The attacks and killing of soldiers by insurgents and the tender of documents by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the presidential election petition tribunal are some of the leading stories in Nigerian press on Friday.
ThisDay reported that anti-insurgency military operations in the North-east have suffered a setback with the attacks on troops in Borno and Yobe States in which two officers and 26 soldiers were killed.
It said an army commander of the rank of Colonel and 20 soldiers were reportedly killed in an ambush by Boko Haram in Yobe State, while another Colonel and six others, including a Captain, died in Borno State.
But the Daily Trust said Boko Haram insurgents killed six military operatives, including a colonel, a captain and four soldiers in an ambush along Maiduguri-Damaturu highway.
All the slain military operatives belonged to the 29 Task Force Brigade Headquarters in Benisheik, the newspaper said.
The Guardian said INEC has tendered the documents required by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
The tribunal had on Wednesday subpoenaed the INEC boss, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Zamfara State to appear with the documents relating to the February 23, 2019 poll. But Yakubu did not appear before the tribunal yesterday.
The Sun reported that commercial activities were paralysed in Benin on Thursday, as civil society groups, market women, artisans and youths took to major streets of the city to support Governor Godwin Obasseki and protest the proposed taking over of the Edo State Assembly by the House of Representatives.
The Punch said the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Thursday called for the tightening of security in the South-West by the Federal Government amid the increasing attacks by herdsmen on communities in the geopolitical zone lately.
ChannelsTV also reported that the Ooni has raised an alarm over the security challenge in the country, declaring that the southwest does not want war.
The Nation said Africa’s intelligence community has been urged to shut the door against Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).
MM/GIK/APA