Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has condemned the violent conduct of Kano Pillars supporters who invaded the pitch and attacked players, match officials, and staff of Shooting Stars Sports Club following Sunday’s Nigeria Premier Football League clash at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano State.
PUNCH Online earlier reported that chaos erupted after Shooting Stars forward, Adams Mustapha, netted a dramatic 94th-minute equaliser to secure a 1–1 draw, cancelling out Mustapha Jibrin’s early goal for the hosts.
Footage from the live broadcast by Propel Sports showed angry fans storming the pitch moments after the final whistle, confronting referee Mohammed Tuta and his assistants—Bem Japhet, Shehu Isah, and Alfa Sadiq—who were forced to flee for safety.
Security operatives struggled to contain the situation and eventually fired tear gas to disperse the enraged crowd.
Several Shooting Stars players, including Ismail Ayodele and Adams Agba’a, were reportedly assaulted during the melee.
Reacting to the incident in a post via his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Monday, Sani described the attack as “unacceptable and condemnable.”
Sani also bemoaned the safety of fans at stadia, lamenting that insecurity and poor crowd control discourage genuine supporters from attending local league games.
He wrote, “The unruly behaviour of the Kano Pillars fans against the players of the Shooting Stars is unacceptable and condemnable.
“One of the problems I found out when one goes to our stadiums to watch the local league matches is the problem of thugs loitering around. Half of your attention is on the match and half on your safety and that of your vehicle.”
The Nigerian Premier Football League is yet to issue an official statement on the violence as of the time of filing this report.
The Kano State Hisbah Board has arrested five youths for allegedly conducting an illegal marriage ceremony without parental consent.
The Deputy Commander General of the board, Dr Mujahideen Aminuddeen, disclosed this in a statement he issued in Kano on Monday.
He said those arrested included the groom, bride, and three others who acted as representatives and a witness.
The marriage was allegedly contracted with a dowry of ₦10,000, below the minimum threshold recognised in Islamic legal standards.
Aminuddeen said that the union violated Islamic and legal marital procedures, and the board had launched an investigation.
He appealed to parents to monitor their children’s social engagements and guide them in marriage matters.
PUNCH Online reports that the development comes after Kano State government directed the state Hisbah Board to begin preparations for the wedding of no fewer than 2,000 couples under its mass wedding programme.
Aminudeen disclosed on Thursday that all intending couples are required to register and undergo compulsory medical screening to determine their health status.
Security operatives attempting to board a flight with over $6.1 million in cash were intercepted and arrested on Saturday at the domestic wing of Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 in Lagos.
The suspects, whose exact number was not disclosed, were reportedly caught during routine checks while trying to board an Aero Contractors flight.
Sources who pleaded anonymity to prevent official sanctions at the airport because they were not empowered to speak on the matter, confirm that the passengers were found with multiple boxes loaded with undeclared U.S dollars.
PUNCH Online gathered that the personnel had initially passed through airport security units before they were apprehended at the foot of the aircraft after Aero Contractors security noticed the heavy luggage.
The matter was then escalated and was reported to Aviation Security, who later handed it over to the Department of State Services.
A senior FAAN official who spoke under the condition of anonymity said the DSS later transferred the suspects to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, where they are currently being held for further investigation.
Another airport source told The PUNCH that the suspects had claimed to be security agents escorting a suspect and exhibits, but failed to declare the cash or follow due procedures for transporting suspects on commercial flights.
Meanwhile, the source said this claim may have helped the suspects bypass the initial security screening. However, their activities raised suspicion at the boarding gate when AVSEC officers noticed the oversized boxes.
Speaking with our correspondent over the phone, the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Ado Sanusi, confirmed the incident, saying his airline’s security team grew suspicious after the individuals refused to check in their heavy bags.
Sanusi explained that the bags contained money, and when asked if it had been declared, the suspects said no.
He explained, “What happened was that our security noticed some passengers trying to board our aircraft with bags that were quite heavy. Our security team advised them to check the bags in, as they could not be carried into the cabin.
They refused to check the bags, and later they said it was money. When asked if the money had been declared, they said no. At that point, our security personnel discovered that the individuals were either police officers or some form of security agents, who claimed they were escorting a suspect along with exhibits. That was why they resisted checking in the bags.
