Across the thirty-six states of Nigeria, these are the five biggest stories you shouldn’t miss out on:

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US: We’re ready to help Nigeria end ‘disgusting’ abduction of schoolchildren

The United States has expressed concern about the frequent kidnapping of Nigerian schoolchildren and also offered to help tackle the issue – The Cable reports

Deputy assistant secretary at the US Bureau of African Affairs, Michael Gonzales, disclosed that America is willing to assist in ending the security challenge if only Nigeria will seek its help.

“We are disgusted by this pattern of mass abduction of schoolkids and our condolences go out to the individuals affected and their families,” he said.

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Traditional rulers urge Buhari to address nation’s security issues

The National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria has called on the federal government to urgently address the nation’s security challenges – Premium Times reports

The traditional rulers made the appeal at the end of a meeting with The President, Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja on Thursday, 11th March.

Yahaya Abubakar, The Etsu Nupe, speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers, disclosed that their meeting with the president harped on the need for the government to urgently curb the menace.

“We gathered ourselves and feel that yes, there is a need for us to come and let the president know that the situation is telling very hard on our people and there is a need to take urgent and immediate steps to actually check the situation,” he said.

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UK to stop recruiting doctors from Nigeria

The United Kingdom has created a new policy to reduce the recruitment of doctors from Nigeria and other developing countries – The Punch reports

The policy, however, does not restrict Nigerian doctors from migrating to the UK according to a statement by the UK government titled, ‘UK to strengthen its ethical approach to the international recruitment of health and care workers’ on February 25, 2021.

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COVID-19: NAFDAC to test 14 herbal medicines

The National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), is testing about fourteen COVID-19 herbal medicine for use in Nigeria – The Guardian reports

According to NAFDAC, the herbal medicines are now safe for consumption but how efficacious they are is to be determined when they undergo clinical trials.

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the agency, disclosed this Thursday, 11th March, in Abuja after receiving a jab of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. He also observed that NAFDAC conducted a diligent study on the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine and confirmed that it’s safe and efficacious for use against COVID-19 virus.

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NPHCDA: No ‘adverse reactions’ from COVID-19 vaccination

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has clarified that Nigeria is yet to observe any ‘similar adverse reactions’ reported in other parts of the world – The Nation reports

The agency in a statement explained that all side effects reported by those who have been administered by the vaccine have been ‘mild’.

The statement also explained that the agency is aware of precautionary concerns that have been raised regarding a specific batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine, namely ABV5300.