Anthony Joshua issues emotional first remarks since car accident in Nigeria that killed two close friends

 

Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua issued his first public remarks after a tragic car accident in Nigeria took two lives.

Anthony Joshua suffered the loss of two of his longtime team members in a car accident last month in Nigeria. Joshua, who defeated Jake Paul just days before the crash, suffered minor injuries and received treatment at a local hospital.

It was a scary and tragic moment for Joshua, the victims, and their families. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and a 46-year-old man was charged with death by dangerous driving, according to police.

Joshua recently video-called with former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, a fellow Nigerian, after the accident. But Joshua has remained relatively quiet on social media since the accident as he begins his grieving process.

Anthony Joshua makes first public statement since fatal car accident

In a recent social media post, Joshua spoke about the accident and paid tribute to his two teammates.

“Thank you for all the love and care you have shown my brothers,” Joshua said. “I didn’t even realise how special they are. I’ll just be walking with them and cracking jokes with them, not even knowing God kept me in the presence of great men.

“100 percent it’s tough for me, but I know it’s even tougher for their parents. I have a strong mind, and I believe God knows their hearts. May God have mercy on my brothers.”

Joshua is considered one of the top heavyweight fighters on the planet and is reportedly set to fight Tyson Fury in a heavyweight match later this year. Fury hasn’t fought since suffering back-to-back losses to Joshua’s former foe Oleksandr Usyk.

In the meantime, Joshua and his family are dealing with the aftermath of the horrific car accident. This is a developing story and we’ll continue to update you as new details become available.

By Curtis Calhoun, BJPENN.COM

Related story: Police arrest Joshua’s driver after boxer discharged

Trump Says There Could Be More US Strikes In Nigeria

President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could carry out further military strikes in Nigeria if Christians continue to be killed, reigniting a sensitive debate over religious violence and foreign intervention in Africa’s most populous nation.

Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, while responding to questions about a US military strike carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day. At the time, the US military said the operation targeted Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria and was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.

Nigeria, however, described the operation as a joint counterterrorism effort, stressing that it was aimed at armed groups designated as terrorists and “had nothing to do with a particular religion”.

“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump was quoted as saying. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”

Pressed on comments by his own Africa adviser that extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims but insisted that Christians were being targeted disproportionately.

“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly raised alarms about the safety of Christians in Nigeria, beginning in late October when he warned that Christianity faced what he described as an “existential threat” in the country. He has accused Nigerian authorities of failing to adequately protect Christian communities and has openly threatened US military intervention if the violence continues.

Nigeria has firmly rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians. The government maintains that the country’s security challenges are complex and largely driven by insurgency, banditry and criminal violence rather than religious targeting.

With a population of more than 230 million people, Nigeria is almost evenly divided between Christians, who are concentrated mainly in the south, and Muslims, who predominate in the north. Islamist insurgencies, particularly Boko Haram and its offshoots, have plagued parts of northern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands and displacing millions.

Nigerian authorities have repeatedly pointed out that militant attacks have claimed the lives of both Muslims and Christians, arguing that framing the violence along religious lines oversimplifies the crisis and risks inflaming tensions.

Following Trump’s earlier threats, the Nigerian government said it was willing to continue cooperating with Washington in combating terrorism but rejected language suggesting that Christians alone were under threat.

The latest comments are likely to strain diplomatic relations further, as Nigeria balances its partnership with the United States against concerns over sovereignty, security cooperation and the portrayal of its internal conflicts on the global stage.

By Melissa Enoch, Arise News

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reveals her one-year-old son has died after a short illness

One of the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s one-year-old twin sons has died after a brief illness.

“We’re deeply saddened to confirm the passing of one of Ms Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dr Ivara Esege’s twin boys, Nkanu Nnamdi, who passed on Wednesday,” read a statement made by Adichie’s communications team.

“The family is devastated by this profound loss, and we request that their privacy be respected during this incredibly difficult time,” continued the statement, signed by Omawumi Ogbe of GLG Communications. “We ask for your grace and prayers as they mourn in private.”

“No further statements will be made, and we thank the public and the media for respecting their need for seclusion during this period of immense grief.”

Adichie and Esege married in 2009. Adichie had her first child, a daughter, in 2016. In 2024, her twin boys were born via surrogate.

Adichie has become one of the most celebrated modern novelists for works exploring love, conflict, identity, feminism and colonialism among other themes. Her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, was longlisted for the Booker prize in 2004. Her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun – set during the Biafran war – won the Women’s prize for fiction in 2007, and was named the “winner of winners” from 25 recipients in 2020. Her 2013 novel Americanah won the National Book Critics Circle award. Her most recent novel, Dream Count, was published last year and longlisted for the Women’s prize.

She is also the author of the short story collection The Thing Around Your Neck as well as the nonfiction titles We Should All Be Feminists; Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions; and Notes on Grief, which she wrote following the death of her father in 2020. Her mother died months later, in 2021.

By Ella Creamer, The Guardian

Nigerians living with albinism demand inclusion beyond pity

Nigerians living with albinism have renewed calls for inclusion, equal treatment and respect, saying their greatest challenge is not health-related conditions but persistent discrimination and social exclusion.

The demand was made at an empowerment and listening session organised by the Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF) in partnership with the Albino Empowerment Foundation, where participants urged government, institutions and the public to move beyond sympathy and address structural barriers facing persons living with albinism.

Speaking at the event, Professor Chiso Ndukwe-Okafor, CADEF’s executive director, stressed that real progress only becomes possible when people are respected and included, not pitied.

