Author: Nigeriabrief

A composite image of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. More than 10,000 Nigerians working on sponsorship certificates or skilled worker visas could be deported when their contracts with sponsors end, after the UK government excluded more than 100 jobs, including skilled worker roles, from CoS status. London’s Mr Feelers said the new reforms, which will come into effect from July 22, 2025, are part of Britain’s efforts to control immigration and tighten standards for skilled worker visas. These changes include increasing skill requirements to RQF Level 6. This means that only degree-level jobs are eligible…

Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua needs time to grieve before making a decision about his boxing future, but believes the former heavyweight champion will return to the ring.Joshua’s close friends and team members Sheena Ghami and Latif “Rats” Ayodele were killed in a traffic accident on December 29 near Lagos, Nigeria, when the vehicle they were traveling in collided with a stopped truck.Joshua was also a passenger and suffered minor injuries.The incident occurred 10 days after the 2012 Olympic gold medalist defeated Jake Paul in Miami. The fight was his first since September 2024, when he lost to fellow Briton…

The US airstrikes on Nigeria on Christmas Day were supported by information provided by the Nigerian government, the country’s foreign minister said on Friday.Donald Trump announced an attack against the Islamic State group in northwestern Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the group of targeting Christians.Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tugar said Friday that he had “extensive” phone conversations with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio before and after the attack.He said Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu had given the “green light” for the airstrike. Mr Tager did not rule out the possibility of further strikes, saying it was an “ongoing process” involving…

The 2025 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations follows a simple script for the most part. A tournament often defined by small animals enjoying a fairytale run, this time there was no true underdog story. Instead, the traditional powerhouses appear to be acknowledging their authority in the continent’s most prestigious tournament. From Brahim Dias, who made a breakthrough for Morocco in the absence of Achraf Hakimi, to Ademola Lookman, who topped the goal contribution rankings, to Amad Diallo, who has emerged as one of the frontrunners for the tournament’s Player of the Year award, this is shaping up to…

Linus Aleke of Abuja Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, a former Enugu State governor and elder statesman, says the worsening multifaceted poverty, astronomical unemployment and deteriorating security across Nigeria are compelling reasons for voters to remove President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC) from power in the 2027 general elections.He noted that widespread hardship, job losses and persistent security threats continue to erode public confidence in government, arguing that the current government has failed to address the country’s deepening socio-economic challenges.Nwodo maintained that Nigerians should be given credible alternatives that prioritize economic security, job creation and protection of lives and property. In…

This is one reason Donald Trump always seems to be in a bad mood. Perhaps he realizes that the America of his dreams is out of reach.No matter how many immigrants he deports or prevents from entering the country, the white paradise he promises at the MAGA base, free of Somalis, Mexican “rapists” and generally people from “shithole countries” with shades similar to the America he was born in, is not what he will deliver.However, he can do a lot of damage. Although he is doing his best to make America intolerable to foreigners and, more generally, to people of…

Demonstrators rioted in Iran’s streets into Saturday morning, resisting authorities’ escalating crackdown on the growing protest movement.An internet shutdown imposed by authorities on Thursday has largely cut off protesters from the rest of the world, but videos trickling out of the country showed thousands of people gathering on the streets of Tehran. They chanted “Death to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei” and “Long live the Shah” in honor of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Crowds of protesters marched through the streets of Mashhad as fires flared all around them, a sign of local defiance for Khamenei, who has denounced the protesters as “subversives”…

Protesters poured onto the streets of cities across the country late Friday, ignoring threats of harsh punishment from Iranian leaders and warnings from human rights groups about unlawful killings.The fresh protests came after President Donald Trump renewed his warning to the Islamic regime that he would intervene if protesters were killed. “I say to the Iranian leaders: You better not start shooting because we will start shooting too,” he told a meeting with oil executives.Iranian Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad said Saturday in remarks carried by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency that the protesters would be considered “enemies of God”…

Sunmi Smart-Cole is one of Nigeria’s most respected personalities in the photography, hair styling, musical, architectural and horticultural professions. The award-winning photographer, jazz percussionist and one-time trend setting barber turned 80 on Saturday, September 25, this year. In this interview with DANIEL ANAZIA, he reminisces on his life as a photographer, musician, architect and a Nigerian who witnessed the country’s independence on October 1, 1960. Congratulations on your 80th birthday. What are your reflections about life, and how have you been taking care of yourself?Do I look 80? Anyway, I’m grateful to God that I’m 80. What more do I say to God?…

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Ampitan (SAN), has pledged that the 2027 general elections will be held in a free, fair, transparent and technology-driven manner, and declared that the Commission will not tolerate any irregularities in the electoral process. Speaking at the Commission’s 2026 Inauguration and Strategic Retreat held in Lagos from January 9-10, Ampitan said INEC is preparing for a rapidly evolving electoral landscape and must live up to the expectations of Nigerians. “We gather here today, not just as election officials and leaders, but as guardians of the will of the Nigerian people.…