EVENING NEWS
THE HEADLINES
Police arrest two suspected arms suppliers, recover firearms in A’Ibom
IFAD-VCDP urges flexible insurance, loan packages for farmers in Niger
Oyo Govt Warns Residents of Flood, Heatwave Risks
SDP Elects New National Chairman in Gombe
UK Deploys Warship to Middle East Ahead of Hormuz Mission
Nigeria Secure Qualification for FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Poland
THE DETAILS
Officers of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have arrested two suspected arms suppliers in an ongoing offensive against criminal elements and recovered a locally manufactured revolver pistol.
The suspects, Udeme Udo, 52, and Nkereuwem Udo, 40, were arrested on May 8, 2026, at about 4:25pm in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area following credible intelligence, according to a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, in Uyo on Saturday.
The statement added that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects belonged to a criminal network allegedly involved in the supply of arms and ammunition to criminals operating within Ikot Ekpene and its environs.
The statement read in part, “The police command has recorded another operational breakthrough in its sustained offensive against criminal elements and illegal arms proliferation within the state.
The Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, has reaffirmed the command’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks and cutting off the supply channels of illegal arms fuelling violent crimes across the state.
The Federal Government/International Fund for Agricultural Development, FG-IFAD, Value Chain Development Programme, VCDP, in Niger State has called on financial and insurance institutions to introduce flexible loan and insurance packages for farmers under its programme ahead of the farming season.
The State Programme Coordinator VCDP, Hajiya Hadizat Isah, made the call during a meeting with executives of Commodity Alliance Financing, CAF, financial institutions and insurance companies on the uptake of weather-index insurance held in Minna.
She said the meeting was organised to discuss ways of easing access to loans and insurance services for rice and cassava farmers participating in the programme.
According to her, IFAD-VCDP established CAF structures across the nine benefiting local government areas to ensure farmers continue to receive guidance and support even as the programme prepares to wind down operations in Nigeria.
The Oyo State Government has issued a public advisory to residents, urging residents to observe precautionary measures as the 2026 rainy season starts in earnest.
The Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Ademola Aderinto, gave the advice in a statement on Saturday in Ibadan.
According to Aderinto, the state is likely to experience flash floods and thunderstorms due to high-intensity rainfall associated with the season’s onset.
He cautioned against flash floods, temporary road overflows, and rising temperatures expected in the coming weeks.
The commissioner explained that the soil across the state was still relatively firm, limiting water infiltration and causing heavy surface runoff on roads, drainages, and in some communities.
Aderinto advised residents not to panic, as most flooding was expected to be temporary.
Professor Sadiq Gombe has emerged as the newly elected National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party at the party’s 2026 national convention held in Bauchi on Saturday.
Speaking shortly after being sworn in alongside other members of the National Working Committee, Gombe said the SDP remained the most qualified political platform to take over leadership in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He thanked party members and delegates for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to provide transparent, committed and patriotic leadership in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution.
Gombe added that the SDP under his leadership would not take Nigerians for granted, stressing that the country was in urgent need of upright and transparent leadership.
According to him, the party is determined to provide Nigerians with an alternative political platform capable of rescuing the country from its current challenges.
FOREIGN NEWS
The UK will send a destroyer to the Middle East ahead of any international mission to help protect shipping in the key Strait of Hormuz, its defence ministry said Saturday.
“The pre-positioning of HMS Dragon is part of prudent planning that will ensure that the UK is ready, as part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the UK and France, to secure the strait, when conditions allow,” a ministry spokesperson told AFP.
Britain and France said last month that military plans to secure the Strait of Hormuz were coming together and would succeed in restoring trade flows through the vital passage.
The MoD said deploying HMS Dragon would strengthen the confidence of commercial shipping and support mine clearance efforts once hostilities end.
SPORT NEWS
Nigeria’s U20 women’s team, the Falconets, have secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland after edging past Malawi’s Young Scorchers 3-2 on aggregate.
Despite suffering a 1-2 defeat in the second leg in Lilongwe on Saturday, the Falconets advanced thanks to their 2-0 first-leg victory secured in Ikenne the previous week.
The hosts took the lead early in the first half through a header, capitalising on a Nigerian defensive error. The Falconets came close to equalising when Favour Nkwocha’s powerful header struck the woodwork following a dangerous cross from Kindness Ifeanyi. Malawi went into the break leading 1-0 on the day.
The Young Scorchers increased the pressure in the 55th minute, scoring again to level the aggregate score at 2-2 and putting Nigeria’s qualification under serious threat.
However, Coach Moses Aduku’s substitution proved decisive. In the 62nd minute, Precious Oscar, who came off the bench, pressed aggressively, dispossessed a Malawian defender, and calmly slotted home the equaliser on the day, restoring Nigeria’s aggregate advantage.
