Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Friday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. Public sector unions, under the aegis of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC, have directed all federal, state and local government employees to begin a three-day warning strike from today over the failure of the government to address their demands.

2. The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has expressed anger over the police cancellation of a two-million-man march organised by the “Obidient Movement” in support of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, in Uyo. The state Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, had warned all political parties to stop any rally or street march on Independence Day.

3. The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress and former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day address, saying Nigerians cannot eat economic growth figures while millions continue to struggle with rising living costs. Atiku, in his Independence Day address on Thursday, said the past three years of the Tinubu administration had plunged Nigerians into what he described as the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis.

4. The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has vowed not to spend his holidays outside Nigeria if elected president in the 2027 general elections. Obi made the pledge in his Independence Day address delivered in Abuja on Thursday, saying he would use his four-year tenure to travel across the country, interact with Nigerians and better understand their challenges.

5. Former political associates and grassroots allies of ex-Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have rejected accusations of betrayal, insisting that it was the former governor who abandoned the political understanding that brought them together. The former allies, under the aegis of Kaduna De-Initiative, said they supported, campaigned for and defended El-Rufai while helping to build political structures across the state before their relationship became strained.

6. A Nigerian national has been linked to an international drug-trafficking network following the seizure of narcotics worth over $330 million (Rs 3,000 crore) from an Iranian boat in the Arabian Sea. The Nigerian was identified by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad as an alleged intermediary between a wanted Gujarat-based suspect and other members of the trafficking network.

7. The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a man identified as Seth for allegedly macheting his father to death in the Pipeline area of Rumukwurushi, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state. The command also said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the motive for the alleged killing.

8. Suspected bandits have killed a man identified as Sikiru and abducted his wife, two children and eight others during a midnight attack on the Babban Saura community in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The attack, which occurred around 1am on Thursday, reportedly threw residents into panic as the assailants invaded three houses and abducted several residents.

9. The Imo State Police Command has rescued 10 passengers abducted by gunmen who attacked two commercial buses in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state. The command also recovered the two buses involved in the incident and intensified efforts to rescue other passengers still in captivity.

10. A yet-to-be-identified man has been killed and another seriously injured in a suspected cult clash in the Ojo Road area of Ajegunle, Lagos State. The incident reportedly began on Sunday evening, September 27, following a dispute that allegedly resulted in a member of the Aye cult group, identified as Qudus, stabbing a suspected member of the Vikings confraternity.