Author: Platform Times Newspaper

Several worshippers were feared killed on Wednesday evening after an explosion ripped through a mosque at the busy Gamboru Market area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The blast, which occurred at about 6:15pm during Magrib prayers, threw the area into panic as injured worshippers lay on the ground while residents fled the scene. The Borno State Police Command confirmed the incident, saying preliminary investigations indicated that the explosion was caused by a suspected suicide bomber. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Nahum Daso, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Maiduguri that the attacker struck while…

Terrorists have attacked an outpost of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in the Wawa area of Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, the corps has confirmed. The state Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr Suberu Siyaka-Aniviye, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists in Minna, saying the attackers struck shortly after midnight but no personnel was killed. Siyaka-Aniviye said the assailants, who arrived in large numbers, took advantage of the darkness to launch the attack but were confronted by officers on duty. He explained that the operatives attempted to repel the terrorists, but were forced to tactically withdraw…

The Muslim Congress has explained that the decision by many Muslim organisations to hold major camping and training programmes during the Christmas and New Year holidays is driven by practicality rather than imitation of other faith traditions. TMC said the yuletide period remains one of the few extended windows in Nigeria’s calendar when working adults, professionals, artisans and students can step away from routine obligations to focus on spiritual renewal, personal development and community building. In a statement on Tuesday, the organisation noted that clusters of public holidays around Christmas and New Year — including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and…

Gunmen who abducted 28 travellers, including women and children, in Plateau State have demanded a total ransom of ₦42 million for their release, insisting on ₦1.5 million per victim. The travellers were seized on Sunday night in Zak community, Bashar District of Wase Local Government Area, while on their way to attend a Maulud religious gathering in Sabon Layi community. PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the assailants ambushed the vehicle conveying the victims, whisked them away into the bush and abandoned the vehicle at the scene. A relative of one of the abducted travellers, Ibrahim Musa, confirmed on Tuesday that the…

Nigeria recorded 26,866 suspected measles cases and 153 deaths between January and November 2025, with outbreaks spreading across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, latest data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has revealed. The figures are contained in the NCDC Measles Situation Report for November 2025, which showed that although no death was recorded in November, the disease continued to affect mostly unvaccinated children, exposing persistent gaps in routine immunisation across the country. The agency reported 71 suspected measles cases in November alone, spanning 20 states and 47 local government areas. Of the…

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent forfeiture of two prime plots of land earmarked for the proposed Goodluck Jonathan Legacy Model Housing Estate to the Federal Government, following findings of alleged massive financial impropriety in the abandoned housing project. Justice Mohammed Umar granted the order after upholding an application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, directing that the forfeited properties be handed over to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria for the benefit of Nigerians. The court also mandated the ICPC to supervise the completion of the stalled housing estate, in…

…Slams Blanket Corruption Claims Against State Executives … Says Looting Cuts Across All Levels Of Society Daud Olatunji Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has rejected claims portraying Nigerian governors as inherently corrupt, describing the narrative as unfair, misleading and harmful to public discourse. Radda, speaking during an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI), said corruption in Nigeria was not the exclusive preserve of governors, insisting that individuals outside political office had also been involved in large-scale looting of public funds. Questioning the growing public perception against state chief executives, the governor asked, “Are governors the only thieves in Nigeria?…

The Nigerian Army has arrested four police officers for allegedly defying President Bola Tinubu’s directive withdrawing policemen from non-essential VIP escort duties, raising fresh concerns over enforcement of the controversial security reform. PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the officers were apprehended by military personnel on December 17, 2025, at about 9:30am while allegedly providing unauthorised armed escort services to a VIP. Security sources disclosed that those arrested were Assistant Superintendent of Police Musa Waziri and Inspector Jeremiah Achimogu, both attached to the 45 Police Mobile Force, Abuja; Inspector Awipi Terry of the 21 PMF; and Inspector Hassan Baba of the 50…

A petrol tanker on Sunday rammed into the convoy of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, killing a police dispatch rider attached to him. Akpabio disclosed the incident on Tuesday during plenary at the Senate while announcing the death of the officer, identified as DSP Ibrahim Hussaini. According to the Senate President, the accident occurred shortly after his convoy picked him up from the Ibadan airport following an official visit to the state. “I went to Oyo State for the installation of our colleague. Unfortunately, my dispatch rider was run over by a tanker driver…

The Federal Government has raised the alarm over the increasing use of Point-of-Sale (PoS) operators by terrorists and kidnappers to collect ransom payments, describing the trend as a major challenge to tracking and disrupting terror financing networks. The Director-General of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, disclosed this on Tuesday during an end-of-year briefing in Abuja. Laka said intelligence reports showed that ransom payments were now routinely channelled through PoS operators’ bank accounts, making it more difficult for security agencies to trace the funds and apprehend those behind the crimes. According to him, kidnappers often provide victims’ families…