- FG considering linking education records with NYSC to fight fake certificates
- Peter Obi’s Benue visit blocked and state government denies involvement
- Ex-US immigration official accused of taking nearly $1m in bribes
- Kunle Afolayan seeks FG support after investing over ₦8bn in film village
- Verydarkman sends young Nigerian roboticist to China for further study
Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the top five Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss.
FG considering linking education records with NYSC to fight fake certificates
The Federal Government plans to link education records with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to tackle certificate racketeering and improve qualification checks. Education Minister Tunji Alausa announced this during a meeting with NYSC Director-General Olakunle Nafiu in Abuja.
Alausa said the digital reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda would strengthen academic records and ensure genuine graduates are not unfairly denied opportunities. He added that the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank was verifying university certificates and tracking learners.
The minister also said the Nigerian Education Data Infrastructure would connect records across education levels, while certificate verification services had been fully digitised.
Peter Obi’s Benue visit blocked and state government denies involvement
Peter Obi’s planned visit to Yelwata, Benue State, was disrupted on Tuesday after youths blocked his convoy on Gboko Road in Makurdi. Obi said he travelled to condole with families of victims of the 2025 Yelwata massacre.
The former presidential candidate accused suspected hired thugs of stopping him, allegedly on the orders of a government aide. However, the Benue State Government denied involvement, saying Obi failed to formally notify officials about his visit.
Police confirmed they knew about the visit and had deployed officers for security. The command said it was investigating the incident after protesters reportedly chanted, “We don’t want Peter Obi.”
Ex-US immigration official accused of taking nearly $1m in bribes
A former US Citizenship and Immigration Services official, Lukman Ganiyu, has been accused of accepting nearly $960,000 in bribes to bypass immigration procedures and approve citizenship applications. He and alleged accomplice Adeniyi Somoye were arrested last week.
Prosecutors said Ganiyu skipped interviews, background checks, supervisory reviews and other required procedures to speed up applications, including for people allegedly ineligible for citizenship. Most applicants reportedly came from African countries.
The alleged scheme ran from December 2019 to March 2026. Court documents said Ganiyu received about $671,438 through Zelle and Cash App, plus $287,830 in cash deposits, while Somoye reportedly managed about $1.7 million in transfers.
Kunle Afolayan seeks FG support after investing over ₦8bn in film village
Nigerian filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has appealed to the Federal Government for support, saying he has invested more than ₦8 billion of his personal funds in KAP Film Village and Resort in Oyo State.
Afolayan said the resort has operated without public electricity since it opened, forcing him to rely on costly diesel generators. He said the rising fuel costs had nearly pushed him to close the business.
The filmmaker added that he had invested about ₦200 million in green energy, but it was not enough to power the resort. He urged government agencies to support the project, noting that similar ventures had received grants.
Verydarkman sends young Nigerian roboticist to China for further study
Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has sponsored 18-year-old self-taught roboticist Darlyton Ovwieghosuotu, known as Smartician, to study robotics in China.
VDM discovered the teenager on Instagram after seeing his homemade appliances, including a washing machine, blender, wireless power bank and projector. He reportedly received a $50,000 (about ₦75 million) cash gift to fund the initiative, covering tuition, welfare, feeding, and travel costs.
Smartician received his Chinese student visa on December 18, with final approvals expected by August 2026. According to reports, he is scheduled to resume studies on October 12, 2026.
