General News
VOA Fears for PDP, Tips APC to Win

Nigeria’s fifth presidential election on March 28 is expected to be the tightest since the country returned to democracy in 1999. That’s not the only way this vote might be different, according to Voce of America (VOA).
In a piece titled “Nigeria Election Expected to Upend Past Political Trends” VOA, said yesterday that from the balance of political power to the way ballots will be cast, analysts say a number of changes are in store for Saturday’s vote.
Disunity among opposition groups has helped the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to claim victory in the past four contests.
But that changed in 2013, when leading opposition parties overcame differences to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Analysts expect that party to present a major challenge to the PDP and their leader, incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
While the party is a new factor in these elections, the politicians are not.
APC candidate Muhammadu Buhari is very familiar to Nigerians. Jonathan bested the former military ruler in 2011 elections.
But political commentator Chris Ngowdo said the PDP’s nationwide support base — so crucial to its 2011 election success — may not be there this time around.
“Historically, opposition parties tended to be the regional parties and have lost national elections as a result,” said Ngowdo.
“But for the first time there’s really a situation where the roles are reversed, and the opposition party is now the national coalition and the ruling party has, through result of its political miscalculations, has shrunk to become a regional party.”
Jonathan is highly popular in the southeast and in his native southern Niger Delta region. In 2011, he won 99 percent of the vote in several states in the region.
The massive turnout for Jonathan, said Jibrin Ibrahim, a fellow at the Center for Democracy and Development, is unlikely this time due to better anti-fraud measures being implemented.
“Almost everybody on the voter’s lists was [listed as] having voted for the president. In a real election that wouldn’t be possible. You don’t get 99 percent turnout,” said Ibrahim.
Ibrahim said changes in the way ballots are cast in this election will reduce ballot box stuffing and make the election fairer than before.
Voters now have to present a plastic identification card and be biometrically verified before casting ballots. The new identification system has proven controversial, and was challenged in court. But if deployed properly, Ibrahim says it will make the election more credible.
But while there’s a better likelihood the voting will be more transparent, the campaigning surrounding the vote has been markedly more divisive compared to 2011.
Emmanuel Onwubiko, a retired journalist and head of the Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, said political speech was more restrained in the 2011 campaigning, possibly because President Umaru Yar’Adua had died in office just a year before.
By contrast, in the months preceding this election, Onwubiko said politicians have shown no such restraint.
“It’s a time that most of these contentious issues have resurrected. Issue of which of the zones of the country should produce the presidency of Nigeria,” said Onwubiko.
“Is it the north, or is the south? Then apart from that, the two dominant parties, the PDP and the APC have also played up the issue of religion, issues of ethnicity, issues of regionalism, to sway voters to their own side.”
And then there’s Boko Haram. The Islamist extremist group was a problem during the 2011 vote, but it wasn’t allied with Islamic State militants, and wasn’t the target of a multinational military campaign, as it is now.
It also had not disenfranchised more than one million voters through violent terror tactics.
Boko Haram doesn’t talk to the media, but it has threatened to disrupt Saturday’s election. Whether they make good on that threat is anyone’s guess.
General News
Court Remands Akujobi, Ex Access over alleged Theft of N294.5m

Chinonso Akujobi, former staff of Access Bank in Lagos, has been remanded in Ikoyi prison after she was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N294.5m.

Akujobi who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
EFCC alleged that Akujobi stole the money between January and December 2025 while under the employment of Access Bank Plc.
As stated in one the charges, the defendant stole the money through unauthorized payments from the general ledger of Access Bank to her account number 0036668871 with the name Chinonso A., Uchechi A. and Florence A., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant pleaded “not guilty“ to the charges when they were read to her.
In view of this, S.M.Yabo, prosecution counsel, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional centre.
Justice Ijelu, thereafter, adjourned the case till October 8, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.
The Judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi correctional Centre.
General News
NSIB Faults Runway Identification, Reveals Cockpit Disagreement in Asaba Jet Incident

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says the flight captain of the VMO Aero aircraft that landed on a roadway near Asaba Airport in Delta State told investigators that the observer pilot mistakenly identified the paved road as the runway before touchdown.

The bureau disclosed this in a preliminary report released on Thursday on the June 10 incident, which prompted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ground the private jet.
The aircraft had seven people on board, including the pilot-in-command (PIC), second-in-command (SIC), an observer pilot, a cabin crew member and three passengers.
According to the report, the aircraft was cleared by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approach Runway 11 at Asaba Airport after the crew requested a right orbit.
The crew initially discontinued the approach, executed a missed approach and repositioned for a second landing attempt.
NSIB said the crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation systems indicated it was correctly established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach.
“The PIC and SIC reported that the observer pilot identified the paved surface ahead as the runway,” the report stated.
However, the observer pilot gave investigators a different version of events.
According to NSIB, he said the aircraft remained inside cloud until late in the approach and that the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) repeatedly issued “TERRAIN, TERRAIN, PULL UP” alerts.
He also said he observed a telecommunications mast directly ahead and instructed the flight captain to abandon the approach and climb immediately.
The bureau further disclosed that a cabin crew member reported that one of the passengers became concerned after overhearing discussions among the pilots and asked whether one of them was undergoing training. The passenger was reportedly reassured that all three pilots on board were experienced captains.
NSIB said no abnormal events were reported in the cabin before touchdown.
The aircraft eventually landed at about 8:57 a.m. on an under-construction paved roadway near Asaba Airport instead of the designated runway.
The bureau said its investigation into the incident is ongoing, while the preliminary report highlights conflicting accounts among the cockpit crew over the circumstances that led to the erroneous landing.
General News
EU warns Meta over addictive Facebook, Instagram designs, threatens fines

European Union has warned Meta Platforms Inc. that it could face a significant financial penalty unless it changes what regulators describe as the “addictive design” features of Facebook and Instagram.

The European Commission issued the warning in preliminary findings released on Friday, saying Meta had failed to sufficiently address risks posed by its platforms, particularly to children and vulnerable users.
The Commission said features such as infinite scrolling, personalised content recommendations and automatic video playback were designed in ways that encouraged excessive engagement with the platforms.
EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said protecting the physical and mental well-being of European citizens should be a priority for social media companies.
The Commission said Meta should consider introducing design changes, including disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, providing effective screen-time reminders and adjusting recommendation systems to reduce the focus on maximising user engagement.
The findings were issued under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets obligations for major online platforms to address risks associated with their services.
Meta, however, rejected the Commission’s conclusions, saying it disagreed with the findings but would continue engaging with European regulators.
The company said it had already implemented measures aimed at protecting younger users, including Teen Accounts that allow parents to manage screen time limits and restrict access during night hours.
The EU said its investigation, which began in 2024, found that existing time-management tools on Facebook and Instagram could easily be bypassed, while parental controls required technical knowledge that limited their effectiveness.
Regulators also expressed concerns over children’s nighttime use of the platforms and the possibility that features such as Reels and Stories could encourage compulsive behaviour.
If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to six per cent of its annual global revenue under the DSA.
The warning comes as the EU steps up efforts to strengthen online safety measures for children, with an expert panel established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expected to present recommendations on protecting minors online.
Several EU member states, including France, have also supported discussions on restricting social media access for children, following Australia’s decision to ban users under 16 from accessing social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the Commission is continuing a separate investigation into whether Meta’s recommendation algorithms create “rabbit hole” effects by directing users towards increasingly extreme content.
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