“We then informed them that if they were transporting a suspect, they were required to notify us in advance. There are standard procedures for moving suspects; we don’t mix them with regular passengers. There are boarding, deboarding, and in-flight protocols that must be followed in such cases. Since they failed to follow these procedures, they were not allowed to board, and they eventually left.”
Repeated calls and messages to the spokesperson of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Henry Agbebire, and the Director of Aviation Security, Igbafe Afegbai, were unsuccessful, as they neither replied to the messages nor picked up their calls.
The same for the Head of Corporate Communications, Ajoke Yinka-Olawuyi, of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, operators of the MM2.
The Presidency on Saturday said President Bola Tinubu’s decision to grant presidential pardon and clemency to 175 Nigerians and foreigners, including late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, Major General Mamman Vatsa, and other members of the “Ogoni Nine”, was part of efforts to promote fairness, justice, and national unity.
The Presidency also revealed that the President corrected a historical injustice committed by British colonial authorities against Sir Herbert Macaulay, one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists, who was banned from public office in 1913 after being convicted of misappropriation of funds.
PUNCH Online reports that Tinubu had signed off on pardons for Sir Herbert Macaulay and 174 others.
This marked one of the most expansive uses of the presidential prerogative of mercy, touching on high-profile historical cases.
In a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the Presidency explained that the exercise was guided by the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
According to Onanuga, Tinubu’s gesture was extended to individuals who had either demonstrated remorse, exhibited good conduct, acquired vocational skills, or shown evidence of reformation during incarceration. Others, he said, benefited due to old age, ill health, or historical injustice.
“Illegal miners, white-collar convicts, remorseful drug offenders, foreigners, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, capital offenders such as Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro Wiwa, and the other Ogoni Eight were among the 175 convicts and former convicts who received President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mercy on Thursday.
“President Tinubu granted clemency to most of them based on the reports that the convicts had shown remorse and good conduct. He forgave some due to old age, the acquisition of new vocational skills, or enrolment in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). President Tinubu also corrected the historic injustice committed by British colonialists against Sir Herbert Macaulay, one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists,” the statement read.
Among the beneficiaries of the presidential pardon were Major General Mamman Vatsa, executed in 1986 for alleged coup plotting, and Ken Saro-Wiwa alongside eight other Ogoni activists who were executed in 1995 under the Abacha regime. Their posthumous pardon, Onanuga said, was part of Tinubu’s effort to “heal old wounds and promote national unity.”
A total of 175 convicts and former convicts benefited from the President’s mercy. These included two inmates and 15 former convicts (11 of whom are deceased) granted full pardon, 82 inmates granted clemency, 65 who had their sentences commuted, and seven inmates whose death sentences were reduced to life imprisonment.
Prominent among the living beneficiaries are Farouk Lawan, former lawmaker convicted for corruption; Professor Magaji Garba, former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Gusau; and Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2014 for killing her husband.
Sanda’s clemency, according to the Presidency, followed appeals citing her remorse, good behaviour, and the need to care for her two children.
Others pardoned or granted sentence reduction include convicted drug traffickers, illegal miners, and persons convicted of white-collar crimes, several of whom demonstrated good conduct or enrolled in rehabilitation and educational programmes while serving their terms.
The committee’s report, presented during Thursday’s Council of State meeting chaired by President Tinubu, also recommended that the sentences of some death row inmates be commuted to life imprisonment due to their remorse and long periods in confinement.
Onanuga said the exercise was consistent with Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the President to grant pardons and reprieves after consultation with the Council of State.
The Presidency emphasised that the decision was not taken lightly but was a product of extensive review and recommendations.
Previous reports had indicated that the move was part of a broader effort by the Tinubu administration to decongest custodial centres across the country and promote humane justice reforms.
The full list of beneficiaries, released by the Presidency, includes inmates convicted of drug trafficking, illegal mining, fraud, manslaughter, and other offences. Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis has also undertaken to oversee the rehabilitation and empowerment of all pardoned illegal miners.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Kano State Command, on Friday, handed over an Indian Hemp dealer with two other suspects to the officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Kano.
The suspects were arrested in Doguwa Local Government Area of the State.
The NSCDC State Commandant, Bala Bodinga, stated this while addressing newsmen at the headquarters of the command shortly after handing over the suspects.
He said the suspects were apprehended on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at Riruwai gate by the operatives of the corps in Doguwa division following a tip-off.
