U.S. to restrict visas for Nigerians ‘responsible for violating religious freedom’

By: Our Reporter

The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting Nigerians accused of undermining religious freedom.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the new visa restrictions in a statement Wednesday, saying the U.S. is taking “decisive action” in response to mass killings and violence against Christians by radical Islamic terrorists.

The new policy will allow the State Department to restrict visa issuance to individuals who have “directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom and, where appropriate, their immediate family members.”

This policy will apply to Nigeria and any other governments or individuals engaged in violations of religious freedom.

Earlier in November, the State Department officially designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” alleging the government of Nigeria was engaging and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.

President Donald Trump then ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria as he stepped up his criticism that the government was failing to rein in the persecution of Christians in the west African country.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump posted on social media. “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!”

Notably, Nigerian officials have denied the claims of targeted religious persecution and state that the violence is a complex issue affecting all faiths, often stemming from ethnic and resource conflicts.

U.S. to restrict visas for Nigerians ‘responsible for violating religious freedom’

NAPTIP Calls for Unified National Response to Rising Violent Crime

By: Michael Mike

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dr. Binta Bello has called for a coordinated national effort to confront the growing wave of violent crime across the country.

She made the appeal in Abuja on Wednesday at the High-Level Policy Dialogue on stopping violent crime in Nigeria.

Speaking to an audience of government officials, development partners, civil society organisations, traditional leaders, and security agencies, Dr. Bello said the country could no longer rely on fragmented responses to issues ranging from gender-based violence to cyber-enabled crimes.

She said: “This Dialogue is not ceremonial; it is a strategic gathering. Nigeria must move beyond isolated interventions and embrace a truly integrated framework for protecting its citizens—especially women, children, and vulnerable groups.”

She disclosed that the forthcoming 2024 Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Report paints a troubling picture.

According to her, the data shows increasing cases of gender-based violence, widespread underreporting, delayed justice processes, and weak survivor support systems in several states.

She noted that although more states have domesticated the VAPP Act and awareness continues to grow, gaps in institutional capacity and data coordination still hinder effective response, warning that: “No society can achieve sustainable peace when the vulnerable remain unprotected.”

The NAPTIP DG also highlighted significant progress made by the Agency’s Cybercrime Response Team (CRT) in tackling online exploitation and tech-enabled trafficking. She revealed that between January and November 2025, the specialized unit handled 56 cases, investigated 48, referred 12, and secured three active court prosecutions.

The CRT, which works with partners including INTERPOL, NCA-UK, UNODC, ICMPD, Meta, NFIU, ONSA, and the Nigeria Police NCCC, recently became a founding member of the Joint Case Team on Cybercrimes (JCTC) established by the Attorney-General of the Federation.

She said: “These achievements position NAPTIP as a national leader in combating cyber-enabled trafficking and protecting vulnerable populations in the digital ecosystem.”

A major highlight of the event was the launch of NAPTIP’s E-Learning App, designed to expand capacity-building for law enforcement officers, social workers, prosecutors, community leaders, and other stakeholders nationwide.

Bello described the platform as a strategic tool to bridge knowledge gaps and ensure no state or institution is left behind in the fight against violent crime.

She however emphasised that effective prevention and response require seamless collaboration between sectors including health, education, justice, traditional institutions, the media, and digital service providers.

She also called for the strengthening of early-warning systems, improved reporting channels, trauma-informed service delivery, and harmonised national and state-level data systems.

She said: “As Nigeria marks the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, we must reaffirm our commitment to ending digital violence and all other forms of abuse.”

She expressed gratitude to the First Lady, the Attorney-General of the Federation, development partners, and the various ministries, departments, agencies, and community groups represented at the Dialogue.

She added that: “Our deliberations today must translate into stronger policies, stronger partnerships, and stronger protection for every Nigerian.”

