The Trump administration has withdrawn former vice president Kamala Harris’s Secret Service security protection, a White House official said Friday.

The administration terminated an extension approved by then-president Joe Biden for Harris, the defeated Democratic presidential candidate whose customary six-month period of protection as ex-VP ended July 21, CNN reported.

A senior Harris aide told AFP that Harris was “grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety.”

While she has kept a low profile since losing the election, Harris is scheduled to go on tour this fall to promote a book she has written on her failed presidential bid. This travel will force her to appear often in public.

Harris’s inside look at her short presidential run against Trump is titled “107 Days.”

READ ALSO: Thai Court Sacks PM Over Cambodia Phone Call Row

The memoir, published by Simon & Schuster, will be released on September 23 in the United States.

The first woman to serve as vice president of the United States, Harris became the Democratic nominee after Biden withdrew from the race amid concerns about his cognitive health.

Harris said she wrote the book with “candor and reflection” and promised a “behind-the-scenes account” of the campaign.

Since taking office in January, Trump has taken a number of measures against his perceived enemies and political opponents.

He has stripped other officials and former officials of their security clearances, targeted law firms involved in past cases against him and pulled federal funding from universities.

Last week, FBI agents raided the home and office of former national security advisor John Bolton, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, in an investigation officials said was linked to classified documents.

AFP

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Thailand’s Constitutional Court sacked prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her cabinet on Friday over her handling of the country’s border row with Cambodia, throwing the kingdom into political turmoil.

Paetongtarn, daughter of billionaire ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was suspended from office last month after being accused of failing to stand up for Thailand in a June call with powerful former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which was leaked online.

The nine-judge panel ruled by six to three that she had not upheld the ethical standards required of a prime minister and removed her from office, pushing Thailand to the brink of political crisis, with no obvious candidate on hand to lead the fragile ruling coalition in parliament.

“Her actions have led to a loss of trust, prioritising personal interest over national interest, which fuelled public suspicion that she was siding with Cambodia and diminished confidence in her as PM among Thai citizens,” the ruling read out by one of the judges said.

“The defendant has not upheld the ethical code of conduct. Her tenure as prime minister effectively ended with the suspension on July 1.”

The ruling, which also dissolved Paetongtarn’s cabinet, came a year after the same court ousted her predecessor as prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, in an unrelated ethics case.

READ ALSO: Eight Still Missing After Russian Strike On Kyiv

Contentious Call

The case centred on her call with Hun Sen, Cambodia’s longtime ruler and father of its current premier, during which the pair discussed their respective countries’ then-brewing row over their disputed border.

Paetongtarn addressed Hun Sen as “uncle” and referred to a Thai military commander as her “opponent”, sparking a furious reaction in Thailand, where the armed forces hold huge sway.

Conservative lawmakers accused her of bending the knee to Cambodia and undermining the military, while Paetongtarn’s main coalition partner walked out in protest, almost collapsing her government.

She clung on to power but a group of senators turned to the Constitutional Court, arguing she should be removed from office for breaching constitutional provisions requiring “evident integrity” and “ethical standards” from ministers. The court suspended her on July 1.

The 39-year-old leader said she did her best to act in the national interest.

“My intentions were for the benefit of the country not for personal gain, but for the lives of the people, including civilians and soldiers,” she told reporters after the court ruling.

With no obvious candidate to take over as premier, the kingdom faces a period of deep political uncertainty.

Paetongtarn led an uneasy coalition with a group of smaller conservative parties who were long bitterly opposed to Pheu Thai.

Under the Thai constitution, only candidates nominated for prime minister at the last general election are eligible for the office.

Of the nine names put forward by the main parties in the 2023 poll, four would be ineligible for various reasons; two are unpalatable to Pheu Thai; one no longer has the support of his party; one could face a court case of his own; and one is reportedly in poor health.

A new election would seem like the obvious solution, but it is not clear whether the current acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai can call polls, or whether only a prime minister approved by parliament has the right to do so.

Long-running tussle

Thai politics has been driven for two decades by a battle between the conservative, pro-military, pro-royalist elite and the Shinawatra clan, whom they consider a threat to the kingdom’s traditional social order.

Paetongtarn was the sixth prime minister from the political movement founded by her father to face judgment by the Constitutional Court.

Only one — Thaksin himself — survived. The rest were all thrown out for reasons varying from vote-buying to appearing on a cookery TV show.

Friday’s proceedings came a week after a criminal court cleared Thaksin, 76, of royal insult charges in a case that could have seen him jailed for up to 15 years.

As well as causing a domestic furore, the phone call — released in full online by Hun Sen, to the Thai government’s fury — plunged relations between Thailand and Cambodia into turmoil.

