Four men suspected of operating within an organized burglary network targeting homes across Southern California have been taken into custody, authorities confirmed, following an investigation that uncovered the use of advanced surveillance and electronic disruption tools.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department identified the suspects as Jesus Velez Hernandez, Sergio Paez Cuervo, Javier Pulido Ramirez, and Akksel Cadena Diaz, all citizens of Colombia.
Investigators believe the group is linked to a coordinated burglary operation that relied on concealed cameras, signal jamming devices, and other specialized equipment to monitor and disable residential security systems before carrying out break ins.
Details shared by ABC7 Los Angeles indicate that search warrants executed in Los Angeles County led to the seizure of stolen property, electronic interference devices, and surveillance equipment believed to be tied to a broader pattern of home burglaries throughout the region.
The case began after a reported break in last month in the San Antonio Heights area of Upland. Detectives expanded the inquiry, eventually identifying the suspects and linking them to additional incidents across Southern California.
Coverage by KTLA notes that the group allegedly used a combination of tactics, including fake license plates and wireless monitoring devices, to track residents’ movements and exploit vulnerabilities in home security systems.
Authorities say three of the suspects are being held in Ventura County, while the fourth was booked at a detention facility in Rancho Cucamonga and remains in custody without bail.
Law enforcement officials say they are releasing details about the methods used in the case to alert residents and assist other agencies investigating similar crimes. The use of signal jamming technology and covert surveillance marks a growing trend among organized burglary groups, particularly those targeting high value residential areas.
Officials are urging anyone with information related to the case or similar incidents to come forward as the investigation continues.
The arrests highlight a shift in residential crime, where organized groups are increasingly deploying sophisticated tools once associated with cybercrime or espionage. The use of signal jammers and hidden cameras suggests a level of planning that goes beyond opportunistic theft, pointing instead to structured operations with defined roles and technical capability.
Such tactics pose new challenges for homeowners and law enforcement alike. Traditional alarm systems may be less effective against signal interference, raising concerns about how prepared residential security infrastructure is for evolving threats.
The case also underscores the regional nature of these operations. By moving across multiple counties, organized groups can exploit jurisdictional gaps and delay coordinated responses. This has prompted calls for stronger interagency collaboration and updated policing strategies.
For residents, the incident serves as a warning that burglary is becoming more calculated and technology driven. Experts say increased awareness, layered security systems, and neighborhood vigilance will be critical in reducing vulnerability as criminal methods continue to adapt.
Rescuers worked through the night and into Monday morning pulling survivors from a mountain of broken concrete and twisted steel in northern Philippines, but the effort turned to grief repeatedly as workers who had been found alive beneath the rubble died before they could be freed or revived — bringing the death toll from Sunday’s hotel construction collapse to four with 17 people still missing.
The nine-story building in Angeles City, Pampanga Province collapsed before dawn Sunday during a fierce thunderstorm, trapping construction workers who had been sleeping inside on pieces of plywood on the ground floor. The building’s fall sent a cascade of debris into a neighboring budget inn, killing a Malaysian tourist staying there. Another guest at the inn was injured but managed to escape.
The scenes through the early morning hours carried the particular anguish of survival that slips away. One trapped man was reached by rescuers who fed him water and intravenous medicine in a desperate attempt to keep him alive in the scorching heat. He did not survive.
“He never made it despite all the efforts,” regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jess Mendez told the Associated Press.
A second worker suffered cardiac arrest around 3 a.m. while still pinned under concrete. Medical personnel could not reach him in time. A third body was pulled from the rubble on Monday — unidentified, and not on the list of the 17 missing, adding an unresolved complication to a death count that officials still could not close.
Regional fire bureau spokeswoman Maria Leah Sajili confirmed both worker deaths through AFP, saying the first was pulled out alive but his body gave out before doctors could resuscitate him. The second died from cardiac arrest while still trapped.
Twenty-six workers were either rescued or managed to run out as the building came down. Of the 17 still missing Monday, most were construction workers employed at the site.
A City Waiting at the Edge of the Rubble
Relatives of the missing workers gathered in makeshift sheds near the collapse site through the night and into Monday, watching as hundreds of rescuers, firefighters, and police officers picked through the debris. The mixture of grief and desperate hope that took hold in those sheds produced some of the day’s most affecting moments.
