Welcome to Wednesday’s roundup of Nigerian newspaper headlines, accompanied by our advocacy-focused calls on issues that impact citizens.
1. Daily Trust: ‘141m Nigerians will be in poverty this year’
PwC’s Nigeria Economic Outlook 2026 report has revealed that at least 141million Nigerians are expected to be living in poverty this year.
The report titled: ‘Turning macroeconomic stability into sustainable growth’, projected deteriorating poverty levels of about 62 percent of the population in the year preceding the election year 2027.
Our Take: This projection is a direct call to President Bola Tinubu, the Federal Executive Council, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, and the National Assembly to urgently show Nigerians how economic reforms will translate into fuller plates, not fuller statistics. It is no longer enough to promise ‘long-term gains’ while 141 million people are stuck in short-term survival mode.
2. The Guardian: COAS Pledges Normalcy in Polity Amid Calls for State Policing, Forest Guards
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Waidi Shaibu has reassured that the Nigerian Army would stem the increasing terrorism in parts of the country, especially the northern region.
Our Take: The call now is squarely on the COAS and the Nigerian Army to move beyond reassurance and translate doctrine into decisive, people-centred action. At the same time, citizens must demand accountability without fear, and refuse to normalise insecurity as ‘the new normal’, because while the army reviews strategy in air-conditioned halls, Nigerians on the ground are reviewing survival tactics daily.
3. ThisDayLive: Troops Arrest Eight Terrorists Linked to Gamboru Market Mosque Suicide Bombing
The military has announced that troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) arrested eight suspected terrorists in connection with the suicide bombing at the Gamboru market mosque in Adamawa State that killed several people and many on Christmas eve.
Our Take: The arrests are a start, but now, the Defence Headquarters, the Office of the National Security Advisor and the Attorney-General of the Federation need to move beyond press statements and ensure swift, transparent prosecution of these suspects because justice must be seen, not just announced. Citizens, too, must keep demanding follow-through, because in a country where arrests make headlines but convictions go missing, terrorism will not end