“You are invited here today to brief you on the recent milestone achieved by the Corps in its persistent efforts to rid Kano of criminally minded elements.
“On Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at about 02030hrs, operatives of the NSCDC, Doguwa division acting on credible intelligence, intercepted on a motorbike and apprehended a notorious Indian Hemp (Wiwi) dealer, Yusuf Alasan, 25 years.
“The suspect, a resident of Doguwa town, was arrested along with two other adults, Muktar Musa and Musa Sani, carrying three sacks (sugar size sacks) filled with marijuana, transporting it from Doguwa town to Kafau, Doguwa local government area of Kano State,” he said.
Bodinga said preliminary investigations have been concluded by the corps, and in the spirit of synergy and collaboration, “we are handing over the suspected drug dealer, as well as the other two suspects, along with the exhibits to the NDLEA, Kano State command for further investigations and necessary legal action.
He reiterated the commitment of the command to continue to collaborate with all the sister security agencies in the state to decimate the evil intentions of criminals wherever they might be in Kano state.
On August 6, 2025, operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Kano State Command, arrested two suspected criminals found to be involved in drug dealing and burglary in Kano.
The arrest was confirmed in a statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Ibrahim Abdullahi.
“The NSCDC operatives have recorded another breakthrough in the fight against crime, following the arrest of two suspected criminals in separate operations,” he said.
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has revealed that the armed robbery gang responsible for the killing of ARISE News anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, sourced their weapons from a supplier in the Niger Republic.
The Command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this in a statement on Friday while announcing the arrest of 12 suspects linked to the September 29, 2025, robbery and murder at Unique Apartments, Katampe Extension, Abuja, where Maduagwu and a security guard, Barnabas Danlami, lost their lives.
Adeh said preliminary investigations showed that the syndicate procured its firearms — including a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, a pump-action gun, and a pistol — from an arms dealer operating across the Nigeria–Niger border.
“All the suspects are from Kaduna and Katsina States and have confessed to obtaining their weapons from a yet-to-be-identified supplier in the Niger Republic,” Adeh said.
The police listed the arrested suspects as Shamsudeen Hassan, Hassan Isah (22), Abubakar Alkamu (27), Sani Sirajo (20), Mashkur Jamilu (28), Suleiman Badamasi (21), Abdulsalam Saleh, Zaharadeen Muhammad (23), Musa Adamu (30), Sumayya Mohammed (27), Isah Abdulrahman (25), and Musa Umar (31).
Adeh said the suspects confessed to carrying out operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo and Zuba, before the robbery that claimed the lives of Arise News anchor and the security guard.
“They have also confessed to participating in other armed robbery operations at Katampe 1, a hotel in Apo, and another in Zuba, all within the FCT, ” the statement added.
Adeh said further investigations confirmed that Hassan Shamsudeen fired the shot that killed the security guard during the attack.
“Further investigations confirmed that the fatal shot which claimed the life of the security guard, Mr. Barnabas Danlami, was fired by one of the suspects, Shamsudeen Hassan,” she said.
Explaining how the operation to apprehend the suspects was carried out, Adeh said the Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, deployed a special investigation team led by DCP Aliyu Abubakar and assisted by ACP Victor Godfrey to track down and dismantle the network following the murder.
“Following the tragic incident, the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ajao S. Adewale psc. mnips., established a Special Investigation Team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, DCP Aliyu Abubakar, and assisted by the Commander, Scorpion Squad, ACP Victor Godfrey, with a clear mandate to track down and dismantle the criminal network behind the attack. Leveraging digital reconstructive intelligence and conducting coordinated operations across the FCT, Nasarawa, and Kaduna States, the team successfully apprehended the suspects,” she said.
The police urged residents to remain alert and report suspicious movements through its emergency lines.
Nigeria has long struggled with the influx of illicit small arms and light weapons from neighbouring countries, especially Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.
In 2016, the United Nations raised concern over the widespread proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons in Nigeria, estimating that about 350 million of the 500 million such weapons circulating in West Africa were concentrated within the country.
The figure is about 70 per cent of the regional total.
Lawmakers in Peru voted Friday to remove President Dina Boluarte, whose term has been marked by protests and accusations of failing to stem crime.
