Good morning Nigeria, Welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Sunday, 22nd, October 2023.
1. Ahead of the 2027 elections, the Senate is set to amend the Electoral Act to allow for diaspora voting, at least for presidential elections, to enable citizens, especially those on essential service abroad, to vote. The Senate in a communiqué issued at the end of its retreat in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa-Ibom State, also resolved to make electronic transmission of results mandatory from the next general elections in 2027.
2. Four armed robbery suspects linked to the Friday robbery in Otukpo banks have been arrested by Joint Security Forces comprising officers of the Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigerian Armed Forces, along Otukpo-Taraku road, Benue State. A video clip of the suspects is currently circulating on social media.
3. Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has told President Bola Tinubu that the Supreme Court can accept fresh evidence of alleged forgery in his challenge of the outcome of the February 25 election. The Supreme Court will commence hearing on Atiku’s appeal on Monday.
4. A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega has called for amendments to the Electoral Act, 2022. He said the President should be divested of power to appoint the chairman and National Commissioners of INEC to free the commission from partisanship.
5. Nuhu Sambo, a 19-year-old student of Al-Azhar Academy, Kofar Gayan Zaria, Marwanu, has been killed under controversial circumstances. The student, who was in JSS 3, was reported to have lost his life as a result of severe beating and corporal punishment by teachers. Confirming the incident, the Kaduna State police command spokesman, ASP Mansir Hassan, said two suspects have so far been arrested.
6. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged Nigerians to ignore what it called fake news by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that the staff of the commission are reconfiguring the BVAS machines meant for the November 11 governorship election in Kogi State. This is contained in a post on the verified X account of the commission on Saturday.
7. A wanted killer, Nnanyereugo Best, a.k.a. Killaboi, who was declared wanted by the police for killing his girlfriend, Augusta Osedion, a student of Lead City University, has been arrested in Sierra Leone. The suspect was said to have changed his name to Kanu Princeton Samuel and used $25,000 to purchase a Sierra Leonean passport.
8. The recently appointed Borno State Commissioner for Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, and Resettlement (RRR), Engr. Ibrahim Idriss Garba, passed away at his Guest House in 777 Housing Estate in Maiduguri, the state’s capital on Saturday morning. The cause of the Commissioner’s untimely death is shrouded in mystery.
9. National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has expressed confidence that the party will triumph in the November 11, 2023, gubernatorial election in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states. Ganduje stated this while speaking with newsmen at the Government House, Birnin Kebbi, after being hosted by the Kebbi State governor, Dr. Nasir Idris.
10. Two children have died while two other persons were injured in Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State when a boat caught fire. The boat was said to have caught fire following a mechanical fault in the engine, which ignited a jerry can of petrol inside it.
