| PREMIUM TIMES | 2ND OCTOBER 2026 | Troops neutralise 16 terrorists, rescue 10 prospective corps members | Troops of 226 Battalion at Garkida in Gombi and 232 Battalion at Garaha in Hong, Adamawa State, repelled simultaneous attacks at about 1 a.m. on Thursday. The Spartan element trailed the fleeing attackers and neutralised 16 of them, recovering three AK-47 rifles and other weapons. Operation UDO KA troops rescued 10 prospective corps members abducted from two commercial buses at Umonuwa in Mbaise, Imo State, while the search for the remaining victims continued. In Taraba State, attackers killed one civilian and abducted three others at Gwamagira before troops forced them to abandon rustled cattle. | SECURITY; ADAMAWA STATE; IMO STATE; KIDNAPPING | PREMIUM TIMES | | | |
| VANGUARD | 2ND OCTOBER 2026 | Terrorists hijack 2 buses, kidnap 19 ‘prospective’ corps members, others in Imo | Terrorists hijacked two 18-seater buses along the Owerri-Onitsha expressway at Umunoha in Mbaitolu, Imo State, in the early hours of Thursday and marched passengers into the bush. The buses left Samonda, Ibadan, on Wednesday morning for Uyo in Akwa Ibom State and Bende in Abia State, and about 19 passengers who boarded in Ibadan are known to be affected. A mother of one victim said her child’s last message was a text reading “Kidnappers!”, after which the family lost contact. The driver of the first bus escaped, and five passengers were reportedly taken from the second. | SECURITY; KIDNAPPING; IMO STATE; NYSC | VANGUARD | | | |
| PREMIUM TIMES | 2ND OCTOBER 2026 | Obidient Movement gets new National Coordinator; Yunusa Tanko reassigned | The Obidient Movement has appointed Moses Paul as national coordinator after Yunusa Tanko was reassigned as special adviser to Peter Obi on Northern Nigeria. The movement announced this in an Abuja statement on Thursday by Onyeka Dike of its media and communications directorate. Tanko, who served three years, cited the creation of a National Advisory Council, offices in all 36 states and the FCT, and a results monitoring system linked to INEC’s Results Viewing Portal. Paul was the ADC candidate for Abuja Municipal Area Council chairman in the 21 February FCT area council election. | 2027 ELECTIONS; OBIDIENT MOVEMENT; NDC | PREMIUM TIMES | | | |
| THISDAY | 2ND OCTOBER 2026 | Heads of Federal Agencies Form Coalition for Tinubu’s Reelection | The Forum of Chief Executives of Federal Parastatals has resolved to support President Tinubu’s 2027 reelection and presented itself to APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda and the NWC in Abuja as a structure complementing the Presidential Campaign Council. Forum chairman Dr Kazeem Kolawole Raji, who heads the National Board for Technology Incubation, said the forum is more than an association of agency heads. Publicity committee chairman Biodun Ajiboye argued that the 2027 message must move from what the APC will do to what it has done, and proposed helping with campaign messaging and grassroots mobilisation. Yilwatda welcomed the initiative, and the forum will return with detailed technical proposals. | 2027 ELECTIONS; APC; FEDERAL AGENCIES; TINUBU CAMPAIGN | THISDAY | | | |
| ARISE TV | 2ND OCTOBER 2026 | PDP Factions Clash Over Tinubu’s Independence Message, Differ On State Of Nation | The Tanimu Turaki-led PDP faction criticised President Tinubu’s Independence Day message, with interim national publicity secretary Ini Ememobong accusing the president of casting himself as Moses while Nigerians face a “Red Sea of economic pain”. The faction called Tinubu “the Pharaoh” and said many Nigerians feel worse off since 29 May 2023 because of higher living costs. The faction loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, through national publicity secretary Jungudo Mohammed, instead urged Nigerians to preach peace and unity and said the future of the country remains bright. | PDP FACTIONS; INDEPENDENCE DAY; TINUBU; ECONOMY | ARISE TV | | | |
| GUARDIAN | 2ND OCTOBER 2026 | Nigeria @66: Oyo, Lagos, Ondo governors preach unity, tolerance ahead of 2027 polls | Governors of Oyo, Lagos and Ondo States used Independence Day events on Thursday to urge unity ahead of the 2027 elections. Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde, represented by his deputy Bayo Lawal, urged respect for democracy and the rule of law and pointed to the Amotekun Corps and infrastructure spread across the state’s five zones. Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu praised Nigerians’ resilience and noted 27 uninterrupted years of constitutional democracy, the longest stretch of civilian rule in the country’s history. Ondo Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa appealed for maturity and restraint in the electoral process and urged leaders and youths to avoid violence. | 2027 ELECTIONS; INDEPENDENCE DAY; OYO; LAGOS; ONDO | GUARDIAN | | | |
