10 things you need to know Monday morning

Nigerianewslite

10 things you need to know Monday morning

1. Sources at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have said that concerns raised by aggrieved candidates omitted from the final list would be addressed at the commission’s next meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 29. This followed a flurry of petitions submitted to the commission’s headquarters by candidates challenging the omission of their names from lists submitted by some political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

2. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, says it is monitoring 53 primary contacts linked to the country’s confirmed Ebola case, as investigations expand to include people who may have been exposed to the patient at multiple locations. The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris disclosed this on Sunday during a press briefing, explaining that 44 of the contacts were associated with the health facility where the patient was treated, while nine others had been identified outside the facility.

3. The Nigeria Democratic Congress has constituted its National Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections. It named its National Leader, Senator Henry Dickson as chairman and the presidential candidate, Peter Obi as co-chairman. The party announced the appointments in a statement posted on its X account on Sunday.

4. The death toll from an attack by gunmen in Taraba State has risen to at least 50, the Amnesty International said on Sunday, after more bodies were discovered. Gunmen on motorcycles from a suspected “bandit” gang swarmed Binnari, in eastern Taraba, killing dozens of people shortly after Friday prayers. Several people have been missing since the attack was carried out.

5. The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu has proposed a 200 per cent gratuity for retired police officers as part of efforts to address longstanding pension challenges in the Nigeria Police Force. The proposal is being considered by a presidential committee established to examine the concerns of police personnel and recommend sustainable solutions to the pension crisis.

6. A 28-year-old school bus driver, Onome Ughagha has been arrested by operatives of the Delta State Police Command for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old female student in Sapele. It was learnt that the suspect was arrested after reportedly demanding and collecting N503,000 in ransom from the student’s father. The spokesperson for the command, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

7. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 34-year-old South African woman, Qhina Beauty, with 36.65 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The agency also arrested a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother, Anetor Gloria Ubong, with 9.45 kilogrammes of high-grade cannabis, known as loud, allegedly imported from the United States.

8. A mother and her child have been killed after two trucks, laden with 20ft containers, overturned at Mile 2, by Freeman Market, inward Apapa, Lagos State. The Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. Taofiq said the victims were trapped beneath the overturned trucks and their containers, sustaining fatal injuries in the incident.

9. Bodies of the two remaining victims of Tuesday’s boat accident at Robertkiri, along the Kula waterways in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, have been recovered. The bodies were reportedly recovered on Saturday evening, and their identities were revealed. This comes three days after five bodies from the incident were recovered, bringing the total number of corpses recovered so far to seven.

10. The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has alleged that 68 detained Biafrans were secretly transferred from Wawa Barracks to correctional facilities in Kuje, Keffi and Suleja, accusing the Federal Government of using the justice system to prolong the detention of its members. The group also alleged that the Court of Appeal had yet to list an appeal challenging the conviction of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, despite the compilation and transmission of the record of appeal.