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Rudolph Kwanue University (RKU), Paynesville City, Liberia, has appointed Prof Elvis Otobo, a Nigerian scholar, as its Public Relations Officer and Director of Communication and Publications.

Otobo’s appointment was contained in a statement, and he will run the office on a hybrid mode.

His academic and professional background covers Public Administration, Archives and Records Management, Information Resources Management, Communication, Public Relations and Heritage.

Otobo, who is currently based in the United Kingdom, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Benin, a Master’s Degree in Archives, Records and Information Management from the University of Ibadan, a Master of Arts in Heritage Theory and Practice from the University of Plymouth, United Kingdom, and a PhD in Information Resources Management from Babcock University, Nigeria.

Otobo has professional experience in public relations, communication, records management, information management, marketing, research and university administration.

He has also served in communication and public relations roles within the university environment.

By his new role at RKU, the scholar will develop the university website, manage and coordinate activities on the school platforms, and handle public relations and communication activities.

He will also promote RKU’s academic programmes, activities, achievements and events, support its media and public communication, help improve its digital presence, and support communication with students, faculty, alumni, partners and the public, as well as support RKU’s publications and research communication.

Otobo will also serve with the RKU Publications and International Research Journal Company, known as the International Journal of Research and Innovation Studies (IJRIS-RKU).

His work with IJRIS-RKU will include supporting research publications, digital publications, research communication, and the promotion of research and innovation from RKU and its academic community.

The National President of Omo Ibile Igbomina, Sir Bisi Fakayode, has received Accord Party presidential candidate, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, on a courtesy visit to the Omo Ibile Igbomina House in Ganmo, Kwara State, where both personalities reflected on their longstanding relationship, the development of the Igbomina institution and the wider question of national unity.

The visit also provided an opportunity for Hashim to draw from his personal connection with Igbomina and reflect on what he described as the region’s longstanding tradition of cultural accommodation and peaceful coexistence, which he said offers lessons for Nigeria’s nation-building project.

During the visit, Fakayode conducted Hashim around the Igbomina House, showcasing renovation, rehabilitation and other improvement projects undertaken under his leadership. He also took him on an inspection of the adjoining hospitality facility and other areas where development works are ongoing.

Fakayode expressed appreciation for Hashim’s longstanding support and encouragement, recalling that he was among the first three prominent supporters of the present Omo Ibile Igbomina leadership from its formative stage.

The group’s national president described Hashim as a friend, supporter and valued stakeholder of Igbomina, noting that although his ancestral origin is outside present-day Kwara State, his upbringing and longstanding relationship with Igbomina have created a strong bond between him and the people.

‘What we are witnessing today did not start today. You supported and encouraged this journey from the beginning. From my days as a local government chairman to where God has brought me today as the national president of Omo Ibile Igbomina, your support and encouragement have been part of this journey,’ Fakayode said.

Responding, Hashim commended Fakayode for the transformation taking place at Igbomina House and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to see the projects firsthand.

He acknowledged the progress recorded under Fakayode’s leadership and encouraged the Omo Ibile Igbomina leadership to remain committed to strengthening the institution and advancing the collective interests of the Igbomina people.

Hashim also reflected on Fakayode’s journey from public service and local government leadership to his present position as national president of Omo Ibile Igbomina, acknowledging the longstanding relationships, encouragement and support that accompanied the journey.

Beyond the immediate purpose of the visit, however, Hashim said his connection with Igbomina was deeply personal.

He explained that although his ancestral roots lie in Yauri, he has long regarded Igbominaland as home, having been raised within an Igbomina family that lived in New Bussa, Niger State.

According to him, that upbringing shaped his understanding of community, identity and belonging and exposed him to what he described as Igbomina’s remarkable tradition of accommodation and peaceful coexistence.

Hashim noted that Igbomina communities have historically existed alongside settlements and communities of people from different ethnic backgrounds, including Fulani, Hausa, Tiv, Zuru, Birom and Igala communities, among others.

He said these communities were not merely tolerated as outsiders but became part of the wider social, economic and political life of the communities around them while retaining their distinct identities.

For Hashim, that experience demonstrates that cultural diversity does not necessarily have to produce social fragmentation.

He described the social environment in which he was raised as an example of the ‘workability, resilience and strength of cultural pluralism,’ arguing that people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds can live, trade, farm, build relationships and participate in shared social and political spaces without abandoning their identities.

