Category: PM News

Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has described Hafidh Ameir Hassan, the late husband President of Tanzania, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan ‘First Gentleman that carved a unique path in the country’s history.’

Obasanjo said this in a message of condolence to the President Tanzania over the passing of her husband.

The former Nigeria’s President condolence letter to the Tanzanian President was made available to newsmen by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Tuesday.

In a condolence letter to the President in Zanzibar, the former President noted that, ‘rather than seeking the noisy glare of the political spotlight, late First Gentleman remained a humble and dedicated agricultural academic, choosing to anchor’s wife family with quiet grace.

‘He stood by your side through the decades, long before you took up the monumental task of leading your great country, providing the warmth of home and a steady anchor. His passing is not only a profound personal loss for you and your children, but it is also a loss for the wider East African community that respects your leadership and service.’

Obasanjo stated that the news of the passing was received with a deep sense of shock and profound sorrow, and ‘on behalf of my family and on my own behalf, I write to express our heartfelt condolences to Your Excellency, your children – including Wanu – and the entire bereaved family during this difficult and painful moment of bereavement.

‘The loss of a lifelong companion and pillar of strength is a heavy burden to bear, but I pray you find comfort in the enduring legacy of peace, quiet dignity, and steadfast support that he exemplified throughout your shared journey, adding, it was a profound personal loss for you and your children, but it is also a loss for the wider East African community that respects your leadership and service.

‘We take solace in knowing that he lived a meaningful life and left behind a wonderful family that continues to contribute meaningfully to public life and society.

‘May the Almighty God grant you the fortitude and divine comfort needed to bear this irreparable loss, and may He grant the soul of our dear brother, Hafidh Ameir Hassan, eternal rest,’ Obasanjo was quoted as saying in the statement.

The Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun Corps, has arrested 53 suspects over alleged involvement in kidnapping, murder, attempted murder, burglary, stealing and cultism.

Among those arrested are 21 undocumented foreigners found living in two apartments in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area.

The state commander of the corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, said on Monday that the foreigners were arrested following intelligence from members of the Fulani community.

He said they claimed to have entered Nigeria from neighbouring West African countries to engage in menial jobs and phone repairs but could not produce documents authorising their stay.

‘I want to call the attention of the general public to the embarrassing way that foreigners traverse the state’s forests and cities under different guises.

‘Again today, we have 21 of them that rented only two apartments in Owo under the guise of coming in from neighbouring West African countries to do menial jobs and repairs of phones, being coordinated and assisted by indigenes.

‘We found out that they don’t even have ECOWAS papers to guarantee their stay.’

Adeleye warned that foreigners abandoned by their sponsors could become involved in criminal activities.

‘Apart from being likely to be suspected illegal immigrants, most times when their sponsors abandon them, they become ready tools as criminals and accomplices,’ he said.

He added that four suspects had been arrested over an alleged self-kidnapping scheme in which false alarms were raised on social media to extort money.

‘We have four people here today that give self-kidnapping and raise false alarms using social media. We moved in and were able to arrest the first two,’ he said.

Adeleye also said seven suspected kidnappers were arrested through collaboration with the Fulani community. A military uniform was recovered from one of them, while two kidnapped boys were rescued.

He said one of the victims had suffered machete wounds but was rescued alive and was receiving treatment.

‘With the cooperation we received from the Fulani community, we were able to jointly carry out an operation where a military uniform was recovered from one of the kidnappers, and we successfully retrieved the two kidnapped boys, though wounded.

‘In an attempt to kill one of them, they macheted his head, his body and every part of him. We brought him back alive and he is now stable.’

The All Progressives Congress in Adamawa State is facing a major political setback as businessman and frontline governorship aspirant Abdulrahman Bashir Haske prepares to defect to the Allied Peoples Movement ahead of the 2027 elections.

A close political associate of Haske, Alhaji Hussaini Ahmadu Har, confirmed that plans to move Haske’s political structure from the APC to the APM were at an advanced stage.

Har described the impending defection as a ‘political tsunami’ that could significantly alter Adamawa’s political landscape. He disclosed that several Haske loyalists had already left the APC for the APM.

In a post on his verified Facebook page, Har shared Haske’s photograph alongside the APM logo, declaring, ‘The movement is a fight to the finish. Do not be left out of the train of victory. Come back to reality and join the movement.’

‘Abdulrahman Haske is coming in 2027, and by God’s grace, he will win,’ the post added.

