Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Ogun State government has confirmed an outbreak of Lassa fever following the death of a 25-year-old female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member. The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, announced the development on Wednesday, stating that the deceased corps member, who had fallen ill in Ondo State, was brought to a government health facility in Ijebu North Local Government Area on March 18 and sadly passed away the same day. Dr. Coker described Lassa fever as a viral hemorrhagic disease that manifests with symptoms such as high-grade fever, headache, general body weakness, sore throat, muscle pain, cough, nausea,…

The Rivers State Police Command has arrested four suspects, including a native doctor and a teenage girl, for their alleged involvement in the ritual killing of two siblings, Chizaram Onuche and Chidinma Onuche, in the Ogbodo Pipeline area of Rukpokwu, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area. The victims, both seven years old, were reportedly drugged, raped, and murdered, with their blood drained for ritual purposes. The suspects, identified as Aniekan Sunday Uko, Luis John Uwelemele, Kingsley Opurum, and Friday Silas, were apprehended following an investigation by the police Anti-Kidnapping Unit. Confirming the arrests, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, SP…

A woman in Onitsha, Anambra State, Mrs. MaryCynthia Ogechukwu Nnanyelugo, has raised the alarm over the prolonged disappearance of her husband, Hyginus Arinze Nnanyelugo, who was abducted by gunmen  nine months ago, July 11, 2024. PLATFORM TIMES reports that Mrs. Nnanyelugo, in a desperate plea, called on security agencies to intensify efforts in locating her husband, who was last seen before armed men forced him into a tricycle and sped away. Despite lodging a formal complaint with the Fegge Police Division the following day, she lamented that there has been no significant progress in tracing his whereabouts. The victim was…

Daud Olatunji Sixteen years after the dramatic fall of Oceanic Bank, its former Managing Director and CEO, Dr. Cecilia Ibru, has finally spoken out, shedding light on the controversial events that led to the bank’s downfall. Ibru, Nigeria’s first female bank MD, recounted her journey at the helm of one of the country’s biggest financial institutions in two newly launched books—Cecilia: The Autobiography of Cecilia Ibru and Oceanic Odyssey. She unveiled the books on Saturday at the MUSON Centre, Lagos, marking her 79th birthday with revelations about Oceanic Bank’s rise and its eventual collapse during the 2009 banking crisis. In…

Daud Olatunji At least three  soldiers were killed, and several others injured as Boko Haram terrorists overran a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Wajiroko, Borno State, forcing the Nigerian Army to surrender control of one of its largest military facilities in the region. Sources familiar with the development told PLATFORM TIMES that the insurgents launched a well-coordinated attack around 10:00 p.m. on Monday, targeting troops under Operation Hadin Kai and Desert Sanity IV. Unable to withstand the onslaught, the soldiers reportedly abandoned their positions, leaving the base in the hands of the terrorists. Efforts to reclaim the base have so…

Daud Olatunji The Labour Party (LP) has strongly dismissed the Nigeria Labour Congress’ (NLC) call for the prosecution of its National Chairman, Julius Abure, labeling it as a politically motivated attack aimed at tarnishing the party’s leadership. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Abayomi Arabambi, the party accused the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and the NLC Political Commission led by Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku of orchestrating a smear campaign against Abure and the party’s National Secretary, Farouk Umar Ibrahim. The LP described the press conference held by Ndubuaku and others as a deliberate attempt to mislead the…

Ayomide Awe The Ogun State Police Command has arrested five hunters in connection with the tragic death of a colleague, Taiwo Bolugbe, who was fatally shot during a hunting expedition in the Ajinawo area of Yewa North Local Government Area of the state. The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Omolola Odutola, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Tuesday, said the fatal accident occurred around 3 pm on Sunday. According to Odutola, Bolugbe’s Dane gun accidentally discharged while he was attempting to retrieve a hunted animal, leading to his untimely death. “The accident occurred around 1500hrs when the…

A Senate hearing on ethics, privileges, and public petitions turned chaotic on Tuesday after a heated confrontation erupted between Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, representing Ebonyi North, and former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili. The session, which was convened to address a petition filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, saw tensions flare when a petitioner, Zubairu Yakubu, attempted to speak while the committee chairman, Neda Imaseun, was addressing the panel. Yakubu was ordered to mute his microphone, a directive that prompted Ezekwesili to intervene. However, her involvement was met with resistance from Nwaebonyi, who was present as a…

Amid mounting criticism over President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, has justified the decision, accusing the suspended governor, Siminalayi Fubara, of undermining democracy. Speaking during an interview on Eagle 102.5 FM’s Frontline programme on Tuesday, Morka lashed out at opposition figures, particularly the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for allegedly remaining silent while Fubara “trampled on democracy.” Following months of political turmoil in Rivers State, President Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, declared a state of…

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja has commenced a fresh trial of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, over allegations of misappropriating N33.2 billion in public funds—ten years after his initial arraignment. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday re-arraigned Dasuki alongside Aminu Baba-Kusa, a former general manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as well as Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited. The defendants are facing a 32-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and dishonest release of public funds. The case, previously handled by Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, has…