Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

By Maureen Onochie and Jide Olusola

The Federal Government has called on Nigerians aged 15 to 35 to register with the National Youth Data Bank (NYDB), saying the exercise will help identify their skills, needs and locations and connect them with opportunities in the public and private sectors.

The Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the launch of the National Youth Data Bank project.

Olawande said the registration would cover youths in both the formal and informal sectors, including those in agriculture, sports and the creative and technology industries. He said reliable data on young Nigerians would help the government bridge the gap between it and the youth population and improve the planning and implementation of youth programmes.

According to him, the database would help answer critical questions such as ‘who are our young people?’, ‘where are they?’, ‘what can they do?’ and ‘what opportunities do they need?’ He said the initiative was a continuous government programme and was not being introduced for electoral purposes.

‘We also want to get the formal and the informal youth to make sure that they are part of this. We want everybody. We even want to know the youth in agriculture. We want to know the youth in sport. We want to know all those in creative tech and all that, so that even when we say some people need jobs, we know, okay, these people need skills,’ he said.

Also speaking, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of POGMA Nigeria Limited, the technical partner of the project, Otunba Oluyinka Akerele, said registration points had been created across educational institutions and would be extended to local government areas and wards nationwide.

He said the exercise would target youths in secondary schools, polytechnics, universities and colleges of education, as well as those in the informal sector and rural communities. ‘For the Nigerian youth registration, we have created cluster points in schools, polytechnics, universities, College of Education.

These are targets for the formal sectors,’ he said. Akerele said enumerators would be deployed across the 774 local government areas to register youths, including those in hard-to-reach communities.

‘All we appeal to our youth to do is to embrace the programme, go out en masse and be registered. It is only when you are registered that we know who you are, where you are, and how you can benefit from the supposed government dividend of democracy,’ he said.

Akerele said the registration was open to Nigerians aged 15 to 35 years, in line with the Nigerian Youth Policy. ‘You are addressed as a youth in Nigeria once you are 15, and once you are 35, you still remain a youth,’ he said.

He added that the database would be regularly updated, with those below 15 captured when they attain the eligible age. ‘For those that are not up to 15, that’s why you have an updating, just like you have with INEC. Once they are 15, our enumerators are there to capture them,’ Akerele said.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate release of five Nigerians reportedly arrested in Borno State over T-shirts bearing the words ‘Tinubu Must Go.’

He said if a political slogan is the reason for their detention, those responsible must explain how wearing a shirt became an offence in a democracy.

In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said President Bola Tinubu once stood with Nigerians protesting fuel prices under President Goodluck Jonathan, but now presides over a cost-of-living crisis that has made the same fuel, along with food, transport and electricity, painfully expensive.

‘Tinubu opposed Jonathan’s fuel policy in the streets. Nigerians are living with the consequences of Tinubu’s fuel policy in their homes. Parents are cutting meals. Workers can scarcely afford the journey to work. Families are being crushed by bills that rise faster than their income. And when citizens put their anger on a T-shirt, the response is reportedly an arrest. What kind of democracy grants its President the right to protest, then takes that right away from everyone else?’ Atiku asked.

”Tinubu Must Go’ is a demand for political change. It is not a weapon, a threat or a crime. President Tinubu can disagree with those words. He can campaign against them. He cannot make people disappear into custody for wearing them.’

Atiku called on the authorities to disclose the detainees’ whereabouts, grant them immediate access to their families and lawyers, and release them if the slogan is the basis for their arrest.

‘Tinubu was free to tell Jonathan that his policies were hurting Nigerians. Nigerians must be free to tell Tinubu that his policies are hurting them. Release these five citizens now.’

The Federal Government has declared Thursday, October 1st, 2026, as a public holiday to mark the nation’s 66th Independence Anniversary celebration.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulated all Nigerians at home and abroad on this year’s celebration of the 66th Independence anniversary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Tunji-Ojo stated that peace and stability are necessary conditions for the development of any nation, calling on Nigerians to emulate the nation’s founding fathers in their love for the fatherland and build a Nigeria of ‘our dreams that our children will be proud of, that a new Nigeria is achievable.’

‘As we celebrate 66th years of our independence, we should always remember that there is hope for our country and our diversity is our strength, and our collective determination remains the foundation upon which a stronger and more prosperous nation will be built’, he said.

The Minister reassured that this administration, through the Renewed Hope Agenda, will ensure a better Nigeria for all citizens, as a befitting tribute to the country’s heroes past.

He urged citizens to use the Independence celebration as an opportunity to demonstrate the values of unity, patriotism, peaceful co-existence and mutual respect.

Vice-Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has told leaders of the opposition party that many of them will be retired from politics if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is re-elected.

Amaechi said this while addressing ADC-National Women League Conference in Abuja, on Wednesday.