| ARISE TV | 2ND OCTOBER 2026 | ECOWAS Calls For Collective Action Against Cross-Border Security Threats | ECOWAS said West Africa faces increasingly complex security threats that spill across national borders and require stronger regional cooperation. Dr Babatunde Afolabi, the Commission’s Director of Political Affairs, represented by Gnacabja Constant, spoke at the pre-WAPSeD 2027 strategy and review meeting in Abuja, convened by the Building Blocks for Peace Foundation. He listed violent extremism, terrorism, political tensions, organised crime and humanitarian pressures as interconnected challenges and called for a shift from dialogue to action built on prevention. Participants also identified disinformation and weakened indigenous security structures as emerging gaps. | ECOWAS; REGIONAL SECURITY; WEST AFRICA | ARISE TV | | | |
| VANGUARD | 2ND OCTOBER 2026 | Trump vows to hit Iran ‘very hard’ if linked to flydubai attack | US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran will be “hit very hard” if it is found to be linked to a flydubai co-pilot’s attack on the captain of a Dubai to Tel Aviv flight. Asked whether Iran was involved, he said the answer was yes based on what he was hearing, but that the matter was still being worked on. The UAE opened an investigation into possible terrorist intent, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Omani co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”. Axios reported that additional Patriot batteries had been sent to Saudi Arabia and Qatar and that the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group was heading to the Middle East. | UNITED STATES; IRAN; MIDDLE EAST; AVIATION SECURITY | VANGUARD | | | |
| CHANNELS TV | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | Independence Day: Nigeria Is Moving From Reform To Prosperity, Tinubu Assures Nigerians | In his Independence Day address on Thursday, President Tinubu said Nigeria is moving from reform to prosperity and that the “emergency treatment is over”. He maintained that his reforms confronted rather than created the economy’s weaknesses and urged Nigerians to resist influential voices calling for a return to fuel subsidies. He cited economic growth above 4 per cent this year, a substantial fall in inflation, reduced oil theft, rebuilt foreign reserves and a stabilised foreign exchange market. He described prosperity as safe farming, reliable power for factories, affordable food and transport, and productive work for young people. | INDEPENDENCE DAY; TINUBU; ECONOMY; FUEL SUBSIDY | CHANNELS TV | | | |
| PREMIUM TIMES | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | Tinubu signs 2025 budget extension bill into law | President Tinubu signed the Appropriation (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill, 2025, extending the implementation period of the 2025 budget’s capital component from 30 September to 31 December 2026. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga announced the assent on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after both chambers passed the bill on 29 September. This is the fourth extension of a budget that was due to end on 31 December 2025. In December 2025 Tinubu had promised to close all prior capital liabilities by 31 March 2026 and run a single budget from April, a timeline the latest extension does not meet. | BUDGET; 2025 APPROPRIATION; NATIONAL ASSEMBLY; TINUBU | PREMIUM TIMES | | | |
| PREMIUM TIMES | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | Police give new account of arrests of five men over ‘Tinubu Must Go’ T-shirts | The Borno State Police Command said five men arrested in Maiduguri over “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts were also found with 15 wraps of suspected Indian hemp, 100 tablets suspected to be D5, a shisha pot and scissors during a routine patrol at about 6 p.m. on 25 September. The statement by spokesperson Nahum Daso followed public criticism of the decision to charge the men with criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace and thuggery. The command did not explain why the alleged drugs do not appear in the charges. Amnesty International has called for the men’s release and the withdrawal of the charges, saying wearing the T-shirt is not a crime. | FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION; BORNO STATE; POLICE; 2027 ELECTIONS | PREMIUM TIMES | | | |
| GUARDIAN | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | Dalung tackles Zulum over arrest of ‘Tinubu Must Go’ protesters | Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development Solomon Dalung criticised Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum over the arrest and prosecution of five Maiduguri residents for wearing “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts. In a Facebook statement he asked what offence the T-shirt constitutes and argued that if a “Tinubu Must Stay” shirt is legitimate political expression, so is the opposite message. He said a governor is not “a President’s prefect in the state” and urged Zulum to ensure the charges are dropped and the men released. | FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION; BORNO STATE; GOVERNOR ZULUM | GUARDIAN | | | |
