Author: Platform Times Newspaper

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…

Firdaus Obiremi The Promoting Education for Indigent Children Foundation (PEFIC) on Tuesday donated textbooks and other learning materials to 36 pupils from 12 public primary schools in Abeokuta, Ogun State, ahead of the 2025/2026 academic session. The event, held at Imo Methodist Primary School, Oke-Yeke, Isabo, marked the foundation’s first major outreach since its official registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission in August and certification by the EFCC’s Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering in September. Speaking at the ceremony, Alhaji Lateef  Oridota, convener of PEFIC, said the initiative was driven by the desire to give back to the less…

Nigeria is facing an orchestrated and escalating wave of violence designed to destabilise the nation, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, declared on Tuesday during a rare special plenary session held exclusively on national security. The House suspended all regular business to address what Abbas described as “a coordinated and deeply troubling escalation of violence” across several states, including mass killings, school abductions and kidnappings inside worship centres. Abbas said the pattern of attacks suggested a deliberate plot “to instil fear, weaken public confidence, and create the illusion that violent groups can act without restraint,” warning that the…

The Ondo State Police Command has arrested two students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), over the alleged drugging and rape of a 20-year-old female undergraduate. The police spokesperson, DSP Olushola Ayanlade, confirmed the arrest on Monday, describing the case as part of the command’s intensified clampdown on serious crimes involving young people. According to police findings, the victim had honoured an invitation from her longtime friend, 19-year-old Queen Sodo, who allegedly offered her a drink later discovered to have been spiked. The victim reportedly became unconscious shortly after consuming the beverage. Sodo was said to have left the room…

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, says security agencies know the exact hideouts of bandit groups terrorising the North but are often unable to launch direct airstrikes due to the high risk of killing abducted civilians. Onanuga stated this on Monday during an interview on ARISE TV’s Prime Time, where he defended the Federal Government’s handling of the worsening insecurity and condemned comments attributed to Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over alleged support for possible United States military action in Nigeria. According to him, the military has intelligence on the identities and…

Renowned historian and global scholar, Professor Toyin Falola, on Tuesday warned that African universities are facing a “triple challenge” of expansion, relevance and autonomy, urging institutions across the continent to urgently rethink their philosophies, governance systems, and development models or risk becoming globally uncompetitive. Falola delivered the warning while presenting the Distinguished Lecture in honour of the outgoing President/Vice-Chancellor of Babcock University, Professor Ademola S. Tayo, during an event held at the institution’s amphitheatre in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State. The lecture, themed “The Transformation of Babcock,” drew academics, policymakers, administrators and students from across the country. Falola, who holds the Jacob…

The Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW), a coalition of prominent northern women leaders, has condemned the closure of schools in Kebbi, Niger and other northern states, describing the decision as “panic dressed up as policy” and “a surrender to violent actors.” In a strongly worded statement issued on Tuesday and signed by leading advocates — Asmau Joda, Maryam Uwais, Mairo Mandara, Aisha Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Kadaria Ahmed and Larai Ocheja Amusan — the group said the mass shutdown of schools amounts to abandoning children instead of protecting them. VIEW said it was “horrified by Nigeria’s deepening security…

Former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, has revealed that he became so angered by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s comments at his 65th birthday celebration that he briefly contemplated snatching the microphone from him and hitting him with it. Fayose made the disclosure in a fresh interview where he narrated how a planned reconciliation with Obasanjo turned sour at the Lagos event. The ex-governor said two weeks before the celebration, he had decided to reconcile with political associates and rivals he had previously clashed with — including Obasanjo. He contacted the former president through a mutual associate and requested his presence…