Category Nigeria News

The Mexican army announced Sunday that it had killed powerful drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera in an operation that sparked a wave of violence in various parts of the country.

Oseguera, the 59-year-old leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was wounded in a clash with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, and died while being flown to Mexico City, the army said in a statement. He had a $15 million US bounty on his head.

Gunmen retaliating for the raid blocked more than 20 roads in western Jalisco state, burning cars and trucks. As violence spread across the country, at least eight states suspended in-person classes and the judiciary authorized judges to close courts where necessary.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged citizens to remain calm.

Oseguera, whose nickname was “El Mencho,” is one of the biggest Mexican drug lords to be taken down since the capture of the founders of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael Zambada. Both are now serving time in the United States.

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Sunday’s statement said that in addition to Mexico’s own military intelligence, the raid was carried out with “complementary information” from US authorities.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Washington “provided intelligence support.”

Six suspected cartel gunmen besides Oseguera were killed and three soldiers were wounded, the Mexican army said.

Two cartel suspects were arrested and a variety of weapons were seized, including rocket launchers capable of taking down airplanes and destroying armored vehicles, the statement said.

As gunmen blocked roads with retaliatory violence, Jalisco state, which is scheduled to host four World Cup games this summer, cancelled all events involving large crowds.

 ‘Great development for Mexico’

The streets of the state capital Guadalajara were almost empty as stores, pharmacies and gas stations shut down.

Maria Medina, who works in a gas station that was set on fire, said men with guns showed up and told everyone to get out.

“I thought they were going to kidnap us. I ran to a taco stand to take cover with the people there,” Medina told AFP.

The violence spread to the neighboring state of Michoacan, where Oseguera’s cartel also has a presence, and to the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.

His cartel was formed in 2009 and became one of Mexico’s most violent drug trafficking organizations, according to the US Justice Department.

Amid the violence, Guatemala said it was reinforcing “strategic” sections of its frontier with Mexico, which has seen cross-border incursions by criminal groups linked to cartels in recent months.

The United States has classified the Jalisco cartel as a terrorist organization and accuses it of sending cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed the operation and called Oseguera “one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins.”

“This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world,” he added.

The raid came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump for Mexico to stem the flow of drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the United States.

Trump has threatened repeatedly to slap tariffs on Mexican exports, arguing that Sheinbaum has not done enough to combat the drug trade.

In a statement on social media released after Sunday’s violence broke out, the US State Department urged US citizens in large parts of Mexico to “shelter in place until further notice.”

Canada also issued a travel warning for some areas, citing “shootouts with security forces and explosions” in Jalisco, Guerrero and Michoacan states.

US and Canadian airlines cancelled dozens of flights to Mexico over the violence, with Air Canada saying cancellations to Puerto Vallarta would stretch into at least Monday.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied claims that voters were migrated to new polling units during Saturday’s Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In a statement signed by its Acting Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Wilfred Ifogah, the Commission stated categorically that no voter was moved from their original polling unit.

INEC explained that what it implemented ahead of Saturday’s election was the creation of split polling units in locations with more than 1,250 registered voters in order to reduce congestion on election day.

According to the Commission, the split units were situated only a few meters away from the original polling units within the same premises.

READ ALSO: [FCT Polls] PDP Celebrates Gains, Signals Court Action Over Alleged Manipulation

The Commission recalled that it displayed the Register of Voters at designated centres and split polling units four days before the election to enable voters confirm their details and polling unit locations. It also disclosed that text messages and emails were sent to affected voters between February 18 and February 21 as reminders indicating the locations of their split polling units.

INEC acknowledged that some voters experienced challenges locating their designated polling units on election day. According to its Election Operations Dashboard, 45 per cent of polling units had opened as of 8:30am, while all units were confirmed open by 10:00am.

While expressing concern over voter apathy, the Commission noted an improvement in turnout compared to the 2022 Area Council elections. It said over 239,210 voters participated in the 2026 poll, representing about 15 per cent of the 1,680,315 registered voters in the FCT, compared to 148,685 voters or 9.4 per cent recorded in 2022.

