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.”

The Peace Corps of Nigeria, PCN has expressed grave concerns over the continued invasion of educational institutions by bandits across the country with callous abductions of innocent pupils and teachers for ransom purposes. The Corps warned that the systemic criminal assault on the academic system, if left unchecked, will undermine the fabric of the educational sector. Addressing a media conference in Abuja on Wednesday, National Commandant of the Corps, Dickson Akoh lamented that the wanton attacks on schools will not only induce severe psychological trauma and pervasive fear among students, but will also profoundly discourage parents from sending their wards to schools and colleges, thereby jeopardizing the future of Nigerian youth. In view of the escalating insecurity across the country, most notably the frequent invasions, targeting, and kidnapping of staff and students, Akoh canvassed the deployment of Peace Corps personnel to educational institutions to tackle the challenges headlong. According to him, “the initiative seeks to deploy a layered security framework that integrates grassroots monitoring with robust early-warning systems to detect and mitigate threats before they escalate. “By training and deploying disciplined officers and men as specialized safety officers, the initiative will address critical issues such as cultism, drug abuse, and unauthorized access, establishing a proactive, community-driven presence within schools and colleges to safeguard lives and property. “Operating at the front-lines of the educational institutions, deployed personnel will focus primarily on continuous surveillance and intelligence gathering within school perimeters. “By maintaining a constant, vigilant presence, the Corps will be strategically positioned to identify vulnerabilities, track suspicious activities, and detect potential security breaches by intruders. “This critical, real-time intelligence will be seamlessly and rapidly transmitted to conventional security agencies, creating a vital link that enables a rapid, coordinated response to neutralize threats before harm can befall the academic community. Akoh pleaded with the appropriate authorities to consider the position of the Corps towards combating banditry in schools so as to safeguard the educational future of the citizens and national development of the country.

. The Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, has protested and condemned what it called the avoidable kidnapping and killing of pupils and teachers in Oyo State as well as similar incidents in other parts of Yorubaland. OPC’s President, Mr Wasiu Afolabi, accused governors of the South-West and other Yoruba-speaking states of ignoring the threat posed by Fulani terrorists and the alarm the organisation raised in times past about the danger. Afolabi, in a statement, said: “The kidnapping, killing and beheading of our defenceless Yoruba kinsmen in Yorubaland is not only condemnable, it is highly provocative; and it will not be tolerated. “We, hereby, urge the government to permit and equip the OPC and other self-determination groups to confront the threat posed by terrorists in order to terminate the insecurity being imported into Yorubaland from the North. “Yorubaland is under attack. Long ago, we warned; we shouted. But our leaders continued to play politics and refused to act on the matter. Now we must face the reality that the enemies have surrounded us. “Our people say: To be forewarned is to be forearmed. But Yoruba people and our governors have been wallowing in this unbelievable sense of fake safety and security, while ignoring the looming danger by foreign bandits, terrorists and their local collaborators. “We will not tolerate a situation where our children cannot safely attend school, where our people cannot travel or where our farmers cannot farm because of some foreign elements. “Time has come to take the bull by the horn and confront these unprovoked, cold-blooded and needless killings.” He described as worrisome and unacceptable that soldiers and police would shoot at demonstrators filing out to protest in places where such kidnappings and killings by bandits had taken place. According to Afolabi, such a situation smelt of suspicion about the security agencies acting out a secret agenda in favour of terrorism and ethnic expansion. Expressing anger over the beheading of one of the abducted teachers, OPC said: ”What offence did this defenceless teacher, Mr. Michael Oyedokun commit to deserve such a horrible fate of being beheaded? How can you report for duty in the morning, get kidnapped and wind up beheaded like a chicken?” OPC warned that every minute terrorists remained in the forests would only give them a stronger foothold to build a fortress from which they would unleash more evil against Nigerian citizens. “OPC wants governors in Yoruba-speaking South-West and beyond to urgently invite all vigilante, hunter and militant groups to join the war against terrorism in Yorubaland. Governors must immediately declare a state of emergency and get all hands on board to collaborate with the security forces to restore peace to our native land. “We cannot fold our arms anymore and wait for bandits and terrorists to be entering our homes, our towns and villages to kidnap and kill at will. Enough is enough. The government must rise up, support and equip patriotic and willing individuals and groups like OPC to enter the forests to restore sanity.” Urging all the relevant executive and legislative arms of government to expedite action on the creation of states-run police, OPC called for the South-West to adequately equip all the groups for adequate security in the meantime.

