BREAKING : President Tinubu Seeks Fresh $516m Loan

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested Senate approval for a $516,333,007 external loan to finance key sections of the ambitious Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway project, a flagship infrastructure initiative aimed at boosting national connectivity.

The request was conveyed in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during Thursday’s plenary session.

According to the President, the proposed funding will support the execution of Section 1, Phase 1a and 1b, covering about 120 kilometres of the planned 1,000km highway corridor linking Nigeria’s Northwest to the Southwest.

Tinubu explained that the highway will originate from Illela in Sokoto State and pass through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun states before terminating in Badagry, Lagos State—creating a strategic economic route connecting inland production zones to coastal trade hubs.

The financing arrangement, the President noted, is structured as a syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank, backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, an arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group.

He added that the Federal Government will provide counterpart funding of ₦265.54 billion to cover land acquisition, compensation, and other ancillary infrastructure tied to the project.

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Details of the loan show a nine-year tenor, including a grace period of up to three years, with an interest rate capped at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) SOFR plus 5.3 percent annually.

Tinubu informed lawmakers that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has already approved the financing structure and urged the Senate to incorporate the loan into Nigeria’s rolling borrowing plan.

The President emphasized that the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway is expected to significantly enhance North-South connectivity, improve road safety, and reduce logistics and transportation costs across the country. He added that the project would strengthen trade, boost food security, and promote national cohesion by linking agricultural production zones to markets and ports.

The design also includes provisions for future development, with the central median reserved for rail integration and utility corridors, positioning the route as a multi-modal transport backbone.

Following the presentation, Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts for further legislative scrutiny, with a report expected within one week.

Speaking in support of the project, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) described the highway as a long-awaited development, noting that it had been under consideration for over five decades.

Aliero said he had personally inspected ongoing work and expressed satisfaction with the progress, revealing that sections of the road are being constructed using both concrete and asphalt, alongside modern features such as solar-powered streetlights.

He projected that upon completion, travel time between Sokoto and Lagos could be reduced by more than 70 percent, cutting a typical 13-hour journey to about six hours.

The proposed loan forms part of the Tinubu administration’s broader strategy to leverage external financing for large-scale infrastructure projects considered critical to Nigeria’s economic growth and regional integration.

BREAKING : President Tinubu Seeks Fresh $516m Loan

Lai Mohammed Rejects Christian Genocide Claims, Says Boko Haram Kills More Muslims

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has dismissed allegations of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, insisting that insurgent groups such as Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians in their attacks across the country.

Mohammed made the remarks in the United Kingdom during a question-and-answer session with students of Abbey College, Cambridge, where he spoke on governance, insecurity, and youth participation in Nigeria’s political development.

Responding to questions on religious violence, Mohammed said suggestions that Christians are being systematically targeted in Nigeria were “false” and misleading. He argued that Nigeria’s security challenges are complex and should not be reduced to a single religious narrative. “There should be more understanding on the part of the developed world. People say there is religious persecution in Nigeria and genocide against Christians. It’s not true. It is fake news,” he said.

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The former minister explained that the terrorist group Boko Haram initially emerged as a radical movement opposing Western education, noting that its early victims were largely Muslims. He said the group originally targeted those it considered opposed to its ideology, adding that “at the beginning, the victims of Boko Haram were largely Muslims, not Christians.” According to him, the group’s name reflects its ideology, loosely meaning opposition to Western education.

Mohammed also addressed insecurity linked to banditry, describing it as a criminal enterprise rather than a religious conflict. He said many of the attackers and victims belong to the same ethnic and religious groups, particularly in northern Nigeria. “The bandits are Muslims, they are Hausa-Fulanis. Their victims are Muslims. So how can you say it is about religion? It has nothing to do with religion,” he said.

He further argued that Nigeria has a strong tradition of religious tolerance, stating that ordinary citizens are more concerned about economic survival than religious differences. “In Nigeria, the average Muslim and Christian only disagree over money, not theology,” he said, adding that interfaith marriages are common across the country.

Mohammed urged stronger communication efforts to challenge what he described as misleading international narratives about religious conflict in Nigeria.

Nigeria continues to battle insecurity involving Boko Haram, ISWAP insurgents, armed banditry, and communal clashes across several regions. While religious identity is sometimes present in these conflicts, analysts often describe the violence as multi-dimensional, driven by terrorism, poverty, and criminal networks.

The federal government has consistently denied claims of state-sponsored religious persecution, insisting that security forces are engaged in combating terrorism and protecting all citizens regardless of faith.

Lai Mohammed Rejects Christian Genocide Claims, Says Boko Haram Kills More Muslims

Ted Cruz Accuses Nigerian Officials Over Alleged Attacks on Christians

United States Senator Ted Cruz has accused Nigerian government officials of being complicit in attacks against Christians in Nigeria, making the allegation during a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee hearing on U.S. counterterrorism strategy in Africa.

Cruz said Nigeria has recorded what he described as one of the highest numbers of Christian deaths globally, claiming that since 2009, more than 50,000 Christians have been killed and over 20,000 churches, schools, and religious facilities destroyed in attacks across the country. He alleged that “Nigerian officials had been complicit in facilitating these atrocities,” and linked part of the insecurity to the implementation of Sharia law in some northern states, while also criticising what he described as a slow government response to worsening insecurity.

The senator also revealed that he has introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a proposed legislation designed to hold Nigerian officials accountable over alleged involvement in or failure to prevent attacks on Christians. Cruz said he had previously engaged Nigerian defence and security officials who assured him that the violence would be addressed, but argued that those commitments have not yet delivered results. “I told them I would judge their commitment by the results. Those results have yet to materialise,” he said.

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During the hearing, a senior official from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, Nick Chèeker, responded by acknowledging ongoing cooperation between the United States and Nigeria on security matters. He noted improvements such as restructuring within Nigeria’s security agencies, increased troop recruitment, deployment of forest guards to vulnerable areas, and the establishment of a bilateral high-level working group following discussions between Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and U.S. officials.

The U.S. official also pointed to increased prosecution of suspected terrorists and continued American support for Nigerian security forces, while stressing that “more can be done” to improve security outcomes in the country.

The Nigerian federal government has not yet issued an official response to Cruz’s latest comments. However, former Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, has previously stated that more Muslims than Christians have been killed in violence linked to terrorist groups such as Boko Haram.

Nigeria continues to face complex security challenges involving Boko Haram, ISWAP insurgents, banditry, and communal conflicts affecting both Christians and Muslims, particularly in the North and Middle Belt regions. Analysts say the crisis is driven by multiple factors, including terrorism and criminality, rather than a single religious cause.

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