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President Bola Tinubu has unveiled a ₦25 trillion pension asset pool, assuring Nigerian workers of financial security after retirement as part of a broader push to strengthen social protection.

Speaking at the opening of the ISSA 2026 West Africa Seminar in Abuja, the President said his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda prioritises protecting livelihoods, expanding opportunities, and rebuilding economic confidence since taking office in 2023.

Tinubu noted that institutions central to Nigeria’s social security system have been reinforced to improve outcomes for workers. He highlighted the role of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, stating that over 7.5 million employees are now covered under the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, ensuring financial protection in cases of workplace injury or disability.

He also disclosed that more than 10 million workers are actively contributing to the Contributory Pension Scheme, supervised by the National Pension Commission, with total pension assets exceeding ₦25 trillion.

Represented by Atiku Bagudu, Tinubu emphasised that the growing pension fund reflects increasing trust in the system, assuring workers of dignity and stability in retirement.

The President added that employment remains the most reliable form of social security, noting that the National Directorate of Employment has empowered over two million Nigerians through skills training, entrepreneurship, and job creation initiatives.

On healthcare, he said more than 16 million Nigerians have been enrolled under programmes of the National Health Insurance Authority, reducing medical expenses and improving access to care.

Tinubu further highlighted ongoing social intervention programmes under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, including conditional cash transfers and food security initiatives, as well as youth-focused schemes like N-Power.

He also pointed to housing reforms under the National Housing Fund and the Renewed Hope Housing Programme, designed to expand access to affordable homes for low- and middle-income earners.

According to the President, these initiatives are being supported by the National Social Register to ensure targeted delivery to vulnerable groups, with the long-term goal of building a digitally integrated social protection system.

Tinubu stressed that despite West Africa’s youthful population and economic potential, the region remains exposed to unemployment and economic shocks, calling for improved communication strategies to build public trust in social security systems.

In his remarks, Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to workers’ welfare, while NSITF Managing Director, Oluwaseun Falaye, noted that growing population pressures make a stronger and more responsive social protection system essential.

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There was a heavy security presence on Thursday as the Plateau State Government arraigned four suspects over the deadly March 2026 attack on the Angwan Rukuba community in Jos North.

The suspects, arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) between April 3 and April 10, 2026, were brought before the Plateau State High Court in Jos amid tight security measures deployed to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

The suspects arrived at the court premises at about 9:20 a.m. and were taken into the courtroom under strict security escort.

The state government has filed charges bordering on criminal conspiracy to commit terrorism and related offences against the defendants identified as Isa Umar Ibrahim, Auwalu Abubakar (also known as Auwalu Dogo), and Musa Abubakar Ibrahim (alias Yaroro).

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Former Ivory Coast international footballer Aboulaye Traore has been sentenced to three years in jail for rape, an Ivorian women’s rights group reported.

Nicknamed Ben Badi, the striker won the 1992 African Cup of Nations with the Elephants and remains a very popular figure in the West African country.

In a statement, the Ivorian League for Women’s Rights said that the Bouake court handed down the three-year sentence on Wednesday, hailing a “significant advance in the fight against impunity for sexual and sexist violence”.

Besides the jail term, the court ordered “the payment of 15 million CFA francs to the victim” ($26,700) and a five-year ban on appearing in the central region, the rights group said.

According to a judicial source, the footballer was found guilty of having non-consensual sexual relations in March 2021 with a woman who was 21 years old at the time.

Before his retirement, Traore was a cult hero for Abidjan’s ASEC Mimosas, and also appeared for several European clubs, including FC Metz in France and Portugal’s Braga.