The Commission further explained that the delay in announcing results for Kuje Area Council, which were declared at 3:30pm on Sunday, was due to the difficult terrain of Kabi ward that slowed final collation.

The Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, has faulted the assent to the amended electoral bill, saying that it contains provisions that are at variance with the aspirations of Nigerians.

READ ALSO: [UPDATED] Ex-Reps Member Bugaje Accuses Tinubu Of Subverting Popular Will With Speedy Assent To Electoral Bill

“I think that Nigerians need to know that, yes, whilst there might be progressive provisions in the 2026 Act, the cardinal issues that are central to the integrity of elections are those contentious provisions that the Senate or the National Assembly decided to enact provisions that are in variance with the desires of Nigerians.

“And so when you look at some of those provisions, let’s take Section 63, which is one of the most contentious. On the one hand, the Act says that there shall be an electronic transmission of results,” Itodo said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.



He explained that the inclusion of the former EC8A in the amended law — now the Electoral Act 2026 — had legitimise its use in general elections, a decision he said the electorate had kicked due to its use as a tool for results manipulation

“So there is mandatory electronic transmission of results based on this particular drafting, but it’s that proviso that it introduces, and you know what they have now said that in all cases, it is the form EC8A that shall be the primary source of collating results as well as declaring results.

“What they have done to a large extent is just legitimising the current practise, which is that any result on the IREV has no legal effect; it’s only for verification because there’s a superior legal recognition that has been given to the form EC8A,” Itodo said.

“And what Nigerians are saying is the primary instrument of election rigging, the primary instrument of election manipulation is the form EC8A. So if you place primacy on the form EC8A, and that form EC8A becomes falsified, it then renders the electronically transmitted results a nullity, of no effect, and that’s what Nigerians are saying that, ‘No, you cannot place primacy on EC8As because we know that EC8As are often used and historically they are used as tools for results manipulation’.

“And they decided on their own accord, at variance with what Nigerians said, and I think the point needs to be made that the way the National Assembly voted on that particular provision is against the will of the people, and no one should attempt to deceive Nigerians that this was in line with what Nigerians wanted,” he added.

Heated Conversations

The Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 was made law by President Bola Tinubu after it was passed by the National Assembly.

The bill has generated heated debates in the last one week, with lawmakers and prominent Nigerians disagreeing over the method for the transmission of results, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Senate had on Tuesday passed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026, but not without a rowdy session as the upper chamber resumed proceedings.

The situation was not different at the House of Representatives as lawmakers disagreed over a motion seeking to rescind the passage of the amendment bill, which contained real-time electronic transmission of results.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, had moved a motion for the House to rescind its decision on the bill, which was passed on December 23, in line with the Senate’s position on real-time electronic transmission of election results.

When the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, put the motion to a voice vote, the “nays” were louder than the “ayes,” but he ruled that the ayes had it.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Usman Bugaje, has accused the All Progressives Congress government led by President Bola Tinubu of subverting the popular will of voters with the speedy assent to the amended electoral bill.

READ ALSO: National Assembly Highlights Key Reforms In Electoral Act 2026

He, however, said that there would be repercussions.

“The executive arm, including the President himself, from the speed with which he signed that law, they are all an accomplice in subverting the electoral process of this country. They are all an accomplice in designing an electoral law that will facilitate rigging,” Bugaje said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

“They are all an accomplice in subverting the popular will of the people, and this thing that they have done is well noted, and there will be repercussions. I don’t know where it’s going come, but everywhere in the world where such things have happened, there have been very serious consequences, repercussions.

The former lawmaker, who is also the chairman of the Movement for Credible Elections, accused those against the will of voters of being “so obsessed with power” for the control of state treasury.

“These people cannot see the repercussions. They are so obsessed with power. They are so obsessed with the control that they now have for the state treasury and the way they dispense money the way they want.

“Nigerians are aware of who you are. This electoral law has shown who you are, and Nigerians are not going to take it lightly, and they are going to react,” he added.

Electoral Reforms

Bugaje said that members of the National Assembly insulted the intelligence of Nigerians by passing the amended electoral bill without including real-time electronic transmission of election results.

He advised them not to attempt to deceive Nigerians with “cosmetic” electoral reforms.