In July, the tensions spiralled into the two sides’ deadliest military clashes in decades, with more than 40 people killed and 300,000 forced to flee their homes along the border.

AFP

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A legal practitioner, Chetam Nwala, says the local election slated to take place in Rivers State on Saturday, August 30, 2025, is not in the best interest of the people of the oil-rich Niger Delta state.

“The election in Rivers State is not in the best interest of Rivers people, and that is why people may not participate in the election,” he said on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily programme on Friday.

He also urged President Bola Tinubu to restore democracy in the state.

Nwala said, though a boycott might not stop the poll from holding, as the state’s electoral commission might go ahead with the process, it still does not rule out the fact that the election is not in the best interest of the people of the state.

Mid-March 2025, in the height of the political crisis in Rivers State, Tinubu suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for six months and appointed a sole administrator, Ibok Ekwe Ibas.

READ ALSO: Rivers People Not Happy But Waiting For End To State Of Emergency — Annkio Briggs

The decision of the president was criticised by many who felt it was in favour of Fubara’s estranged former godfather and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

In June, Fubara, Wike and the political actors in Rivers State met with Tinubu in Abuja and resolved the political conflict between the camps. One of the points agreed was said to be the conduct of the local government election, which the FCT minister and Fubara’s predecessor has an interest in.

During the interview, Nwala, a lawyer, said the agreement reached between Fubara and Wike on the local government election was not in the interest of the people.

He also said even if Fubara is reinstated as Rivers State governor, he cannot clear out the destruction of democratic structures that has happened in the state.

“We are not fighting for Fubara at all; we are fighting for the soul of Rivers State and demanding that what is right should be done.

“Whether the governor has had an agreement with the FCT Minister to carry out what they are doing currently, what we are saying is that it is not our concern right now. But the things happening in Rivers State are wrong and a defecation on our constitution.

“I am not here to push the influence of Fubara. Of course, I’m less concerned about whether he is the Governor or in the House of Representatives, but restore the democratic system to Rivers State.

“Democracy should be seen and done in Rivers State, and not the protection of individual influence, whether the influence of the FCT minister or the governor,” he said.

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Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics have issued a fresh 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to address all lingering issues with the workers, or risk a nationwide industrial action.

The 21-day ultimatum, which began on August 27, 2025, was contained in a communique issued at the end of the association’s 77th General Executive Council Meeting held at the Audu Bako College of Agriculture, Danbatta, Kano State.

The polytechnic workers demanded the release of the new Scheme of Service, constitution of the Renegotiation of 2010 Agreement Committee, payment of all owed arrears and the release of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 Needs Assessment Funds.

The association expressed displeasure over what it described as the insincerity of the government in addressing the issues.

The statement, which was jointly signed by the association’s President, Philip Ogunsipe, and the National Secretary, Shehu Gaya, accused the Federal Government of paying lip service to agreements reached.

READ ALSO: ASUU Members Protest FG Loan Scheme, Unpaid Salaries

“The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP) held its 77th General Executive Council meetings between Tuesday, 26th and Thursday, 28th August, 2025 at Audu Bako College of Agriculture, Danbatta, Kano State, where issues affecting the Union and welfare of its members were extensively discussed,” the communique read.

“The Council in session reviewed its activities with the government on the following items:

“Release of the new schemes and conditions of service;

“Constitution of the renegotiation of the 2010 agreement committee;

“Non-release of the 2023, 2024, 2025 NEEDS Assessment fund;

“Payment of arrears such as promotion arrears, 25/35% salary review arrears, wage award and full implementation of the new minimum wage;

“After exhausting its patience on the above items, the council observed with great displeasure the insincerity of the government in keeping to previous agreements or prioritising the education sector.

“Council also observed that despite several efforts to ensure peaceful resolution of the above-stated demands, the government has only paid lip service to the issues.

“Based on the above, the Union demands immediate action on the listed issues within twenty-one (21) days beginning from today, 27th August, 2025, or we will be left with no option but to withdraw our services across the Nation.”

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The Nigeria Customs Service has announced the interception of N48.5 million worth of cannabis and N220 million in other contraband in Kaduna State.

A spokesman for the Federal Operations Unit, Zone B, Saidu Nuruddeen, who stated this on behalf of the Comptroller of the Service, said the interception of the Cannabis, along with other contraband goods worth N220.4 million recovered in separate operations, was made on August 21, 2025.

He said that operatives of the unit, acting on credible intelligence, stopped a vehicle along the Zaria Flyover on the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway and intercepted the contraband.

The statement explained that a male suspect was arrested after nine sacks containing 185 compressed blocks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 89.6kg, and with an estimated duty paid value of N48,562,500 were discovered in the vehicle.

READ ALSO: Police Arrest Kidnap Suspect, Rescue Seven-Year-Old Victim In Lagos

The Customs spokesman said that the suspect and the exhibits were handed over to operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation and prosecution in line with the spirit of inter-agency collaboration.

