Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Iran crossed “red lines” Friday when its missiles targeted civilian areas after Israel launched a wave of attacks on the Islamic republic.

“Iran has crossed red lines by daring to fire missiles at civilian population centres in Israel,” Katz said in a statement. “We will continue to defend the citizens of Israel and ensure that the Ayatollah regime pays a very heavy price for its heinous actions.”

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, says he has no regret naming Abuja International Conference Centre after President Bola Tinubu.

Wike said this in Abuja on Friday, during the inauguration of the completed 15-kilometre left-hand service carriageway of OSEX Stage II, from Ring Road I to Wassa Junction.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that criticism followed the naming of the rehabilitated Abuja International Conference Centre after Tinubu shortly after it was reopened on Tuesday. 

Others described expending ₦39 billion to renovate the edifice as a misplaced priority.

Reacting, Wike wondered why some people were criticising the naming of the conference centre after Tinubu.

According to him, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport was not built by Azikiwe, and Moshood Abiola National Stadium was not built by Abiola.

He added that those criticising the rehabilitation of the centre do not have good taste.

“I have done it, and I have no regret at all,” Wike said.

He said that the only thing that was not changed in the centre was the structure, saying, “everything in that centre was changed”.

He expressed dismay that instead of commending Tinubu for doing very well, some people derived pleasure from indulging in baseless criticism.

Wike said those who described the N39 billion spent on the renovation of the centre as a misplaced priority had lost track of time and the changing exchange rate of Naira to a Dollar.

“They said that the centre was built with N240 million, but which year? 1991.

“What was the exchange rate in 1991 compared with today? Look at it, 1991, and we are now in 2025.

“Nobody who loves this country will criticise the rehabilitation of the international conference centre,” he said.

The minister said that Nigeria was seen as the giant of Africa, adding that people must see what makes the country the giant of Africa.

“We deserve the best for the country, and Mr President has given us the best,” he said. (NAN)

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has distanced himself from an Instagram post suggesting he is planning a comeback in the 2027 presidential election.

The post, shared by an account bearing Jonathan’s name, criticised Nigeria’s current leaders, claiming they are “pretending to sleep”, while urging citizens to choose better leadership in 2027.

“Since our current leaders are pretending to sleep, we pray that we will get our good leadership back in 2027; your choice will determine the betterment of our future,” the post read.

The message was accompanied by music and an image, believed to be AI-generated, of Jonathan shaking hands with U.S. President Donald Trump. The post has since attracted over 16,000 views and 1,261 comments.

However, when contacted by TheCable on Friday, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan’s spokesperson, dismissed the post as fake and clarified that the former president does not operate an Instagram account.

“Former President Jonathan does not own an Instagram account,” Eze said.

This is not the first time Jonathan has had to disown political activity linked to his name. Ahead of the 2023 elections, he rejected a presidential nomination form purchased on his behalf by a support group. The form, bought under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was disavowed by Jonathan through a statement from his media team.

“He was not aware of this bid and did not authorise it,” the statement read at the time.

A Thai singer who survived a deadly plane crash in 1998 has spoken out after learning that the only survivor of a recent Air India disaster was seated in the exact same seat he once occupied, 11A.

Ruangsak Loychusak, 47, was aboard Thai Airways flight TG261 when it crashed while attempting to land in Surat Thani.

The aircraft, which had departed from Bangkok, stalled mid-air and plunged into a swamp, claiming 101 lives out of 146 passengers and crew.

Loychusak was among the 45 people who miraculously survived.

Speaking on Thursday, June 12, 2025, after the devastating crash involving an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, the singer expressed shock at the coincidence after learning that the only survivor of that incident, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was also seated in 11A.

Taking to his Facebook page, he wrote, “I had goosebumps when I saw it.
“The lone survivor of the plane crash in India was sitting in the same seat number as me—11A. I want to offer my condolences to all those who lost loved ones in the tragedy.”

Although he no longer possesses his original boarding pass, Loychusak said contemporary newspaper reports from the 1998 incident documented his seat number.

