Author: Platform Times Newspaper

A High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced a 38-year-old man, Anwanga Effiong Udofia, to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of a nine-year-old pupil, Master Aniekan Idongesit Edet. Justice Archibong Archibong delivered the verdict at the weekend, bringing to a close a protracted legal battle that began in 2016 and had haunted residents of Itoko community in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area for nearly a decade. The court heard that Edet, a Primary Five pupil of Lutheran Primary School, Itoko, was brutally attacked on December 6, 2016, while on his way to school in Nung…

No fewer than 80 militants operating in coastal communities of Cross River State have laid down their arms and embraced the state government’s amnesty programme, the Nigerian Army has said. The militants, who emerged from the creeks of Akpabuyo Local Government Area early Friday, surrendered at the Atimbo rear area under Operation Okwok, according to a statement by Yemi Sokoya, Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Headquarters 13 Brigade. He said the ex-fighters came from two separate camps — one led by ThankGod Ebikontei, popularly known as Ayibanuagha, with 39 members, and another headed by John Isaac, also known as Akpokolo,…

No fewer than seven persons, including a woman and her six children, were brutally murdered on Saturday after unknown assailants invaded their residence in Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters, Kano State. The Kano State Police Command said the attack occurred at about 12:10pm at the home of one Haruna Bashir, following a distress call received by the police. The victims were identified as Fatima Abubakar and her children, who were reportedly hacked to death with dangerous weapons. In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, immediately deployed a team led…

Armed bandits on Thursday stormed an agricultural farm in Ogunmakin community, near Ibadan, Oyo State, abducting an Indian expatriate and killing a police officer assigned to protect the facility. The attack occurred at about 1pm at Aqua Triton Company, where the expatriate, identified as 42-year-old Renjith Pillai, a director of the firm, was inspecting crops when about 10 gunmen invaded the premises. Four operatives of the Police Mobile Force were reportedly on duty at the farm at the time of the incident. An inspector, Imoobe Prester, was said to have confronted the attackers in a bid to prevent the abduction.…

A Qatar Airways aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Friday evening after the crew reported a technical fault in the onboard oxygen system. Airport authorities confirmed that the aircraft, with registration number A7-BCL, declared an emergency at about 6.05pm after notifying air traffic control of the malfunction, which required immediate attention. The plane landed safely at 6.31pm and taxied off the runway at about 7.35pm before being directed to Delta 35 open bay, where passengers were disembarked. Emergency response teams from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), including…

Crescent University, Abeokuta, has expanded its academic offerings with the introduction of Bachelor’s degree programmes in Cybersecurity and Software Engineering, following approval by the National Universities Commission (NUC). The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ibraheem Gbajabiamila, announced the new programmes at the institution’s 21st matriculation ceremony for the 2025/2026 academic session, stressing that all courses run by the university are fully accredited by the NUC and relevant professional bodies. Gbajabiamila said the new programmes were designed to position students for emerging opportunities in the digital economy and meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in technology-driven sectors. He urged newly admitted students to…

Lawyers representing Prince Owolemi Emorioloye, a media and political figure from Igbokoda in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, have petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over what they described as his unlawful arrest and continued detention at an undisclosed location. The legal team, Ogbulu Chambers, in a petition dated January 15, 2026, accused operatives believed to be officers of the Nigeria Police Force of arresting Emorioloye at about 9am from his residence and whisking him away without informing his family or granting him access to lawyers. The lawyers said all efforts to locate or communicate with their…

… Gov’s Aide Alleges Cash-For-Support Deal By Lawmakers A fresh scandal has hit the impeachment plot against Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, as his aide alleged on Thursday that lawmakers received ₦350m each as constituency project funds, even as a court moved to halt the impeachment process. The governor’s Special Adviser on Strategy, Darlington Orji, made the allegation during an interview on The Morning Show on Arise Television, accusing members of the Rivers State House of Assembly of double standards over budgetary appropriations. Orji said the lawmakers, who are spearheading the impeachment move against Fubara, had earlier collected the ₦350m…

The All Progressives Congress has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to engage a United States-based lobbying firm, DCI Group, describing the public outrage as misguided and rooted in ignorance of how modern governments advance national interests. In a statement issued on Friday by the Lagos APC spokesman, Seye Oladejo, the ruling party said the criticism from opposition figures over the $9m contract betrayed either “a grave misunderstanding of global diplomacy” or a deliberate attempt to mislead Nigerians. The Federal Government reportedly hired DCI Group to lobby policymakers in Washington, particularly to counter negative perceptions about Nigeria’s security situation and reassure…

A 103-year-old woman has been confirmed dead after a fire razed a residential building on Bola Street, Oyingbo, Lagos, on Friday. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said the inferno engulfed a bungalow with attached shops, destroying six shops, eight rooms and a mini-flat before emergency responders brought it under control. In a statement, LASEMA’s Permanent Secretary, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the agency’s response team arrived at the scene at about 12:13pm and found the structure already ablaze. “The fire reportedly started in a room before spreading to other parts of the building. Despite swift intervention, one life — a 103-year-old…