The Nigerian government has described the rescue of the remaining 230 children and staff from St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, in Niger State, as a moment of triumph and relief for the nation.

The Federal Government confirmed that all the abducted pupils of the Catholic School, Papiri, totalling 230, have been freed. Not a single pupil remains in captivity.

A statement signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said that the recently released 130 pupils are being handed over to the Niger State Government, after which they will be reunited with their families.

“This courageous effort by our security forces reaffirms our nation’s resolve to protect its people,” the statement said.

“The Federal Government empathises with the parents and guardians of the pupils for the agony the abduction has caused them, wishes them a pleasant family reunion, a good healing process, compliments of the season and a Merry Christmas.”

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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has stated that increases in transport fares during the yuletide period are not unlawful in themselves.

Naija News reports that the commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, clarified a statement issued on Sunday, stressing that seasonal demand, operational pressures, and other legitimate cost factors may affect transport pricing.

Ijagwu noted that exploitative or unfair practices by road transport operators will attract regulatory sanctions.

“However, consumers are entitled to clear, accurate, and timely information on fares before travel. Any fare adjustment must therefore be transparently communicated and applied fairly.

“The FCCPC also notes that these complaints are arising at a time when there are reports of reductions in the pump price of premium motor spirit across parts of the country.

“While fuel cost is only one of several inputs that may influence transport fares, increases that are not properly explained or disclosed raise valid consumer protection concerns,” the statement noted.

Commenting on the development, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Tunji Bello, said FCCPC was closely monitoring market conduct throughout the festive season and had intensified engagement with transport unions, park managers and operators nationwide.

According to him, the engagements are preventive and aimed at promoting responsible pricing, voluntary compliance and orderly market behaviour.

He said, “Price increases are not, in themselves, unlawful.

“However, conduct that exploits consumers or takes unfair advantage of heightened seasonal demand may attract regulatory attention under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018.”

He added that practices such as inadequate fare disclosure, coercive conduct or coordinated pricing arrangements among operators to the detriment of consumers would be subjected to strict regulatory scrutiny.

Bello warned that “Where cases of violation are established, he warned, culprits face stiff penalties.”

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• Social media users have shared their thoughts on an emerging video of the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, at an event
• The cleric was captured moving his mouth while seated at an unconfirmed occasion, and netizens read different meanings to the act
• While some argued that Adeboye was speaking in tongues or praying, others drew spiritual inspiration from it

A close-up video of Pastor Enoch Adeboye moving his mouth while seated at an occasion has caught people’s attention.

A TikTok user shared the short clip on the social media platform, noting that Adeboye always prays.

Pastor Adeboye moves his mouth at an occasion.
Photo Credit: @viralgospelhq, Facebook/PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE
Source: TikTok

According to the poster, Adeboye’s tongue is always rolling. The TikTok user further called on God’s help for themselves and this present generation.

@viralgospelhq’s caption on the video of Adeboye read:

“Daddy GO still prays always. His tongue is always rolling, He’s always praying.

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“God help me! Help us!! Help our Generation!!!”Pastor Enoch Adeboye is the general overseer of RCCG.
Photo Credit: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
Source: Facebook

Watch the video below:

Video of Pastor Adeboye elicits reactions

Legit.ng has compiled some reactions to the video of Pastor Adeboye below:

Mr. Positive said:

“As he’s sitting there it’s only his body that is there his spirit is just enjoying God’s presence in heaven.”

Jim said:

“It might be a habit.”

naths_513 said:

“That’s Meditation and can also be tongue but it’s mostly meditation.”

successfulsam said:

“He is always asking for MERCY 🙏. looking unto jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.”

ÀYÌNDÉ 💎 said:

“I don’t know the kind of prayer he prayed but I believe that it will work for me to change my life to good Amen in Jesus name.”

amaka said:

“Praying, Singing or praying in tongue – u do unconsciously when the spirit of GOD as taken over your physical body.”

THE ARK said:

“Tears continue to flow on my face…The cry of Father’s as time run close.”

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Femsy said:

“When prayer becomes a constant posture!🤲❤️❤️and Praying, Singing or praying in tongue – you do unconsciously when the spirit of GOD as taken over you.”

Royalty🔱 said:

“I here almost all pastors are always like this ,as a wife before you get used to it you might think is mentally something.”

Adeboye identifies most important prayer

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Pastor Enoch Adeboye had declared that ‘God bless you’ is the most important prayer.

