By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump that the kingdom wants to put $600 billion into expanded investment and trade with the United States over the next four years, the Saudi State news agency said early on Thursday.
In a phone call between the two leaders, the crown prince said the Trump administration’s expected reforms could create “unprecedented economic prosperity”, the state news agency reported.

The report said Saudi Arabia wants its investments to capitalize on these conditions. It did not detail the source of the $600 billion, whether it would be public or private spending nor how the money would be deployed.
The investment “could increase further if additional opportunities arise”, the agency quoted Bin Salman as telling Trump.
Trump fostered close ties with Gulf states including Saudi Arabia during his first term. The country invested $2 billion in a firm formed by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former aide, after Trump left office.

Trump said following his inauguration on Monday that he would consider making Saudi Arabia his first destination for a foreign visit if Riyadh agreed to buy $500 billion worth of American products, similar to what he did in his first term.
“I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our product. I said I’ll do it but you have to buy American product, and they agreed to do that,” Trump said, referring to his 2017 visit to the Gulf kingdom.
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Reporting by Hatem Maher; Editing by Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has secured the support of the National Judicial Institute (NJI)

. It will be recalled that the NJI is responsible for the training of judicial officers in Nigeria from magistrate courts to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

During a courtesy visit of the Commission, to NJI, the National Commissioner and CEO of the NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji lauded the management of NJI under the leadership of Hon. Justice Salisu Garba Abdullahi, (Rtd) for the milestones the Institute has achieved in human capital development particularly in relation to judicial officers and fellows of the institute.

While commenting on the importance of the Nigeria Data Protection Act in the face of disruptive technologies, Dr. Olatunji reiterated the need to collaborate with NJI in keeping judicial officers abbrest of privacy Jurisprudence.

He noted that decisions on enjoyment of data privacy rights in relation to one citizen have fundamental implications on all citizens.

“It is the digital age, and the protection of the privacy of all citizens worldwide is paramount. It is now the right of all citizens to have their privacy protected. This is why countries across the globe are putting adequate measures in place to ensure enforceable data protection rights, as well as establishing data protection authorities to enforce data protection laws,” Dr Olatunji stated.

In his response, Hon Justice Abdullahi commended the NDPC, under Dr Olatunji’s leadership, for its significant achievements since its establishment. He pledged to collaborate with the NDPC to raise awareness on data protection and privacy within the judiciary and accepted the NDPC’s proposal anchored on capacity building for judges, NJI fellows, and employees.

According to the eminent jurist “The issue of data protection is very important. It is new, and judges need to be trained. The first step we should take is to review the Act (NDP Act) that established the Commission. Additionally, there is a need for us to train our fellows on data protection.”

NJI and NPC have put in place a technical working group that will draw up a work plan and coordinate the initiatives for capacity building. The working group is expected to report back within days in order to commence implementation.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has hit back at critics labelling him ‘washed’ following his third consecutive defeat against Nassourdine Imavov, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Nigerian-New Zealander, who has lost four of his last five fights in the UFC, including three by stoppage, responded to detractors during a YouTube ‘Ask Me Anything’ session.

“They call me washed, but how are you going to call me washed when you haven’t even been in laundry? You haven’t even gotten dirty. What have you done?” the 35-year-old fired back at his critics.

‘The Last Stylebender’ looked in control during the first round of his recent bout against Imavov but lost momentum in the second round before suffering a TKO defeat.

When questioned about his future title aspirations, Adesanya maintained his characteristic confidence despite the recent setbacks.

Do I have a title shot in mind for the future? No! When I got to the UFC, I never chased the belt. I stand on that. I never chased the belt. I expected it,” Adesanya said.

“I expected to be champion… I expected to get to this point that I wanted to get to because of the work that I put in and my belief in myself, my mindset. I knew with everything that I was going to do, I was going to get there. I expected it.”

The former champion’s recent slump began with his submission loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 in August 2024, followed by two more stoppage defeats, marking a stark contrast to his earlier dominance in the division.

Despite this downturn in form, Adesanya, who built his reputation through successful careers in boxing and kickboxing before transitioning to MMA, has vowed to return stronger, demonstrating the resilience that has characterised his combat sports journey.