Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The face-off between organised labour and the management of a frontline refinery deepened on Tuesday as the company accused the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and its allies of seeking to undermine the dignity of over 230 million Nigerians with their actions. In a statement made available to PLATFORM TIMES, the refinery berated TUC and its affiliate unions, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), for allegedly weaponising industrial power to the detriment of national interest. The company insisted that unions, “regardless of size or wealth,” must not…

As Nigeria marked its 65th independence anniversary, Apostle Lawrence Achudume, General Overseer of Victory Life Bible Church International, has called on leaders to govern with empathy and align policies with the realities of ordinary citizens. Speaking with journalists in Abeokuta, the cleric reflected on the nation’s journey since independence, lamenting that despite Nigeria’s vast potential, many citizens are yet to feel the dividends of freedom. “At 65, Nigeria stands as a nation of immense potential – yet the dividends of freedom seem elusive for many ordinary Nigerians,” Achudume said. He noted the irony of Nigerians excelling abroad in diverse fields…

A friend of the late Arise Television anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, has narrated how the promising journalist lost her life in the aftermath of a robbery attack on her Katampe residence in Abuja. Maduagwu, fondly called Sommie, reportedly died after sustaining fatal injuries from a fall while attempting to escape armed robbers who invaded her apartment in the early hours of Tuesday. Eyewitness accounts revealed that the gang, numbering about 15, stormed Unique Apartments, Plot 1706 Katampe, at about 2:30 a.m., killing one vigilante guard who resisted them and tying up four others. They went on to raid over 10 flats…

The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, on Tuesday declared that his enthronement had finally marked the end of his political journey, stressing that his primary duty henceforth is to serve humanity with fairness and justice. The monarch made this known at his Bodija residence in Ibadan while receiving a powerful delegation led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who visited to congratulate him on his recent coronation. Atiku, accompanied by former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Senator Iyorcha Ayu; former Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke; and former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, apologised for their…

Political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, has vowed that the recent Federal High Court ruling restraining him from forming a shadow cabinet will not silence his voice or stop him from associating with fellow Nigerians. Justice James Omotosho had on Monday declared that the concept of a shadow government was unconstitutional and alien to Nigeria’s presidential system, stressing that the 1999 Constitution makes no provision for any “parallel or alternative government” outside the one it establishes. But Utomi, in a reaction on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm, insisted that the judgment would not stop him from exercising his civic rights. “As a…

The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, has launched fresh allegations against the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, claiming the monarch conspired with his former Canadian wife to assassinate him. In a video posted on his official Facebook page, Emperor Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi Telu I, on Tuesday, the Iwo monarch accused Ooni of orchestrating a plot to silence him because of his role in the enthronement of the current Ooni of Ife years ago. “People hear me talking about Ooni Adeyeye. What you don’t know, I will tell you today. I helped Ooni Adeyeye. But because he…

A 63-year-old cleric, Pastor Luke Eze, has been remanded in a correctional facility in Enugu State for allegedly drugging and raping two sisters, aged 16 and 19, under the guise of conducting a deliverance session. The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Tuesday, said the suspect was arrested on September 11, 2025, by operatives of the Iwollo Police Division after the victims’ parents reported the case. According to Ndukwe, investigations revealed that on September 7, the cleric lured the 16-year-old girl to his church, City of Hope Ministry, also known…

… Deceased Allegedly Chased Into River By Local Security Operatives … Govt Suspends Two Principals, Says Victim Not In School Database Daud Olatunji Pandemonium broke out on Monday in the Elega area of Abeokuta, Ogun State, as students of Ilugun High School (Junior) went on rampage, pelting their teachers with stones and destroying school property following the death of a colleague allegedly chased to his death by local security operatives. PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the deceased, identified as Babalola, drowned in a river behind the school last Friday while being pursued by members of a local security outfit, reportedly invited…

The chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has accused the majority of Nigeria’s tax consultants of thriving on tax evasion, describing their activities as criminal and detrimental to the nation’s economic growth. Oyedele, in a viral video currently circulating online, alleged that about 90 per cent of tax consultants in the country—including lawyers, accountants, and practitioners—make their living from helping clients evade lawful taxes. “That’s what they do for a living. The vast majority of them, 90 per cent of them, are selling tax evasion,” Oyedele declared. He explained that many consultants deliberately…

The United States has accused the Nigerian government of re-trafficking women and girls by forcibly returning them to Boko Haram “husbands” and other traffickers, in spite of official claims of combating modern slavery and sexual exploitation. In its 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of State faulted Nigeria’s victim protection measures, noting that women and girls rescued from insurgents in the North-East were often treated as criminals rather than survivors of sexual slavery. “In some cases, authorities detained or returned victims to their Boko Haram husbands and traffickers,” the report stated, warning that insufficient…