He made this statement on Saturday, December 13, during the Holy Ghost Congress of the church, which concluded on Sunday, December 14, with a thanksgiving service. Church Times Nigeria reported that Adeboye drew from the biblical account of Isaac blessing his sons, Jacob and Esau, to highlight the power of a father’s blessing.

He explained that although Esau received the lesser blessing, he became so prosperous that he had 400 bodyguards when he reunited with Jacob years later. Adeboye stated, “If the one who got the least blessing from his father was that blessed, how much more Jacob, who was the first person his father blessed.”

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Source: Legit.ng

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The Niger State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has witnessed a mass resignation as preparations for the 2027 general elections gather momentum.

DAILY POST reports that the exodus followed a tense meeting over the weekend in Lapai Local Government Area, where aggrieved members confronted the party’s leadership over lingering grievances.

Members of the party questioned the credibility of its leadership and the state of internal democracy.

Speaking at the meeting, one of the defectors, Abdullahi Jankara, addressed controversies arising from the PDP congress and the council election, clarifying disputed issues while acknowledging the depth of anger and disappointment among members.

He expressed dismay at what he described as the leadership’s failure to fulfil promises made to loyal party members, saying repeated calls for reform had been ignored, leaving him with no option but to leave the party.

Members also linked their grievances to wider national challenges facing the PDP, arguing that unresolved leadership tussles and internal disputes at the centre had encouraged impunity and weakened accountability at the state and local levels.

They accused the party leadership of sidelining the grassroots during the recent council election, alleging that despite extensive ward-level mobilisation, key decisions were imposed from above, leaving local structures powerless.

“We are tired of being used and discarded. The party has become a family business where only a few are benefiting. We are not seeing the leadership we deserve, and it’s time for change,” they said.

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The Federal Government has placed all security agencies on red alert ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

A security source in Abuja said the directive was issued through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and covers the ministries of interior and defence, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force.

The source said the agencies have been directed to maintain a 24-hour security watch across the nation’s air, sea and land borders.

According to the source, IGP Kayode Egbetokun has issued operational orders to Assistant Inspectors-General, state Commissioners of Police and other formations nationwide.

The police chief reportedly directed commanders to intensify patrols, intelligence gathering and deployment of personnel and critical assets before, during and after the festivities.

The source said the DSS has also placed all its formations nationwide on red alert to ensure a hitch-free celebration.

According to the source, DSS commands are expected to provide regular situation reports to headquarters in Abuja.

The source added that the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Immigration Service have stepped up security at seaports, airports and land borders.

The Defence Headquarters said the armed forces have put robust and proactive measures in place to prevent attacks during the festive period.

The source also said the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has mobilised its personnel nationwide.

According to the source, the corps has been tasked with providing security escorts for VIPs and protecting critical national assets during the festive period.

The source added that NSA Nuhu Ribadu, is expected to meet with security chiefs and the minister of defence for further briefing on operations.

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By Laleye Dipo in Minna

The remaining 130 students of St Mary’s Catholic Primary/Secondary School abducted by bandits have been released.

They were seen in several vehicles being moved to Wawa in Niger State Sunday night.
It is believed that they will undergo medical examination before being moved to Minna or Abuja.
Their release is coming two weeks after the release of 100 of the abducted school girls.

Ogun State Governor and Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, Prince Dapo Abiodun, confirming their release, expressed delight, adding that it is a clear indication that evil forces will not prevail over Nigeria.

With the latest release, a total of 230 abducted students have now regained their freedom.

Abiodun noted that the successful rescue of the students fulfils President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s pledge to ensure their safe release without harm and facilitate their reunion with their families.

Commending the President for the security measures put in place across the country, the governor said the sustained release of abducted persons has helped to restore public confidence in governance and national security.

He cited the rescue of 24 abductees in Kebbi State, 100 students from a Catholic school in Niger State, and Christian worshippers abducted in Eruku, Kwara State, as evidence of the administration’s capacity to confront Nigeria’s security challenges head-on.

In a statement issued in Abeokuta on Sunday, Abiodun described it as heartwarming that the students and their parents would be able to celebrate the Yuletide season together after such a traumatic experience.

He also urged security agencies to ensure that those responsible for the abductions are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

He said: “I am extremely delighted to learn that the remaining 130 students of St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri community, Niger State, who were hitherto in captivity, have been released.

