News

WhatsApp Services Back Hours After Outage

The messaging app, WhatsApp, is back after millions of users of the social media platform were unable to send, and receive messages.

Nigerians and other users of the instant communication app, owned by Meta, had reported that they were unable to either receive or send messages.

Tuesday’s outage began around 8:00 am with several of the users heading to other social media platforms like Twitter to lament the development. Both the mobile and web versions of the app experienced similar issues.

But the services were restored around 10:00 am (just over two hours after the crash).

A check indicated that users could not send messages to groups while personal messages only showed one tick which means that such messages were not delivered to the recipient. The WhatsApp status feature did not also function.

While the users could open the app and also access past conversations, new messages were not delivered.

No reason was given for the outage as the messaging platform. WhatsApp last tweeted on its handle about 16 hours ago, sharing a 16-second video of how users can protect their privacy.

This was not the first time the messaging app and other social media platforms will crash. In April, WhatsApp users in the US, Brazil, Paris, Spain, and Costa Rica reported that the app was down.

“You may be experiencing some issues using WhatsApp at the moment,” WhatsApp said in a Twitter update about the development. “We’re aware and working to get things running smoothly again. We’ll keep you updated and in the meantime, thanks for your patience.”

Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp had an outage in October last year, and took hours before normal services were restored.

With over two billion active users, WhatsApp is the largest chat app globally and is the third biggest social media platform after Facebook and YouTube.

According to Statista, there are about 33 million active social media users in Nigeria as of January 2021 with WhatsApp being the most popular, amassing 90m users.

News

Maryam Sanda removed from Tinubu’s pardon list

The name of Maryam Sanda sentenced to death in 2020 for the culpable homicide of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, has been removed from the pardon list by President Bola Tinubu.

This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday.

Onanuga noted that President Tinubu was exercising his constitutional powers of prerogative of mercy as captured under Section 175(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

He stressed that the new list came about after consultations with the Council of State and the public opinion and signing of all relevant instruments necessary to formalise the updated list of beneficiaries.

According to the statement, Tinubu ordered the removal of individuals convicted of severe crimes, including kidnapping, drug offenses, human trafficking, fraud, and illegal firearms possession or trafficking, from the list.

Also, those who were previously pardoned on the old list have had their sentences reduced.

News

Fresh list of 34 persons granted clemency by President Tinubu released

A new list of those granted clemency by President Bola Tinubu has emerged from the Presidency.

The list contained about 15 Nigerians pardoned by the Tinubu administration.

Another four persons, whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment and fifteen others granted clemency, were also listed

Pardon:

1. Mrs Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia
2. Barr. Hussaini Alhaji Umar
3. Ayinla Saadu Alanamu
4. Hon. Farouk M. Lawan
5. Herbert Macaulay
6. Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa
7. Ken Saro Wiwa
8. Saturday Dobee
9. Nordu Eawo
10. Daniel Gbooko
11. Paul Levera
12. Felix Nuale
13. Baribor Bera
14. Barinem Kiobel
15. John Kpuine

From death sentences to life imprisonment:

1. Emmanuel Baba
2. Abubakar Usman
3. Khalifa Umar
4. Mohammed Umar

Clemency:

1. Oroka Michael Chibueze
2. Adesanya Olufemi Paul
3. Daniel Bodunwa
4. Hamza Abubakar
5. Buhari Sani
6. Mohammed Musa
7. Muharazu Abubakar
8. Ibrahim Yusuf
9. Saad Ahmed Madaki
10. Ex-Corporal Michael Bawa
11. Richard Ayuba
12. Adam Abubakar
13. Emmanuel Yusuf
14. Chinedu Stanley
15. Johnny Ntheru Udor

News

Anambra election: Violence won’t be tolerated – NSA warns

The National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, has issued a stern warning to politicians and stakeholders against violence in the November 8, 2025 Anambra governorship election.

The NSA warned that violence won’t be tolerated.

Ribadu gave the warning on Tuesday at the meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, held at INEC Headquarters, Abuja.

Represented by the Director of Internal Security, Hassan Abdullahi, the NSA reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to ensure a peaceful and secure environment for the poll.

He charged political parties and candidates to promote peace and discourage violence before, during, and after the exercise.

“We are engaging with political leaders and local stakeholders to send a clear message that violence will not be tolerated,” he said.

According to him, the Office of the NSA is committed to implementing President Bola Tinubu’s directive on the strategic mobilization of security forces during the electoral period.

He further stated that enhanced surveillance, deployment of adequate security personnel, and improved intelligence gathering have been put in place to prevent any attempt by destructive elements or desperate politicians to undermine the electoral process.