NAIJAFEED

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

President Tinubu names Taiwo Oyedele as new finance minister

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has approved ‌a minor cabinet shuffle that removed two ministers and promoted a junior official to the key ⁠post of finance minister, his office said in a statement on Tuesday.

Taiwo Oyedele, previously minister of state for finance, replaced Wale Edun as minister of finance ‌and ⁠coordinating minister of the economy.

Housing and urban development minister Ahmed Musa Dangiwa also exited ⁠the cabinet, with Muttaqha Rabe Darma named ministerial nominee for the ⁠role, the statement said.

Reuters

Nigeria charges six people with treason for plan to overthrow president

Nigerian authorities have charged six people, including a retired major general and a serving police inspector, with terrorism and treason, over an alleged plot to overthrow the president, Bola Tinubu, according to a charge sheet seen by the Associated Press on Tuesday.

The six people accused of treason were all in custody.

A seventh suspect, former Bayelsa state Governor Timpre Sylva, is accused of helping to conceal the plot and is still at large.

The Nigerian government first said it had foiled a coup attempt in January, when it announced that several military officers would stand trial. They were part of a group of 16 military officers arrested in 2025 over what military authorities described as “acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations", which fuelled rumours of a coup plot that the government initially denied.

Africa's most populous nation experienced five coups in the 20th century but has not seen one since it transitioned to democracy in 1999.

The alleged coup plot comes on the heels of a surge in coups and attempted coups in West and Central Africa, the latest in Benin and Guinea-Bissau late last year. The military takeovers, experts say, follow a pattern of disputed elections, constitutional upheaval, security crises and youth discontent.

France24

Monday, April 20, 2026

Turkey to train 200 Nigerian special forces soldiers under new defence deal

Nigeria and Turkey have struck a defence agreement to help Africa's most populous nation fight its 17-year-long jihadist insurgency, the Nigerian defence minister said on Saturday.

"We have agreed to move into training, production, improving on our defence industry cooperation," General Christopher Musa told Turkish media, according to the Anadolu agency.

Musa met with his Turkish counterpart Yaşar Güler at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026 over the weekend.

The Nigerian defence minister specified that 200 members of the Nigerian army's special forces would be sent to Turkey immediately for training.

The agreement also includes the establishment of "a major military training facility in Nigeria," according to a statement from Abuja on Sunday.

The two countries are also set to collaborate in areas including technology transfer, intelligence sharing and advanced surveillance.

Diversify security partners

Besides radical Islamists from Boko Haram and its rival splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province, Nigeria is also plagued by gangs of armed criminals known as bandits who pillage, kill and kidnap in the northwest.

The country also has to contend with the worsening security crisis across the Sahel — the vast region bordering the southern Sahara desert — which has allowed jihadists to expand across west Africa.

Nigeria's longstanding security woes have drawn the ire of the United States in recent months, withPresident Donald Trump claiming that the country's Christians face "persecution."

In an attempt to reduce its reliance on the US, Nigeria has sought to diversify its security partners.

Musa's Turkey trip comes in the wake of President Bola Tinubu's visit in late January, the first by a Nigerian head of state in nine years.

Turkey is renowned for its inexpensive armed drones, of which it is the world's leading exporter.

"Turkey has improved dramatically regards production of military hardware and Nigeria is still developing," Musa said. “

The outcomes of this engagement mark a significant step forward in Nigeria–Türkiye (sic) defence relations," the Nigerian defence ministry added in a statement.

Africa News

NSCDC Uncovers Baby Factory in Lagos, Arrests Suspects

The Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered a baby factory operation, leading to the arrest of suspects and the rescue of victims linked to the network. Authorities say the discovery forms part of ongoing efforts to combat human trafficking and other illegal activities in the state. News Central’s Israel Eferobor reports.

Gunmen abduct 15 passengers on Nigerian waterways

The police have confirmed the abduction of 15 passengers on the Calabar-Oron waterways.

Some gunmen, on Friday, ambushed a ferry travelling from Calabar, Cross River State, to Oron, Akwa Ibom State, and abducted the passengers, the News Agency of Nigeria quoted an unnamed naval officer as saying.

The police spokesperson in Cross River, Sunday Eitokpah, confirmed the abduction in a statement to reporters on Monday.

“The command is working in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom Command and the Navy.

“Coordinated search-and-rescue and tactical operations are currently ongoing to ensure the safe recovery of the victims and the swift apprehension of the perpetrators,” Mr Eitokpah, an assistant superintendent of police, said in the statement.

There have been frequent abductions of passengers on Calabar-Oron waterways lately, especially as Nigerians have resorted to travel by water because the Calabar-Itu Federal Highway is dilapidated.

The latest incident occurred seven months after 17 passengers were abducted in September 2025 on the same waterways.

Also, gunmen, in April 2025, abducted 20 passengers who were travelling in a boat from Oron to Calabar.

Abduction for ransom has become a prevalent crime in many Nigerian cities, with just anyone, including students and clerics, as targets.

Premium Times