Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a cache of 942 explosive devices along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway, en route to Zamfara State. According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the explosives were recovered on Saturday, May 3, during a routine stop-and-search operation on a commercial vehicle traveling from Nasarawa State to Zamfara. A 30-year-old suspect identified as Nura Sani Muhammad, also known as Nura Hariji, was apprehended in connection with the consignment. The dangerous materials were reportedly concealed in a sack, raising suspicions about the intended…

Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has vowed to institute legal proceedings against media organisations, particularly radio stations, that continue to air what he described as baseless and defamatory statements targeting his administration and political allies. The governor issued the warning on Sunday during the maiden meeting between his administration and 444 ward councillors in the state, expressing displeasure over recent media content that he said falsely portrayed his government in a bad light. Yusuf’s reaction follows a viral video in which the immediate past Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, alleged that he was removed…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has confiscated illicit drugs valued at over N3.4 billion in a series of operations across Lagos, Rivers, Kano and several other states, in what officials described as a coordinated effort to dismantle drug trafficking networks nationwide. A statement by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, revealed that the seizures included over 3.5 million pills of opioids and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrup. The largest bust occurred at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, where NDLEA operatives, working jointly with the Nigeria Customs Service and other…

A group of former state chairmen under the defunct Congress for Progressives’ Change (CPC), one of the legacy parties that merged to form the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has expressed deep concerns over what it described as the marginalisation of CPC elements within the APC-led government. The forum, in a public statement issued in Abuja, lamented the internal divisions plaguing the CPC bloc and warned that the proliferation of voices claiming to speak for the bloc only underscores a lack of coherent leadership and inclusiveness within the party. “We, members of the Forum of State Chairmen of the defunct…

Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, is billed to deliver the keynote lecture at the 2025 National Reunion Conference of the Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates’ Association (UNIFEMGA), slated for Saturday, May 10, 2025. Themed “Cross Border Trade and Security Implications on the Nigerian Economy: Taking Advantage of Global Trade Dynamics,” the lecture will hold at the historic Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State. According to a joint statement by the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Prof. Sirajudeen Obayopo, and the association’s Public Relations Officer, Ibrahim Fagbenro, the event is expected to…

Balqees Adeniji In an alarming discovery, the Ogun State Government has earmarked a total of ₦3,777,148,951.50 over five years for three ministries that do not currently exist, a PLATFORM TIMES investigation has revealed. According to a detailed analysis of the state’s budget documents accessed via the Openstates portal, between 2021 and 2025, the non-existent Ministry of Regional Integration, Ministry of Youth, and Ministry of Energy received substantial allocations. The breakdown shows that the Ministry of Regional Integration was allocated ₦334,633,551.94, while the Ministry of Youth received ₦695,534,393.52, and the Ministry of Energy had ₦2,746,981,006.04 budgeted for the last two years…

President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that his administration is committed to reclaiming Nigeria’s forests from terrorists by deploying advanced technology. Speaking at a state dinner held at the Government House in Katsina on Friday, Tinubu emphasized the government’s determination to combat banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism, particularly in the northwest region. The President highlighted the critical role that technology and enhanced surveillance would play in regaining control of the vast forests that have become strongholds for terrorists and criminal groups. “We will invest more in technology and take over the forests,” Tinubu declared, reaffirming his administration’s resolve to address the…

The son of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Abdul-Ganiyu Obasa, has been disqualified from contesting the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship primaries in Agege Local Government Area, The PUNCH reports. Abdul-Ganiyu was among 38 aspirants dropped from the race either by disqualification or voluntary withdrawal, according to a list released on Friday by the Lagos State APC Electoral Committee, headed by former National Legal Adviser, Babatunde Ogala. PLATFORM TIMES reports that a total of 470 aspirants were screened between April 29 and May 3 at the party’s secretariat in Ogba, out of which 432 were cleared…

The World Bank has raised alarm over the worsening poverty crisis in Nigeria, revealing that a staggering 75.5 per cent of rural dwellers now live below the poverty line. This was disclosed in the Bank’s April 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief for Nigeria, which paints a bleak picture of rising economic hardship, growing inequality, and persistent underdevelopment across large parts of the country. According to the report, while 41.3 per cent of Nigeria’s urban population lives in poverty, the situation is significantly worse in rural areas, where economic stagnation, inflation, and insecurity have combined to deepen hardship. “Based on the…

No fewer than four Nigerian soldiers were killed in the early hours of Saturday when suspected Boko Haram insurgents launched a deadly assault on the 27 Task Force Brigade in Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State. The assailants, believed to be fighters of the Islamic State-backed faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), stormed the military base in a coordinated ambush, opening fire and detonating explosives that caught troops off guard. Military sources confirmed that the attackers breached parts of the facility, destroying several operational vehicles and carting away weapons and other critical equipment. “We were taken…