•Ishaq Yunusa

Kogi State Police Command on Friday confirmed the murder of the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, Ishaq Yunusa.

Yunusa was killed in an attack by suspected bandits.

Yunusa’s vehicle was reportedly intercepted by the suspected bandits during a kidnapping operation along the Itobe–Ochadamu Expressway, around Ojuwo Olijo in Ofu Local Government Area of the state, on Thursday, August 27, 2026.

His death has thrown family members, friends and APC supporters into mourning, with calls for the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible.

The Public Relations Officer, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Friday.

She said the attack occurred at about 5 p.m. on Thursday when armed assailants emerged from the surrounding bush and opened sporadic fire on motorists.

According to the police, security agencies are intensifying operations in the area, while personnel are combing the surrounding forests in a bid to rescue any abducted victims and track down those responsible for the attack.

The command says efforts are ongoing to restore security along the affected route.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, to oversee and coordinate a comprehensive forensic audit of Federal Government systems.

The audit will include a review of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), Federal Government agencies, and their administration and internal controls.

Bayo Onanuga,Special Adviser to the President(Information & Strategy), in a press release on Friday, said that President Tinubu’s directive follows the Federal Executive Council’s resolution on August 19, 2026, in response to findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on “fake agencies”, ghost workers, and other control failures.

The exercise will establish the nature and extent of weaknesses in Government’s control system, and determine how such weaknesses have been exploited.

The review will comprise two interconnected components. The first will focus on a forensic audit of Government systems, particularly IPPIS and related payroll, personnel, pension and financial-management platforms.

It will examine reported cases of ghost workers and payroll fraud, reconcile the figures identified by the ICPC, trace how fictitious or ineligible persons were enrolled, and review access, identity, biometric and bank-account controls.

The exercise will also examine the interfaces between IPPIS and other government platforms, including GIFMIS, Remita, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Sub-TSA, to determine whether fraud resulted from system defects, process failures, inadequate segregation of duties or deliberate circumvention.

The second component of the audit will cover all Federal Government agencies, departments, commissions, councils, parastatals and other government bodies.

It will establish a definitive inventory of such bodies and verify their legal basis, while examining how entities obtain official recognition, budgetary consideration, correspondence privileges, office facilities and access to government systems.

The exercise will assess governance, procurement, internal-audit, and oversight controls across Government to close systemic weaknesses that could allow irregular entities or persons to access public resources.

President Tinubu directed that the exercise be conducted with the highest standards of independence, professionalism and forensic integrity.

The audit team will have access to relevant government systems and records. It will collaborate with the ICPC to ensure that the review complements all ongoing investigations, prosecutions and recoveries.

President Tinubu expects the exercise to go beyond identifying individual cases of fraud or administrative failure by strengthening the architecture of Government, closing systemic loopholes, improving data verification and reconciliation, reinforcing accountability, and ensuring that only duly constituted entities and eligible personnel have access to Government resources.

The exercise underscores the President’s commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability, fiscal governance and institutional integrity across the Federal Government.

•Dr. Aminu Wushishi

Chairman of the National Population Commission, NPC, Dr. Aminu Wushishi, has died.

Wushishi reportedly died on Friday, August 28, 2026, after a brief illness.

Wushishi, a former Secretary of the Niger State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was said to have taken ill briefly before his death.

His Special Adviser on Media, Stanley Nwosu, confirmed the development to the media.