1. Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, says Peter Obi’s claims that he may not be alive for the 2027 elections were designed to “attract undue sympathy”.
In an interview with Chude Jideonwo, Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), accused the federal government of deliberately frustrating his means of livelihood and targeting opposition figures.
2. The Nigerian Army yesterday graduated 2,989 newly trained recruits at its Recruit Training Depot, Amasiri-Edda, in Ebonyi State, to boost counter-terrorism and other internal security operations across the country. The passing-out parade marked the graduation of the pioneer set trained at the depot, and came 12 days after the Army graduated 8,000 newly trained soldiers from the Nigerian Army Depot in Osogbo, Osun State.
3. The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar II, on Wednesday, called on all northern stakeholders to close ranks against the scourge of banditry, terrorism and kidnapping, declaring that security is a collective responsibility. Speaking during the 19th Northern Traditional And Governors meeting in Kaduna, the Sultan said the region could only overcome insecurity through unity and collaboration.
4. The operation was carried out by personnel of the Forward Operating Base (FOB), Bonny, following credible intelligence on illegal activities around Okpokiri Community within the base’s area of operations. Acting on the intelligence, the Anti-Crude Oil Theft Team uncovered suspicious dugout pits concealed within the creek environment, prompting a detailed ground assessment.
5. The purported Director-General, DG, of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, PFIPC, Prince Adeyemi Matthew has denied ever meeting Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila in person. He also denied any involvement in the scandalous N1.3b budgetary allocation to the fake agency, saying he was in police detention and knew nothing about it.
6. The Senate on Wednesday approved the 2026 budget proposal of the Nigerian Customs Service, endorsing a revenue target of N11.074tn and an expenditure estimate of N1.295tn for the 2026 fiscal year. The approval followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs during plenary.
7. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday arraigned the immediate past Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, Ahmed Dikko, before the Federal High Court in Abuja, over an alleged N1.32bn money laundering scheme linked to the rehabilitation of the state-owned refinery. Dikko was docked before Justice Inyang Ekwo on a 12-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/360/2026 alongside Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited
8. Operatives of the Bayelsa State Police Command have arrested a 68-year-old man and his son for allegedly being in unlawful possession of four single-barrel guns along the Igbogene–Tombia Expressway in Yenagoa. This was disclosed in a statement issued and signed by Police Public Relations Officer DSP Musa Mohammed on Wednesday.
9. President Bola Tinubu has welcomed former Sokoto State governorship candidate, Sa’idu Umar Ubandoma, back to the All Progressives Congress, describing his return as a positive development for the party. Ubandoma was received by the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday night after being presented by the APC leader in Sokoto State, Senator Aliyu Wamakko, following his recent defection to the ruling party.
10. Lagos State House of Assembly on Wednesday endorsed the establishment of state police, urging nationwide constitutional reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture. Lawmakers also called on the 36 State Houses of Assembly to expedite consideration and approval of the Constitution Alteration Bill on state policing.
