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Oyo Headmaster regains freedom after N5m ransom payment

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Kolawole Owoade THE 60-year- old abducted headmaster of Nomadic Basic School, Igbojaye, in Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mr Mathew Kolawole Owoade, popularly known as Onaiye, yesterday, regained his freedom after spending 48 hours in captivity. The headmaster was released at about 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The kidnappers had initially demanded a N30 million ransom. However, it was gathered that following negotiations, the family succeeded in reducing the ransom demand to N3 million, which the abductors initially accepted. After the family had raised the N3 million, the kidnappers allegedly increased the demand to N5 million. The family was said to have paid the N5 million ransom before Mr Owoade was released near the Ajebamidele community. The headmaster has reportedly reunited with his family. Confirming the release, the Oyo State Police Command noted that the victim was kidnapped along the Igbojaye–Budo Aare bush road in Oyo State on 12 July 2026. The Police Public Relatio...
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2027 polls: Ekiti APC candidate dragged to court over non-resignation

ADO-EKITI — THE All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate for the Ekiti Central Federal Constituency II in the 2027 National Assembly election, Karounwi Oladapo, has been dragged to a Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti division, over his alleged failure to resign as the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development before contesting in the party’s primary election. The suit, instituted by an aspirant in his Constituency, Victor Olumuyiwa Kolade, challenged Karounwi’s eligibility to contest the party’s primary on the grounds that he failed to resign his political appointment within the period prescribed by the Electoral Act 2026 and the APC Constitution. Counsel to the plaintiff, Abiodun Owonikoko, announced his appearance, while Femi David represented the first defendant, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Adefolaju Ayobioyoloja appeared for the second defendant, the APC and Kolapo Kolade represented the third defendant, Karounwi Oladapo. In his argument, Owonikoko ...
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PFIPC scandal: US lobbying firm offers to help DG seek asylum

A United States lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has said it is prepared to assist the embattled Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, in seeking asylum in the United States while also urging American authorities to investigate allegations he has made against senior Nigerian government officials. The development follows a series of posts published over the weekend and on Monday by Dr Von Batten, who said his team had been in contact with Adeyemi and was taking steps to brief members of the US Congress and other agencies on the allegations. In a post shared on Saturday via X, Von Batten had said: “To anyone in contact with Mr Adeyemi, we are very interested in speaking with him. We are prepared to assist Mr Adeyemi in seeking asylum in the United States and requesting whistleblower protection,” he wrote. He added that because the United States is the largest shareholder in the World Bank, any credible allegati...
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Oriire abduction: Children were beaten, teachers chained — Alamu, Principal

 * Says: We were forced to trek through forest at night  lThey ate cocoyam, noodles, drank from a waterfall for 56 days —Victims’ relative  lInitial operation that led to security agents; death —Sources  lVictims hidden inside a cave close to waterfall THE principal  abducted alongside teachers, students and pupils in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mrs Racheal Alamu, yesterday, recounted the harrowing 56-day ordeal in captivity, revealing that children were beaten into silence, male teachers chained and blindfolded, while the victims were repeatedly forced to undertake dangerous midnight treks through forests to evade security operatives. Mrs Alamu spoke after she and the rescued teachers and pupils were officially handed over to Governor Seyi Makinde at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat in Ibadan. Describing life in captivity, she said the victims spent most of the 56 days in the open forest, exposed to harsh weather conditions while struggling to ...
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Repentant terrorists will still face prosecution — FG

THE Federal Government has launched a set of standard operating procedures to guide the implementation of its disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programme for repentant terrorists. Speaking in Abuja at the national validation workshop on the SOPs for DDR, the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, NCTC, Mr Adamu Laka, under the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, said the procedures would promote transparency, accountability and coordination of repentant terrorists. The workshop also validated state-level SOPs for the pilot states of Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara. Laka said the procedures were developed after extensive consultations and drew from Nigeria’s experience, international best practices and the country’s security realities. He said: “Recognising that a policy framework alone is insufficient to guide implementation, the National Counter Terrorism Centre and its partners subsequently developed a comprehensive set of standard ope...
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Ondo govt suspends 27 students over indiscipline

THE Ondo State government, yesterday, disclosed that it has suspended 27 students from three public secondary schools in Akure, over alleged acts of misconduct, warning that it will not tolerate behaviour capable of disrupting learning. The affected students, who are from Oyemekun Grammar School, Aquinas College, and CAC Grammar School, were handed immediate and indefinite suspensions by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Akindele Ige, said the disciplinary action followed persistent cases of indiscipline despite repeated warnings and engagements with school administrators. Ige, who visited the affected schools to enforce the suspension, said several meetings had earlier been held with principals and stakeholders to address the growing trend of indiscipline, but some students continued to engage in unacceptable acts. During separate meetings with principals, vice-principals and heads of departments, he urged school authorities...
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Schoolchildren abduction: How arrest of kidnappers’ family members led to rescue of victims

•Why terrorists’ proposed exchange was rejected FRESH details  have emerged on the intelligence-led operation that culminated in the successful rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted from Ahoro-Esinle, Yawota and Alawusa communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, with security sources disclosing that the arrest of family members of the kidnappers proved to be a decisive turning point. 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers were abducted by terrorists on May 15, 2026. While one of the teachers was killed in captivity, the remaining victims were rescued on July 10 during a coordinated operation involving the military and the Department of State Services, DSS. According to security sources, after weeks of sustained intelligence gathering and military pressure, operatives of the DSS tracked down and arrested several wives and children of the kidnappers in different communities and cities across the country. The operation, sources said, was coordinated by a senior D...
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