
A family member of one of the pupils rescued after nearly two months in captivity in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has shared the child's traumatic experience. The relative stated that the child, identified as Taiwo, reported being beaten by his abductors whenever he asked about his family. Taiwo also revealed that the captives were fed garri without sugar throughout their time in the forest. Another relative described the child's fearful reaction to unfamiliar faces post-rescue, noting that the child clung to them and trembled. A different family member added that the child recounted how abductors punished victims for requesting to see loved ones. This account follows the rescue of all abducted pupils and teachers from the May 15 attack, announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. The principal of Community High School, Mrs. Rachael Alamu, also rescued, previously detailed the 56-day ordeal, including beatings for crying children, forced silent treks, and the blindfolding and chaining of male teachers.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Punch Nigeria.
Must ReadThe Nigeria Immigration Service has announced that all of Nigeria鈥檚 Country Signing Certificate Authorities have been successfully imported into the International Civil Aviation Organisation鈥檚 Public Key Directory. This development resolves passport authentication issues that previously affected Nigerian travelers at foreign borders. With this integration, Nigerian passports can now be seamlessly verified by border control systems in all member states of the ICAO Public Key Directory, eliminating technical challenges that led to delays and additional screening for some passport holders. The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, completed the process at the ICAO headquarters in Montreal, Canada. This move establishes the necessary chain of trust for Nigerian electronic passports within the global verification system, ensuring that the chip embedded in electronic passports can be authenticated by other countries' border systems. The Ministry of Interior, led by Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, coordinated the exercise, which reflects the Federal Government鈥檚 commitment to strengthening secure digital identity management and international border security cooperation.
Argentina secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over England on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, to advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final. They will face Spain in the final match. England initially took the lead in the 55th minute with a goal from Anthony Gordon, appearing poised to end their 60-year wait for a World Cup final appearance. However, Enzo Fern谩ndez equalized for Argentina in the 85th minute. Lautaro Mart铆nez then scored the winning goal in stoppage time, heading in a cross from Lionel Messi, sealing the win for Lionel Scaloni's team.

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has reiterated its commitment to strengthening collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission NIMC following the enactment of the National Identity Management Commission Act, 2026. This development is seen as a significant step towards enhancing electoral integrity through secure digital identity verification. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, stated this during a courtesy visit by the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and her management team to the INEC headquarters in Abuja. Amupitan emphasized that closer cooperation between the two agencies would improve identity verification processes, reduce electoral fraud, and support the conduct of free, fair, and transparent elections. Coker-Odusote highlighted that the new NIMC Act, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on June 26, 2026, transforms NIMC into the nation's foundational digital identity authority, making it the home of Nigeria鈥檚 Digital Public Infrastructure and Root Public Key Infrastructure. She added that these reforms would strengthen Nigeria鈥檚 digital economy, reduce fraud, simplify access to services, and improve the integrity of the electoral process through more robust identity verification mechanisms. NIMC expressed its readiness to support INEC in delivering credible elections, asserting that identity is fundamental to effective governance and electoral processes.