Lea Mendoza Casilao, 47, a sardine factory worker, had taken a bus to Angeles from her northern Manila home carrying a week’s supply of rice and canned goods for her boyfriend, a mason working the construction site. She did not know about the collapse when she boarded. She had been planning to meet him over the weekend.
“It’s very difficult, it is breaking my heart to wait for something uncertain,” she told AFP through tears, describing how she slept alone overnight in a local government building after arriving to find the site reduced to rubble.
Stephanie Batar and her mother Noby learned about the collapse through social media from their home in nearby Bulacan Province. Her 64-year-old father had taken a six-month contract at the site just weeks earlier.
“I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stand. It’s very painful and we did not know what to do,” she said.
Alfredo Albis, 55, had been sleeping in a workers’ barracks about five meters from the building when it collapsed. Two of his cousins were still missing Monday.
“They were working here to earn for their families,” he told AFP, “and there’s a possibility that my relatives are dead.”
Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin told the Associated Press that the search would not be reclassified as a body retrieval operation despite the mounting losses.
“My best hope is that we can rescue more people alive,” Lazatin said. “We don’t want to give the families of the trapped workers any bad news.”
He acknowledged that the work was deliberately slow. Enormous concrete slabs were being held in place only by a tangle of aluminum scaffolding underneath, and any sudden movement risked triggering a secondary collapse that could crush both the missing workers and the rescuers trying to reach them.
Sajili confirmed that thermal scanners were being used to search for survivors. If no signs of life are detected, she said, mechanical diggers and heavy equipment would be brought in to clear the site for body recovery, though she gave no timeline for that transition.
A Construction Site With a Known Safety History
The collapse has drawn scrutiny toward a project that regional labor authorities had flagged and temporarily shut down less than a year before Sunday’s disaster.
Geraldine Panlilio, regional director of the labor department, told Manila radio station DZMM that she had ordered the project halted in September 2024 after inspectors found violations of occupational safety standards. Workers at the site lacked basic protective equipment including hardhats, safety boots, safety belts, and lifelines. Lighting was poor. Safety signage was absent.
“Our labour inspectors had monitored poor working conditions, a violation that would put our workers at risk,” Panlilio said.
Construction resumed approximately one month after the shutdown, following the contractor’s confirmation that the required corrections had been made. Whether those corrections were genuine and sustained, or whether the safety violations that prompted the September closure had quietly returned in the months that followed, is now central to the investigation.
National Police Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said his force was supporting an investigation to determine the cause of the collapse and identify possible violations of safety and building regulations.
Up to 70 workers were employed at the site, officials said, though most had gone home for the weekend. The workers who remained were the ones sleeping inside when the building came down.
Angeles City and Its Construction Boom
Angeles City sits in the shadow of the former Clark Air Base, once one of the largest U.S. Air Force installations outside American soil, approximately 80 kilometers north of Manila. The base closed in the early 1990s after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo caused catastrophic damage to the surrounding region. The former base became the Clark Freeport Zone, a bustling commercial and industrial enclave that has drawn investment and tourism for three decades.
The area around Clark has maintained the character of its base-era economy, with budget hotels, bars, and commercial accommodation forming a substantial part of the local business landscape. The collapsed building was a nine-story hotel under construction in that environment — part of a continued build-out of accommodation and commercial space in a city whose economic identity has always revolved around hospitality and mobility.
The Gap Between Inspection and Protection
The timeline of this disaster contains a detail that will dominate the official investigation and deserves direct attention. Regulators found serious safety violations at this specific site in September 2024. They shut it down. The contractor satisfied the requirements to reopen. Eight months later, the building collapsed while workers slept inside.
That sequence does not automatically mean the September violations caused Sunday’s collapse. The cause has not been established, and construction failures can stem from structural design, materials quality, foundation conditions, weather events, or a combination of factors that may or may not be related to the labor safety violations identified last year. The investigation will need to establish that connection or its absence.
What the sequence does establish is that this was not a site without a regulatory history. It was a site that had been flagged, closed, and cleared to reopen. The people sleeping in it had reason to believe it was being built to standards that someone, at some point, had verified. If the investigation finds that the conditions leading to collapse were present or developing during the period when the site was operating under its post-shutdown compliance status, the accountability question extends beyond the contractor to the inspection and certification process itself.