Police arrest two suspected arms suppliers, recover firearms in A’Ibom
IFAD-VCDP urges flexible insurance, loan packages for farmers in Niger
Oyo Govt Warns Residents of Flood, Heatwave Risks
SDP Elects New National Chairman in Gombe
UK Deploys Warship to Middle East Ahead of Hormuz Mission
Nigeria Secure Qualification for FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Poland
THE DETAILS
Officers of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have arrested two suspected arms suppliers in an ongoing offensive against criminal elements and recovered a locally manufactured revolver pistol.
The suspects, Udeme Udo, 52, and Nkereuwem Udo, 40, were arrested on May 8, 2026, at about 4:25pm in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area following credible intelligence, according to a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, in Uyo on Saturday.
The statement added that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects belonged to a criminal network allegedly involved in the supply of arms and ammunition to criminals operating within Ikot Ekpene and its environs.
The statement read in part, “The police command has recorded another operational breakthrough in its sustained offensive against criminal elements and illegal arms proliferation within the state.
The Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, has reaffirmed the command’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks and cutting off the supply channels of illegal arms fuelling violent crimes across the state.
The Federal Government/International Fund for Agricultural Development, FG-IFAD, Value Chain Development Programme, VCDP, in Niger State has called on financial and insurance institutions to introduce flexible loan and insurance packages for farmers under its programme ahead of the farming season.
The State Programme Coordinator VCDP, Hajiya Hadizat Isah, made the call during a meeting with executives of Commodity Alliance Financing, CAF, financial institutions and insurance companies on the uptake of weather-index insurance held in Minna.
She said the meeting was organised to discuss ways of easing access to loans and insurance services for rice and cassava farmers participating in the programme.
According to her, IFAD-VCDP established CAF structures across the nine benefiting local government areas to ensure farmers continue to receive guidance and support even as the programme prepares to wind down operations in Nigeria.
The Oyo State Government has issued a public advisory to residents, urging residents to observe precautionary measures as the 2026 rainy season starts in earnest.
The Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Ademola Aderinto, gave the advice in a statement on Saturday in Ibadan.
According to Aderinto, the state is likely to experience flash floods and thunderstorms due to high-intensity rainfall associated with the season’s onset.
He cautioned against flash floods, temporary road overflows, and rising temperatures expected in the coming weeks.
The commissioner explained that the soil across the state was still relatively firm, limiting water infiltration and causing heavy surface runoff on roads, drainages, and in some communities.
Aderinto advised residents not to panic, as most flooding was expected to be temporary.
Professor Sadiq Gombe has emerged as the newly elected National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party at the party’s 2026 national convention held in Bauchi on Saturday.
Speaking shortly after being sworn in alongside other members of the National Working Committee, Gombe said the SDP remained the most qualified political platform to take over leadership in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He thanked party members and delegates for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to provide transparent, committed and patriotic leadership in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution.
Gombe added that the SDP under his leadership would not take Nigerians for granted, stressing that the country was in urgent need of upright and transparent leadership.
According to him, the party is determined to provide Nigerians with an alternative political platform capable of rescuing the country from its current challenges.
FOREIGN NEWS
The UK will send a destroyer to the Middle East ahead of any international mission to help protect shipping in the key Strait of Hormuz, its defence ministry said Saturday.
“The pre-positioning of HMS Dragon is part of prudent planning that will ensure that the UK is ready, as part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the UK and France, to secure the strait, when conditions allow,” a ministry spokesperson told AFP.
Britain and France said last month that military plans to secure the Strait of Hormuz were coming together and would succeed in restoring trade flows through the vital passage.
The MoD said deploying HMS Dragon would strengthen the confidence of commercial shipping and support mine clearance efforts once hostilities end.
SPORT NEWS
Nigeria’s U20 women’s team, the Falconets, have secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland after edging past Malawi’s Young Scorchers 3-2 on aggregate.
Despite suffering a 1-2 defeat in the second leg in Lilongwe on Saturday, the Falconets advanced thanks to their 2-0 first-leg victory secured in Ikenne the previous week.
The hosts took the lead early in the first half through a header, capitalising on a Nigerian defensive error. The Falconets came close to equalising when Favour Nkwocha’s powerful header struck the woodwork following a dangerous cross from Kindness Ifeanyi. Malawi went into the break leading 1-0 on the day.
The Young Scorchers increased the pressure in the 55th minute, scoring again to level the aggregate score at 2-2 and putting Nigeria’s qualification under serious threat.
However, Coach Moses Aduku’s substitution proved decisive. In the 62nd minute, Precious Oscar, who came off the bench, pressed aggressively, dispossessed a Malawian defender, and calmly slotted home the equaliser on the day, restoring Nigeria’s aggregate advantage.