Author: Platform Times Newspaper

…NDLEA Accuses Three Mexicans, Seven Nigerians Of Running Illicit Drug Factory …Agency Warns International Cartels Are  Shifting Operations  Into South-West Forests Daud Olatunji A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Wednesday conducted an inspection of an alleged clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Ogun State as the trial of three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians accused of operating a multi-billion-naira drug manufacturing syndicate continued. The inspection, led by Justice Musa Kakaki, took place at the sprawling facility located in Iloti community within the Mowe Forest axis of Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, where the National Drug Law Enforcement…

A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan has restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from proceeding with its planned investigation into the finances of the Oyo State Government, ruling that the anti-graft agency’s proposed probe amounted to a “fishing expedition” unsupported by any specific allegation of wrongdoing. Justice Nkeonye Maha, who delivered the judgment on Wednesday in Suit No. FHC/IB/CS/61/2025, held that while the EFCC possesses statutory powers to investigate financial crimes, such powers must be exercised in line with the Constitution and the rule of law. The judge ruled that the commission’s June 2, 2025 letter to the…

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation has commenced the payment of insured deposits to customers of 46 microfinance banks whose operating licences were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria on July 1, 2026. The Managing Director of the NDIC, Thompson Sunday, disclosed this on Wednesday during the Africa Regional Committee meeting of the International Association of Deposit Insurers held in Abuja. Sunday said the corporation had adopted a technology-driven payment process by leveraging the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System and depositors’ Bank Verification Numbers to identify alternative bank accounts and credit eligible customers directly. According to him, the approach eliminates the…

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has attributed the apparent scarcity of N100 and N200 notes to the growing adoption of digital payment channels and the declining purchasing power of lower-denomination naira notes. Cardoso, however, dismissed speculation that the notes had been withdrawn from circulation, insisting they remain legal tender and should continue to be accepted for transactions nationwide. Speaking on Tuesday after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, the CBN governor said the apex bank had not announced the withdrawal of any denomination of the naira. “Yes, they remain legal tender. Unless the Central…

The Senate has threatened to invoke its constitutional powers against several revenue-generating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), over their alleged refusal to honour invitations to explain their revenue remittances to the Federal Government. The upper chamber said the affected agencies could face legislative sanctions if they continue to ignore summons issued by its Committee on Finance. The warning followed a point of order raised on Wednesday by the Chairman of the Senate Committee…

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has commenced a nationwide enforcement operation to confiscate alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate bottles below 200 millilitres, in line with the Federal Government’s ban on the products. The agency said the exercise, which is ongoing across the six geopolitical zones, follows the closure of manufacturing facilities found to be producing the prohibited alcoholic drinks. NAFDAC disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, saying enforcement teams had been deployed to markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars and other distribution channels to identify, seize and remove the banned…

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has relieved six commissioners of their appointments in a cabinet reshuffle aimed at injecting fresh ideas into his administration as it enters its final phase. The affected commissioners headed the Ministries of Works, Women Affairs, Information, Lands, Science and Technology, as well as Security and Sundry Matters. The Secretary to the State Government, Labaran Magaji, announced the development while briefing journalists after the State Executive Council meeting held in Lafia on Tuesday. Magaji said the decision was part of efforts to reposition the administration for improved service delivery and was not prompted by dissatisfaction…

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Wednesday publicly declared his support for the Rainbow Coalition, a political alliance led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, while endorsing President Bola Tinubu for a second term in the 2027 presidential election. The governor also threw his weight behind the coalition’s preferred governorship candidate, Kingsley China, calling on his supporters to back all candidates presented by the political movement during the 2027 general elections. Fubara announced his decision at the groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction and equipping of the Riven Medical Facility, a public-private partnership pharmaceutical manufacturing project in…

A 23-year-old man, Victor Oreba Nwite, has been arraigned before an Enugu Magistrate Court over the alleged abduction, unlawful detention and torture of three young men who were reportedly held captive for more than three months and forced into internet fraud. Nwite was arraigned before Chief Magistrate U.M. Ozoeze-Ozobu on a six-count charge filed by the Enugu State Police Command, bordering on unlawful confinement and assault. According to the charge sheet, the defendant allegedly detained the three victims—identified as Izuchukwu Nnome, Joseph Alaka and Miracle Tochukwu—between March and June 2026 at an apartment in Heliu Estate, Independence Layout, Enugu, contrary…

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has uncovered hundreds of suspected ghost workers across no fewer than 50 federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, with the Nigeria Police Force recording the highest number of questionable names on the government payroll. Chairman of the ICPC, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, disclosed that the ongoing investigation revealed 570 suspected ghost workers in the Nigeria Police Force, making it the most affected institution so far. Aliyu also revealed a striking case in which a suspect allegedly inserted the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law into the federal payroll while unlawfully collecting…