The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Olaka Nwogu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as winner of Saturday’s Rivers south-east senatorial by-election.

Rosemary Ogu, INEC returning officer for the election, said Nwogu polled 47,961 votes; Beke Fabeke of the Action Alliance (AA) got 1,175 votes; Osarosaka Ebenezer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) received 1,647 votes; while Sam Bariboa of the Labour Party (LP) scored 367 votes.

The election was held to fill the vacancy following the death of Barinada Mpigi, who passed away in February.

Nwogu is aligned with the PDP faction backed by Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Speaking after he was announced as the winner of the election, Nwogu promised to provide “effective representation” for the senatorial district.

Nwogu represented Tai/Eleme/Oyigbo in the house of representatives from 1999 until 2011 under the PDP platform.

The politician was elected senator in 2015 after defeating Magnus Abe of the APC, but the court of appeal nullified his victory, and he subsequently lost the ordered re-run election.

1. Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been re-elected as the governor of Ekiti state.

The incumbent recorded a dominant victory in the election, which took place on Saturday. Oyebanji defeated the other challengers in the race in all 16 local government areas (LGAs) in Ekiti.

Adenike Oladiji, the returning officer, announced the final result at the collation centre in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Sunday morning

2. Troops of 12 Brigade Nigerian Army have overrun a bandits’ camp in Kogi and rescued two kidnap victims. The operation followed intelligence reports on the movement of injured bandits linked to criminal leaders. A military operational report made available to NAN revealed this on Saturday.

3. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), under the Air Component of Operation Fansan Yamma (OPFY) Sector 1, sustained relentless air operations against terrorists and armed bandits across the North West, delivering precision strikes on identified criminal enclaves while intensifying intelligence, surveillance and armed reconnaissance missions in support of ongoing joint operations.

4. The Take It Back Movement has announced plans to stage another protest on Monday, June 22, over rising insecurity and the continued abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State. The group’s Oyo State Coordinator, Dimeji Salako, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday, saying the protest would take place at Iwo Road in Ibadan.

5. Zamfara State Police Command has recovered 329 rustled cattle, 175 sheep, one AK-47 rifle and 15 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition during a security operation in the state. The command’s spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Saturday.

6. Residents of Igboho in Oyo State were thrown into celebration after a kidnapped family, including a pregnant woman, her children and a sibling, were reportedly released following a two-hour ultimatum issued by Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho. A video circulating on social media showed large crowds of residents singing, dancing and celebrating the return of the victims.

7. Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has requested the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Iyobosa Okungbowa, to establish a Special Court to handle cases involving kidnapping and cult-related offences. The governor said the proposed court would facilitate the speedy trial and prosecution of suspected kidnappers and cultists across the state.

8. Kebbi State Police Command, in collaboration with other security agencies, has killed a suspected kidnap kingpin, identified as Jiji Mujugu, during an operation in Bagudo Local Government Area of the state. In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bashir Usman, said one of the suspects earlier arrested led security operatives to the gang leader’s hideout.

9. The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command, has foiled an attempt to distribute expired pharmaceutical products into the Nigerian market illegally and intercepted a total of 1.8 tonnes of Cannabis sativa in a series of intelligence-driven operations coordinated with sister security agencies. This was disclosed in a press release issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Customs, Isah Sulaiman.

10. No fewer than five persons lost their lives, while eight others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a multiple-vehicle accident along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday evening. The crash, which occurred around the Satguru Maharaj Ji Village axis of the highway, involved six trucks, two Toyota Hilux vans and two cars, according to emergency responders

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reportedly uploaded results from 2,208 of the 2,445 polling units in the Ekiti State governorship election to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) as of 7:45 p.m. on Saturday.

The uploaded results represent approximately 90 per cent of the total polling unit results, as collation continues across the state.

Fourteen candidates are contesting the off-cycle governorship election, with incumbent Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) seeking a second term ahead of the expiration of his first tenure in October.

His major challengers include Oluwole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oluwadare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Oyebanji Olajuyin of the Labour Party (LP), and Blessing Abegunde of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Other candidates in the race are Samuel Akande of the African Action Congress (AAC), Ayodeji Ojo of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Opeyemi Felegan of Accord, Joseph Anifowose of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Bidemi Awogbemi of the Action Peoples Party (APP), Olaniyi Ayodele of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and Victor Adetunji of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

Results are still being transmitted to the IReV portal as the collation process progresses across the state’s local government areas.