Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Residents of Lagos are growing increasingly worried over the safety of bombs and other weapons stored at the Lagos Air Force Base, which has been without electricity for more than 16 days. PLATFORM TIMES reports that the military facility was disconnected by Ikeja Electric over a reported N4 billion debt, leading to fears that prolonged darkness could affect the cooling systems needed to store high-explosive armaments safely. The situation escalated when armed Air Force personnel allegedly stormed Ikeja Electric’s offices, vandalizing property and holding staff, journalists, and visitors hostage. Reports indicate that military personnel also seized about 40 company vehicles…

Daud Olatunji The Yoruba socio-cultural and political organisation, Afenifere, has expressed grave concern over the alarming rise in kidnapping cases across several states, including Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Edo, Kogi, Adamawa, and Taraba states. The group urged local communities to take proactive security measures amid reports of collaborations between locals and criminals. In a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, Afenifere lamented the worsening insecurity and backed calls for urgent security strategies to combat the surge in abductions nationwide. The organisation highlighted recent cases of kidnapping, stressing the growing sophistication of criminals and the need…

Parents of students in King’s College, Lagos (KCL), are worried over reports of a suspected Diphtheria outbreak in the school that led to the hospitalisation of some students. The parents who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos blamed the outbreak on the unsanitary condition of the school. World Health Organisation (WHO) official sensitising King’s College, Lagos, students on Diphtheria disease. A parent who pleaded anonymity faulted the school’s management for its seeming silence and not swinging into action promptly in the face of the outbreak. The parent said, “If there are…

The Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School in Riwaza community, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has remained shut for about two years due to the absence of teachers, forcing children to abandon education and return to farming. The village chief, HRH Mohammed Bature, lamented the situation, describing it as worrisome. He said the last time the school’s head teacher and one other teacher reported for duty was two years ago, citing insecurity as their reason for leaving. “When there were cases of kidnapping in rural communities, both the headmaster and one teacher stopped coming to the…

Former Senator for Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has criticized the National Population Commission (NPC) for proposing a budget of ₦942 billion for the 2025 population and housing census, describing the amount as “total madness.” PLATFORM TIMES reports that President Bola Tinubu rejected the budget request and is considering deploying National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members for the exercise instead. Reacting on X, Sani commended Tinubu’s decision, stating, “The National Population Commission’s request for almost a trillion naira just to count the number of Nigerians is total madness. The rejection of their budget is commendable.” The NPC’s budget proposal has sparked…

The Federal Government has officially taken over the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) in Ijagun, Ogun State, elevating it to a Federal University of Education. Founded in 2005 by the Ogun State Government, TASUED stands as Nigeria’s first specialized university of education and is now the first federally owned tertiary institution in Ogun East Senatorial District. The development follows President Bola Tinubu’s approval on Friday, as announced by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on Sunday. Tinubu expressed gratitude to the Ogun State Government for inviting the Federal Government to adopt the institution, describing it as one of the state’s best…

The family of the late General Sani Abacha has strongly rejected claims by former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, that Abacha was responsible for the annulment of the historic June 12, 1993, presidential election. Babangida, in his newly released memoir, A Journey in Service, alleged that Abacha, his then-Chief of Defence Staff, spearheaded the decision to nullify the election widely believed to have been won by the late Chief MKO Abiola. The annulment plunged Nigeria into a political crisis, leading to the eventual transition to democracy in 1999. However, in a statement issued on Sunday, Mohammed Abacha, son…

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has continued his series of high-profile political consultations, meeting with former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, and prominent cleric, Pastor Tunde Bakare, in Lagos. The visit, disclosed by El-Rufai’s media adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, in a tweet on Sunday, has further fueled speculation about his political future and possible alliances ahead of the 2027 general elections. “El-Rufai was in Lagos today to visit Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Pastor Tunde Bakare,” Adekeye wrote. El-Rufai’s latest engagements come just days after his visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari in Kaduna, a move widely interpreted as part of…

The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Malam Shehu Mohammed, has condemned the use of a worn-out tyre on one of the corps’ patrol vehicles in Ondo State. Mohammed ordered the immediate sanction of the Sector Commander under whose jurisdiction the infraction occurred. This is contained in a statement by the Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO), Olusegun Ogungbemide, on Sunday in Abuja The FRSC boss said that the Corps had zero tolerance for any form of compromise against its core values and safety standards. He explained that a vehicle intercepted was booked for infraction, but the Sector Commander would…

Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have arrested two suspected criminals linked to the brutal killing of Brigadier General Uwem Udokwere (retd.) at his Abuja residence in June 2024. The suspects, identified as Alkasim Mohammed and Suleiman Abdullahi, were apprehended during a sting operation by the police’s Scorpion Squad in Durumi Phase 2, Abuja. According to intelligence sources cited by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication, the duo is part of a notorious gang responsible for multiple violent crimes in the FCT. During the operation, police recovered a Beretta pistol with breach number 58866 and 11 rounds of…