• Resident Doctors begin nationwide strike today
• Dangote prepares to release petrol from refinery
• Police officers and Shi’ites clash in a deadly combat
• Nigerian billionaires support FG’s move to eradicate malaria from the country
• Abuja High Court freezes accounts of 32 #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss.

Resident Doctors begin nationwide strike today

Resident doctors across Nigeria have begun a seven-day nationwide warning strike starting on August 26.

The nationwide strike is in response to the kidnap of a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, named Dr Ganiyat Popoola, who was kidnapped in December 2023 with her husband and nephew.

While Dr Popoola’s husband has since been released, she and her nephew remain in captivity after eight months, and this has led to the nationwide strike as the president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) declared that the strike would be total as there would be no emergency care or concessions provided during the strike.

Dangote prepares to release petrol from refinery

Dangote Refinery has announced that it is prepared to produce petrol in Nigeria after the battles it fought to achieve this feat.

Mr. Devakumar Edwin, Dangote Industries Limited’s Vice President for Oil & Gas, announced a tour of the refinery complex, stating that the refinery was preparing for the rollout of its petrol. However, the specific date was not mentioned.

Mr. Edwin stated that the petrol prices, when released, would go in tandem with the current products at the refinery and save foreign exchange revenue for Nigeria.

Police officers and Shi’ites clash in a deadly combat

Two police officers have been killed, with three others left fatally injured and in hospital in Abuja after a fatal clash with the Islamic Movements of Nigeria (IMN), also known as “Shi’ite.”

The Islamic group’s leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, is known for his regular quarrels with security agents during his group’s processions when celebrating some events,s, which often lead to violent endings.

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) has since been banned in 2019 by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari after they clashed with security agents.

According to the report given by the police, the Shi’ites were armed and had attacked the police officers at a checkpoint, which left three patrol trucks destroyed, two dead, and three unconscious and receiving treatment. However, 52 members of the IMN had been arrested.

Nigerian billionaires support FG’s move to eradicate malaria from the country

Nigerian billionaires and business tycoon Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, and Tony Elumelu have all shared their support for the federal government as it aims to drive out malaria from Nigeria.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, reported that Nigeria currently accounted for over a quarter of malaria cases reported worldwide and about a third of the  600,00 deaths caused by malaria globally.

Dangote and the two other billionaires urged panel members to combat malaria with every resource at their disposal, using whatever means possible.

“I want to appreciate your acceptance of serving our beloved country in this capacity, and I am glad to join hands with you to reduce the burden and deaths due to malaria in Nigeria,” Dangote said.

Abuja High Court freezes accounts of 32 #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters

A High Court in Abuja has approved freezing 32 individuals and companies connected to the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria nationwide protest between August 1 – 10.

The presiding judge, Emeka Nwite, accepted the ex-parte motion moved by Ibrahim Mohammed, approving the freezing of 32 bank accounts linked to the #EndBadGovernance protesters.

The reason for the freezing of accounts was claimed to have been the hosting of another country’s flag during the protest, as this act was seen as treacherous and threatened to undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty.