The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has extended the service year of corps member Rita Ushie, popularly known as Raye on Instagram, by two months for publicly criticising President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Raye, who had just one month left in her service, gained national attention in March after posting a viral video on TikTok lamenting Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions and describing the Tinubu-led government as “terrible.” She also alleged that NYSC officials threatened her and demanded she take down the video.

The incident sparked outrage among civil rights groups and Nigerians who condemned the NYSC’s response as an attack on freedom of expression.

Following the backlash, Raye was summoned by the NYSC Local Government Inspector to the Eti-Osa office in Lagos. However, when she arrived with her legal team and activist Omoyele Sowore, the official who issued the summons was reportedly absent. The matter soon faded from public discourse.

But on June 18, she was again summoned—this time to the NYSC orientation camp in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos—to face a disciplinary panel. After repeated delays and without a formal notice, she was eventually informed that her service year had been extended by two months as a sanction.

Jonathan Ugbal, South-South Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, said Raye was deeply upset by the decision. “Her mother called me, saying she was crying on the phone after being told of the extension. She’s not in the right frame of mind to speak right now,” he told.

Nigeria and Brazil have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral defence cooperation during the Nigeria-Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today, Tuesday, 24th-June-2025

Speaking at the high-level session, Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar Badaru, highlighted four key areas of focus for enhanced collaboration: maritime security, joint training and capacity building, defence industry and technology transfer, and intelligence sharing.

Describing the Dialogue as more than a diplomatic formality, Badaru stated, “This engagement reaffirms our shared vision for peace, security, and sustainable development.” He praised the longstanding and mutually respectful relationship between both countries, noting their roles as regional powers committed to global security.

A statement by Matti Ali, Personal Assistant to the Minister on Media and Publicly, has it that the Minister underscored the strategic significance of the Gulf of Guinea, calling for intensified joint efforts to combat piracy, trafficking, and other transnational maritime threats. He also acknowledged Brazil’s leadership within the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZOPACAS) and reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to active participation in the upcoming Ninth Ministerial Meeting in Brazil.

On industrial collaboration, Badaru invited Brazil to explore opportunities with Nigeria’s Defence Industries Corporation (DICON) in areas such as technology transfer, co-production, and direct investment.

He also emphasized the importance of expanding intelligence-sharing efforts, particularly in combating drug trafficking and terrorism financing.

Badaru commended both nations’ Ministries of Foreign Affairs and expressed appreciation for the leadership of Vice Presidents Kashim Shettima (Nigeria) and Geraldo Alckmin (Brazil) in advancing the initiative.

“The path ahead is promising. Let us sustain this partnership with vision, purpose, and shared commitment to regional stability,” he said

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested a former Chief Financial Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, Umar Isa.

The arrest was in connection with an alleged $7.2bn fraud linked to the rehabilitation of the Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries.

It would be recalled that some officials of the NNPC are being investigated for the alleged mismanagement of funds earmarked for the overhaul of these facilities.

The total amount under investigation is $2,956,872,622.36.

Specifically, the EFCC is probing the disbursement of $1,559,239,084.36 allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740,669,600 released for the Kaduna refinery, and $656,963,938 approved for the Warri refinery.

Isa is  reportedly being investigated for alleged abuse of office, and corruption, among other offences.

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