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British lawmakers have urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to raise concerns about the killing of Christians in Nigeria during his upcoming meeting with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is scheduled to visit the United Kingdom for a state engagement.

President Tinubu and Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, are expected to be hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle on Wednesday. The royal reception will include a state banquet in their honour as part of a high-profile diplomatic visit.

Following the royal engagement, Tinubu is scheduled to travel to 10 Downing Street on Thursday for talks with Starmer. The visit is expected to mark the first official state visit by a Nigerian president to the United Kingdom in about 37 years.

Ahead of the meeting, members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG FoRB) have written to the UK’s Development Minister, Jenny Chapman, urging the British government to use the opportunity to address concerns about human rights and religious freedom in Nigeria.

The lawmakers said the UK government should press the Nigerian administration to take stronger measures to protect religious communities and ensure justice for victims of violence.

Their concerns come amid reports that Nigeria remains one of the countries where Christians face significant threats from extremist groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), both of which have carried out numerous attacks in parts of northern Nigeria.

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Earlier this year, about 163 Christian worshippers were reportedly abducted by armed gangs in Kaduna State, highlighting the continuing wave of kidnappings and violence affecting communities in the region.

Chairman of the parliamentary group and member of the Democratic Unionist Party, Jim Shannon, stated that Nigeria must take decisive action to address the situation.

According to him, the Nigerian government should implement concrete measures to prevent harassment, persecution, and killings of Christians while ensuring that those responsible for such crimes are properly investigated and prosecuted.

The group, which includes more than 200 MPs and members of the House of Lords, also expressed concern that Nigerian authorities have not responded to the attacks with the urgency required.

Among the issues raised in the letter is the case of Leah Sharibu, one of the schoolgirls abducted in 2018 during a mass kidnapping carried out by militants. While several of the abducted girls were later released, Sharibu reportedly remains in captivity after refusing to renounce her Christian faith.

The lawmakers urged the UK government to ensure that discussions on diplomacy, trade, and security with Nigeria are accompanied by firm commitments on human rights protections.

They also requested that the Development Minister provide a response to their concerns before President Tinubu’s visit takes place.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, is also expected to engage with Nigeria’s First Lady during the visit. Mrs Tinubu is scheduled to attend an event at Lambeth Palace, the official residence of the Archbishop.

During the gathering, she will participate in a prayer service and is expected to deliver a sermon. The event will also include representatives from the Church of England as well as humanitarian organisations such as Christian Aid, which have been involved in supporting communities affected by conflict and insecurity in Nigeria.

The planned engagements highlight the diplomatic importance of the visit while also placing renewed international attention on security and religious freedom concerns in Nigeria.

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The Presidency has dismissed claims by former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, that Nigeria’s rising petrol prices are largely due to the absence of a strategic petroleum reserve, describing the argument as inaccurate and based on a misunderstanding of global energy market dynamics.

Responding to Obi’s remarks, the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Mr. Olusegun Dada, said the recent increase in petrol prices is primarily the result of market forces following the deregulation of the petroleum sector by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Dada explained that in a deregulated market environment, fuel prices are influenced by several global factors, including crude oil prices, exchange rates, shipping costs and supply risks.

According to him, the removal of fuel subsidy has allowed market realities to determine pump prices, meaning developments in the international oil market now directly affect domestic fuel costs.

“In a deregulated system, petrol prices respond directly to global oil prices, exchange rates, shipping costs and supply risks,” Dada said.

He noted that geopolitical tensions involving Iran have recently contributed to an increase in global oil prices, adding that such developments inevitably affect countries like Nigeria that rely heavily on imported refined petroleum products.

“So when geopolitical tensions involving Iran push global oil prices upward, countries that rely heavily on imported refined products like Nigeria will inevitably feel the effect at the pump,” he stated.

The presidential aide also rejected suggestions that establishing a strategic petroleum reserve would automatically stabilise or control everyday pump prices.

According to him, even countries with large strategic petroleum reserves maintain them primarily for emergency situations such as wars, embargoes or major supply disruptions, rather than for routine price management.

Dada pointed out that Nigeria’s long-standing energy challenge is largely structural, particularly the country’s limited domestic refining capacity and its heavy dependence on imported refined products despite being a major crude oil producer.

He said this imbalance, combined with pressure on the foreign exchange market, has historically exposed Nigeria to fluctuations in global oil prices.

The presidential aide added that long-term energy planning should focus on expanding domestic refining capacity, strengthening supply chains, stabilising the foreign exchange environment and maintaining consistent energy policies.

Dada also reminded Obi that during the 2023 presidential campaign, the former governor had publicly indicated support for the removal of fuel subsidy.

According to him, the current policy framework allowing petrol prices to reflect market realities is consistent with positions previously supported by the Labour Party candidate.

He urged political leaders to avoid oversimplifying complex economic issues, stressing that global energy markets involve multiple interconnected factors that cannot be reduced to a single policy question.

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Troops of the Nigerian Army’s 3 Brigade, in collaboration with operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), have arrested a suspected gunrunner in Kano State while transporting a large cache of ammunition believed to be headed for bandits in Zamfara State.

Security sources said the suspect, a female courier, was arrested at about 3:00 a.m. on Saturday following credible intelligence on the movement of illegal arms and ammunition through Kano.

According to the sources, the woman was intercepted while transporting 884 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition from Plateau State to Zamfara State through Kano.

She was reportedly travelling with her 10-year-old daughter at the time of the arrest.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had been recruited by criminal elements to deliver the ammunition to Zamfara, one of the states worst affected by banditry and armed violence.

During interrogation, the suspect allegedly confessed that she received ₦50,000 as an advance payment for transporting the consignment and was promised additional payment upon successful delivery.

Security sources further revealed that the suspect admitted carrying out similar assignments on two previous occasions.

“The suspect was intercepted based on actionable intelligence regarding the movement of ammunition through Kano. A total of 884 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition were recovered during the operation,” a security source said.

The arrest highlights the increasing use of civilian couriers by criminal networks involved in arms trafficking across Nigeria’s North-West and North-Central regions.

The use of major transit hubs such as Kano for the movement of ammunition has remained a key factor enabling bandit groups operating in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto and neighbouring states.

Authorities said the suspect and the recovered ammunition have been handed over to the DSS for further investigation and possible prosecution.

Investigations are ongoing to uncover the wider network behind the illegal arms supply chain and identify other collaborators involved in the operation.