Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The National Orientation Agency has uncovered a widespread fraud within the Federal Government’s student loan scheme, implicating several Nigerian universities and financial institutions in deliberately withholding disbursed funds meant for students. In a statement issued on Sunday, the agency’s Deputy Director of Communications and Media, Paul Odenyi, disclosed that an investigation by the agency’s Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers (COMO) revealed unethical practices perpetrated by tertiary institutions in collusion with banks, denying students access to loans allocated by the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). NOA’s Director General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, disclosed the findings following a high-level meeting with NELFUND’s Managing…

The Presidency has dismissed the recent ruling by a United States court ordering the release of records regarding President Bola Tinubu’s alleged involvement in a decades-old drug trafficking case, insisting that no new revelations are expected. In a statement on Sunday, presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, said the documents ordered to be released by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have been in the public domain for over 30 years and contain no indictment against Tinubu. The ruling, delivered on April 8 by Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of…

The Kwara State Police Command has arrested controversial singer Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, over allegations of criminal defamation, threat to life, and incitement against renowned Fuji musician, Saheed Osupa. The arrest, which followed a formal petition by Osupa, was confirmed in a statement issued on Sunday by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi. According to the statement, the petition detailed Portable’s alleged use of abusive and insulting language, as well as conduct likely to cause a breach of peace. The police said the allegations also included character assassination and incitement. “In view of the weight of…

The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, the Emir of Kano, His Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, and the Chief Operating Officer of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, Dr Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode,  on Sunday joined other global advocates in London for the 11th anniversary of the Chibok Girls abduction. The event, themed “A Decade On: Chibok Photo Exhibition and Commemoration,” is holding at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and aims to reflect on the global impact of the 2014 abduction that shocked the world. In a statement made available on Sunday, Muhammed-Oyebode said she would lead…

Controversial Nigerian crossdresser and social media personality, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, has announced his return to the country after a five-month stay abroad. In a post shared via his verified Instagram account on Sunday, Bobrisky informed his followers and Lagos-based clients of his return, while also disclosing a staggering $200,000 (over N300 million) fee for any potential hookup arrangement. “All my sugar daddies in Nigeria, ur baby is back. If you wanna hook up with mummy, it’s $200K,” he wrote. The self-acclaimed “Mummy of Lagos” noted that the transactions must take place only at high-end hotels like Eko…

The Lagos State University of Science and Technology, LASUSTECH, has dismissed three lecturers from its academic staff over confirmed cases of sexual harassment. The affected staff are Nurudeen Hassan of the Department of Mass Communication, Kareem Arigbabu, and Olayinka Uthman, both from the Department of Arts and Design. Their termination was approved following a thorough investigation and deliberations by the institution’s Governing Council. According to an internal memo titled “Dismissal of Staff Members Due to Sexual Harassment Allegations,” the decision was made in line with Section 5.5.2(v) of the University’s Senior Staff Conditions of Service. “The Governing Council of LASUSTECH…

Tragedy struck in Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, when a 49-year-old man, Nnamdi Anyaji, allegedly hacked his 68-year-old mother, Dorathy Anyaji, to death with an axe over a disagreement on money from a cassava business. The suspect reportedly attempted to take his own life after committing the act but was promptly arrested by operatives attached to the Ekwulobia Divisional Police Station. Confirming the incident in a statement on Sunday, the spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the suspect was apprehended on Friday, April 11, 2025, around 1:40 pm. “Police operatives arrested one…

A United States District Court in Washington, D.C., has ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration to make public records relating to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. The directive, issued by Judge Beryl Howell on Tuesday, followed a legal motion filed by American transparency advocate, Aaron Greenspan, who sought a review of an earlier decision that denied access to the documents. Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, a website that promotes legal transparency, had accused the FBI of violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by withholding documents linked to alleged federal investigations into Tinubu and one Abiodun Agbele.…

Nigeria’s external debt servicing has surged significantly in 2024, with the country spending a total of $2.32 billion to meet its obligations to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to a report by the Debt Management Office (DMO). This represents a sharp increase from the $998.92 million Nigeria paid in 2023. The bulk of this year’s debt servicing went towards the IMF, which received a total of $1.63 billion, comprising solely of principal repayments with no interest charges. The World Bank, on the other hand, received $689.44 million, broken down into $663.23 million to the International Development…

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared that poverty should not exist in Nigeria, emphasizing that the country’s abundant resources should be harnessed for the betterment of its citizens. Obasanjo made these remarks during a dinner organized in his honor by the Abia State Government at the Government House in Umuahia on Friday. According to him, Nigeria is richly endowed by God, and there is no reason why Nigerians should suffer poverty. “Nigerians have no business with poverty because God has given us all that we need,” Obasanjo said. “If we are mismanaging what God has given us, we do not…