According foreign news outlet, BangkokPost, on Thursday, Loychusak reflecting on his own survival, described the long-lasting emotional scars left by the crash, calling the years since a “second life.”

“I lived a second life after the crash. For 10 years, I had a hard time flying. My breathing would become difficult even when the air was fine.

“I didn’t talk much on flights and always stared out of the window. I wouldn’t let anyone close it, it made me feel unsafe,” he said.

He added that the experience haunted him physically and emotionally for a long time.

“The sound of the crash, the smell of burning, even the taste of the swamp water, I remember it all. I carried it with me in silence for years.

“If I saw dark clouds or a rainstorm outside, I would feel terrible, like I was in hell.

“I can still remember the sounds, smells, and even the taste of the water in the swamp the plane crashed into. For a long time, I would keep the feelings to myself,” he added.

The Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, en route to London Gatwick, crashed into buildings shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, 2025.

The aircraft exploded in a fireball, killing 243 of the 244 people on board.

The only survivor, Ramesh from Leicester, England, sharing his shocking account of the disaster, described how he was “ejected” from the jet before it hit the ground and exploded.

Ramesh, who lives in London with his wife and child, is being treated at a hospital in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad, where he told doctors that immediately after the plane took off, it began descending and suddenly split in two, ejecting him before there was a loud explosion.

According to Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who is treating him at a hospital in Ahmedabad, Ramesh sustained multiple injuries but is in stable condition.

“He was disoriented and covered in injuries, but he appears to be out of danger,” said the doctor.

In an interview with Doordarshan, Ramesh said, “I don’t know how I came out of it alive.

“For a while, I thought I was about to die. But when I opened my eyes, I saw I was alive. And I opened my seatbelt and got out of there,” adding how two cabin crew members “died before my eyes.”

His seat, located beside the emergency exit, detached as the aircraft struck the ground, an occurrence that may have saved his life.

He recalled how the pilots tried to raise the jet, but it “went full speed and crashed into the building.”

Ramesh explained how the plane quickly caught fire following the crash, and said he burned his arm.

Videos taken near the crash site showed Ramesh with visible injuries hobbling away from the jet before he was rushed to hospital for treatment.

“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran.

“There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital,” he said.

Some civic groups, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, have condemned the National Assembly for allegedly inserting projects worth N10.96tn into the national budgets between 2021 and 2025.

The organisations described the development as a clear abuse of legislative powers, calling for immediate investigations into the development by anti-graft agencies.

A civic tech organisation, BudgIT, claimed in a report on Thursday that the National Assembly inserted a total of 30,632 constituency projects into four budget cycles of 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025.

In a post shared via its X (formerly Twitter) handle, BudgIT revealed that 5,601 projects worth N913.15bn were inserted into the 2021 budget; 6,462 projects valued at N910.37bn in 2022; 7,447 projects worth N2.24tn in 2024; and 11,122 projects totalling N6.9tn in the 2025 appropriation.

The group said in the 2025 budget alone, 3,573 projects valued at N653.19bn were located in federal constituencies, while 1,972 projects worth N444.04bn were earmarked for senatorial districts.

Some of the projects inserted in the 2025 budget include streetlights worth N393.29bn, boreholes (N114.53bn), ICT-related projects (N505.79bn), community town hall construction and renovation (N17.23bn), and education-related projects (N179.69bn).

Others include health-related projects valued at N420.09bn, empowerment of traditional rulers (N6.74bn), road construction and rehabilitation (N1.44bn), and purchase of security vehicles (N11.7bn). 

BudgIT said, “A total of 11,122 projects culminating in N6.93tn were inserted in the 2025 budget by the National Assembly, an ugly trend that was accelerated in the 10th Assembly. The additional N3.18tn was added to the capital supplementation which makes up N9.11tn in capital projects.

“238 of the projects worth N2.29tn are in the range of values greater than N5bn. We also noticed that 984 projects worth N1.71tn, and 1,119 projects within the range of N500m–N1bn, worth N641.38bn, were inserted into the budget.

