Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Wednesday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian newspapers:

1. Proceedings in a suit filed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar before a Federal High Court in Abuja ended abruptly on Tuesday after his lawyer refused to serve the suit’s originating documents on President Bola Tinubu’s lawyer. Atiku’s suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1888/2026, was filed in his name and that of his party, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, seeking, among other things, to disqualify President Tinubu from contesting the January 16, 2027, presidential election.

2. A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Daniel Osi Orbih, is dead. A statement signed by Francis Udukhomoi Orbih, Esq., on behalf of the Orbih family, confirmed his death. Orbih, the Kulukulu 1 of Ogoni Land and Oduma of Uzairue, reportedly died on Monday, August 31, 2026.

3. A mother and four of her children have died after a section of a three-storey building collapsed on them at Popo Giwa, Ilorin, Kwara State, on Tuesday morning. The tragedy occurred at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque, where eight members of the family were trapped beneath the rubble. Three people, including the father, were rescued as emergency responders worked to reach those trapped in the collapsed section.

4. The police high command says it has launched a critical probe into the alleged inciting comments made by the Borno State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Sainna Buba. It also said the Chairman of Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory, Danjuma Shekwolo, and the Senator representing Osun East, Francis Fadahunsi, are currently under investigation for the same offence.

5. Gunmen have killed two people and abducted the All Progressives Congress, APC, chairman of Rogo Local Government Area of Kano State, Alhaji Abdullahi Fanka, in a fresh overnight attack on the community. The latest attack came barely 24 hours after gunmen killed the APC Chairman of Rantan Ward in Bebeji Local Government Area, Alhaji Garba Buba, and another resident, Sulaiman Zunduma.

6. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested 19 suspected illegal miners operating in a forest in Edo North, while two alleged operators said to be behind the activities are currently at large. The suspects were arrested on Friday, August 28, 2026, during a raid on an illegal gold mining site in the Okpella/Ososo/Egbetua forest axis of Etsako East and Akoko-Edo Local Government Areas of Edo State.

7. The Presidency has criticised a United States lobbying firm engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over its campaign for the release of records relating to President Bola Tinubu, describing the effort as a politically motivated attempt to create a crisis ahead of the 2027 elections. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, made the position known in a statement on Tuesday.

8. The Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party has endorsed the G-100, a group of 100 opposition stalwarts driving the process of creating an all-opposition front to challenge President Bola Tinubu of the APC in the 2027 presidential election. The faction, in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP Interim National Working Committee, Mr Ini Ememobong, on Tuesday, said the decision to join forces with other credible political forces was informed by the challenges faced by Nigerians.

9. The Kwara State House of Assembly has declared the seats of two lawmakers, Saba Yisa Gideon of Edu Constituency and Olusola Odetundun of Irepodun Constituency, vacant following their defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The development followed a letter from the APC State Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, addressed to the Speaker of the House, Salihu Yakubu Danladi, requesting the vacation of the seats.

10. Twenty-three people have died from a diphtheria outbreak in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, with 143 suspected cases recorded. Nine diphtheria patients are currently hospitalised in Plateau State, while health authorities have intensified clinical and community interventions to contain further spread of the disease.

Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Wednesday morning