Columbia University announced Tuesday that it will lay off nearly 180 staff members following President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke $400 million in federal funding. The funding cut is reportedly in response to the university’s handling of student protests against the war in Gaza.

According to a statement from the university, the layoffs represent approximately 20 per cent of employees whose roles were supported in some way by the now-terminated federal grants.

“We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources,” the university said.

“Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people.

We understand this news will be hard.”

University spokesperson Jessica Murphy declined to comment on whether more layoffs are expected but said Columbia was taking a range of steps to enhance financial flexibility. These include maintaining current salary levels and offering voluntary retirement incentives.

In addition, the university planned to scale back research activities. Some departments would wind down specific studies, while others would continue limited operations as they sought alternative funding sources.

Research areas impacted include projects such as the development of an antiviral nasal spray for infectious diseases, studies on maternal mortality and morbidity, treatment research for chronic conditions like long COVID, care for newborns with opioid withdrawal syndrome, and colorectal cancer screenings. (AP/NAN)

Police Arrest 2 Wanted Fugitives Over Human Trafficking, Armed Robbery

 The Nigeria Police Force says it has arrested two suspected internationally wanted fugitives over human trafficking and armed robbery.

The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

Adejobi said that one of the suspects was a ringleader of a human trafficking syndicate wanted by Belgian authorities while the second was a key member of a Dubai-based armed robbery gang.

He added that the first suspect was the alleged mastermind of a large-scale human trafficking operation and had been declared wanted by the Belgian authorities through an INTERPOL Red Notice.

He disclosed that the notice was issued on Dec. 19, 2023, adding that the suspect was arrested in Benin, the Edo capital, following diligent intelligence and enforcement efforts by police operatives.

The force PRO also said that the suspect was accused of trafficking young Nigerian women, including minors to Italy and subsequently dispersing them across Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

He added that the victims were subjected to voodoo-based oaths and psychological coercion, with fabricated debts ranging from £20,000 to £50,000 used to manipulate and control them.

According to him, the criminal network of the suspect involved handlers in Brussels and France who managed the victims’ activities and remit proceeds to him.

”Following a conviction in absentia in Belgium in 2021 for multiple counts of aggravated human trafficking and criminal organisation leadership, the suspect fled to Nigeria.

”Upon his arrest, a search of his premises revealed incriminating materials, including a photocopy of a passport intended for a planned relocation to Canada.”

The police spokesman said the suspect has been scheduled to be arraigned at the Federal High Court in Benin.

Adejobi said the second suspect was arrested by the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja at a hideout in Nsukka, Enugu State.

He said that the suspect was wanted by authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for series of serious crimes including armed robbery, cultism, drug trafficking, and other organised criminal activities.

He explained that intelligence had revealed that the suspect had continued to coordinate criminal operations remotely from Nigeria.

The force image maker disclosed that the suspect had been directly linked to several high-profile robberies in Dubai and Sharjah, including an armed robbery at a grocery store in Dubai Mall.

”The arrest is the result of strategic intelligence sharing and operational collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), and the Dubai Police,” he said.

Adejobi said the suspect would soon be arraigned in court. (NAN)

The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has raised concern over the recently released 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results, describing it as a reflection of the worsening state of education system.The President of CONUA, Niyi Sunmonu, ina statement released to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday said the results exposed a “deep-rooted crisis” in the sector.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) revealed that out of over 1. 96 million candidates who sat for the UTME, only 0.79 per cent (12,414 candidates) scored 300 and above.According to JAMB, around 21per cent (334,560 candidates) scored between 200 and 249; a staggering 74 per cent (over 1.5 million candidates) scored below 200, and over 26 per cent failed to score up to 140.Sunmonu identified shortcomings in curriculum delivery, quality of teaching, infrastructure, and student familiarity with computer-based testing as major contributors to the poor performance.“The limited number of high performers and the overwhelming concentration of candidates in the lower score brackets indicate widespread systemic failures.“With the development, universities may struggle to maintain academic standards with fewer qualified entrants.“Students from underserved regions, already at a disadvantage, face even steeper barriers to access tertiary education.“Most critically, the country risks further depletion of its human capital base,” he said.Sunmonu called on education stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, and regulatory agencies to urgently revamp the curriculum to reflect 21st-century competencies.He added that investment in comprehensive teacher training and accountability mechanisms, improved access to learning resources and infrastructure in all regions will help the sector.He advocated for the strengthening of remedial education programmes like pre-degree and JUPEB to support underprepared but capable students.Sunmonu also called for increased autonomy in university admissions, allowing institutions to design flexible interventions for students with potential who may not have met traditional cut-off marks.“While this year’s UTME results are worrying, they also serve as an opportunity to realign our priorities and reinforce our collective commitment to rebuilding Nigeria’s education system from the foundation,” he said. (NAN)