NEWS

The Federal Government has withdrawn the alleged forgery case instituted against senior advocate, Mike Ozekhome (SAN). The withdrawal was announced on Tuesday in court by counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN). It would be recalled that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had on January 16, 2026, filed a three-count charge bordering on forgery against Ozekhome. Subsequently, on January 26, the Attorney-General of the Federation assumed control of the matter, pledging to ensure diligent and thorough prosecution in line with due process. However, at Tuesday’s proceedings slated for Ozekhome’s arraignment, Oyedepo formally applied to discontinu...

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that voter turnout in the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections stood at 14 percent, an improvement from the 9.4 percent recorded in 2022. The commission conducted chairmanship and councillorship elections across the six area councils in Abuja on Saturday. In a statement, Wilfred Ifogah, INEC’s acting director of voter education and publicity, described the turnout as a noticeable increase compared to the previous FCT council polls. According to the commission, 1.68 million voters were registered for the 2026 elections, compared to 1.58 million in 2022  reflecting an increase of about 100,000 voters, or 6.3 percent growth in the voter register. Out of the 1.68 million registered voters this year,...

North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, has been re-elected as general secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. The decision was announced on Monday by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which said the party formally adopted the measure on Feb. 22 during its Ninth Congress. The report cited nuclear and missile development and the economy as reasons for the decision. It said the war deterrence of the country with "nuclear forces as its pivot" has been radically improved under Kim. The media outlet also reported a revision of party rules without specifying what has changed. The report also said the congress selected the party's central committee members, but it did not include some names, such as Choe Ryong Hae, the chair of the standing committee of the Supreme People's As...

A cement-laden truck rammed into a Lagos State Traffic Management Authority officer and two commercial motorcyclists, k!lling them on the spot. The crash occurred at about 9 am on Monday, February 23, 2026 at the busy Badagry Roundabout. An eyewitness said the truck was approaching the junction at top speed when it suddenly lost control, swerved off its lane and crushed the victims in the process. “The LASTMA officer was controlling the traffic when he lost control and was suddenly crushed on the spot," the witness told punch. "The two motorcyclists were also affected while they were waiting to pick up passengers,” the eyewitness said. A police source said the incident resulted in gridlock in the area. “Other LASTMA officials were mobilised to the scene of th...

Genocide Comments: PFN Rejects Call for INEC Chairman’s Removal Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, has declared that based on the shortcomings witnessed during the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) elections, Nigerians cannot have confidence in the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, to conduct credible elections in 2027. Speaking during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television, Odinkalu described INEC’s performance in the FCT poll as a complete failure. He maintained that the problems observed were not due to legal limitations but rather a lack of commitment and weak electoral management. Although he referred to the FCT election as a relatively small exercise, Odinkalu warned that t...

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has confirmed a fire incident at the old terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, stated that emergency officials were promptly deployed to the scene and are actively handling the situation. He further disclosed that the agency’s emergency response team swiftly mobilised to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading, reassuring the public that no casualties were recorded in the incident. “We are aware of the outbreak, and we are there right now. We will publish a statement right now. Our firefighting team is currently responding and working to curtail the situation. No loss of lives has been recorded. Further updates will be recorded,...

​The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Christopher Maikalangu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the elected chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). The Collation Officer for AMAC, Prof. Andrew Abue, said that Maikalangu, who is the incumbent AMAC chairman, was returned elected having scored the highest number of votes cast, 40,295 out of the total number of Valid Votes of 62,861 in the election. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 3,398 votes. According to Abue, the rejected votes is 2,336 and total valid votes is 62,861, while the total vote cast is 65,197. He added that the number of registered voters i...

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said it will review the Electoral Act 2026 in order to comply with the law as regards schedules for the 2027 elections. Mr Adedayo Oketola, the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said the commission would release a “revised timetable”. Oketola, who was not specific on the date for the release, insisted that INEC was committed to abiding by the laws of the land. He stated this in an interview with Sunday PUNCH while reacting to the demand of some political parties for the release of a new timetable. Leaders of the parties, who spoke to our correspondents, said another timetable had become inevitable in the light of the new electoral act. They added that it was...

The Lagos State Government has debunked reports claiming that the monthly environmental sanitation exercise has resumed. Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, insisted no commencement date has been confirmed. Wahab explained that what he told newsmen after a project inspection tour last Sunday was that engagements with relevant stakeholders were still ongoing. He said the state government had planned to begin with a sensitisation programme last week, but was constrained by logistics issues. “The truth is, we were meant to start with a sensitisation programme last week, but we had a logistics issue. We need to find a day that is acceptable to all stakeholders,” he said. He expressed optimism that the exercise might return very soon, adding that ...