Category: Refined Living

Homeowners in Surulere Community, Amikanle, near the Command area of Alimosho Local Government Area, Lagos State, are counting their losses after suspected landgrabbers, popularly known as Omo Onile, allegedly demolished several buildings and demanded millions of naira from property owners. Residents said the group invaded the community on January 27, 2026, demanding between N15 million and N25 million from landlords. Those who failed to comply reportedly had their properties pulled down. Investigations indicate that no fewer than 50 structures, including residential buildings, shops and perimeter fences, were destroyed. Community members alleged that about 300 hoodlums stormed the area, claiming they were acting on court documents from the Federal Housing Authority authorising them to collect payments for property renewal, with threats of demolition for non-compliance. A relative of one of the affected landlords, who identified himself simply as Oluwafewa, alleged that security operatives accompanied the group during the operation, which he said lasted about two weeks. “The thugs asked the landlords to obtain a form costing N100,000. They then demanded an initial payment of N5 million, with an additional N10 million to be paid later. They charged different amounts for different houses. Some were asked to pay N25 million, but they demanded N15 million from my parents,” he said. He added that the group claimed ownership of the estate, though the Federal Housing Authority had reportedly distanced itself from the demolition and asked them to desist. During a visit to the community, security personnel were observed stationed nearby, while some of the suspected hoodlums were seen around demolished structures. A community member, who spoke anonymously, alleged that the group assaulted a resident who attempted to film their activities on the first day of the invasion, nearly destroying his phone. Another resident said the issue had persisted for years. He claimed that his uncle lost his property about a decade ago after being unable to meet a N5 million demand at the time. Residents last week staged a peaceful protest at the site of the demolished buildings, carrying placards and calling on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other state leaders to intervene. One protester said roofs were removed from some buildings and that repeated complaints to authorities had yielded no response. An official of the Federal Housing Authority, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the demolition as illegal and said the agency did not authorise the operation. The official added that staff sent to assess the situation were chased away by the suspected landgrabbers. “We have written to the Commissioner of Police and the Lagos State Taskforce. Our officials were sent to the scene, but they were driven away,” the source said. When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Abimbola Adebisi, said she was not aware of the incident but promised to make inquiries. She had yet to provide further updates as of the time of filing this report.

Residents in several communities across Cross River State have decried the worsening electricity situation in the area, describing it as frustrating and damaging to livelihoods. Speaking on Saturday in Calabar, residents said prolonged power outages have crippled businesses and made daily life increasingly difficult. In Boki Local Government Area, Ajot Ajim said his community has been without electricity for years, leaving residents in “total darkness” and forcing many small business owners to shut down operations. “For some years, we have not had light in my area. This is affecting most of us, especially business owners. When it is election time, they remember us, yet we are neglected during governance,” he said. In Ikom Local Government Area, Dr. Dimitris Okim also expressed concern over the persistent poor power supply, urging both the federal and state governments to urgently intervene. Another resident of Ikom, Ashor Ubi, said his community has endured more than 14 years without electricity. He explained that the outage has paralysed his sachet water and soft drinks business. At Edgerly Street in Calabar South Local Government Area, Affiong Duke, a mother of four, said the prolonged blackout has led to the collapse of several small-scale businesses and significant revenue losses. “I want to appeal to the government to help us. Our businesses are not working. We have been in total darkness for so many years. We have a government, yet they are not making adequate provision for us. This is so sad and frustrating,” she said. Another trader in Calabar South, Bassey Effiom, warned that the lack of electricity has also contributed to rising insecurity, noting that darkness at night creates opportunities for criminal activities. He called on the Federal Government and Governor Prince Bassey Otu to take decisive action. Responding to the complaints, the State Commissioner for Power, Hon. Eka Williams, acknowledged the poor electricity supply and said efforts were underway to restore power. He explained that some electricity poles had collapsed but assured residents that repairs were ongoing and that effective power supply would be restored within the next two weeks.

