Compilations of top 10 key latest updates that you need to know this Sunday afternoon, 18th January, 2026
2027: Obasanjo shuns Atiku, drives Obi-Kwankwaso ticket against Tinubu
The proposed alliance between the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and a former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, for a joint 2027 presidential ticket has reached an advanced stage.
Findings by Sunday PUNCH revealed that both Obi and Kwankwaso have jointly set up a committee for the actualisation of the joint ticket under the African Democratic Congress.
A principal official of the ADC disclosed that the Obi-Kwankwaso alliance was originally proposed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to the party official, Obasanjo not only blessed Obi’s defection to the ADC, he also asked the former Anambra State governor to work with Kwankwaso to secure the presidential and vice-presidential tickets of the party.
Matawalle’s nine sons, daughters to wed same day in Abuja
Arrangements are in top gear for the marriage ceremony of nine children of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle.
The invitation card for the event, which has circulated widely on social media, was sighted by our correspondent on Saturday.
According to the invitation, which has the minister’s picture, the weddings will hold at the Central Mosque, Abuja, by 1:30 pm on February 6.
The names of the children are: Ibrahim, Suraj, Safiya, Maryam, Aisha, Fahad, Muh’d, Nana Firdausi, and Farida.
Speaking to Sunday PUNCH on Saturday, the spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress in Zamfara State, Yusuf Idris, said the children comprise five sons and four daughters.
PANDEF meets Wike, Fubara as impeachment storm rages
The Pan Niger Delta Forum reconciliation committee set up to mediate in the Rivers State political crisis has met with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and his successor, Siminalayi Fubara, the two actors in the rift.
PANDEF’s National Chairman and former Ambassador to Scandinavian countries, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway, Dr Godknows Igali, disclosed this in an interview with Sunday PUNCH on Saturday.
The forum, which is an umbrella of socio-political organisation of the South-South geo-political zone, had recently set up a seven-man reconciliation committee headed by former Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN to explore ways of ending the protracted political crisis in the oil-rich state.
Igali said the committee was made up of respectable Nigerians who are making headway and that both Wike and Fubara are cooperating with the members.
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.
Jimoh was arrested on Friday, January 16, 2026, in Owode town, Ogun State, following intelligence-led operations by tactical teams of the agency.
A search of his hideout led to the recovery of 69 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis.
A statement released on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect has been on the NDLEA wanted list since June 15, 2014, when he allegedly mobilised armed thugs to attack NDLEA officers who attempted to arrest him at his enclave.
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 intelligence-led and coordinated operations carried out between the night of January 17 and the early hours of Sunday, January 18, 2026.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, CSP Abdullahi Kiyawa, said the arrests were made on the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and under the supervision of the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori.
“The Kano State Police Command, leveraging intelligence-led policing, has successfully arrested three principal suspects behind the gruesome murder of a housewife and her six children in Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters,” Kiyawa said.
Army pledges to protect Sokoto community after bandit attack
The General Officer Commanding, 8 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Bemgba Paul Koughna, has toured the Tidibale community in Isa Local Government Area of Sokoto State, assuring residents recently displaced by bandit attacks of strengthened and sustained military protection.
The visit, his first major field engagement since assuming command, comes amid mounting pressure on security forces to stabilise rural settlements across the North-West, a region plagued for years by banditry, mass abductions and forced displacement.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Acting Deputy Director Army Public Relations 8 Division, Olaniyi Osoba, on Sunday.
Addressing residents during the assessment tour, Major General Koughna said the Nigerian Army was “fully committed to ensuring that no community is left at the mercy of criminal elements,” adding that troops had been permanently deployed to the area.
Alleged UK property fraud: ICPC files criminal charge against Ozekhome
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has filed a criminal charge against Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, over allegations of fraud involving a London property.
The ICPC, in a three-count charge filed by its lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, Head of the High Profile Prosecution Department, at the Abuja High Court, accused Ozekhome of complicity in the large-scale corruption case.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the fresh charge, marked: FCT/HC/CR/010/26, dated and filed Jan. 16, named the senior lawyer as sole defendant.
I regret recurrent political crises in Rivers – Fubara
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has regretted the recurrent political crises in the state, boosting that he remains the governor of the state.
Fubara said as Governor every year has always started in bad light, saying that in the earlier part of 2026, he got “love letter”.
Fubara spoke while speaking as the Special Guest at the finals of the 2026 Port Harcourt Polo Tournament in Port Harcourt, the state capital, weekend.
The governor promised that he would not support, directly or indirectly, any action capable of undermining peace and security in the state.
He said the protection of lives and property remains the foremost responsibility of his administration, stressing that he is committed to delivering on the promises made to the people of Rivers State.
Umahi’s son Osborne, picks APC chairmanship form in Ebonyi
Mr. Osborne Umahi, son of the Minister of Works and former Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi, has picked the All Progressives Congress (APC) nomination form to contest the chairmanship election in Ohaozara Local Government Area ahead of the August 2026 council polls in Ebonyi State.
Osborne, who is the first son of the minister and currently oversees his father’s business interests, obtained the nomination form at the APC State Secretariat in Abakaliki.
He was accompanied by party stakeholders, youth groups and supporters from Ohaozara Local Government Area.
At the party secretariat, he was received by members of the APC state executive committee led by the state chairman, Mr. Stanley Okoro-Emegha.
Okoro-Emegha described Umahi as an intelligent and capable young politician and businessman, expressing confidence in his ability to provide effective leadership and take Ohaozara Local Government Area to greater heights.
AFCON 2025: Nwabali credits collective effort for Eagles’ third-place finish
Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has described Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 bronze medal win as a product of collective effort after his penalty saves sealed victory over Egypt.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nwabali was named Man of the Match after saving two penalties in Nigeria’s 4–2 shootout win over Egypt.
NAN reports that the AFCON 2025 third-place play-off ended goalless in regulation time, before penalties decided the bronze medal
Nwabali described the encounter as tense, with both teams determined to avoid costly errors.
“It was a very difficult match against a great Egyptian team; Nobody wanted to make a mistake,” he said.
The goalkeeper said that composure was key during the shootout.
“I stayed calm, read the takers and trusted my instincts; Thankfully, it worked for us,” he said.