On the just-concluded elections in the Federal Capital Territory, the former NASS member said Nigerians had lost confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as nothing in the conduct of the exercise showed that things would get better.

‘We Need To Avoid Interference’

Tinubu signed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 into law last Wednesday, following the passage of the bill by the National Assembly the previous day, after months of deliberations.

Tinubu signed the bill at the State House on Wednesday in the presence of top government officials, including the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

He said the essence of democracy is to have very solid discussions committed to national development and nation-building, essential for the stability of the nation.

“It’s not as important as the history aspects of this. What is crucial is the fact that you manage the process to the extent there will be no confusion, no disenfranchisement of Nigerians, and that we are all going to see democracy flourish.

“No matter how good the system is, it’s managed by the people, promoted by the people, and the result is finalised by the people,” The President said.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said that the peaceful conduct of the elections in the FCT is a testament to the commitment of residents to democracy and good governance.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Congratulates Winners Of FCT Polls, Rivers, Kano By-Elections

He stated that the polls further exposed the hypocrisy of people who go about buying corn and groundnuts from roadside sellers as a form of campaign to deceive Nigerians.

“This election has indeed shown that Nigerians now know the ruling party and the real opposition party.

“Also, the election has further exposed the hypocrisy of people who go about buying corn and groundnuts from roadside sellers for the purpose of a campaign just to deceive Nigerians.

“Yesterday, the residents of FCT demonstrated that they cannot be deceived by emergency democrats, who have chosen not to see anything good in our country and its government,” Wike was quoted as saying in a special broadcast on Sunday evening, in a statement signed by his media aide, Lere Olayinka.



The minister hailed President Bola Tinubu, saying that “the election is a reflection of the President’s vision and leadership, and a testimony that the Renewed Hope Agenda has brought optimism and confidence to the people of the FCT”.

“I thank Mr President for the development he has brought to the FCT. This election is a reflection of the President’s vision and leadership, and a testimony that the Renewed Hope Agenda has brought optimism and confidence to the people of the FCT.

“No doubt, the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to improving the lives of Nigerians, particularly the residents of the FCT, has not gone unnoticed. The Renewed Hope Agenda has given us hope for a brighter future, and we are confident that under his leadership, the FCT will continue to be a model of development and progress,” he said.

Wike further commended the President for “standing firm in his defence of democracy, particularly in ensuring the amendment of the Electoral Act to strengthen the conduct of credible elections”.

This, he said, demonstrates Tinubu’s “commitment to improving our democratic process”.

“At this juncture, I also congratulate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a free, fair, and credible election. This is a reflection of President Tinubu’s commitment to strengthening our democratic institutions and ensuring that our electoral processes are transparent and reliable.

“I commend the security agencies for their dedication to duty, ensuring the peaceful conduct of the election. Their efforts have contributed to the success of this democratic exercise,” the minister added.

Wike, however, urged the winners to serve with humility, dedication, and commitment to excellence.

“Work tirelessly to improve the lives of the residents, and bring development to our communities.

“To the residents of the FCT, especially those in the satellite towns, I once again commend you for coming out in large numbers to exercise your franchise, and for doing so in a peaceful and orderly manner.

“Your participation affirms your trust in our democracy, and I urge you to continue to support the government in its efforts to build a better FCT.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has arrested 20 suspects for different electoral offences during the February 21, 2026, Federal Capital Territory area council elections.

READ ALSO: APC Dominates Rivers By-Elections, FCT Polls, PDP Wins Gwagwalada

It disclosed that the suspects were arrested across the FCT, for offences ranging from vote buying, vote selling, to obstruction of officers, to the tune of ₦17,218,700.

“One of the suspects was arrested with a sum of ₦13,500,000 in a car parked beside a polling booth in the Kwali local government area.

“Two of the suspects were arrested in Abaji; nine in Gwagwalada; four in Kuje, and the remaining four in Kwali,” The EFCC said in a statement signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.

It said the suspects would be charged in court upon the conclusion of investigations.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted elections in the six area councils of the FCT for chairmanship and councillorship positions.

By-elections were conducted in the Ahoada East II and Khana II state constituencies of Rivers State.