The absence of lawyers for both the prosecution and defence on Wednesday stalled proceedings in the alleged N5.2bn fraud trial of a former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Dibu Ojerinde, at the Federal High Court in Abuja. When the matter was called before Justice Obiora Egwuatu, neither the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission nor Ojerinde was represented in court. The ICPC alleged that he committed multiple financial infractions while heading the National Examinations Council and JAMB, including abuse of office and fraudulent diversion of public funds to the tune of N5.2bn. The judge held that the elements of the offences had been identified by the prosecution’s witnesses, requiring the defendant to open his defence. The commission said the alleged offences contravened Sections 19, 24, 25(1)(a) and (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, 2006.

Bukka Hut has reiterated its commitment to supporting small business owners following its annual Bukka Hut Yard Sale 6.0, which was held in December 2025. Bukka Hut said it acted swiftly to address the situation by compensating affected vendors and making provisions for their continued participation. The company stated that it paid each affected business owner at the Lekki location a compensation of N50,000 and guaranteed them slots at the upcoming Bukka Hut Yard Sale 7.0. He said, “The Bukka Hut Yard Sale was created to empower budding entrepreneurs, as this is one of the ways we give back to the communities we operate in. Bukka Hut noted that preparations had already begun for Yard Sale 7.0, stressing its goal of creating accessible opportunities for small businesses to scale.

Microsoft patched a bevy of bugs that allowed bypasses of Windows Administrator Protection before the feature was made available earlier this month. He added that he likely only found it because he was previously familiar with the OS's "weird behavior when creating the DOS device object directory." Because the kernel creates a DOS device object directory on demand, rather than at login, it cannot check whether the user is an admin during the creation process. Further, due to a separate security mitigation Microsoft implemented to prevent C drive hijacking, the system service launching the process ignores the impersonated token's DOS device object directory. Microsoft fixed this by preventing DOS device object directory creation when impersonating a shadow admin token at the identification level.

Iran will deliver an unprecedented retaliation to any US attack, its mission to the United Nations said Wednesday, in response to a military threat from President Donald Trump. The Iranian mission, warning against US intervention, also referenced the United States’ casualties and expenditures in its past two wars. Trump on Wednesday renewed threats to attack Iran, saying “time is running out” to make a deal on nuclear weapons. They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse!”Trump has repeatedly left open the option of new military action against Iran after Washington joined Israel’s 12-day war in June aimed at degrading Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The Senate on Wednesday deferred consideration of the report on the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2026, opting to subject the proposed amendments to further scrutiny before taking a final decision. The decision followed deliberations on the report of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters during plenary, which was held in the absence of the committee’s chairman, Senator Simon Lalong. In addition, the upper chamber agreed to reconvene in an executive session to enable closed-door discussions on sensitive aspects of the proposed electoral reforms, reflecting concerns over the far-reaching implications of the legislation. Although the House of Representatives has already passed the bill, the Senate insisted on a more deliberate review process. The committee consequently recommended that the Senate consider and pass the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2025, as amended, noting that the proposed reforms are designed to expand voter participation, safeguard against electoral malpractice and strengthen the institutional capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticised President Bola Tinubu over the frequent collapse of Nigeria’s national electricity grid, warning that the situation contradicts the President’s 2022 campaign promise to deliver steady power in his first four years or not seek a second term. In a post on his X account on Wednesday, Obi noted that the national grid collapsed twice in January 2026 alone, while in 2025 it reportedly failed about 12 times. At this rate, we may soon hear of trips to Palau or Vanuatu while critical issues remain unattended at home,” he added. He further urged Nigerians to focus on demanding accountability and responsible leadership rather than being preoccupied with the next election. PUNCH Online reports that the national grid collapsed again on Tuesday, marking the second system failure in just four days in January 2026.

The Nigeria Police Force has uncovered a ₦7.7 billion cyber-enabled telecommunications fraud and arrested six suspects linked to the illegal diversion of airtime and data resources belonging to a telecom company. In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Benjamin Hundeyin, the police said the operation was carried out by the National Cybercrime Centre following a petition from the affected company. “They include Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad,” the police said. Items recovered from the suspects include “two residential houses in Kano, two mini-plazas, GSM and laptop retail outlets containing over 400 laptops, 1,000 mobile phones, as well as a Toyota RAV4 vehicle — all proceeds of the crime.”The police also said “substantial sums of money traced to the suspects’ accounts were recovered,” and that “the suspects would be charged to court on the completion of the investigation.”Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, commended the officers involved in the operation. The statement quoted the IGP as saying he “commended the officers involved in the investigation for their professionalism.”He also “reiterated the unwavering resolve of the Nigeria Police Force, through the NPF–NCCC, to safeguard Nigeria’s digital and financial ecosystems, dismantle cyber-criminal networks, and ensure that offenders are held accountable regardless of position or affiliation.”