A former presidential aide and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Umar Sani, has claimed that former President Goodluck Jonathan has already purchased a presidential nomination form ahead of the 2027 general elections. Sani, who served as senior special assistant on media and publicity to former Vice President Namadi Sambo, made the claim during an appearance on Trust TV on Tuesday. The remarks come amid renewed consultations by Jonathan across political circles, fuelling speculation that the former president may be preparing for a political comeback nearly 12 years after leaving office. Although Jonathan has not publicly declared his ambition or confirmed the platform on which he may contest, Sani suggested that internal crises within the PDP may have contributed to the former president’s cautious approach. He dismissed talk that the party is trying to use Jonathan’s public appeal for their own gain. He maintained that the former president’s actions already indicated serious political interest. “The issue is not about whether we will extract commitment from him. What is most important in politics is action. If your action suggests you are interested, there are certain actions to follow. One of which is the procurement of the nomination form. “He has procured the nomination form. In fact, he is about to come and submit the forms publicly. So it is not an issue of whether we are trying to bring or use him for our face-saving grace, whatever. No. “The fact of the matter is that we believe that Jonathan is the right choice at this moment,” Sani said. He also expressed confidence that the suit challenging Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the presidency again would fail in court, arguing that the matter had already been settled judicially. “We are very confident that the matter will be thrown out because you cannot relitigate something that has already been decided upon,” Sani said. According to him, only the Supreme Court could overturn earlier decisions on Jonathan’s eligibility, insisting that the pending matter before Justice Peter Lifu would likely be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction when it comes up on May 26. The PDP chieftain also dismissed claims that Jonathan’s supporters were merely exploiting his name for political relevance, insisting that many Nigerians remained emotionally attached to the former president due to memories of his administration. “Most Nigerians know him and are nostalgic about Jonathan. At the time he left office, many people felt the PDP was not performing, but now Nigerians have seen the difference clearly,” he added. Jonathan served as Nigeria’s president between 2010 and 2015 before losing re-election to former President Muhammadu Buhari. Since leaving office, he has largely played diplomatic and mediation roles across Africa while avoiding direct involvement in partisan politics.

The Defence Headquarters has said terrorist groups have not established permanent operational bases in Nigeria’s South-West, insisting that recent attacks in Oyo State were isolated criminal incidents. The clarification came after reports alleged the presence of entrenched terrorist bases in the South-West, particularly in the wake of the Oyo incident. On May 15, 2026, a total of 32 victims, consisting of 25 students and seven teachers, were kidnapped after terrorists attacked three schools in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. Reacting in a statement on Tuesday, the Director, Defence Media Operation, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja said the attack did not reflect the existence of any permanent terrorist structure in the region. He added that earlier clearance operations in the Old Oyo National Park had significantly degraded the capacity of criminal elements operating within that axis. He said, “The Armed Forces of Nigeria wishes to categorically address recent media reports and public speculation suggesting that terrorist elements have established a permanent operational base within the South West geo-political zone of Nigeria, particularly following the attack in Oyo State. “It is pertinent to state that the incident was an isolated criminal act and does not reflect the existence of any entrenched terrorist structure in the region, as the Armed Forces had earlier conducted a comprehensive clearance operation of the Old Oyo National Park, effectively neutralising the operational capacity of criminal elements within that operational capacity of criminal elements within that corridor. “Current intelligence assessments do not support the conclusion that any structured or permanent terrorist base exists within the forests or hinterlands of the South West region. “Criminal elements, however audacious their recent activities, do not constitute an established insurgent presence, and the Defence Headquarters cautions against narratives that may cause unnecessary public panic or embolden adversaries by overstating their capabilities.” He said the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, expressed deep condolences over the abduction of pupils from the schools. He assured the affected families, the government and people of Oyo State that the Armed Forces were fully committed to securing the safe and unconditional release of all abducted victims. “The full weight of the Armed Forces is being brought to bear to ensure the safe and unconditional return of every abducted victim,” he said, urging Nigerians to remain calm, united and supportive of ongoing security operations. He said the military further disclosed that troops are currently engaged in active search-and-rescue operations across forested areas in Oyo State. “The Armed Forces is equally engaging the local populace for human intelligence, recognising that community cooperation remains an invaluable asset in the effort to recover the abducted victims safely and swiftly. “The joint effort with all security agencies and local vigilantes will ensure that the forest is thoroughly cleared of criminal elements and that lasting peace is restored to the region. The Armed Forces of Nigeria will not relent until every abducted victim is safely recovered, the criminal networks responsible are dismantled, and normalcy is fully restored across the South West and indeed all of Nigeria, ” he said.

Panic and pandemonium gripped Ogbomoso, Oyo State, following a horrific terrorist invasion of multiple schools in the Oriire Local Government Area. Armed men stormed the communities of Ahoro-Esiele and Yawota, abducting an unconfirmed number of students and staff—including a principal and teachers. Tragically, an assistant headmaster was killed during the attack. Following the attacks, public school educators shut down classrooms and paralyzed academic activities. Teachers marched to the TESCOM office in Ogbomoso, carrying placards to protest the abductions and demand immediate government action to secure their colleagues` release. A deeply distressing video surfaced on social media showing the abducted principal pleading with the federal and state governments, as well as community leaders, to intervene. Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed the abductions and the tragic death of at least one teacher in captivity. The Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (OYOSUBEB) has temporarily shut down primary and secondary schools in neighboring vulnerable communities (including Oriire, Surulere, and Oyo East) until security is stabilized. A massive manhunt is underway by joint security forces—including the police and local vigilante groups—to track down the assailants and rescue the victims.