Author: Platform Times Newspaper

A human rights coalition has accused operatives of the anti-kidnapping unit of the Imo State Police Command, popularly known as Tiger Base, of running a vast extortion racket in which detainees and their families were allegedly forced to pay between ₦200,000 and ₦20m for release. The Coalition Against Police Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI) made the allegation in a report released on Wednesday, documenting what it described as “systematic, egregious and routine” human rights abuses at the Owerri-based facility between 2021 and 2025. According to the report, the unit frequently intervened in civil disputes such as tenancy and commercial disagreements, detaining…

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has disclosed that women account for one in every four Nigerians involved in drug and substance abuse, even as they make up only one in 20 persons accessing rehabilitation and treatment services in the country. The agency raised the alarm in a memorandum submitted to the House of Representatives ad hoc Committee investigating the rising cases of drug and substance abuse in Nigeria, warning that stigma and other barriers were keeping women and girls away from care. According to the UNODC, Nigeria’s drug-use prevalence is nearly three times higher than the…

Operatives of the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested five suspected fraudsters, said to be herbalists, and seized counterfeit foreign currencies amounting to $3.43m and €280,000 from them. The suspects—Akingbola Omotayo, Adeola Funsho Ogunrinde, Yahaya Amodu, Kubratu Babalola Olaitan (female) and Familola Sunday Olaitan—were apprehended on December 7 and 8, 2025, at their shrines in Osun and Lagos states following intelligence-led surveillance on their alleged activities. The EFCC said the arrests followed a petition alleging that the suspects, operating as a syndicate, defrauded a victim, Halima Sanni, of ₦26.55m under the guise of offering…

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has accused operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of carrying out coordinated raids on his offices and private residences in Abuja and Kebbi State, raising concerns over alleged intimidation and abuse of due process. Malami, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his media aide, Mohammed Bello, said the raids followed shortly after his office released a statement drawing attention to Chapter Nine of the Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry Report, which he claimed implicates the current EFCC chairman. According to the statement, EFCC…

President Bola Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate the names of two nominees to replace the heads of Nigeria’s key petroleum regulatory agencies following the resignation of their chief executives. The President is seeking the Senate’s confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. The nominations followed the sudden exit of Engineer Farouk Ahmed, former CEO of the NMDPRA, and Gbenga Komolafe, former head of the NUPRC. Both officials were appointed in 2021 by…

The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), has again underscored its growing influence in Nigeria’s higher education system with the appointment of one of its senior Registry officers, Mrs Emilomo Joy Alawode, as the new substantive Registrar of McPherson University, Seriki-Sotayo, Ogun State. Alawode, a Deputy Registrar at FUNAAB, was appointed by the Board of Trustees of McPherson University, making her the institution’s third substantive Registrar and further highlighting FUNAAB’s reputation as a training ground for top university administrators across the country. A seasoned administrator, Alawode brings decades of experience in academic administration, governance, human resource management, public relations and…

Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, narrowly escaped a potentially deadly mob attack on Tuesday while visiting the palace of the District Head of Dutsi in Dutsi Local Government Area, Katsina State. Sirika, who holds the traditional title of Marusan Katsina and serves as district head of Shargalle in Dutsi, was reportedly at the palace on a condolence visit when tensions erupted. Videos circulating online and shared by local media showed an agitated crowd gathering inside and outside the palace, with one man reportedly dragged from the premises amid shouting. The former minister was quickly whisked away in a Honda…

No fewer than 54 residents of Gombe State have died from snake bites in 2025, the State Epidemiologist, Dr. Nuhu Bile, has disclosed. Dr. Bile made the revelation on Tuesday during the State Public Health Emergency Management Committee (S-PHEMC) meeting held in Gombe. The meeting, supported by UNICEF, was chaired by the State Deputy Governor, Mr. Manassah Jatau, who also serves as the Chairman of the PHEMC. According to Dr. Bile, 1,591 snake bite cases were recorded at the Snake Bite Hospital in Kaltungo this year, representing the lowest number in four years compared to 2,794 cases in 2022, 2,594…

A Cessna 172 aircraft operated by Skypower Express crash-landed Tuesday evening at Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, Imo State, after declaring an emergency mid-flight. The aircraft, bearing registration 5N-ASR, was en route from Kaduna International Airport to Port Harcourt International Airport when the crew requested an emergency diversion to Owerri. The plane went down in the approach area of Runway 17 around 8 p.m., but fortunately, all four passengers and crew on board survived. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) confirmed that there was no post-crash fire, and flight operations at the airport continued safely, with other aircraft taking…

.. Former AGF Faults Obasanjo’s Handling Of Deal  … Says Nigeria’s Interest Was Sidelined Grace Adeleye  Former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, has alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo revoked Oil Prospecting Licence 245 in July 2001 after the oil block’s owners refused to surrender a 60 per cent stake to interests linked to powerful figures within government. Adoke made the allegation on Tuesday in Abuja during the public presentation of his book, OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3bn Nigerian Oil Block, where he gave fresh details on the political intrigues behind one of Nigeria’s most…