Haske was considered one of the APC’s leading governorship aspirants in Adamawa, with supporters insisting that he stood a strong chance of securing the party’s ticket through a free and fair primary. However, his camp believes that internal party arrangements deliberately shut him out of the contest.

His expected departure would represent a significant loss for the APC, given his popularity, extensive grassroots network and formidable political structure across the state.

Although Haske is reportedly outside Adamawa, momentum around his anticipated defection is growing. Sources said his movement to the APM could trigger a wave of defections from the APC, African Democratic Congress, Labour Party and other political parties.

Haske’s supporters maintain that he was frustrated out of the APC by powerful interests threatened by his growing influence and political ambitions.

Further details are expected as consultations continue.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has narrowly edged Peter Obi in a new national online poll, defeating the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate by just 1,067 responses in a contest involving 69,110 approved participants.

The Oxford Metro Analytics National Trust Poll put Tinubu ahead with 24,469 responses, representing 35.41 per cent of the total, while Obi recorded 23,402 responses, or 33.86 per cent.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar came third with 18,430 responses, representing 26.67 per cent. The razor thin 1.54 percentage point gap between Tinubu and Obi offers a snapshot of a highly competitive political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Omoyele Sowore recorded 1,016 responses, or 1.47 per cent, while 638 participants said they did not trust any candidate yet. Seyi Makinde received 519 responses, Goodluck Jonathan 284, while 204 participants were undecided and 122 selected other candidates.

Tinubu leads three zones

The poll revealed a sharply fragmented political map, with Tinubu leading three of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. He led the North West, North Central and South West, while Atiku dominated the North East and Obi controlled the South East and South South. In the North West, Tinubu secured 4,129 responses, representing 43.10 per cent of 9,579 participants. Atiku followed closely with 3,775 responses, or 39.41 per cent.

Tinubu also led the North Central with 6,370 responses, representing 36.97 per cent of the zone’s 17,228 participants. Obi came second with 5,364 responses, or 31.14 per cent. The President’s strongest regional performance came from the South West, where he received 10,968 of 25,199 responses, representing 43.53 per cent. Obi followed with 7,788 responses, or 30.91 per cent.

Obi dominates South East

Obi recorded his strongest regional performance in the South East, where he secured 5,796 of 9,061 responses, representing 63.97 per cent. Atiku came second with 2,550 responses.

Obi also led the South South, receiving 2,389 of 5,760 responses, or 41.48 per cent. Tinubu followed with 1,785, while Atiku received 1,433. Atiku’s strongest regional showing came in the North East, where he secured 1,235 of 2,227 responses, representing 55.46 per cent. Tinubu recorded 523 responses, while Obi received 452.

Tinubu wins 21 reporting areas

The state level results showed an even more competitive picture. Tinubu led in 21 of the 37 state and Federal Capital Territory reporting areas, while Obi and Atiku each led in eight. Tinubu’s leading states included Benue, Borno, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Zamfara and the FCT. His biggest state level haul came from Lagos, where he received 9,265 of 21,956 responses, representing 42.20 per cent.

Obi’s strongest performances came largely from the South East. He received 582 of 585 responses in Ebonyi, 247 of 251 in Anambra and 569 of 666 in Abia. He also led in Enugu and Imo.

Atiku, meanwhile, recorded overwhelming leads in Kebbi and Nassarawa, securing 661 of 662 responses in Kebbi and 590 of 599 in Nassarawa.

Kogi, FCT, Rivers produce nail biting contests

Three reporting areas produced particularly close contests. Kogi recorded the tightest result of the poll, with Tinubu receiving 39 responses against Atiku’s 38, a difference of just one response.

In the FCT, Tinubu secured 5,599 responses against Obi’s 5,278, giving the President a margin of 321 responses, or 2.05 percentage points. Rivers was another closely fought contest, with Tinubu receiving 975 responses against Obi’s 892. Atiku came third with 568.

Lagos, FCT dominate participation

The national figures, however, were shaped significantly by the uneven distribution of participants.

Lagos accounted for 21,956 responses, while the FCT contributed another 15,666. Together, they represented more than half of the national dataset. At the other end of the scale, Taraba recorded just 20 responses, while Zamfara had 57, Gombe 58 and Yobe 59.

Oxford Metro Analytics therefore cautioned that percentages from states with very small response totals should be interpreted carefully.

The organisation described the exercise as an open online public pulse poll rather than a scientific probability survey.

