Author: Platform Times Newspaper

A fire outbreak triggered by a diesel explosion at the Alake Sports Complex, Ijeja, Abeokuta, threw the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival into chaos on Tuesday, forcing athletes and spectators to flee the venue in panic. The inferno, which reportedly started around 3pm, occurred when a diesel truck supplying fuel to the venue’s power generator caught fire. Eyewitnesses said the truck, with registration number LND 898 YJ, erupted in flames as sparks flew while fuel was being discharged into the generating set that powers the complex. The Alake Sports Complex, one of the key venues of the “Gateway Games 2024,”…

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered a phony medical outreach allegedly operated by self-acclaimed missionaries who were administering unregistered drugs to unsuspecting residents in Abuloma, a community in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. According to a statement issued by the agency on Tuesday, the illegal operation was taking place at the Community Town Hall under the guise of a free medical evangelism programme. NAFDAC said its enforcement team discovered various unregistered products, including items labelled as Evangelist Jenkins Supernatural Water and Evangelist Jenkins Eye Drops. The agency further disclosed that the fake health workers…

A tragic wave of sorrow swept through the Buncrana community in County Donegal, Ireland, following the death of a 16-year-old Nigerian boy, Emmanuel Familola, who drowned while swimming with friends. The incident occurred on Saturday, May 10, 2025, when Emmanuel and two other teenagers reportedly got into difficulty while swimming in Lough Swilly. One of the teenagers managed to swim to safety, while another was rescued from the water in critical condition and rushed to Letterkenny General Hospital. Emmanuel, however, was declared missing, prompting an extensive search and rescue operation involving air and sea units. The teen’s body was later…

A somber atmosphere enveloped the Catholic community in Anambra State on Tuesday following the sudden death of Rev. Fr. Anthony Nnaemeka Udogu, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Awka, who slumped and died while playing lawn tennis. The incident, which occurred in the early hours of the day, sent shockwaves across Awka, where the late cleric served as the Parish Priest of St. Francis of Assisi Parish and Dean of Awka Deanery II. Confirming the development in an official statement, the Chancellor of the Diocese, Rev. Fr. Charles Ndubuisi, described the death as “a painful loss to the church…

Saudi Arabian authorities have arrested two women believed to be the wife and mother of one of Nigeria’s most wanted bandit kingpins, Ado Aliero. The duo was reportedly apprehended in an intelligence-led operation carried out in the holy city of Medina, where they had been living under false identities. Security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, disclosed the arrest in a short video posted on May 18. According to Makama, sources familiar with the investigation confirmed that the operation was part of a broader effort to dismantle a network of fugitives with links to violent insurgent activities in Nigeria’s North-West…

A resident of Owo in Ondo State, Mr. Jide Ogundare* has recounted his harrowing experience in the hands of kidnappers who abducted him, his wife, and daughter on March 7, 2025, slamming the Nigerian police and Ondo State government for abandoning his family throughout the ordeal. Ogundare, who was kidnapped near his residence shortly after returning from evening prayers with his family, told SaharaReporters that their assailants—four heavily armed men—sprang from the shadows, seized them at gunpoint, and forced them into the surrounding forest. “They weren’t there to kill,” Ogundare said. “They made it clear they wanted money. But what…

The Federal Government has disclosed plans to sell 753 duplexes recovered from embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, as part of ongoing efforts to recover and repurpose looted assets. The announcement was made on Tuesday via a statement by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Salisu Haiba, who confirmed that the properties were officially handed over to the ministry by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Mr. Haiba revealed that the housing units, located on Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, sit on over 150,000 square metres of…

The Lagos State Government has shut down five orphanages in the past year over allegations ranging from baby trafficking to breaches of the Lagos State Child Rights Law of 2015. Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Ogunlende, disclosed this during the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing held in Ikeja on Tuesday to mark the second year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office. Mr Ogunlende said the closures were part of the state’s ongoing clampdown on illegal activities within child care facilities. “Any facility found to be engaging in unwholesome activities such as baby trafficking will be decisively dealt…

Seven inmates have escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ilesa, Osun State, following the collapse of the facility’s perimeter wall due to heavy rainfall. Spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Abubakar Umar, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja. He disclosed that the escape occurred around 2:00 a.m. and was facilitated by a breach in the security structure of the facility. According to Umar, the Controller General of the Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, has ordered an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the jailbreak and directed the launch of a manhunt to apprehend the…

… Over 11,000 Projects Inserted Daud Olatunji According to BudgIT, the civic technology organization, the 2025 federal budget has been rocked by a massive wave of insertions by the National Assembly, with no fewer than 11,122 projects worth a staggering N6.93 trillion pushed into the appropriation document. PLATFORM TIMES reports that this figure represents nearly 13% of the total N54.99 trillion budget signed into law on February 28, 2025—N5.29 trillion higher than what was originally proposed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on December 18, 2024. The BudgIT in its recent report made available on its X handle, the insertions which…