
News
Supreme Court affirms Ododo’s election as Kogi Governor, rejects Ajaka’s appeal
The Court has affirmed the victory of Ahmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election held in Kogi State on November 11, 2023.
In a judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the appeal by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and candidate Yakubu Muritala Ajaka, marked: SC/CV/654/2024 was without merit and proceeded to dismiss it.
Justice Sadiq Umar, who authored and read the lead judgment resolved all the three issues identified for determination in the appeal against the appellants.
On July 11, a three-member panel of the Appeal Court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, upheld the decision of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The appellate court found that the SDP and its candidate, Ajaka, failed to prove their allegations in the appeal beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by law.

The court also dismissed appeals from the Action Alliance (AA) and its candidate, Olayinka Braimoh, as well as the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and its candidate, Dr. Abdullahi Bayawo, who contested Ododo’s victory.
Justice Otisi, while delivering the judgment on the SDP and Ajaka’s appeal, concurred with the election petition tribunal that sat in Abuja.
She stated that the tribunal was correct in excluding the testimony of the first prosecution witness (PW-1) presented by the petitioners, as that testimony was deemed documentary hearsay.
Justice Otisi highlighted that witnesses, whether subpoenaed or ordinary, must submit their witness statements under oath, as mandated by law.
She held that the petitioners’ witnesses were incompetent because their statements did not accompany the original petition, in accordance with electoral laws.
The judge agreed with the tribunal that there were inconsistencies in the appellants’ case.
According to her, the allegation of forgery concerning documents submitted by Ododo to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a pre-election matter, which falls under the purview of the Federal High Court, not the tribunal.
Justice Otisi noted that the alleged act occurred before the November 11, 2023, governorship election and therefore could not be adjudicated by the lower tribunal.
She also emphasized that any allegations of forgery must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Otisi ultimately ruled all issues raised in the appeal against the appellants.
The tribunal had in May affirmed Governor Ododo’s victory in the November 11, 2023, Kogi governorship election.
The three-member panel of justices, headed by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, dismissed the petition for lack of substance.
The tribunal found that the SDP and Ajaka did not substantiate their allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.
The panel, in a unanimous decision, concluded that all witness evidence presented was incompetent and rife with inconsistencies.
It also agreed with the respondents’ submissions that the forgery allegations raised in the petition were pre-election issues, which should have been contested within 14 days of the documents being submitted to INEC.
Kogi held its off-cycle election on November 11, 2023, where Ododo of the APC emerged victorious, defeating his closest rival, Ajaka of the SDP, by a significant margin.
Dissatisfied with INEC’s declaration of Ododo as the winner, Ajaka and his party took the electoral body, along with Ododo and the APC, to the tribunal as the first to third respondents, respectively.
News
Two Suspected Bandits Killed in Kano Ransom Collection Ambush, ₦10m Recovered
Two suspected bandits have been killed and ₦10 million recovered after local hunters intercepted a gang allegedly involved in a kidnapping operation in Falgore Forest, Doguwa Local Government Area of Kano State.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, shortly after three suspected bandits collected the ransom demanded for the release of a 45-year-old man, Kabiru Aliyu.
Aliyu, a resident of Falgore Village, was abducted on September 11, 2026.
According to the Kano State Police Command, the suspects were intercepted by local hunters, popularly known as Yan Bula, while returning to their hideout after collecting the ransom.
Two of the suspects reportedly died during the confrontation, while the third escaped with injuries. The hunters recovered the entire ₦10 million ransom.

The police spokesperson, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said preliminary investigations identified one of the deceased suspects as Dogo Isah, a commercial motorcycle operator from Maigwanda Village in Kubau Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The operation was carried out under Operation Kukan Kura, a security initiative aimed at tackling kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes in Kano State.
The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, commended the hunters for their intervention and directed security operatives to intensify efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspect and recover any weapons used by the gang.
The rescued victim was subsequently debriefed, medically examined and reunited with his family.
The incident highlights the role of local hunters in intelligence gathering and rural security, particularly in areas where difficult terrain poses challenges to conventional security operations.
However, the escape of one of the suspects leaves security operatives with the task of tracking him down and determining whether the gang was involved in other kidnapping incidents in the region.
The police urged residents to provide credible information that could assist ongoing efforts to apprehend fleeing suspects and prevent further criminal activities.
News
2027: Atiku’s Son Pledges 10 Buses for Tinubu’s Re-election Campaign
Abba Atiku Abubakar, son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has pledged 10 buses to support mobilisation for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Abba made the pledge during a visit to the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretariat in Abuja on Friday, according to a statement issued by Yusi Buba, Senior Special Assistant on Youth Mobilisation to the party’s Deputy National Chairman.
He was received by the APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Bukar Dalori.
Buba said Abba commended the party’s leadership and Tinubu’s administration, expressing support for the President’s continued stay in office.
“In a demonstration of his commitment to the political engagement ahead of the 2027 general elections, Hon. Abba Atiku Abubakar announced the donation of ten buses to support activities aimed at mobilising support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in 2027,” the statement said.

The APC aide said Dalori welcomed Abba and acknowledged his pledge, describing it as support for the party’s mobilisation efforts ahead of the elections.
The development followed Abba’s announcement of a nationwide mobilisation campaign for Tinubu’s re-election and the unveiling of the Haske Bola Tinubu Organisation, a political support group established to advance the President’s second-term ambition.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Abba said the organisation would commence activities in the Federal Capital Territory before expanding to other parts of the country.
He also announced plans for a two-million-man mobilisation march across the six geopolitical zones, with the exercise scheduled to begin in Abuja.
Abba defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in January, declaring his support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
His father, Atiku Abubakar, is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election.
News
NCDC Identifies Two Suspected Ebola Cases In North-East
Two suspected cases of Ebola disease have been identified in the North-East region of the country.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) disclosed this in a post via its official X handle on Saturday, adding that both individuals had been isolated.
It also said contact identification and listing are ongoing, and laboratory testing is underway.
According to the agency, confirmation is subject to laboratory results.
Two suspected cases of Ebola disease have been identified in Nigeria’s North-East region. Both individuals have been isolated, contact identification and listing is ongoing, and laboratory testing is being conducted,” the NCDC said.
“Being classified as suspected cases does not mean they are confirmed Ebola cases; confirmation is subject to laboratory results.
“The public is advised to maintain good hand hygiene, practise enhanced sanitation and follow guidance from public health authorities. Further updates will be provided as verified information becomes available.”

The latest update by the NCDC came days after it said it identified another contact, an e-hailing driver, linked to the confirmed case of the recent Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, increasing the number of primary contacts to 54.
The NCDC Director-General, Dr. Jide Idris, told Channels Television on October 26 that efforts were ongoing to identify the secondary contacts.
“So we are not out of the woods yet until we are sure that we have all the contacts, and they have been followed up. So we are still not out of the woods; because the index case is out doesn’t mean that we don’t have that,” he said.
The Federal Government had announced Nigeria’s first confirmed case of the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja on October 20, 2026, identifying the patient as a woman with a recent travel history to Uganda, who returned to Nigeria with symptoms on October 7, but the Ugandan authorities denied reports of an Ebola outbreak in the East African country.
The index patient was later flown to Switzerland along with her husband.
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