Welcome to Friday’s roundup of Nigerian newspaper headlines, accompanied by our advocacy-focused calls on issues that impact citizens.

1. Vanguard: Terrorism: Court Jails Kanu for Life

A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday sentenced the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment after Justice James Omotosho found him guilty on all seven terrorism charges, citing his incendiary broadcasts as fuel for violence across the country.

Our Take: The Federal Government, Ministry of Justice, security agencies, and the National Assembly must move fast to keep this judgment from worsening tensions. They should open channels for lawful dialogue, ensure transparency, and address long-standing grievances rather than pretending they’ll disappear on their own.

2. The Guardian: US Lawmakers Question Nigeria’s Will, Capacity to Solve Violence

U.S. lawmakers have sounded the alarm over Nigeria’s rising violence, openly doubting Abuja’s ability, or even interest, in protecting Christian communities and others caught in extremist attacks. During a tense congressional hearing reviewing Nigeria’s potential return to the ‘country of particular concern’ list, legislators demanded accountability and stronger U.S. involvement.

Our Take: The Nigerian government must move quickly to show the U.S. that it is not leaving national security to chance, or to the usual committee merry-go-round. This means the Presidency, the National Security Advisor’s office, the Defence Headquarters, and the Police hierarchy actually rolling up their sleeves instead of rolling out more speeches. President Tinubu, the NSA, service chiefs, and the Inspector General of Police should take visible steps that prove Nigeria is actively tackling insecurity, not treating it like another file waiting on someone’s desk.

3. Daily Trust: ‘Despite capacity of 13,625MW, only 3,781 MW of electricity get to consumers’

Daily Trust reports that Nigeria’s power woes persist as more than 8,000 megawatts of electricity sit gathering dust in the workshops of 28 generation companies, even though they collectively boast a capacity of 13,625MW, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Our Take: Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu must step in decisively to address the mountain of idle megawatts sitting in workshops instead of lighting up homes. This means tackling the bottlenecks slowing generation, holding operators accountable, and pushing through reforms that ensure available power actually reaches the grid. Nigerians are tired of hearing that the country has the capacity but not the delivery, it is time to turn those ghost megawatts into real electricity, not museum pieces waiting to be admired.