‘We don’t have to become identical to become one nation. We can be different and yet belong together,’ Hashim said.

Hashim argued that Nigeria’s diversity can become a source of strength when supported by mutual respect, appropriate institutions and a shared sense of belonging.

The Accord presidential candidate further said his visit to Omo Ibile Igbomina House was more than a social engagement.

He described it as ‘a reminiscence of where I came from, a celebration of what I have experienced, and an inspiration for what Nigeria can still become.’

Hashim concluded that Nigeria’s diversity need not be a weakness, arguing that ‘properly organised, mutually respected and institutionally protected,’ it can become one of the country’s greatest sources of strength.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students’ Engagement, Comrade Sunday Asefon, has hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for elevating the face of digital education and resetting the academic structures to create economic opportunities for students and graduates, and to make them competitive on the global scene.

Asefon spoke on Wednesday at a Renewed Hope Students’ Leaders’ Engagement and Digital Acceleration Programme for Southwest Zone, held at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, with the theme ‘Empowering students with Digital Skills and Innovation’

No fewer than 50 students received free laptops to boost their ICT expertise, skills, and innovations at the event, where Asefon was garlanded with Awards of Excellence by different student bodies.

Addressing participants drawn across tertiary institutions domiciled in the southwest region, Asefon described President Tinubu as possessing the most impactful policies among elected Presidents in the areas of education and youth development, since the advent of democracy in 1999.

Highlighting the benefits of the digital innovation policy, Asefon said the initiative forms the kernel of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative to bolster Nigerians’ access to functional education, employment, innovation, and a better future.

Underscoring the significance of digital education, the presidential aide said the world is now on the verge where technological innovation has assumed the engine room of the economy, saying the programme was conceptualised to make the students profoundly savvy in deployment of technology to unlock their potential for economic prosperity.

Asefon, who pledged that the programme had benefited the South-South, Southeast, and Northeast students, assured the people that it would cover all the zones of the country in the spirit of inclusivity that has become the cornerstone of Tinubu’s administration.

He said that whether you are in Medicine and Surgery, Engineering, Nursing, Education and Social Sciences, digital education can still help you create better opportunities, and that is why the President Tinubu- led administration doesn’t joke with this initiative.

‘As students and future leaders, develop interest in ICT, Artificial Intelligence, get the right skills and recognise opportunities to change your lives. The Renewed Hope agenda is about helping Nigerians realise their dreams and achieve them to build a better future. Believe in yourself, the future of this country belongs to us.’

The Presidential aide stated that the National Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), codenamed Students’ Loan, had benefited about 1.6 million students, bringing a decline in school dropouts on account of financial incapability.

‘Once you are qualified and you are a Nigerian, you don’t need to know any politician before benefiting from NELFUND. Even the scholarship being offered by the Petroleum Trust Development Fund has no political or ethnic colouration. You benefit once you have the qualifications to study at the undergraduate, Master’s, and PHD levels.

‘Students who previously struggled to pay tuition fees and other approved institutional charges now have access to government loans with zero interest, while eligible students also receive upkeep every month.

‘The administration is also strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) because education is not only about certificates,’ he said.

On how committed President Tinubu was to the growth of Science and Technology, Executive Secretary, Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF), Prof Shaibu Shehu, said over N232 billion had been disbursed as loans to students to advance their education up to PHD level.

Prof Shaibu, represented by the PTDF’s Deputy Manager (Scholarship), Mr. Salman Olowo, disclosed that President Tinubu was desperate to produce graduate engineers and technologists who can innovate and build, rather than just acquire certificates.

A guest lecturer and Head of Department, Computer Science at EKSU, Dr. Oluwatoyin Yerokun, appealed to beneficiaries against delving into the negative side of ICT, pointing out that software applications in mechatronics, data science, auto mechanics, architecture, design, arts, and science are considered money-spinning and lucrative ventures.

Eulogising the ICT-compliant policy, the President, National Association of Universities’ Students NAUS), Com Mitchell Anthony, averred that digital education is important to bolster the employability of graduates, saying certificates alone are not sufficient to create opportunities in this modern time.

Anthony stated that the country’s students and youths constitute over 70% of the voting demography, as contained in the Independent National Electoral Commission’s register, stating that this will be deployed to keep Tinubu in the presidential seat till 2031.

Christa Pike, Tennessee’s only woman on death row, has refused to request a last meal ahead of her scheduled execution on Wednesday, which would make her the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years.

Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer and later received an additional 25-year sentence after being convicted of attempting to strangle fellow inmate Patricia Jones with a shoestring in 2001.

The Tennessee Department of Corrections confirmed that Pike has not requested a final meal, despite death row inmates typically being allowed to choose what they want to eat before their execution, WJHL 11 reported.

Her execution is expected to take place by lethal injection on Wednesday morning at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

Pike’s lawyers had sought clemency from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, citing abuse she suffered during childhood. Lee rejected the request on Monday and said he would not intervene in the execution.

‘Whether my clemency is granted or not, I am at peace,’ Pike wrote in a letter to NBC News before learning her last-ditch attempt had failed.

‘I am not afraid to die,’ she added. ‘I’m only nervous about the process.’

Pike was 18 when she, her then-boyfriend and a female friend lured Slemmer to an isolated area of the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville campus, where they tortured her to death on Jan. 12, 1995.

Six years later, in August 2001, Pike was convicted of attempting to murder Jones and had 25 years added to her sentence.

In March 2012, authorities also thwarted a plan to help Pike escape from the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville. The plot involved a corrections officer and a New Jersey personal trainer with whom Pike had been corresponding.

Ahead of her execution, Pike also spoke about Lindsay Clancy, saying she felt a ‘kinship’ with her and was ‘pleased’ after the accused child murderer received a mistrial, according to the Times of London.

‘We are both females who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues,’ she told the outlet of Clancy.

‘I was a mentally ill 18-year-old girl who committed a crime with two other individuals and I was the only one to receive this sentence. There are so many women who don’t get the help they need: me and others.’

Pike has also requested that an all-female lethal injection team carry out her execution, arguing that having men involved could traumatize her.

Tennessee corrections officials have said they may grant her request.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said he will resign from office on January 17, 2027, if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu loses the FCT and Rivers State in the presidential election.

Wike made the declaration in Abuja while meeting with leaders and members of the Apo Mechanics and Traders Association, where he said his ability to deliver electoral support for Tinubu in the FCT would determine whether he remained qualified to serve as the territory’s minister.

‘If I lose FCT, I’m not supposed to be FCT Minister. By January 17, 2027, I will announce my resignation as FCT Minister should the President lose in Rivers State and the FCT,’ he added.

The minister’s position comes as he leads efforts to mobilise political support for Tinubu in the FCT ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election.

Wike said a multi-party coalition was being organised in the territory to support candidates across different elective positions, with the presidential contest centred on Tinubu.

‘Let us be clear on direction: for the Presidency, it is Bola Ahmed Tinubu! For the Senate, Philip Aduda is a man of the people, unlike those who only appear on television. The two House of Representatives candidates we are supporting are also here. They are former Area Council chairmen.

‘In the FCT, we are running a unified coalition across parties to deliver results.

‘If I cannot deliver FCT as Minister, then I am not qualified to hold this office. We have a firm agreement, and today is the final affirmation,’ Wike said.

He had earlier stressed that political office must be backed by measurable results, saying his responsibility included ensuring electoral success for the president in the territory where he currently serves.

‘If I cannot deliver where I work, then I’m not worthy to be here,’ Wike said, emphasizing that his political mandate requires concrete electoral success.

Former governor of Rivers State, former Minister of Transportation and Vice Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, on Wednesday defended plan by ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to reintroduce what he described as production subsidy.

Amaechi spoke at the ADC National Women’s League Inauguration and Unveiling of ADC Women 1-10 Votes initiative in Abuja.

‘The greatest asset you have is that the presidential candidate has said, I will bring back subsidy. We are not saying we are putting back consumer subsidy. We say we are putting back production subsidy,’ he said.

He explained that production subsidy would mean supporting local refiners by supplying crude at reduced cost to bring down price of fuel, which he said affects transport, food and other costs.

He illustrated the impact of fuel subsidy removal on the cost of haircuts, transport and kerosene, arguing that reduction in fuel price would have ripple effect on cost of living.

Amaechi urged wives of governors and women leaders to put pressure on their husbands to work for victory.

‘If anybody tells you that men are not controlled by their wives, they are lying. My wife controls me,’ he said.

He said if ADC wins the presidential election, party will fight to win governorship seats as well, as the President cannot govern without governors.

He announced a plan to visit Delta, Edo and Cross River states for mobilisation, saying he would dress simply to identify with ordinary Nigerian.

He charged women to return to their states and mobilise at ward level.