Participation was voluntary and self selected, with no demographic, population or projected turnout weighting applied. The platform used duplicate controls, privacy protected hashed identifiers, device and browser signals, server side uniqueness locks, approval statuses and fraud flagging tools to reduce repeat or suspicious submissions.

However, Oxford Metro Analytics acknowledged that these measures cannot make an open online poll representative of Nigeria’s entire electorate.

The Convener of the Olalekan Ayinla Foundation and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Olalekan Ayinla, has launched a fresh mobilisation drive for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, urging Nigerians, particularly the Yoruba, to rally behind the President.

Ayinla made the call on Sunday amid intensifying political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections, accusing opposition parties of resorting to what he described as fabricated narratives in an attempt to discredit the Tinubu administration.

The APC chieftain said political competition should be driven by performance, credible alternatives and sustainable policies rather than what he described as attempts to mislead the public or undermine the government through unrealistic promises.

‘Democracy is a game of the survival of the fittest. It is not about bringing up policies you already know cannot see the light of day simply because you want to tarnish the image of the present administration,’ he said.

Ayinla urged Nigerians to look beyond the criticisms of the administration and assess what he described as the impact of its projects and programmes across the country.

He maintained that the Tinubu administration had initiated several programmes and infrastructure projects, urging Nigerians to position themselves to benefit from the opportunities they provide.

‘We should look for a way to enjoy the dividends of the massive projects and programmes being done by the Bola Tinubu administration instead of looking for his mistakes,’ he said.

Making a direct appeal to the Yoruba, Ayinla described Tinubu’s presidency as a historic opportunity for the ethnic group and called for stronger support for the President.

‘It is an opportunity for us to have him as the President. The Yoruba race should show more support for their own,’ he said.

His comments come as political parties and interest groups begin to intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.

The Olalekan Ayinla Foundation has continued to undertake grassroots mobilisation and empowerment initiatives across Lagos State in support of programmes associated with the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

President Tinubu described the death of Mr Peter Chukwuemeka Chijioke Onwubuariri, Assistant Director, Media, at the Presidential Villa as a painful loss to the Presidency, the News Agency of Nigeria, the media community and the nation.

The veteran journalist and public servant who died after a prolonged illness was a former North American Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria

He was posted to the Presidential Villa in 2014 and subsequently served in the media teams of three successive administrations – those of Presidents Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

A consummate journalist, Onwubuariri covered a broad range of critical national and international issues, including foreign affairs, telecommunications, politics and finance. He brought extensive professional experience, sound judgment, and a deep understanding of how government and the media work to his assignments.

Before his posting to the Presidential Villa, he rose through the ranks at the News Agency of Nigeria. He served as an Assistant Editor-in-Chief, contributing significantly to the agency’s journalism and editorial operations.

In reaction to his passage in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, his spokesperson, President Tinubu commended the late Onwubuariri for his dedication, professionalism and commitment to duty.

The President also noted that years of service of the deceased across three administrations reflected his competence, loyalty to the nation and enduring commitment to public service.

The President said:

‘Peter was a dedicated journalist and a committed public servant whose professionalism and calm disposition earned him the respect of his colleagues and associates. His years of service to three administrations are a testament to his competence, integrity and commitment to duty.

‘His passing is a great loss to the Presidential Villa, the media fraternity and Nigeria. He will be remembered for his diligence, his wealth of experience and his contributions to journalism and national service.’

President Tinubu also extended his heartfelt condolences to Onwubuariri’s wife, Catherine, his three children, his extended family, colleagues and friends.

The President prayed that God Almighty grant the family the strength to bear the loss and grant the soul of the departed eternal rest.

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, has urged Nigerian universities to develop ethical frameworks for Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in teaching and research rather than attempting to ban its use

Ogunsola said this Tuesday on ‘Opportunities, Risks and Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Research’ at the Eighth Lagos State University (LASU) Research and Innovation Fair.

The fair, which was held at the Aderemi Makanjuola Lecture Theatre, LASU, Ojo, had the theme: ‘Accelerating National Development Through Artificial Intelligence-Driven Research and Innovation’.

Ogunsola said that AI had become an integral part of the society, making it necessary for universities to adapt rather than attempt to prevent its use.

‘We cannot ban AI but we must teach minds to think,’ Ogunsola said.

According to her, the increasing use of AI by students presents both opportunities and challenges for the education sector.

She said that universities must ensure that students would use AI as a tool to enhance learning rather than allow it to perform the intellectual work required of them.

Ogunsola said that AI could access knowledge, recall facts and execute processes faster.

