The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has confirmed that one of its helicopters made a precautionary landing on a farmland in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, after returning from an operation against suspected kidnappers.

The helicopter landed on Wednesday at Utur Tse-Igboji community in Bar Council Ward, along the Welfare Quarters–Mopol 13 Ring Road area of Makurdi.

The aircraft was returning from an operation conducted in the Ogbadigbo area of Benue State, close to the Enugu-Benue boundary, where it provided close air support to ground troops engaged in operations against suspected kidnappers.

In a statement, the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the operation had successfully disrupted the activities of the suspected criminals and supported the advance of surface forces.

According to him, the pilot subsequently exercised professional discretion and landed the helicopter approximately 10 nautical miles from the airfield in accordance with established operational and safety procedures.

The statement read in part: “The helicopter had successfully provided close air support to surface forces during an operation targeting suspected kidnappers in the Ogbadigbo area of Benue State, near the Enugu-Benue boundary. The operation disrupted the activities of the criminal elements and supported the advance of surface forces.

“Following the successful completion of the mission, the pilot, on return to base, exercised his professional discretion to execute a precautionary landing approximately 10 nautical miles from the airfield.

“This is in accordance with established operational and safety procedures following combat missions. The helicopter has returned to base.

“The NAF remains committed to sustaining pressure on criminal elements, providing close air support to surface forces and protecting communities through coordinated air and ground operations.

“The successful outcome underscores the NAF’s continued resolve to deny criminal elements freedom of action and support efforts to restore safety and security to affected communities.”

The incident occurred two days after a NAF aircraft crashed in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, with 25 passengers and seven crew members on board.

The aircraft, an ATR-42 with tail number NGR 931, plunged into a swamp opposite the naval base in the early hours of Monday.

The NAF said the helicopter involved in the Benue incident has since returned to base, while reaffirming its commitment to supporting ground forces and conducting coordinated operations aimed at protecting communities and improving security in affected areas.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said political parties that field candidates whose names were not in the registers submitted to the commission will not be allowed to participate in the 2027 elections.

The Supreme Court had, in a September 24, 2026 judgment, affirmed the constitutionality of sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upheld INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections.

INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Haruna, spoke on the implications of the judgment while speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics programme on Wednesday evening.

Haruna said the affected parties would also not be allowed to substitute such candidates, arguing that parties should not benefit from violations of the law.

He said the commission was expected to make a definite pronouncement on the implications of the Supreme Court judgment by Tuesday next week.

“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it. You remember cases that we had of some in Zamfara, you remember Plateau? The same thing.

“The parties, because they did the wrong thing, they thought they could now steal through the candidates.

“And the law was very clear. Once you do that kind of thing, you cannot benefit from it. You are benefiting from it, if you are able to substitute a candidate,” he said.

According to him, depending on when the commission concludes its review, some political parties may be unable to field candidates for some elective positions.

“All the candidates, all the way to the Houses of Assembly, we interviewed them. If their names are not on the party register, they were not members of the party at the time that they contested for those tickets,” Haruna said.

He explained that the delay in INEC’s final position was due to the need to obtain legal advice after receiving the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment.

Haruna said the commission had to exercise caution because forged copies of court judgments had been presented in the past.

“You can’t be too careful with these things because even when you see copies and they tell you it’s a CTC, it may be forged. We’ve seen instances where people have even gone, have the audacity to forge a Supreme Court judgment.

“So, we have to be very careful to make sure that when you took us, we did put a lot of pressure and we were able to get it yesterday (Tuesday),” he said.

Scores of Okada riders and ticket sellers were injured during a violent clash in Akure, the state capital, following disagreements over alleged multiple levies imposed on the riders.

Report says the confrontation, which broke out in several parts of the Akure metropolis, was allegedly caused by mounting tensions over the collection of daily levies from commercial motorcycle operators.

The riders accused ticket sellers of demanding additional payments after they had already settled similar charges, leading to a breakdown of law and order in the state capital and leaving people scampering for safety.

With the development disrupting commercial motorcycle operations in some parts of the capital, the riders protested over what they described as multiple and unauthorised collections.

One of the riders, Jimoh Akindele, accused the council boss of directing ticket sellers to collect additional levies from operators despite payments already made for similar purposes.

“We see this as double taxation because we cannot imagine Hon. Fasua selling an emblem for riders in Akure South. He claimed it was meant for Akure South Local Government and they are collecting N7,000 from us as total package.”

Reacting to the allegations, Fasua denied knowledge of the controversial collections, saying the alleged emblem was not authorised by him and that no proceeds from its sale had accrued to Akure South Local Government.