Author: Platform Times Newspaper

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights has hailed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos which declared unlawful the N110bn expenditure by the National Assembly on vehicles and support allowances for lawmakers. Justice Yellim Bogoro, who delivered the ruling, held that the controversial spending failed to meet constitutional and statutory requirements governing the use of public funds. Reacting to the verdict, the group described the decision as a “landmark victory” for accountability, transparency and the rule of law. In a statement jointly signed by its National President, Comrade Yinka Folarin, and National Secretary, Comrade Idris Afeez…

…Says 1.3 million new cases recorded in 2024 as global response falls off track …Calls For Urgent Political  Commitment Ahead Of June 2026 HIV summit The United Nations (UN) has warned that declining external financing for health programmes is reversing hard-won gains in the global fight against HIV, with Africa and other regions increasingly exposed to rising new infections and treatment gaps. In a report issued ahead of the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS scheduled for June 22–23, 2026, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said the global HIV response is at “a critical juncture,” stressing that progress achieved…

…  Parents, Teachers Raise Alarm Over Safety Of Examination Centres …. NUT Warns Trauma May Derail Students’ Academic Performance Nigeria’s ongoing 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), conducted by the West African Examinations Council, has come under renewed strain as escalating school abductions across parts of the country heighten fears for the safety, concentration and performance of over 1.9 million candidates. The examinations, which began on April 21 and are scheduled to end on June 19, are being written in more than 24,000 centres nationwide amid growing anxiety triggered by unresolved mass kidnappings of pupils and teachers…

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have rescued Mrs. Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul, the sister of former Minister of Power and All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Adebayo Adelabu, alongside her 12-year-old twin sons after a fierce gun battle with suspected kidnappers in Ibadan, Oyo State. The operation, which was carried out on Saturday evening, led to the killing of two suspected kidnappers, while two firearms were recovered from the gang. Security sources confirmed that the victims were rescued alive at about 7:30pm, three days after they were abducted on June 3 while they were on their way…

Troops of the Nigerian Army have arrested a suspected terrorist kingpin, Kachalla Halilu, during a targeted, intelligence-driven operation at a busy market in Zamfara State, as security forces intensify efforts to dismantle criminal networks in the North-West. The suspect was apprehended at the Shinkafi Weekly Market by operatives of the 8 Division Garrison following credible intelligence that tracked his movement to the location. Military sources said the troops swiftly mobilised and executed the operation without resistance, successfully taking Halilu into custody. Items recovered from the suspect at the point of arrest include a motorcycle, a mobile phone, a cap, and…

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has denied reports alleging that he promised automatic senatorial tickets to lawmakers who lost out in the recent primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that his remarks were misinterpreted. Akpabio, who spoke through a statement issued on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Eseme Eyiboh, said he neither made nor authorised any such promise, describing the reports as misleading. The Senate President had, during plenary on Tuesday, while welcoming lawmakers back from a three-week recess and the Eid-el-Kabir break, expressed concern over the outcome of the party primaries which saw several…

The United States Government has approved over $240m in humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable populations in Nigeria and several other crisis-affected countries, in a move aimed at strengthening emergency response and life-saving interventions. The funding, awarded to Catholic Relief Services, will be deployed across Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti and Sudan, targeting critical sectors including food security, healthcare, nutrition, water, sanitation and shelter. A senior official of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response, Ryan Shrum, announced the intervention on Friday in Rome, Italy. He spoke alongside the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy…

A retired Major General, Abubakar Rabe, and his wife, Hajiya Amina Abubakar, have appealed to authorities and community leaders to facilitate their rescue after spending one week in captivity following their abduction in Katsina State. The plea was contained in a four-minute video released by their abductors and circulated on social media on Saturday, heightening concerns over the worsening security situation in the North-West. In the footage, the visibly distressed couple spoke under duress, relaying the demands of their captors, who called for the release of three detained individuals—identified as Sani, Aminu and Nasiru—as well as the return of livestock…

By BASHIR ADEFAKA Nigeria stands today at a fragile crossroads. Terrorism, banditry, and violent criminality continue to threaten our national stability, yet beyond the bullets and bloodshed lies another danger—careless rhetoric and divisive narratives that risk tearing apart what remains of our fragile unity. It has become increasingly common to hear certain groups frame Nigeria’s security crisis as a calculated agenda of “Fulanisation” or “Islamisation.” These claims, repeated loudly and frequently, are often presented as unquestionable truths. But the question must be asked: which narrative are we meant to accept—and on what evidence? Terrorism is a global phenomenon. It thrives…

…Stranded Bayelsa indigene faces forced exit, no money to return home Daud Olatunji A young Nigerian, Emmanuel Walter from Bayelsa State, has become one of the most visible faces of distress among Africans stranded in Cambodia following a government directive ordering all affected foreign nationals to leave the country by June 15, 2026. Walter, who is currently stuck in deteriorating conditions in the Southeast Asian nation, is pleading for urgent assistance to return home after what he and others describe as a failed overseas job arrangement that left him stranded without financial support or safety net. His case comes as…