Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has secured the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential ticket for the 2027 general elections, defeating his sole challenger, Stanley Osifo, in a landslide victory during the party’s direct primary elections. Tinubu polled a staggering 10,999,162 votes across the country’s 8,809 wards, reaffirming his grip on the ruling party’s structure ahead of his re-election bid.
2. Suspected armed bandits have attacked a remote prayer ground in Kwara State, killing at least three worshippers and abducting 15 others during a night vigil in Ekiti Local Government Area of the state. The attack occurred on Friday night at Ori-Oke Ajaiye, located on the outskirts of Ikiran Village in the southern part of the state, throwing the quiet agrarian community into panic.
3. Few of the passengers who were abducted along Itobe-Ajegwu-Anyigba road in Ofu local government of Kogi State have escaped. Three of the victims, who identified themselves as Micheal Adejo, Monday and Mariam Yakubu, said they escaped from their abductors after the criminals dozed off in the forest.
4. The African Democratic Congress in Kebbi State has affirmed former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, as its governorship candidate for the 2027 general elections. This was contained in a statement issued by Mohammed Bello Doka, Special Assistant on Media to Malami, who said party leaders and supporters had expressed confidence in the ADC’s preparations for the next election cycle.
5. Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, admitted that the economic reforms pursued by his administration have been grueling, revealing that he has personally lost sleep and weight alongside Nigerians bearing the brunt of the policies. Tinubu made this disclosure at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, shortly after he was declared the winner of the All Progressives Congress presidential primary.
6. Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, has been formally affirmed as the Peoples Democratic Party, PD,P governorship candidate for the 2027 election in Benue State, pledging to restore security, revive agriculture and rebuild public trust in governance. At the Congress of the party held Sunday, Aondoaka unveiled 38-year-old Oyije Ogbenjuwa as his running mate during the affirmation ceremony.
7. Imo State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of two suspects, Onyema Okonkwo and Emmanuel Onyekachi, over the alleged rape and murder of a 21-year-old nursing student, Wendy Achumba, in Umuadara Umulogho, Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State. Until her death last Thursday, Wendy was a student of Our Lady of Mercy Nursing School, Obowo, where she was undergoing post-basic training in midwifery.
8. Thousands of PDP members in Jigawa State on Sunday endorsed Mustapha Sule Lamido as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election, as he pledged to “rebuild Jigawa into a state that works for all.” The opposition Peoples Democratic Party conducted its governorship primary election in the state, attracting members and supporters from the 287 wards across Jigawa to Dutse, the state capital.
9. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman for allegedly attempting to smuggle a large consignment of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, into Nigeria. The suspect, identified as Ting Kiong, who naturalised in Malaysia, was arrested on Sunday, May 17, 2026, upon arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, from Thailand via Dubai on an Emirates Airline flight.
10. Security was tightened in South Africa’s Kruger National Park nature reserve after two tourists were found killed there, authorities said on Sunday. The two South African victims, a 71-year-old man and a woman whose age was not disclosed, failed to return to their lodge on Wednesday evening, prompting a search operation.
