News
ASUU Schedules Fresh Strike For End Of August
The implementation of the 40 per cent salary increase approved for university lecturers by President Bola Tinubu is facing fresh uncertainty as the Federal Government has allegedly failed to release funds to federal universities to sustain the payment, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said.
Prof. Florence Onyebuchi Orabueze, Chairperson of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) chapter of ASUU, said the university had been paying the approved increment despite the Federal Government’s failure to provide the necessary funds
Orabueze said the university’s internally generated revenue (IGR) could not continue to shoulder the financial burden of the salary increase, warning that ASUU could embark on another nationwide strike if the government fails to address the funding problem.
She said the Federal Government had reimbursed UNN for only part of the money it spent on the salary adjustment.
“The Vice Chancellor is not owing us anything; it is just that the Federal Government is not giving them the money for the payment. The problem is that the government is not releasing the money,” Orabueze said.
According to her, the UNN management initially used its IGR to fund the payment from January to June, but the Federal Government only reimbursed the institution for the period between January and May.
“When he paid from January to June, then they reimbursed him from January to May. But that of June, the Federal Government hasn’t paid. They haven’t also paid for July,” she said.
Orabueze said the funding challenge was not peculiar to UNN, insisting that it was a nationwide problem affecting the implementation of the 40 per cent salary increase agreed under the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU renegotiated agreement.
“The problem of the payment of 40 per cent salary increment for the 2025 FGN/ASUU renegotiated agreement is a nationwide issue, and not that of UNN,” she said.
The UNN ASUU chairperson said the union’s National Executive Council (NEC), which recently met in Abuja, was concerned about what members considered the government’s failure to fully implement the agreement.
She said the union was considering industrial action between the end of August and early September if the funding issue was not resolved.
“Part of the decision was that because the Federal Government is not serious about implementing the whole thing, that by the end of this month… between the end of this month and September, early September, ASUU, at the national level, will go on strike,” she said.
She stressed that UNN had been able to pay the increment only because its management had committed its own resources to the process.
“UNN has paid from January to June. Federal Government owes them. But that of July, like all others, they haven’t been able to pay, and that is because there is no way the IGR can carry it,” she said.
According to Orabueze, discussions at the ASUU NEC meeting involving representatives from almost 100 universities showed that the funding crisis was widespread.
“When we went to Abuja for NEC, more than almost 100 universities, we found out that no federal university has paid that of July,” she said.
She also said several state universities were already involved in industrial disputes over salary and other issues.
Orabueze expressed frustration over what she described as the government’s treatment of university lecturers, comparing their approved salary increase with the reported 300 per cent increase for judicial officers.
“The Federal Government is not serious with us. They gave judges 300 per cent, but the lecturers who are even training everybody, including judges, even to pay us 40 per cent is becoming very hard for them,” she said.
She said lecturers had accepted the 40 per cent increase despite reservations because they wanted to avoid prolonged disruption of academic activities.
“We took 40 per cent, and even to pay that 40 per cent is hard, they are withholding our money,” she said.
Orabueze said lecturers had previously called off industrial action partly because of the impact prolonged strikes would have on students from poor families.
“We called off the strike in October last year because they said that it’s only poor Nigerians that are studying here. So we called off the strike because of poor Nigerians like us,” she said.
She added: “Why is it impossible that they don’t want to even pay those of us who agreed to stay in Nigeria to teach our children? Why is it that they are finding it difficult to pay us 40 per cent?”
News
Court Arraigns Journalist In Benue
A Benue State High Court, presided over by Justice Mary Abounu, has arraigned the Benue State correspondent of Aljazirah Newspaper, Henry Ibya, in Makurdi over alleged cyberstang.
The trial judge had sought the prosecution’s response to the defendant’s argument that the journalist was reliable and should be granted bail.
The absence of the prosecution counsel in court did not stop the proceedings, as the defendant’s counsel, Tom Uja, Esq., notified the court of his bail application for his client.
He stated that the prosecution had taken the journalist to two other courts in the state on the same charge and that his client had never failed to appear in court whenever required.
Although the prosecutor’s absence did not affect the judge’s decision to proceed and grant bail, which was also believed to be in the interest of justice, the matter was adjourned until November 5, 2026.
One Terna Abuul, said to be the Director of ICT at Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi, reported Henry Ibya to the Nigeria Police Force, Benue State Command.
