass the $700 billion mark. He now sits roughly $500 billion ahead of the world’s second-richest individual, Google co-founder Larry Page. The jump follows a ruling by the Delaware Supreme Court restoring Musk’s 2018 Tesla compensation package, which includes stock options now valued at about $139 billion. The package had been voided in 2024 by a…

James Ransone, the actor best known for playing Ziggy Sobotka in The Wire, has died at the age of 46. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, Ransone died by suicide on Friday, December 19, in Los Angeles. His cause of death was listed as hanging, and his body has been released. Ransone was a married father of two. His wife, Jamie McPhee, shared a fundraiser supporting the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on her social media following his death. He rose to prominence for his role as Ziggy Sobotka, the troubled son of dockworker Frank Sobotka, in…