She emphasised, however, that universities must continue to develop students’ abilities to reason, analyse and think critically.

‘A mind that is not challenged cannot think. The struggle of working things out is what makes a mind think,’ the vice-chancellor said.

She warned that excessive dependence on AI could undermine the fundamental purpose of education by allowing students to complete academic tasks without acquiring the required knowledge.

She said the development of AI had also raised concerns about privacy, intellectual property, academic integrity, regulation and accuracy.

According to her, universities must, therefore, establish clear guidelines that will encourage responsible AI use while protecting academic standards.

Ogunsola cited a study in which AI was used under teacher supervision to support English Language learning.

The vice-chancellor said that the intervention produced remarkable improvement among participating students.

She said the students achieved, within six weeks, what researchers estimated would require about two years of traditional instruction.

‘The teachers were not replaced by technology; they were using technology to enhance learning,’ she said.

She said that Nigeria’s high level of AI adoption had further demonstrated the need for the country’s education sector to develop appropriate ways of integrating the technology.

Ogunsola urged educators to rethink assessment methods, saying that widespread use of AI meant that lecturers could no longer assume that submitted assignments represented students’ independent thinking.

‘For many of us, teachers, we might be assessing AI rather than the student’s brain,’ she said.

She said the challenge before universities was to redefine human intelligence and identify the skills that technology could not replace.

According to her, education must continue to develop critical thinking, creativity, reasoning and other human capacities that cannot simply be delegated to AI.

She urged academics to embrace the technology responsibly and focus on preparing students for an increasingly AI-driven world.

The reports that the fair brought together researchers, innovators, academics, industry stakeholders and policymakers to showcase research and discuss solutions to national challenges.

The Sokoto State Police Command has arrested about 20 persons over a protest demanding the release of detained Islamic cleric, Dahiru Barewa, which allegedly turned violent in parts of Sokoto metropolis.

The protesters were arrested after some youths reportedly blocked roads, staged demonstrations and allegedly attacked security personnel while demanding Barewa’s release from custody.

The spokesperson for the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmed Rufai, confirmed the arrests on Tuesday, saying the suspects had been charged to court.

‘About 20 persons were arrested in connection with the protest, and they have been charged to court,’ Rufai said.

The protest followed a court order directing the re-arrest and remand of Barewa, also known as Mai Barewa, over allegations that he threatened to kill Islamic scholars Sheikh Musa Ayyuba Lukuwa and Malam Murtala Bello Assada.

The allegations reportedly stemmed from videos circulated on social media in which Barewa was allegedly seen making threats against the two clerics.

Barewa was said to have linked his alleged comments against Sheikh Lukuwa to remarks attributed to the cleric concerning the parents of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), while also expressing disagreements with some authorities.

Assada had earlier reported the alleged threats to security agencies, claiming Barewa had repeatedly threatened him and Lukuwa in different videos.

Police said security operatives intervened after the protesters allegedly became unruly and attempted to forcefully remove Barewa from custody.

The command urged residents to remain calm and law-abiding, stressing that grievances should be addressed through lawful means.

The federal government’s fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes took a whole new dimension from Thursday, October 19, 2023 when Ola Olukoyede took over the reins of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s leadership.

Right from the outset, the past 34 months have continuously witnessed reforms and a realignment of the Commission’s operations in sync with its mandate for enhanced professionalism and better enforcement and preventive outcomes.

Within this period, EFCC’s efforts, pursuant to its mandate have strongly taken root in the deployment of the anti-graft fight to catalyse the national economy, enthrone transactional credit system, amplify preventive strategies, drive enforcement on the wheels of the rule of law and reinvent the country’s image.

Olukoyede’s work plan towards the actualisation of the Commission’s mandate translated to resilient enforcement, institutional reforms, enhanced prosecution, better preventive frameworks, massive asset recovery, restitutions to fraud victims, stronger collaboration on both the local and international fronts and standout upshots on all fronts.

For starters, the Commission broke its 23 years monetary asset recovery record in both national and foreign currencies in just 34 months of Olukoyede’s leadership. The same in fixed assets.

Recovery in naira hit a record high of ?1, 233,612,040,411.11, (One Trillion, Two Hundred and Thirty-three Billion, Six Hundred and Twelve Million, Forty Thousand, Four Hundred and Eleven Naira, Eleven Kobo).

In dollars, it hit an all-time high of $684,478,457,32, (Six Hundred and Eighty-four Million, Four Hundred and Seventy-eight Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty-Seven Dollars, Thirty-two cents).

