MORNING NEWS
THE HEADLINES
Wike Assures Protesting Teachers Of Rescue Efforts, Warns Against Politicising Insecurity
Oyo School Abduction Is An ‘Assault On Our Collective Humanity’ — Senate
Insecurity: CAN Demands State Of Emergency, Declares Three-Day National Mourning
Ekiti Community Protests As Kidnappers Hold 16 Victims Despite Ransom Payment
UK Sets Target To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 87% By 2040
Spanish Mayor Bans DR Congo Pre-World Cup Game Due To Ebola Fears
The details
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday, assured protesting teachers and civil society organisations in Abuja that security agencies were intensifying efforts to secure the release of abducted teachers and students, while cautioning against the politicisation of insecurity.
Addressing demonstrators at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Secretariat, Wike said the Federal Government remained committed to ensuring the safe return of all victims and restoring public confidence in the nation’s security architecture.
“We are all concerned about this security situation. The government is on its toes to ensure that those who are kidnapped are rescued,” he said. The minister expressed confidence in the capacity of security agencies to secure the victims’ release and stressed the need for swift action. “I have that confidence that the security system will do all it can to make sure the teachers and students who have been kidnapped are rescued, and let it be prompt,” he added. Wike, however, urged Nigerians not to turn security challenges into political issues, describing insecurity as a national problem that requires collective responsibility and support
The Senate on Tuesday condemned the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State. President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, described the incident as a national tragedy.
Addressing lawmakers upon resumption of plenary on Tuesday, Akpabio said the abduction was an attack on the nation’s collective humanity.
“We resume our work under the mournful shadow of a tragedy that has shaken our nation. The abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State is not merely an attack on innocent citizens; it is an assault on our collective humanity,” the Senate president saidbr> He lamented the country’s inability to fully guarantee the safety of children and educators, warning that persistent insecurity poses a threat to Nigeria’s future and educational system.
The Senate President paid tribute to victims of the attack, including Michael Oyedokun, who died in captivity, and Adesiyan Adegboye, who was killed during the incident. He also mourned a child victim who lost his life.
“Their loss is our loss. Their sorrow is our sorrow. Their pain is our pain,” he said.
Akpabio expressed hope that those still being held captive would soon regain their freedom through the efforts of security agencies and government authorities, before leading lawmakers in a minute’s silence in honour of the deceased.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on security across the country amid escalating killings, kidnappings, terrorist attacks, and the destruction of communities.
The call formed part of the resolutions reached at the National Church Denominational Leaders’ Summit held at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday. In a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, themed “The State of the Nation and the Way Forward”, church leaders expressed deep concern over worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and declining public confidence in state institutions.
The summit noted that thousands of Nigerians have been displaced from their ancestral communities, while many families continue to live in fear due to persistent violence and criminality.
Participants specifically cited recent incidents of mass abductions, killings and attacks in Oyo, Ogun, Borno, Benue, Kogi and other states, expressing particular concern over the kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers, attacks on farming communities and the spread of violent crime into areas previously considered safe.
“CAN expresses profound alarm over the escalating violence across Nigeria, including killings, kidnappings, abductions, terrorist attacks, and the destruction of communities,” the communiqué stated. The association condemned what it described as “barbaric acts of murder, beheading, torture, rape, abduction and forced displacement” and urged the Federal Government to take urgent, decisive and measurable action to restore public confidence and safeguard lives and property.
Residents of Eda-Oniyo Community in Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State have staged a peaceful protest, calling for urgent intervention from the state and federal governments, as well as security agencies, over the continued captivity of 16 kidnapped residents despite the payment of a ₦10.5 million ransom. The protesters, comprising community leaders, relatives of the victims, women and youths, said the abductees had remained in captivity for 36 days, with the kidnappers now demanding an additional ₦50 million for their release.
The victims were abducted on April 28, 2026, when suspected bandits attacked a Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) during a service in the community. The attackers reportedly killed the presiding pastor and kidnapped 16 worshippers.
According to residents, the kidnappers initially demanded a ₦1 billion ransom, which was later reduced to ₦150 million before being further reduced to 50 million
FOREIGN NEWS
The UK government on Tuesday set a legal target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 87 percent by 2040, an additional intermediate goal.
The country has already fixed an objective of reducing emissions by 68 percent by 2030 and at least 81 percent by 2035, compared to 1990 levels, and is aiming to be carbon neutral by the middle of the century.
The announcement comes as Energy Security and Net Zero Minister Ed Miliband said the UK faced “the second fossil fuel shock of the decade”, a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, followed in February by the United States war with Iran. The government would set out its plan for implementing the objective in coming months, in line with the Paris Agreement aim to keep global warming to 1.5C, a ministry statement added.
SPORTS NEWS
A pre-World Cup friendly involving the Democratic Republic of Congo has been cancelled by the mayor of the Spanish town hosting the match over health concerns regarding the Ebola outbreak in the African country. I have signed the decree banning the holding of the June 9 match between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile,” said Juan Franco, mayor of La Linea de la Concepcion in southern Spain.
Franco said it was a “precautionary measure”, and he was following recommendations by the Andalusia regional government’s health service
The DR Congo — who have qualified for their first World Cup since, as Zaire, they featured in the 1974 edition — are set to play a friendly against Denmark in Liege, Belgium, on Wednesday.