‘This one to 10 is small. If you bring 2,000 votes per ward, you are bringing 17 million votes. We have won the election,’ he said.

Amaechi said the struggle to take power requires women at forefront, recalling role of women in liberation of South Africa and in APC’s campaign to unseat previous government.

He said economic hardship has worsened since he left government, citing figures on out-of-school children and illiteracy.

‘By the time I left government as minister, there were between 10 and 12 million out-of-school children. Today, there are 20 million. 80 percent from the North,’ he said.

He said there are 92 million illiterate Nigerians, with 80 percent from North, describing figure as higher than under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Amaechi accused President Bola Tinubu administration of worsening cost of living, referencing fuel price increase and food importation.

He said importation of rice undermines local farmers empowered under the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria during Buhari administration.

He also criticised the display of wealth by children of political leaders, asking Nigerians to question sources of wealth.

Two poems consider what happens to dignity when circumstance makes us dependent on the kindness of others.

There are moments when self-sufficiency becomes impossible. You are out of money, out of ideas, and someone else must now open a door or window for you. These benevolence of other, becomes the difference between continuing and stopping.

Dependence creates its own kind of vulnerability because the person who provides help also acquires, however briefly, a measure of power.

That power can preserve another person’s dignity or diminish it.

These two poems approach that experience from opposite directions. The first remembers kindness that became a bridge. The second remembers shelter that came without the dignity a home should offer. This is the question they leave us with: when another person’s vulnerability places some measure of power in our hands, what do we do with it?

THE FRIEND WHO HELD THE LIGHT

My final year arrived with a price tag

I could barely look at without fear.

My project stood before me, almost finished,

yet money had become the locked door

between effort and completion.

I had already poured hours into it,

dreams into it, pieces of myself into it.

The thought of stopping there

felt like watching a house collapse

after you had laid its final brick.

I wondered whether years of work

could end at the edge of an empty pocket.

The thought hurt differently,

because failure was not the only fear.

Waste was.

Then a friend reached out a hand

when mine had begun to fall.

No trumpet announced the kindness,

no crowd gathered to witness it,

but that gesture became a bridge.

Sometimes help does not arrive

as a miracle wrapped in light.

Sometimes it comes quietly,

through one person who says,

‘Let me help you finish.’

I learned that resilience is sometimes borrowed

until you can grow your own.

And when I finally stood again,

I carried more than gratitude.

I carried a promise to keep going.

Kindness is easiest to recognise when we are the ones receiving it. Its deeper test comes when another person must depend on us.

A ROOM THAT TAUGHT ME KINDNESS

I once slept beneath another person’s roof

and learned how quickly shelter can become shame.

The walls were standing,

but I never truly felt at home,

because kindness had been left outside the door.

There is a particular loneliness

in being somewhere you are not wanted.

You learn to fold your presence smaller,

to make your footsteps quieter,

to apologise for taking up space.

I remember measuring my movements,

wondering whether simple existence

was already asking for too much.

A roof should protect the body,

but what protects the heart beneath it?

I learned then that dependence

can make a person swallow words

they should have been allowed to speak.

Gratitude can become complicated

when kindness comes with humiliation attached.

I remember that feeling,

the helplessness of needing what someone else controls.

It taught me that a room is not enough.

A home must have dignity in it,

or it becomes another kind of cage.

So I made a promise to my future self:

whoever sleeps beneath my roof

will never have to earn the right to feel human.

If I have space,

I will make room.

About the poet

Olatinwo Yushau is a poet, performer and author whose work explores survival, resilience and human responses to adversity. He is the author of Broken Roads Still Lead Forward. His writing and performance work has appeared on platforms including Nigerian Tribune, Upwrite Magazine and Poetreel.com, and he has performed on poetry and literary stages in London and Bristol.

Author, Fausat Omolara Arilewola, popularly known as Fausat Omolara Ayinla, is championing African storytelling through books, audiobooks, music, visual art and programmes designed to inspire children and young people to tell their own stories.

Ayinla, whose works draw extensively from Yoruba history, mythology, folklore and contemporary experiences, said her passion was driven by a desire to create stories that would make readers connect with the characters, while reflecting on the issues and experiences woven into the narratives.

One of her notable works, Atinuk?´, explores the fall of the Old Oyo Empire through the experiences of individuals confronted by war, displacement and the struggle for survival.

Beyond the written story, Ayinla expanded the work into other creative forms by producing an original soundtrack and commissioning sand art portraying a traditional Yoruba home and characters from the novel.

