Author: Platform Times Newspaper

No fewer than 13 inmates have escaped while one officer lost his life during a jail break at Koton Karfe Medium Security Custodial centre in Kogi State . Confirming the incident, spokesperson for the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Abubakar Umar, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja. He revealed that two of the escapees have since been recaptured, while efforts intensify to locate and return the remaining ten fugitives to custody. Umar said the NCoS has launched a comprehensive investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding the jailbreak, emphasizing their commitment to understanding how the inmates managed to escape without…

The Federal Government has revealed that over 90 per cent of land in Nigeria remains undocumented, with the nation losing an estimated $300bn in economic value due to poor land registration systems over the past 140 years. Speaking at the Workshop on the National Land Registration and Documentation Programme in Abuja, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, lamented the slow progress of land documentation in Nigeria since the formal introduction of land registration in 1883. “Since the inception of formal land registration in Nigeria in 1883, the processes have been conducted under a non-compulsory sporadic system, which…

Telecommunications operators in Nigeria have decried the alarming rate of fibre cuts in Lagos, revealing that they suffered 2,500 incidents in 2024, leading to an estimated N5 billion ($6.25 million) in losses. The operators disclosed this at the seventh edition of the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo), held over the weekend in Lagos. They identified Ikeja, Lekki, and Victoria Island as high-risk zones, where frequent road expansions and private developments disrupt connectivity. Industry experts at the event called for stricter enforcement of regulations, legal accountability, and improved coordination in infrastructure planning to curb the recurring damage to critical telecom infrastructure.…

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd. and the Registrar of Trademark, Patent & Designs to pay N840 million in damages for infringing on the registered trademark “WEBPLUS” owned by Citilink Accesscorp Limited. Delivering judgment in suit FHC/L/CS/1124/2014, Justice Daniel Osiagor ruled that MTN unlawfully used the “WEBPLUS” trademark, which was legally registered under Class 9 of the Trademark Registry by Citilink Accesscorp. The judge also issued a perpetual injunction restraining MTN and the Registrar from registering or issuing certificates for “WEBPLUS,” “WEB+,” “MTN WEBPLUS,” or any similar variations under Classes 9, 16, and 38…

Troops of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, have intensified their crackdown on oil theft, destroying 19 illegal refineries and confiscating over 138,000 litres of stolen petroleum products in recent operations across the Niger Delta. A statement signed on Sunday by the Acting Deputy Director, 6 Division Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, revealed that the operations, driven by intelligence-led strategies, also led to the arrest of 12 suspected oil thieves. Providing a breakdown of the recent efforts, Lt. Col. Danjuma disclosed that a tanker laden with 60,000 litres of stolen crude oil was intercepted along the Apajo–Iwoji–Iwofe Road…

An inspector attached to the police command in Cross River State has allegedly killed a woman and injured two others in sporadic fatal shootings on Sunday. The spokesperson of the command, SP Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Sunday. She said that the policeman acted strangely before the shootings. Ugbo said the officer, who was attached to Atakpa Divisional Police Station, had returned from a night beat at a microfinance bank before the shootings. She, however, said the police had arrested the suspect while the two injured victims were receiving medical…

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested eight students of Ifo High School over alleged involvement in cult-related activities within the school premises. The students, aged between 15 and 16, were identified as Bennett Bolawatife, Aluko Taiwo, Kehinde Aluko, Omolaso Waris, Akinola Ifeoluwa, Azeez Hassan, Kilani Babatunde (also known as Soldier), and Fasedemi Samuel. According to the state police spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, the arrest followed an alarm raised by the school authorities over an emerging gang of student cultists. She disclosed that the students were apprehended around 12:05 p.m. on Friday by operatives of the Ifo Divisional Police Headquarters in…

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has cautioned officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) against the unlawful prolonged detention of suspects, stressing the need for strict adherence to constitutional provisions on personal liberty. Egbetokun’s directive was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi. He described the abuse of detention timelines as a violation of fundamental human rights and warned that erring officers would face severe consequences. “The adherence to legally stipulated detention periods is not only a legal obligation but also a fundamental aspect of upholding the dignity and…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a 42-year-old Indian lady at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, with 72 parcels of heroin. A statement by NDLEA’s director of media and advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja said the prohibited substances were factory-sealed in wafer wraps and packaged as chocolates. Mr Babafemi said the class A drug consignment weighing 11 kilogrammes was recovered from her luggage after a thorough search. He said this followed credible intelligence during an inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha at the arrival…

No fewer than 13,171 Nigerians who sought refugee protection in Canada between January 2013 and December 2024 had their applications rejected, according to official data from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. PLATFORM TIMES reports that in 2024 alone, 811 Nigerian applicants were denied asylum, placing Nigeria among the top five countries with the highest number of rejected refugee claims. The other nations on the list include Mexico (2,954 rejections), India (1,688), Haiti (982), and Colombia (723). The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the IRB evaluates asylum seekers based on the United Nations’ definition of a Convention refugee, which…