Citing example of how the All Progressives Congress (APC) defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the center in 2015, Amaechi charged the women to go to their states and wards and bring in votes, saying that is the only way ADC will be able to defeat APC.

He said, ‘If you are not from FCT, go home and campaign, me I am going on Wednesday, I will not wear suit, I will dress like a young man. Let me tell you what will happen. We the crop of leaders you see here. If APC wins 2027 elections, we are retired from politics. So if you don’t want us to retire from politics, we must go home.

‘If you bring two thousand votes per ward, don’t win your ward. Just bring two thousand votes we have won the election. Men are controlled by their wives don’t let your husbands sleep, because if we win, you have won. We will not take any election lightly, you will see me in Kebbi, Yola, Rivers, Delta fighting for the governorship elections, because the Presidential candidate cannot govern without the governors.’

Amaechi, a former minister of Transportation, said the APC used women to defeat the PDP.

‘When we were in APC and we wanted to remove your government, you saw what we did. We brought out the women, in every state we went to, women were in front. We spoke to them, we met with them at night, and we made sure that we told them that if they did not come out to vote, we would not win. And they came out. We fought the war, and we won.

‘That time, Nigeria was not as hungry as it is now. Nigeria could afford some food, right? Now, how many of you can afford the food? How many of you can pay school fees without texting, texting to Dino (Senator Dino Melaye) or somebody else to give you some money for school fees.

‘Every week, 10 Nigerians move into poverty. If they tell you how many Nigerians have died, you’ll be shocked. By the time I left government in APC, I’m giving you figures now: 10 and 12 million out of school children. Today there are 20 million out of school. That means every day Tinubu is taking Nigerians, 20 million Nigerians, 80% from the north, into poverty.

‘If you’re a northerner and you’re sitting here, you shouldn’t even be singing at all. Reason Tinubu is taking you more every day into poverty. The thing you need to do is to take the battle in your hands. If all the women in the north come out to vote, Tinubu cannot announce any result.

Also speaking, Hajiya Titi Atiku Abubakar, told the gathering that the time had come to work for the betterment of Nigeria, charging the women not to be intimidated.

She urged them to go out and convince their friends, neighbours and others to vote for the ADC.

‘If you go to the market, you cannot buy anything, even medicine. Yesterday I sent them to buy medicine for me. Medicine that we used to buy for 400. It is now a thousand. I couldn’t believe my eyes. So where is the money? And we are in a cashless society, that even all the monies are being taken away.

‘People work, the contractors work, they refuse to give them money. Because of ADC, because they don’t want people to support us. We, ADC, don’t have money. Let me tell you, we have to get it by force. We have to get it.

‘Most of our children are not in schools because the cost of living is so expensive. So, women, I implore you. Women, I beg you. Don’t let them come and buy you food. And we have to go to all the corners of this Nigeria, especially to the people in the villages,’ he said.

The Borno State Police Command has attributed the arrest and prosecution of five youths who wore T-shirts with #TinubuMustGo inscription to alleged drug possession.

Police Public Relations Officer in Borno, ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso, said this while reacting to the backlash which trailed the arrest.

Critics had taken to conventional and social media platforms to describe the arrest as an arbitrary clampdown on free speech.

However, in a press statement issued on Wednesday, the Command’s Spokesman dismissed the political narrative, maintaining that the suspects were apprehended over alleged thuggery, inciting public disturbance, and the possession of illicit substances.

According to the police, the five suspects, identified as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio, and Abdulhamid Mohammed, were arrested on September 25, 2026, at approximately 6:00 p.m.

Daso stated that the arrest was made by officers on a routine township patrol around the West-end roundabout ‘after the suspects engaged in conduct deemed capable of causing a public breach of peace’.

He listed the items recovered from the suspects during the operation as 15 wraps of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, 100 tablets suspected to be D5, one shisha pot, a pair of scissors, and the two T-shirts bearing the ‘Tinubu Must Go’ inscription.

The police spokesperson said preliminary investigations were conducted, statements were obtained, and the suspects were subsequently charged to court.

‘The command wishes to categorically state that the Nigeria Police Force is a professional, non-partisan institution and does not discriminate against persons on the basis of political affiliation or viewpoint,’ ASP Daso stated.

‘The command remains committed to the protection of fundamental human rights, the rule of law, due process, accountability, and transparency in the discharge of its responsibilities.’

The police added that bringing the matter before a court of law was necessary to allow the judicial process to take its natural course.

The Command urged members of the public to rely on verified information rather than unconfirmed narratives, allowing the court to determine the outcome based strictly on facts and evidence.

Based on the Police First Information Report (FIR), they were charged with criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace, and thuggery-offences the prosecution argued run contrary to Sections 60, 78, 79, and 392 of the Borno State Penal Code.

