Top 10 Stories Making Headlines in Nigeria Today

Good morning. Here is a quick roundup of the biggest stories making headlines in Nigeria today.

1. The Nigerian military has defended the air strike on Jilli village market near the Borno and Yobe border, insisting the location was a terrorist enclave. However, some survivors said they were cattle traders and not terrorists. More than 50 people were reportedly killed.

2. The Supreme Court is set to hear separate appeals on Tuesday over leadership crises in two opposition parties, the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party. The cases involve embattled ADC National Chairman David Mark and the Governor Seyi Makinde-backed PDP faction led by Tanimu Turaki, both challenging earlier Court of Appeal judgments.

3. The Nigeria Police Force has faulted an Amnesty International report claiming that at least 1,100 people were kidnapped across the country in three months. Police authorities said the figure was not verified and was not checked against records from security agencies.

4. Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested an Ivorian national and a Nigerian medical doctor over alleged cocaine trafficking. The agency said the Ivorian suspect, Gohouri Michael, 41, was arrested at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while trying to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Milan through Addis Ababa.

5. Former presidential aspirant Mohammed Hayatu Deen has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party for the African Democratic Congress. He said worsening insecurity, rising hardship, and what he described as a shrinking democratic space influenced his decision.

6. The Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has denied reports of internal crisis. The party dismissed claims of mass resignations and unpaid delegates’ stipends, describing them as false and the handiwork of mischief makers.

7. Any hope of cheaper fuel in Nigeria may have suffered a setback after talks between the United States and Iran collapsed. The development has raised fresh tension in the Middle East and rattled global oil markets.

8. United States President Donald Trump has directed the US Navy to begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after nuclear talks with Iran broke down. In a statement on Sunday, Trump said progress was made on some issues, but the main sticking point remained Iran’s nuclear programme.

9. The Imo State Police Command says it has busted a robbery syndicate in an operation that led to the arrest of five suspects and the recovery of 450 allegedly stolen motorcycles. Police spokesperson DSP Henry Okoye disclosed this during a briefing in Owerri.

10. The NDLEA in Kano says it has raided several drug joints across the state. The operation led to the arrest of 21 suspects and the seizure of different illegal substances and weapons, according to the command’s spokesperson, Sadiq Muhammad Maigatari.