Lagos State Government has declared 176 estates at the Eti-Osa, Ajah, Ibeju-Lekki, and Epe axis of the state illegal.

Permanent Secretary, Office of Physical Planning, Oluwole Sotire, disclosed that some of the identified illegal estates include Adron Homes, Elerangbe; Aina Gold Estate, Okun-Folu; Diamond Estate, Eputu; Prime Water View Garden, Ikate-Elegushi, and Royal View Estate, Ikota, among others.

He added that the illegal estates compromised the sustainable development ethos and the T.H.E.M.E.S+ agenda of the government by operating without approved layouts.

Consequently, the government has given the owners a 21-day ultimatum to process their layout approvals.

The estates, which were deemed illegal due to the failure of the owners to obtain layout approvals from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, were listed in a document published by the ministry, yesterday.

The US State Department says that some visa applicants will soon be required to pay bonds of up to $15,000 to discourage visa overstays as part of President Donald Trump‘s crackdown on migration.

Starting later this month, the pilot program will require applicants from certain countries to pay a sum of “no less than $5,000” as collateral for the issuance of their visa.

The funds will be returned if the applicant complies with all visa terms. If the applicant remains in the United States past the deadline, the funds will be forfeited.

“Consular officers may require covered nonimmigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 as a condition of visa issuance,” the agency said in a notice to be published Tuesday in the US Federal Register.

The 12-month program would only affect foreign nationals from countries considered to have “high visa overstay rates” based on a 2023 Department of Homeland Security report, the notice said.

• Ex-servicemen protest at the Ministry of Finance Office, Abuja, August 5,2025

ABUJA—A group of retired soldiers shut down the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, yesterday, while protesting the non-payment of their gratuity, Security Debarment Allowance, SDA, and other entitlements.

The Vanguard reported that the angry protesters carried placards with messages such as: “We are 1st and 2nd Quarter Retirees of NA 2003. We are living heroes and deserve to be recognized and treated right—not celebrated as fallen heroes when we are no more,” and “We the voluntary discharged soldiers of 2024 demand full payment of our benefits, including shortfalls in gratuity, SDA, parking allowance and four months’ salary cuts.

The protest, which began at about 7 a.m., left ministry workers stranded for hours, as they were unable to access their offices as the aggrieved ex-servicemen, comprising men and women, demanded the immediate release of their outstanding allowances.

They claimed to be members of Voluntary Discharged Soldiers, who retired from the Nigerian Army in the first two quarters of 2024.