Keir Starmer has called on European nations to urgently strengthen their military capabilities and reduce long-standing dependence on the United States, warning that the foundations of peace in Europe are increasingly fragile. Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, the UK prime minister said Europe must “stand on its own two feet” in the face of growing threats from Russia, while continuing to work closely with Washington. “The ground of peace is softening under our feet,” Starmer said, arguing that European leaders must respond decisively rather than repeat past mistakes of delaying rearmament until crisis strikes. Call for a “more European NATO” Starmer urged allies to build what he described as a “more European NATO,” deepen defence cooperation between the UK and the EU, and significantly increase military spending. While describing the United States as “an indispensable power” whose contribution to European security over the past 80 years is “unparalleled,” he acknowledged that Washington now expects Europe to take greater responsibility for its own defence. “The US National Security Strategy makes clear that Europe must take primary responsibility for its security. That is the new law,” he said. Rather than replacing US capabilities, Starmer argued that Europe should reduce excessive dependencies and move “from over-dependence to interdependence” through long-term investment and closer industrial coordination. Warning over Russia The prime minister said Russia had demonstrated its “appetite for aggression” in Ukraine and was continuing to rearm despite heavy losses. He cited warnings from NATO that Moscow could be in a position to use military force against the alliance before the end of the decade. Even if a peace deal is reached in Ukraine, he warned, Russia’s rearmament would likely accelerate. Starmer accused Moscow of using disinformation, cyber-attacks and political interference to destabilise European societies, and criticised political movements he described as “soft on Russia” and “weak on NATO.” Boosting defence spending and coordination Starmer said Europe must “spend more, deliver more, and coordinate more,” pointing to a recent agreement among allies to increase security and defence spending to 5% of GDP. He criticised inefficiencies in Europe’s defence sector, noting that the continent operates more than 20 types of frigate, 10 types of fighter jet and over 10 types of main battle tank, compared with far fewer standardised systems in the United States. To address fragmentation, he called for deeper integration of procurement, joint investment in defence industries and expanded UK-EU cooperation. The UK, he said, is ready to lead a “generational shift” in defence industrial collaboration, working closely with France, Germany and other European partners. Stronger UK-EU ties Starmer also signalled openness to closer economic alignment with the EU where it serves mutual interests, arguing that stronger growth would underpin higher defence spending and broader security. “There is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain,” he said, adding that the UK is “not the Britain of the Brexit years anymore.” He framed the moment as one requiring political courage, warning that leaders in the 1930s had failed to prepare their publics for fundamental change. Without clear leadership now, he cautioned, extremist voices on both the left and right would fill the vacuum. “If we believe in democracy, liberty and the rule of law, this is the moment to stand up and fight for them,” Starmer said.

Two people were fatally shot and another was injured Thursday at a university in the southern United States, authorities said, prompting a lockdown that is still in effect. Officials at South Carolina State University said the campus was placed under lockdown at about 9:15 p.m. Thursday (0215 GMT Friday) after reports of gunfire at an apartment in the Hugine Suites student housing complex. In a statement, the school said it had not yet been able to verify the identities of the victims or provide an update on the condition of the person who was wounded. The campus “remains on lockdown,” the university added. University authorities did not immediately say whether any suspects were in custody, but they noted that local police agencies were assisting with patrols on and around the grounds. The university also announced that classes scheduled for Friday have been cancelled. The shooting follows another deadly school attack earlier this week in British Columbia, Canada, and adds to a series of firearm‑related incidents at educational institutions in the United States amid ongoing political debate over gun policy.

NASA is preparing to send four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, marking the arrival of a replacement crew after an earlier-than-planned evacuation triggered by a medical issue. The US space agency is targeting February 13 for the launch of the Crew-12 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with lift-off scheduled for 5:15 a.m. local time (10:15 GMT). The pre-dawn launch had been postponed by two days due to unfavorable weather conditions along the US East Coast, including strong winds that could have affected emergency procedures. If the mission proceeds as planned, the spacecraft is expected to dock with the orbiting ISS at around 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. Crew-12 includes American astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The four have been in pre-flight quarantine at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They will replace Crew-11, which returned to Earth in January about a month earlier than scheduled, marking the first medical evacuation in the space station’s history. Since then, the ISS has been maintained by a reduced crew of three. NASA has not released details about the health issue that led to the early return. Orbiting about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, the ISS has been continuously inhabited for nearly 25 years. The ageing space laboratory is expected to be decommissioned around 2030, when it will be guided into Earth’s atmosphere to fall into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean. Despite broader geopolitical tensions, the ISS has remained a rare platform for cooperation between Western nations and Russia, even after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Still, those tensions have occasionally surfaced. In November, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, who had been slated for Crew-12, was abruptly removed from the mission. Russian media reported he had been reassigned over security concerns, while the space agency Roscosmos said only that he had been moved to a different role. He was replaced by Fedyaev, who previously served aboard the ISS during Crew-6 in 2023. Over their eight-month stay, the Crew-12 astronauts will carry out a range of scientific experiments, including studies on how microgravity affects the human body. Meir, a former marine biologist known for her research on life in extreme environments, will serve as mission commander. Adenot will become the second French woman to travel to space, following Claudie Haigneré, who flew aboard the Mir space station. Adenot has said watching Haigneré’s launch as a teenager inspired her own path to spaceflight. Among other projects, Adenot will test a new system that combines artificial intelligence and augmented reality to enable astronauts to perform medical ultrasound scans on themselves while in orbit.