The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Oyo State Council, Akeem Abas, has said that Artificial Intelligence can only replace journalists without updated digital skills. Abas said this in Ibadan on Wednesday at a two-day AI training, organised by the state council in collaboration with the American Open University, Nigeria. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the training is entitled “Empowering Journalists with Artificial Intelligence for Ethical, Innovative and Future-ready Journalism”. “This training of 120 journalists is a direct fulfilment of that promise; AI will not replace journalists, it will only replace journalists who refuse to learn,” he said. Meanwhile, the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, described the emergence of AI as a good development.

Reacting, Omokri admitted that he made the remarks in the past but said he later discovered they were untrue and withdrew them publicly. “In that judgment, the honourable court declared that there were no criminal charges or convictions against the President,” Omokri stated. Addressing the legal argument raised in court, Omokri said Sowore could not rely on statements he had withdrawn years earlier to defend later publications. “Therefore, Mr Sowore cannot rely on statements I made between 2022 and 2023, and then publicly withdrew in 2023, as a defence for statements he made in August 2025,” he said. One clip showed Omokri in a 2023 ARISE News interview saying, “Drug lord is not an unprintable name.

VIDEO: Police tear-gas residents protesting Lagos eviction, demolitionPhoto: Police shoot protester in ongoing protest against evictions and demolitions in various parts of the state. Photo: Johnson IdowuGetting your Trinity Audio player ready...Johnson Idowu Johnson, an avid reader, has over four years experience in journalism covering education, politics and Metro. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Follow The Punch Newspaper on WhatsApp for real-time updates, breaking news, and exclusive content. Join The Punch Newspapers Channel

A man is tackled after spraying an unknown substance at US Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) (L) during a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 27, 2026. (Photo by Octavio JONES / AFP)US Rep Ilhan Omar was attacked during a town hall she was hosting on Tuesday in Minneapolis. Minneapolis police confirmed that officers observed a man use a syringe to spray an unknown liquid at the congresswoman. Despite the incident, Omar resumed the town hall after the suspect was escorted out by her security detail, telling the audience she would not be intimidated. “I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today,” Mace said, adding that, “Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks.

Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, has approved a fresh round of appointments and promotions aimed at strengthening governance and improving service delivery across key sectors of the state. In the Water Resources Engineering and Construction Agency, Mukhtar Yusuf was promoted from Deputy Managing Director to Managing Director, while Zakari Usman Balan was appointed as the new Deputy Managing Director. The governor also approved the appointment of Mukhtar Bello Maisudan, a senior lecturer at Bayero University, Kano, as Executive Secretary of the Kano State Scholarship Board. Similarly, Abba Kankarofi was promoted from Deputy Managing Director to Managing Director of the Kano Road and Maintenance Agency. The governor reiterated that his administration remained committed to strengthening public institutions and delivering people-oriented governance across Kano State.

The Police Command in Anambra has arrested two female suspects in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of the State for allegedly trafficking a 16-year-old girl to Ghana. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Awka. “Operatives of the Anambra Police Command attached to Ozubulu Division, acting on a technology-driven information on the evening of January 26, arrested two female suspects, Uzoma Nwabueze and Precious Monday. “They were arrested over a reported case of a missing 16-year-old girl, Miss Oluebube Chukwuma, in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo LGA of the state,” he said. The police spokesman said that Orutugu ordered the police operatives to investigate the relocation of the girl to Ghana and identify all those involved for possible arrest.

The Tata Punch has been a hit in the Indian market, and with the recent update, it has pushed other manufacturers to revise their cars as well. Join us on the WhatsApp Community for daily auto news updatesHyundai Exter Facelift SpottedThe Exter was spotted recently testing on Indian roads. It was heavily camouflaged, but we can still get a basic idea of how the Exter facelift would look. However, with Tata adding more features to the Punch, Hyundai will look to refresh this list. The Exter facelift is also rumoured to feature ventilated front seats, reclining rear seats, a powered driver seat, and a 360-degree camera.

From department stores to discount shops, bookmakers to beauty salons, the makeup of Britain’s high streets has shifted dramatically since 2019. What remains on Britain’s high streets – and what has disappeared – offers a snapshot of how the country shops, eats and spends its time. Enter your postcode to explore the types of high street businesses that were operating near you in 2019 and how that picture compares with 2025. Find your local high street Search Loading map for your area... The number and type of businesses on each high street in 2019 and 2025 were taken from the PointX dataset published by Landmark Information Group and distributed by Ordnance Survey.