Pampanga Province’s broader building stock, Angeles City’s rapid commercial development, and the national pattern of construction accidents in the Philippines create context for a regulatory system under strain. The workers who went to sleep in that building on Saturday night were earning wages for their families in the one industry available to them. They had no mechanism to independently assess whether the structure above them was safe. That assessment was the responsibility of the systems that certified it.
The 17 families still waiting at the edge of that rubble deserve answers about how it failed.
Armed attackers carried out a late night assault on a community in Kwara State, abducting several residents and leaving others feared dead in an incident that has intensified concerns over rising violence in the region.
The attack unfolded Saturday night in the Ikerin and Ajuba area of Ekiti Local Government, where gunmen entered the community and opened fire, creating panic among residents. Accounts shared with Sahara Reporters indicate that the assailants operated for an extended period, with no immediate resistance reported.
Local sources said the number of those kidnapped or killed remains uncertain as authorities and community leaders continue to assess the situation. Several people were also reported injured during the нападение, though official figures have yet to be confirmed.
Residents described scenes of chaos as gunfire rang out across the area, forcing families to flee their homes in the dark. One account described widespread confusion, with many unable to determine who had been taken or who may have been killed.
The latest violence adds to growing insecurity across Kwara South, where rural communities have increasingly come under attack from armed groups. Residents say the frequency of raids has increased in recent months, with kidnappings and violent confrontations disrupting daily life.
Community members are calling for stronger security measures, warning that many villages now feel exposed and vulnerable. Farming activities and local travel have been affected, as fear of further attacks continues to spread.
The нападение in Kwara State reflects a broader pattern of insecurity affecting parts of Nigeria, where armed groups have shifted focus toward less protected rural areas. Analysts note that these communities often lack sufficient security presence, making them easier targets for kidnappers seeking ransom.
The uncertainty surrounding casualty figures also highlights a recurring challenge in such incidents, where delayed information can complicate response efforts and deepen anxiety among residents. Without rapid intervention and improved intelligence, similar attacks may continue to escalate.
Beyond immediate security concerns, the impact on livelihoods is significant. As fear limits farming and movement, local economies suffer, increasing hardship in already vulnerable areas. This cycle can further weaken community resilience and deepen instability.
For authorities, the incident underscores the urgency of strengthening rural security frameworks and restoring public confidence. Without visible and sustained action, residents may increasingly feel abandoned, raising the risk of further displacement and long term social disruption.
President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran are advancing but warned against rushing into a final agreement, even as officials point to growing momentum toward a deal that could end months of conflict and ease global energy pressures.
Diplomatic discussions are moving forward in what Trump described as a steady and constructive manner, with improving engagement between both sides. Speaking after a series of calls with regional leaders, he indicated that key elements of a broader agreement are largely settled, though final terms remain under review.
Insights shared with The Associated Press indicate that negotiators are working toward a framework that would halt hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and address concerns surrounding Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. However, individuals familiar with the talks cautioned that the agreement has not yet been finalized and could still face last minute setbacks.
Officials involved in the discussions say the proposed arrangement would require Iran to relinquish its reserves of highly enriched uranium, a central demand from Washington. The plan under consideration includes a transition period during which portions of the material could be diluted while the remainder may be transferred to a third country.
Data from the International Atomic Energy Agency shows Iran currently holds uranium enriched to levels close to weapons grade, intensifying international concern. Iranian leaders, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, have maintained that the country’s nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking during a visit to India, pointed to meaningful progress in the talks, though he emphasized that several critical issues remain unresolved, including long term restrictions on enrichment and guarantees against nuclear weapons development.
A central pillar of the negotiations is the phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor through which a significant share of the world’s oil supply passes. The waterway has been effectively closed since the escalation of conflict in late February, when strikes by the United States and Israel triggered retaliation from Tehran.
The disruption has sent oil and gas prices sharply higher, straining economies worldwide. Analysts say even if the strait reopens soon, it could take weeks or longer for shipping flows and market stability to return.
