1. Conflicting accounts have emerged over the circumstances surrounding the release of 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and a civilian abducted in Imo State, with parents claiming they paid N6 million in ransom, while the non-corps member victim’s family alleged that they transferred N500,000 to secure her freedom.
The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, Audu Bosso, however, said he was unaware of any ransom payment, attributing the release of the victims to sustained pressure mounted by security agencies on the kidnappers.
The conflicting accounts have raised questions about what transpired during the seven-day captivity of the victims, who were abducted on October 1 along the Owerri-Onitsha Road while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their respective NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
2. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to release the final list of candidates contesting the February 6, 2027, Governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections on Saturday, October 10, 2026, in line with section 32(1) of the 2026 Electoral Act. The section provides that “the Commission shall, at least 60 days before the day of the election, publish by displaying or causing to be displayed at the relevant office or offices of the Commission and on the Commission’s website, a statement of the full names and addresses of all candidates standing nominated”.
3. A political ally of the former Minister of Transportation and African Democratic Congress (ADC) Vice-Presidential Candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, Sokonte Davies, has dumped the ADC and returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He cited what he called the APC’s greater prospects as the reason for his decision. He said apart from the APC advancing the political interests of his people, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has boosted the state’s development.
4. Senator Adams Oshiomhole has challenged former Anambra State governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi to explain his claim to have saved $150 million during his eight-year tenure. Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North in the Senate, questioned how Obi accumulated the reported savings when the Federal Government disbursed statutory allocations to states in Naira
5. Motorists seeking to benefit from the Federal Government’s N66-per-litre petrol discount must download the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s mobile application and pay digitally, as the reduction is not automatically available to customers at filling stations, Saturday PUNCH has learnt. Checks at NNPC retail outlets in Abuja on Friday revealed that petrol was still being sold at N1,405 per litre to customers paying directly at the pumps, while those using the company’s mobile application paid N1,339 per litre.
6. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said Nigeria’s crude oil production constraints remain a major challenge to meeting domestic refining needs, despite President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy in 2023.
Oyedele said the country did not have enough freely available crude oil to supply the Dangote Refinery and other local refiners, explaining that production costs, royalties and contractual obligations significantly reduced the volume available to the Federal Government.
7. The 20 prospective corps members released by suspected kidnappers on Wednesday have reportedly been offered postings to any of the six South-West states. A parent, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH in confidence on Friday, said the survivors were allowed to choose the states where they would continue their national service. “They have been given the opportunity to choose states in the South-West to continue their service with the current batch,” she said.
8. The Nigeria Customs Service, Tin Can Island Port Command, has disclosed that it intercepted two 40-ft containers carrying Delta-8 cannabis-infused cookies and gummies hidden in importers’ cars at Tin Can Island Port, Lagos. The command’s Public Relations Officer, Oscar Ivara, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. He added that the contraband was intercepted through the sustained vigilance and effective collaboration between officers of the NCS and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
9. The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna has dismissed an appeal by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, challenging the refusal of a fresh bail application by the Kaduna State High Court. According to the Certified True Copy of the judgment obtained by our correspondent on Friday, a three-member appellate panel, in a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday, held that El-Rufai failed to establish fresh facts or special circumstances to warrant interfering with the lower court’s decision to deny him bail.
10. The Bayelsa State Government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Biseni community in Yenagoa Local Government Area following a breakdown of law and order.
The curfew, ordered by Governor Douye Diri on Friday, takes immediate effect. The governor gave the directive after receiving briefings from security commanders on the situation in the community, where some persons reportedly barricaded roads leading into and within the town and set bonfires.