“The students, their parents, the Papiri community and the Niger State Government have all been through a lot, and I rejoice with them in this moment of triumph over the forces of darkness who seized innocent students from their hostels and teachers from the school premises.

“If this incident shows anything, it is the commitment of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to a safe, secure and prosperous Nigeria. The President deserves our collective prayers, support and encouragement.

“The President is determined to tackle the upsurge in kidnapping and terrorist attacks and restore sanity to our society. This will, in turn, rebuild confidence among Nigerians and the international community and pave the way for sustainable development.

“The security agencies deserve commendation for this achievement. I also urge them to ensure that the terrorists behind these attacks on innocent and law-abiding Nigerians are tracked down and prosecuted to the fullest extent allowed by law.”

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The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, has ordered the deployment of additional officers and tow trucks along the Abuja–Lokoja Road to ease the ongoing traffic gridlock and ensure swift removal of obstructions.

In a statement by the Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Olusegun Ogungbemide, on Sunday, the Corps Marshal confirmed that the congestion was largely due to increased vehicular movement, ongoing construction points, as well as undisciplined and impatient drivers driving against traffic.

He urged motorists traveling within this season to cooperate with personnel on duty for smooth traffic flow.

The Nation reports that motorists plying the Abuja-Lokoja highway have been left stranded for the past three days following severe gridlock around the Koton Karfe axis. 

The highway is usually gridlocked a few days before Christmas due to heavy vehicular traffic and motorists’ disregard for traffic rules.

Reports indicate the congestion was caused by two fallen trucks on the highway, while others attribute it to the ongoing road rehabilitation pace. 

The blockage led to a pile-up of trucks and vehicles between three and five miles, forcing some commuters to take extremely dusty off-road diversions. 

The FRSC has been working to clear the blockage, deploying reinforcements to quickly remove the trucks and restore motorist movement.

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A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr Sawyer Sunday, has empowered no fewer than 1,000 vulnerable residents with food and cash gifts to bring them succour.

The event was held on Sunday at the Nawarudeen Secondary School, Oyingbo, in Lagos

The convener noted that the items were extended especially to old people, widows, and the less privileged, to ease their plights, and also in the spirit of yuletide.

Speaking with newsmen during the outreach, he said that the initiative is aimed at uplifting families to celebrate the season with joy and peace.

According to him, the initiative also underscores a collaboration between constituency representatives and the Federal Government’s social welfare drive during the festive season.

“This gathering is to share yuletide joy by giving rice and money to residents; the idea is to make sure that families have food at home, while supporting President Bola Tinubu’s effort to put smiles on people’s faces,” he said.

In his remark, a former Councillor, Mr Jimoh Kamal, described the event as being impactful, adding that there was visible relief among beneficiaries, who had no hope for the yuletide.

“The people are happy because some of them had nothing to eat this yuletide, but now, they have food and money,” he said.

Reacting to the gesture, the coordinator of ward A, Lagos Mainland, Mrs Adenike Adeleye, noted that a passionate leader would understand the needs of the people.

She added that the outreach reflects efforts to bring the government’s support directly to the grassroots.

“Leadership means knowing your people’s needs and acting on them; through the outreach, we ensure that government initiatives will positively impact citizens, especially during this festive period,” she said.

In appreciation of the gesture, a beneficiary known simply as Iya Biliku thanked the party member for his kindness.

“I deeply appreciate the honourable’s thoughtful gift; it has brought immense joy and brightened our hearts this festive season,” she said

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sunday aspires to occupy a seat in Lagos Mainland Constituency II.

Vanguard News

The post Yuletide: APC member gifts 1,000 Lagos residents food, cash appeared first on Vanguard News.

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Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 130 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school in November, a presidential spokesman said Sunday, after 100 were freed earlier this month.
“Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity,” Sunday Dare said in a post on X.

In late November, hundreds of students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger state — though the exact number, and whether all are free, has been in dispute.

The attack came as the country buckled under a wave of mass abductions reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in the town of Chibok.

The west African country suffers from multiple interlinked security concerns, from jihadists in the northeast to armed “bandit” gangs in the northwest.

A UN source told AFP that “the remaining set of girls/secondary school students will be taken to Minna”, the capital of Niger state, on Tuesday.

The exact number of those kidnapped, and those who remain in captivity, has been unclear since the attack on the school, located in the rural hamlet of Papiri.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said 315 students and staff were kidnapped.

Some 50 escaped immediately afterward, and on December 7 the government secured the release of around 100.

That would leave about 165 thought to remain in captivity.