Under the emerging framework, the United States would gradually ease restrictions on Iran’s oil exports through sanctions waivers, while also addressing access to frozen financial assets. Officials say these steps would unfold alongside continued negotiations over a defined period.
Beyond the nuclear issue, the proposed agreement also touches on broader regional tensions, including the conflict involving Hezbollah in Lebanon. Officials say the draft includes provisions aimed at ending that fighting, though clashes have continued despite a fragile ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that any final agreement must eliminate the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, while maintaining Israel’s right to act against perceived dangers.
The cautious tone adopted by Trump reflects the complexity of a deal that extends far beyond a simple ceasefire. While negotiators appear closer than at any point in recent weeks, the repeated pattern of near agreements followed by setbacks suggests deep mistrust remains between Washington and Tehran.
The potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz carries global significance. Energy markets, already strained by geopolitical instability, are highly sensitive to developments in the region. A successful agreement could stabilize prices and restore confidence, but any collapse in talks risks triggering renewed volatility.
Equally important is the nuclear dimension. Requiring Iran to scale back its enriched uranium stockpile would mark a major diplomatic achievement for the United States, yet enforcement and verification remain critical challenges. Without clear mechanisms, skepticism is likely to persist among allies and critics alike.
Regionally, the inclusion of provisions addressing conflicts tied to Iran’s allied groups signals a broader attempt to reset security dynamics across the Middle East. However, the durability of such arrangements will depend on compliance from multiple actors, not just Tehran.
Ultimately, the negotiations highlight a delicate balance between urgency and caution. While there is clear pressure to secure a deal that ends hostilities and stabilizes global markets, the risks of a flawed or incomplete agreement could carry long term consequences.
Russia launched one of the most devastating aerial assaults on Kyiv since the war began early Sunday, firing a nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile alongside hundreds of drones and other ballistic weapons in an overnight bombardment that killed at least four people, wounded more than 80, damaged 50 locations across the capital, and drove residents into metro stations as explosions shook buildings from just after 1 a.m. until dawn revealed a city scarred by fire and collapsed walls.
It was only the third time Russia has deployed the Oreshnik in the war, and the first time it struck a target so close to the Ukrainian capital. The missile hit Bila Tserkva, a city of 200,000 people approximately 40 miles from Kyiv’s outskirts, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a Telegram post. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 90 missiles and 600 drones in total. Air defenses destroyed or jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles. Around 19 missiles failed to reach their targets. The ones that got through left their mark across the capital and surrounding region.
At least two people were killed and 69 wounded in Kyiv itself, Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed. Two more were killed and nine injured in strikes across the broader Kyiv region, said regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk. Eleven people were wounded in the central city of Cherkasy when a drone crashed into an apartment building, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said.
“It was a terrible night for Kyiv,” Klitschko wrote on Telegram from one of the strike sites. “Right now, rescuers are putting out fires and clearing debris. Medics are providing assistance to the victims.”
What the Oreshnik Is
The Oreshnik, whose name translates from Russian as hazelnut tree, is a multiple-warhead ballistic missile capable of carrying either conventional or nuclear payloads. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described it as immune to any existing missile defense system, citing its reported velocity of Mach 10 — ten times the speed of sound. Putin has said the weapon travels like a meteorite and is capable of destroying underground bunkers three or more floors deep, and that several Oreshniks armed with conventional warheads could produce destruction comparable to a nuclear strike.
Russia first used the Oreshnik against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024. The second deployment struck the western Lviv region in January. Sunday’s use near Kyiv represented a geographic escalation, bringing the weapon to striking distance of Ukraine’s capital for the first time and demonstrating Russia’s willingness to deploy its most advanced conventional strike capability against the country’s political and population center.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the Oreshnik was used alongside Iskander, Kinzhal, and Zircon missiles, saying the strikes targeted Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases, and military-industrial sites in retaliation for what Moscow characterized as Ukrainian strikes on civilian targets in Russia. Ukraine denies targeting civilians.
Dawn in a Damaged City
When the sun rose Sunday, black smoke drifted across Kyiv’s skyline from fires still burning in multiple districts. Firefighters worked through the morning with hoses trained on damaged residential buildings. The front facade of one five-story building had collapsed entirely. Windows were blown out in Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry. Damage was reported near Independence Square, Kyiv’s historic central plaza, and inside a metro station foyer. Police department buildings were damaged. Schools, shopping centers, supermarkets, and warehouses were hit across multiple districts.