However, their legal counsel subsequently moved a bail application. The presiding judge adjourned the matter to October 6, 2026, for a ruling on bail, while the substantive trial was slated for October 26, 2026.

With the case now before a court of law, legal and public attention would be shift to the judiciary to resolve the conflicting accounts surrounding the incident.

The Kaduna State Police Command has arrested 24 suspected kidnappers and recovered 24 firearms, including three AK-47 rifles, as well as hundreds of rounds of live ammunition across the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Rabiu, disclosed this during a press briefing in Kaduna on Wednesday.

He said the command also recovered two AK-47 magazines, 38 live cartridges and a bag containing charms.

According to him, the achievements were recorded through intelligence-led operations, surveillance, rapid response and collaboration with other security agencies and community-based security structures.

Rabiu said operatives of Operation Fushin Kada attached to Kudan Local Government Area arrested a 45-year-old man, Abdullahi Ibrahim, during a routine patrol along the Maraban Kanja area on September 24.

He said a search of the suspect led to the recovery of two locally made AK-47 rifles, nine locally made long guns, 10 locally made pistols, two AK-47 magazines, 50 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and 38 live cartridges.

The police commissioner said the suspect told investigators that he obtained the weapons from two individuals identified as Saidu Magari and Mallam Ado, who are currently at large.

In another operation, the command recovered three firearms allegedly linked to banditry and cattle rustling along the Kidandan-Birnin Gwari axis.

Rabiu said the recovery followed intelligence on the activities of one Lawal Umar of Kidandan village, Giwa Local Government Area.

He said operatives of the Vigilance and Criminal Response Unit (VCRU), Zaria, intercepted a vehicle suspected to have been used to transport arms from Nguru, Yobe State, at Dogarawa, Zaria.

The vehicle was found to contain an AK-47 rifle, a Type-06 rifle and an LAR rifle, all with empty magazines.

The commissioner said Umar was still at large, adding that efforts were ongoing to apprehend him and uncover the network behind the movement of the firearms.

He further disclosed that two suspected members of an arms and ammunition trafficking syndicate, Rayyanu Adamu and Nasiru Abubakar, were arrested around Giwa and the railway station axis.

According to him, detectives recovered 270 rounds of AK-47 ammunition and 30 rounds of Type-06 ammunition from the suspects.

Rabiu also said police and vigilantes foiled a bandit attack in Gimi Ward, Makarfi Local Government Area, on September 20.

He said one of the attackers, 20-year-old Usman Alhaji Dahiru, was wounded and arrested, while a locally made rifle, pistol, ammunition and charms were recovered.

On vehicle theft, the commissioner said police arrested two suspects, Hamza Yushau and Abdullahi Abdullahi, at New Panteka while they were allegedly attempting to make a new key for a stolen Hyundai Elantra.

He said the suspects confessed to purchasing the vehicle from one Abdulkadir Yahaya of Zaria, who is currently at large.

Rabiu assured residents that the command would sustain intelligence-led operations against criminals and called on the public to provide timely information on suspicious activities.

‘There will be no breathing space for criminals who seek to threaten the peace and security of our communities,’ he said.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Shehu Usman Bawa, has challenged Governor Uba Sani and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over claims that the ruling party faces no strong opposition ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

Bawa, popularly known as ABG, said the alleged concern over the opposition contradicted claims that the PDP and other opposition parties were not strong enough to challenge the APC in the election.

‘If there’s no opposition, why are they worried?’ Bawa asked while speaking with journalists at his campaign office in Kaduna.

He added: ‘By February, by God’s grace, everybody will find out if they have an opposition or not.’

The PDP candidate said his party remains active across the state and was engaging stakeholders and communities as part of its preparations for the 2027 election.

Bawa said the movement of some elected politicians from the PDP after the 2023 elections had not destroyed the party’s grassroots structure, insisting that its supporters remained with it.

‘The structure they used is a PDP structure. That structure still remains the way it is. The same people that voted for them, those supporters that have actually been following day and night, they are still there in PDP,’ he added.

He said the party would build its 2027 campaign around the existing structure, while seeking to expand its support across the state.

‘We have our party. The structure is still intact, and that is the same structure we’re using for 2027. We believe in 2027 we’ll get more votes,’ Bawa said.

The former House of Representatives member also said the PDP would prioritise direct engagement with voters rather than relying mainly on rallies, billboards and other conventional campaign activities.

‘It is not by rally or by putting billboards that will give you victory,’ he said.

Jordan Wike, son of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday presented his American passport at the FCT High Court in Abuja as he continued his defence in a suit involving an alleged $2.1 million Abuja land allocation scam.

The judge, Sylvanus Oriji, had on Monday ordered Jordan to produce his American passport following a dispute over his whereabouts on 25 October 2025, the date the claimants alleged that the minister’s son received $2.1 million in cash from them at a residence in Gwarimpa, Abuja.