Her other work, Àtupa: The Narrative, is rooted in Yoruba mythology and African folklore. It tells the story of À?àk?´, who embarks on a perilous journey to save a prince and the kingdom of Iledu from a devastating curse.

The story was subsequently adapted into an audiobook, narrated by Rafiat Akinwande, further demonstrating Ayinla’s approach to taking African narratives beyond the conventional printed page.

Her other literary works, including Career or Family Ties, This Foolish Heart Did Not Forget and The One Left Behind, explore themes such as marriage, ambition, family, grief and loss, reflecting both personal and wider societal experiences.

Ayinla’s interest in children’s storytelling began with bedtime stories she created for her son. What started as a family activity eventually evolved into Adventures of Bobo and Friends, a series centred on Bobo, a six-year-old Nigerian boy navigating friendship, curiosity, mistakes and everyday experiences.

Determined to move children from being mere consumers of stories to becoming creators, the author developed the Storytelling Advantage Framework, a methodology designed to help children and adults build confidence, find their voice and develop a stronger sense of community through storytelling.

For children, the framework is built around six stages: Read, Think, Discuss, Create, Improve and Publish. The process encourages young readers to engage with stories, think critically about what they read, exchange ideas and ultimately develop, refine and share their own narratives.

In 2026, Ayinla began applying the framework through the Storytelling Advantage Programme, taking her advocacy beyond her books and into educational and community spaces.

She delivered a virtual session, From Idea to Story, for Leaf for Good Africa’s Rooted and Rising programme in Nigeria, where she guided young people on how to develop ideas and transform them into compelling stories.

In September 2026, she also held a My First Story session for children at Leicester Central Library in the United Kingdom. The session featured a reading of Bobo and the Biscuit Playground, followed by discussions and creative activities that enabled the children to develop their own characters, settings and storylines.

Through these initiatives, Ayinla is demonstrating that African storytelling can serve not only as a means of preserving cultural heritage but also as a powerful tool for nurturing creativity, confidence and self-expression among children and young people.

Her body of work also highlights the versatility of storytelling, showing how a single narrative can move from a book to an audiobook, soundtrack, visual artwork or classroom activity while retaining its ability to connect people with culture, imagination and identity.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded the immediate constitution of a tripartite committee to negotiate a new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers, warning that the current N70,000 wage has already been eroded by inflation.

The demand was contained in an Independence Day message issued by the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, on Wednesday, in which the labour centre said the process for a new wage standard expected to take effect in 2027 should begin without further delay.

The NLC said the current minimum wage had lost significant value even before its implementation, against the backdrop of rising inflation, transportation costs, food prices, rent and other basic necessities.

‘The current ?70,000 minimum wage was already destroyed by inflation before it was implemented,’ the Congress said, demanding ‘the immediate establishment of a tripartite committee to ensure that a new wage standard for 2027 is formulated and legislated before the year runs out.’

According to the labour centre, delaying the constitution of the committee could further prolong the process and undermine the timely implementation of a new wage regime.

The NLC’s position comes amid continuing pressure from organised labour over the rising cost of living, particularly the impact of petrol prices on workers’ purchasing power. Public sector unions under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council have also demanded the immediate commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage expected to take effect in 2027.

Beyond the minimum wage, Ajaero called on the Federal Government to immediately reduce the price of petrol, arguing that transportation costs had become a major driver of the rising cost of living.

‘Petrol now sells at ?1,430 per litre or higher in major cities and far more in remote areas,’ the NLC said, adding that the resulting increase in transportation costs was driving up the prices of food, school fees, rent and other necessities.

It therefore demanded that the government ‘seek ways to immediately reduce the price of petrol as transportation costs are the central transmission mechanism of inflation in Nigeria.’

The Congress also demanded the immediate implementation of a nationwide wage award for workers at the federal, state and local government levels, describing the measure as an emergency response to the erosion of workers’ real income.

‘A wage award is not charity. It is an emergency intervention against the collapse of real income,’ the labour centre said.

It further asked the Federal Government to implement the tax relief agreed with labour during the October 2023 dialogue, saying the tax incentives contained in the Memorandum of Understanding between both sides had yet to be implemented.

The NLC also renewed its demand for a reduction in the cost of governance, insisting that the government must demonstrate transparency and lead by example at a time when workers are being asked to make sacrifices.