“It was a terrible night, and there had never been anything like it in the entire war,” said Svitlana Onofryichuk, 55, who had worked at a market that burned for 22 years. “I am very sorry that I have to say goodbye to Kyiv now, I am not staying there anymore. My job is gone, everything is gone, everything has burned down.”
Yevhen Zosin, 74, grabbed his dog when the first explosion hit and was thrown backward by the shockwave from a second. “We both survived, she and I,” he said. “My apartment was blown to pieces.”
Nataliia Zvarych, 62, spent more than three hours in a metro station through the night, listening to explosions above ground. “It was terrifying, scary,” she said.
A school building was damaged by a strike while people sheltered inside, Klitschko said.
Ukraine’s Air Defense Gap
The scale of the attack and the number of strikes that reached their targets laid bare a chronic vulnerability in Ukraine’s defensive position. Kyiv relies heavily on U.S. Patriot air defense systems to intercept ballistic missiles, but interceptor stocks are critically depleted and represent one of Ukraine’s most urgent and consistent requests to Western partners. By saturating the capital with 90 missiles and 600 drones simultaneously, Russia appears to be pursuing a deliberate strategy of forcing Ukraine to exhaust its limited interceptor inventory ahead of what Kyiv’s military planners fear could be a more intense summer campaign.
Zelensky said not all ballistic missiles were intercepted and that Kyiv was the primary target of the night’s assault. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has identified the development of a domestically produced air defense interceptor as a top priority, but the timeline and funding required make that a medium-term solution at best.
A man carries a box from a burning trade center after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
The Starobilsk Dormitory and Russia’s Justification
Russia framed Sunday’s attack as retaliation for a Ukrainian drone strike on a college dormitory in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine on May 22. Putin had publicly ordered the Russian military to prepare retaliatory proposals after the Starobilsk strike, which Moscow said killed 21 people and wounded 42. The Kremlin-installed authorities of the Luhansk region declared two days of mourning.
At a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting convened at Russia’s request to discuss the Starobilsk strike, Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Melnyk rejected Russian accusations of war crimes, calling them a “pure propaganda show” and insisting that the May 22 operations exclusively targeted Russian military assets.
Zelensky, for his part, said Russia had also specifically targeted Kyiv’s water supply infrastructure Sunday, attempting to damage it before summer increases demand on the system.
Zelensky’s Call for Consequences
The Ukrainian president used Sunday’s assault to press Western governments for a stronger response to Russia’s use of its most powerful conventional weapons against civilian-populated areas.
“It’s important that this does not remain without consequences for Russia,” Zelensky said on Telegram. “Decisions are needed — from the United States, from Europe and others.”
He had warned as early as Saturday that intelligence from Ukraine, the United States, and European partners indicated Russia was planning an Oreshnik strike. The warning did not prevent the attack. It did give Kyiv residents slightly more time to reach shelter before the first explosions.
The Oreshnik as Strategic Signal
The decision to fire an Oreshnik in the vicinity of Kyiv, for only the third time in the war and the first time at this proximity to the capital, carries a message that extends beyond the immediate damage assessment. Russia is demonstrating that it retains the will and the capability to escalate the technical sophistication of its attacks even as diplomatic pressure for a ceasefire builds and as the U.S. and European partners debate the scope of further military assistance to Ukraine.
The Oreshnik’s use near Kyiv is a specific signal directed at multiple audiences simultaneously. For Ukrainian civilians, it is a reminder that no location is beyond Moscow’s reach. For Western governments, it is a demonstration that Russia is not conserving its most advanced weapons in anticipation of negotiations — it is using them, and it has more. For the NATO alliance’s eastern members, it is a data point about Russian operational doctrine and escalation tolerance that their own defense planners are already incorporating into threat assessments.
Putin’s claim that the Oreshnik is immune to any existing defense system has not been independently verified, and Ukraine’s air defense forces have demonstrated throughout the war a capacity to adapt and improve interception rates against weapons Russia once described as unstoppable. But the fundamental equation of a hypersonic, multi-warhead ballistic missile against air defense interceptor stocks that are already running critically low creates a structural vulnerability that no amount of operational ingenuity fully resolves without more hardware.
