The Presidency has defended the reported killing of senior Islamic State leader Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, insisting that claims he had been eliminated in a previous operation were the result of mistaken identity.   According to a report by Punch, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said earlier reports linking Al-Manuki to a 2024 military operation were based on incorrect battlefield assessments. Responding to public scepticism after US President Donald Trump announced the joint Nigeria-United States operation, Onanuga explained that security officials had reviewed the earlier intelligence and concluded that Al-Manuki had been wrongly identified. He said intelligence later confirmed that the Birnin Gwari forest area, where the 2024 operation took place, was never within Al-Manuki’s operational territory, making the previous assessment inaccurate. Onanuga disclosed that the latest operation followed months of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance efforts, supported by communications monitoring and phone intercepts that began in December 2025. According to him, security agencies initially planned to capture Al-Manuki alive, placing him under surveillance in locations including Abuja and Maiduguri before authorising the final military strike. He said multiple layers of verification were carried out before the operation, adding that security officials are now “100 per cent certain” the target was Al-Manuki. The clarification follows comparisons with previous counterterrorism operations in which militant leaders, including Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, were wrongly declared dead before later resurfacing. Trump announced the operation on Friday through his Truth Social platform, describing Al-Manuki as “the most active terrorist in the world” and “second in command of ISIS globally.” US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth later identified Al-Manuki as the senior ISIS General Directorate of Provinces Emir, responsible for coordinating attacks, hostage-taking and financial operations across the Sahel. The US Africa Command also released footage of the targeted strikes. President Bola Tinubu praised the joint Nigeria-US mission, describing it as a major blow against the Islamic State and highlighting the value of security cooperation between both countries. Al-Manuki, also known by several aliases including Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Mainuki and Abubakar Mainok, was born in Mainok, Borno State, in 1982. He was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department of State in June 2023 and rose through the ranks of ISWAP following the death of Mamman Nur in 2018. Onanuga urged Nigerians not to undermine verified joint military operations, warning that doing so could weaken public confidence in ongoing counterterrorism efforts.

A Russian strike on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has killed at least 18 people and injured around 60 others, just one day before NATO leaders gather for a crucial summit in Ankara.   According to AFP, reported by Channels Television, Russia launched 68 missiles and 351 attack drones overnight, targeting Kyiv and surrounding areas. Ukrainian authorities said apartment buildings were among the sites hit, with a missile tearing through a multi-storey residential block and leaving rescuers searching for survivors beneath the rubble. President Volodymyr Zelensky called on NATO allies to take “strong decisions” to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences, saying the country urgently needs more interceptor missiles for US-made Patriot systems to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks. “It is critically important that the world, first and foremost the United States and our European partners, come out of the NATO summit in Ankara with strong decisions in support of our air defence,” Zelensky said. The attack came less than a week after another Russian bombardment of Kyiv killed more than 30 people, increasing pressure on Ukraine’s Western allies to provide additional military support. The European Union also backed calls for increased air defence assistance. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the latest attack demonstrated Ukraine’s urgent need for more defensive capabilities, with the issue expected to feature prominently during the NATO summit. Russia’s defence ministry said the operation was a “massive strike” aimed at military-industrial facilities as well as fuel and energy infrastructure across several Ukrainian regions. Ukrainian officials, however, said around 30 residential buildings in Kyiv were damaged. Residents described scenes of destruction as explosions shattered windows and damaged homes. One local, Oleksandr Bakhlukov, said powerful blasts during the early hours destroyed every window in his apartment. Another resident, Anna Misko, said she and her child survived after taking shelter on the ground floor before a missile struck the upper levels of their building. Meanwhile, Russia said it intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones overnight, with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin claiming several waves of drones had been heading towards the Russian capital. The latest escalation comes as diplomatic efforts to end the more than four-year war remain stalled. The White House confirmed that US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Zelensky during the NATO summit to discuss renewed efforts to end the conflict before also engaging with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Federal Government has begun a closed-door meeting with representatives of the Dangote Refinery, petroleum marketers and key regulators in Abuja as part of efforts to achieve a reduction in petrol prices across Nigeria.   According to Channels Television, the meeting is taking place at the headquarters of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and includes officials from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), major marketers, independent marketers, depot operators and transport stakeholders. Among those attending are representatives of TotalEnergies, Eterna, Matrix Energy, the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and other industry players. The meeting follows recent concerns raised by the FCCPC that reductions in petrol prices have not matched the decline in global crude oil prices. The commission warned that businesses engaging in unfair pricing practices could face regulatory action. Speaking at the meeting, NMDPRA Chief Executive Rabiu Umar said the engagement was convened on the directive of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri. Umar noted that international crude oil prices had eased in recent months but said the domestic retail market had yet to reflect the downward trend. He said the government’s objective was not to impose prices but to work with industry stakeholders to address challenges, improve market surveillance, strengthen inventory management and accelerate the National Strategic Stock initiative to safeguard the country’s energy security. Lokpobiri reiterated that deregulation should not be used as a justification for excessive profiteering. He urged stakeholders to reach a common understanding on reducing the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), noting that petrol and diesel prices have a direct impact on every sector of the Nigerian economy. The minister maintained that the decline in Brent crude oil prices should be reflected in lower domestic petrol prices and assured stakeholders that the government remained committed to protecting consumers while sustaining the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. The outcome of the meeting is expected to shape the next steps towards possible adjustments in petrol pump prices nationwide.

A video of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the man accused of heading an alleged “ghost agency” linked to a ₦1.3 billion budget scandal, has resurfaced online as controversy over the case continues.   The footage, first recorded during a press conference in late June 2026, shows Adeyemi defending his claim as Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council while challenging the position of the Presidency and the Office of the Chief of Staff, led by Femi Gbajabiamila. According to the report by Punch Newspapers, Adeyemi questioned how an agency the Presidency says does not exist appeared in official budget documents. He argued that the federal budget undergoes several stages of drafting, executive coordination, Budget Office review and legislative approval, asking at what point references to the alleged agency entered official records. Adeyemi also claimed the council operated domiciliary, pounds sterling and Treasury Single Account accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, questioning how a fictitious agency could allegedly maintain such accounts. He further alleged that Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila demanded 48 per cent of the agency’s proposed ₦27.4 billion take-off grant, amounting to about ₦12.5 billion. The Presidency has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council has no legal backing and was never established by the Federal Government. Government officials allege that Adeyemi forged appointment letters and other official documents to present himself as the Director-General of the purported council. Authorities also claim he operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, where he allegedly met government officials, diplomats, investors and members of the public while posing as a senior government official. The controversy intensified after reports revealed that the 2026 Appropriation Act allocated more than ₦1.3 billion to an entity listed as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council. The allocation reportedly included about ₦803 million for personnel, ₦200 million for overhead costs and ₦300 million for capital expenditure. Adeyemi is currently facing an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of forgery, impersonation, false personation and operating a fictitious government agency. The Presidency has urged the public to disregard Adeyemi’s claims, maintaining that the matter is before the court, while Adeyemi insists he is not an impostor and says the judiciary will determine the dispute.