1. Amid a suspected insurgent plot targeting the airport and correctional facilities in Abuja and neighbouring Niger State, security agencies have moved to reinforce the sites.
The Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the Nigeria Correctional Service told The PUNCH on Thursday that they have proactively strengthened security around the airports and custodial centres.
2. Governor Seyi Makinde has stirred conversations online following a viral video in which he referenced the possibility of impeachment while speaking about the remaining duration of his administration. In the circulating clip, the Oyo State governor is heard saying his administration would come to an end “in about one year and one month,” before adding, “that is if I have not been impeached.”
3. The Nigeria Immigration Service, Lagos State Command, has arrested 125 foreign nationals over alleged immigration-related offences, with 82 of them set for repatriation. The Assistant Comptroller-General in charge of Zone A, Mohamed Adamu, while speaking on the development in Lagos on Thursday, said the operation was carried out in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force on March 30 in some parts of the state.
4. President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said no amount of pressure or intimidation would distract him from his decision job. This was as he reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the reform agenda, which he said was already yielding results for Nigerians. He stated this at the State House, Abuja, during a meeting with the leadership and coordinators of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, a political mobilisation network inaugurated weeks earlier to carry the administration’s message to the grassroots.
5. The Islamic State West Africa Province has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Nigerian security forces and neighbouring countries. The material, written in Arabic and translated into English, was released on Thursday, a copy of which was sighted by our correspondent on X (formerly Twitter).
6. No fewer than six persons have been arrested by the Ondo State Police Command over an alleged plot to bomb government facilities in Akure. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Adebowale Lawal, disclosed this while briefing journalists on Thursday, adding that 10 other suspected criminals were apprehended across the state, bringing the total number of arrests to 16.
7. A Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, issued a warrant of arrest against a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Faruoq. The court also directed that the former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali be arrested alongside Sadiya over their failure to appear in Court for arraignment.
8. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Thursday launched a rebuke on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, describing him as a serial failure and dismissing his criticisms of the current administration. Wike spoke to reporters during a routine inspection of infrastructure projects in Kuje and other parts of the FCT, where he rejected Atiku’s recent comments on national television that the government of Bola Tinubu had failed to ease the hardship facing Nigerians.
9. Armed men have reportedly abducted no fewer than 14 passengers, many of them believed to be candidates of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), along the Makurdi-Otukpo road in Benue State. The victims were said to be travelling from Makurdi to Otukpo Local Government Area (LGA) on Wednesday evening for their scheduled examination when the incident occurred.
10. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB says an alleged hijab discrimination incident reported at Esther Oshikoya Computer-Based Test, CBT Centre, Ibadan, was not part of its official examination protocol. The board made the clarification in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its Public Communication Adviser, PCA, Fabian Benjamin.
