Author: Lawan

The Imo State Police Command has rescued 10 people abducted by gunmen along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway as security agencies intensify efforts to locate other victims and track down the suspected kidnappers. The victims were rescued following a joint search-and-rescue operation launched after armed men attacked two buses conveying National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and other passengers on Thursday morning. The attack occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on October 1 near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, according to the police. Police spokesperson Henry Okoye disclosed the rescue in a statement, adding that the recovered victims were…

Presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said the 2027 general election will be determined by Nigerian voters, not by the number of billionaires backing a political party or the amount of money available to it. Makinde, who spoke at the APM North-Central Town Hall Meeting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, yesterday, said the task of governing Nigeria effectively required energy, planning and a clear understanding of the challenges facing the country. The presidential candidate, while assuring that he had the energy required to pilot the affairs of the country, said he was…

•Refiners demand naira-for-crude overhaul, pricing reformsNigeria’s expanding refining industry could soon face a crude supply squeeze, with domestic refineries projected to require more than 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude against current production of about 1.68 million bpd. The development comes amid Nigeria’s existing crude supply obligations, making it difficult for the country to meet the demands of local refiners at the moment. Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), Mr. Adegbite Falade, raised the alarm at the 2026 Nigeria Oil Refining Summit in Lagos yesterday. He warned that Nigeria cannot sustain its refining ambitions without significantly…

The Federal Government has called for stronger water diplomacy, regional cooperation and strategic investments to tackle shared water, climate, environmental and development challenges in the Niger and Lake Chad Basins. Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, made the call yesterday at the Regional Conference on Hydrodiplomacy, Gender and Strategic Investments for Peace, Stability and Shared Prosperity in Transboundary Basins in Abuja. Utsev said the conference provided a platform to advance sustainable water resources management, climate resilience and peaceful development across the region. He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening partnerships with the Niger Basin Authority (NBA), Lake Chad…

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has promised to restore petroleum subsidy if elected in 2027, but said his administration would first tackle corruption in the system. Obi made the declaration on Monday at a town hall meeting organised for the Obi/Kwankwaso presidential ticket in Sokoto, where he identified corruption as a major problem confronting Nigeria. “People are talking about subsidy but what is all about it is corruption. By removing the corruption, I assure you that we will bring back subsidy,” Obi said. “The problem of Nigeria is corruption, as such, if elected, we will…

The Nigerian Consulate-General in Johannesburg has raised alarm over the deaths of three Nigerians in separate incidents across South Africa between September 18 and 21, 2026. Consul-General, Amb. Ninikanwa Okey-Uche, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday, saying the incidents had renewed concerns over the safety of Nigerians and other African foreigners in the country. The deceased were identified as Kenechukwu Christopher Igwemmadu, Olaniyi Olaleye Olatunde and Christian Hillary Nnaemeka. According to the Consulate, Igwemmadu died on September 18 after allegedly jumping to his death while attempting to escape what it described as police harassment and brutality at Kenlin…

President Bola Tinubu is hale and hearty and has been on an official working vacation, according to a statement defending his absence from Abuja and the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The statement said Tinubu was entitled to his annual vacation and, in the digital age, did not need to be physically present in Abuja to discharge his responsibilities as President. According to the statement, Tinubu has continued to work while away from Nigeria, including holding meetings with investors in France. It also said the President had recently facilitated a $7 billion deep-sea port project in Ogun Waterside,…

…Provides $40bn financial support to Nigeria, 17 othersThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the global economy is facing fresh pressures from war, rising public debt, disruptions to trade and rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), despite showing resilience entering 2026. The warning is contained in the IMF’s 2026 Annual Report, titled “Navigating a Precarious World,” which examines the major forces shaping the world economy and the Fund’s work during its 2026 financial year. The Fund’s Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, said the global economy remained resilient despite increasingly frequent and overlapping shocks, but warned that uncertainty remained high and…

…Seizes N3bn opioid haul at Lagos airport, arrests cross-border traffickers Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, for allegedly attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine concealed in his stomach to Portugal, where he resides. Chukwulobelu was intercepted at the airport’s departure hall on Thursday, September 25, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Lisbon, Portugal, via Addis Ababa. He was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he excreted a total of 72 wraps of the Class A…

Why famous baby photo with Messi got hidden for 17 years – Yamal Spain and Barcelona star, Lamine Yamal has revealed he asked his father to keep his famous baby photo with Lionel Messi hidden to prevent comparison with the Argentine legend. The iconic photo shows Messi bathing baby Yamal. The image, taken by SPORT photographer Joan Monfort, has gone viral since Yamal became a global star with Barcelona. Yamal speaks out on repeated racist abuseRevealing the backstory, the 19-year-old winger said the photo got hidden for this long because he asked his father, Mounir Nasraoui, not to post it.…