Compilations of top 10 key latest stories that you need to know this Saturday morning, 24th January, 2026
Insecurity: Anxiety as NYSC camps open in high-risk states
Thousands of prospective corps members and their families are apprehensive as the 2026 Batch A (Stream 1) orientation exercise of the National Youth Service Corps commences across the country, particularly in states plagued by bandit attacks, kidnappings, and bomb scares.
From Zamfara to Kaduna, Borno, Yobe, Plateau and Katsina states, corps members embarking on the 21-day orientation face long and fearful journeys, even as officials insist that all measures are in place to ensure their safety.
The anxiety comes amid a surge in terrorist attacks, killings, mass abductions, and bomb scares that have gripped the northern parts of the country in recent weeks.
In a statement issued on January 6, 2026, the NYSC announced that the 2026 Batch A (Stream 1) orientation exercise would commence on Wednesday, January 21, across all 37 orientation camps nationwide
Travellers groan in ‘hellish’ Lagos–Ibadan Expressway gridlock
Travellers on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway endured hours of hellish gridlock on Friday, particularly along the Magboro–Alausa stretch, following a fatal accident at the Otedola Bridge inward Secretariat.
The accident led to motorists travelling from Mowe, Kara Bridge, and Redemption Camp being diverted through the Ojodu–Olole route, linking Agidingbi, Secretariat, and the 7-Up axis.
According to Saturday PUNCH gathered, the crash, which occurred in the early hours of Friday, involved two articulated trucks, one loaded with sand and the other with granite.
The driver of the sand-laden truck was trapped and later pronounced dead at Ikeja General Hospital, while the driver of the granite-laden truck was rescued alive.
We clean Lagos, but they treat us like trash – LAWMA Sweepers
Street sweepers employed by the Lagos Waste Management Authority have raised fresh concerns over what they described as persistent harassment, discrimination and unsafe working conditions on Lagos roads, recounting daily experiences of verbal abuse, intimidation and neglect by motorists, residents and roadside traders.
The sweepers shared their stories during a recent episode of The Morayo Show, which celebrated their work and amplified the challenges they face in keeping the city clean.
Several of the workers said they are often treated with disdain by members of the public, despite providing what they described as an essential service to the state.
Kafilat, one of the sweepers, narrated frequent confrontations with motorists who park indiscriminately along major roads.
Anambra agency arrests fake revenue agents in Onitsha
The Anambra Internal Revenue Service has arrested four persons for engaging in illegal revenue collection in Onitsha.
The suspects identified as Ikenna Udoji, Kosi Iwobi, Chidera Ogbogu and Monday, were arrested while collecting money ranging from one thousand, two hundred naira from keke riders opposite Army Gate.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, the AIRS Special Squad Commander, Nathan Obikwelu, said the suspects, who have been charged to court, contravene Anambra State Government law that bans illegal collection of revenue from tricycle riders and commercial bus operators.
Obikwelu maintained that the arrest also aligned with the state governor, Chukwuma Soludo’s directive that there must be no more illegal cash collection in Anambra State.
Cable theft: NSCDC arrests two in Kogi
The Kogi State command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested two suspects for allegedly stealing and destroying critical national assets.
Officers stationed at the Zariagi–Kabba junction in Lokoja on Monday, 20 January 2026, apprehended Habibu Muhammad, 21, and Bello Ismaila, 20, while excavating and removing underground communication cables along the Zariagi–Obajana road.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, SC Abdullahi Aliyu, disclosed this to journalists on Thursday in Lokoja.“
The suspects confessed to the crime and provided a clue to their structured criminal network.
They admitted that they were carrying out the directive of one Isah, who resides at Kabba Junction along the Lokoja–Okene expressway.
‘Take over Rivers assembly now’ – APC leaders tell NASS amid impeachment threat
Civil society organisations, media professionals, and leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC on Friday, staged a protest at the APC Secretariat, Abuja, demanding urgent National Assembly intervention in Rivers State’s escalating political crisis.
They urged lawmakers to invoke Section 11(4) of the Constitution to assume the Rivers State House of Assembly’s functions, citing the assembly’s “total loss of credibility and legitimacy.”
