Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Former Minister of External Affairs and Nigeria’s ex-Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, has warned that more than 1,000 terrorist and insurgent groups are currently active across the African continent. Gambari issued the warning on Monday in Abuja while delivering a goodwill message at the African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit 2025, themed: “Combating Contemporary Threats to Regional Peace and Security in Africa: The Role of Strategic Defence Collaboration.” The summit drew representatives from 36 of Africa’s 54 countries. According to Gambari, Africa cannot achieve regional or continental peace without first securing individual nations. He emphasised the…

The Benue State Government has rescued no fewer than 11 children allegedly trafficked and sold for as little as ₦30,000 each in Edo State. The operation, carried out in collaboration with the Tiv Youth Organization (TYO), Edo State chapter, led to the arrest of a suspected female trafficker, identified as Mhirve Terlumun, said to be the leader of the syndicate. According to the Benue State Police Command, Terlumun, a native of Mbajir, Shitile in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area, lured the children—aged between five and 16—from their communities under the guise of providing “transport money” before selling them to buyers in…

… Party more peaceful, focused • Say defectors wasted political fortune The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum on Monday mocked former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Senate President David Mark, Dino Melaye and other party chieftains who recently dumped the PDP for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), declaring that their departure has only strengthened the party. The Forum, in a statement signed by its Director General, Emmanuel Agbo, said the PDP had become “more formidable and focused” since the defectors left, insisting that the opposition platform they joined was nothing more than a “one-chance vehicle.” Agbo noted that the defectors,…

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday confirmed Umar Damagum as the substantive National Chairman of the party. The decision was one of the major resolutions adopted during the 102nd NEC meeting held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja. Damagum, who had been serving in an acting capacity since March 2023, took the oath of office administered by the party’s National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, in line with Article 65 of the PDP Constitution. His confirmation comes less than three months to the party’s elective national convention, which is scheduled to take place…

A High Court sitting in Sagamu, Ogun State, has restrained Governor Dapo Abiodun, his agents and two private firms from further trespassing on over 15,000 acres of land belonging to Ilara Remo community in Remo North Local Government Area of the state. Justice O.S. Oloyede, who presided over the matter, on Monday granted an interim injunction stopping the defendants—Governor Abiodun, Industrial Platform Remo Limited, and Arise Integrated Industrial Platform—from erecting structures or alienating the disputed land pending the determination of the substantive suit. The order followed an ex parte motion and affidavit of urgency filed by community leaders including the…

… Ex-Governor Insists He Remains APC Senator Former Ogun State Governor and Senator representing Ogun East, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has threatened legal action against some online and national media organisations over reports alleging that he had been suspended from the All Progressives Congress (APC). Daniel, in a statement issued by his media office on Sunday, described the publications as “false, malicious and libelous,” insisting that he remains a bona fide member of the ruling party and a serving senator under its platform. The senator’s office particularly faulted a story first published by OgunInsight and News Across with the headline: “EXCLUSIVE:…

Convener of the United Premier Movement (UPM), Hon. (Chief) Olalekan  Shoyinka, has cautioned political actors in Ogun State against turning politics into a “cash-and-carry enterprise,” warning that the future of the state could be mortgaged if ideology continues to give way to money politics. Shoyinka, popularly known as Ayinla Egba, made the call in a statement titled “The Future We Must Secure — A Blueprint for Ideology-Driven Politics in Ogun State,” which concluded his three-part reflection on the state’s political direction. According to him, Ogun politics is fast losing its moral compass as “popularity now trumps purpose, generosity is mistaken…

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for holding a political meeting in Zamfara State barely days after gunmen unleashed deadly attacks on communities in the state. No fewer than 24 people were killed, 16 others injured, and at least 144 residents abducted in the latest wave of violence across several local government areas of Zamfara. But despite the tragic incidents, the PDP Governors’ Forum converged on Gusau, the state capital, on Saturday, August 23, drawing outrage from opposition parties and civil society groups. In a statement issued on…

…Says funds must reach 133m Nigerians trapped in poverty … Urges recovery of outstanding ₦20bn humanitarian funds Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately transfer the N32.7 billion and $445,000 it recovered from officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA). Falana, in a statement on Sunday under the platform of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), which he chairs, said the funds should be redirected to their original purpose of alleviating poverty among vulnerable Nigerians. He…

The Anambra State Police Command has launched a probe into a shocking case in Igboukwu, Aguata Local Government Area, where a man identified as Chigbo, popularly called Agudo, was allegedly chained and locked away by his father for five years. A disturbing video, which surfaced online at the weekend, showed the moment community youths discovered and freed the young man from a makeshift zinc hut where he had been held in chains since July 2021. In the footage, Chigbo recounted how he was bound by his hands and legs and kept in harsh conditions without understanding why. “I have been…