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Yemisi Akinbobola ,  Paul Bradshaw  and  Ogechi Ekeanyawu It was January 2014. Among a group of about 30 young boys, some as young as 12, are Ebuka Ogbuehi and Joel Izeh from Lagos. They are about to board a boat at Calabar seaport in southeast Nigeria, going to neighbouring Cameroon. With them are two football coaches — one known to the boys as their coach, Emma (pronounced Ima) — along with a nurse, a dry cleaner and Mr Eric Fred Toumi: a football agent. Some weeks before, all of the boys’ families paid Mr. Toumi N300,000 (US$1,500): the cost, he said, of enrolling them into his football academy in Cameroon where they will take part in trials for European clubs, while getting secondary school education. Joel, 25, explains: “The agent was brought to our team by our coach [Emma]. When the man came the first time he picked those he would pick (sic) and he travelled [away]. “The second time when he came, that was when he picked me. So he asked us to pay some ...

The Federal Capital Territory Police Commissioner, Wilson Inalegwu, has said the city has the lowest crime rate in the country. Mr. Inalegwu, however, urged residents to be alert as the Yuletide season approaches. The police commissioner insisted that no security agency could achieve reasonable success in its operations without having a buy-in from the civil populace. He, therefore, advised residents of the capital city to be vigilant and report suspicious persons to the police.

At least seven students died, while 21 others were injured in a night fire at Government Girls Secondary School, Jogana, 20 kilometers from the city of Kano. Hospital and school officials confirmed the deaths of the seven female students, saying their bodies were deposited at Murtala Mohammed Specialists Hospital. A source at the school told PREMIUM TIMES the fire occurred at the biggest hostel of the school when the students were sleeping, and that the cause of the fire was still not known. The Executive Secretary of Secondary Schools Management Board, Husaini Ganduje, also confirmed death of seven students in the fire, saying those who sustained injuries were currently receiving treatment.

Contrary to recent claims by the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration spent billions on Nigeria’s independence anniversary celebrations between 2011 and 2014, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has confirmed that the governor lied.

The trustees of ‎Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) will on Monday (November 30, 2015) be arraigned before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja over the collapse of a six-story building in the church on September 12, 2014, which led to the death of 116 persons. Senior Pastor of the church, Prophet T.B Joshua is one of the trustees.

The South African government has threatened a jail term for Chris Oyakhilome if his church, Christ Embassy, fails to release its financial records, the South African-based  News24  is reporting. The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities said several religious leaders in the country could be jailed if they fail to comply with the demands of the commission.

"I do not admire Tinubu because he is a saint... I do not admire Tinubu because he is from the south... I do not admire Tinubu because he is a Yoruba... If I want saints, I will proceed to heaven not on earth... Every human is fallible (but) I admire Tinubu because... He saved Nigeria from the danger of falling into "one party state". He has nurtured many renowned National successors. He listened to the voice of the masses to surrender his personal ambition at the most critical moment.