1. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has secured the conviction of 974 offenders, including 11 drug kingpins who were sentenced a total of 254 years in prison in the first quarter of 2026.
This was even as the Federal High Court, Abuja, has sentenced a 76-year-old grandfather, Mr. Francis Omofe, to 40 years imprisonment for drug-related offences. Of the 974 drug traffickers convicted between January and March, 899 were males while 75 were females.
2. Nigeria will not approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout as war rages in the Middle East, which has pushed Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) beyond N1,300 per litre. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who stated this at the 2026 Spring Meeting of the World Bank and IMF in Washington DC, reiterated the government’s conviction in the country’s homegrown economic recovery strategy.
3. The Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has summoned the Awujale kingmakers of Ijebu-Ode to the Command Headquarters in Eleweran for questioning, beginning from Monday.
There are nine Awujale kingmakers in Ijebu-Ode, including the Regent of Ijebuland; the Ogbeni Oja, Chief Sunny Kuku; Chief Adebisi Adaran; Chief Abimbola Okenla and Balogun Agboola Alausa
4. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East is expected to calm global oil markets and ease petrol prices, but experts have warned that Nigerians may not see immediate relief at the pumps. They noted that while easing global oil prices could reflect in Nigeria’s downstream market, petrol prices may gradually decline to around N1,000 per litre if market forces are allowed to operate.
5. Two Nigerian men, Akinade Raheem and Abayomi Eletu, are facing 50 years in prison each for an alleged multiple tax fraud scheme involving stolen identities to steal more than $100m from the Internal Revenue Service in the United States. In a statement by the Department of Justice on Wednesday, Raheem and Eletu allegedly conspired with their accomplices to claim fraudulent tax refunds by impersonating accountants and taxpayers.
6. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has released the results of candidates who sat for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Thursday, April 16, 2026, with a total of 632,788 results now available for viewing. In a statement issued by the Board on Friday, and signed by its spokesperson Fabian Benjamin, candidates were advised to check their results by sending “UTMERESULT” via SMS to 55019 or 66019, using the same phone number (SIM) used during registration.
7. National leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, yesterday paid a courtesy visit to the party’s national headquarters, Wadata House, Abuja with a plea that runaway members of the party should return. Reaffirming his commitment to the PDP, Wike said his visit was intended to demonstrate solidarity with the new leadership and encourage a united front as the party rebuilds after internal crises
8. No fewer than 974 offenders were convicted and sentenced to various jail terms during the first quarter of 2026. This occurred as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency intensified its arrest, prosecution, and confiscation of the assets of drug traffickers and their collaborators across the country.
9. A High Court of Bayelsa State sitting in Yenagoa on Thursday, April 16, 2026, sentenced two men to death by hanging for the abduction of Mrs Grace Omietimi, mother of the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Dr James Omietimi. The convicts are Mr Felix Oburu, a native of Omoku Community in Ogba/Egbema Local Government Area, and Mr Anthon Eligwe, from Oyigba Community in Ahoada West Local Government Area, both in Rivers State.
10. Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said he was chased out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by then-President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience Jonathan. Amaechi spoke on Friday during an appearance on The Morning Brief, a Channels Television breakfast programme.
