Category Nigeria News

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has scheduled Tuesday, March 24, for the screening of aspirants seeking national offices, ahead of its March 27 National Convention.

The party disclosed that the screening exercise will take place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

In a notice issued on Sunday, the Secretary of the Aspirants’ Screening Committee, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, said only aspirants who have purchased and submitted their Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms will be screened.

Yuguda, a former Governor of Bauchi State, stated that all aspirants are required to appear in person for the exercise and must come along with all relevant supporting documents for verification.

He also urged candidates to arrive early to ensure a smooth and timely screening process.

READ ALSO: Abdulrahman Mohammed-Led PDP Inaugurates Committees For National Convention

The APC in December 2025 unveiled a detailed timetable for its 2025/2026 nationwide ward, local government, state, and zonal congresses, culminating in the party’s national convention.

According to the schedule, the process began with the commencement of membership e-registration on Monday, December 1, 2025, and ran until January 30, 2026.

According to the schedule, the process has progressed through key stages, including the issuance of notices for congresses, the purchase and submission of forms for ward, local government, state, and zonal positions, as well as the screening of aspirants at various levels.

Ward, LGA, state, and zonal congresses have also been conducted, alongside the hearing of appeals arising from each stage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to pursue senior commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards “personally”, during a visit to a town struck by an Iranian missile the previous day.

“We’re going after the regime. We’re going after the IRGC, this criminal gang,” Netanyahu said, as he inspected the damage in the southern Israeli town of Arad.

“We’re going after them personally, their leaders, their installations, their economic assets. We’re going after them personally.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the site of the missile hit in Arad:

“If you want proof that Iran endangers the entire world, the last 48 hours have given it. In the last 48 hours, Iran targeted a civilian area. https://t.co/jRwxe6HVwq pic.twitter.com/Q98TR1SnUA

READ ALSO: Iran Missile Strikes Wound Over 100 In Two South Israeli Towns

The second town struck by an Iranian missile on Saturday was Dimona, widely believed to house Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal.

Nestled in the Negev desert, Dimona sustained extensive damage from a direct hit.

On Sunday, Netanyahu visited the town, urging residents to heed instructions from the military’s Home Front Command and take shelter immediately whenever sirens warn of incoming missiles.

“The whole nation is a frontline, the entire home front is a frontline. And when we’re at the frontline, we carry out these orders,” Netanyahu said.

“So please do this — and this is an order.”

Iranian missile strikes on two southern Israeli towns wounded more than 100 people on Saturday, medics said, after Israeli air defence systems failed to intercept the projectiles.

The two direct hits tore open the fronts of residential buildings and carved craters into the ground.

Magen David Adom first responders said 84 people were wounded in the town of Arad, 10 of them seriously, hours after 33 were wounded in nearby Dimona.

Iranian state TV said the missile attack on Dimona, which houses a nuclear facility, was a “response” to an earlier strike on its own nuclear site at Natanz.

AFP footage from Arad showed rescue workers sifting through rubble for wounded people in a bombed-out building.

Fire engines with their lights flashing were at the scene along with dozens of members of the emergency services.

The Israeli military said it would investigate the failed interception.

“The air defence systems operated but did not intercept the missile, we will investigate the incident and learn from it,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin wrote on X.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio to compel the Public Accounts Committee to publish the names and positions of all officials implicated in the alleged ₦210 trillion missing or unaccounted for from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

In a letter dated March 21, 2026, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation urged the Senate to release audit reports, financial records, official communications, and timelines for appearances of implicated officials.

SERAP also demanded that full records of the proceedings, including minutes, submissions, and evidence, be made public to ensure transparency and allow Nigerians to scrutinize the investigation.

READ ALSO: NDLEA Uncovers Hidden Opiod Shipments In Cream, Jackets At Lagos Airport

“The allegations that ₦210 trillion is missing or unaccounted for can only be taken seriously if the Senate is fully transparent in its investigation,” the group said.

“Transparency would prevent perceptions of cover-ups, political compromise, or selective accountability, and help Nigerians assess the credibility of the claims.”

The Public Accounts Committee is investigating discrepancies in NNPCL accounts from 2017 to 2023, including roughly ₦103 trillion in joint venture costs and operational expenses, and about ₦107 trillion in receivables, subsidies, and other financial obligations. Audit reports indicated unreconciled figures and missing supporting documentation, prompting the summons of current and former NNPCL officials.

Despite repeated invitations, several officials have failed to appear or provide satisfactory explanations, raising concerns about transparency and accountability in managing Nigeria’s natural resources.

SERAP stressed the urgency of timely, thorough, and impartial investigations, warning that delays could normalize impunity, undermine public confidence, and risk the loss or distortion of evidence. The organisation gave the Senate a 7-day window to comply with its requests, failing which it intends to take legal action to compel disclosure.

Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, has said Nigeria is prepared to support global energy stability, particularly as geopolitical tensions continue to affect oil supply in the Middle East.

Rising tensions in the Middle East, particularly in key oil-producing regions, have disrupted supply expectations and heightened fears of shortages.

Recent conflicts and geopolitical uncertainty have limited production and transport in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. This has caused global oil prices to spike, affecting energy markets worldwide.

Idris stated that Nigeria remains willing to play a key role in ensuring energy security, stressing that the country stands ready to contribute wherever necessary.

