Nigerian Newspapers reported on a variety of topics ranging from the fallout of the death of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to the political fallout of the ruling of the international commercial Court in Paris and the face off between……
Nigerian Newspapers reported on a variety of topics ranging from the fallout of the death of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to the political fallout of the ruling of the international commercial Court in Paris and the face off between the Anambra State government and Peter Obi on the issue of debt.
Economy and lifestyle also got prominent attention.
1. The Nation leads with the fallout of the International Commercial Court’s ruling on the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Sunrise Power.
Details have emerged at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal sitting in Paris on how a contractor transferred $500,000 to former vice President Atiku Abubakar’s wife in 2003, a few months before the purported award of a phantom contract to his company.
Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, in his evidence before the tribunal,said the money was transferred to the account of Jennifer Douglas, a wife of Atiku at the time.
Although Adesanya claimed that the January 2003 transfer was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for the former VP, the tribunal noted the ” close connection in time between the moment the USD 500,000 payment was made to the wife of Vice-President Abubakar on 30 January 2003 and the alleged award of the BOT contract to Sunrise on 22 May 2003.”
It also said that Adesanya did not produce documents showing the underlying naira payment, the exchange rate applied, instructions from Atiku or his aides, correspondence concerning the transaction, or any record establishing its commercial purpose.
The contract was the 3,960mw Mambila Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State for which Adesanya had approached the tribunal for a $680 million settlement sum and interest from the Federal Government in respect of another arbitration in which it claimed over $2.7 billion in compensation and interest relating to disputes associated with the development of the project.
2. The Punch leads with the fallout fron the death of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State, providing witness accounts from survivors.
At first, Dauda Shehu and other detainees struggled to find space inside the cell.
Then, according to him, they began struggling for something more basic — air.
Shehu was one of 65 suspected illegal miners allegedly crammed into a cell at the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps office in Minna, Niger State, after their arrests on September 15 and 16.
For three days, the detainees reportedly remained in custody.
But what happened inside the cell has now become the subject of a national investigation after at least 37 were confirmed dead.
Shehu, an indigene of Allawa in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, survived.
His account of those terrifying moments paints a picture of men trapped in an allegedly poorly ventilated enclosure, desperately searching for air and banging on the door as fellow detainees began to suffocate.
At first, Dauda Shehu and other detainees struggled to find space inside the cell.
Then, according to him, they began struggling for something more basic — air.
Shehu was one of 65 suspected illegal miners allegedly crammed into a cell at the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps office in Minna, Niger State, after their arrests on September 15 and 16.
For three days, the detainees reportedly remained in custody.
But what happened inside the cell has now become the subject of a national investigation after at least 37 were confirmed dead.
3. The Guardian leads with an investigative story on how both local and international drug cartels are exploiting elderly people in Nigeria to serve as mules in trafficking illicit substances across borders and around the world.
Nigeria is facing a disturbing increase in the arrest of elderly people for drug-related offences, with suspects aged 60 and above being caught with cannabis, tramadol and large consignments of cocaine. While some appear to have been drawn into the illicit trade by financial difficulties, others have been linked to drug networks as couriers, dealers or custodians of illegal substances.
In March 2026, a 74-year-old man was arrested at the departure hall of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while allegedly attempting to smuggle 11 kilogrammes of cocaine to the United Kingdom.
The septuagenarian was arrested while attempting to board British Airways flight BA082, bound for Heathrow, London, on Saturday, March 14, 2026
Disclosing this in a statement, NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said a search of the suspect’s luggage revealed blocks of cocaine concealed inside food items, including ground dry pepper.
He said the cocaine, weighing 11 kilogrammes, was carefully wrapped in foil papers and balloons before being hidden among the food items.
Babafemi noted that the suspect claimed he was travelling to London for vacation.
4. The Nigerian News Direct in one of its leading stories reports on efforts by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency, NMDPRA to unlock more opportunities for investment and development in the sector.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has set a target of unlocking up to $10 billion in additional investment in Nigeria’s gas sector through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF).
The NMDPRA Chief Executive Officer, Rabiu Abdullahi Umar, disclosed this on Wednesday during a panel session at the 2026 Gastech Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
Umar said the MDGIF was designed to use government-backed equity and seed capital to de-risk gas projects and attract greater private-sector investment into the industry.
“We have a fund which is called the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, and that fund is designed to de-risk projects. So we put in equity,” he said.
He explained that the $10 billion target represented the additional investment the fund hoped to unlock through its initial financing rather than the amount already invested by the government.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lokoja, which had nullified an earlier judgment recognising the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as a registered political party.
National Leader of the NDC, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, disclosed this in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Friday, saying the appellate court’s decision had upheld the party’s right to participate in Nigeria’s political process.
The development followed the June 26, 2026, judgment of the Federal High Court in Lokoja, presided over by Justice Isah Dashen, which set aside an earlier judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC. The Lokoja decision followed an application by the Peace Movement Party, which argued that its interests had been affected by the earlier proceedings.
Dickson said the Court of Appeal, in its judgment delivered on Friday, allowed the NDC’s appeal and set aside the decision of the Lokoja court.
He identified the presiding justice as Justice Mohammed Danjuma, with Justice Hassan reading the judgment.
