The Nigeria Police Force has opened a condolence register at its Force Headquarters in Abuja to honour the memory of the late Solomon Arase.
Arase, the 18th Indigenous Inspector-General of Police, passed away on August 31, at 69.
According to a statement on its X account on Monday, the current IG, Kayode Egbetokun, paid heartfelt tribute to the late police chief as senior officers and staff converged at the headquarters to sign the register and pay their respects.
“The Nigeria Police Force has opened a Condolence Register at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, for the revered former Police Chief, as senior officers and staff pay their respects.
“In honour of his memory, the Police flag will fly at half-mast in all Commands and Formations nationwide,” the statement read.
The gesture is part of a series of formal remembrances by the service following Arase’s death. (Punch)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Wednesday said it will begin screening for over 500 exceptional candidates below 16 years of age seeking admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session between September 22 and 26.
The exercise will be conducted by a special technical committee set up by JAMB, according to resolutions reached during a virtual meeting of members on Wednesday.
Speaking during the meeting, Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, said three venues have been selected for the screening: Lagos, Abuja, and Owerri.
He said Lagos will host 397 candidates, Owerri 136, and Abuja 66.
Oloyede, who noted that out of 41,027 underage candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), more than 40,000 did not scale the first hurdle, explained that the screening is to ensure that only exceptional and well-prepared underage candidates gain admission.
“People have been doing it in other parts of the world. We are not reinventing the wheel,” he said.
During the meeting, a subcommittee led by Prof. Taoheed Adedoja presented its report on the planned assessment, stating that candidates will face subject-specific tests followed by a brief oral interview.
The committee also resolved to request the result details from the West African Examination Council to verify the eligibility of some shortlisted candidates before they appear for interviews.
Participants in the virtual meeting included heads of tertiary institutions, government agencies, civil society representatives, members of the Nigerian Academy of Education, and the principal of Federal Government Gifted Academy, Suleja.
Recall that out of the 1.955 million candidates who sat for this year’s UTME nationwide, 599 scored above 300 but fell below the minimum admission age of 16, prompting the creation of the screening committee.
The policy aligns with the Ministry of Education’s directive setting 16 as the minimum entry age for tertiary institutions.
The initiative is designed to ensure that candidates admitted are mentally and psychologically prepared for the demands of higher education.
Four universities, the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; University of Jos; and Osun State University, have already informed JAMB that they will not admit underage candidates under any circumstances.
JAMB says the policy will balance academic excellence with cognitive maturity, prevent age falsification, and protect young candidates from undue parental pressure.
The Board is targeting only candidates who score at least 320 in UTME (80%), achieve a minimum of 80% in post-UTME, and secure at least 80% (24/30 points) in a single WAEC or NECO sitting. (Punch)
The Federal Government has announced plans to engage Fuji star, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as KWAM 1, as an ambassador for proper airport security protocol, after the recent controversy over his conduct at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in a statement outlining resolutions to recent cases of unruly behaviour at Nigerian airports. Keyamo said the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority had agreed to reduce KWAM 1’s flight ban to one month and would work with the musician to promote awareness on acceptable conduct within the aviation space. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria will lead the engagement process.
“The NCAA is to reduce his flight ban to a one-month period. FAAN will also work with the music star with a view to engaging him as an ambassador for proper airport security protocol going forward. ”Having publicly demonstrated penitence, the NCAA is also to withdraw its criminal complaints against KWAM 1 earlier lodged with the police,” the statement read. The minister added that the decision followed appeals from well-meaning individuals, as well as KWAM 1’s public show of penitence over the August 5 incident in which he allegedly obstructed a ValueJet aircraft’s movement. Keyamo also revealed that the NCAA would withdraw its criminal complaints against the artiste. The development comes days after the musician apologised to the public, insisting the flask he carried on the day of the incident contained water for medical reasons and not alcohol, as was alleged by security personnel.
“The NCAA is to reduce his flight ban to a one-month period. FAAN will also work with the music star with a view to engaging him as an ambassador for proper airport security protocol going forward.
The minister emphasised that the clemency was granted on “compassionate grounds” , warning that the government remained committed to enforcing safety and security laws in the aviation sector. On August 5, KWAM 1 was involved in a confrontation with airline staff and security officials at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while attempting to board a ValueJet flight to Lagos. He was accused of carrying a prohibited flask believed to contain alcohol, spilling its contents on personnel, and later walking onto the aircraft’s tarmac, allegedly blocking the plane from taxiing. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority described the act as a breach of aviation safety regulations and initially placed him on a six-month no-fly list while filing a criminal complaint with the police. (Punch)
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ruled that the Nigerian Senate acted beyond its powers by suspending Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, ordering her immediate recall to the Red Chamber.
Justice Binta Nyako, who delivered the judgment, described the duration of the suspension as “excessive” and without a clear legal foundation.
According to the court, both Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Orders and Section 14 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, which the upper chamber relied upon, do not stipulate a maximum suspension period. As such, they were deemed overreaching in this case.
The judge pointed out that since the National Assembly is only required to sit for 181 days in a legislative year, suspending a lawmaker for roughly that same length of time effectively silences the voice of an entire constituency—a move she described as unconstitutional.
“While the Senate has the authority to discipline its members, such sanctions must not go so far as to deny constituents their right to representation,” Nyako ruled.
However, the court sided with Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on a separate issue, stating that his refusal to allow Akpoti-Uduaghan to speak during a plenary—on the grounds that she was not seated in her designated chair—did not amount to a violation of her rights.
Nyako also dismissed Akpabio’s argument that the judiciary had no business interfering in what he called an “internal affair” of the legislature, stating that fundamental rights and representation are matters squarely within the court’s purview.
In a twist, the court imposed a monetary penalty on Akpoti-Uduaghan for breaching a prior court directive that barred both parties from making public statements about the ongoing legal matter.
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