1. The federal government has ordered the immediate suspension of Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger state, following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in custody.
The government also ordered a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths, which occurred in the M.I. Wushishi/Lukoto axis of Minna.
2. THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct bye-elections in five constituencies across four states tomorrow, Saturday, September 19, 2026. The Commission disclosed this in a post on its official X handle @inecnigeria. According to INEC, the affected constituencies are Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency in Gombe State, Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano State, Sakwa and Disina State Constituencies in Bauchi State, and Udu State Constituency in Delta State.
3. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, ruling on the $2.35 billion claim brought against Nigeria by Sunrise Power over the Mambilla hydropower project. The tribunal dismissed Sunrise Power’s claims against Nigeria and ordered the company and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse the Nigerian government for 75 per cent of the legal fees and expenses it incurred in the arbitration.
4. President Bola Tinubu is set to intervene in the growing face-off between All Progressives Congress governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, ahead of the 2027 elections. A senior presidential aide familiar with the development, who spoke exclusively to The PUNCH on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment on the matter, said Tinubu was expected to engage the parties in a bid to resolve their differences.
5. The OK Movement, a political platform established to mobilise support for the joint ticket of the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, has put in place a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council comprising zonal and state coordinators. The group has also unveiled directors for mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other key areas.
6. The Ogun I Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has seized contraband with a total Duty Paid Value of N2.469 billion between August and September, including a 2026 Range Rover Sport Autobiography P530 valued at N417.01 million. The acting Area Controller of the command, Deputy Comptroller Oladapo Afeni, disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference at the command’s headquarters in Idiroko, Ogun State.
7. The palace of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oyo State, is mourning the death of Baba, a tortoise believed to have lived for about 420 years and become a treasured relic of the ancient Oyo Kingdom. Baba reportedly died on Monday after falling ill and was later buried, bringing an end to what the palace described as a centuries-old presence that had survived through the reigns of successive Alaafins.
8. The Federal Government, states and local government councils shared N2.338tn at the September meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee, representing a 22.2 per cent decline from the record N3.007tn distributed in the previous month.
The N2.338tn shared at the meeting held in Abuja represents revenue generated in August 2026, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
9. The Nigeria Police Force has repatriated a Chinese national, Zhang Shijie, to China following his arrest in Nigeria over alleged large-scale smuggling of endangered African rosewood. Zhang was wanted by the Yangpu Sub-Bureau of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of Haikou Customs District in China over allegations of involvement in the smuggling of about 1,400 tonnes of Pterocarpus erinaceus, commonly known as African rosewood.
10. Vice President Kashim Shettima yesterday clarified that his recent allusion to six governors’ support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu only related to pre-presidential primary consultation in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The primary that threw up President Tinubu as candidate was conducted at the Eagle Square, Abuja, in June 2022.
The vice president said his remark was not intended to diminish the role of other northern governors in the president’s victory during the 2023 election.