| PREMIUM TIMES | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | Police arrest OK Movement coordinator during Independence Day march in Uyo | Police in Akwa Ibom arrested Elijah Noah, state coordinator of the Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement, as armed officers moved to stop an Independence Day march in Uyo on Thursday, despite a last-minute directive rescheduling all approved political activities for 1 October. Commissioner of Police Baba Azare said the OK Movement’s request overlapped with an approved PDP request for 1 to 3 October and that organisers had agreed at a police meeting to reschedule before proceeding anyway. Police said eight people were arrested and denied firing tear gas or any firearm, which witnesses disputed. NDC governorship candidate Michael Enyong called the response excessive, and a lawyer said police have a duty to provide cover for peaceful assembly. | 2027 ELECTIONS; AKWA IBOM; POLICE; RIGHT TO ASSEMBLY | PREMIUM TIMES | | | |
| PUNCH | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | NDC fumes as police cancel Obi-Kwankwaso march in Akwa Ibom | The Akwa Ibom chapter of the NDC expressed anger after police cancelled a two million-man solidarity march for Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso scheduled for Independence Day in Uyo. A police statement on Wednesday directed that all approvals for political activities on 1 October be rescheduled, citing intelligence of plans to exploit gatherings to cause disturbances. Obidient Movement state director Benjamin Smith said the movement spent more than N20 million mobilising across the state’s 31 local government areas, having attended a police meeting on 29 September, and accused the police of violating the Police Act. The police described the directive as precautionary and non-partisan. | 2027 ELECTIONS; AKWA IBOM; NDC; POLICE | PUNCH | | | |
| PREMIUM TIMES | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | Lagos governorship candidates speak on education, housing, healthcare, Yoruba cultural preservation, business protection plans | Governorship candidates from four parties responded to questions from millennial and Gen Z voters at a town hall organised by The Platform Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday. ADC candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour said Lagos is Yoruba land and promised a ministry of culture, while APC candidate Obafemi Hamzat pledged to scrap untraceable levies on businesses and create a child welfare agency. The PDP candidate proposed affordable high-rise housing outside the metropolis funded by land charge revenue, and the NDC candidate promised that no child would be denied education or healthcare because of parents’ inability to pay, with a 34-point manifesto due next week. | 2027 ELECTIONS; LAGOS STATE; GOVERNORSHIP; CAMPAIGN PLEDGES | PREMIUM TIMES | | | |
| GUARDIAN | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | ADC dismisses growing influence of rainbow coalition in Rivers | ADC Rivers governorship candidate Dr Gabriel Pidomson dismissed the growing influence of the Rainbow Coalition in the state, saying the 2027 contest will be Rivers people against others and that the state is “nobody’s private estate”. He challenged Wike to name one project he has brought to Rivers as FCT minister and alleged that Wike’s appointments benefited his associates. He condemned reported restrictions on political activities by some local government chairmen, alleged that APC members had disrupted ADC events, and asked security agencies to investigate. He said ADC agents would monitor polling units and collation. | 2027 ELECTIONS; RIVERS STATE; ADC; WIKE | GUARDIAN | | | |
| ARISE TV | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | 2027: Wike Vows To Resign As Minister If Tinubu Loses FCT, Rivers | FCT Minister Nyesom Wike said he will announce his resignation on 17 January 2027 if President Tinubu loses Rivers State and the FCT in the presidential election scheduled for 16 January 2027. He spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at a stakeholders meeting with the Apo Mechanics and Traders Association on the relocation and land allocation exercise for traders and mechanics at the Apo Mechanic Village corridor. Wike said a coalition across parties is being built in the FCT and backed Philip Aduda for the Senate. FCTA technical directors said more than 4,000 verified beneficiaries would receive plots after physical enumeration, which Wike placed under his office. | 2027 ELECTIONS; FCT; RIVERS STATE; WIKE | ARISE TV | | | |
| VANGUARD | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | 2027: I’ll resign if Nigeria doesn’t change in one year — Amaechi | ADC vice-presidential candidate Rotimi Amaechi vowed to resign if Nigeria does not begin to change within one year of an ADC government taking office. Speaking on AIT’s Democracy Today on Wednesday, he named security, education and the economy as priorities and said corruption must come down to fund them. He criticised the removal of fuel subsidy, saying Nigerians had not benefited sufficiently, and claimed Nigeria imports more than 46 per cent of its finished goods. His pledge followed Wike’s statement that Tinubu should remove him from office if he fails to deliver the FCT. | 2027 ELECTIONS; ADC; AMAECHI; FUEL SUBSIDY | VANGUARD | | | |
| VANGUARD | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | 2027: Donald Duke better than all presidential candidates out there — Baba-Ahmed | PRP National Chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said the party’s presidential candidate, Donald Duke, is better than all other candidates, while conceding that candidate quality alone does not win elections. In an Arise News interview on Wednesday, he said the PRP is at the centre of coalition-building talks guided by consensus and constitutional processes rather than an attempt to force Duke’s candidacy. He described the 2027 election as decisive for whether Nigeria addresses its fault lines or sinks into them. | 2027 ELECTIONS; PRP; DONALD DUKE; OPPOSITION COALITION | VANGUARD | | | |
