Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, has warned residents against taking photographs, recording videos or filming the revered Oloolu masquerade during this year’s annual festival, saying such acts violate the traditions guiding the cultural event. The monarch also reiterated that women are forbidden from viewing the masquerade, describing the restriction as a long-standing traditional injunction that must be respected. The directives were contained in a statement issued on Friday by the Olubadan’s Chief Press Secretary, Chief Solomon Ayoade, ahead of the commencement of the annual Oloolu festival on Monday. The Oloolu masquerade is regarded as one of the…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered and handed over ₦108 million to the legal representatives of a company following an investigation into an alleged fraud involving two former employees accused of diverting hundreds of millions of naira. The anti-graft agency disclosed this in a statement on Friday, saying the recovered funds, presented in bank drafts, were released to Karren Walters Attorneys, legal representatives of the affected company, at its Lagos Zonal Directorate 2. According to the EFCC, the money formed part of the proceeds recovered during an ongoing investigation into allegations of abuse of office, forgery, stealing and…

A marriage reportedly ended just days after a wedding ceremony following an alleged altercation between a bride and her mother-in-law over food served at the reception, sparking widespread debate on social media. The incident, which first surfaced in a broadcast by an Edo State-based radio and television station on July 20, gained traction online on Friday after a video discussing the incident went viral. According to the report, the disagreement began after food served at the wedding reception ran out before some members of the groom’s family arrived. The broadcaster claimed that a couple from the groom’s family, who arrived…

Two residents of Lissam Sambo (Pangtso) community in Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State have died from separate snakebite incidents within 24 hours, prompting renewed calls for the government to provide life-saving antivenom to the remote border community. The victims reportedly died on July 23 after they were unable to access appropriate medical treatment following the snakebites. One of the victims, identified as Elder Bako Awanki, was said to have died on Thursday evening after suffering a snakebite, while another resident, bitten in a separate incident at a different location, also died later that night. The deaths have heightened…

A 39-year-old man arrested for allegedly posing as a medical doctor in Cross River State has confessed to treating at least 15 patients despite lacking a medical licence, the police have said. The suspect, identified as Udeme Emmanuel Ekpeme, was arrested by operatives of the Uwanse Police Division in Calabar South Local Government Area following a petition accusing him of impersonation, obtaining money by false pretences and operating an illegal mobile clinic. According to the Cross River State Police Command, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect also collected N500,000 from a woman after allegedly promising to secure employment for her…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of resurrecting what he described as false allegations against him to undermine his political standing and favour a preferred candidate ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Atiku, in a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said Obasanjo’s latest claim that he bribed the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, to initiate impeachment proceedings against him was politically motivated and unsupported by evidence. He argued that the allegation was unfair because the late Na’Abba was no longer…

Daud Olatunji President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya (SAN), has vowed to resign if credible evidence emerges that the 2026 NBA presidential election was manipulated in her favour. Badejo-Okusanya made the declaration during an interview on TVC News on Thursday while responding to allegations by some contestants and members of the legal profession that the election was rigged. She insisted that the electronic voting process was transparent and subjected to unprecedented scrutiny, adding that no evidence of malpractice had been established. According to her, the election recorded a consistent voting pattern from the beginning to the end, with…

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has directed police officers nationwide to shoot on sight anyone found carrying illegal firearms, declaring that the Nigeria Police Force will no longer tolerate the indiscriminate possession of weapons by unauthorised persons. The directive, issued on Friday during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Benue State Government House in Makurdi, forms part of renewed efforts by the Federal Government to curb rising insecurity, particularly in Benue State. Disu said the order followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive to security agencies to end the wave of violent attacks and killings in the state. The police chief warned…

Today on Platform Times Newspaper, 24th July, 2026. Visit www.platformtimes.com.ng for many more stories.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted more than two billion pills of tramadol in the last 18 months as it intensified efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating through Nigeria and across international borders. Chairman of the agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), disclosed this on Thursday during a familiarisation tour of the Lekki Free Trade Zone and Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos. Marwa attributed the massive seizures to coordinated intelligence-driven operations carried out in collaboration with international partners, particularly authorities in India and Pakistan. “Within the last 18 months, we have seized more than two billion…