‘When workers are asked to tighten their belts, the extravagance and waste of the governing class are unacceptable,’ it said.

On the broader economic situation, the labour centre said Nigeria’s Independence anniversary should provide an opportunity to reflect on whether political independence had translated into economic freedom and dignity for citizens.

It said the country was currently facing ‘a full-scale survival crisis’, with structural inflation eroding wages and increasing the cost of basic goods and services.

The Congress also called for greater investment in roads, hospitals, schools and other social infrastructure, arguing that good roads were essential to reducing transportation costs and improving economic efficiency.

It equally urged the government to create genuine economic opportunities for young Nigerians, warning that unemployment, poverty and inequality were contributing to desperation and irregular migration.

‘The government must create genuine opportunities so that young people can see hope instead of being preached to about hope,’ the NLC said.

The labour centre also linked insecurity to the country’s economic difficulties, saying farmers, teachers, doctors and other workers in some parts of the country were increasingly affected by violence.

It argued that addressing poverty, unemployment, inequality and what it described as distributive injustice was necessary for sustainable economic recovery.

The NLC said its demands were aimed at ensuring that the gains of independence were reflected in the living conditions of Nigerian workers and the wider population.

‘Hope exists, but it will not fall from the sky,’ the Congress said. ‘Hope depends on the decisions we make and the actions we take as trade unions, workers, and as a people.’

It pledged to continue pressing for decent wages, safe workplaces, accountability in governance and a life of dignity for Nigerian workers.

‘The Nigeria Labour Congress will always stand on the side of workers, fighting to the end for decent wages, safe workplaces, and a life of dignity,’ Ajaero said.

The Congress urged the government to respond to the demands, stressing that the process of negotiating a new minimum wage for 2027 could no longer be delayed.

The Federal Government has condemned the deaths of three Nigerians in separate incidents in South Africa between 18 and 21 September 2026, demanding thorough, transparent and expeditious investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incidents.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Oluwafemi Adeniyi, on Wednesday, said the government was particularly concerned about the deaths amid continuing challenges associated with xenophobia and Afrophobia in parts of South Africa.

According to the ministry, Kenechukwu Christopher Igwemmadu died on 18 September after allegedly jumping from a building while attempting to escape police harassment and brutality at Kenlin Court on Douglas Street, Central Business District, Bloemfontein.

It said Olaniyi Olaleye Olatunde was reportedly killed by an unidentified South African at Spanata Bar and Grills Night Club in Mamelodi East, Pretoria, on 20 September.

The ministry added that Christian Hillary Nnaemeka died on 21 September following an incident involving South African politician and investigative content creator, Xolani Khumalo, and members of his team in Primrose, Ekurhuleni.

‘The Federal Government of Nigeria condemns these incidents and is deeply concerned by their occurrence at a time when Nigerians and other Africans continue to face challenges associated with Xenophobia and Afrophobia in parts of South Africa,’ the statement said.

The government also expressed concern over the safety and protection of foreign nationals in South Africa, as well as the effectiveness of measures by relevant authorities to prevent attacks and ensure accountability for violations against foreigners.

It further raised concerns over allegations of excessive or unlawful conduct by law enforcement personnel, stressing that any interrogation or enforcement methods that contravene established legal and human rights standards must be investigated.

‘The Federal Government of Nigeria calls on the relevant South African authorities to immediately undertake thorough, transparent and expeditious investigations into the circumstances surrounding these deaths, and ensure that any persons found culpable are brought to justice in accordance with South African law,’ it said.

The ministry said Nigeria remained committed to constructive dialogue as the preferred means of addressing bilateral concerns, noting that the government had consistently engaged South African authorities over recurring cases of xenophobia and Afrophobia.

It said Nigeria had previously raised the concerns with the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS and the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.

‘In light of these latest developments, the Federal Government of Nigeria is actively considering further appropriate measures to secure the cooperation of the South African authorities in addressing these concerns and protecting the rights and safety of Nigerian nationals,’ the statement added.

The government, meanwhile, urged Nigerians resident in South Africa to remain calm, vigilant, law-abiding and security-conscious, particularly in view of reported xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks on vulnerable Africans.

It also advised Nigerians to maintain regular contact with the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria and the Consulate General in Johannesburg whenever they require consular assistance.

The Federal Government expressed condolences to the families, friends and wider Nigerian community in South Africa over the deaths of Igwemmadu, Olatunde and Nnaemeka, praying for the peaceful repose of their souls.