A U.S. Marine of Nigerian heritage, Chukwuemeka Oforah, has been confirmed dead after falling overboard from the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima while it was operating in the Caribbean Sea. The 21-year-old Florida native, who served as a lance corporal and infantry rifleman, reportedly went overboard on the evening of February 7, 2026, during routine operations. He was declared dead on February 10 after an extensive search effort failed to locate him. The circumstances surrounding his death are still under investigation by the U.S. military. Oforah’s death is the first publicly known American fatality linked to Operation Southern Spear, an initiative launched under President Donald Trump aimed at disrupting drug-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and was deployed with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) as part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group. Oforah enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in October 2023 and completed his recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in February 2024. In a statement, the Marine Corps offered condolences to his family, noting that details surrounding how he fell from the ship were still unclear. Colonel Tom Trimble, commanding officer of the Marine Expeditionary Unit, said the loss was deeply felt across the Navy-Marine Corps team, adding that Oforah’s service and dedication would not be forgotten. The military said the search operation involved five naval vessels and 10 aircraft. Operation Southern Spear, which began in 2025, focuses on intercepting and disabling suspected drug-trafficking boats. Since September of that year, the mission has carried out dozens of strikes against suspected trafficking vessels. Oforah’s death is the first confirmed loss of a U.S. service member connected to the operation.

The Lagos State Government has announced plans to prosecute 75 suspected offenders arrested along the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road during a recent clean-up operation. The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this in a statement shared on his Facebook page on Thursday. Wahab said the arrests were made on Wednesday during intensified sanitation and enforcement activities along the coastal corridor. The suspects include 68 men and seven women, with substances believed to be illicit drugs recovered during the exercise. He explained that as part of the ongoing clean-up drive, operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Task Force carried out a late-night raid around 10 pm, focusing on areas identified as crime hotspots. During the operation, all 75 suspects were apprehended, while suspected illegal drugs were seized at the scene. The commissioner also revealed that a task force officer, Inspector Omosanjo Mohamed, was attacked by hoodlums during the raid and suffered a serious head injury. He is currently receiving medical care. Wahab stressed that attacks on law enforcement officers carrying out legitimate duties would not be tolerated. He added that all those arrested would be dealt with in accordance with the law. According to the state government, the suspects will be charged to court after investigations, under relevant state laws covering environmental offences, public nuisance, drug-related crimes, and assault. Wahab reaffirmed the government’s determination to restore order along the coastal corridor, describing the operation as part of wider efforts to reclaim public spaces from criminal activities. He said the administration remains committed to safeguarding public areas and ensuring the safety and security of law-abiding residents across Lagos. Sections of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road, particularly those under construction and expansion, have recently drawn complaints from motorists and residents over harassment and rising insecurity. Officials said the latest operation reflects the state’s zero-tolerance approach to street crime and environmental violations, aimed at maintaining Lagos as a safe and economically vibrant city.

