Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Armed bandits in the early hours of Wednesday attacked Kiri High School in Aiyetoro Kiri, Kabba Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, but all abducted students were rescued following a swift response by local vigilantes. PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the attackers stormed the community around midnight, attempting to seize students from their hostels before members of the Kiri Vigilante Group mobilised to confront them. Residents said the vigilantes engaged the gunmen in a fierce exchange, forcing the assailants to abandon the students and flee into nearby bushes. However, the rescue came at a heavy cost. One vigilante was reportedly…

Nigeria’s effort to curb the spread of HIV has suffered a major setback as condom distribution in the country plunged by 55 per cent within one year, according to the latest 2025 World AIDS Day report released by UNAIDS on Tuesday. The report, titled Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response, warned that the global HIV response is facing its worst disruption in decades, with Nigeria listed among countries experiencing severe declines in prevention services. UNAIDS said the drop in condom access is part of a wider collapse in essential HIV services, driven by sudden funding cuts and growing human rights…

There was panic on Tuesday at the main gate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, after several rounds of ammunition reportedly fell from a moving commercial bus along the Zaria–Katsina highway. A viral video posted on X by security analyst and counter-terrorism publication, Zagazola Makama, showed bystanders milling around the scattered ammunition moments after the incident occurred directly in front of the university gate. Witnesses said the ammunition dropped from a passenger bus speeding toward Katsina, raising fears among students and residents already unsettled by rising insecurity in Kaduna and neighbouring states. An eyewitness, identified simply as Musa, said  that the…

Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, says he is willing to champion an amnesty campaign for the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, but only if the separatist agitator publicly renounces violence. Kanu is currently serving a life sentence after he was convicted of terrorism by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme on Tuesday, Gumi insisted that dialogue, not force, remains Nigeria’s most realistic path to resolving its worsening security crises. He argued that the Nigerian military is ill-equipped for prolonged guerrilla warfare, adding that…

Twenty-four schoolgirls abducted by terrorists in Maga, Kebbi State, have regained their freedom, a week after they were seized in an early-morning raid that sparked nationwide outrage. The students were kidnapped at dawn on Monday, November 17, shortly after a military detachment reportedly withdrew from the school premises—a development that raised questions over security lapses in vulnerable communities. President Bola Tinubu, in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, welcomed the release of the girls and commended security agencies for what he described as “swift and coordinated action.” Their release comes amid…

The Federal Government on Tuesday dismissed reports claiming it had imposed a nationwide ban on open grazing, insisting that no such policy has been declared. The Ministry of Livestock Development, in a statement signed by its Head of Press and Public Relations, Oghenekevwe Uchechukwu, said the Minister, Alhaji Idi Maiha, only reaffirmed that the country is currently undergoing a phased transition from traditional open grazing to modern ranching systems. According to the ministry, the transition plan is designed to be systematic rather than abrupt, given the country’s existing livestock infrastructure and economic realities. Uchechukwu explained that Nigeria has 273 gazetted…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed security agencies to launch an intensive manhunt across forests in Kwara, Kebbi and parts of Niger State following renewed cases of kidnapping and terrorist activities in the region. The directive, issued on Tuesday, was announced by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, via a post on his verified X handle. According to Dare, Tinubu ordered a full security cordon around major forests in the affected states, where armed groups are believed to be keeping abducted victims and coordinating attacks. He said the President also instructed the Nigerian Air Force…

As Nigeria joined the global community to mark World Children’s Day, key stakeholders — including UNICEF, senior journalists and government officials — have warned that Nigeria risks deeper social and economic decline unless urgent action is taken to safeguard millions of vulnerable children. Speaking at a panel session on Tuesday in Lagos, participants decried the rising cases of insecurity, poor access to education, and widening inequality affecting children nationwide, insisting that the country cannot achieve meaningful development while millions of its young citizens remain unprotected. UNICEF Deputy Country Representative, Ronak Nkan, said this year’s theme, “My Day, My Rights,” underscores…

A U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, has sentenced a 29-year-old Nigerian, Temitope Bashua, to 30 months in federal prison for his role in a multi-year scheme that exploited America’s COVID-19 relief programmes and defrauded the government of more than $290,000. Bashua, who pleaded guilty, will also serve two years of supervised release after completing his jail term. The sentence, delivered on November 20, 2025 by Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher, followed Bashua’s admission that he conspired with others to steal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) using the stolen identities of unsuspecting victims. According to…

Nine days after terrorists kidnapped 24 schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, the Federal Government on Tuesday announced their rescue, insisting that no ransom was paid. President Bola Tinubu, who welcomed the development, hailed the security agencies for what he described as a determined operation to secure the girls’ release. The schoolgirls were abducted at dawn on November 17, shortly after a military detachment reportedly left the school premises — a withdrawal that triggered public anger and intense scrutiny. Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, who received the students in…