Nigerian Newspapers: 10 Things to Know This Thursday Morning

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

1. The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has denied reports that civilians were killed in a recent military air strike on Tumfa market in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State. The military stated that there is no credible evidence supporting claims of civilian casualties from the operation carried out on Sunday.

2. On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced former Minister of Power, Mr. Saleh Mamman, to 75 years in prison in absentia for N33.8 billion money‑laundering offences. Justice James Omotosho, who convicted Mamman on all 12 counts preferred by the EFCC, ordered that the sentence run consecutively, not concurrently.

3. Former Inspector‑General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has withdrawn from the race for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket in Yobe State. Baba announced his withdrawal in a statement released to journalists on Wednesday.

4. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, on Wednesday ahead of the 13th edition of the Africa CEO Forum, which begins on Thursday. He was received at the Presidential Wing of Kigali International Airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, and Rwanda’s Minister of Defence, Juvenal Marizamunda.

5. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, dismissed rumors that followed his recent visit to the National Chairman of the APC, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, claiming that he does not practice “politics of enmity.” Speaking with journalists during a project inspection on Wednesday, Wike clarified that his interaction with the APC chairman was a matter of personal association and professional courtesy rather than a formal political meeting.

6. Troops of Operation HADIN KAI rescued six kidnapped women and children, including a three‑month‑old baby, during separate operations across the North‑East. The troops also arrested three suspected terrorist associates during clearance operations on May 12, according to spokesman Lt. Col. Sani Uba of Operation Hadin Kai, who made the statement on Wednesday.

7. Tension erupted in Ijebu‑Jesa, Osun State, on Wednesday after a clash between police operatives and students of Interlink College of Health Technology following the death of a student in a road accident. The deceased, identified only as Oluwaseun, a National Diploma II student of Mass Communication, was reportedly returning to Ijebu‑Jesa on a motorcycle when he was hit by a bus on the Ijebu‑Jesa/Esa‑Oke Road.

8. The Ondo State Police Command announced on Wednesday that it had arrested 24 suspected cultists during an initiation ceremony in Ile‑Oluji, the headquarters of Ile‑Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area. DSP Abayomi Jimoh, the command’s spokesperson, said the suspects, all alleged members of the Aiye confraternity, were arrested on Sunday during the initiation of new members.

9. The Delta State chapter of the APC disqualified 36 aspirants who were seeking to contest the party’s House of Assembly primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections. The screening committee, which met on May 10 and 11 at the party secretariat in Asaba, cleared 46 aspirants while disqualifying 36 others over alleged irregularities such as bribery attempts, document inconsistencies, and zoning violations.

10. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested and detained Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi, Director‑General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria. An EFCC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the D‑G was arrested on Wednesday in Abuja on allegations of money laundering.