United States President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet on Friday with special forces troops involved in the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro during a deadly raid in Caracas in January. The White House said the president will be joined by First Lady Melania Trump as they travel to Fort Bragg to greet the soldiers. According to US officials, the operation involved helicopters arriving under the cover of darkness and the seizure of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital on January 3. Venezuelan authorities said the assault, which began with US air strikes on military targets, left 83 people dead and more than 112 injured. No US troops were reported killed. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president and first lady would also meet with military families and commend members of the special forces who carried out what the administration calls “Operation Absolute Resolve,” describing Maduro as a narco-terrorist brought to justice. Maduro is currently being held in the United States, where he faces charges including drug trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty, and his next court appearance is set for March 17 in New York. Trump has approved former vice president Delcy Rodríguez to replace Maduro, contingent on meeting US demands related to oil access and easing state repression. The president has repeatedly cited the operation as a demonstration of US military power and Washington’s influence in the region. Speaking at a rally in Iowa in January, Trump praised the mission as “spectacular” and credited what he called an exceptionally skilled and patriotic team. Trump has also alluded to the use of a secret weapon, which he referred to as a “discombobulator,” claiming it disabled Venezuelan equipment during the operation. In a recent interview with NBC News, he declined to provide details, saying only that it rendered opposing equipment inoperable.

A prolonged standoff between Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress over immigration enforcement is threatening to push the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into a partial government shutdown from Saturday, following two fatal shootings in Minneapolis. “For weeks, we’ve been advocating for commonsense reforms,” said Chuck Schumer, the leading Democrat in the Republican-controlled Senate, as the deadline for a shutdown loomed after midnight on Friday. Democrats have refused to approve additional funding for DHS unless significant changes are made to the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency at the centre of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Their demands include limiting roving patrols, banning ICE agents from wearing facemasks during operations, and requiring judicial warrants before entering private property. Opposition to ICE intensified after the January deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two US citizens who were shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis during protests against immigration enforcement actions. Lawmakers are now calling for stricter accountability for ICE officers, including adherence to existing standards governing the use of force. “Democrats will not sign off on a blank cheque for chaos,” Schumer said. Half-measures House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed those concerns on Thursday, warning that ICE had become “completely and totally out of control.” He argued that public funds should be spent on easing the cost of living for Americans rather than being used in ways that harm them, adding that violence often erupts “whenever these masked and untrained ICE agents arrive on the scene.” Even if all 53 Republican senators back DHS funding, Senate rules require at least 60 votes to move the budget forward, meaning support from several Democrats would still be needed. The White House said it was open to negotiations and submitted a counterproposal late Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune described the offer as “extremely serious,” while cautioning that Democrats would not secure all of their demands. Democrats rejected the proposal outright. “Half-measures are not enough,” said Senator Patty Murray, insisting her party’s conditions were both reasonable and necessary. Airports impacted If no agreement is reached, thousands of federal workers could be placed on furlough, while many others would be required to continue working without pay until a budget is passed. ICE operations would continue during a partial shutdown due to funding approved last year, meaning the effects would be felt more sharply by other agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which coordinates disaster response. The Transportation Security Administration has warned that a prolonged shutdown could have serious consequences for air travel, including staff shortages, longer security lines, and flight delays or cancellations. If it occurs, this would be the third shutdown of Trump’s second term, following a record 43-day government closure last October and November.

Antonín Panenka, the inventor of the famous chipped penalty technique that bears his name, has shared his thoughts on Brahim Díaz’s missed spot-kick in the AFCON final. Speaking in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena SER, the Czech legend revealed how much dedication it took him to master the iconic move. “It took me two years of daily training to be able to take a penalty in that way,” Panenka said. According to him, Díaz may not have put in enough preparation before attempting such a high-risk technique in a high-pressure moment. “I’m convinced Brahim didn’t train it enough. The idea came to him suddenly in that moment, and he tried it. I think that’s why he didn’t score,” he explained. Panenka also dismissed claims that the technique is disrespectful to opponents. “I don’t agree. At that moment, I believed it was the right way to score. In a European Championship final, you don’t think about mocking the opponent. My intention was never to ridicule anyone. I simply believed it was the best way to score,” he said. Panenka’s opinion carries significant weight. In the 1976 European Championship final, he famously chipped the decisive penalty straight down the middle against West Germany, securing victory for Czechoslovakia. That bold moment became one of the most iconic in football history and gave birth to the term “Panenka.” Since then, many players have attempted the technique, but it remains one of the riskiest choices in football especially in decisive matches. For Morocco, Díaz’s miss was particularly heartbreaking, as the penalty could have ended the Atlas Lions’ decades-long wait for a major continental trophy. For Díaz, the moment may serve as a reminder of the importance of preparation and composure under pressure.