Connect with us

News

Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: NSCDC parades suspended Niger commandant, officers over miners’ deaths

Published

on

1. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has paraded its suspended Niger State Commandant, Commandant Suberu Aniviye, and other officers linked to the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the Corps’ custody.

The officers were paraded at the NSCDC National Headquarters in Sauka, Abuja, on Sunday, as the Corps’ National Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commandant Babawale Afolabi, briefed journalists on the preliminary findings into the incident.

The 37 detainees died on Thursday, after they were arrested during anti-illegal mining operations conducted by the NSCDC in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.

2. More than 60 per cent of those listed to speak at the ongoing 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) are being represented by either their vice presidents or foreign ministers, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, has said. The envoy also assured that Nigeria would retain its designated position at the UNGA, including its front-row seat, as Vice President Kashim Shettima stands in for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

See also  NSCDC busts illegal fuel dump site in Akwa-Ibom, arrests two

3. All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has faulted the proposal by the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, for the Federal Government to intervene in petrol and diesel prices and provide cheaper crude oil to local refineries. The APC-PCC challenged Atiku to explain the legal, fiscal and practical basis of the proposal, arguing that it must operate within the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The council’s position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Dele Alake, following Atiku’s call at a media briefing in Abuja for measures to reduce the cost of petroleum products and support domestic refining.

4. An official of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Delta State has drowned in the River Ethiope while pursuing a fleeing suspected drug offender in the state. The incident occurred in Obiaruku community, Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State, at the weekend.

See also  CWAI hails NSCDC's agro-rangers, mining marshals initiatives

5. Former Kogi State governor, Ibrahim Idris has died at the age of 77. Idris reportedly died on Sunday, September 20, 2026, in the United Kingdom. Although details of the development are still sketchy, family sources said Idris had suffered a protracted illness.

6. The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, has demanded an immediate apology from the Nigeria Democratic Congress over statements by the party’s National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, concerning its recently unveiled 59-member Presidential Campaign Council. The movement also warned that it would not be intimidated or surrender its independence, insisting that it remained an independent political organisation with its own leadership, structure and internal processes.

7. Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command have arrested approximately 300 persons following a raid on identified crime flashpoints, shanties and incomplete buildings across the FCT. According to the command, the raid was part of ongoing efforts to prevent crime, disrupt criminal activities and enhance the safety and security of residents.

8. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called for a thorough investigation and justice for the 37 miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The call came just as some stakeholders bickered over the culpability of the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, and the Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Ahmed Audi.

See also  Insecurity: NSCDC sends all-female combatants to Katsina, FCT schools

9. Six people were killed while two others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a road crash along the Kabba–Odo-Ape Road in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State. The Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lawal Fagge, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with journalists on Sunday.

10. Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has promised to spend his holidays within Nigeria if elected, saying he would use such opportunities to visit parts of the country facing security challenges. Obi stated this during a town hall meeting in Kaduna at the weekend, where he said his administration would attach importance to improving the country’s security architecture.

News

Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: PCC inauguration: APC banks on Tinubu’s record for re-election

Published

on

By


1. The All Progressives Congress on Wednesday inaugurated its Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 election, expressing confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s record and reforms while rallying party leaders and politicians from other political parties to secure his re-election.

The inauguration and federation general assembly, held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, drew opposition figures who pledged to back his re-election bid.

2. The re-election campaign will not stop governance because the economy needs all hands on the plough, the President declared yesterday. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu spoke at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during the inauguration of his Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) for the January 16, 2027 election, an event that turned into a political carnival.


3. The Federal Government has approved plans to build a new eastern-western electricity grid as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s recurring power grid collapses. The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this at the recent HBSAN energy conference in Lagos, where he outlined plans to address longstanding weaknesses in the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure.

See also  Nigeria set to repatriate over 1,000 nationals from South Africa as violence continues

4. Popular gospel singer, Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, popularly known as Toluwanisings, has passed away. His family confirmed the news in a public announcement shared on his verified Instagram page on Wednesday night.
According to the statement, the gospel minister passed away in the early hours of Wednesday, October 14, 2026



5. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said algorithms will not determine the outcome of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the decision on who governs Nigeria rests solely with voters. He warned that although artificial intelligence could influence electoral administration and the information available to voters, the technology must remain subordinate to human judgment and democratic institutions.

6. Inspector-General of Police (IGP)  Olatunji  Disu  has assured Nigerians that the police will demonstrate professionalism before, during and after the 2027 general election.
Disu said the police  reviewed their performances in recent elections and would  apply  the lessons learned in order to make Nigerians proud.



See also  Insatiable! $153 million, 80 houses recovered from Diezani —EFCC boss

7. The Federal Government has proposed a new examination timetable that will see candidates sitting the 2027 West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examinations Council (NECO) and other major external examinations receive their results by August, ahead of the September admission process into tertiary institutions.

8. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has urged All Progressives Congress, APC, governors to work hard in their respective states to ensure President Bola Tinubu wins next year’s election. Speaking at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja on Wednesday, Wike said any governor who failed to deliver his state for the President should not join others in claiming victory if Tinubu is re-elected in 2027.