In another operation, Customs officers intercepted three vehicles conveying smuggled items.

The seized goods included 50kg of foreign parboiled rice, 8,100 liters of petrol, 178 bales of second-hand clothes, 225 cartons of spaghetti, 107 used tyres and 37 pieces of electric shockers.

The statement added that the total duty paid value of the contraband goods stood at N220,457,336.48.

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Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday chaired the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting has in attendance the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazak.

The Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, was also present at the meeting.

Other attendees are governors of Zamfara, Jigawa, Lagos, Anambra, Gombe, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue, and Ondo states, as well as the Rivers State Sole Administrator.

At the end of the meeting, the Council said Nigeria recorded a reduction in the new variant Type-2 Polio virus from 78 cases in 2024 to 42 cases as of August 2025.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Returns To Abuja After Two-Week Official Trip

The Governor of Gombe State and Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, Inuwa Yahaya, who briefed State House Correspondents shortly after the meeting, however, said Sokoto State is still at high risk.

“Today, we updated the Council on our progress and the achievements. The committee was principally set up to see to the stoppage of the circulating virus two, which is a new variant, and it is more prevalent in the states of the North West, particularly Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara. Also, there was a case in 2024 in Gombe.

“The progress so far made has shown that there is a downward trend, from about 78 cases in 2024 as at the 33rd week, which is the week of our last meeting in August. Now it has gone down to 42 cases.

“Also, Kano and Katsina states, particularly, have recorded 85% and 84% reductions respectively, while Gombe has no case at all this year.

“Sokoto is at the back of the seat. So far, out of the 23 cases recorded in 2025, Sokoto has 13 cases, and so the committee has reported that and will discuss with the governor of Sokoto state with a view to strategising and see that they give effective coverage and ensure that routine immunization reaches all the people,” Yahaya said.

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has increased the fees for 32-page five-year and 64-page 10-year travel passports.

In a statement on Thursday, Immigration spokesman, A.S. Akinlabi, said the reviewed fees would take effect from September 1, 2025.

The new fees, which take effect from September 1, 2025, are about 100% increment over the old fees.

“The review, which only affects Passport Application fees made in Nigeria, now sets a new fee threshold for 32-page passports with 5-year validity at N100,000 and 64-page passports with 10-year validity at N200,000.

“Meanwhile, Nigerian Passport Application fees made by Nigerians in diaspora remain unchanged at $150 for a 32-page passport with 5-year validity and $230 for a 64-page passport with 10-year validity,” Akinlabi said.

The Service reiterated its commitment to balancing quality service delivery with the need to ensure Passport services are accessible to all Nigerians.

With Nigeria’s unemployment rate at a new record high, the mass exodus of Nigeria’s youthful population, known as the ‘Japa’ phenomenon, has been in full swing, especially post-COVID-19.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Europe are some of the top destinations for Nigerian youths and the middle class who are relocating in pursuit of better education, employment and security purposes, among other reasons.

Nigerians in countries around the world form a bulk of the total diaspora bulge, which contributes more than $20bn annually to Nigeria’s economy, according to the 2023 data from the World Bank.

[READ ALSO] ‘Japa’: Youths Need Capital Not ₦10,000 Freebies, Says AfDB’s Adesina

However, the outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, had lamented the migration phenomenon known as ‘Japa’ in Nigeria, saying that it is a big loss for Nigeria and the African continent.

“We have over 465 million young people between the ages of 15 and 35,” he had said, warning that Africa should not turn what should be its demographic asset into “somebody else’s problem” due to the inability to believe in young people and invest in their ideas for continental prosperity.

“I do not believe that the future of our young people lies in Europe; it doesn’t lie in America, it doesn’t lie in Canada, Japan or China; it should lie in Africa growing well, growing robustly and able to create quality jobs for our young people,” he had said.

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A comedian, Odey Mathias known as General Odey, has narrated his ordeal in the custody of kidnappers for up to 50 days.

“It was a very horrible experience and an unimaginable one that I won’t really wish my enemy to be part of,” he said on Channels TV’s The Morning Brief programme on Thursday.

He stated that he was kidnapped on April 18, 2025, along with 23 others, while heading to Calabar through the Oron/Uyo waterways.

According to him, the kidnappers fired gunshots. Then, a large boat collided with theirs, and they were transferred from their boat to another one. He said for 40 minutes, they were driven to a location they weren’t aware of.

Mathias said he was in the custody of the kidnappers for up to 50 days, a period longer than that of others who were kidnapped with him.

He assumed the reason for his prolonged detention was because of the uniform he wore as a military general. He said they were drilled, beaten, and starved, and were prohibited from looking at the faces of their kidnappers; and were hit when they did so.