The director had accused the journalist of allegedly reporting mismanagement in the institution’s ICT department.
According to Abuul, Ibya’s report accused him of wrongdoing.
On the strength of the said report, the journalist was arraigned before the High Court in Makurdi.
News
64 Dead, 80 Injured As Two High-Speed Trains Collide
At least 64 people have been killed and dozens seriously injured after two high-speed trains collided near Urda, south of Madrid, in one of Spain’s deadliest rail disasters in more than a decade.
The Castilla-La Mancha regional government confirmed the death toll as emergency crews continued rescue operations at the crash site. More than 500 passengers were travelling on the two trains involved, according to a regional government spokesperson.
The BBC reports that the collision of the two trains involved a Renfe high-speed train and an Iryo service operating on the Madrid-to-Seville route. Aerial images analysed by the broadcaster showed parts of the Renfe train leaving the tracks, while carriages of the Iryo train also derailed.
The cause of the collision had not been officially confirmed. However, Spanish media cited preliminary accounts suggesting that the Renfe train struck the Iryo service, which may have been stationary following a problem on the tracks.
The scale of the disaster prompted a major emergency response involving ambulances, helicopters, rescue teams and police officers. At least 80 people were reported injured, with about 50 believed to be in serious condition and 15 in critical condition, according to regional officials.
Several victims were transported to hospitals in nearby areas, while others were taken to Madrid for treatment. Hospitals in Toledo, Ciudad Real and Alcázar de San Juan reportedly suspended planned surgeries to accommodate casualties from the crash.
Blood transfusion centres in Madrid and Toledo also appealed for urgent donations to meet a possible surge in demand.
Survivors described scenes of panic and severe destruction. One passenger, Sebastián Herrero, told Spanish newspaper El Mundo that he felt a powerful impact that threw him into the seats ahead. He said injured passengers had broken noses and arms, while smoke spread through the carriages.
Another passenger, Iñaki, told El País that the impact sent him rolling across the floor. After escaping, he saw injured people and bodies around the wreckage.
BBC Verify also examined images and videos appearing to show a section of railway track piercing through a Renfe carriage, with approximately 10 metres of rail protruding through its roof.
The disaster has revived concerns about railway safety in Spain, which suffered another deadly high-speed rail accident near Córdoba in which 46 people died. The country’s previous worst rail disaster occurred in July 2013, when 80 people were killed in a derailment near Santiago de Compostela.
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he was shocked by the crash and remained in contact with the transport minister. The Spanish royal family also expressed condolences to victims’ relatives and praised emergency workers.
Meanwhile, the Royal Spanish Football Federation postponed 24 Copa del Rey matches in solidarity with the victims, while most political parties suspended campaign activities.
Rescue and recovery operations continued as authorities worked to establish the full circumstances surrounding the collision.
News
Police Arrest Suspected Eiye Cultist, Recover Two Pistols, Cartridges In Ogun
Operatives of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Squad of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a 26-year-old suspected cultist and recovered two locally made pistols, three live cartridges and a battle axe in the Atan area of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Council of the state.
The suspect, identified as Okiki Muhammed Adewusi, popularly known as “Baba Obo”, was arrested in the Ore area of Atan on October 26, 2026, following intelligence received by operatives of SWAT Base 7, Abule Iroko, Sango-Ota.
The Police Spokesperson, Oluseyi Babaseyi, confirmed the arrest in a statement in Abeokuta yesterday.
According to Babaseyi, a search of the suspect’s residence after his arrest led to the recovery of a locally made pistol and three live cartridges.
He added that preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had allegedly admitted to being a member of the Eiye Confraternity.
Babaseyi said information obtained from the suspect led to a follow-up operation at about 6.30 a.m. on October 27, 2026 during which operatives recovered a second locally made pistol and a battle axe from a separate location.
The recovered items have been secured as exhibits, while efforts are ongoing to arrest other suspects believed to be involved in the activities and recover additional weapons.
The police spokesperson said investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the case.
The Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni, commended the SWAT operatives for their vigilance, professionalism and effective use of intelligence.
Ojajuni reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks, curbing cult-related activities and tackling the illegal possession of firearms across the state.
He urged residents to provide timely and credible information about suspected criminal activities, assuring them that the Command would act on actionable intelligence to protect lives and property and maintain public safety.
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