1. The parents of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State while travelling from Oyo State to their orientation camps have said their abductors gave them 24 hours to pay N1 billion ransom for their release.
The affected parents disclosed this when they visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his private residence in Bodija, Ibadan yesterday, alongside the state Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, and the Aseyin of Iseyinland, Oba Sefiu Adeyeri.
2. The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Olatunji Disu, has deployed top police chiefs to Imo State to lead an aggressive search-and-rescue operation for 20 abducted prospective corps members. The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday in Owerri.
3. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has fired back at former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, challenging him to account for major projects and expenditures incurred during his administration. Wike, who spoke on Saturday during an interactive session with leaders and stakeholders of Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, was reacting to Amaechi’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday evening
4. Madonna University, Elele Campus, Rivers State, has expelled a final-year nursing student, simply identified as Mercy, and suspended 14 other 500-level students over a viral TikTok video. The video showed a group of nursing students dancing in a hospital waiting area, on a staircase and inside a bus. Mercy, who featured in the opening seconds of the clip dancing in a hospital hallway, allegedly received her expulsion letter during the week.
5. The Nigerian Army on Saturday bade farewell to discharged Master Warrant Officers of Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria, at a ceremony held in the institution’s conference room. The Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria, Chikadibia Anele, said the ceremony was attended by the Commandant, Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria, Brigadier General Usman Ahmad, principal staff officers and heads of departments.
6. A 42-year-old Texas woman, Colleen Nichole Lemmon, has been charged with capital murder after authorities said she shot her two sons inside their home before apparently injuring herself. Colleen Lemmon was arrested on two counts of capital murder following the deaths of 21-year-old Christopher Scott Pitre and his 15-year-old brother in Waxahachie, Texas. According to the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a home on Big Sky Drive shortly before 4:15 a.m. on Thursday following reports of an “unknown emergency”.
7. The Barbados Police Service Narcotics Unit has arrested and formally charged a 19-year-old British national, Abdul-Rasheed Anjolaoluwa Oduola, over the alleged possession and trafficking of 23.4 kilogrammes of cocaine. Oduola, who resides in Dagenham, East London, United Kingdom, was arrested over offences allegedly committed on September 29, 2026.
8. The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested a man, Zayyanu Halilu, after officers allegedly caught him raping a 12-year-old girl inside a tinted vehicle at Airport Bridge Taxi Park, Abuja. The victim was also found to be about three months pregnant as a result of the alleged abuse, while the suspect is currently in police custody.
9. Troops of the Nigerian Army have rescued 15 kidnapped victims and arrested two suspected kidnappers in separate operations across Edo, Kaduna, Benue, Kogi and Plateau states. The operations were conducted on October 1 and 2, according to an operational report made available to NAN. In Edo, the report said troops of the 195 Battalion, responding to a kidnap incident along the Ekor-Ikakumo Road in Akoko-Edo, rescued three victims.
10. President Bola Tinubu may win the forthcoming 2027 polls despite public discontent, The Economist reports. In a report published on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day, The Economist cited a worsening security crisis, biting effects of the economic reforms, and popular political challengers as factors that should work against the president’s re-election bid. “On the face of it, Mr Tinubu’s cool is surprising,” the newspaper wrote.
