IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

The Federal Government has declared Tuesday, 15 July, 2025, as a public holiday in honour of the late former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.

According to a statement released by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Magdalene Ajani, the holiday is furtherance to the seven days of national mourning declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

President Bola Tinubu and past Nigerian leaders will attend the burial of former President Muhammadu Buhari today in Daura, Katsina State, following his death in a London hospital at 82.

Vice President Kashim Shettima accompanied Buhari’s remains back to Nigeria. Tinubu ordered national flags flown at half-mast for seven days and convened an emergency FEC meeting in his honour.

Tributes poured in from Obasanjo, Babangida, Osinbajo, governors, lawmakers, and party leaders, hailing Buhari’s legacy of discipline, patriotism, and public service.

Buhari, who ruled as military head of state (1984–1985) and civilian president (2015–2023), died after a long illness. 

President Bola Tinubu has called an emergency Federal Executive Council meeting for Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in honour of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died Sunday in a UK hospital.

In a personally signed tribute, Tinubu confirmed Buhari will receive full state honours and ordered all national flags flown at half-staff for seven days. 

President Tinubu has confirmed the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who passed away in London at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, after a prolonged illness.

Tinubu has directed Vice President Shettima to travel to the UK to accompany Buhari’s remains back to Nigeria and ordered national flags flown at half-mast.

Buhari served as Nigeria’s military ruler (1984–1985) and civilian president (2015–2023). 

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over its alleged failure to account for N825 billion and $2.5 billion meant for refinery rehabilitation and oil revenues.

The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, follows revelations in the Auditor-General’s 2021 report, which flagged multiple unaccounted funds linked to the NNPCL. SERAP is seeking a court order compelling the company to recover and remit the funds, identify those responsible, and hand them over for prosecution.

This comes days after Dangote Group President, Aliko Dangote, declared that NNPCL refineries may never work again, despite $18 billion already spent.

No date has been fixed for the hearing. 

The curtain comes down on the first edition of FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup when reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain face Chelsea in Sunday’s final at the MetLife Stadium, with Donald Trump among those set to be in attendance.

It is the kind of glamour match-up that FIFA president Gianni Infantino would have been hoping for to wrap up the tournament, which on Saturday he labelled as marking the start of “the golden era of club football”. Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca acknowledged ahead of the game that PSG are “probably in this moment the best team in the world”, and the French side are hoping to cap off the most remarkable of seasons by completing a stunning clean sweep of trophies.

PSG won a French league and cup double before claiming the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history with a record-breaking 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in the final at the end of May. Luis Enrique’s side have carried that form over into the Club World Cup, putting four goals past Atletico Madrid in the group stage and four more past Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami before defeating Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

They then produced a masterclass in a 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid in the semi-finals on Wednesday. “It has been a fantastic season and for us it is very important that we end it in the best possible manner,” Luis Enrique said as he spoke to reporters on Friday. It would be a shock if Chelsea claimed the trophy against a PSG side led by Ballon d’Or candidate Ousmane Dembele.

However, the Stamford Bridge side came to the United States fresh from finishing fourth in the Premier League and winning the UEFA Conference League. “They are one of the hottest teams in the world at the moment, but this is the final, a one-off game,” said Chelsea’s Reece James. “Everyone has them down as strong favourites, but I have been in many finals before where we have been favourites and we have not come out on top. “That doesn’t mean too much to me, and I don’t really care that everyone is bigging up the opposition.”

Chelsea were hoping that midfield lynchpin Moises Caicedo would recover in time from a twisted ankle picked up in the semi-final victory over Fluminense on Tuesday. The match will be played at the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. The home of NFL sides the New York Giants and New York Jets will also be the venue for the 2026 World Cup final.

It goes ahead at 3:00 pm local time (1900 GMT) amid ongoing concerns about the impact of high temperatures during the tournament, with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez warning on Friday that playing in the middle of the afternoon was “very dangerous”.