For 18 agonising days, the people of Ahoro-Esienle have lived in a world suspended between hope and heartbreak.

On May 25, 2026, the Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service invited this reporter to a press briefing.

Following the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) confirmation that Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) terrorists were behind the recent school abductions in Oyo State, fresh concerns have emerged over what security experts describe as a dangerous convergence of terrorism and kidnapping in Nigeria’s South-West.

According to her, two of the detained individuals were arrested in Jikamshi, while the third was arrested in Kano.

A London court has sentenced a 36-year-old Nigerian man, Fawaz Abdulkareem to life imprisonment for the fatal stabbing of a man following a dispute at a flat in Vauxhall.

For about two decades, the northern part of the country has been ravaged by terrorism characterised by sacking of entire communities, mass killings, looting, destruction and kidnappings for ransom.

The row erupted just days before the June 11 start of the 2026 World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Concerned by the continued captivity of schoolchildren and teachers abducted from Ahoro-Esinle in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, scores of women traditional worshippers from across Egbaland on Friday embarked on a spiritual procession across major streets and sacred sites in Abeokuta, Ogun State, seeking divine intervention for the safe release of the victims.

Former Minister of Sports under President Muhammadu Buhari, Barr. Solomon Dalung, has accused the federal government of lacking the political will to tackle the worsening insecurity across the country, saying the administration of President Bola Tinubu was more preoccupied with the 2027 general elections than with the lives of Nigerians being lost daily to terrorist attacks and abductions.

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) on Friday said Nigeria has the capacity to contain an Ebola outbreak if it enters the country, even as it appealed to the media and members of the public not to spread fear or panic through unverified negative narratives.