“We contend that the National Assembly has indiscriminately inserted projects into the national budget, many of which appear to serve narrow personal interests and political expediency rather than the broader public good.”

Reacting to the development, SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, said lawmakers were elected to make laws and pass budgets, not to allocate or execute projects.

“The legislature has no business executing or allocating projects. This conduct undermines the principles of constructive oversight and compromises accountability,” he said.

Oluwadare called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the inserted projects.

Also speaking, CACOL Executive Director, Debo Adeniran, said the practice of secretly inserting projects without public scrutiny was fraudulent. 

“Lawmakers have the constitutional right to amend the budget, but any insertions must be transparent, debated, and subjected to public input.

“Where insertions are secretly made, and execution of such projects are shoddy or inflated, it should not be called padding, but stealing. It is fraud, and those involved must be prosecuted,” he said.

Adeniran also urged the Bureau of Public Procurement, EFCC, and ICPC to investigate all persons linked to questionable insertions and prosecute them where necessary.

According to him, the President has a constitutional responsibility to vet appropriation bills thoroughly before assenting to them, noting that negligence in that regard could amount to an impeachable offence.

The Department of State Services says the broadcasts made by the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, incited the sit-at-home order of IPOB in the South-East region.

According to the DSS, the broadcasts also directly contribute to economic paralysis in the region.

The DSS spoke on Friday at the ongoing trial of Kanu before Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court in Abuja.

A DSS operative, codenamed DDD for security reasons, testified before the court and was led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN.

In his testimony, the witness said Kanu’s broadcasts incited the enforcement of IPOB’s sit-at-home order through its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network.

“From my investigation, the defendant’s broadcasts directly contributed to economic paralysis in the South-East, as they fuelled the enforcement of IPOB’s sit-at-home order,” he said.

The witness also detailed how Kanu allegedly smuggled a radio transmitter into Nigeria, concealed within household items, to evade detection. 

According to him, the transmitter, which was not declared to the Nigeria Customs Service, was hidden at the residence of one Benjamin Madubougu in Ihiala, Anambra State.

He told the court that Kanu used the transmitter to incite violence and spread secessionist messages.

The witness said, “The defendant used the radio to incite members of the public against the Federal Government. We obtained a search warrant, searched Benjamin’s residence, and recovered the transmitter along with other items, including firearms, cartridges, Biafran currency, and Indian hemp.”

The court admitted into evidence a Certified True Copy of the search warrant issued by the Ihiala Chief Magistrate Court on October 28, 2015.

A video recording showing Kanu inspecting the smuggled transmitter was also tendered and admitted despite initial objections by the defence team led by Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN.

In the video played in the open court, Kanu was seen praising the transmitter as a “game changer” and referring to it as a “nuclear weapon” for Biafra.

Kanu further warned residents of the South-East not to defy IPOB’s sit-at-home order scheduled for May 31, 2021, threatening violence against violators.

The prosecution tendered a flash drive containing 18 video clips and 16 radio broadcasts attributed to Kanu, which the court admitted into evidence.

Additionally, Madubougu’s statement in which he admitted that Kanu had not provided any customs documentation for the imported transmitter was also tendered in court.

The court also admitted a publication from Vanguard newspaper in which an alleged ESN member claimed that Kanu ordered the collection of 2,000 human heads for burial rites, although only 30 were reportedly obtained.

Despite the objection of the defence team, the court admitted the newspaper article, alongside a certificate of compliance.

The prosecution further applied for the court to inspect the container housing the transmitter and other related items, currently held at the DSS facility in the Presidential Villa. The request was granted without opposition.

Justice Omotoso ruled that the court would visit the DSS premises to inspect the container and adjourned further proceedings.

He emphasised that the court was duty-bound to examine all evidence thoroughly in the pursuit of justice.

Fourteen suspects who allegedly deal in fake currencies have been arrested by the Jigawa State Police Command.

In a statement on Friday, the Police Public Relation Officer of the Command, Lawan Shiisu, said the suspects were arrested on Thursday in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of the state.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Shiisu said the suspects were nabbed by joint security operatives in a coordinated intelligence-led operation.

