SUSPECTED bandits have attacked Kakafu community, a remote settlement in the Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, kidnapping four persons. News Point Nigeria reports that the attackers kidnapped four residents, including one man, a woman, and her two female children, during the operation that occurred at about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, a situation that threw the community into confusion. According to information, the assailants, on arrival, opened sporadic gunshots into the air, thereby causing panic among residents, who scampered for safety. However, a source (names withheld) hinted that the assailants operated unchecked without resistance before they eventually whisked their…
Author: Gbenga Mukhtar
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FRESH anguish has gripped Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State after bandits released a video showing 176 residents abducted during a recent deadly attack. Community leaders and families have confirmed the authenticity of the footage, identifying relatives among the captives displayed in the recording. The disturbing development comes days after mass burials were conducted in the community following an assault that left scores dead and over 100 persons initially reported missing. The footage, obtained by this newspaper, reportedly shows dozens of women and children gathered in a forested area under the watch of armed men. Many…
AT least seven grid-connected power plants across Nigeria are expected to face gas supply constraints following the scheduled shutdown of a major gas facility operated by Seplat Energy, a development that could temporarily reduce electricity generation nationwide. News Point Nigeria reports that the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) issued a notice on Thursday warning electricity market participants and consumers that the maintenance exercise, scheduled from February 12 to 15, 2026, will affect gas availability to key thermal power stations connected to the national grid. According to NISO, the planned maintenance will reduce thermal generation capacity and could result in a…
BANDITS who abducted Funke Ogunrinde, wife of a slain forest guard in Oba-Isin town, Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State, have demanded ₦100 million for her release. News Point Nigeria reports that the gunmen invaded the ancient town at about 7:00pm on Wednesday, throwing residents into confusion and panic. During the attack, a forest guard, Mr Raheem Ogunrinde, popularly known as Baba Kafaya, was killed in a gun duel with the assailants. The incident forced many residents to flee to neighbouring communities for fear of further attacks. Security operatives have since taken over the town, which is now under…
JUSTICE Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has rejected two sets of documents tendered by politician and online publisher, Omoyele Sowore, in his ongoing trial on alleged cyberstalking. News Point Nigeria reports that Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations that he made false claims against President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as a criminal in posts on his X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook accounts. In the first ruling, Justice Umar declined an oral application by Sowore’s counsel, Marshall Abubakar, seeking the admission of a set of documents comprising printouts of…
NO fewer than 30 persons were killed on Tuesday in separate bandits’ attacks on rural communities in Katsina and Kwara states, as armed assailants renewed violent assaults, razed houses and vehicles, and forced residents to flee their homes. News Point Nigeria reports that in Katsina State, at least 20 people were confirmed killed when bandits invaded Doma community in Tafoki Ward, Faskari Local Government Area. Residents said the attackers stormed the village unhindered, shooting indiscriminately and setting houses and vehicles ablaze before escaping into surrounding forests. Confirming the incident, the Chairman of Faskari Local Government Area, Surajo Aliyu, described the…
THE Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, says no one will be allowed to hold down the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for any other party to be in power. News Point Nigeria reports that the governor stated this during the commissioning and handing over of a new Oyo State PDP Secretariat donated by him and named after a former state chairman, Chief Omokunmi Mustapha, to the national leadership of the party. Makinde had similarly donated a secretariat to the South-West PDP in honour of a former National Vice Chairman (South-West), the late Hon. Soji Adagunodo, in 2024. The event was attended…
TENSIONS have flared between Ogun and Ondo states following President Bola Tinubu’s approval of drilling activities at an abandoned oil well on Eba Island, a coastal territory now confirmed to host hydrocarbon deposits, reigniting a long-simmering boundary dispute between the two South-West neighbours. News Point Nigeria reports that the Ogun State Government has firmly restated its claim to Eba Island, located in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area, rejecting Ondo State’s counter-claim as misleading, historically flawed, and capable of triggering avoidable communal tension. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Information and Strategy, Kayode…
THE Court of Appeal in Ilorin, Kwara State, has upheld the death sentences imposed on five men convicted over the 2018 Offa bank robbery, dismissing their appeals as lacking merit. News Point Nigeria reports that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the state, Mohammed Akande, who witnessed the proceedings virtually, said that the three Appeal Court judges unanimously agreed on the judgment and affirmed the verdict of the High Court condemning the five persons to death by hanging. He said, ”The Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, comprising Hon. Justice Ridwan Maiwada Abdullahi JCA, Hon. Justice Gabriel Kolawole…
Says Obinna, Osesua, Others Facing Criminal Charges THE National secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, (NUPENG) has dismissed media reports of leadership tussle in the Union, particularly in its Petroleum Tankers Drivers Branch. The NUPENG clarification was on the heels of media reports attributed to a former chairman of its PTD Branch SOBAZ Unit Calabar, Comrade Humble Obinna Power who alleged that Comrades Williams Akporeha, Afolabi Olawale, President and General Secretary of the Union, respectively were planning to create industrial crisis in the oil sector through what he called “illegal attempt to conduct PTD Branch…