While relief items such as food, protective clothing and materials to address skin and eye care were shared, Ndukwe-Okafor noted that the most powerful moments came when participants spoke for themselves.

“They reminded us that dignity begins when people are seen fully and treated equally,” she said, adding that self-awareness and knowledge of fundamental human rights are essential tools for self-advocacy.

According to her, understanding one’s rights equips people to demand fairness, inclusion and accountability, a principle CADEF holds firmly in its belief that an informed consumer is an empowered one.

Speaking on the broader meaning of inclusion, Ifeoma Ngesina, founder of the Albino Empowerment Foundation, said inclusion for persons with albinism is fundamentally about dignity and equal rights.

“It is about being seen, being heard and being part of decisions that affect our lives, not being reduced to stereotypes or treated as weak simply because of our skin,” she said.

Ngesina noted that much of the discrimination faced by persons with albinism is driven by myths and rumours, compounded by insufficient public enlightenment. “But when persons with albinism are included in schools, workplaces, leadership spaces and the media, those harmful beliefs begin to fade,” she added.

According to her, inclusion goes beyond access to opportunities; it builds confidence, nurtures leadership and reinforces the truth that every person, regardless of appearance, has value and potential.

Ms. Kobi Ikpo, an advisory board member of CADEF, challenged participants to take ownership of how society relates with them. “If you do not tell people how to treat you, they will not know how to address you,” she said.

In her view, the time for endless complaints has passed; what is needed now is experience-sharing, education and confident self-presentation. “Once you accept yourself as a complete human being deserving of respect, it reflects in how you carry yourself — and that confidence commands respect.”

For Afolake Odudinu, the conversation turned to the harsh realities many families still face. She highlighted how lack of parental enlightenment continues to shape the future of children with albinism.

Some struggle in school not because they lack intelligence, but because poor eyesight is misunderstood as dullness. Too often, such children are withdrawn from school and pushed into lifelong disadvantage.

She recalled a painful encounter with an albino woman selling bottled water under the scorching sun, her skin badly damaged. “Sometimes all you can do is pray,” she said, noting that skin cancer treatment in Nigeria remains out of reach for many.

Beyond education and health, Odudinu also spoke about social and marital challenges, where stigma still shadows many albinos seeking companionship and family life.

Another strong intervention came from Efosa Peter, who warned that empowerment without sincerity is dangerous. He shared how he once joined an organisation claiming to empower albinos, only to discover it had become political, with resources never reaching those who needed them most. “I hate pity. I don’t want to be pitied, I want empowerment,” he said firmly.

Peter described persons with albinism as uniquely gifted with creativity and deep thinking, urging leaders to ensure empowerment initiatives are driven by genuine motives. As a father of three and an associate pastor, he recounted moments of raw ignorance, including people insisting on checking his newborn child for albinism, and stressed that confidence built through self-development is key to overcoming such encounters. “Empowerment must include self-esteem and self-motivation. Many people withdraw because of past experiences. When you see yourself as whole, others will follow,” he said.

Other speakers at the session highlighted challenges ranging from limited access to quality education and healthcare to workplace discrimination and social rejection. Participants warned that many children with albinism are wrongly labelled as dull due to visual impairment, leading to school dropouts and long-term disadvantage.

The organisers said the initiative is part of ongoing efforts to promote rights-based advocacy for persons with disabilities, noting that the empowerment session will be institutionalised as an annual programme. They called on policymakers and stakeholders to prioritise inclusive policies that guarantee equal access to education, healthcare and economic opportunities for Nigerians living with albinism.

By Royal Ibeh, Business Day

Related story: Video - Nigeria crowns its first ever Albinism Advocacy Queen

Nigeria reveals $17.8 million electricity debt owed by its neighbours

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in its Third Quarter 2025 report, disclosed that Togo, Niger, and Benin owe Nigeria $17.8 million (N25 billion).

The report showed that the Market Operator invoiced a total of $18.69 million for electricity provided over the review period to the three countries, but only remitted $7.125 million, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.56 million.

Furthermore, international bilateral clients had legacy invoices totaling $14.7 million, of which they paid $7.84 million, leaving a debt of $6.23 million.

As reported by the Punch Newspaper, the debt accumulated between the previous quarters and Q3 2025 was $17.8 million (N25.36 billion).

The regulator identified the international offtakers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d'Énergie Électrique of the Republic of Benin, and Société Nigérienne d'Électricité of the Republic of Niger.

The regulatory body reported that the three foreign bilateral clients that bought electricity from the grid-connected GenCos paid a total of $7.125 million toward the $18.69 million invoice that the Market Operator sent them for services provided in 2025/Q3.

A majority of the invoices remained outstanding at the close of the quarter, per to the report, which revealed that the remittance level reflected a 38.09 percent remittance performance.

“The three international bilateral customers being supplied by GenCos in the NESI made a payment of $7.12m against the cumulative invoice of $18.69m issued by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q3, translating to a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent,” the NERC stated.

“The domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of N3.19bn against the invoice of N3.64bn issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q3, translating to 87.61 per cent remittance performance,” it added.

The NERC went on to disclose that, from a total invoice of N400.48 billion, Nigeria's 11 energy distribution companies sent a sum totaling N381.29 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Energy Trading Plc and the Market Operator in Q3 2025.

This reflects a remittance performance of 95.21%.

By Chinedu Okafor, Business Insider Africa