Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday told the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, that statements made by the second defendant, Henry Omoile, in the ongoing $4.5bn fraud trial involving former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, were voluntarily given and not obtained under any form of intimidation. Emefiele is facing 19 counts bordering on gratification, corrupt practices and abuse of office, while Omoile is standing trial on a three-count charge involving alleged unlawful acceptance of gifts. Both men have pleaded not guilty. Testifying in a trial-within-trial, prosecution witness and EFCC operative, Alvan Gurumnaan, maintained that the…

The Edo State House of Assembly has summoned Natasha Irobosa Osawaru, member representing Egor constituency, to appear before its Ethics and Privileges Committee within one week over a controversial viral video featuring her and her husband, Nigerian international singer Innocent Ujah Idibia, popularly known as 2Baba. The Speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku, described the video as “embarrassing” and accused the lawmaker of bringing the Assembly into disrepute. The decision was announced during Tuesday’s plenary session. “For the past one week, Hon. Natasha has been trending negatively on social media and electronic media platforms, including TVC and Silverbird,” Agbebaku said.…

Bauchi State has recorded a disturbing rise in violent crimes, with the Ministry of Justice reporting a total of 189 cases of homicide, rape, and kidnapping in the 2024–2025 legal year. The State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Hassan Usman, SAN, disclosed the figures on Tuesday during the commencement ceremony of the 2025–2026 legal year in Bauchi. According to Usman, the Ministry handled 75 homicide cases, 86 rape cases, and 28 kidnapping incidents within the period. Robbery cases also rose from 83 last year to 91 this year. In total, 592 criminal cases were registered, of which 97 have…

…Bill Could Force Thousands To Choose Between Nigeria, America …Lawmaker Cites “Divided Loyalties” …. 38,890 Nigerians May Be Affected Daud Olatunji Thousands of Nigerians living in the United States may soon face an unprecedented dilemma as a new US bill seeks to end dual citizenship for American nationals. The Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025, introduced by Senator Bernie Moreno, a Colombian-born US lawmaker, aims to compel Americans holding multiple nationalities to renounce all foreign allegiances. Moreno argued that dual citizenship fosters “conflicts of interest and divided loyalties.” “One of the greatest honors of my life was becoming an American citizen…

The Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday intensified its internal cleanup as its newly inaugurated National Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), formally took over leadership and immediately  issued  the expulsion certificates to  several high-profile members, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, over alleged persistent anti-party activities. The handover ceremony, held at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja, marked the end of Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum’s tenure as acting chairman and the beginning of a leadership Turaki described as “disciplined, united and determined to rescue Nigeria in 2027.” Speaking at an…

Tension resurfaced in Rivers State on Monday after the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, berated Governor Siminalayi Fubara for what he described as the “shameful and embarrassing” collapse of public primary and secondary schools across the state. Amaewhule, who spoke during plenary in a video circulating on Facebook, said the decay in the sector had reached an alarming level, alleging that vandals had taken over school premises while pupils were left without teachers and basic infrastructure. “It’s a sad commentary that in an oil-rich state like Rivers, pupils are learning without teachers and…

Panic has gripped students of Rivers State University (RSU), Port Harcourt, after gunmen suspected to be cultists stormed a private off-campus lodge in Emuoha Local Government Area and abducted five students during a midnight attack. The attack occurred around 2 am on Tuesday when the assailants shot repeatedly into the air, killed the hostel’s guard dog, and broke into the building, forcibly taking their victims to an unknown destination. Spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, describing it as a “cult-driven abduction.” According to her, “They were abducted by cultists. In the early hours…

Panic has gripped residents of Igbo Ofe Ora, a quiet agrarian settlement near Oke-Ode in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, after armed men invaded the community, abducting a housewife identified as Rukayat and shooting her brother-in-law, Abdulateef. The attackers reportedly stormed the village around 11 a.m. on Monday, firing sporadically before whisking the woman away. A relative of the victims told PLATFORM TIMES that the community had been thrown into fear since the invasion. “The woman kidnapped is my uncle’s wife. It happened yesterday around 11 in the morning,” the distraught family source said. “One of my elder…

The Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up (NFWP-SU) has deepened its statewide mobilisation in Ogun State, seeking the backing of traditional rulers and market women in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government to strengthen the impact of its economic empowerment drive. The initiative, which targets no fewer than 105,000 women, on Monday took its sensitisation campaign to Lusada International Market and major traditional institutions across the council area. Speaking during a courtesy visit to the palace of the Onigboko of Orile-Igboko, Igbesa, the Project Coordinator, Mrs. Bolanle Fadairo, said the programme was designed to build durable economic capacity for women through financial literacy, market…

Fresh tension is brewing between Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly after the Speaker accused the governor of abandoning public primary and secondary schools, describing the decay across the system as “an embarrassing failure of leadership.” Amaewhule, who spoke during a House sitting in remarks now circulating online, warned that the legislature would no longer tolerate what he called “indolence and abandonment of responsibility” under the Fubara administration. In the viral footage, the Speaker lamented that many schools across the state had become dilapidated, vandalised and grossly understaffed. “It is a sad commentary that…