By Our Reporter

Suspected bandits have allegedly kidnapped 18 students from Oyo State travelling from Sokoto State to their hometowns in Oke-Ogun, after attacking their chartered bus and killing the driver, sources familiar with the incident have said.

The students, who were travelling from Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto, were reportedly intercepted by the assailants along the route to Oyo State within the past 48 hours.

The abductors were said to have moved the victims towards the Mokwa axis.

The development has raised fresh concerns over the safety of students travelling between states, particularly along routes where commuters have repeatedly faced attacks and abductions.

An Oke-Ogun youth leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident, clarifying that the victims were students of Gamji College of Health Technology and not Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, as earlier reported.

“Sadly, the unfortunate incident is being confirmed by me because I’m from Oke-Ogun too, and our people have confirmed that it truly happened in the past 48 hours,” the youth leader said.

He explained that the students were travelling in a chartered bus from their institution in Sokoto to Oke-Ogun, with Igboho as their specific destination.

“But it wasn’t a bus conveying UDUS students. It was a bus taking students from Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto, to Oke-Ogun, Igboho to be precise,” he said.

According to him, the attackers killed the driver before taking the students away.

“The driver was killed and all the students were kidnapped. They have reached the Mokwa side,” he said.

The youth leader further disclosed that the driver’s remains had been buried.

“The driver was killed at the scene and his remains were buried on Saturday,” he said.

Other sources familiar with the incident said the number of abducted students could be as many as 18.

The sources said the students were travelling in a chartered bus arranged by their school to convey them to their respective hometowns in Oyo State when the vehicle was intercepted by the assailants.

They were reportedly taken away by the attackers after the driver was killed.

The latest incident comes barely days after 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members were reportedly abducted by gunmen in Imo State.

The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen reportedly attacked their two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

Efforts to obtain further information from the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Olayinka Ayanlade, proved abortive, as he had not responded to messages sent to him as of the time of filing this report.

By Our Reporter

The Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU), Delta state, has suspended Anthony Kila, its pro-chancellor, over controversy surrounding his professorial status.

According to PREMIUM TIMES, the directive was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday, three days after the newspaper published an investigation questioning the basis of Kila’s professorial title.

The university said the decision was in line with its commitment to academic integrity, transparency and the highest standards of institutional governance.

“The Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State has taken note of a recent publication by Premium Times on Saturday, 03 October 2026, which has raised concerns regarding the professorial status of its Pro-Chancellor, Anthony Kila,” the statement reads.

“In keeping with the University’s commitment to academic integrity, transparency, and the highest standards of institutional governance, Anthony Kila has been requested to step aside from his responsibilities as Pro-Chancellor while the issues raised are being addressed, investigated, and findings concluded.

“This decision reflects the University’s responsibility to safeguard the integrity of its governance process and preserve the confidence of its students, staff, parents, regulators and the wider public.”

The university did not state how long the investigation would take.

The development comes nearly a week after the PREMIUM TIMES investigation found no evidence that a recognised academic institution had awarded Kila the rank of professor.

The investigation also said it found no evidence supporting Kila’s use of the designation “Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development”.

Kila had told PREMIUM TIMES that the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies (ECAPS), which he said was based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, awarded him the professorship in 2016.

However, checks by the newspaper found no evidence that the institution exists, including searches of the UK Companies House, Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and other publicly available sources.

Kila subsequently rejected the description of him as a “fake professor”, insisting that he remained a professor and stood by the credentials on which his professorial title was based.

Tella Onah 

The House of Representatives has given the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) a seven-day ultimatum to appear before its Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over audit queries involving more than N400 billion.

The ultimatum followed the adoption of a resolution at a public hearing attended by 27 members of the committee, following HYPREP’s failure to honour four previous invitations.

Chairman of the committee, Rep. Bamidele Salam said the latest invitation was the agency’s “final warning” to explain the issues contained in the 2021 and 2024 audit reports of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

Salam said HYPREP must appear before the committee on or before Monday, October 12, 2026, warning that failure to do so would attract the full powers of the House.

He said, “If they fail to appear before the committee, the House will be compelled to invoke its powers and compel the appearance of the accounting officer of the agency.”

The committee also summoned the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ogoni Remediation Trust Fund to explain issues surrounding the management of funds allocated for the cleanup.

According to the audit reports, HYPREP failed to submit audited accounts to the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation between 2017 and 2021, alongside several financial and procurement queries.

The queries included N986 million consultancy payment without evidence of execution, N315 million irregular training payment, N7.2 billion for poorly executed contracts and N268 million paid without pre-payment audit.

Other issues included N31.8 million paid to external solicitors without approval, N931 million in extra-budgetary expenditure, and alleged duplication of contracts and monitoring functions worth N182 million and N507 million respectively.

The 2024 audit report also queried an unverified N1.5 billion compensation payment, N14 million unretired cash advances, N229.1 million irregular payment and N260 million spent on training without evidence of execution.

The committee further raised concern over the denial of access to N27.5 billion project documents and records, demanding that HYPREP provide explanations for the alleged financial and administrative irregularities.

Salam said the committee would also scrutinise the $1 billion reportedly contributed for the Ogoni cleanup following Shell’s withdrawal, including claims by Renaissance Energy Ltd that it contributed more than $900 million to the fund.