
News
FG to open Second Niger Bridge Thursday midnight
• Warns against over-speeding
The Federal Government has ordered the opening of the Second Niger Bridge for use starting from midnight on Thursday.
The Minister of Works, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN, stated this on Wednesday, while inaugurating the bridge for use for one month during the Yuletide.
Fashola, who took a walk round the bridge during the inspection, counselled road users plying the bridge to drive safely and responsibly in order not to defeat the purpose of constructing the project.
The minister pointed out that President Muhammadu Buhari’ps purpose of completing the bridge was to save lives and alleviate poverty occasioned by waste of many hours resulting from gridlock on the old First Niger Bridge.
He noted that the opening of the Second Niger Bridge would alleviate the sufferings of the motoring public who always experienced gridlock during the Yuletide.

He said it would be counterproductive if users of the bridge would become reckless and attract unnecessary mishaps upon themselves.
Fashola added that the bridge would be officially opened by 12:01am on Thursday, December 15, 2022 to January 15, 2023.
He explained that part of the money used in constructing the bridge was looted funds recovered mostly from the United States of America.
He said, “A lot of people have talked about a solution but the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration decided to build the bridge whatever it took. So, wherever the funds came from, investment income, from our oil assets, repatriation of some funds that were stolen out of Nigeria came in from the US.
“The result is now what we see. When people are talking about poverty, the biggest part of it is not the monetary poverty, is the multidimensional poverty.
“When you spend two to three days trying to cross a bridge, that’s poverty, because it should take just a few minutes so that you can go and do more productive things.
“The President approved that since the bridge is finished that we should create an access road so that during Christmas you can begin to experience what it would feel like plying the bridge.
“The maximum speed limit on Nigerian roads is 100km per hour. Don’t drive 101km per hour. The President will be happy to see users drive safely and responsibly while using this road especially during this Christmas and New Year seasons. The President wishes you a merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
“It would be open for traffic going from the west to the east from the 15th Dec, 2022- 15th January 2023.
“Let me be clear again; we haven’t finished construction work on the bridge but we would open it for people to use to relive the pressure from the one bridge. On the January 15, 2023, we would reverse that movement for those coming from the east to the west.”
News
Security guard kidnaps employer’s two children, demands ransom
A private security guard has escaped with two kids from his employer in Minna, with the police suspecting abduction.
The security guard, named Sani Abdulrahaman, a Fulani by tribe, on Sunday, reportedly took Umaru and Anas, both six years old, on Sallah picnic without the knowledge of their father, Alhaji Danjuma, a businessman, and failed to bring them back home.
The father of the children raised the alarm asking the public and security agencies to help him locate the fleeing security guard and his children.
Danjuma said someone called him on Sunday evening and said he was in Erena forest in Shiroro Local Government Area with the children.
According to him, the caller asked for undisclosed ransom before his children who were in their custody would be released.
When contacted, Niger State Command Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident, which he said occurred about one o’clock on Sunday, May 31.

Abiodun explained that the security man pretended that he was taking the children for Sallah celebration in the town, but did not return.
He said the police suspected abduction but disclosed that “investigation has commenced and efforts to locate the children are ongoing.”
News
Police arrest suspect behind AI-generated Tinubu voice note
The Nigerian Police Force has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis, the man identified as the originator of an AI-generated voice note that was widely circulated online as a leaked recording of President Bola Tinubu.
Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the arrest on Thursday in a post on his official X account.
“The IGP crack team has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis who originated the fake voice that he passed on to his gullible targets as President Tinubu’s voice,” he said.
The arrest closes a week-long controversy that began on May 27, 2026, when a video of social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, went viral.
In the clip, an AI-generated voice resembling Tinubu’s was heard making inflammatory statements — including that insecurity in the South-East was deliberate, that he had pressured Peter Obi to step down ahead of the 2023 election, and that he was indifferent to Nigerians’ suffering.
Investigations by multiple news organisations, however, established that VDM had not posted the doctored audio.

An unidentified individual had extracted footage from VDM’s original Instagram video and superimposed the AI-generated voice notes before recirculating the manipulated version online.
Despite this, the Presidency had initially called for VDM’s prosecution.
Onanuga had described the incident as “a clear case of egregious abuse of the social media platform,” drawing criticism after fact-checkers confirmed VDM’s original video contained none of the fabricated audio.
Further details on the circumstances of Dennis’s arrest and the charges he may face were not immediately available at the time of filing this report.
News
Five abducted Kwara worshippers killed, one escapes, others still held
Terrorists have killed five out of the eight worshippers abducted at ECWA Church Omugo in Ifelodun local government area of Kwara state, says one escaped abductees.
Rev Sunday Omole had urged federal government to expedite action on the release of the abductees from the captivity of the terrorists.
The clergyman said government intervention had become necessary after the community paid the terrorists N20 million and provided additional items worth more than N300,000, yet the abductors refused to release the worshippers and instead demanded an additional N300 million ransom.
He added that from the action of the terrorists it was clear that they just wanted to be exploiting the community.
Recall that eight of the worshippers including the Pastor’s wife were kidnapped in the morning of March 22,2026 during a Sunday service.
The death of the five worshippers including the Pastor’s wife was disclosed in a statement issued by the Pastor of the church, Rev Sunday Omole, Wednesday evening.

The statement reads:
“It is with deep pain in my heart that I inform the church, families and individual concerned in regard to the 8 people that were abducted from ECWA OMUGO on 22nd of March, 2026.
“We received one of our son’s, Mr Sunday Bakare also abducted over a month ago, he escaped and brought the following news that only 3 out of 8 of our people are remaining with the kidnappers. The remaining 5 have gone to be with the Lord.
“They are; Elder Chief David Omopariola,
Chief Joseph Ibitoye Afariogun,
Mrs Iyabo Aniyi,
Elder Joshua Akanbi Adeyemi and
Mrs. Rachel Oluwaremilekun Omole(his wife).
“Brethren, let’s know that God knows why He allows this to happen. The great comforter will comfort us in Jesus name, amen.
“The prayers of the saints in the beginning of the church also worked and answered still they had martyrs. John 16:33 says (NIV) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace . In this world you will have trouble . But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Heaven is our home and Gain. Let’s reason as child of God as we navigate this moment. God bless you, and comfort you all in Jesus name, amen.”concluded the statement.
It was also gathered that the three remaining worshipers are in terrible health condition, while a member of church who escaped from the terrorists captivity is currently receiving an urgent medical attention in a private hospital in OmuAran.
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