Metro
Police Arrest, Detain Man for Setting Five Stepchildren Ablaze
The Ondo State Police Command on Sunday said it arrested a man, Ojo Joseph, for allegedly setting ablaze five of his stepchildren in the Fagun area of Ondo town, Ondo State.
The 64-year-old suspect was said to have committed the act following a disagreement with his wife, who is the mother of the victims.
The woman was said to have had the children for another man, whom she divorced before marrying the suspect.
The marriage with the suspect also produced a set of twins.
A source said the suspect poured petrol into the children’s room while they were asleep and set it on fire.
One of the stepchildren died in the fire, while the mother and the four other children sustained varying degrees of injury.
They were said to be receiving treatment in a hospital.
The source said, “Four other victims are currently receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, while their mother and the 18-month-old twins escaped with minor injuries.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, said the suspect was arrested after the matter was reported to the police.
She said, “We have yet to know why the man committed the act but we heard that he had a misunderstanding with his wife. He is currently in our custody and we have begun investigation into the matter. The suspect will be charged after investigation.”
The national power grid crashed again on Tuesday, the second time in four days.
According to The Punch reports, power generation dropped to just 39 megawatts at 11 a.m., down from 3,825 MW as of 10 a.m.
Power generation however, peaked at 4,762 MW as of 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
Also, EkoDisCo, in a statement on Tuesday, informed its customers of a system collapse that resulted in power loss.
“Kindly be informed that there was a system collapse at 10:48 hrs, which has resulted to a loss of power supply across our network.
“We are currently working with our TCN partners as we hope for the speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as power supply is restored.
“Kindly bear with us,” it said.
This is the second grid collapse in January 2026 and the third in less than one month. The national grid previously collapsed on December 29, 2025, and more recently on Friday, January 23, 2026.
As the grid collapsed on Tuesday, load allocation to the distribution companies was 0.00 MW, indicating that no Disco was supplying electricity at the time of the incident.
The Nigerian Independent System Operator has yet to explain the cause of the current grid collapse.
NISO confirmed that the outage occurred at about 12:40 p.m., following the simultaneous tripping of several 330kV transmission lines.
Responding to Friday’s grid collapse, NISO said in a statement that the combined incidents resulted in a total collapse of the interconnected national grid.
“The Nigerian Independent System Operator wishes to inform the public that at approximately 12:40 hours on Friday, 23 January 2026, the national grid experienced a system-wide disturbance, which resulted in a total outage across the interconnected network,” the statement read.
Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has ordered the immediate shutdown of the Onitsha Main Market and other adjoining markets for one week, in the first instance.
The order was a move to enforce compliance with the government’s directive against the controversial Monday sit-at-home order instituted by non-State actors.
The governor announced that if traders failed to open at the expiration of the one-week shutdown, the market would be closed for another week and subsequently for longer periods.
“And let me tell you this: as I’m speaking to you now, when I finish this. This whole main market and all the adjoining …will be locked down for the whole of this week.
“There will be no market anywhere here. Are you hearing me? Each Monday, we’ll come and inspect. If people are not in their respective shops, they will be shut down again,” Soludo said while addressing traders at the market on Monday.
“If you like it, I don’t mind shutting down Main Market for the remainder of this year. If you don’t like it, go elsewhere and trade, but if you’re here, we’re not going to allow this.
“It’s plain economic sabotage, and also we suspect whoever closes their shop to have some criminal intent,” he added.
The action follows repeated defiance by traders at the popular Onitsha markets to open for business on Mondays despite government directives and warnings to disregard the sit-at-home order imposed by non-state actors.
He pointed out that the closure was a necessary step to send the appropriate signals, protect law-abiding citizens and reinforce the authority of the state.
According to him, the government cannot stand by while a few individuals wilfully undermine public safety and disregard official directives meant to restore normalcy.
“I’m just from Akwa; everywhere is open. Government offices are open. Markets are open, and people are going about their businesses. Then you’ll come down to Main Market, the once-reputed market as the largest market in West Africa.
“Anyone who has not opened, I mean, for Main market, of all markets, to be shot down. I know that people have done this sit-at-home on Mondays for quite some time now, and as they say, ‘an abomination that lasts a year becomes culture’.
“No! This can no longer go on in Anambra. Are you hearing me? And I will tell you this: you either decide that you want to trade here or you can go elsewhere. Are you hearing me?
“This main market, if you don’t want it open, I will come and take a bulldozer and level it. Are you hearing me? And I’m very, very serious about it. I’m not joking.
“Going forward, any shop that is not open will be locked for one week,” the governor added.
The order, which has been in place for about four years, disrupted economic and social activities across the South-East and has been publicly condemned by the Soludo administration.
The state government had urged residents to go about their lawful activities without fear and shunning the illegal order, which it describes as an economic sabotage on the region.
Security personnel, including the police and the army, among others, were later deployed to seal the market gates and ensure compliance.
For years, parts of Anambra State have observed a Monday sit-at-home that disrupted commercial and social activities, leaving markets, schools, and workplaces deserted.
The practice, imposed by non-state actors in the South-East, has been widely criticised for harming the state’s economy, forcing traders, transport workers, and students indoors, especially in hubs like Onitsha.
Governor Chukwuma Soludo has led efforts to end the shutdown.
In April 2022, he formally declared the sit-at-home over, announced amnesty for youths in hideouts, and promised a peace and reconciliation committee.
He has since said the practice has largely faded, stressing that Anambra is secure and urging residents to resume normal activities, though some still stay home out of caution.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the commencement of the sale of registration forms for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Board said all arrangements had been concluded to ensure a seamless registration process, urging prospective candidates to register only at Board-approved Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, professional registration centres and JAMB offices across the country.
Speaking at a meeting with critical stakeholders, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, advised candidates with biodata issues, including discrepancies in names or dates of birth, to resolve such matters with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) before proceeding with UTME registration.
He stressed that the Board would rely solely on data generated from NIMC and would not entertain corrections from any other source.
According to the Registrar, registration for UTME candidates, including those from foreign countries, will run from Monday, January 26, 2026, to Saturday, February 28, 2026.
He added that e-PIN vending for the UTME began on Monday, January 19, 2026, and will end on Thursday, February 26, 2026, while the registration exercise will officially close on Saturday, February 28, 2026.
For Direct Entry (DE) candidates, Prof. Oloyede said the sale of 2026 DE application documents and e-PIN vending would commence on Monday, March 2, 2026, and end on Saturday, April 25, 2026. He noted that DE forms would be sold only at JAMB zonal and State offices nationwide.
The Registrar also disclosed that three categories of e-PINs would be available for the 2026 exercise. These include Direct Entry at N5,700; UTME only without Mock at N7,200; and UTME with Mock at N8,700.
He explained that the charges cover the JAMB application fee of N3,500, reading text of N1,000, CBT centre registration service charge of N700, CBT UTME service charge of N1,500, bank charges of N500, and an additional N1,500 for the optional Mock-UTME.
On examination dates, Prof. Oloyede announced that the 2026 UTME would hold from Thursday, April 16, to Saturday, April 25, 2026, while the optional Mock-UTME is scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2026.
Meanwhile, the JAMB Registrar issued a stern warning to CBT centre operators against engaging in fraudulent practices such as extortion and selling services above approved rates, cautioning that any centre found culpable would have its licence withdrawn and be prosecuted.
He further advised CBT centre proprietors to avoid engaging staff of questionable character, noting that ignorance would not be accepted as an excuse for any infraction.
According to him, centre owners would be held fully responsible for the actions of their ad-hoc staff during the 2026 UTME exercise.