THE Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has officially opened 50 oil and gas blocks for bidding in the 2025 licensing round, warning that only technically competent and financially strong companies will be allowed to participate in the process. News Point Nigeria reports that the Commission said the licensing exercise is aimed at eliminating speculative participation and repositioning Nigeria’s upstream sector as a transparent, rules-based destination for long-term investment. The Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC, Engr. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Wednesday during the 2025 Licensing Round pre-bid webinar, where the regulator unveiled the framework, evaluation criteria, commercial terms, and…
THE Nigerian Naira has hit a record high of ₦1, 400 against the US dollar at the official market during the midweek trading session. News Point Nigeria reports that the currency maintained the appreciation trend seen since the start of the week in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM). Data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the local currency appreciated by 1.26% on Tuesday, as the dollar was quoted at ₦1,401.22, representing a gain of ₦17.73 compared with ₦ 1,418.95 recorded on Monday at the NFEM. It had already made significant gains in the previous session,…
THE National Grid on Tuesday recorded its second collapse in 2026. News Point Nigeria reports that as of the time of filing this report, data showed zero megawatts of power supply to the 11 electricity distribution companies. The Grid had recorded its first collapse in the year last Friday, barely weeks after a similar incident on December 29, 2025, which had caused widespread power outages across the country. Grid collapses have been attributed to a combination of technical faults, inadequate maintenance of transmission lines, and fluctuations in generation capacity. Electricity generation dropped sharply from over 4,500 megawatts to as low…
THE Dangote refinery has increased the gantry price of petrol from N699 per litre to N799 per litre. As a result, the refinery said MRS filling stations will now sell petrol at N839 per litre. In a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Monday, the refinery said, “With the festive period concluded, PMS prices have been modestly realigned to sustainable levels to support long-term market stability and affordability. Under the current alignment, the PMS gantry price is N799 per litre, while MRS retail outlets are selling at N839 per litre.” The refinery reaffirms its commitment to market stability and…
GOVERNOR of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has demanded the immediate release of over ₦130 billion in statutory allocations he said were withheld from the state’s local governments. He says that the continued blockade is crippling grassroots governance and inflicting hardship on workers and residents. In a statewide broadcast on Monday on the illegal occupation of local government secretariats and the defence of democratic order, Adeleke said court-sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen and councillors had unlawfully occupied council offices across the state for nearly a year, despite judgments of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, in November 2022 and affirmations by…
THE long-awaited status of Ogun State as an oil-producing state is set to materialise following the approval by President Bola Tinubu for the commencement of commercial oil drilling at Eba, Ogun Waterside News Point Nigeria reports that Governor Dapo Abiodun disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abubakar Abdullahi Mustapha, alongside senior officers of the command, during a courtesy visit to his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. The governor also revealed that President Tinubu has approved the immediate take off of the Olokola Deep Seaport project located in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area,…
THE Kwara State Government has ordered the immediate closure of the Kwara State College of Education, Oro, over worsening security concerns in the area. The directive was contained in an internal memo dated January 20, 2026, obtained by News Point Nigeria issued by the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science and Technology . “You are hereby instructed to take immediate steps to direct the Management of the College to temporarily close the institution forthwith,” the memo, signed by the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu, read in part. Modibbo-Kawu said the move is in line with the instruction of Governor…
THE son of the Oniwo of Afin in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Simeon Olanipekun, has regained his freedom after abductors collected a ransom of N20 million, days after he was kidnapped alongside his father and other residents. News Point Nigeria reports that the victim, identified as Olaolu Olanipekun, a serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was released on Monday following prolonged negotiations between his family and the kidnappers. However, the traditional ruler and other abductees are still being held in captivity. A family source, who spoke on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, confirmed…
THE Federal Government has re-arraigned human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, on a two- count amended charge of alleged cyberstalking against President Bola Tinubu. News Point Nigeria reports that Sowore, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, had on X, and Facebook tagged Tinubu as a “criminal”. At the resumed hearing of the case at the Federal High Court, counsel for the Department of State Service (DSS), Akinlolu Kehinde, notified Justice Mohammed Umar of the new amended charge, which removes X and Facebook from the list of defendants, leaving Sowore as the sole defendant. Whereas counsel for the government expressed…
OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a long-wanted drug kingpin, Lekan Jimoh, also known as “Kanmo-Kanmo,” 12 years after his alleged involvement in the killing of three NDLEA officers. Jimoh was arrested on Friday, January 16, 2026, in Owode town, Ogun State, following intelligence-led operations by tactical teams of the agency. A search of his hideout led to the recovery of 69 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis. A statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect has been on the NDLEA wanted list since June…