The Recap of top 10 key latest key stories that you might have missed this Sunday evening, 18th January, 2026
SERAP sues govs, Wike over security vote fund spending
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has filed a lawsuit against state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over their alleged failure to account for billions of naira spent as security votes since May 29, 2023.
SERAP said the suit was prompted by persistent insecurity across several states and the FCT, despite huge public funds allocated annually to security votes, including reports of mass killings in Benue State and other violent incidents nationwide.
According to the organisation, over ₦400 billion is budgeted annually as security votes across the country, while at least 10 governors reportedly earmarked about ₦140 billion for the same purpose in the 2026 budget year.
Defection: APC suspends e-registration in Kano on Tinubu’s order, says Doguwa
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the suspension of the commencement of the All Progressives Congress’ electronic registration exercise in Kano State.
The directive was disclosed by a member of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, in a 27-second video circulated on social media.
The development comes barely a week after the Kano State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Hon. Ahmed Aruwa, told PUNCH that the party was set to flag off the e-registration exercise in the state.
Wanted drug kingpin arrested 12 years after killing three NDLEA officers
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a long-wanted drug kingpin, Lekan Jimoh, also known as “Kanmo-Kanmo,” 12 years after his alleged involvement in the killing of three NDLEA officers.
According to the agency on Sunday, following his involvement in the killing of the officers, Kanmo-Kanmo—who is notorious for drug trafficking, evading arrest, and mobilising armed thugs against security agents—was on Friday, January 16, 2026, tracked to his hideout in Owode town, Ogun State, by NDLEA tactical teams acting on credible intelligence.
During the operation, the suspect was found in possession of 69 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis.
Defection: APC suspends e-registration in Kano on Tinubu’s order, says Doguwa
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the suspension of the commencement of the All Progressives Congress’ electronic registration exercise in Kano State.
The directive was disclosed by a member of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, in a 27-second video circulated on social media.
The development comes barely a week after the Kano State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Hon. Ahmed Aruwa, told PUNCH that the party was set to flag off the e-registration exercise in the state.
Oyo Empire belongs to history, no Yoruba king holds supremacy — Tinubu’s aide
A Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has sparked widespread debate after declaring that the era of imperial dominance associated with the old Oyo Empire has passed.
Ajayi also stated that no traditional ruler holds supremacy over others in contemporary Yoruba society.
In a post on X, in which he attached a photograph of the current Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, Ajayi maintained that the historical Oyo Empire should not be conflated with present-day cultural or political authority, stressing that Yorubaland was never entirely under the rule of the Alaafin.
NAF airstrikes kill over 40 terrorists in Borno
The Nigerian Air Force has neutralised more than 40 terrorists in coordinated close air support and air interdiction operations at Azir and Musarram areas of Borno State, disrupting planned attacks and bolstering ongoing ground operations.
The operations were conducted on January 15 and 16 by the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI, following a distress report at Azir, where troops were engaged with terrorists withdrawing from the area.
According to the Director of Public Relations and Information of the NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, further scans revealed terrorist elements attempting to regroup under nearby tree cover, prompting precise and successive airstrikes that neutralised several of them.
Police arrest three suspects over killing of Kano woman, six children
The Kano State Police Command has arrested three principal suspects in connection with the killing of a housewife and her six children in Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters of the Kano metropolis.
The arrests followed widespread outrage over the killing of Fatima Abubakar and her six children, who were attacked in their home in Dorayi Chiranchi on Saturday.
FCT Police arrest six armed robbery suspects linked to nightclub attacks
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested six notorious armed robbery suspects connected to a series of violent crimes targeting nightclubs and recreational centres in Abuja.
FCT Police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, identified the suspects as Suleiman Magaji (25), Abdullahi Abubakar (20), Abubakar Shitu (25), Sani Ibrahim (17), Rabiu Dahiru (19), and Ahmen Abdullahi (26).
Adeh stated that on Friday, January 17, 2026, at about 5:45 pm, the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Miller Dantawaye, directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to ensure the immediate arrest of the criminal gang based on credible intelligence.
Fire razes shops at Sokoto Old Market
A fire outbreak on Sunday razed several shops at the Old Market in Sokoto, destroying goods and property estimated to be worth millions of naira.
The National Emergency Management Agency, Sokoto Operations Office, said its Emergency Response Team was swiftly deployed to the scene following reports of the incident.
In a statement uploaded on NEMA Sokoto Facebook page on Sunday, it was stated that the team responded “promptly and decisively” to the fire outbreak, which occurred in the Sokoto State capital.
“The NEMA Sokoto Operations Office, through its Emergency Response Team, swiftly responded to a fire outbreak at the Old Market in the Sokoto State capital,” the agency said.
Over 4,600 tricycles, 100,000 vehicles run on CNG in Nigeria – Official
The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles says over 4,600 tricycles and 100,000 vehicles in Nigeria now use CNG as an alternative or complementary fuel.
The Chief Compliance Officer of PiCNG, Mr Zayyanu Tambari, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday.
PUNCH Online reports that CNG is a cleaner, cheaper alternative to petrol and diesel, primarily methane compressed at high pressure, used for vehicles and industry.
It gained traction after 2020 with the National Gas Expansion Programme and saw a renewed push with the establishment of PiCNG by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, following the removal of fuel subsidies.
Tambari recalled that as of 2023, there were only about 11,000 CNG-converted vehicles in the country, adding that the initiative aims to convert one million vehicles by 2027.
“Stop kissing your kids’ mouth to mouth” – Angela Okorie knocks parents
Nollywood actress Angela Okorie has knocked parents who kiss their kids’ mouths.
In her Instagram story, she admonished parents to stop such behaviour, describing it as old-fashioned.
She questioned what happened to the cheek.
Angela noted how they’re kids and don’t need to be infected by their parents.
She further noted that people kiss their mother on the mouth and also kiss their father on the mouth.“Stop kissing your kid’s mouth to mouth! Haaa
What happened to the cheek, Kwanu?They are kids; they don’t need your infected mouth, please.
Kiss them on the cheek,People will kiss their mother’s mouth to mouthKiss your father’s mouth to mouth
Wetin happened to cheek
Oh Jesus
Una dey vex me for this app. Abi, am I old-fashioned?
Why mouth-to-mouth kwanu?”.
