The Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, Alagbon, Lagos, has restated that disputes over land ownership are civil matters that fall under the jurisdiction of the courts and should not be handled by the police.

Speaking with newsmen on Sunday, the FCID spokesperson, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Aminat Mayegun, said the role of the police in land-related cases is limited to addressing criminal infractions that may arise from such disputes.

Her clarification follows growing complaints from property owners and residents in Lagos who have raised concerns about alleged police interference in land disputes, despite long-standing directives that ownership disagreements are civil in nature.

Some residents have accused law enforcement operatives of actions that allegedly worsened tensions, encouraged intimidation and complicated the resolution of land ownership matters, which they insist should be determined strictly through legal proceedings.

Others claim such involvement sometimes tilts in favour of powerful interests, further eroding public confidence.

Mayegun explained that issues relating to land boundaries or ownership are governed by civil law and must be settled in court, stressing that the police lack the authority to determine who owns any parcel of land.

She noted, however, that police intervention becomes necessary when criminal acts are committed in the course of a land dispute.

“The police are duty-bound to intervene and investigate only when land-related disputes give rise to criminal offences, as they have no mandate to determine ownership of land,” she said.

According to her, offences such as obtaining money by false pretence, malicious damage to property, arson, assault or any other act recognised under the Criminal Code Act fall squarely within the responsibility of the police.

She warned that individuals who resort to fraud, violence or destruction of property under the pretext of asserting land rights would be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.

The FCID spokesperson also cautioned members of the public against taking laws into their hands, urging aggrieved parties to seek redress through established legal channels.

She assured that the Nigeria Police Force would continue to carry out its duties strictly in line with the law and called on citizens to report cases of improper land-related interference through the Police Complaints Response Unit.

Urban residents in Nigeria enjoy faster internet than rural users, a new report by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has revealed, even as nationwide connectivity shows modest improvements.

The report, which analysed 377,135 network tests using geospatial mapping, found that urban download speeds average 20.5 megabits per second, Mbps, compared to 11 Mbps in rural areas, a gap of about 40 percent. Upload speeds were also uneven, with urban users recording 10.5 Mbps against 6.1 Mbps in rural locations.

Although rural speeds have improved from 8.5 Mbps earlier this year, the NCC said higher latency in rural areas continues to affect real-time services such as voice and video calls.

NCC said: “Urban areas account for just 5.2 percent of Nigeria’s landmass but 96.7 percent of total network activity.

“Rural communities, which cover over 93 percent of the country, experience much sparser usage and slower speeds.”

The report also highlighted that the choice of network operator can sometimes matter more than location.

It stated: “MTN’s average rural download speed of 15.8 Mbps was found to outperform Glo’s average urban speed of 9.5 Mbps, showing uneven performance across operators.

“Major highways, especially the Lagos–Abuja corridor, were identified as ‘digital corridors’ where network coverage is stronger.

“Rural towns along these routes often enjoy better connectivity than remote interior villages, reflecting how road and network infrastructure grow together.”

On technology trends, the report noted that “4G LTE remains Nigeria’s broadband backbone, delivering speeds of 10–20 Mbps in rural areas, while 5G networks, where available, offer speeds of up to 220 Mbps but are still largely confined to dense urban centres.

“Among operators, MTN delivered the most consistent nationwide performance, followed by Airtel. T2 recorded the highest median rural speed at 24.9 Mbps in select regions, while Glo maintained baseline connectivity of 9.5 Mbps across both urban and rural areas.”

The NCC said closing the persistent urban-rural gap will require targeted rural infrastructure upgrades, improved upload capacity, and stronger quality-of-service standards to support digital education, e-government and remote work.

“Improving network quality outside cities is akey to ensuring all Nigerians benefit from digital services,” the regulator added.

The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas company (NLNG) said the Nigeria Prizes competition has officially kicked off, calling for entries for the 2026 cycle.

The company, in a statement, said this year’s edition focuses on Artificial Intelligence and Information and Communication Technology for The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation; poetry for The Nigeria Prize for Literature; and documentary filmmaking for the newly introduced The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts.

NLNG’s Manager of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku, disclosed this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

The company said the Prizes remain Nigeria’s foremost platform for rewarding excellence in science and innovation, literature, and the creative arts.

It noted that this year, the Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation retained the theme “Innovations in Information and Communication Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Technologies for Development,” following a “no winner” verdict in the 2025 cycle.

Speaking on the commencement of the prizes cycle, NLNG’s General Manager of External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, emphasised the relevance of the selected themes in a rapidly evolving global context.

For Science, she noted that extensive research has demonstrated the immense potential of ICT, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies in reshaping industries and societies.

“The themes for the 2026 cycle reflect the realities of a world being reshaped by digital intelligence and creative expression.

“Through The Nigeria Prizes, NLNG continues to reinforce its commitment to innovative ideas and talents that are rigorous, relevant, and capable of shaping long-term national outcomes.

“The introduction of the Creative Arts Prize further strengthens this commitment by recognising creativity as a critical component of development,” she stated.

Also speaking on the call for entries, the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Science and Innovation Prize, Prof. Barth Nnaji, called on scientists and innovators from all over the world to submit quality entries that transcend theoretical concepts and demonstrate deployable, scalable, and practical solutions.

The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation is founded on the principle that science must move beyond abstraction into solutions that work.

“The Prize recognises innovations grounded in rigorous research, demonstrating technical maturity and clear potential for application within Nigeria’s development landscape.

“We are looking for works that are inventive, credible, scalable, and capable of delivering measurable outcomes,” he said.

With the prize valued at $100,000, NLNG said the Science and Innovation competition is open to scientists and innovators worldwide and invites pioneering digital and artificial intelligence–based solutions that can enhance systems, improve efficiency, and support informed decision-making in critical sectors of Nigeria’s economy.

Similarly, for the Nigeria Prize for Literature, poets will be in the spotlight for the 2026 cycle. Nigerian authors resident in Nigeria and in the diaspora are invited to submit poetry collections published from 2023 onwards.

“The prize, also worth $100,000, recognises literature’s enduring capacity to interrogate society, preserve memory, and articulate both personal and collective experience,” it stated.

The Chairman of the Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts, Prof. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, expressed excitement at the establishment of the new Prize for Creative Arts and described it as a significant addition to NLNG’s over two-decade legacy of celebrating excellence.

“It reaffirms our belief that excellence transcends form, whether written, spoken, or filmed. The Creative Arts Prize challenges creators to confront truth, explore memory, and translate lived experience into meaningful work.

“At the same time, the focus on Poetry for The Nigeria Prize for Literature recognises the genre’s enduring role as a tool for reflection, resistance, and social inquiry, with a unique capacity to distil memory and interrogate complex realities,” she said.

The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts debuts with Documentary Film under the theme ‘Identity’, with the prize valued at $20,000.

Targeted at emerging Nigerian filmmakers aged 18 to 35, the Prize challenges young creatives to produce documentary films that explore individual, communal, and cultural identities, and to reshape global perceptions of Nigeria through rigorous storytelling, creativity, and visual excellence.