Wikki Times

In this investigation, Munyal Manunyi digs deep into the pains of sickle cell patients, lapses of medical labs, and the failure of the regulators to enforce high medical standards in protection of the people living with sickle cell anemia in Nigeria. When 44-year-old Benita Zacks (not her real name) was preparing for her wedding 11 years ago, she never imagined that a simple laboratory error would define her family's destiny.

"Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches." For Nigerians living with sickle cell disease, this proverb captures a daily struggle shaped by pain, stigma, poverty, and the relentless cost of staying alive In Nigeria, people living with sickle cell disease endure a double burden of harsh social stigma, and crippling medical costs.

By Abdulbasid Dantsoho On the edge of the IBBI River in Taraba State, a stretch of concrete pillars juts into space, which signals that a vital link was meant to begin. The bridge, conceived as a strategic means to connect parts of the North West and North Central to parts of the North East, and extend access toward the South East and South-South, now stands as a monument to a promise unfulfilled.

As independent journalism in Africa faces mounting financial, political, and institutional pressure, conversations about collaboration, sustainability, and editorial independence are more urgent than ever. At the Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC), WikkiTimes spoke with Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, one of Africa’s finest investigative journalists and Managing Editor of Ghana Business News, about the future of journalism on the continent.

A development expert and the MacArthur Foundation’s Africa Director, Dr. Kole Shettima, has decades of experience supporting governance, civil society, and independent media across the continent. In this interview with WikkiTimes’ Haruna Mohammed Salisu and Hafsah Ibrahim at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Dr. Kole reflects on the shifting global funding landscape and its implications for accountability journalism in Nigeria and the Global South.

The Kano State Government says it has cleared ₦15.67 billion in outstanding allowances owed to former local government councillors, settling arrears that accumulated over a decade. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Dawakin Tofa, said the latest payment of ₦8.26 billion was disbursed to 1,371 councillors who served between 2021 and 2024. The payment marks the final phase of a staggered settlement programme initiated earlier in the year.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has graduated 10 new Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) operators, strengthening the country’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities amid ongoing security challenges. The officers completed the Operational Conversion Training Course 4/2025 at the 109 Combat Reconnaissance Group, NAF Base, Kaduna. The graduation ceremony was held at the 233 Wing Hangar.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the names of two nominees to the Senate for confirmation as chief executives of Nigeria’s petroleum sector regulators following the resignation of their current heads.

Dr Nuhu Bile, the State Epidemiologist, Gombe State Ministry of Health, on Tuesday, said no fewer than 54 snake bite-related deaths have been recorded in the state in 2025. Bile stated this in Gombe during the State Public Health Emergency Management Committee (S-PHEMC) meeting in the state. The meeting which was supported by UNICEF was chaired by Mr Manassah Jatau, the State Deputy Governor who is  the Chairman of the PHEMC in the state.

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday night met with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the State House, Abuja, in last-minute efforts to halt the union’s proposed nationwide protest over insecurity. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NLC had declared a nationwide protest for Dec. 17, citing what it described as the country’s “degenerating security situation.” The President of the NLC, Mr Joe Ajaero, led the labour leaders to the closed-door meeting.