A statement from President Bola Tinubu at the time put the remaining people being held at 115.

– Spate of mass kidnappings –

It has not been made public who seized the children from their boarding school, or how the government secured their release.

Analysts have said that based on past rescues, it was likely authorities paid a ransom, which is technically prohibited by law.

Kidnappings for ransom are a common way for criminals and armed groups to make quick cash in Nigeria.

But a spate of mass abductions in November put an uncomfortable spotlight on the country’s already grim security situation.

Assailants kidnapped two dozen Muslim schoolgirls, 38 church worshippers and a bride and her bridesmaids — with farmers, women and children also taken hostage.

The kidnappings came as Nigeria faces a diplomatic offensive from the United States, where President Donald Trump has alleged that there were mass killings of Christians that amounted to a “genocide” and threatened military intervention.

The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject that framing, which has long been used by the Christian right in the United States and Europe.

One of the first mass kidnappings that drew international attention was in 2014, when nearly 300 girls were snatched from their boarding school in the northeastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.

A decade later, Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking industry” that raised some $1.66 million between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a recent report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy.

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The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has stated that only the throne of Oyo has the authority to confer chieftaincy titles that carry the name “Yorubaland.”

The monarch made this declaration during the installation of Senator Abdul-Aziz Yari as Obaloyin of Yorubaland and Barrister Seyi Tinubu as Okanlomo of Yorubaland on Sunday at Aganju Forecourt, Aafin Oyo.

Oba Owoade emphasised that chieftaincy in Yoruba culture is not a matter of favour or decoration but a duty that comes with responsibility. 

He explained that the throne of Oyo has historically served as a central coordinating authority for the Yoruba people, a role recognised both during colonial administration and in post-independence governance.

The Alaafin highlighted that titles bearing the name “Yorubaland” are collective titles representing the Yoruba people as a whole, not individual towns or kingdoms, and must therefore be conferred by an authority whose reach spans the entire region. 

He noted that colonial records, post-independence councils, scholarly works, and the Supreme Court of Nigeria have all affirmed this historical authority.

Oba Owoade described the newly installed titles as positions of trust requiring courage, loyalty, and service to the Yoruba people. 

He added that such honours are meant to bind recipients more closely to Yorubaland and reinforce that authority, tradition, and respect for boundaries are central to sustaining Yoruba culture.

He urged the new titleholders to serve with humility and to ensure that their honours contribute to unity, dignity, and the collective good of Yorubaland.

He said partly, “We are gathered here today for a purpose that goes beyond celebration. We are here to witness history and to place responsibility where tradition has long placed it. Chieftaincy, in our culture, is not an act of favour. It is not decoration. It is duty, conferred only when history, authority, and responsibility align.

“From the earliest organisation of the Yoruba people, authority was never vague. Our forebears understood structure. This understanding gave Yorubaland stability long before modern governance arrived.

“The throne of Oyo emerged in that history as a coordinating authority, by responsibility. When colonial administration came, it did not invent this reality; it encountered it and recorded it. By 1914, Oyo Province had become the largest province in Southern Nigeria, covering 14,381 square miles. It was bounded in the north by Ilorin and Kontagora, in the east by Ondo and Ijebu, in the south by Ijebu and Abeokuta, and in the west by French Dahomey. This reflected recognised leadership over a wide and diverse space.

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“This history explains why certain chieftaincy titles are different in nature. Titles that bear the name “Yorubaland” are not local titles. They are collective titles. They speak not for one town or one kingdom, but for the Yoruba people as a whole. Such titles must therefore proceed from an authority whose reach, by history and by law, extends across Yorubaland.

“Today, I do not speak to provoke debate. I speak to state order. Among the Yoruba, authority has never been a matter of assumption or convenience. It has always been a matter of history, structure, and law. Thrones were not created equal in function, even though all are sacred in dignity. From the earliest organization of Yorubaland, the Alaafin of Oyo occupied a central and coordinating authority—an authority that extended beyond the walls of Oyo and into the collective political life of the Yoruba people. This was not self-declared. It was recognised, enforced, and sustained across generations.

“Colonial records acknowledged it. Post-independence councils preserved it. Scholars documented it.

“And finally, the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirmed it. The law is clear. History is settled. Chieftaincy titles that bear the name Yorubaland—titles whose meaning, influence, and obligation are not confined to a single town or kingdom—fall under a singular, established authority. That authority is the throne of Oyo.”

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