Safwan Garba GY and GY Global Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited instituted the suit, alleging that Jordan received $2.1 million in cash from them last year to facilitate the acquisition of hectares of land in two prime areas of Abuja, an allegation the minister’s son denied.

According to Premium Times, Jordan said he had travelled outside Nigeria with his American passport on the day the claimants alleged that they gave him the money.

But the claimants maintained that they delivered the money to Jordan to facilitate the acquisition of land in Abuja after they met in London and established a relationship.

They alleged that Jordan agreed to acquire 30 hectares of land in Katampe and Guzape, respectively, for a fee of $2.1 million.

The minister’s son allegedly told the claimants that $2 million was for his father, the minister, while $100,000 was for himself.

The claimants said they delivered the $2.1 million in cash to the minister’s son on 26 September 2025 in the presence of Adamu Sani, Aliyu Sarki and Sai Wani.

They also said Onor Sandy, who accompanied Jordan, was present when the minister’s son received the money.

According to the claimants, Jordan, whose father previously served as Rivers State governor before becoming FCT minister, went ‘incommunicado’ after receiving the money.

The claimants said they later discovered that the plots were owned by a company that was preparing to begin developing them.

They said they demanded a refund on 31 October 2025 but received no positive response, prompting them to institute the suit to recover their money.

During Monday’s proceedings, Jordan, represented by his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), adopted his statement on oath in opposition to the suit.

He maintained his innocence during cross-examination by the claimants’ lawyer, Hamza Dantani, denying any knowledge of the transaction.

The claimants’ lawyer, Mr Dantani, then applied to the court for an order directing Jordan to write his full name and signature five times each on a plain sheet of paper.

The defence did not oppose the application, which the court promptly granted.

The Obidient Movement has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the 2027 general elections without first addressing unresolved issues surrounding electoral transparency, result transmission, and institutional credibility.

National Coordinator of the movement, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, issued the warning in a statement released in Abuja on Tuesday, in response to recent disclosures by INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, regarding the commission’s adoption of AI tools ahead of the 2027 polls.

Prof. Amupitan had earlier disclosed that INEC had commenced the deployment of AI tools to detect discrepancies and administrative errors in election results.

He added that the commission was fortifying its systems against AI-generated disinformation, including cloned voices of electoral officers, deepfake videos, forged official documents, and fabricated result sheets.

Rejecting the proposal, Dr. Tanko argued that the electoral umpire had failed to explain the operational framework of the technology, the specific problems it seeks to solve, and the safeguards put in place to prevent deliberate manipulation or abuse.

‘The same INEC that has failed to address the most basic issues surrounding electoral transparency, result transmission, and the credibility of its processes is now announcing plans to deploy Artificial Intelligence in the 2027 elections,’ Tanko said.

Citing a recent investigation by Mundx Analytics, which alleged that presidential results from over 50,000 polling units were uploaded via mobile phones, the Obidient Movement leader maintained that technological innovation cannot substitute for institutional integrity.

‘Introducing AI into a system that has yet to account for its existing failures is not electoral reform. It is an attempt to distract Nigerians from the fundamental questions of institutional independence, transparency, and accountability,’ he added.

The movement called on INEC to publish its comprehensive roadmap for the 2027 general elections-detailing all technologies, procedures, and safety measures to be deployed.

The group further demanded an independent audit of the commission’s existing electoral technology, with full public disclosure of findings and corrective measures, alongside a fully transparent and verifiable result transmission process.

Eighteen business owners affected by the recent fire incident at a Spar Mall in Calabar have received N25 million each as financial assistance from the Federal Government, bringing the total intervention to N450 million.

Cross River State Governor, Prince Bassey Edet Otu, presented the cheques to the beneficiaries on Monday at the Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office in Calabar.

Otu said the intervention was aimed at helping the affected business owners rebuild their businesses and restore their livelihoods after the incident.

He said although accidents could sometimes be unavoidable, the government’s response to those affected was important, adding that his administration recognised the contribution of small businesses to the state’s economy.

The governor recalled the September 1 visit of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu to Cross River for the launch of the South-South Zone of the National Community Food Bank Programme, saying the visit had produced other interventions beyond the immediate purpose of the programme.

He thanked President Bola Tinubu and the First Lady for the intervention, which he said would help reduce the economic burden on the affected families.

Otu urged the beneficiaries to use the funds to rebuild their businesses and establish sustainable livelihoods, assuring them of continued government support.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, the Chief Executive Officer of AM Global, Andifonkan Samuel, thanked the Federal and state governments and other stakeholders for their intervention.

Samuel said the support would help restore hope among those whose businesses were affected by the fire and enable them return to productive economic activity.

The Manager of Spar Calabar, Gbenga Ewarawon, also thanked President Tinubu and Governor Otu for their intervention on behalf of the affected businesses.