Homepage Abuja from Friday, December 5th, 2025

Netflix announced on Friday that it will acquire Warner Bros, including its film and television studios and streaming assets (HBO and HBO Max), in a sweeping cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $82.7 billion (with an equity value of $72.0 billion).

The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, officially dividing the record 48 participating nations into 12 groups of four — the first time the tournament will feature so many teams. 

Music legend Inocent “2Baba” Idibia on Friday blamed members of his family for worsening a public dispute involving his wife, Natasha Osawaru, saying their actions have “destroyed” him and exposed his partner to danger.

Nigeria must adopt a foreign policy rooted in “strategic autonomy” rather than outdated notions of non-alignment, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar has said.

Heavy rains on Friday triggered fresh landslide warnings in Sri Lanka’s central hill country, the area hit hardest by flooding and mudslides after Cyclone Ditwah, as the national death toll climbed to 607.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Farouk Mijinyawa, has urged newly promoted senior officers to maintain purposeful and exemplary leadership.

The Federal Government has hailed the Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries (CORFEPS) as a crucial source of institutional memory and pledged stronger collaboration to drive national development.

The Federal Government has begun direct financial payments to students and technical vocational training centres under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Initiative.

Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal on Friday launched a 10-year development plan aimed at transforming the state’s economy, infrastructure, and social sectors.

The Department of State Services has arrested a medical doctor accused of ferrying drugs from Sokoto to kidnappers operating in parts of Kwara State.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has secured full membership in the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, placing Nigeria among a select group of global medicines regulators.

Public broadcasters in Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia have withdrawn from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, protesting the decision to allow Israel to compete despite the ongoing war in Gaza.

General Christopher Musa (rtd), the newly appointed Minister of Defence and former Chief of Defence Staff, officially assumed duty on Friday at the Ministry of Defence headquarters, Ship House, Abuja.

Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, on Friday defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All-Progressives Congress (APC) along with 15 other lawmakers.

General Christopher Musa (rtd), Nigeria’s newly sworn-in defence minister, has pledged that Nigerians will see tangible security results in the shortest possible time.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), operating under the special task force “Operation Whirlwind,” has seized petroleum products valued at N181.6 million along the Nigeria–Cameroon border corridor within an eight-week period.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has elected Mr. Leye Kupoluyi as its new President and Chairman of Council.

Seven-time Olympian Olufunke Oshonaike has been appointed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission, becoming the first Nigerian to serve in the influential global body.

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday set Dec. 8 to hear an ex parte motion filed by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra, seeking his transfer from the Sokoto Correctional Facility.