Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Presidency has fixed September 3, 2026, as the deadline for submitting the proposed executive bill on the establishment of state police to President Bola Tinubu for consideration, marking a major step towards the long-awaited reform of Nigeria’s policing architecture. Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Monday after the inaugural meeting of the committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Gbajabiamila said the committee had adopted a seven-week work plan designed to produce a comprehensive legal framework for the implementation of state police across the federation. He explained that the exercise,…

The immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has blamed parents for the persistent menace of examination malpractice in Nigeria, describing their involvement in helping their children cheat as the most painful experience of his 10-year tenure at the examination body. Oloyede said it was heartbreaking to witness parents deliberately introducing their children and wards to criminal behaviour through organised examination malpractice, warning that such actions were destroying the future of the younger generation. The former JAMB boss spoke on Sunday during a live interview on THISDAY Live aired on Arise Television, barely days…

A female TikTok content creator has undergone traditional cleansing rites after allegedly filming a procession associated with the annual Oloolu Masquerade Festival in Ibadan, Oyo State, an incident that has triggered widespread reactions on social media. The woman, whose identity has yet to be confirmed, was said to have developed health complications after uploading the video, prompting her family to seek intervention from custodians of the revered Oloolu tradition. Videos circulating online showed the woman participating in what appeared to be traditional cleansing rituals at the Oloolu compound. She was seen with a shaved head, dressed in red attire and…

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has declared that Christians will continue preaching in commercial buses across the country despite the proposed amendment to the Federal Road Safety Corps Act seeking to prohibit the practice. President of the PFN, Bishop Wale Oke, made the declaration during a church service on Sunday, insisting that no law would stop Christians from carrying out what he described as their God-given mandate to evangelise. His comments came amid growing opposition by Christian organisations to the Federal Road Safety Corps Amendment Bill, 2026, which proposes a ₦50,000 fine for anyone convicted of preaching, hawking or trading…

The daughter of a former governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State, Mrs. Abimbola Olajumoke Olawumi, has alleged that her mother sent a distress message moments before she was whisked away by unidentified men from a guest house in Abuja. Ololade Adeniyi said the last message she received from her mother at about 6:18 p.m. on Sunday stated that some men were attempting to force their way into her room. Mrs. Olawumi was reportedly taken away by unidentified men dressed in mufti, marking what the family described as her second abduction in recent weeks. Narrating the incident…

Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza of the Kebbi State High Court has regained his freedom after spending about one week in the custody of his abductors, bringing relief to his family, the judiciary and residents of the state. The Kebbi State Police Command confirmed the judge’s release in a statement issued on Monday by its Public Relations Officer, Bashir Usman, saying the development had also been verified by the judge’s family and the Kebbi State Ministry of Justice. Although the kidnappers reportedly demanded a ransom during the period of captivity, the police said the command maintained its policy of not paying…

The embattled Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, has asked the House of Representatives to grant him administrative clearance to appear before its ad hoc committee investigating the controversial council and the N1.3bn appropriated to it in the 2026 budget. Adeyemi, who is currently in police custody, also denied acting alone in the creation and operation of the council, insisting that he was being turned into a “scapegoat” to conceal what he described as widespread institutional failures within the Federal Government. His position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by his legal team led…

Today on Platform Times Newspaper, 3rd August, 2026. Visit www.platformtimes.com.ng for many more stories.

The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru? Wait no—Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa (retd.), has revealed that his mother sustained the family by selling akara and akamu, urging Nigerians to accord dignity and respect to petty traders. Musa said his mother’s small-scale business laid the foundation for his rise to become Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, stressing that no legitimate means of livelihood should be looked down upon. The minister spoke on Saturday at a one-day training and financial empowerment workshop for widows and wives of military personnel held at Lungi Barracks, Abuja. The programme, themed “Renewed Hope for Families of the…

… Says Licence Revocation Followed ₦2.49bn Unpaid Mining Fees … Alleges Smear Campaign Linked To International Arbitration … Insists Over 300 Western Firms Operate In Nigeria’s Mining Sector Daud Olatunji The Federal Government has dismissed allegations that it is handing Nigeria’s mineral resources to Chinese companies, insisting that claims against the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, are false and part of a coordinated campaign to undermine reforms in the mining sector. The minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Kehinde Bamigbetan, made the clarification in a statement issued at the weekend while reacting to a publication titled…