Author: Platform Times Newspaper

… 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…

The Federal Government has declared that income earned by commercial sex workers will henceforth be subject to taxation under Nigeria’s new tax reforms scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026. Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, said the tax laws do not distinguish between legal and illegal income but are focused on whether money is earned from goods or services. “There is this extreme example… if somebody is doing runs, they go and look for men to sleep with. You know that is a service, they will pay tax on it,” Oyedele…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dissociated itself from a statement credited to former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, suggesting that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan would contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the party. Gana had reportedly declared that Jonathan was returning to the political scene to challenge and defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027, saying: “I can confirm that Goodluck Ebele Jonathan will contest the presidential election in 2027 as PDP candidate, and you will vote for him to return as president again.” However, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, while addressing journalists in Abuja on…

A former President of the  Nigeria Computer Society, Prof. A. S. Sodiya, has rejected his disqualification from contesting in the forthcoming 2025 elections of the Computer Professionals (Registration Council of Nigeria), CPN , describing the action as illegal, undemocratic, and a ploy to impose a preferred candidate. Sodiya, in a protest letter addressed to the Council’s President and Chairman, Mr. Kole Jagun, and obtained by PLATFORM TIMES in Abeokuta, faulted the grounds of his exclusion, saying it was based on “untenable and selfish reasons.” He explained that the Council barred him from contesting on the excuse that, as the immediate…

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that its application portal for the 2024/2025 academic session will close on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, as it transitions to a fresh cycle of operations for the 2025/2026 academic year. The closure marks the end of the second full cycle of the interest-free student loan scheme, which has continued to ease financial burdens for Nigerian undergraduates since its inception. In a statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, NELFUND disclosed that the new application window would open in the second week of October 2025 and run until January…

A Nigerian woman trapped in Libya has sent out a desperate plea to the Federal Government and concerned Nigerians to rescue her, warning that she could be thrown into prison if caught by security operatives. In a video obtained by PLATFORM TIMES, the woman, whose identity remains undisclosed for safety reasons, was seen weeping profusely as she narrated her ordeal. She said she has been hiding from Libyan authorities who have intensified raids on irregular migrants in parts of the country. “I am stranded here in Libya. They are arresting people right now as I speak. If they catch me…

The Federal Government has declared Wednesday, October 1, 2025, a public holiday to mark Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary. The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced this in a statement signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, on Monday. Tunji-Ojo congratulated Nigerians at home and in the diaspora on what he described as a “historic milestone” in the nation’s democratic journey, urging citizens to remain steadfast in patriotism, unity, and resilience. He said, “Since 1960, the spirit of unity and resilience has kept us together as one indivisible nation. I urge all Nigerians to continue upholding these values…

Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salis, Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, has cautioned journalists not to see Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a threat to their survival, insisting that technology is only an enabler of journalism, not a replacer. Salis, who represents Ogun Central Senatorial District, stated this while delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Ogun NUJ Press Week in Abeokuta, themed “The Future of Journalism: Navigating AI and Objective Reporting.” According to him, journalism has always adapted to technology, from the era of typewriters to the digital age, and AI is simply another…