9. The Kwara State Police Command has arrested four men in connection with two separate incidents involving the alleged removal of human heads from exhumed graves and the possession of suspected human hands allegedly intended for money-making rituals. The Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, disclosed the arrests on Tuesday while briefing journalists at the command headquarters in Ilorin, where he provided details of the investigations into the two cases.

See also  Senate approves Tinubu’s request to appoint 20 special advisers

10. The Police Special Fraud Unit in Lagos State has arraigned a banker and seven other defendants before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged N710 million proof-of-funds fraud. The defendants — Elvis Osazee Eghile, Egharevba MaryJane Osarieyekemwen, Precious Omonigho Irbhogbe, Aghatise Kelvin Uhuenkpoewen, Nweke Nnamdi Emmanuel, Obinyan Esther, Egharevba Emmanuel Osagioduwa and Emmanuel Obinyan Osenonome — were arraigned on a 12-count charge.

Continue Reading

News

‘Delusion of grandeur’ — Shettima calls Peter Obi master of bogus statistics

Published

on

By

Vice President Kashim Shettima has knocked former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, describing him as “the master of bogus statistics and incoherent economic prescriptions”.

Shettima made the remark on Wednesday at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Calling Obi “my very good friend”, the Vice President mocked his habit of comparing Nigeria with other countries, especially Bangladesh.

Shettima stated. “He seems convinced that a size 36 shirt tailored for Bangladesh will somehow fit Nigeria’s size 52 frame.”

He said Obi’s “fascination with foreign comparisons overlooks the peculiarities that distinguish one nation from another”.

According to Shettima, “Governance is an art that demands mastery of context, whether social, economic, political or institutional.

“What succeeds in Bangladesh cannot simply be transplanted to Nigeria without accounting for the differences in our population, economic structures, institutions and national circumstances.

See also  Insecurity: NSCDC sends all-female combatants to Katsina, FCT schools

“A country of over 250 million people cannot be governed through borrowed statistics and economic prescriptions detached from its peculiarities.”

The VP said he respected Obi but accused him of making a “bogus claim” about winning the 2023 presidential election without evidence to support the assertion.

“This is called delusion of grandeur.
Our contest is with the politics of yesterday dressed as tomorrow’s deliverance,” he said.

Obi has frequently cited Bangladesh in his criticism of the Tinubu administration’s economic management, including its borrowing.

In February, he said Nigeria’s challenge was fund mismanagement, not borrowing.

Obi ran as the Labour Party candidate in 2023 and finished third behind Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar.

He challenged Tinubu’s victory in court, and the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal and affirmed Tinubu’s election in October 2023.

Obi is seeking the presidency again in the election on January 16, 2027, on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.

See also  Families of killed NSCDC officers get automatic employment

The APC will flag off its campaign in Kaduna on October 24.

Continue Reading

News

El-Rufai’s associates earmarked $600,000 to compromise EFCC probe, DSS witness tells court

Published

on

By

A forensic investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS), Segun Kayode, has told a Kaduna state high court, sitting in Kawoa, that Nasir el-Rufai, former Kaduna state governor, and some of his associates earmarked $600,000 to pay officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and intermediaries.

Kayode, who is the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial, made the allegation on Tuesday while testifying before the court presided over by Justice Darius Khobo.

According to the witness, $500,000 and $100,000 were allegedly set aside for the payments, adding that forensic audio recordings captured conversations involving el-Rufai and some of his suspected associates.

According to Kayode, the recorded conversations centred on alleged efforts to frustrate an EFCC investigation into a company identified as Singularity.

He said a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), another individual and Bashir el-Rufai, were among those allegedly mentioned in the conversations.

Kayode told the court that the SAN and the other individual were allegedly directed to meet one Ahmadu Sule to obtain a template previously used to liquidate another company, with the intention of applying a similar process to Singularity.

See also  Insecurity: NSCDC sends all-female combatants to Katsina, FCT schools

The investigator further alleged that the discussions included plans to liquidate the company in Nigeria and Mauritius, where it was reportedly under investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.

He also alleged that the recordings contained discussions about preventing the EFCC from investigating a company he said was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The allegations formed part of the prosecution’s evidence against the former governor and have yet to be established by the court.

Proceedings lasted nearly eight hours, from 12:26pm to 8:18pm, with about two hours devoted to playing the recorded conversations.

After Kayode submitted a hard copy of his findings to the court clerk, the defence objected, saying the document should have been served earlier to allow the legal team to study its contents.

The judge ruled that the defence could obtain a certified true copy of the document admitted as Exhibit One for examination.

The court adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination, following agreement by the prosecution and defence.

See also  Supreme court affirms Dapo Abiodun as Ogun governor

Recall that El-Rufai is facingtrial over alleged money laundering and conversion of public property.

The DSS is also prosecuting the former governor before the federal high court in Abuja over allegations of wiretapping.

He has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) since February 19, after being released by the EFCC.

On April 13, the ICPC arraignedthe former governor at the Kaduna high court on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud and abuse of office.

Continue Reading

Trending News