Author: Platform Times Newspaper

 Fear and anxiety engulfed Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, Ogun State, on Thursday after suspected gunmen invaded a private student hostel in Ipara-Remo, abducting an unspecified number of students and forcing the institution to suspend its scheduled examinations. While some eyewitnesses and students claimed that eight students were whisked away during the attack, the institution’s Students’ Union Government said five students were abducted. The Ogun State Police Command said it could not immediately confirm the exact number of victims. The attack reportedly occurred on Wednesday evening at a private hostel located along Paraga Road in Ipara-Remo, a community bordering the polytechnic…

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has threatened to impose sanctions on manufacturers allegedly flouting the nationwide ban on the production of alcoholic drinks in sachets and small containers. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said on Thursday that despite repeated warnings and ample time given to manufacturers to comply with the directive, some companies had continued to produce the prohibited products in violation of regulatory provisions. Adeyeye disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, monitored by PLATFORM TIMES. She described the continued production of sachet alcoholic beverages by some manufacturers as…

Ayomide Awe The Edo State Police Command has dismissed five serving police officers and demoted another after uncovering an alleged criminal syndicate involving police personnel, commercial bus drivers and civilian accomplices accused of abducting residents and extorting money from them in Benin City. The command said the disciplinary action followed an investigation into complaints of harassment, unlawful arrest, abduction and extortion allegedly perpetrated by individuals posing as police officers along the Temboga axis, off Aduwawa, in Benin City. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Eno Ikoedem, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday. According to her,…

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday disclosed that the Federal Government rejected demands by kidnappers for ransom and the release of detained gang members before security operatives rescued the 44 pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. The President said his administration would not negotiate with criminals or pay ransom, insisting that yielding to such demands would only embolden terrorists and bandits. Tinubu spoke at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while receiving traditional rulers from Oyo State led by the Olubadan of Ibadanland. According to him, the abductors demanded both money and the release of members of…

The Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba (Prof.) Saka Adelola Matemilola, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security, Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, have challenged students and lecturers of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, to leverage technology to develop innovative solutions to societal problems following the inauguration of the institution’s 10Gbps Smart Campus Fibre Infrastructure. The duo spoke on Thursday at the official unveiling of the digital infrastructure, facilitated through a partnership between the institution and the Advanced Technological Incubation and Research Centre. The project, described by stakeholders as Nigeria’s fastest campus internet facility with a speed of…

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has warned Nigerians against a brand of imported rice reportedly found to contain metallic contaminants, saying surveillance has been intensified to prevent the product from entering the country’s markets. The agency issued the alert after receiving official notification from the Ministry of Trade and Industry in the Republic of Niger that the importation of Bulmex Parboiled Rice, a brand imported from India, had been banned following investigations that reportedly uncovered iron debris in the product. NAFDAC, in a public alert released on Wednesday, said the findings by the Agadez Regional…

President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate dissolution of the Presidential Implementation Committee on the Alienation of Federal Government Properties, ending the operations of the over two-decade-old body responsible for overseeing the sale, lease and privatisation of federal landed assets. The President also directed the committee’s Secretary, B.S. Dutsin-Ma, to immediately cease acting or presenting himself as a representative of the dissolved committee or the Federal Government on matters relating to its activities. The directive was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. According to the Presidency,…

The Federal Government has pledged to publish a detailed breakdown of how savings from the removal of fuel and foreign exchange subsidies have been spent, following mounting public demand for greater transparency over the economic reforms. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, made the disclosure on Thursday at the 7th Africa Emerging Markets Forum in Abuja. Oyedele acknowledged that many Nigerians were seeking accountability over the utilisation of the subsidy savings and assured that the government would make the details public within days. He said the removal of fuel and foreign exchange subsidies generated…

Mujeeb Akindoyin The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee has suspended a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joe Kyari Gadzama, from legal practice for three years over professional misconduct linked to the prolonged dispute surrounding the payment of the N8bn compensation awarded to victims of the 2001 Zaki Biam massacre in Benue State. The committee also suspended another legal practitioner, Ocha Ulegede, from practising law for two years after finding both lawyers guilty of breaching the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023. The decision was delivered by the LPDC, chaired by Justice Halima Ibrahim, following disciplinary proceedings initiated through a petition…

The Ogun State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association has commended Governor Dapo Abiodun for approving and commencing the payment of the Professional Allowance Table and Specialist Allowance for medical doctors, describing the move as a major boost to healthcare workers’ welfare and service delivery. The association, however, warned that the state was battling a severe shortage of medical personnel, revealing that only about 1,200 doctors were currently serving an estimated population of nine million residents. The Chairman of the Ogun State NMA, Dr. Luqman Ogunjimi, disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference held in Abeokuta to herald the…