Boluarte refused to appear before Congress for an overnight hearing, after a majority of lawmakers, including some once loyal to her, voted to initiate impeachment proceedings.
They summoned Boluarte to appear before Congress at 11:30 pm (0430 GMT Friday), but she skipped the proceedings, which ended with 118 lawmakers voting for her impeachment.
“The president’s impeachment has been approved,” announced Congress leader Jose Jeri, who could take over as interim president until elections in April 2026.
Protests have marked Boluarte’s presidency, along with various scandals, investigations and a surge in gang violence.
She had already faced down multiple attempts to remove her from office.
The latest effort cited her “permanent moral incapacity” to carry out her duties since assuming office in December 2022.
Peru has had six presidents in about nine years.
Boluarte, who took office after her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, was impeached over a crackdown on protests that killed at least 50 people, had seen her approval rating plummet.
She is the subject of multiple probes, including one for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal dubbed “Rolexgate.”
She also gave herself a large pay increase in July.
Anti-government protests have mounted in recent weeks after the government passed a law on September 5 requiring young people to contribute to private pension funds, despite job insecurity and an unofficial employment rate of more than 70 per cent.
Protests have also escalated over the past six months in the wake of a wave of extortion and murders by organised crime groups.
Osun State Police Command has invited the Osun State Commander of the Amotekun Corps, Isaac Omoyele, to bring proof of an alleged attempt on his life by some yet to be identified people.
The spokesperson of Osun Amotekun Corps, Idowu Yusuf, had announced early on Tuesday, announced that Omoyele was attacked by gunmen while driving home after the close of work on Monday.
Yusuf said the incident occurred at about 10:05pm, adding that Omoyele was attacked along Ikirun Road in Kobo Area, Osogbo, while driving home in his private vehicle.
“I had left the office, driving home with my two-door vehicle. When I got to Kobo, some armed men suddenly appeared in a moving vehicle, double side by side with my car and started firing.
“Their faces were covered, and before I could react, they opened fire on my vehicle. Bullets riddled the car. I didn’t stop. I kept driving through the hail of gunfire. I was hit, but I managed to escape,” Omoyele said in the statement.
Amotekun spokesperson further said the incident had been officially reported at the Ota-Efun Police Division in Osogbo.
When contacted by PUNCH Online for updates, Osun Police Command spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said the incident was reported by Omoyele.
Ojelabi, however, said the investigation has not commenced as Omoyele has not come up with proof that an attempt was made to kill him.
He said, “According to the report he (Omoyele) made that he was attacked, the police have gone to the scene and we have told him to come along with the vehicle.
“He will have to produce the vehicle and other things to prove the incident before we can talk of an investigation.”
The alleged assassination attempt of Omoyele had happened barely one week after operatives of the Amotekun Corps in the state invaded Akinlalu Community and shot some residents, reportedly killing three people.
The incident which led to public condemnation of the mode of operations of the Corps, also led several people to demand the arrest and prosecution of those operatives who perpetrated the act.
The PUNCH reports that relations of those who lost their lives in the mayhem, while speaking with our correspondent, demanded justice for their loved ones.
Osun State Police Command, in a report made available to our correspondent after the incident, listed Ibrahim Oyebamiji (m), 26 years, Sefiu Oyebamiji (m) and Abiola Olutayo (m), as those killed in the mayhem.
Those injured include, Adeagbo Kadijat ‘f’ 22yrs, Oke-Ila Oyebamiji ‘f’ 60yrs and Fayomi Toheeb ‘m’ 19yrs.
The police also confirmed that Amotekun operatives took away the corpses of the deceased after the incident.
But the leadership of the Amotekun Corps in the state, though admitting to killing three people, said those killed had engaged its operatives in an exchange of gunfight.
The Corps said its operatives were ambushed by hoodlums, who had gone to Akinlalu to retrieve two rifles forcibly taken away from its operatives.
On Sunday at the palace of the Alakinla of Akinlalu, Oba Oluwabusola Oloyede, the Deputy Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Oyewusi, while speaking, assured residents of the Akinlalu community that the State Government would ensure justice for the victims.
Oyewusi, who is representing Ife North State Constituency, appealed to the youths in the community not to take the law into their hands, but to allow proper investigation of the incident.
“We are here to commiserate with the families and the town over what happened. We also want to beg the youth of Akinlalu to allow peace to reign.