NAPTIP Calls for Unified National Response to Rising Violent Crime

All Hands Must Be On Deck To Boost Nigeria’s Business Environment, Says VP Shettima

• Urges states, MDAs, others to work towards actualizing President Tinubu’s reforms at PEBEC Gala and Awards Night

By: Our Reporter

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has implored state governments, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, the organised private sector, and other stakeholders to do more in advancing the business environment in Nigeria.

He acknowledged the successes recorded this year, describing them “as the triumph of collaboration over silos,” even as he said when the 36 states of the federation, MDAs, development partners and other critical sectors commit to working together across the board, it becomes a big win for Nigeria.

Senator Shettima gave the charge on Tuesday in Abuja during the PEBEC Gala and Awards Night organized by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to celebrate exceptional public service delivery, reform excellence, and collaborative efforts toward improving Nigeria’s business environment.

He said, “The end of this night does not signal the end of your pursuit of excellence because excellence is a culture, not an event. It lives only where it is nurtured. And so, in the new year, let us do even more to advance the reform agenda for Nigeria’s business environment.

“Let us build a nation where efficiency is normal, where transparency is routine, and where excellence is the governing creed of public service.”

The Vice President underscored the importance of working as a team, noting that while every organisation reflects the kind of people working within, the people cannot “achieve excellence in a vacuum.”

According to VP Shettima, excellence is cultivated – “the result of choices, of discipline, of a refusal to settle for the bare minimum,” adding that it is not something that is inherited.

He observed that it is for this reason that the Gala and Awards Night was organised “to honour the belief that public service can and must be synonymous with excellence.”

Reminding stakeholders that the ball is in their court to make a difference, the VP said, “His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has laid the critical foundation for the reforms required to reset our economy, and the success of this depends on the awardees we celebrate tonight.

“Your dedication and excellence embody the spirit of this administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda. You represent the very best of our public sector, and your work is the foundation upon which our nation’s prosperity is built.”

Senator Shettima described the Gala and Awards Night as “a celebration of public servants across Nigeria who have refused to accept mediocrity as our national ceiling,” by working hard to actualize the ongoing reforms undertaken by the Tinubu administration.

“The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC, has spent the last couple of years championing reforms that speak to the soul of our economic aspirations—reforms that make it easier to do business, that restore investor confidence, that ensure our institutions work at the speed of national ambition.

“And tonight, we salute the men and women driving this mission forward, those who have placed the national interest above their comfort zones,” he said.

Acknowledging that there had been interagency collaboration on reforms that rapidly improve the nation’s business environment, the Vice President cited the establishment of the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee (PCEC), which he said is “already bearing significant fruit through joint inspection procedures at” the ports.

Earlier, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, said under the leadership of Vice President Shettima, PEBEC has continued to deliver reforms that is incrementally impacting businesses in different sectors across the country.

He, however, reminded stakeholders that the task of transforming Nigeria’s business environment is far from over, as every improvement celebrated at the 2025 awards will be the foundation upon which more lasting reform initiatives will be built.

On her part, the Director-General of PEBEC, Princess Zahrah Audu, outlined some of the achievements recorded by the agency in the past year through deliberate and result-oriented collaboration to transform operations across MDAs, noting that reform is embedded and remains a critical component of PEBEC’s service delivery.

She added that the scope of PEBEC’s achievements under the current dispensation reflects the depth of partnership established and nurtured by management with critical stakeholders across the country over the past months.

The highpoint of the occasion was the unveiling of the 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Compliance Report and the Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report, as well as the presentation of various categories of awards, including access to justice; legislative trailblazer; leadership of action and business advocacy and partnership, among others.

Also present at the event were the Deputy Governor of Benue State, Dr Sam Ode; Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mr Ifeanyi Ossai; Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa; Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Pius Akutah; Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida; Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, other heads of agencies and parastatals; members of the diplomatic corps, and captains of industry, among others.

All Hands Must Be On Deck To Boost Nigeria’s Business Environment, Says VP Shettima