| PUNCH | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | 2027: Baba-Ahmed, opposition leaders meet Atiku | PRP National Chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed and other coalition leaders held a closed-door meeting with ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar at his Abuja residence on Tuesday night, attended by members of his campaign council. PRP National Publicity Secretary Muhammed Ishaq disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday and said the meeting was part of efforts to broaden the coalition to defeat the APC, with consultations to continue with other opposition leaders and presidential candidates. Sources said the delegation also included chieftains of the Turaki-led PDP and the APM. Ishaq also condemned the reported arrest and arraignment of five youths in Borno State over “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts, saying the coalition will take up the matter. | 2027 ELECTIONS; OPPOSITION COALITION; PRP; ADC | PUNCH | | | |
| DAILY TRUST | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | 2027: Opposition parties push for single candidate | Opposition leaders have intensified efforts to field a single presidential candidate against President Tinubu in 2027. Representatives of the APM, PRP, a Turaki-led PDP faction and the SDP met ADC candidate Atiku Abubakar in Abuja on Tuesday night, and a source said further meetings with other presidential candidates are planned. The consultations follow an initiative by the G-100, led by Salihu Lukman, which seeks cooperation among the ADC, PDP, NDC, PRP, SDP and APM, though it remains unclear whether candidates would step aside for a consensus candidate. Atiku separately endorsed the “Tinubu Must Go” movement after receiving one of its conveners, Abba Hikima, on Monday. | 2027 ELECTIONS; OPPOSITION COALITION; G-100; ATIKU | DAILY TRUST | | | |
| PUNCH | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | INEC urges Sokoto voters to collect PVCs, trust electoral process | INEC in Sokoto State announced that collection of Permanent Voter Cards will begin on 9 October 2026 and urged eligible voters to collect their cards at designated centres. In a statement issued on Thursday by Public Affairs Officer Hassan Sarki Gendane to mark Independence Day, the commission asked citizens to rely only on official INEC channels for information on the electoral process. It said it remains committed to conducting elections in accordance with the law and ensuring that every vote is accounted for. | INEC; PVC COLLECTION; SOKOTO STATE; 2027 ELECTIONS | PUNCH | | | |
| DAILY TRUST | 1ST OCTOBER 2026 | Teenage Herder killed in fresh Plateau attack | A 14-year-old herder, Aliyu Ismail, was reportedly killed on Thursday at Wereng community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State. Plateau chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo, said the boy was ambushed at about 2 p.m. while rearing cattle, and called for arrests and for residents to avoid reprisals. The attack follows reports of killings in Mangu, Barkin Ladi and Bokkos, which have continued despite a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the affected area. The military spokesperson did not respond to inquiries. | SECURITY; PLATEAU STATE; HERDER-FARMER VIOLENCE | DAILY TRUST | | | |
| GUARDIAN | 30TH SEPTEMBER 2026 | Bayero’s supporters destroy Tinubu, Yusuf’s campaign posters in Kano | Supporters of Aminu Ado Bayero, whose claim to the Kano emirship is disputed by the camp of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, destroyed campaign banners and posters of President Tinubu and Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf during an outing by Bayero within the city, according to eyewitnesses. The incident occurred while the Kano State Government had restricted durbar processions and horse-riding in the metropolis over fears of clashes between rival supporters. Speaking through Chief Councillor Aminu Babba Dan’agundi, Bayero reportedly expressed displeasure, directed that damaged materials be repaired or replaced, and said traditional rulers are “fathers of the people, not politicians”. | KANO EMIRATE DISPUTE; POLITICAL TENSION; 2027 ELECTIONS | GUARDIAN | | | |
| PUNCH | 30TH SEPTEMBER 2026 | Benue NDC condemns ward chairman’s murder | The Benue State chapter of the NDC condemned the killing of Igbu Terhemen, the party’s Fiidi Ward Council chairman in Makurdi Local Government Area. He was reportedly attacked by suspected hoodlums who tied him with ropes, injected him with substances suspected to be poisonous and abandoned him near the NNPC depot along the Makurdi-Otukpo Road, and he died after being found almost unconscious. State publicity secretary Agile Bem disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, and state chairman Ohini Ojegbe called on security agencies to investigate and bring those responsible to justice. | POLITICAL VIOLENCE; BENUE STATE; NDC | PUNCH | | | |
