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Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has temporarily suspended its planned nationwide shutdown of flight operations. The suspension announced after an emergency meeting followed the intervention by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN.
2. The management of Benue Links Nigeria Limited on Friday confirmed the arrest of its driver following the abduction of passengers, mostly candidates of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB. The incident occurred during a night journey from Makurdi to Otukpo.
3. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has released the results of candidates who sat for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Thursday, April 16, 2026, with a total of 632,788 results now available for viewing. In a statement issued by the Board on Friday, and signed by its spokesperson Fabian Benjamin, candidates were advised to check their results by sending “UTMERESULT” via SMS to 55019 or 66019, using the same phone number (SIM) used during registration.
4. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East is expected to calm global oil markets and ease petrol prices, but experts have warned that Nigerians may not see immediate relief at the pumps. They noted that while easing global oil prices could reflect in Nigeria’s downstream market, petrol prices may gradually decline to around N1,000 per litre if market forces are allowed to operate.
5. Two Nigerian men, Akinade Raheem and Abayomi Eletu, are facing 50 years in prison each for an alleged multiple tax fraud scheme involving stolen identities to steal more than $100m from the Internal Revenue Service in the United States. In a statement by the Department of Justice on Wednesday, Raheem and Eletu allegedly conspired with their accomplices to claim fraudulent tax refunds by impersonating accountants and taxpayers.
6. Gunmen on Thursday night ambushed and beheaded a 30-year-old man, Mr Elisha Saku, at Riwhie-Chwo in Nzharuvo, Miango District of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State. Residents said on Friday that the incident occurred around 10 pm when the gunmen stormed the community, throwing it into panic and confusion.
7. An explosion at a filling station in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State on Friday claimed the lives of two welders and left three other persons injured. Some residents of the Bokkos town, including the chairman of the Community Peace Observers in the LGA, Kefas Mallai, confirmed the incident to journalists in Jos on Friday.
8. No fewer than 974 offenders were convicted and sentenced to various jail terms during the first quarter of 2026. This occurred as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency intensified its arrest, prosecution, and confiscation of the assets of drug traffickers and their collaborators across the country.
9. A High Court of Bayelsa State sitting in Yenagoa on Thursday, April 16, 2026, sentenced two men to death by hanging for the abduction of Mrs Grace Omietimi, mother of the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Dr James Omietimi. The convicts are Mr Felix Oburu, a native of Omoku Community in Ogba/Egbema Local Government Area, and Mr Anthon Eligwe, from Oyigba Community in Ahoada West Local Government Area, both in Rivers State.
10. Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said he was chased out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by then-President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience Jonathan. Amaechi spoke on Friday during an appearance on The Morning Brief, a Channels Television breakfast programme.
Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Saturday morning
