The Enugu State Government has warned against an alleged plan by some market leaders to shut down major markets within the state capital on Saturday to show support during a rally backing reelection of Governor Peter Mbah and President Bola Tinubu.

The government stated that such a move contradicts the Mbah Administration’s determined effort to boost investment, business and productivity in the state, and therefore does not have the government’s blessing.

The government made its position known in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Malachy Agbo, on Friday.

It said that people should feel free to go about their businesses, a predisposition it said prompted the decision of Mbah Administration to end illegal Monday sit-at-home effective June 5, 2023.

The statement equally maintained that political association remains an individual right and choice, saying participation in the Saturday rally and subsequent rallies by any group should never truncate businesses or involve any form of compulsion.

“The attention of the Enugu State Government has been drawn to an alleged plan to shut markets in the state capital as a demonstration of solidarity with the Enugu East zonal rally to drum up support for His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and His Excellency, Governor Peter Mbah, ahead of the 2027 general election.

“While the government appreciates the enormous demonstration of goodwill by traders across the state, it frowns, however, at any attempt by any market leader to shut down major markets in the Enugu East Senatorial District on account of the planned rally.

“This is not only contrary to the administration’s vision and drive to grow Enugu State’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion, and also to position the state as the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism and living, but also the decision of the administration to ban illegal sit-at-home effective June 5, 2023.

“Furthermore, the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees freedom of association and assembly. Thus, nothing should be seen to detract from these rights in this or future rallies by any group whatsoever.

“For emphasis, political participation should be voluntary and without any attempt to deny the people access to markets or other public spaces where they earn their daily living.

“Therefore, members of the public, particularly leaderships of various markets in the state should take note, please, as government will not hesitate to impose sanctions on any action to the contrary,” the statement read.

DR. MALACHY AGBO
Commissioner for Information and Communication
Enugu State
05/06/2026

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.”

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.