He said the team carried out a successful raid on a criminal hideout in Digawa village where the suspected fraudsters were perpetrating their fraudulent activities.

“The operation, which took place in the early hours of Thursday followed credible intelligence about the activities of a syndicate involved in fraudulent practices and other criminal acts within the region.

“During the raid, security personnel arrested 14 male suspects and recovered a cache of incriminating items,” Shiisu said.

He listed the items recovered as nine fabricated pistols, seven dane guns, four motorcycles, 12 pieces of fake USD, 188 pieces of Central African Currency suspected to be fake, charme,  bow and arrow.

Shiisu recalled that a group of the suspected fraudsters from Digiwa village had invaded and attacked Dumus village on Wednesday, for not supporting their fraudulent activities.

According to him, as a result of the alleged attack, one villager, identified as Isma’il Ibrahim, 60, lost his life, while eight others sustained injuries.

Amnesty International has criticised the recent pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu to the late environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight co-campaigners, who were convicted and executed by the Gen. Sani Abacha’s military regime.

Saro-Wiwa, who was the leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, was executed alongside eight other activists on November 10, 1995.

The activists, known as the Ogoni Nine, had Saro-Wiwa, Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Felix Nuate, Paul Levula, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, and Daniel Gbokoo.

But Tinubu, during the June 12 Democracy Day on Thursday, pardoned the activists.

However, the international rights organisation stated that the pardon fell far short of the justice they deserve.

In a statement on Friday, Nigeria’s Director of the Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, said while the government’s move was a step in the right direction, it did not go far enough in delivering justice.

“This is welcome news, but it falls far short of the justice the Ogoni Nine need and deserve – the Nigerian government must recognise formally that they are innocent of any crime and fully exonerate them,” Sanusi said. 

He accused the Nigerian government of using the executions to silence protests against oil pollution in the Niger Delta and shield multinational oil firms from accountability.

“The Ogoni Nine, led by Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria’s leading author and campaigner, were brutally executed by a regime that wanted to hide the crimes of Shell and other oil companies that were destroying and continue to destroy the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across the Niger Delta,” he added.

Sanusi also stressed that justice for the Ogoni Nine was only a starting point, urging the government to take further steps to address decades of environmental degradation in the region.

“Full justice for the Ogoni Nine is only a first step. Much more needs to be done to get justice for communities in the Niger Delta, including holding Shell and other oil companies to account for the damage they have done and continue to do,” he said.

He, however, called on oil firms to pay full compensation and clean up the environmental mess caused by decades of oil spills and gas flaring in the region.

The family of late Chief Moshood Abiola has demanded details of the reported N45bn debt owed it by the Federal Government.

The call followed a recent statement by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, who appealed to President Bola Tinubu to compensate the family as a gesture of national healing and justice.

Lamido had revived a dispute over money allegedly owed to the late Abiola, insisting the Federal Government pay the business mogul’s heirs about N45bn.

Speaking in Abuja at the May 2025 launch of his memoir, ‘Being True to Myself’, Lamido told guests that Abiola’s company, International Telephone & Telegraph, completed major communications contracts for the military government in the 1970s but was never fully paid.

He said a former head of state, Murtala Muhammed, acknowledged the debt before his 1976 assassination and that Abiola privately confirmed the figure when Lamido visited him shortly before his arrest in 1994.

Lamido framed the unpaid bill as “double punishment”, saying Abiola was first denied the presidency after his June 12, 1993 electoral victory was annulled, and then denied the contract money he was due.

Settling the claim, he argued, would give moral and symbolic closure to Nigeria’s long-running June 12 saga and demonstrate President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to justice for pro-democracy figures.

“Abiola kept faith with this country; paying what is owed will close the chapter decently,” Lamido told the audience, which included Information Minister, Mohammed Idris, whom he asked to relay the appeal to the President.

The revelation reignited public discourse around Nigeria’s democratic journey and the sacrifices of Abiola, who died in detention in 1998 after his struggle to reclaim his electoral mandate.

