Author: Platform Times Newspaper

A former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has accused the National Judicial Council (NJC) of manipulating judicial appointments by allocating positions to the children, spouses, and relatives of an entrenched elite he described as the “owners of the judiciary.” Odinkalu made the allegations in a post on X (formerly Twitter) following the NJC’s recent publication of 80 names nominated for judicial appointments in superior courts of record. The list comprises 53 nominees for High Courts, 20 for Sharia Courts of Appeal, seven for Customary Courts of Appeal, and two nominees for the office of Chief…

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has approved a major reshuffle in his cabinet, reassigning key portfolios in a bid to improve governance and service delivery. The development was contained in a statement released on Monday and signed by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Segun Ogunwuyi. According to the statement, the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Seun Ashamu, will now oversee the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. In a corresponding move, Mr Abdulmojeed Mogbonjubola, who was in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources portfolio, has been redeployed to the Ministry of Public Works, Infrastructure…

An operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Isah Yunusa, who was attached to the First Lady of Zamfara State, Hajiya Huriyya Dauda Lawal has been killed by suspected bandits in Kaduna State. The tragic incident occurred on the night of Sunday, May 4, 2025, along the Kaduna–Kachia highway, when gunmen reportedly mounted a barricade on the road and attacked unsuspecting travellers. Yunusa, was said to have been caught in the ambush and fatally shot. His death was confirmed on Monday by conflict journalist and security analyst, Bakatsine, who shared the development via his social media handle.…

The Federal Government has advised Nigerians to brace up for an upward adjustment in electricity tariffs as the country moves towards eliminating the unsustainable burden of power subsidies. Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, issued this warning on Monday during a meeting with the Chairmen of Nigeria’s power generating companies (Gencos) in Abuja. According to him, the prevailing economic realities no longer support the government’s continued subsidisation of electricity consumption. “We have to understand that our economy cannot sustain subsidies indefinitely,” Adelabu stated, adding that electricity consumers must begin to pay tariffs that reflect the actual cost of generating and distributing…

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has resettled 6,000 families displaced by Boko Haram insurgents in a fresh move aimed at restoring peace and dignity to victims of the decade-long insurgency. The resettled families, who mostly hail from Dikwa and Mafa local government areas, were previously sheltered at Muna Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp—one of the largest camps in Maiduguri, housing about 11,000 families. Speaking during the resettlement flag-off on Monday, Zulum decried the rising cases of social vices within the camp, stating that the decision was necessary to curb illicit activities and promote self-reliance among the IDPs. “Boko Haram…

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed that only 420,415 candidates out of the 1,955,069 who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scored above 200 marks, representing just 21.5 percent of the total. This was disclosed on Monday via the Board’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle, as part of the release of the statistical breakdown of this year’s UTME results. The Board’s analysis showed that 4,756 candidates scored 320 and above, while 7,658 scored between 300 and 319. Another 73,441 scored within the 250–299 range, and 334,560 scored between 200 and 249 marks. Majority of…

Daud Olatunji Babcock University has dismissed claims made by the mother of Oladipupo Siwajuola, a Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB) student declared missing, saying the student left campus without permission and now faces disciplinary action over serious misconduct. In a statement issued on Monday, by the institution’s Director of Communication and Public Relations, Dr. Joshua Suleiman, the university described the mother’s social media claims as “sensational, misleading, and unfair,” accusing her of distorting facts and hindering formal investigations. The mother had  on her social media handled   accused the institution of negligence for her child missing. PLATFORM TIMES however reports…

A prominent community leader and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, Chief Toyin Amuzu, has raised the alarm over the reported extortion of commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as okada riders, in the Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State. Chief Amuzu, a known social critic and former House of Representatives candidate for Abeokuta South, condemned what he described as a systematic exploitation of struggling Nigerians by individuals allegedly empowered by the local government. He said the extortion not only reflects a lack of empathy but also worsens the economic burden on residents already grappling with hardship. “This is deeply disturbing…

Daud Olatunji As Nigeria joins the world to mark the 2025 World Press Freedom Day, fresh reports by media rights groups have shown that no fewer than 150 Nigerian journalists have been either killed, attacked, detained or harassed between 2020 and 2024. PLATFORM TIMES reports that at least 150 Nigerian journalists have been killed, assaulted, unlawfully detained or harassed in the last five years, according to findings by leading press freedom advocacy organisations, including the International Press Centre, Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists. The disturbing figure comes as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to…

Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, May 2, 2025, convicted and sentenced two women, Folake Adeoti and Modupe Adewuyi, to one year imprisonment each for hawking currency notes—an offence in contravention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act. The duo were arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on separate one-count charges bordering on the unlawful trading of Naira notes, contrary to Sections 21(1) and 21(4) of the CBN Act, 2007. According to court documents, Adeoti was arrested on March 21, 2025, opposite…