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UK Backs National Assembly Security Dialogue as Push for State Policing Gathers Momentum

By Gloria Ikibah

The UK Government-funded Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRiNG) Programme has thrown its weight behind the National Assembly Security Roundtable, describing the initiative as a timely platform to advance security sector reforms, strengthen institutional accountability and accelerate discussions on state policing.

In a statement issued ahead of the roundtable, scheduled for Wednesday as part of the National Assembly Open Week 2026, it said that the engagement will bring together Nigeria’s top security chiefs, lawmakers and governors to review the country’s security challenges and identify the legislative and budgetary measures needed to improve the nation’s security architecture.

The meeting, to be held at the Conference Hall of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, is expected to examine the support required by security agencies while also advancing constitutional reforms relating to state policing.

Among those expected at the event are the National Security Adviser, Chief of Defence Staff, Inspector-General of Police,  Ministers of Defence, Interior and Police Affairs, as well as the governors of Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau and Benue — the four focal states of the SPRiNG Programme — alongside their counterparts from Kwara, Zamfara, Niger and Borno states.

Speaking on the significance of the dialogue, the Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission in Abuja, Cynthia Rowe, said lasting security can only be achieved through strong and accountable institutions.

She said: “Sustainable security requires strong, accountable institutions that are responsive to the needs of the people. The UK Government remains committed to supporting Nigeria’s legislative frameworks to ensure that security interventions are transparent, well-resourced, and firmly rooted in respect for human rights. This roundtable is a commendable step towards codifying reforms that will protect vulnerable communities and foster long-term stability.”

According to the statement, the roundtable’s agenda aligns closely with the SPRiNG Programme’s security sector reform objectives, with discussions expected to focus on banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts, inter-agency collaboration, technology-driven security operations and modern approaches to community engagement.

The Team Leader of the SPRiNG Programme, Ukoha Ukiwo, said experience from the programme’s work across participating states had shown that peacebuilding efforts require solid legal backing to succeed.

“Our work across our state compacts has continually highlighted that operational peacebuilding must be backed by robust legal frameworks. The focus of this roundtable on state policing, security funding, and accountability is incredibly timely. By bridging the gap between grassroots realities and legislative action, we can ensure that informal and formal security architectures work cohesively to build formidable resilience in communities across Nigeria”, he said.

The meeting is expected to produce a comprehensive communiqué outlining priority security reforms, including recommendations on the implementation of state policing and other public safety initiatives.

It added that the SPRiNG Programme would continue to support engagements with relevant stakeholders to ensure that resolutions reached at the dialogue are translated into concrete policy actions.

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The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has has given reasons why it failed not to upload the name of a presidential candidate to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) nomination portal for the 2027 general election followed its endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term.

The party said the absence of a presidential candidate on the portal was not the result of an administrative failure or inability to meet INEC’s requirements, but a deliberate political decision taken by its National Executive Committee.

APGA’s National Publicity Secretary, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, disclosed this while speaking with Vanguard amid growing public interest over the party’s position ahead of the 2027 election.

According to him, the party’s NEC reached the decision after extensive consultations and resolved to support Tinubu’s re-election bid, which it described as being in the national interest.

“We have not uploaded a presidential candidate because the National Executive Committee of the party has already taken a decision to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027,” Opara said.

The publicity secretary, however, clarified that APGA remained fully involved in the electoral process and had successfully submitted the names of all its candidates for the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly elections.

“However, I can confirm that APGA has successfully uploaded all its candidates for the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly elections to the INEC portal,” he added.

Opara said all the required documentation for APGA candidates seeking seats in the Senate, House of Representatives and state legislatures had been submitted within the period stipulated by the electoral commission.

He stressed that the party’s alliance with the ruling All Progressives Congress at the presidential level should not be interpreted as a withdrawal from the 2027 general election.

According to him, APGA intends to contest legislative elections across the country and strengthen its representation at both the federal and state levels.

Opara maintained that the absence of an APGA presidential candidate from INEC’s nomination portal should not be misconstrued as a failure by the party to fulfil electoral obligations.

He explained that it was a calculated political decision arising from the party’s earlier endorsement of the President.

The spokesman said APGA believed that supporting Tinubu’s second-term ambition at the presidential level would not affect its identity or its determination to expand its influence in the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly.

He added that the party remained committed to deepening Nigeria’s democracy by presenting candidates capable of providing quality representation.

Opara said APGA’s immediate political focus was to win more legislative seats and build a stronger presence in the Senate, House of Representatives and state assemblies.

He noted that legislative representation remained critical to advancing the party’s programmes, protecting the interests of its supporters and contributing meaningfully to national development.

The party, he said, would continue to mobilise Nigerians around its candidates and promote its political agenda despite its decision not to contest the presidential election.

The APGA spokesman urged members and supporters of the party to remain united and intensify mobilisation for its legislative candidates ahead of the elections.

He also called on them to support President Tinubu’s re-election bid in line with the decision of the party’s National Executive Committee.

The clarification followed questions over why APGA had no presidential candidate listed on INEC’s nomination portal despite submitting candidates for other elective positions.

Opara insisted that the omission was intentional and reflected the party’s adopted strategy for the 2027 elections rather than any problem with the nomination process.

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A jealous wife bit off her husband’s manhood after sharpening her own teeth in what medics described as a “guaranteed” act of revenge.

The horror reportedly happened in Moscow, Russia, after the 39-year-old wife found a message on her 41-year-old husband’s phone from another woman.

The text from the woman described an explicit erotic dream about having s£x with him on a beach.

Instead of confronting her husband, the wife is said to have meticulously planned her attack.

Medical professional Dr Artur Valvachev, who commented on the case, said she even filed down her teeth to make them sharper and “guarantee her plan would work”.

He described how she set a trap by cooking dinner for her husband before the pair drank alcohol together.

“His wife cooked dinner, they sat down, drank, ate, drank some more, and then went to the bed, where she started giving him oral s£x,” Dr Valvachev said.

He added, as reported by the Sun: “And at that moment, she bit off his penis with her teeth.”
He said she then spat it out and told him: “It’s your own fault, now you can’t do it with anyone else.”

The husband briefly lost consciousness from the pain and hypovolemic shock. When he came round, he was bleeding heavily.

Dr Valvachev said the man managed to place the severed organ into a glass, added saline solution he had at home, and called an ambulance. Paramedics attempted to reattach it, but Dr Valvachev said they were unable to restore any functionality.

The husband has reportedly been left unable to achieve an erection.

“He hasn’t been able to find a new partner yet,” the doctor said, adding that the only remaining option is “a penile prosthesis – an internal penile prosthesis with a pump”, the Sun reported.

The husband has strongly denied ever being unfaithful.

Under Russian privacy laws, the couple’s names have not been released due to the sensitive medical details and the criminal case.

This month – July 2026 – the woman was sentenced to five years in a Russian women’s penal colony for intentional grievous bodily harm.

The husband is now raising their seven-year-old child alone.

In a final twist, the woman is reportedly now suffering from rotten teeth which her estranged husband believes is “karma”.