In Pound Sterling, the recovery hit £373,905.78, (Three Hundred and Seventy-three Thousand, Nine Hundred and five Pounds, Seventy-eight Shillings) while it rose to pound 9,343,803.66 (Nine Million, Three Hundred and Forty-three Thousand, Eight Hundred and three Euros, Sixty-six Cents) in euros.

Out of the naira recovery, approximately ?397.26billion, representing 33 percent was made for the federal government, while the larger chunk of ?836.34billion, representing 67 percent was made for ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, corporate entities, Nigerian and foreign victims of fraud.

In setting another record, the Commission secured the forfeiture of 10,053 fixed assets under interim and final court orders within the period. These included 8,198 electronic items, 1,177 real-estate assets, 370 automobiles, 251 plots of land, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery, ocean-going vessels and aircraft. And also a forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.

On prosecution, the Commission broke yet another of its institutional record, securing 10,872 convictions out of 14,476 cases it filed in court, reflecting a measurable conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 per cent. In the first half of 2026 alone, the Commission recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings.

Faces to the convictions include former minister of power, Saleh Mamman, jailed 75 years for N33.8 billion fraud, former Managing Director, Nigerian Import Export Bank, NEXIM, Robert Orya, jailed 490 years for N2.4 billion fraud and Chukwunyere Nwabuoku, a former acting Accountant General of the Federation, jailed 72 years for N868.4 million Fraud.

Evidential to the Commission’s pursuit of complex and high-profile matters is that it is at the moment prosecuting about 45 high calibre individuals, consisting nine former governors, five former ministers, sixteen former heads of agencies and 13 private sector players for corruption.

The clear message from this, is that in 34 months, the Commission through enforcement and prosecution delivered a huge cleansing of the fiscal space, strengthened federal and sub-national revenue, returned working capital to institutions, companies and citizens, supported financial-market integrity, protected the extractive and digital economies, denied the corrupt and the fraudulent the enjoyment of the proceeds of their unlawful activities and burnished Nigeria’s image.

Beyond the numbers, the EFCC has demonstrated that recovery is only truly meaningful when its value is channelled to public good or returned to victims of fraud and indeed that the national impact of recovery is best felt when proceeds of crime are converted to productive social investment.

This found application in the conversion of the former NOK University, forfeited to the federal government to a Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State, resulting in a total of 1,909 students’ enrolment in the school in December 2025. Apart from opening up the space for more affordable tertiary education, the local economy of the university’s host community will be better energised for it. The news gets even cheerier as another high net worth private university has recently been forfeited to the federal government, through the EFCC. As the federal government has indicated, it will finish the outstanding infrastructure on the over 753 housing units the Commission handed over to it on May 20, 2025 and offer them for sale to the public. The forfeiture of the estate on December 2, 2024, situated on 150,500 square meters in Lokogoma District, Abuja, stands as the EFCC’s largest single asset recovery since its inception in 2003.

In line with Olukoyede’s pitch upon his confirmation by the Senate on October 18, 2003, that a transactional credit system was imperative for the country to stem the tide of corruption and lessen the negative impacts of cash-based economy and its physical currency dominance, the EFCC made a key contribution in the federal government’s establishment of Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) alongside the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) in August 2024. Both agencies had their start-up capital of N50 billion apiece, drawn from proceeds of crime, recovered by the EFCC. Further funding of the two agencies was subsequently approved in 2026 at also N50 billion each from recovered proceeds of crime by the Commission.

Again, beyond the numbers, NELFUND has disclosed that it has disbursed over N322 billion in loans to more than 1.6 million students, while the CREDICORP said it has disbursed over N37 billion in consumer credit to more than 200,000 civil servants.

The work of the Commission within the period equally contributed to improving the integrity of Nigeria’s financial space. The sustained enforcement in money laundering, terrorist financing, asset freezing, virtual assets and other higher-risk sectors within the period, formed part of Nigeria’s wider national effort at implementing the Financial Action Task Force, FATF, Anti-money Money Laundering and Counter- Terrorism framework that led to Nigeria’s removal from FATF’s Grey List in October 2025.

Olukoyede’s reform and restructuring that repositioned the EFCC in the past 34 months include new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of the Commission’s sting operations, the establishment of the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, (FRAC), Security Department, Immigration and Visa Fraud Section, the EFCC 97.3 FM and Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre, (E-C2R2). The E-C2R2 is equipped with hotlines for 24hours uninhibited telephone access for members of the public to fill the Commission in on cyber-enabled financial crimes in both real time and static reporting. At the moment, nearly 60 percent of processes and operations of the EFCC have been digitized.

The Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, (FRAC), deserves a special mention. It is Olukoyede’s shot at corruption and financial crime prevention, which instantly become the Commission’s silver bullet in the examination of the systemic vulnerabilities that allow corruption to fester in MDAs.

The department identifies gaps and vulnerabilities that promote fraud in MDAs, assesses and analyses the identified gaps. It sets a threshold to mitigate the identified gaps and ensures that MDAs take proactive steps at preventing the occurrence of the identified risks through an effective project management mechanism.

It now implements the aspects of the Commission’s Corruption Prevention Strategies that deal with risk-based approaches in the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes. It drives the Commission’s corruption and financial crime preventive measures that are tailored for budget monitoring and implementation in MDAs.

It focuses attention on the budgets of the three arms of government with real time monitoring and tracking of their allocations. With FRAC, the EFCC goes into MDAs and monitors in real time the implementation of their budgets and follows the trail of their allocations as the money is being released. With FRAC, the EFCC is no longer reactionary to incidences of corruption in MDAs. It blocks them from happening.

As part of his promotion of proactive deterrence, Olukoyede catalysed action on the establishment of Cybercrime Research Centre in the Commission’s New Academy in Giri, Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT. The drive anchors in his desire to redirect the youth onto the path of ethical values and further entrench integrity in Nigeria’s financial space.

As a hub for advanced research, training, and capacity building in the fight against cybercrimes, the Centre will focus on the three key areas of Advanced Fraud Detection and Prevention; Youth Empowerment and Capacity Building and Technological Advancement and Resource Facility.

In the period under review, Olukoyede commissioned the Enugu and Ilorin directorates and established new directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states, which has significantly improved Nigerians’ access to the Commission.

Collaboration is central to Olukoyede’s successes. Locally, he prioritised partnership and synergy with other law-enforcement agencies, regulators, the judiciary, MDAs, and state revenue authorities.

At the sub regional level, he is currently a two-term President of the Network of National Anti-corruption Institutions in West Africa, NACIWA. As the rallying point of all anti-corruption institutions in the sub-region, NACIWA has become a crucial platform for regional dialogue on asset recovery, money laundering, other financial crimes enforcement and institutional strengthening in West Africa.

Beyond Africa, the EFCC under Olukoyede has forged strong bonds with the US, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, foreign embassies, United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, INTERPOL and other international law-enforcement agencies.

Tony Egbulefu is of the Media and Publicity Unit of the Public Affairs Department of the EFCC

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Cross River Sector Command, says it has intensified preparations to ensure safer roads and reduction in road traffic crashes during the 2026 Ember Months.

The Sector Commander, Corps Commander Innocent Etuk, said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Calabar on Tuesday.

Etuk said that the command had deployed strategic measures to address increased vehicular movement, congestion and road user indiscipline during the period.

He said the command has also strengthened special intervention patrols along major highways, traffic corridors, crash-prone black spots and other strategic locations across the state.

According to him, patrol teams have also been strategically deployed to enhance monitoring, enforcement and prompt responses to emergencies throughout the Ember Months.

‘The command will focus its enforcement activities on dangerous driving, overloading, speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, use of mobile phones while driving and non-use of seat belts. Other infractions targeted include tyre-related offences, mechanically deficient vehicles, number plate violations and other unsafe practices capable of endangering lives on the highways,’ he said.

The sector commander said the command has equally strengthened collaboration with the state government, transport unions, security agencies, emergency responders, traditional institutions and local authorities.

He said that the partnership would enhance coordinated traffic management, intelligence sharing, emergency response and effective intervention during the festive period.

‘The command will intensify public enlightenment campaigns through radio, television, social media, motor parks, town hall meetings, road shows and other platforms,’ Etuk said.

He added that personnel would be deployed to strategic intersections, entry and exit points, busy traffic corridors, motor parks and other locations expected to witness increased vehicular activities. I charge personnel to remain professional, disciplined, civil and responsive because our operation is aimed at saving lives, preventing crashes and ensuring seamless movement. Motorists are also advised to plan journeys, avoid night travel where possible, rest adequately before long trips and report dangerous driving by calling the FRSC toll-free line, 122,’ he said.

Etuk urged motorists and other road users to comply with traffic regulations and exercise caution throughout the Ember Months to ensure safer journeys across the state.