EKITI, NIGERIA — The management of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) has indefinitely suspended all academic lectures, directing students to remain indoors following reported security breaches and activities of armed bandits in the neighboring Ayegbaju and Oye-Ekiti communities. The security alert, which spread rapidly across student networks with the rallying cry "Ekiti Kete! Stay Safe," has thrown the university community into a state of high vigilance. Local sources report a sudden surge in suspected criminal activities around the campus periphery, prompting swift intervention from law enforcement. Joint security operatives, including the Nigeria Police Force and local vigilante groups, have heavily deployed to the affected axes to restore order and secure the student residential clusters. University authorities urge all students to strict compliance: Remain inside your hostels and avoid transit between Oye and Ayegbaju. Keep your FUOYE student ID card on your person at all times for easy identification at checkpoints. Signal any unusual movements or suspicious characters to the university security unit immediately. Official updates regarding the resumption of lectures will be communicated as the situation is brought under control.

OGBOMOSO — A profound cloud of grief and sober reflection enveloped the ancient city of Ogbomoso today as prominent figures from across Nigeria gathered to pay their final respects to an icon of humanity, Dr. Sunday Oladipo Adedokun Oladeji. The late Chief Medical Director and CEO of Mainspring Hospital was celebrated in a deeply emotional funeral service at the Beulah Baptist Centre, drawing tears, praise, and a powerful call for self-examination from all in attendance. The atmosphere inside the auditorium was heavy with sorrow, yet punctuated by a collective sense of gratitude for a life spent in the service of the vulnerable. Delivering a gripping sermon titled "Death Cannot Kill Your Testimony Before God and Man" (drawn from Hebrews 11:1-6), Rev. Dr. Sola Lawal, the Pastor of Oore-Ofe Oluwa Baptist Church, moved the congregation to tears. "Do not weep for Dr. Sunday Oladeji; weep for yourselves," the cleric declared, urging the audience to evaluate their own impact on humanity. He praised the late medical director`s unmatched diligence, competence, and golden character, challenging other healthcare practitioners to emulate his selfless footsteps. Rev. Dr. Lawal implored the crowd to adopt the core values that defined Dr. Oladeji`s medical career: Lead with Mercy:Treat patients with profound tenderness and empathy. Give Selflessly:Open your hands to help the poor with whatever resources you possess. Bear Good Fruit: Live an honorable life that leaves a lasting legacy after you are gone. Cleric Fires Back at Social Media Detractors In a moment of raw candor, Rev. Dr. Lawal addressed the painful sting of online gossip that often follows a tragic loss. He strongly cautioned social media users to desist from spreading malicious misconceptions and unverified rumors regarding Dr. Oladeji`s passing. Setting the record straight on the immense personal sacrifices the doctor made for his community, the cleric revealed that Dr. Oladeji routinely took loans from cooperative societies and private individuals just to finance and keep Mainspring Hospital running for the public good. "People must stop spreading rubbish," Dr. Lawal stated firmly, defending the integrity of the deceased. He concluded with an emotional altar call, urging the gathering to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ and live for eternity. The high-profile event stood as a testament to Dr. Oladeji`s immense reach, drawing a powerful delegation of traditional, political, and spiritual leaders. Among the notable dignitaries who sat in the solemn assembly were:Dr. Samson Adegoke MegidaHon. Olamijuwonlo Alao-AkalaRev. Dr. Niyi-Thomas Ojo, President of the Ogbomoso Baptist ConferenceRev. Dr. John Idowu Fatunbi, Pastor of Oja-Oba Baptist ChurchHigh-Chief Representatives sent by the Onpetu of Ijeru Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Oba Sunday Oyediran, Rev Makinde of Oritamefa Baptist Church,Ibadan,Hon Sanjo Adedoyin,majority Leader of Oyo State house of assembly. As Dr. Oladeji’s earthly journey came to a close, the city of Ogbomoso did not just mourn a doctor; they mourned a savior of the sick and a pillar of the community whose testimony will echo for generations to come.

