Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. The Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, on Thursday, ordered the restriction of all forms of vehicular movement on roads, waterways, airspaces, and other forms of transportation from 12 am to 6 pm in the 26 states where the Independent National Electoral Commission will be holding by-elections on Saturday.
2. Police in Akwa Ibom State have begun investigation into the gruesome murder of an officer, Inspector Osang, by yet-to-be identified gunmen. Osang was beheaded when his assailants stormed his residence located on a lane linking Enen Afaha and Afaha Ube, a suburb within the Uyo metropolis on Wednesday night.
3. Gunmen on Thursday night invaded the palace of Olukoro of Koro in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State and killed the traditional ruler of the community, General Segun Aremu (rtd). The gunmen also whisked away the wife of the monarch and two others.
4. Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, has said that paying ransom is a criminal offence in Nigeria. Adejobi stated this while commenting on the recent abduction in Ekiti State during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.
5. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, hit the nail on the head on Thursday by accusing commercial banks of hoarding over $5 billion in foreign currencies against the threshold approved by the apex bank. CBN blamed the prevailing forex scarcity and naira’s free-fall against the dollar on the actions of the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).
6. Gunmen, who kidnapped five pupils and four members of staff of the Apostolic Faith Church Primary and Secondary School, Emure in Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State, are under pressure to release the captives, it was learnt on Thursday. The kidnappers have slashed their ransom demand from N100 million to N15 million.
7. Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Thursday lamented the security challenges facing the country, indicating that for the nation to overcome the problem, the present police structure must be decentralised to give way to the establishment of state police across the country. The PDP governors spoke in Jos, Plateau State capital, when they visited the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang.
8. Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has said miners and operators in the sector owed the federal government more than N2 trillion in revenue. He also said the current administration of President Bola Tinubu was determined to halt the activities of illegal miners across the country.
9. The Federal Government said on Thursday that President Bola Tinubu needed more time to fix the problems of Nigeria, noting that seven months were barely enough for him to do it. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, who stated this in an interview, also said things would have been worse in the country had the government not removed fuel subsidy.
10. The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday faulted the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to take over the sale of crude oil from the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPCL. He said the move was illegal. He lamented that the Nigerian Government has not released details of its latest decision to the public.
Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Friday morning