The 55 residents of Kyiv who were wounded Sunday morning going about their lives in a capital that has endured nearly four years of bombardment are not abstractions in a strategic calculation. They are the population that the Oreshnik’s designers, the Russian military planners, and every Western government that has so far withheld certain weapons from Ukraine have been factoring into decisions whose consequences arrive at street level every time the sirens sound.
Svitlana Onofryichuk is leaving Kyiv. She is not alone.
Federal immigration authorities have taken a Nigerian national into custody in California in connection with alleged financial crimes, including identity theft and bank fraud, as removal proceedings move forward.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that officers in Los Angeles detained 49 year old Etinosa Osahon on May 21. The agency said the arrest followed a review of his criminal history, which includes allegations of mail theft, possession of stolen mail, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Officials indicated that Osahon remains in federal custody while immigration authorities determine the next steps regarding his removal from the United States.
Details released by the agency show that the case is being handled within the broader immigration enforcement framework, with proceedings underway to decide whether deportation will be carried out.
Accounts from Sahara Reporters and Punch Nigeria cited statements from immigration officials confirming both the arrest and the charges tied to the suspect’s record.
The arrest comes amid continued national debate over the role and reach of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security and is responsible for enforcing immigration laws and investigating cross border crimes.
Over the years, the agency has drawn criticism from civil rights advocates and immigration groups over its detention practices and enforcement operations. Concerns have focused on workplace raids, family separations, and allegations of excessive force during arrests.
At the same time, supporters of the agency argue that its work remains critical to national security and the integrity of the immigration system, particularly in cases involving financial crimes and identity theft.
The case involving Osahon reflects a wider pattern in which immigration enforcement intersects with financial crime investigations. Authorities often prioritize cases that involve identity theft and fraud because of their impact on financial institutions and individuals whose identities may be compromised.
Legal analysts note that such arrests can strengthen the government’s position in removal proceedings, as criminal allegations tied to fraud offenses are frequently treated as serious violations under immigration law. However, they also point out that due process remains essential, as individuals in immigration custody still retain legal rights during proceedings.
The arrest also highlights the continued focus on major urban centers like Los Angeles, where federal agents concentrate resources due to higher population density and reported financial crime activity.
More broadly, the case underscores the ongoing tension between enforcement priorities and civil liberties concerns. As immigration authorities expand operations tied to criminal investigations, scrutiny is likely to intensify over how those powers are exercised and whether safeguards are sufficient.
For policymakers, the situation adds another layer to an already complex national conversation about immigration, law enforcement authority, and the balance between public safety and individual rights.
ABUJA, Nigeria — President Bola Tinubu swept the All Progressives Congress presidential primary on Saturday, collecting votes across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in numbers so lopsided that his sole challenger, Stanley Osifo, recorded zero votes in most states where results were declared — securing the ruling party’s ticket for the 2027 general election before the final national tally was even complete.
Tinubu was set to receive his certificate of return and the APC party flag Sunday at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, where governors, National Executive Committee members, National Assembly lawmakers, and senior party officials were expected to attend the formal presentation.
The primary was conducted simultaneously across 8,809 wards nationwide under a direct primary format. APC governors served as collation and returning officers in their respective states, and Independent National Electoral Commission officials monitored the exercise to ensure compliance with electoral procedures.
The numbers tell the story plainly. In Rivers State, Tinubu polled 280,468 votes while Osifo registered zero across all 23 local government areas. In Gombe State, Tinubu received 450,516 votes against Osifo’s zero, with Governor Muhammadu Yahaya noting the state had 550,516 registered APC members. In Ebonyi, Tinubu swept all 207,579 valid votes cast across 13 local government areas, again against zero for Osifo. In Kwara, the final count gave Tinubu 310,990 votes to Osifo’s zero. In Edo, Tinubu collected 131,096 votes against Osifo’s one. In Osun, Tinubu took 100,880 votes and Osifo received none across 332 wards. Bayelsa gave Tinubu 277,192 votes and Osifo five. Zamfara gave Tinubu 321,579 against Osifo’s 42.
The president cast his vote at his polling unit in Ward L2, