Headline

What Nigerians Should Know About Trump’s Order On American Birthright Citizenship

Published

1 year ago

January 21, 2025

Among the executive orders President Donald Trump signed just hours after taking office as the 47th President of the United States of America, USA, was the one directing government agencies to stop issuing citizenship documentation for babies born in the US to parents without legal status.

Immigration advocacy groups have already gone to court. It is expected that more lawsuits will follow, given the controversial nature of the orders.

Meanwhile, there is need to understand the workings of the American citizenship by birth, and then what Trump’s executive order means.

The 14th Amendment
Passed by Congress June 13, 1866, and ratified July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people.

A major provision of the 14th Amendment was to grant citizenship to “All persons born or naturalized in the United States,” thereby granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people.

Note that it was adopted in 1868 after the Civil War to clarify the status of formerly enslaved people.

However, it has long been read as giving citizenship to nearly all babies born on US soil.

This has seen many Nigerians, who have the means, preferring to give birth to babies in the US, as it makes them citizens with full rights as Americans.

Trump’s executive order
With Trump’s executive order, titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” taking effect from February 20, there is need to understand it workings.

*There will be no more passports, citizenship certificates, and other documents to children born in the US to mothers who are in the country illegally, or are temporary visa holders.

*Also, if their fathers are not citizens or legal permanent residents, the children cannot be American citizens.

*It means for a child born in the US to be an American citizen, at least one parent must be a US citizen or green card holder – that is, a legal (permanent) resident.

* The order is expected to take effect in 30 days.

Advocacy group sue Trump

However, a coalition of civil rights and civil liberties groups have sued President Trump over the new executive order on American birthright citizenship.

The lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, State Democracy Defenders Fund and Asian Law Caucus on behalf of immigrant support organisations.

They contend that their members would have children ineligible for citizenship under the order.

It threatens children and their families “with a lifetime of exclusion from society and fear of deportation from the only country they have ever known.

“But that is illegal. The Constitution and Congress — not President Trump — dictate who is entitled to full membership in American society,” the advocates wrote in the complaint.

They filed it late Monday in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire just after Trump took oath of office.

The case is New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support v. Trump, 25-cv-38, US District Court, District of New Hampshire.

As Nigerians wait for how Trump’s executive order will pan out against the backdrop of dissenting voices, maybe the one-month window is “miracle time”.

Complete list of Trump’s executive orders

1. President Trump revoked 78 executive actions, executive orders, presidential memoranda, and other directives from the Joe Biden administration.

2. Regulatory freeze that prevents bureaucrats from issuing new regulations.

3. A freeze on all federal hiring, with exceptions for the military and certain other categories.

4. Federal workers to return to full-time, in-person work; no more post-Covid 19 remote work stayle.

5. Directive to all federal departments and agencies on the cost of living crisis.

6. Withdraws the US from the Paris Climate Agreement and informing the United Nations, UN, through an official letter.

7. Directed restoration of freedom of speech and prevent any future government censorship of free speech.

8. End to weaponisation of government agencies against political opponents.

9. Another executive order by Trump withdrew America from WHO.

Headline

Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)

Headline

Senegal’s President Sacks Prime Minister After Months-long Feud

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government following months of rising political tension between the two former allies.

The decision was announced in a surprise decree read on national television by a presidential aide, stating that Faye had “ended the duties” of Sonko and “consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”.

Sonko, who remains a highly influential figure among Senegal’s youth, responded on social media, saying he would “sleep with a light heart”.

The political fallout comes at a time of growing economic strain in the country, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting Senegal’s public debt at 132% of its GDP.

His removal followed a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, where Sonko openly criticised President Faye’s handling of the debt situation.

The development is striking given that Faye’s rise to power was largely tied to Sonko’s popularity and political backing.

Sonko would almost certainly have contested the presidency himself in 2024, but was barred from the race due to a defamation conviction. Instead, he threw his support behind Faye, rallying voters with the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye”.

The alliance helped unseat former President Macky Sall in a dramatic electoral victory, despite both men having been released from prison only days before the vote.

Tensions between the two leaders had been building for months, with Faye reportedly accusing Sonko of excessive dominance within the ruling Pastef party, while Sonko accused the president of weak leadership and failing to defend him against critics.

(BBC News)

Headline

Six Nigerians Arrested In Thailand Over AI-Powered Romance Scam

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Six Nigerian nationals have been arrested by the Thailand Police Force for allegedly operating an AI-powered deepfake romance scam syndicate from a luxury condominium along the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province, following a cocaine trafficking investigation that exposed their activities.

Thai authorities said the operation began after police arrested a Nigerian suspect identified as Patrick and three associates in April over alleged drug trafficking offences. During the raid, officers reportedly seized assets valued at about 2.5 million baht.

Investigators said financial transactions linked to the suspects led them to several foreign nationals living in a high-end riverside condominium near Phra Nangklao Bridge in Nonthaburi. Police discovered that many of the occupants were staying in groups of five or six per apartment under student visas despite not being enrolled in any educational institution or engaged in lawful employment.

According to Thai police, officers executed search warrants on three condominium units on May 22. The suspects allegedly refused to open their doors, forcing authorities to break into the apartments.

Videos circulating on X captured the moment police officers forcefully gained entry into one of the apartments before arresting the suspects.

During the operation, one suspect reportedly attempted to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on the bathroom floor while allegedly sending warning messages to occupants in neighbouring units.

Police recovered 18 mobile phones, three laptop computers and three bank passbooks from the apartments. Authorities said some of the phones were still logged into active conversations with victims at the time of the raid.

Investigators alleged that the syndicate specialised in romance scams targeting older Thai women by using AI-generated faces and manipulated video calls to create fake online identities.

The suspects allegedly posed as pilots, United States military officers, doctors and engineers to gain the trust of victims before requesting money under false pretences.

Police said the fraudsters typically claimed that valuable packages or gifts sent to victims had been withheld by customs officials and required payment of clearance fees before release.

Authorities also said they recovered scripts for sexually explicit conversations allegedly used to emotionally manipulate victims into transferring funds. Investigators claimed the group relied heavily on artificial intelligence technology to generate realistic Western faces for fake video interactions.

Thai police said all six suspects are currently facing preliminary charges bordering on illegal association and immigration overstay, while additional fraud and romance scam charges are expected to follow as investigations continue.