Nigeria’s political, security and public-health developments on Thursday ranged from electoral court rulings and campaign disputes to anti-terror operations, product seizures and a suspected drug reaction affecting students in Katsina State.
Quick facts
- INEC cleared Isa Ali Pantami and Kano governorship aspirant Abdulsalam Gwarzo for the 2027 polls, pending litigation outcomes.
- An Abuja Federal High Court directed INEC to replace Hope Uzodimma with Rochas Okorocha as the APC’s Imo West senatorial candidate.
- President Bola Tinubu defended plans for new international borrowing, citing infrastructure and power investments.
- NAFDAC destroyed prohibited, counterfeit and contaminated goods valued at roughly N8 billion in Lafia.
- Security forces reported 44 Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters killed in Borno, while police made arrests in Katsina and Benue.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has approved former Communications and Digital Economy Minister Isa Ali Pantami and Abdulsalam Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Kano State, to take part in the 2027 elections. Their eligibility remains conditional on the resolution of pending court proceedings.
A Federal High Court in Abuja ordered INEC on Thursday to delete Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma’s name from the list of candidates for the Imo West Senate seat. The court instructed the commission to list former Imo governor Rochas Okorocha instead as the All Progressives Congress candidate.
Tinubu responded to opposition criticism of the Federal Government’s efforts to secure additional financing from international lenders and banks. He said the proposed borrowing would support projects intended to expand the country’s productive base.
The projects cited include the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, the Trans-Sahara Superhighway, improvements to the national electricity grid and upgrades to major commercial ports in Lagos.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control destroyed prohibited, fake and adulterated products estimated to be worth about N8 billion. The goods had been confiscated during enforcement actions across the North-Central zone.
The disposal exercise was held Thursday in Lafia, Nasarawa State, as part of NAFDAC’s North-Central zonal destruction of regulated products.
Peter Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, said Tinubu had spent more than 260 days outside Nigeria but could not devote 36 days to visiting the federation’s states for campaigning ahead of next year’s general election.
Obi, who described himself as the leading candidate in the 2027 presidential contest, argued that Tinubu lacked the stamina to govern and should leave Aso Rock.
Troops of the Joint Task Force’s Operation Hadin Kai said they killed 44 suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province fighters during a series of offensives across Borno State. The operations also reportedly injured many other militants.
Military forces destroyed vehicles, motorcycles and materials used for improvised explosive devices during the raids.
Katsina State Police Command arrested 14 people on Thursday in connection with an attack on a convoy carrying All Progressives Congress supporters. The incident took place along the Yashi-Funtua Road in Malumfashi Local Government Area.
The convoy was travelling through Malumfashi toward Funtua for a campaign flag-off when it was attacked on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
Tinubu arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening, landing at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Nigeria’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yakubu Gambo, and Saudi royal protocol chief Ahmad bin Thafir received him.
Separately, 154 students at Government Science Secondary School in Batagarawa, Katsina State, were taken to hospital after a suspected adverse reaction to praziquantel tablets given for bilharzia treatment.
The incident occurred on Monday, while the Katsina police command disclosed the development Thursday through its public relations officer, Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu.
In Benue State, Joint Task Force Operation Whirl Stroke troops arrested two suspected suppliers of logistics to bandits and two suspected armed robbers. The detentions were made on October 28.
Lt. Ahmad Zubairu, acting media information officer at the headquarters of Operation Whirl Stroke, said the arrests were announced Wednesday in Makurdi.
