Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Power supply was restored in Abuja and parts of Lagos on Wednesday evening after Nigeria’s national grid collapsed earlier in the day, throwing several cities across the country into darkness. The collapse, which occurred around 11:30 am, disrupted electricity supply to multiple distribution companies (DisCos), including those serving Port Harcourt, Jos, Yola, and other regions that, as of press time, were still without power. The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) confirmed the incident in a public notice on its official handle, attributing the blackout to a “loss of supply from the national grid at 11:23 am.” The company assured customers…

Fresh tension has engulfed Ipetumodu town in Ife North Local Government Area of Osun State as princes from two rival ruling houses clash over the throne of the Apetumodu following the conviction of the incumbent monarch, Oba Joseph Oloyede, in the United States. Oba Oloyede, the 27th Apetumodu, was recently sentenced to over four years in prison for COVID-19 loan fraud, alongside an order to forfeit assets and pay more than $4.4 million in restitution. The monarch’s conviction has deepened a decades-long rivalry between the Aribile and Fagbemokun royal lineages, both of whom are laying claim to the vacant stool.…

The former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, on Wednesday, left the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after hours of questioning over alleged financial misconduct during his tenure. Kyari, who arrived at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja around 2:15 pm, was grilled on suspicious transactions linked to four bank accounts already frozen by court order. Speaking briefly to journalists after the interrogation, the ex-NNPCL boss declared: “I have done my part; the EFCC must do theirs. When each of us does our duty—without fear or favour, with honour, respect,…

A South African court has sentenced two Nigerian women and their South African accomplice to prison for running a brothel used in trafficking young girls into sex slavery. The convicts — Patience Precious Abudu (35), Success Egabor (42), and Nontobeko Mathunjwa (36) — were sentenced by the Plettenberg Bay Regional Court on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, after pleading guilty to charges bordering on human trafficking, operating a brothel, and living off the proceeds of prostitution. Their sentencing followed a sting operation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), with support from South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs. The suspects…

Panic has gripped a village in Oyo State after gunmen stormed a mosque on Monday night and abducted a worshipper during prayers. The victim, identified as Amadu Usman, was taken away around 9 p.m. when about seven armed men invaded the mosque while he was praying alongside his elder brother, Adamu Usman. Security analyst, Zagazola Makama, confirmed the incident, saying the attackers whisked Amadu away to an undisclosed location, leaving worshippers in fear. Following the abduction, a combined team of security operatives, including the Amotekun Corps, local vigilantes and hunters, immediately launched a manhunt for the suspects. They have since…

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently enforce the Supreme Court judgement granting full autonomy to local governments across the country. The call was contained in a communiqué signed by the President-General of NULGE, Aliyu Kankara, after the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday. More than a year after the apex court’s verdict, NULGE lamented that the ruling had not been implemented, describing the delay as a setback to grassroots development and democracy. “This undue delay undermines the principles of democracy and denies people at the grassroots…

A Magistrate’s Court in Makurdi, Benue State, has ordered the remand of a 34-year-old pastor, Kelvin Imo, at the Makurdi Correctional Centre over the alleged rape of a female church member during a prayer session. Imo, who resides at No. 5, Gboko Road, Makurdi, was accused of violating the woman inside a branch of Living Faith Church located opposite Coca-Cola Camp, Gboko Road, after allegedly incapacitating her during a prayer session on April 22. The prosecutor, Inspector Friday Kanshio, told the court that the matter was reported to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) through a petition filed by the…

The Tola Adebajo Foundation (TAF) has honoured outstanding students in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, with scholarships, cash awards, and educational materials at the closing ceremony of its third annual free holiday coaching programme. The event, held at Saint James Anglican Primary School Hall, Atikori, Ijebu-Igbo, marked the end of a four-week summer coaching programme that brought together more than 2,000 students across the Ijebu axis. A Senior Girl of Ijebu-Igbo Girls Grammar School, Odupitan Olubunmi, who recorded distinctions in her Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, received a scholarship and a cash prize of ₦100,000 from the foundation to support her studies…

Nigeria has been ranked the fourth most dangerous country for school children caught in armed conflicts, according to a new United Nations report. The 2024 report of the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, published in 2025, revealed that Nigeria recorded 2,436 grave violations against children last year, trailing only Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories (8,554 cases), the Democratic Republic of Congo (4,043), and Somalia (2,568). The violations, described as the highest in nearly three decades, include abductions, killings, recruitment into armed groups, sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals. Globally, the UN said it verified 41,370…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed frustration over its inability to sanction politicians and political parties already engaging in premature campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at a stakeholders’ roundtable on early political campaigns. He said the commission is legally handicapped despite the clear provisions of Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, which prohibits campaigns earlier than 150 days before polling. Yakubu lamented that while Nigerians expect INEC to act against violators, the Electoral Act does not prescribe any penalty for such breaches. “Quite correctly,…