OGBOMOSO— Prominent sons and daughters of Ogbomoso, Oyo State, and dignitaries from across Nigeria gathered today at the Beulah Baptist Centre to celebrate the impactful life of the late Dr. Sunday Oladipo Adedokun Oladeji, the Chief Medical Director and CEO of Mainspring Hospital, Ogbomoso. Delivering the sermon titled "Death Cannot Kill Your Testimony Before God and Man," drawing from Hebrews 11:1-6, the officiating minister and Pastor of Oore-Ofe Oluwa Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Sola Lawal, urged the congregation to reflect on their own lives. "Do not cry for Dr. Sunday Oladeji; weep for yourselves," Dr. Lawal charged the audience, questioning who would miss them or benefit from their lives when they pass away. He fiercely challenged other medical practitioners to emulate Dr. Oladeji’s extraordinary commitment to charity and humanity. Approach patients and the public with deep compassion. Use personal resources actively to lift up the vulnerable. Live a life of good character that leaves fruits after death. Cleric Debunks Social Media Rumours Addressing recent online speculation surrounding the doctor`s passing, Rev. Dr. Lawal strongly cautioned social media users to desist from spreading misconceptions and unverified rumors. Setting the record straight, the cleric revealed the sacrifices behind Dr. Oladeji`s medical practice. He explained that the late CEO financed Mainspring Hospital by taking loans from various cooperative societies and individuals to keep healthcare accessible. "People should stop spreading rubbish," Dr. Lawal stated, describing the late medical director as exceptionally competent, devoted, diligent, efficient, and deeply committed to his character. He concluded by calling on the gathering to give their lives to Jesus Christ and live purposefully. The solemn event drew influential leaders from the political, religious, and traditional spheres who came to honor the deceased . Notable dignitaries present included:Dr. Samson Adegoke Megida,Hon. Olamijuwonlo Alao-Akala ,Rev. Dr. Niyi-Thomas Ojo, President of the Ogbomoso Baptist Conference ,Rev. Dr. John Idowu Fatunbi, Pastor of Oja-Oba Baptist Church, Ogbomoso,Rev Makinde pastor Oritamefa BaptistChurch,Ibadan,Representatives of the Onpetu of Ijeru Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Oba Sunday Oyediran,Hon Sanjo Adedoyin,majority Leader of Oyo State house of assembly. The atmosphere remained one of sober reflection as the community united to celebrate a man whose medical practice prioritized human life and community development above all else.

The Presidency on Thursday described as fake news, report claiming that President Bola Tinubu is seeking to carry out constitutional amendments that will change Nigeria’s name to the United States of Nigeria. A statement issued by Tinubu’s media aide Bayo Onanuga also declared that the report purporting plot to abolish Sharia Law in the Northern region, is fake. According to Onanuga, the story, which cited anonymous sources, “is part of the dubious plot by some desperate politicians to create disaffection in our country, stir up a political crisis, and heat the polity ahead of the general elections. “Nigerians should ignore the viral story in its entirety because the purveyors of the fake news are agents of destabilisation and merchants of disorder”. He clarified that the president has “no plan whatsoever to send any bill code-named Project True Federation to the National Assembly by December 15, a few weeks before the general election”. “President Tinubu is focused on the arduous task of entrenching and deepening the economic reforms his administration has embarked upon. He is focused on delivering more tangible dividends to Nigerians. “Nigerians should be wary of consuming fake and divisive reports, which will proliferate as the nation begins political campaigns, a prelude to the general elections in January 2026,” the statement added.

Alex Otti has advised youths in Abia State not to depend solely on certificates obtained from higher institutions for job security, but to acquire advanced digital skills and knowledge to survive in the 21st-century economy. Governor Otti gave the advice on Wednesday while addressing 850 Abia youths participating in the three-month Techrise Cohort 3 programme. He made it clear that certificates alone are no longer sufficient for employment and survival in highly competitive environments if the youths lack digital skills for innovation and entrepreneurship. Governor Otti, who was represented by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Uzor Nwachukwu, said the three-month training programme was designed to help the youths become entrepreneurs, innovators, and job creators, and ultimately escape unemployment. “So do not just look for certificates. Seek deep competence and hands-on problem-solving skills,” Otti charged them. In her address, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Oge Maduka, said the youths would be trained in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Maduka added that the participants would also receive training in cybersecurity, product design, software development, data engineering, digital innovation, and other emerging technologies.

