Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that Nigeria risks normalising insurgency and banditry unless it adopts a united, whole-of-society approach to end the prolonged security crisis. Obasanjo, who spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of a new book, Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, authored by retired Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, described Boko Haram as one of Nigeria’s longest-running security threats, spanning over 15 years and four administrations. The former president, who wrote the foreword to the book, argued that the failure to properly interrogate the roots of insurgency has allowed terrorism…

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Gboyega Isiaka, has said that Nigeria’s failure to achieve broad-based prosperity 65 years after independence is not due to lack of resources but weak institutions, policy inconsistency, and poor governance. Isiaka, who representsYewa-North/ Imeko-Afon Federal Constituency, stated this in Abeokuta while delivering the Independence Lecture at a Special 65th Independence Anniversary  Business  meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Ogun State chapter, themed “Lessons from 65 Years of Nationhood and Pathways Forward.” Tracing Nigeria’s economic journey since independence in 1960, Isiaka said despite vast human and natural resources, the country…

A midnight petrol tanker explosion on the Abeokuta–Sagamu Expressway on Friday left no one dead, but,  vehicles burnt beyond recognition. The incident, which occurred around 1:00 a.m. at the Abeokuta–Kobape–Siun–Sagamu Interchange stretch of the expressway, caused panic among motorists and residents. The spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed the accident in a statement. According to him, the tragedy happened after a 33,000-litre petrol tanker lost control due to excessive speeding and overturned, spilling its content across the road before bursting into flames. “The case of an inferno caused by a fuel-laden tanker,…

The Delta State Police Command has impounded 25 vehicles in Asaba for violating the tinted glass permit regulation, despite a subsisting court order directing the Nigeria Police Force to suspend such enforcement. The seizure came barely hours after the Federal High Court sitting in Warri ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Force to halt enforcement of the tinted permit directive and maintain the status quo until the determination of a pending suit. Justice Okon Abang, in his ruling on Friday, directed the police authorities to “respect judicial processes pending further proceedings in the matter.” But in a…

The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General Olakunle Nafiu, has revealed that the Scheme provides services valued at more than ₦14 billion annually to Lagos State and its residents. Nafiu disclosed this on Thursday during a courtesy visit to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos State Government House, Marina. According to him, the economic impact is derived from the contributions of over 44,000 corps members deployed across the state to serve in key sectors, including health, education, and infrastructure. “In minimum monetary terms, corps members in Lagos contribute over ₦14 billion annually through their services,” Nafiu said,…

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has described the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State, in 2014 as a lifelong scar that he will carry to the grave. Jonathan stated this on Friday in Abuja at the public presentation of a book, Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, written by retired Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor. “It (the abduction) is a scar I will die with. Perhaps later, more details may become known, and that too has to do with Boko Haram,” the former president said, recalling the incident that sparked global outrage during his…

The wife of the former governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, has been decorated as the Patron of the Trefoil Guild Nigeria, a senior arm of the Nigeria Girl Guides Association. The investiture, held in Abeokuta during the 4th Annual and 1st International Conference of the Guild, recognised Mrs. Amosun’s dedication to humanitarian causes and her consistent advocacy for girl-child development. In her acceptance speech, the former First Lady described the honour as “a call to greater service,” pledging to intensify her support for initiatives that empower girls, uplift women, and strengthen the Guiding movement through her UPLIFT Development…

Worried by the rising cases of child trafficking, exploitation, and unsafe migration in Ogun State, parents and community leaders have resolved to intensify efforts in protecting children from traffickers. At a sensitization workshop held on Thursday, September 25, 2025, at Adeola Odutola College, Ijebu-Ode, the Parents Club of the school (Senior and Junior) in collaboration with the Gender Development Initiative (GenDi) and anti-trafficking agencies, stressed the urgent need for stronger parental vigilance. The event, tagged School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), drew over 500 participants, including parents, teachers, students, traditional rulers, and religious leaders. In his opening remarks, Chairman…

The Gender Development Initiative (GenDi), in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), on Friday sensitized Muslim faithful in Abeokuta on the dangers of human trafficking. PLATFORM TIMES reports that the  campaign, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, held simultaneously at the Oke Ilewo Central Mosque and the Owu Central Mosque, drew large congregations who were educated on how traffickers operate and how communities can protect their members from falling victim. At the Oke Ilewo Central Mosque, Mr. Solomon Obanla of the ICMD explained…

The Police Service Commission (PSC) on Thursday unveiled a new whistleblowing policy aimed at exposing bribery, fraud, sexual harassment, and other corrupt practices in the recruitment of officers into the Nigeria Police Force The Commission, in a statement, said the initiative was part of its renewed commitment to sanitize the recruitment process and end decades of entrenched corruption that has denied qualified Nigerians the opportunity to serve. According to the PSC, Nigerians are now encouraged to report cases of bribery, manipulation of results, falsification of credentials, ghost names, impersonation during screening, sexual harassment, and other unethical practices in the…