These are the top five stories you should be monitoring today.

Over two months after they embarked on a strike, the non-teaching staff of Nigerian Federal Universities have vowed not to return to work until the Federal Government addresses their grievances.

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In an address read by the Archbishop of Jos and Conference President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Dr Ignatius Ayau, Nigerian Bishops have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to act as a father to all by tackling “some glaring failures of government” and lopsidedness in federal appointments to give every Nigerian a sense of belonging.

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The Nigerian Police Force has launched an investigation into its personnel’s attitude to work.

The probe was targeted at solving the problems of lazy, unprofessional and mischievous policemen in the system.

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has announced that the government is examining the possible reorganisation of the security architecture of the country at a summit on national security organised by the Senate.

The Federal Government believes state police is the way to go in the face of multifaceted security challenges.

“We cannot realistically police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. State Police and other community policing methods are clearly the way to go,” Osinbajo said.

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The governor of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode has signed seven bills into law.

One of them is the bill (Lagos State Electric Power Reform Law) to guarantee 24-hour power supply in line with the vision to attain a non-stop economy and make Lagos globally competitive.

Also signed were: Amended Land Use Charge Law, School of Nursing Law, Cooperative College Law, Cancer Research Institute Law, Amended Customary Court Law and the Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law.

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And stories from around the world…

The US government has officially shut down for the second time in 2018 after Congress failed to meet a deadline to vote on a new budget.

Senators, however, debated all night, and have voted to pass the bill, which must now pass to the House.

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The court of Arbitration for Sport has dismissed an appeal by 47 Russian athletes and coaches against a ban on participation in the Winter Olympics.

The Russians had argued that they had been wrongfully excluded from the Games by the International Olympic Committee.

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Two notorious British ISIS members believed to be involved in the brutal torture and beheadings of Western hostages are being detained by U.S. backed rebel forces in Syria, U.S. officials confirm.

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The FBI was monitoring Carter Page when the former Donald Trump campaign adviser says he spoke with Trump adviser Steve Bannon about Russia in January 2017, raising the possibility that the FBI intercepted a conversation between the two men.

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An investigation, by Reuters, into the killings of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar prompted demands from the US State Department for a credible probe into the bloodshed there and calls for the release of two journalists who were arrested while working on the project.