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PDP, Atiku Present 26th Witness As Tribunal Hears Petition Against Tinubu
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have called their 26th witness before the Election Petition Tribunal, in its case against the victory of President Bola Tinubu.
The witness, Mr Hitler Nwanna, is a digital forensic analyst who is appearing with a forensic report and a certificate of compliance, all arising from the conduct of the February 25 Presidential Election.
Nwanna told the court that he did not inspect all the BVAS machines, and worked on only 110.
In response, lawyer to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abubakar Mahmood stated that going by the 110 BVAS devices inspected by the witness, only 0.069% of the machines deployed nationwide were inspected.
Mahmood further stated that INEC deployed 3,163 polling devices to 2,822 polling units in the FCT. According to him, the witness inspected just 3.5% of the number of devices deployed.
Abubakar Mahmoud therefore stated that the result of Mr Nwala’s forensic inspection isn’t an accurate representation of the outcome of the election.
To verify the witness’ claims on deleting of results, INEC’s lawyer brought four BVAS devices for the witness to inspect. The witness however declined to this gesture, insisting it’s a move that amounts to tampering with evidence in a matter already before the Court.
The witness had referenced in his report that the forensic inspection of the BVAS machine and IReV report was pursuant to a court order urging INEC to allow inspection.
However, during cross examination, the witness noted that the said Court order wasn’t attached to his witness statement.
Following arguments and listening to all sides in the matter, the court decided that the PDP’s case be adjourned to tomorrow Friday for conclusion.
Expected to come up later today is the hearing of the case put forward by the Labour Party.
News
Insecurity: Nigeria’s Internally Displaced Persons Hit 3.726m
According to the report, Zamfara is hosting 276,887 IDPs in 9 camps as of March 2026, while , Benue State hosts over 500,000 internally displaced persons, making it one of the worst-hit states.
Data compiled by the International Organisation for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix, showed that there are 3,725,593 internally displaced persons, IDPs, now scattered across about 3,900 camps and settlements nationwide.
According to the report, Zamfara is hosting 276,887 IDPs in 9 camps as of March 2026, while , Benue State hosts over 500,000 internally displaced persons, making it one of the worst-hit states.
In Taraba State, about 90,000 displaced persons are currently sheltered in eight camps located in Peva and Kufai Ahmadu in Chanchanji Ward of Takum LGA.
The report said that the crisis has largely been driven by insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, farmer–herder conflicts in the North-Central, and communal clashes in parts of the South.
It further said that Nigeria’s 3.726 million displaced population is larger than the population of at least 63 countries whose populations are under 3.7 million, according to United Nations population estimates.
Among countries with fewer than 3.7 million people are Uruguay (3.4m), Jamaica (2.8m), Qatar (2.7m), Namibia (2.6m) and Botswana (2.6m).
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Atiku’s Media Aide, Ifeanyi Izeze is Dead
The media office said that further details about Izeze’s burial would be made public by his family.
Atiku Media Office has announced the death of Ifeanyi Izeze, a member of the media team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
In the statement , Izeze a prominent and pioneer member of the ex-VP’s media team died on Sunday.
“Ifeanyi Izeze joined the media team of the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar in 2006, from Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Ikot-Abasi as the Office Manager.
He brought to bear on the work of the media team at that critical stage of Atiku’s political career, his wealth of experience in the media, Niger Delta and Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Izeze trained as a geologist at the University of Port Harcourt up to postgraduate level, but carved a niche in journalism where he reported and wrote extensively on oil and gas industry in Nigeria for many years in the defunct Sunray, Anchor, and NewAge newspapers among others, before he joined ALSCON.
In the Atiku Media Office, Ifeanyi was a senior member of the team and its pioneer Office Manager who helped shape the campaign policies of the Atiku Presidential Campaigns in the Niger Delta, particularly in the oil and gas sectors,” the statement further reads.
Atiku Media Office described the deceased as a man with a prodigious sense of humour and a born-again Christian of the Christ Embassy.
The media office said that further details about Izeze’s burial would be made public by his family.
He left behind children, grandchildren and an elder and only surviving brother, Pastor Emeka Izeze of the Guardian Newspapers fame
News
Tinubu Pledges Support for Nigerian Media in Battle Against Big Tech.
...Vows Tariff Relief on Newsprint and Equipment. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has thrown the full weight of his administration behind Nigeria’s media industry in its escalating fight against Big Tech’s dominance, unfair content usage, and crippling economic pressures, while promising to slash or eliminate import tariffs on essential production materials.
Speaking at a high-level interfaith dinner held at the State House on Friday, March 13, 2026, the President described the Nigerian press as an “indispensable partner” in the country’s drive for economic recovery, democratic consolidation, and national unity.
“We will help dismantle the fiscal hurdles and digital cannibalisation currently threatening the survival of the press,” Tinubu declared, assuring the delegation that his government is actively reviewing the national tariff exemption list.
Among the items under consideration for zero or reduced duty (currently 5–10%) are newsprint, printing plates, chemicals, and broadcast equipment for radio and television—materials the media sector has long argued should receive the same preferential treatment as educational and research imports.
“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” the President told representatives of the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) and other leading industry bodies.
The closed-door meeting brought together a powerful cross-section of Nigeria’s media leadership, including:
– Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, NPO President and Publisher of The Guardian
– Frank Aigbogun, NPAN Deputy President and Publisher of BusinessDay (who delivered the industry’s joint address)
– Aremo Olusegun Osoba (Vanguard)
– Sam Amuka (THISDAY/ARISE News)
– Prince Nduka Obaigbena (Channels Television)
– Dr John Momoh, Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
– Leaders of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), among others.
In his presentation, Aigbogun accused unnamed global tech platforms widely understood to include Google and Meta of systematically “scraping” Nigerian journalistic content, frequently breaching paywalls, to train artificial intelligence models without compensation.
He claimed these practices are depriving local media houses of up to 70% of their legitimate advertising and syndication revenue losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars annually while triggering widespread job losses across newsrooms.
Aigbogun called on the President to instruct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to launch a formal investigation, in partnership with media stakeholders, into Big Tech’s alleged anti-competitive behaviour.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, told the gathering that preliminary engagements with major tech companies, including Meta and Google, are already in progress.
“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” Idris said firmly.Vice President Kashim Shettima, together with several senior presidential aides, also attended the event.
The State House meeting follows an earlier January 2026 letter and public statement from the NPO highlighting the existential threat posed by unregulated digital platforms to Nigeria’s independent media ecosystem.
Industry observers view the President’s commitments as a potential turning point, offering both short-term cost relief through tariff adjustments and longer-term policy backing in the global push for fair revenue sharing between traditional media and dominant tech intermediaries.
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