“Ife North is a peaceful region. We don’t have power over what has happened, but we want to assure our people that the State Government and the police have already started an investigation into the matter, and I am assuring my people that justice will be served.
“We are waiting for the report of the police and the committee set up by the state government and by God’s grace, the perpetrators will not go freely. We will ensure justice for the victims,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker, who also visited the families that lost people in the incident alongside other members of the Assembly, also promised that the state government would provide needed support for the families of the deceased.
Edo State First Lady, Mrs Edesili Okpebholo, has said raising awareness among children and young people is key to reducing human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and drug abuse in the state.
Speaking at the launch of a comprehensive awareness campaign organised by the Mariam Ashley Yusuf Foundation in collaboration with the Edo State Ministry of Education, Okpebholo said the prevention of such social vices must begin with awareness.
A statement on Sunday by the foundation quoted the First Lady as saying that awareness must start in schools if the state is to curb the rising vulnerability of youths to social vices.
“Human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and substance abuse are real threats to the future of the Edo child. Prevention begins with awareness, and that awareness must start in schools. We must arm our children with values and knowledge to make better choices,” she was quoted as saying.
The campaign, held at the John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy in Benin City, brought together students, teachers, parents, corps members, and representatives of government agencies, including the Edo State Migration Agency, NAPTIP, NDLEA, the Nigeria Police, and the International Organisation for Migration.
Okpebholo said the initiative aligns with the state government’s commitment to protecting children from exploitation and promoting moral education alongside academic learning.
The Edo State Commissioner for Education, Dr Paddy Iyamu, described the campaign as part of efforts to reinforce the values driving ongoing education reforms in the state.
“Education should focus not only on academic achievement but also on shaping responsible citizens,” he stated.
Founder of the foundation, Miss Ashley Mariam, said the campaign was designed to strengthen prevention and rehabilitation efforts.
She called for stronger prevention and rehabilitation strategies for victims of human trafficking and related abuses. She also launched her book, Stolen Dream, which narrates the ordeal of a trafficking victim.
Edo State has been identified by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other agencies, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as one of the major source states for human trafficking in Nigeria.
According to NAPTIP’s 2023 data, a significant percentage of trafficking victims rescued abroad originated from Edo and Delta states, with many lured through false job offers and irregular migration.
The UNODC 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report also identifies Edo among the three leading source states in the country.
Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to 50 months in prison after being convicted on prostitution-related charges.
Prosecutors had pushed for an 11-year sentence, but Judge Arun Subramanian imposed just over four years following an emotional daylong hearing on Friday.
Combs’s lawyers had urged a far lighter penalty of 14 months, effectively time served, since the 55-year-old hip-hop star has already spent more than a year in custody in Brooklyn, according to CNN.
Before sentencing, Combs addressed the court, expressing remorse. “I am truly sorry,” he said, asking the judge for “another chance.”
He added, “I ask your honour for mercy. I beg your honour for mercy.”
In July, a jury acquitted Combs of the most serious charges, sex trafficking and racketeering but found him guilty of two counts of transporting people across state lines for prostitution.
His former girlfriend, singer Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, submitted a searing letter to the court.
She urged the judge to consider “the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control.”
Ventura described enduring years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse in her relationship with Combs.
Along with another woman, identified as Jane, she said she was coerced into “freak-offs” — sexual marathons with hired men that Combs orchestrated and sometimes filmed.
“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016,” Ventura wrote.
She said she continues to suffer nightmares and flashbacks “on a regular, everyday basis.”
Prosecutor Christy Slavik argued that Combs has yet to take responsibility.
“His remorse was qualified. It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” she told the court.
Slavik added that Combs had booked speaking engagements in Miami in anticipation of a lighter sentence, calling it “the height of hubris.”
In defence, attorney Nicole Westmoreland described Combs as “an inspiration” to the Black community and a social justice crusader.
“No, Combs is not larger than life.
“He’s just a human being. He’s made mistakes,” she said.
She insisted he was remorseful and argued, “It’s of no benefit to anyone to warehouse him in a prison.”
Combs’s six adult children also pleaded for leniency. His eldest, Quincy Brown, called him “a changed man.” One of his daughters, D’Lila Combs, appealed to the judge, “Please, please give our family the chance to heal together. Not as headlines but as human beings.”
