Author: Platform Times Newspaper

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…

No fewer than 68 passengers escaped unhurt on Thursday after an Enugu Air aircraft skidded off the runway while landing at the Benin Airport in Edo State during a heavy downpour. The aircraft, with registration number 5N-ENR, was operating an Enugu–Benin–Lagos commercial flight when the incident occurred at about 4:00 p.m., triggering panic among passengers and airport officials. Airport sources said the aircraft overshot the runway after landing and veered into a nearby bush, sparking fears that it had crashed. However, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority dispelled the reports, clarifying that the incident was a runway excursion caused by adverse…

Daud Olatunji The Presidency has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his decision to engage a United States lobbying firm to revive President Bola Tinubu’s decades-old forfeiture case, describing the move as an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty and a futile political strategy. Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Thursday, accused Atiku of attempting to internationalise Nigeria’s domestic politics by sponsoring foreign lobbyists to circulate documents relating to a 1993 civil forfeiture case involving Tinubu. Onanuga said Atiku’s latest move reflected what he described as the former vice-president’s “desperate” quest for the presidency, insisting that the issue had long…

The Nigeria Police Force Trust Fund has empowered 100 wives of junior police officers in Delta State with vocational skills and start-up equipment to boost their economic independence and improve the welfare of police families. The four-day empowerment programme, organised in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, trained 79 beneficiaries in tailoring and 21 in hairdressing. At the end of the training, each participant received a starter pack in her chosen trade to enable her establish a business and generate sustainable income. Representing the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, Mr. Yemi Oyeniyi, at the closing ceremony, the Deputy Commissioner…

Suliat Lawal The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, clearing another major hurdle in the bid to establish state police across Nigeria despite a protest and walkout by members of the minority caucus. The bill, which seeks to create a constitutional framework for the establishment and operation of state police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force, was approved after 311 lawmakers participated in the voting process, surpassing the constitutional requirement for a two-thirds majority. Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, said 276 members were physically present in the chamber, while 35 others participated…

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, demanding an independent investigation into the death of Deputy Superintendent of Corps, Agada Levi Agada, of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, as well as the arrest and public parade of Chief Superintendent of Police Abdulmajeed Abisoye Oyewumi. The rights group, in a statement issued on Thursday by its National President, Comrade Yinka Folarin, and National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Adewunmi Adesina, described the two incidents as raising serious concerns about due process, accountability and public confidence in the criminal justice system. CDHR said it had…