The groups at the rally, condemned the assembly’s impeachment push against Governor Siminalayi Fubara, describing it as a “reckless abuse of power” threatening democracy
Yoruba, Igbo leaders say continued co-existence untenable
A coalition of Yoruba and Igbo self-determination groups, under the banner of the ‘Coalition to De-amalgamate Nigeria for Security’ (CODES), has declared a formal alliance aimed at the peaceful de-amalgamation of Nigeria, arguing that the country’s worsening insecurity, deepening mistrust and unresolved historical grievances make continued coexistence untenable.
The Coalition for De-Amalgamation and Security (CODES), an alliance of indigenous civil forces and ethnic nationalities, declared that Nigeria’s continued existence under its current structure is unsustainable, insisting that peaceful self-determination is now the only viable path to security, justice and lasting peace.
The declaration was made on Friday, in a communique at the end of a world conference and press briefing held via Zoom, during which the coalition accused the Nigerian state of surviving “not on truth, justice, or consent, but on systemic denial and institutionalised falsehood,” while failing to protect lives amid widespread violence and humanitarian crisis.
Kano gov, eight Reps, 44 LG chairmen dump NNPP
After weeks of speculations, Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf yesterday formally terminated his membership of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP),in “the best interest of the people” of the state.
He pulled out of the party with eight members of the House of Representatives , 21 members of the State House of Assembly and 44 Local Government Chairmen of Kano State.
Their destination is the All Progressives Congress (APC) which, in the last one year, has also drawn into its fold seven other governors -Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom State), Peter Mbah (Enugu State), Douye Diri (Bayelsa State), Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers State),Agbo Kefas (Taraba) and Caleb Muftwang (Plateau)- national and state legislators and other high profile politicians.
Yusuf and his allies are expected to declare for the APC in due course.
The governor’s spokesman, Sunusi Bature, broke the news of his and others’ resignation from the NNPP to reporters in a statement in Kano.
He said the governor communicated his resignation in a January 23,2026 letter to the NNPP chairman in Diso-Chiranchi Ward, Gwale Local Government Area.
Kaduna mass abduction: How I escaped from our attackers – Victim
It was supposed to be another quiet Sunday of worship in Kurmin Wali, a sleepy agrarian community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Instead, January 18, 2026 has become a date etched in grief, fear and unanswered questions, as gunmen suspected to be bandits stormed the village and abducted scores of worshippers during church services, Senior Correspondent Abdulgafar Alabelewe reports.
The attackers struck in broad daylight, moving from one church to another and turning sacred spaces into scenes of terror.
By the time the dust settled, community leaders and church officials said 177 worshippers had been forcibly taken into the surrounding forests, leaving behind traumatised families and an entire village in shock.
Conflicting accounts initially followed the incident, with security sources dismissing reports of a mass abduction.
But survivors’ testimonies, escapees’ stories and a growing list of missing persons painted a grim picture that could no longer be ignored.One of those who lived to tell the tale is Mr. Joseph Bawa.
Frail, soft-spoken and visibly shaken, Bawa was among the abducted worshippers who narrowly escaped death while being marched into the bush by the gunmen.
“It was on the 18th of January. We were in church around 9 am when the kidnappers came,” he recalled.
Awujale: Royal family members, traditionalists protest alleged plot to impose candidate
Traditionalists and hundreds of members of Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebuland yesterday stormed Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona Archway and marched to the Ijebu Ode Local Government Headquarters in Itooro in protest over alleged plot by powerful interests to foist the next Awujale on the kingmakers, the Fusengbuwa house and the Ijebu nation.
The Awujale stool became vacant on July 13, 2025 following the demise of Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, who joined his ancestors at 91 after 65 years on the throne.
Fusengbuwa is the next in line to produce the next Awujale
The Nation reports that the Ogun State Government had in a circular dated January 20, 2026 stopped the kingmakers from taking further steps to select a candidate out of the 95 nominees earlier submitted to them by leaders of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House – Otunba Lateef Owoyemi (Olori Ebi), Prince Adedokun Ajidagba (Deputy Olori Ebi) and Professor Fassy Yusuf (Vice Chairman).