The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH, urged President Tinubu to act on the matter.

He said, “That money should be paid to Abiola’s family. It is not just about compensation, it is about honouring a man who gave everything for this democracy. Giving an appointment to one of his children is not enough.”

Adams also called for broader recognition of Abiola’s legacy.

Speaking for the family, Jamiu Abiola told Saturday PUNCH that the family needed details on the debt to be able to act on it.

He said, “The former governor did not say what the money was owed for. He didn’t give much details about it. Since then, the matter has been what it is. Before we can say more about it, we need more details. For now, the issue that the money be paid cannot come up because it hasn’t been substantiated.”

Abiola’s family can file claim — Presidency

A senior official in the Presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the family could file claims if it had enough evidence.

He, however, stated that Lamido had “no business” speaking for the family.

“The children of MKO Abiola are still very much alive. The first son is alive. So, if there is any money the government is owing Abiola, let them file a claim. It is not for Sule Lamido to be saying this.

“Obasanjo was president for eight years. Why didn’t he pay it? President Buhari was there for eight years, why didn’t he pay? So, I don’t think it is Sule Lamido’s business at all.”

Meanwhile, a member of the family, Hafsat Abiola, on Friday, commended the Federal Government for the conferment of CFR on her mother, the late Kudirat Abiola.

She said, “There are no words to adequately express the depth of gratitude I feel at President Tinubu’s posthumous conferment of the merit of CFR on my mum, Kudirat Abiola.

“She was guided both by love and a sense of duty to defend her husband’s mandate, and to work with many across the country for the restoration of democracy. Yet, I have no doubt that she would have been overwhelmed with joy to be so honoured.”

Some Nigerians in diaspora have trooped to social media to justify their relocation to the United States, the United Kingdom, and other developed countries.

The Nigerians stated via X that the anomalies that forced them to leave Nigeria had worsened. They insisted that the decision to exit the country was reasonable and justifiable.

The conversation started after an X user, Michael Taiwo, posed a question on Wednesday.

“Nigerians abroad, with everything you now know, do you honestly think staying in Naija  would’ve been better?” Taiwo wrote.

Reacting to the question, a popular United Kingdom-based life coach and writer, Solomon Buchi, said he would have experienced more police brutality in Nigeria if he had not relocated.

“My son would have been born into that dysfunctional society and my anxiety levels would be wild. With everything I know now, I actually wish I left Nigeria in my teens,” Buchi said.

Also, a United States-based Nigerian, Sir Sean, said the only thing he missed about leaving the country was “the food, the people, the raw energy.”

“I may be hustling from scratch, but at least the hustle has structure. I’m not begging NEPA (sic) to give me light, or praying every day that I don’t land in the hospital with no doctor on duty. Abroad isn’t paradise, but at least effort gives you results,” Sean said.

Another UK-based Nigerian, Samuel Desh, recounted how policemen once threatened him after stopping him in an Uber.

Desh, who attached a video clip to his comment, wrote, “Maybe I’ll come back when the police will let me record them like I did in this video, when they will speak to citizens with respect, and when they will treat alleged criminals with respect too, and when they will respond promptly to Emergency calls like they did in this video.”

“There is absolutely no way you can compare staying abroad in Nigeria. Politicians have turned Nigeria into hell fire…Until we repent and rebuild, I am sorry to say that it will only get worse. The best decision is the move abroad, if not for anything, for your kids. Their security and education are guaranteed,” said Obiorah Otu.

Adekunle Oderinde wrote, “Japa gives you the opportunity to achieve. It’s not just the peace or the safety; it’s the runway to apply yourself and succeed. When you japa, you can work hard, be honest, and live your dreams.”

Meanwhile, some other Nigerians differed on the matter, preferring Nigeria to other countries abroad.

Purple Fire stated, “Honestly, I believe staying in Naija can be better, if you’re purposeful and willing to build. Abroad offers structure, yes, but also loneliness, culture shock, and a life of constant bills and chasing survival. In Nigeria, you’re home family is near, community support is real.”