October was supposed to be the month of freedom for Nigeria as the West African country got its independence from Great Britain on October 1, 1960. However, for many families it’s been a month of anguish.
This is because they have lost loved ones to abduction and death.
On independence day itself, some gunmen abducted 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members on their way to an orientation camp in Abia state.
The abductors have since contacted the respective parents of the abductees to demand 50 million naira for each victim. It amounts to a billion naira for all the 20.
There is also a report that a Nigerian Air Force ATR aircraft crashed on 5 October 2026 near Igbokoda, Ondo state.
The plane was flying from Benin in Edo state to Lagos with 25 people on board made up of military personnel and civilian family members. All of them were killed.
The tragic loss of twin sisters Dr Hadiya Usman and Dr Aidah Usman has left the medical community and the entire country in deep mourning.
Both sisters who were healthcare professionals died after battling sickle cell disease. Dr Hadiya Usman was a medical intern at the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru. She passed away on Friday after a week-long admission for a sickle cell crisis. Dr Aidah Usman, a phamarcist at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, died on Sunday after recovering from an illness.
Their deaths have been a great loss to their family, friends and colleagues.
