1. Difficult terrain, fears over the safety of dozens of kidnapped pupils and teachers, and demands by the abductors for the release of detained terrorist commanders have emerged as major obstacles to ongoing efforts to rescue victims of the recent school attacks in Oyo and Borno states, The PUNCH has learnt.

2. There are indications that state police may soon come to fruition as part of efforts to address security challenges. On Thursday, the actualisation plan reached a significant milestone as more than three months of consultations among the Executive, the Legislature, security agencies, particularly the police, and other stakeholders, were concluded at the Presidential Villa.

3. The House of Representatives was on Thursday thrown into rowdy session as the Deputy Spokesperson, Hon. Philip Agbese, alleged his signature was forged on a list of opposition members who endorsed Imo lawmaker, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, as the new Minority Leader. Coming under a motion of personal privilege on the floor of the House, Hon. Agbese denied ever endorsing Hon. Ugochinyere, saying the development infringed his privilege as a member of the Minority Caucus.

4. Osun State police command on Thursday said it has launched a probe into the attack on the Accord chairman for Osogbo Local Government Area, Asimiyu Ajibola, which left him battling for life at the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo. The command, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said the incident occurred on Wednesday in the MDS Area of Osogbo, when two armed men riding on a motorcycle attacked the victim in an apparent attempt at murder.

5. Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has threatened to release the names of politicians behind the abduction of students in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. The activist said this while speaking to the new executive members of the National Association of Nigerian Students led by Akinteye Bàbàtunde at his residence in the Soka area of Ibadan.

6. A tricycle rider simply identified as IK has allegedly beaten his lover and mother of two to death following a heated argument and reportedly fled, leaving her corpse with their children in Ogbogoro Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The incident, said to have occurred along the CPM Street axis of Ogbogoro on Tuesday, sent shock waves through the community as some residents tried to catch a glimpse of the gory scene to confirm the sad news.

7. The Anambra State government has vowed to ensure justice for a 16-year-old girl who was gang-raped by eight men, including her guardian, in the Nawfia community, Njikoka Local Government Area of the state. The state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Esther Onyekesi, stated this when the survivor (name withheld) was brought to her office in Awka on Thursday.

8. The Labour Party has summoned a meeting of its National Executive Committee for June 11 to ratify the results of its recently concluded primary elections and approve the submission of candidates for the 2027 general elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission. The party disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa.

9. The All Progressives Congress has disowned a purported list of its senatorial candidates currently circulating on social media and some online platforms, describing it as fake. The party said the list titled “Concluded List of APC Senatorial Candidates So Far” did not emanate from it and should be disregarded in its entirety. This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka.

10. Residents of Oda Community in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State were thrown into shock after a 38-year-old man, Nsikak Kingsley, allegedly beat his father, Adone Peter, to death during a dispute. Although the cause of the disagreement between the 65-year-old father and son, which reportedly escalated into a physical assault, was not disclosed, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, said in a statement on Thursday that the suspect had been arrested and detained

The special adviser to the president on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday night disclosed that the police have arrested one Ifechukwu Dennis, the suspect accused of creating an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated voice note of President Bola Tinubu.

In an X post on Thursday, Onanuga said Dennis was arrested in Benin City, the capital of Edo state, by a crack team from the office of the inspector-general of police (IGP).

“The IGP crack team has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis, who originated the fake voice that he passed on to his gullible targets as President Tinubu’s voice,” the presidential spokesperson wrote.

“Dennis was arrested in Benin. The police will issue an official statement.”

The arrest comes days after a controversial audio recording, generated using AI and made to sound like Tinubu, circulated widely on social media.

The voice note contained several inflammatory claims, including allegations that insecurity in the south-east was deliberate, that Tinubu pressured Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), to step down ahead of the last general election, and that he was unconcerned about the hardship faced by Nigerians.

“I’ve begged Peter Obi to step down for me. He refused. Now I will make sure the insecurity affects only South East,” the voice note claimed.

The audio gained wider attention after it was featured in a video posted on May 27 by Martins Otse, the social media activist popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).

Reacting to the video at the time, Onanuga called for the arrest of the activist, accusing him of disseminating false information.

“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu,” he wrote.

“This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform.”

The police have yet to issue an official statement on the arrest or disclose the charges that may be filed against the suspect.

The United Nations has said that some weapons looted during the Libyan conflict in 2011 ended up in the hands of extremist groups in Nigeria.

Speaking to delegates on the spread of illicit firearms on Tuesday, at the UN headquarters in New York, United States, Izumi Nakamitsu, UN under-secretary-general and high representative for disarmament affairs, said looted weapons fuel violence in communities long after wars have ended.

Nakamitsu said weapons looted during the 2011 conflict in Libya resurfaced across the Sahel region and have caused devastation across peaceful communities.

“Libya, where weapons looted or diverted during and after the 2011 conflict, which ended the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, later surfaced across the wider Sahel region, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria,” Nakamitsu said.

“Some were subsequently found in the hands of extremist groups, illustrating how arms from one conflict can destabilise neighbouring countries years later.

“The end of the conflict does not mean the end of the circulation of those weapons; it stays, and it continues to harm people.”

She added that small arms proliferation can undermine peacebuilding efforts.

The high representative for disarmament affairs noted that weapons retained by armed groups, militias, and communities for self-protection can contribute to renewed violence and instability.

She pointed out that illicit weapons are linked to human rights abuses, terrorism, and sexual and gender-based violence.

“It is not just a security issue. It is also about peacebuilding. It is about human rights. It is also about development,” Nakamitsu said.

The under-secretary general said weapons used in conflict would continue to circulate, crossing borders and fuelling crime.

“Wars end, but unfortunately, the weapons that are used in that particular conflict would not be under full control,” she said.

“They continue to circulate. They are sometimes hidden. They are brought across borders.”

She added that the emergence of ghost guns, 3D-printed firearms, and sophisticated trafficking networks are creating new challenges for governments worldwide.

“Those weapons or weapon parts, if they are disassembled and then trafficked, are more difficult to trace.”