Today’s Headlines: Tinubu Must Go: Nigerians can’t be threatened into silence – ADC replies Gov Zulum , ‘If you steal from Americans, you will be jailed’ — Trump warns fraudsters

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, has described Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State’s call to arrest “Tinubu Must Go” protesters as an assault on Nigeria’s democracy.

ADC’s PCC said Nigerians must not be threatened into silence for opposing President Bola Tinubu.

Reacting to Zulum’s latest video calling for the arrest of protesters after an initial denial, the council insisted that no governor has the right to criminalise peaceful political opinion.

In a statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Phrank Shaibu, the council said: “A viral video now circulating, in which Governor Babagana Zulum speaks in Hausa and orders the arrest and detention of anyone caught expressing ‘Tinubu Must Go’, raises grave questions about his respect for citizens’ democratic rights.

US President Donald Trump has called on Congress to introduce mandatory prison sentences for people convicted of defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, while proposing personal financial liability for state and local politicians who knowingly fail to stop fraud.

Trump made the call in a video posted on Truth Social on Sunday, saying the proposed legislation would eliminate probation as an option for people convicted of stealing from federal benefit programmes.

“Today, I’m calling on Congress to pass legislation to address fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security programs,” Trump said.

The Imo State Police Command and the 34 Artillery Brigade, Owerri, have said efforts are ongoing to secure the rescue of 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in Umunoha, Ogbaku, in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

PUNCH Online reports that two fully loaded commercial buses travelling from Ibadan to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and Bende, Abia State, were attacked by gunmen at about 6:30 am on Thursday at Umunoha, a location known as “No Man’s Land”, Ogbaku, in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

The Police Public Relations Officer for the Imo State Police Command, DSP Henry Okoye, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Sunday, said security operatives were conducting an operation to rescue the victims.

Okoye said, “We’re conducting the operation and gradually closing in. We will keep you posted.”

Also, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, the Public Relations Officer of the 34 Artillery Brigade, Owerri, Major Hashimu Abdullahi, said the development was receiving adequate attention, adding that all security agencies were working together to rescue the kidnapped travellers.

The Ekiti State Government has equipped another batch of 100 persons with disabilities with trade and work tools following their graduation from an intensive skills acquisition training programme.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji said his administration had improved the fortunes of PWDs in the state through inclusive governance and various programmes designed to give every citizen a sense of belonging, irrespective of their physical condition, background or social class.

Oyebanji, represented by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Oyeniyi Adebayo, spoke in Ado Ekiti on Saturday during the graduation and empowerment ceremony, which was held at the premises of the Skills Acquisition Centre for PWDs in Ado Ekiti.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has criticised former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, for blaming the President Bola Tinubu administration for the death of his mother, Madam Mary Amaechi.

Wike accused Amaechi of politicising his mother’s death after the former governor alleged that he was unable to afford her medication because of the economic policies of the Tinubu administration.

Amaechi, who is the vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2027 general elections, made the claim on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.

He also said that the only thing that could make his late mother rest well was for the ADC to win the 2027 elections.

Teachers in Ekiti State are to observe Monday, October 5, as a work-free day to participate in activities marking the 2026 World Teachers’ Day, according to the State Commissioner for Education, Dr Adebimpe Aderiye.

She equally commended the teachers for their contributions to the development of education and the future of the children in the state, as contained in a statement on Saturday.

World Teachers’ Day is celebrated yearly on October 5 to celebrate the work of teachers.

Aderiye said, “The Ekiti State Government wishes to inform all teachers and members of the public that Monday, 5th October 2026, has been declared a work-free day for teachers in the state to enable them to participate fully in activities marking the 2026 World Teachers’ Day

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