“Nigeria is ever ready to contribute to energy security around the world. Whatever Nigeria can do to ease tension, it will do. The world needs oil, and Nigeria is there,” he stated.

READ ALSO: Dangote Refinery Increases Fuel Price As Iran War Drives Oil Surge

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Special Assistant on Media, Rabiu Ibrahim, the minister also highlighted the significance of President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing engagements abroad, describing them as crucial to strengthening Nigeria’s international partnerships.

He said the visit reinforces the long-standing relationship between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, built on shared historical, cultural, and economic ties.

“This visit underscores the historical relationship, the cultural ties, and the economic ties between Nigeria and the United Kingdom. We hope that we will deepen it further in the interest of both countries,” Idris said.

The minister further pointed to the impact of the administration’s reforms, noting that they are already improving Nigeria’s economic outlook and global perception.

“With the reforms that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has instituted, we have seen a significant uplift in the economy,” he added.

Idris reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustaining reforms, improving security, and creating an environment where Nigerians can live and work safely, while positioning the country as a reliable partner on the global stage.

Idris tacitly rejected the notion of a failure on the part of the Nigeria’s security agencies, saying, “I don’t think they failed. I think that more work needs to be done. Nigerian security agencies are working around the clock to ensure that this does not happen again,” adding, that Maiduguri had recorded significant improvements in peace and stability over time.

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command said its operatives have apprehended two suspected shop burglars, while two others were arrested for receiving two stolen generator sets and other items in separate operations conducted on the same day.

This was contained in a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, in Uyo on Saturday.

John said the burglary suspects were arrested on March 17, 2026, during a targeted operation around Aka Road and its environs in Uyo, adding that a follow-up operation led to the arrest of two others found in possession of two generator sets.

According to the statement, the two burglary suspects, Idiongho Johnny, 29, and Ofonime Jimmy, 30, both residents of Uyo, confessed to their involvement in the crime.

The statement reads in part: “The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has recorded another operational success in its sustained efforts to combat burglary and related crimes across the state.

READ ALSO: NDLEA Uncovers Hidden Opiods Shipments In Cream, Jackets At Lagos Airport

“On March 17, 2026, at about 0330hrs, acting on credible intelligence, operatives of the command conducted a targeted operation around Aka Road and its environs in Uyo. During the operation, two suspected shop burglars were arrested.

“The suspects are Idiongho Johnny, male, 29 years, and Ofonime Jimmy, male, 30 years. Both suspects are residents of Uyo.

“Items recovered from the suspects include one locally made pistol, one live cartridge, multiple bunches of keys suspected to be master keys, one iron cutter, and one mobile phone.

“During interrogation, the suspects confessed to their involvement in shop burglary activities within the area.

“In a swift follow-up operation aimed at expanding the investigation and dismantling the criminal network, two suspected receivers of stolen items were also arrested. They are Innocent Nnaukwu, male, 39 years, and Ali Ibrahim, male, 24 years.

“Recovered from the receivers were two generators, one welding coil, and one car battery suspected to have been stolen.”

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives intercepted large consignments of opioids, cannabis, and methamphetamine. at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja and a courier firm in Lagos.

These drugs were cleverly concealed in everyday items such as body cream containers, winter jackets, and even carton walls.

According to a statement signed by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, two suspects bound for Italy were arrested in separate operations.

One of them, Friday Ehianuka, was intercepted while trying to board a flight to Rome with thousands of tramadol pills hidden inside containers of skin-lightening cream.

READ ALSO: Nigeria Ranks Among Most Terror-Affected Countries Globally — Report

In his statement, he admitted he was promised payment in euros if the drugs made it to Italy, a detail that highlights the international reach and financial incentives behind these trafficking networks.

Just days earlier, another suspect, Christian Agbonhese, was caught attempting to board a flight to Milan.

A search of his luggage revealed a staggering haul: over 28,000 pills of tramadol and tapentadol, carefully concealed in winter jackets.

The airport interceptions were only part of a wider crackdown. At a Lagos courier facility, NDLEA officers uncovered a parcel containing a potent strain of cannabis, known as “Loud,” shipped from the United States.

In the same operation, they foiled an attempt to export methamphetamine hidden within carton walls to New Zealand.

In Kano, two suspects were arrested with nearly 200 kilograms of skunk. In Lagos, operatives raided a storage facility in the Ijora area, recovering over 21,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup, an increasingly abused substance.

Two additional suspects were arrested on the Third Mainland Bridge while transporting thousands more bottles.

In Edo State, officers discovered nearly 100 kilograms of skunk hidden in a residential building, while in Abuja, a commercial bus was intercepted along the Gwagwalada expressway with over 91,000 tramadol pills concealed within its body panels. The driver was immediately taken into custody.

The pattern continued in Oyo, Kaduna, and Taraba states, where arrests and seizures revealed the scale of the trade. In one of the largest busts, NDLEA operatives recovered more than half a million pills of tramadol and other opioids along the Kaduna-Zaria highway. Another suspect was intercepted in Taraba while transporting tens of thousands of tramadol capsules.

In Adamawa, a coordinated follow-up operation led to the arrest of six individuals linked to an 82.8kg tramadol shipment discovered in a truck in Yola, underscoring the agency’s intelligence-driven approach.

Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA is also intensifying its prevention efforts. Through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, the agency has been engaging students, teachers, and community members across several states, raising awareness about the dangers of drug abuse.

Chairman of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations and urged continued vigilance.