President Bola Tinubu,  President Carlos Manuel Vila Nova of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe and several governors were among the dignitaries who attended the wedding of the children of Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence.

Matawalle celebrated the weddings of his ten children, five daughters and five sons, at the National Mosque, Abuja, on Friday.

The minister gave away his daughters—Maryam, Safiyya, Farida, Nana Firdausi, and Aisha—while his sons—Ibrahim, Abdul Jalal, Surajo, Bello, and Fahad—also tied the knot.

The Islamic ceremony was officiated by Imam Luqman Zakariyah, who prayed for Allah’s blessings on the marriages and for success in the couples’ future lives.

Tinubu received the brides on behalf of the Matawalle family, welcoming them into their new homes.

The high-profile wedding attracted the crème de la crème of Nigerian politics.

Notable dignitaries in attendance included Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and Ibrahim Masari, Senior Special Assistant on Political Affairs.

Several governors were also present, including Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto, Umar Namadi of Jigawa, and Nasir Idris of Kebbi.

In a post via X, Matawalle expressed his deep gratitude to Tinubu and Vila Nova for attending the ceremony, describing their presence as a rare and honourable privilege.

He further appreciated all dignitaries, family, friends, and well-wishers who joined physically or in prayers, wishing them safe journeys back to their destinations.

“Today, I am deeply honoured and profoundly grateful to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for graciously serving as Wali at the wedding Fātiḥa of my children, held at the National Mosque, Abuja. I remain sincerely honoured by this rare privilege,” he wrote.”

“In addition, the presence of the President of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, His Excellency President Carlos Vila Nova, added immense meaning to this joyous occasion, and I deeply appreciated it.

“I also wish to extend my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who joined us physically and in prayers to share in our joy. Your presence, prayers, and goodwill are truly cherished and deeply appreciated.

“To my esteemed colleagues in the Federal Executive Council, Governors, members of the National Assembly, friends, family members, and well-wishers from across the nation, I am eternally grateful for the overwhelming love and kindness shown to me and my family.

“I also pray that Allah rewards abundantly all those who travelled from far and near to celebrate with us, and I ask Allah to grant you a safe and peaceful journey back to your respective destinations.”

A United States court has sentenced one Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, a Nigerian national, to 97 months’ imprisonment for participating in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that targeted elderly and vulnerable Americans.

According to a statement published on the US Department of Justice website on Friday, “a Nigerian National was sentenced today to more than eight years in prison for participating in a years-long conspiracy to defraud elderly and vulnerable Americans through an inheritance fraud scheme.”

The DOJ stated that Nnebocha, who is 44 years old, and his co-conspirators “operated a lucrative transnational inheritance fraud scheme that exploited vulnerable people in the United States” over a period exceeding seven years.

The statement read, “According to court documents, Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, 44, of Nigeria, and his co-conspirators operated a lucrative transnational inheritance fraud scheme that exploited vulnerable people in the United States.

“Over the course of more than seven years, Nnebocha and his co-conspirators sent hundreds of thousands of personalized letters to elderly individuals in the United States, falsely claiming that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left by a deceased family member.”

According to the US DOJ, victims were subsequently instructed to pay various fees before accessing the fictitious inheritance.

“The conspirators then told the victims that, before they could receive their purported inheritance, they were required to send money for purported delivery fees, taxes, and payments regarding the inheritance. In total, the defendant and his co-conspirators defrauded over 400 U.S. victims of more than $6 million,” the statement read,

The DOJ added that “in total, the defendant and his co-conspirators defrauded over 400 U.S. victims of more than $6 million.”

The statement disclosed that Nnebocha was arrested in Poland in April 2025 and extradited to the United States in September 2025.

He later pleaded guilty in November 2025 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.

At sentencing, the court ordered 97 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release and restitution exceeding $6.8m to victims.

The department noted that “this is the second indicted case related to this international fraud scheme,” adding that eight co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Nigeria had previously been convicted and sentenced.

The case was investigated by the US Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Legal Attache in Poland, INTERPOL, Polish authorities, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs.

Senior Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Joshua D. Rothman of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case, according to the statement.

1. Tuesday’s massacre in Woro, a remote community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, which left an estimated 176 residents dead, was not a random act of violence.

Findings by Saturday PUNCH show that the attack was the result of a calculated expansion of a jihadist front that the country’s security architecture failed to halt despite prior warnings. At the centre of the bloodshed is Abubakar Saidu, popularly known as Sadiku, a terrorist commander whose violent trail spans more than a decade and northern region of the country

2. It was a moment of national reflection as the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and family members of the late General Murtala Mohammed reflected on his legacies 50 years after he was assassinated in a coup d’état. The memorial event brought together representatives of the Nigerian Army and foreign diplomats who witnessed the official wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the late General where he was killed in a traffic ambush in his black Mercedes Benz on George Street, Ikoyi, Lagos

3. BudgIT, a budget transparency organisation that tracks budget performance in Nigeria, has uncovered 92 fraudulent projects across the country. In its 2024/2025 Tracka Report, released on Friday, in which 2,760 projects were tracked, 92 were categorised “Fraudulent Projects”, with many left unfinished.

4. The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the N2.5 billion judgment given on November 30, 2015 by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, NICN, against the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria over its unlawful disengagement of 110 staff in 1996. The appellate court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN to promptly release the judgment sum to the staff.

5. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has clarified that the attendance of the Samuel Anyanwu-led National Working Committee, NWC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at its recent engagement with political parties does not amount to the commission’s recognition of one faction over another. The clarification followed questions over why only the Anyanwu group was present at the meeting, with the Turaki-led group absent.

6. Suspected armed herdsmen on Friday afternoon attacked Anwase Market in Mbaikyor, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, kidnapping several market women and setting the market ablaze. Witnesses said the attackers invaded the community from a nearby mountain, firing sporadically to cause panic before setting stalls on fire and abducting women.

7. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday received the Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Governor Sani briefed the President on the successful rescue of worshippers abducted from churches in the Kurmin Wali community of Kajuru Local Government Area on January 18, 2026.

8. A 40-year-old woman has been arrested by operatives of the Ondo State Police Command for allegedly poisoning a three-year-old boy, Abdulrasheed, in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state. The suspect, identified as Nafisat Lateef, who is the landlady of the victim’s mother, allegedly forced a liquid substance suspected to be poisonous into the mouth of the toddler.

9. Four soldiers were feared killed in a Boko Haram ambush at Auno, near Jakana along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road in Borno State. It was gathered that the incident occurred on Thursday night at about 10:50 pm. Some soldiers serving in the area said the troops were ambushed while going to reinforce colleagues under attack.

10. Gunmen suspected to be cultists have beheaded the President of the Omoku Youth Federation in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Ifeanyi Azuazu, and shot dead his personal aide, Chigozie Oluwu. The incident occurred around 6 pm on Thursday when about seven assailants stormed a popular drinking spot along Ogolo Street, off Palace Road in Omoku town.