[READ ALSO] Banditry: CDS Musa Links Troops’ Slow Response To Bad Roads

He explained that the area they ended up in resembled a creek and was a community, saying that some had their families there.

“It was like a community. They played loud music and shot guns in the air, and also took us to places where the network was strong enough to receive calls, asking for ransom. I wasn’t allowed to contact my family as often as others did,” he said.

According to Mathias, his family was working with a security agency to find a way to locate and free him, which prompted the kidnappers to demand another installment after the first one was paid.

“I wasn’t allowed to contact my family; I only spoke to my wife twice, once a week into the kidnapping and on the day I was to be released.

“When I came out, I discovered that they (kidnappers) had been paid some amount of money. They made two installments; the first one was over three million. But when that was paid, they didn’t release me; they told my family they wanted more and had to look for additional money. The total amount ended up being up to eight million naira,” he said.

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A former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has said that he won’t contest for any political office in the 2027 general elections, stating that his renewed involvement in politics was to support credible leadership at all levels of government.

El-Rufai made the declaration in Kaduna during the reception of new decampees from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by Aliyu Bello.

The former governor said that his initial plan after leaving office in 2023 was to step back from partisan politics; however, recent developments, he noted, compelled him to return, not for any personal ambition, but to play a supportive role.

El-Rufai also took a swipe at the present administration, stating that Nigerians do not need further explanation to recognise its shortcomings.

He said, “This government does nothing but lie every day. I am not contesting for anything. I don’t want to go to the Senate. I am not contesting for any position. That’s why I am calling on you, let us join hands and ensure we remove the oppressors.

“When I finished my tenure as governor of Kaduna State, I intended to rest but given the way things have turned out, I believe we must play our part to bring about better leadership. That is why we are back in politics,” he said.

[READ ALSO] By-Elections: Obi’s Allied Force Failed, ADC, LP Dead In Anambra, Says Soludo

According to El-Rufai, his focus now was to mentor and support young people, women and reform-minded Nigerians to take ownership of the political process.

He urged the youth in Kaduna to take advantage of the ongoing voter registration exercise.

“In Lagos and Osun, at least 600,000 people registered. But in Kaduna, only 60,000. Anyone who is 18 years old should go and register, even with their phone. Registration is what gives you the right to choose who governs you”, El-Rufai said.

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The leadership crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has once again spilled into the courts — this time over who gets to sponsor candidates for the local government elections on August 30, 2025.

The faction loyal to Emeka Beke, who won the court case in the chairmanship tussle, has filed a lawsuit against the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and Tony Okocha, who is backed by the APC National Secretariat, claiming that only the Beke-led executives have the constitutional power to conduct primaries and submit candidates.

The suit, with number PHC/3163/CS/2025, was filed at the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The lead plaintiff, Awoala Emine, the Vice Chairman in the Beke-led executive, sued on behalf of the entire executive committee elected in 2021.

Twenty-three other individuals joined the suit, each claiming to be the authentic chairmanship candidates of the party for the local government poll.

The defendants in the case are the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Tony Okocha, and all chairmanship candidates produced by the Okocha-led executive for the local government election.

READ ALSO: Amaechi’s Presidential Bid Dead On Arrival – Wike

Why They’re in Court

The Beke camp insisted that, according to the APC constitution, it is only the State Working Committee (SWC) — which they lead — that can organise primaries and submit names to RSIEC.

The faction also leaned on two subsisting court rulings – One delivered in 2023 by Justice S.H. Aprioku, which nullified the national leadership’s attempt to dissolve the Beke-led exco, affirming that it remains in office until October 2025.

Another judgment in 2024, by Justice G.V. Obonanu, which threw out the controversial congress that brought in Tony Okocha as chairman.

According to the Beke faction, these rulings mean that Okocha is not, in law, the APC chairman in Rivers State.

Allegations Against RSIEC

The plaintiffs allege that while they were conducting their own primaries on August 7, 2025, Tony Okocha quietly sent another list of candidates to RSIEC.

When RSIEC eventually published the names of candidates on August 18, the Beke faction’s nominees were missing.

In their words, RSIEC’s action was “blatant, wilful, and unlawful,” accusing the commission of working hand-in-hand with Okocha’s group to edge them out.

The claimants want the court to:

“Declare the Beke-led SWC as the only body empowered to conduct primaries;

“Reaffirm that Tony Okocha is not APC chairman in Rivers;

“Compel RSIEC to publish and use only their list of candidates;

“Stop RSIEC from recognising any list from Okocha’s faction;

“Set aside the already published list of August 18; and

“Void the entire election if their candidates are not included.”

The court has given the defendants 21 days to respond.

The local government election is scheduled for August 30, just a few days after the filing of this suit.

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