Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Fawaz Adebisi Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, has rewarded its overall best graduating student, Amosu Oluwapelumi, with cash prizes worth over ₦10 million as the institution graduated 3,521 students at its 24th undergraduate convocation ceremony. The graduation ceremony, held on Sunday at the university’s multipurpose stadium, produced the largest graduating class in the institution’s history, with 306 students earning First Class honours and more than 30 others graduating with distinctions across its full-time and part-time programmes. Speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Afolarin  Ojewole, unveiled the university’s five-year strategic development blueprint tagged the G.R.A.C.E. Agenda, designed to position the…

Suliat Lawal A prominent Egba chief and Chairman of the MAO Movement for Change, Chief Mustapha Abdulhakeem Owolabi, has cautioned political parties against imposing candidates ahead of the 2027 Ogun State governorship election, warning that such practices could undermine democracy and deny the electorate credible leadership. Owolabi, the Akinfiwatolu of Egbaland and Chairman of the Egba Agenda Forum, made the call while reacting to remarks by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), who recently stressed that credible elections must begin with transparent political party primaries. Falana had delivered the keynote address at the eighth annual lecture of Penpushing Media in…

Zainab Abioye Security agencies and civil society organisations have identified drug and substance abuse among Nigerian youths as a major factor fuelling terrorism, kidnapping, cultism and other violent crimes across the country. The stakeholders, including the Ogun State Police Command, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and community leaders, made the assertion on Saturday during a seminar organised by the Department of Mass Communication, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, held in Abeokuta. The seminar, themed “Substance Abuse and National Insecurity: Building Responsible Youth Through Entrepreneurship,” brought together security experts, academics and development advocates to examine the growing nexus between drug abuse and…

Ayomide Awe The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has dragged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the alleged failure to account for more than ₦211tn recorded in its 2023 audited financial statements. The rights group is seeking a court order compelling the national oil company to explain and disclose documents relating to the ₦211.015tn listed under “Sundry Receivables” and “Accrued Expenses” in its audited accounts. According to SERAP, the financial statements failed to provide adequate details on the transactions or sufficient information to enable public scrutiny of the huge sums. The suit,…

Fawaz Adebisi The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted illicit drugs valued at more than ₦10 billion in a series of coordinated operations across Lagos ports and other parts of the country, leading to the arrest of suspected drug kingpins and the recovery of military-grade ammunition. The agency said the seizures included cocaine, Canadian Loud, synthetic cannabis, opioids and tramadol consignments allegedly destined for the United Kingdom and other locations. NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the development in a statement on Sunday, saying the operations were carried out by officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Apapa Seaport and…

The Buhari Media Organisation has dismissed claims that the late former President Muhammadu Buhari created the alleged fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, insisting that the former administration only established the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. The group, in a statement issued on Sunday, described reports linking Buhari to the controversial agency currently under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission as false and misleading. The rebuttal followed remarks by the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Tanimu Yakubu, who told members of the House of Representatives on Friday that the origin of the…

The Independent National Electoral Commission has concluded the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration exercise ahead of the 2027 General Elections, urging newly registered voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards when the exercise begins and participate actively in the polls. The Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Mutiu Agboke, made the appeal on Saturday while monitoring the final day of the registration exercise across selected local government areas in the state. Agboke, accompanied by the Administrative Secretary of the commission in Ondo State, Mrs. Adenike Tadese, visited INEC offices in Ondo East, Ondo West and Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Areas to assess…

A judge of the Kebbi State High Court, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, has been abducted by suspected bandits from his residence in Bunza Local Government Area of the state. PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the gunmen stormed the judge’s home along Zogirma Road at about midnight on Sunday, shortly after he returned from a trip to Sokoto State. Sources said the assailants fired sporadically to scare residents before whisking the judge away. No member of his family was reportedly injured during the attack. “He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen invaded his residence and abducted him,” a source familiar…

… Disease Spreads Across 23 States Despite Control Efforts … Young Adults Remain Worst-hit  As Transmission Spreads To 114 LGAs Daud Olatunji The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has raised fresh concerns over the resurgence of Lassa fever after confirmed infections increased again, with the death toll climbing to 229 nationwide. The agency disclosed that Nigeria had recorded 963 confirmed cases and 229 deaths as of Epidemiological Week 28 of 2026, warning that the disease continued to spread across affected states despite ongoing response efforts. According to the NCDC’s latest Lassa fever situation report released on Friday,…

A senior finance operative of the Islamic State West Africa Province has surrendered to troops of Operation Hadin Kai in Borno State, as the military intensified its offensive against insurgents in the North-East. The military said the suspect, identified as the chief finance operative of the ISWAP enclave in Jubillaram, turned himself in at about 6:45 a.m. on July 25 along the Ladari–Jegarawa–Tunokalia axis on the Gamboru–Wulgo Main Supply Route. The Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Headquarters Theatre Command, Operation Hadin Kai, Lt. Col. Mohammed Goni, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. According to the statement, the suspected…