By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan SAN, has disclosed that the people behind a plot against the Commission’s Ad Hoc staff, especially Youth Corps members, have been uncovered and arrested and would be prosecuted soon.

Prof. Amupitan made the disclosure in Enugu at the South-East Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 General Election.

According to the Commission’s Daily Bulletin, INEC recently identified potential risks to its Ad Hoc staff, “especially Youth Corps members,” and has taken measures to neutralise the threat. He said the people behind the plot were uncovered by the Department of State Services DSS.

The INEC Chairman added that the Commission plans to host a Security Conference “very soon” to address other issues relating to election security.

On the Commission’s wider security arrangements, he said its partnership with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) had been reinvigorated and expanded.

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

The Abuja airport was thrown into panic on Thursday after a CL60 aircraft operated by Triton Aviation lost a door mid-air, forcing the crew to declare an emergency shortly after take-off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Our correspondent learnt that the aircraft, with registration number T7-SEI and flight identification DWC052, was en route to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, when the incident occurred at about 4:20 pm.

An incident report obtained by our correspondent showed that the crew informed the air traffic control tower that a door had opened in flight, prompting the approach radar controller to direct the aircraft back to Abuja for an emergency landing.

The report further showed that the aircraft took off from Runway 22 at 4:17 pm UTC. It was “about three nautical miles from the airport, climbing through 3,000 feet, when the crew transmitted a distress call: ‘Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.’”