NEWS

VP Kashim Shettima and Vice President of Sierra Leone, Dr Mohamed Jalloh  On arrival at the Sierra Leone International Airport, Lungi, Shettima was received by the Vice President of Sierra Leone, Dr Mohamed Jalloh, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Sola Enikanolaiye. By Salisu Sani-Idris Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Sunday arrived in Lungi, Sierra Leone to participate in the 69th Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government Summit. On arrival at the Sierra Leone International Airport, Lungi, Shettima was received by the Vice President of Sierra Leone, Dr Mohamed Jalloh, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and Minist...

Two firefighters are receiving medical treatment after collapsing while battling a fire that engulfed the top floor of a three-storey residential building in the Ketu-Ikosi area of Lagos State. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA)l, disclosed the development in a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Olawale Afolabi, who said the incident occurred at about 6:31 a.m. According to Afolabi, the fire broke out in one of two adjoining three-storey residential buildings located at No. 11, Ademola Taiwo Street, Ketu-Ikosi, and was traced to an electrical surge from a prepaid meter. He said emergency responders from LASEMA and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service swiftly mobilised to the scene, successfully containing the blaze before it could spread...

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Moshood Akinwande as President of the Surveyors Council of Nigeria, alongside Olusoji Adeoye and Olaribigbe Shiyanbola as members of the council representing Oyo State. This was confirmed in an appointment letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Ibrahim Abubakar, on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, a copy of which was obtained by PUNCH Online in Ibadan on Sunday. The letter partly read, “I write with reference to the above subject to forward herewith a copy of Mr President’s approval for the appointment of the President and members of the Surveyors Council of Nigeria and to convey the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s approval for the inauguration o...

The winners of the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association national elections have been revealed following the conclusion of voting and the release of results by the electoral committee on Sunday. PUNCH Online had earlier reported that Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, emerged as the 33rd President of the association after defeating two other senior lawyers in the presidential election. The Chairman of the ECNBA, Aham Ejelam, SAN, announced the presidential result at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja. Badejo-Okusanya polled 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast, to defeat her closest challenger, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, who secured 7,934 votes (30.39 per cent), while Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, garnered 5,855 votes (22.43 per cent). ...

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has expressed confidence that its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, will defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. The party's National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, made the assertion during an interview with Punch, stating that Makinde possesses the leadership qualities, experience and national appeal needed to emerge victorious at the polls. According to Yusuf, the APM has intensified its grassroots mobilisation nationwide and is witnessing a steady increase in membership following the defection of several prominent political figures to the party. He said Makinde has the capacity, competence and commitment to tackle Nigeria's security challenges, revive the economy and provide effective govern...

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted more than 1.5 million pills of Tramadol concealed in two trucks that entered Nigeria through the Benin Republic border, dealing another major blow to drug trafficking networks. The development was disclosed in a statement shared on Sunday by the agency's Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, via his 𝕏 account. According to the statement, the latest operation came just one week after NDLEA officers in Lagos seized 558,900 pills of 250mg Tramadol hidden inside a specially designed false-bottom compartment reinforced with thick iron sheets beneath a truck. Babafemi explained that the recent seizure followed credible intelligence, which led operatives to intercept two additional trucks using the s...

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has explained why he chose former Kano State governor and Kwankwasiyya Movement leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election. Speaking in an interview with The Sun published on Sunday, Obi said the decision was driven by their shared vision of lifting Nigerians out of poverty through education and economic development. According to him, Kwankwaso’s philosophy aligns with his own agenda for transforming the country. “Kwankwaso has the philosophy of pulling people out of poverty. “I have the same philosophy. Kwankwaso believes in education. You cannot change society without education. “If you look at my X, formerly Twitter, I made it clear that I will emphasise educ...

The circumstances surrounding the arrest of self-acclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, have emerged following his apprehension by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force. Adeyemi was arrested last Tuesday by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), led by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Moses Lohor, during an operation carried out between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. in the Ijebu-Ijesa area of Osun State. His arrest came after a Federal High Court in Abuja issued a bench warrant against him over his alleged failure to appear in court to answer eight criminal charges. According to information obtained by Punch, security operatives traced Adeyemi's whereabouts to the Aregbe-Fakule area of Osogbo on July 9 after he...

New York Mayor, Zohran Mamdani is in talks over whether to try to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an upcoming UN summit, prompting a sharp rebuke from Netanyahu’s camp. "I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague," Mamdani stated. "He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court." The leftist mayor, who has previously labeled Israel an "apartheid regime," added that this opinion is widely held purely because of what Netanyahu's actions have wrought over the years. Mamdani admitted he was not certain if he has the legal power to order the New York Police Department to detain a foreign leader, but confirmed he is discussing the matter with the city’s legal team. He emphasized that whatever the law allows him to...