1. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday  blamed some of its registration officers across the country  for the appearance of suspected artificial intelligence (AI)-generated photographs and other irregularities in its preliminary voters’ register.

The commission alleged  that some officials  exploited their authorised access to its registration system to introduce questionable records into the database.

2. Rising temperatures, compounded by erratic electricity supply, are forcing residents in many states to sleep outdoors, take repeated night-time baths and spend more on alternative power sources as households struggle to cope with the heat. While many Nigerians who spoke with Saturday PUNCH reported prolonged blackouts and inadequate water supply, others said the conditions had made nights uncomfortable.

3. Troops conducting internal security operations across the country killed more than 217 terrorists and other armed criminals in October, the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, has said. The operations, conducted between September 30 and October 30, also led to the rescue of hundreds of kidnapped victims, the arrest of suspected terrorists and their collaborators, and the surrender of more than 50 terrorist fighters and their family members.

4. A businessman, Akinbolusere Kayode, popularly known as Tolufe, has allegedly committed suicide at Igba town in Ondo State, after lamenting his personal and business challenges in a video that has gone viral on social media. Akinbolusere, 46, reportedly died in his office beside BOVAS Petrol Station, Igba Town, at about 3 pm on Thursday. The State Police Command confirmed his death in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Jimoh Abayomi, in Akure on Friday evening.

5. Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, and the Ekiti State Police Command have given conflicting accounts of an incident at a restaurant in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Friday. While Sowore insisted that he and members of his team were violently attacked, the police described the incident as an altercation with some individuals, saying the activist sustained a minor injury.

6. The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested a pastor, Edwin Nwabueze, and another suspect, Sadiq Jamiu, over the alleged theft of a Toyota Camry in Abuja. The vehicle was reportedly stolen at UTC Plaza in the Garki area of the Federal Capital Territory. The police said Nwabueze, who identified himself as a pastor with Salvation Power Bible Ministry in the North Bank area of Benue State, was arrested, following investigations into the theft.

7. Kemi Badenoch, leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, says “racist attacks” against her are “not going to work”, after Raheem Kassam, a former aide to Nigel Farage, called her a “Nigerian scammer”. Badenoch spoke during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday, following a series of posts by Kassam criticising her.

8. Senator Adams Oshiomhole has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision not to attend every campaign rally ahead of the 2027 general elections. He insisted that there is no contradiction between the President’s religious activities and his responsibility to govern the country. Oshiomhole said Tinubu’s decision to limit his participation in campaign activities was a matter of choice and the prerogative of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

9. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Kano State Command, has busted an illegal diesel refining site at Panisau, Ungoggo Local Government Area of Kano State, leading to the arrest of five suspects. This was disclosed on Friday in a statement signed by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Ibrahim Abdullahi.

10. A 15-year-old Ghanaian boy, Javits Frimpong, has been shot and killed in the Bronx, New York, while on his way to school, with his father alleging that bullying at school may have contributed to the incident. Frimpong was shot in the stomach near East 171st Street and Third Avenue shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday, according to law enforcement officials. The shooting happened just steps from his home. 

The Nigerian military says its troops of the Joint Task Force, North East, Operation Hadin Kai, have killed 48 suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters during operations in Borno and Yobe States.

According to the military, the operations took place in Bitta, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, and Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, on the night of October 29 and into the early hours of October 30, 2026.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Acting Media Information Officer, Headquarters of the North East Operation Hadin Kai, Captain Mohammed Goni, said troops repelled an attempted terrorist assault in Bitta through a combined response involving ground forces and air support.

He said the operation overwhelmed the attackers, disrupted their plans and inflicted heavy casualties.

“In a related development, troops launched a successful counter-attack against a large concentration of ISWAP fighters who attacked NETTS Buni Yadi on same 29th October to the early hours on 30th October 2026,” Goni said.

Goni explained that the approximately five-hour engagement was coordinated by the Theatre Command, with the use of Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities, alongside air and ground assets.

According to him, the counter-offensive resulted in the death of 48 terrorists, while troops recovered a substantial cache of weapons and ammunition.

The recovered items include 42 AK-47 rifles, five PKT machine guns, four General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), one 60mm mortar, 105 AK-47 magazines and two video cameras.

Other recovered ammunition comprised 30 rounds of 12.7mm armour-piercing incendiary ammunition, 2,738 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 223 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition and 2,054 rounds of PKT ammunition.

The military disclosed that one soldier was killed during the engagements, while two others sustained minor injuries and were receiving treatment.

It added that troops remained in high spirits as they continued operations against terrorist groups across the North-East.

1. The fate of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and that of the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate in Kano State, Aminu Gwarzo, remains uncertain as their petitions were among the 64 rejected by the Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday.

However, the candidacy of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and Gombe State PDP governorship candidate, Isa Ali Pantami, was cleared by the electoral commission for the 2027 election.

2. A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to remove the name of Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, as the senatorial candidate for Imo West. The court specifically asked the electoral umpire to replace Uzodinma as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, with the name of former governor Rochas Okorocha.

3. President Bola Tinubu has responded to criticism from opposition leaders over the Federal Government’s efforts to access fresh loans from international institutions and banks. Tinubu identified the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Trans-Sahara Superhighway, electricity grid upgrades and the modernisation of key commercial ports in Lagos as major projects expected to strengthen Nigeria’s productive capacity.

4. One hundred and fifty-four students of Government Science Secondary School, Batagarawa, Katsina State, were hospitalised following a suspected adverse reaction to praziquantel tablets administered to treat bilharzia. The incident occurred on Monday, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the Katsina State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu.

5. The Federal Government has disbursed N5.15tn in special intervention funds to the Nigerian military and related security agencies between November 2023 and September 2026, amid persistent insecurity, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes across the country. An analysis by The PUNCH of documents from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, obtained on Thursday, revealed that the government received N5.65tn into a dedicated special intervention account over the period, out of which N5.15tn had been disbursed, representing 91.15 per cent of the total funds

6. Troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, have neutralised 44 suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in several offensive operations across Borno State. The operations also left scores of terrorists injured, while their vehicles, motorcycles and improvised explosive device materials were destroyed.

7. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has predicted dust haze and thunderstorms across the country from Friday to Sunday. NiMet’s weather outlook, released on Thursday in Abuja, anticipated slight dust haze over most northern areas, with moderate haze over parts of Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi and Kaduna States.

8. President Bola Tinubu on Thursday evening arrived in Saudi Arabia, landing at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. He was received by Nigeria’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yakubu Gambo, and the Saudi head of royal protocol Ahmad bin Thafir.

9. The All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Sharafadeen Alli, on Thursday assured all categories of workers in the state of prompt payment of salaries, allowances and all other entitlements, if elected in the 2027 election. This was contained in a statement issued by the Director of Media and Publicity of Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation, Bisi Oladele, in Ibadan, the state capital.

10. The family of late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, has demanded the disclosure of the identity of a United States laboratory expected to conduct a DNA test to determine the paternity of Liam, the singer’s son. The family also called for the postponement of the examination scheduled for Saturday, October 31, at the Mainland General Hospital/IDH, Yaba, Lagos, pending clarification of its concerns over transparency and compliance with a court order.