The team cancelled a planned pre-World Cup training camp at home after the country was hit by an Ebola outbreak last month and has been based in Belgium instead. The outbreak of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever was declared in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May.US authorities said on May 22 that Congo’s squad must isolate for 21 days before they would be allowed into the United States for the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19 and is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. <
Wike Assures Protesting Teachers Of Rescue Efforts, Warns Against Politicising Insecurity
Oyo School Abduction Is An ‘Assault On Our Collective Humanity’ — Senate
Insecurity: CAN Demands State Of Emergency, Declares Three-Day National Mourning
Ekiti Community Protests As Kidnappers Hold 16 Victims Despite Ransom Payment
UK Sets Target To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 87% By 2040
Spanish Mayor Bans DR Congo Pre-World Cup Game Due To Ebola Fears
The details
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday, assured protesting teachers and civil society organisations in Abuja that security agencies were intensifying efforts to secure the release of abducted teachers and students, while cautioning against the politicisation of insecurity.
Addressing demonstrators at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Secretariat, Wike said the Federal Government remained committed to ensuring the safe return of all victims and restoring public confidence in the nation’s security architecture.
“We are all concerned about this security situation. The government is on its toes to ensure that those who are kidnapped are rescued,” he said. The minister expressed confidence in the capacity of security agencies to secure the victims’ release and stressed the need for swift action. “I have that confidence that the security system will do all it can to make sure the teachers and students who have been kidnapped are rescued, and let it be prompt,” he added. Wike, however, urged Nigerians not to turn security challenges into political issues, describing insecurity as a national problem that requires collective responsibility and support
The Senate on Tuesday condemned the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State. President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, described the incident as a national tragedy.
Addressing lawmakers upon resumption of plenary on Tuesday, Akpabio said the abduction was an attack on the nation’s collective humanity.
“We resume our work under the mournful shadow of a tragedy that has shaken our nation. The abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State is not merely an attack on innocent citizens; it is an assault on our collective humanity,” the Senate president saidbr> He lamented the country’s inability to fully guarantee the safety of children and educators, warning that persistent insecurity poses a threat to Nigeria’s future and educational system.
The Senate President paid tribute to victims of the attack, including Michael Oyedokun, who died in captivity, and Adesiyan Adegboye, who was killed during the incident. He also mourned a child victim who lost his life.
“Their loss is our loss. Their sorrow is our sorrow. Their pain is our pain,” he said.
Akpabio expressed hope that those still being held captive would soon regain their freedom through the efforts of security agencies and government authorities, before leading lawmakers in a minute’s silence in honour of the deceased.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on security across the country amid escalating killings, kidnappings, terrorist attacks, and the destruction of communities.
The call formed part of the resolutions reached at the National Church Denominational Leaders’ Summit held at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday. In a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, themed “The State of the Nation and the Way Forward”, church leaders expressed deep concern over worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and declining public confidence in state institutions.
The summit noted that thousands of Nigerians have been displaced from their ancestral communities, while many families continue to live in fear due to persistent violence and criminality.
Participants specifically cited recent incidents of mass abductions, killings and attacks in Oyo, Ogun, Borno, Benue, Kogi and other states, expressing particular concern over the kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers, attacks on farming communities and the spread of violent crime into areas previously considered safe.
“CAN expresses profound alarm over the escalating violence across Nigeria, including killings, kidnappings, abductions, terrorist attacks, and the destruction of communities,” the communiqué stated. The association condemned what it described as “barbaric acts of murder, beheading, torture, rape, abduction and forced displacement” and urged the Federal Government to take urgent, decisive and measurable action to restore public confidence and safeguard lives and property.
Residents of Eda-Oniyo Community in Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State have staged a peaceful protest, calling for urgent intervention from the state and federal governments, as well as security agencies, over the continued captivity of 16 kidnapped residents despite the payment of a ₦10.5 million ransom. The protesters, comprising community leaders, relatives of the victims, women and youths, said the abductees had remained in captivity for 36 days, with the kidnappers now demanding an additional ₦50 million for their release.
The victims were abducted on April 28, 2026, when suspected bandits attacked a Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) during a service in the community. The attackers reportedly killed the presiding pastor and kidnapped 16 worshippers.
According to residents, the kidnappers initially demanded a ₦1 billion ransom, which was later reduced to ₦150 million before being further reduced to 50 million
FOREIGN NEWS
The UK government on Tuesday set a legal target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 87 percent by 2040, an additional intermediate goal.
The country has already fixed an objective of reducing emissions by 68 percent by 2030 and at least 81 percent by 2035, compared to 1990 levels, and is aiming to be carbon neutral by the middle of the century.
The announcement comes as Energy Security and Net Zero Minister Ed Miliband said the UK faced “the second fossil fuel shock of the decade”, a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, followed in February by the United States war with Iran. The government would set out its plan for implementing the objective in coming months, in line with the Paris Agreement aim to keep global warming to 1.5C, a ministry statement added.
SPORTS NEWS
A pre-World Cup friendly involving the Democratic Republic of Congo has been cancelled by the mayor of the Spanish town hosting the match over health concerns regarding the Ebola outbreak in the African country. I have signed the decree banning the holding of the June 9 match between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile,” said Juan Franco, mayor of La Linea de la Concepcion in southern Spain.
Franco said it was a “precautionary measure”, and he was following recommendations by the Andalusia regional government’s health service
The DR Congo — who have qualified for their first World Cup since, as Zaire, they featured in the 1974 edition — are set to play a friendly against Denmark in Liege, Belgium, on Wednesday.
The team cancelled a planned pre-World Cup training camp at home after the country was hit by an Ebola outbreak last month and has been based in Belgium instead. The outbreak of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever was declared in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May.US authorities said on May 22 that Congo’s squad must isolate for 21 days before they would be allowed into the United States for the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19 and is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. <