A ray of hope has come the way of many politicians who lost in the recent primary elections conducted by political parties, following the nullification of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election by a Federal High Court in Abuja. Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, in a judgment, held that the timeframe “imposed” by INEC on political parties to conduct their primaries, submit, withdraw and replace names and particulars of their candidates for the 2027 general elections “is inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026,” and is hereby set aside. The judgment was in respect of a suit challenging the electoral umpire’s timeframe for the conduct of the 2027 general elections, aimed at preventing people who lost in primary elections from defecting to another party and vying for the same office they earlier lost in their former party. A Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment order revealed that the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016 and filed by the Youth Party, has INEC as the sole defendant. The plaintiff in the suit, dated and filed on March 11 by its counsel, J. O. Olotu, sought several reliefs, including a declaration that, upon a proper consideration and interpretation of the provisions of Sections 29, 82 and 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, the powers of INEC to receive notice of party primaries and the personal particulars of candidates, and its duty to attend, observe and monitor such primaries, do not extend to fixing or prescribing the timetable within which political parties may conduct their primary elections for the purpose of nominating candidates for the 2027 general elections. “After hearing J. O. Olotu, counsel for the plaintiff, and Sarafa Yusuf, counsel for the defendant,” Justice Umar held that, going by the provisions of Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which requires political parties to submit the personal particulars of their candidates not later than 120 days before an election, “INEC cannot lawfully abridge or limit that statutory period by prescribing a shorter timeframe in its 2027 election timetable.” Similarly, citing Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2026, which permits political parties to withdraw and substitute candidates not later than 90 days before the conduct of an election, the court held that INEC lacks the power to abridge or limit that statutory period by fixing an earlier deadline for the withdrawal and replacement of candidates in its 2027 election timetable. Justice Umar, in addition, held that by the provisions of Section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026, INEC does not possess the statutory power to publish the final list of candidates for the 2027 general election before the 60-day minimum period prescribed by law. “A Declaration is made that upon the proper construction of Section 98 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the defendant does not possess the statutory authority to fix in its timetable for the 2027 general elections for campaigns to end two days before the elections. “A Declaration is made that upon the proper interpretation of Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the timeframe prescribed by the defendant for submission of membership registers for the conduct of primary elections is not applicable to primary elections conducted for the purpose of replacing withdrawn candidates.” Justice Umar subsequently made an order “setting aside or nullifying the timeframes imposed by the defendant in its Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election for the conduct of primary elections by political parties for the 2027 general elections, the submission of personal particulars of candidates by their political parties for the 2027 general elections, the withdrawal and replacement of candidates by political parties for the 2027 general elections, the publication of the final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections and campaigning for the 2027 general elections, which is inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.” By the revised timetable, all 18 political parties are to submit their membership registers to the commission by May 10, conduct primaries for the selection of candidates, as well as apply for withdrawal and submit replacement candidates for the 2027 general elections before or by the end of May. While all parties have complied with the regulation and are currently conducting their primaries, the outcome, especially for the ruling All Progressives Congress, has met with strong protests in some states, with many candidates withdrawing from the race over alleged imposition of candidates, among other complaints.

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Professor Segun Aina as the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB. Aina, who will be 40 in July, succeeds Professor Is-haq Oloyede, whose two-term tenure expires on July 31, 2026. A statement by Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, described Aina as a distinguished academic and systems expert with extensive experience in national examination systems, digital infrastructure and public-sector institutional reform. “He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Kent, an MSc in Internet Computing and Network Security, and a PhD in Digital Signal Processing, both from Loughborough University, United Kingdom. “He has also completed the Senior Management Programme at Lagos Business School. “A Professor of Computer Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Aina began his career with JAMB during his National Youth Service, gaining foundational experience in national admissions and data-driven institutional processes. “These insights have shaped his ongoing contributions to examination reform and systems optimisation. “Professor Aina is a member of several professional bodies, including the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET),” the statement said.

The Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has warned that terrorists and bandits have heavily infiltrated the South-West, explicitly stating that at least 40 local government areas across the region are under direct terror threat. His urgent intelligence reports reveal that heavily armed criminal factions fleeing military operations in the North-West are setting up camps in South-West forests. His alerts follow a severe security breach in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where bandits launched coordinated attacks on three schools, killing a teacher and abducting dozens of students. Terrorists and armed bandits have set up camps in forests spanning Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo states, as well as parts of Kogi and Kwara. He stated that these criminal movements are highly organized and are being coordinated by foreign actors and sponsors. The bandits are executing a dangerous form of guerrilla warfare, shifting their tactics from nighttime raids to daylight attacks on schools, highways, and public markets. He highlighted a highly disturbing escalation where multiple traditional rulers (Obas) have been targeted and killed in their domains. Gani Adams strongly criticized the South-West governors for political complacency and failing to secure their states. He revealed that he has sent numerous letters and proposals to the governors over the last two years to organize a South-West Security Summit, but has received zero responses. He noted that while the Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun) was an excellent initiative, its recruitment has become heavily politicized, prioritizing political loyalty over operational competence. He lamented that the office of the Aare Onakakanfo has been sidelined, restricting him to merely sharing intelligence rather than actively participating in joint operations with state actors. To halt the impending security implosion, Gani Adams made several immediate recommendations: He announced his readiness to mobilize millions of local hunters and warriors from the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and the South West Security Stakeholders Group (SSSG) to flush criminals out of the forests if the governors grant official permission. He called on surrounding states like Kwara and Kogi to replicate the Amotekun-style localized security framework to protect their border communities. He renewed his advocacy for the immediate creation of State Police to fix the structural weaknesses embedded in Nigeria`s centralized security architecture. He urged traditional rulers and residents to activate robust local intelligence networks and report all suspicious forest movements immediately.

Jude Imagwe, Special Adviser to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, has said that there is no evidence that his former principal has bought presidential nomination forms. Imagwe made this statement on Wednesday when he appeared as a guest in an interview on News Central Television. He was reacting to the speculations around the former president’s 2027 ambition, noting that speculations remain unofficial. Recall that a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Umar Sani, had claimed that Jonathan had purchased a presidential nomination form ahead of the 2027 general election. But Imagwe dismissed the narrative, saying, “There is no suggested evidence that shows that my boss (Goodluck Jonathan) purchased or obtained the form. “Some people said they granted him a waiver. If they have done that in the circuit, I as an individual do not know that they granted him waiver. They are trying to make all this ceremony out of it. “I find it relatively difficult to suggest right now that my boss, the former president, is actually contesting an election and if he’s contesting an election, it shouldn’t be announced to people by Prozy. “He’s a strong man of strong character and strong personality having served in respective capacities, so, people should not announce for him whether he’s contesting an election or he’s not contesting. It’s a decision that he has to take.”

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has declared that the Nigerian government will end killings in the country. Bwala made the remark while maintaining that Nigerians reserve the right to defend themselves with lethal weapons against aggressors in their houses. He spoke on Arise Television on Wednesday in reaction to the killings in Esiele community in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State. On Friday, gunmen had invaded the LA Primary school where teachers and pupils were abducted. Reacting, Bwala said: “Solution is what we all look to, evil men operate anywhere in the world, no matter how tight you are as a government. “You do your best and expect that with the help of God and collective participation of the people through collective intelligence we will be able to put an end to it. “I know the Nigerian people will continue to complain. So because if for example, no matter how we say that we are sorry and the incident happened again people will complain, cry and mourn because it’s the life of the Nigerian people that are taken away by the evil element. We will put an end to this as a people. “Every eve of elections in Nigeria from 2014, 2018, 2022, and now 2026 you will see that crisis increases because of the idea of a crisis economy. A lot of people take advantage of that but the will and spirit of the collective people is what will put an end to this situation. “The constitution has guarantee to every citizen of Nigeria the right to self defense, you have the right to defend yourself. “When your right, my right, and that of my neighbour is put together, it becomes collective right to defend ourselves and Nigerians have the right to defend themselves. “If you come to my house to try to kill me, any lethal weapon I use to defend myself is guaranteed by the constitution. “Number two as a people we have vigilante and in Borno State we have paramilitary organizations that provide intelligence to law enforcement. “Nigerians don’t have the right to bear certain arms unless those arms are permitted but the collective people can come together to apply to the government for the right to coordinate themselves.”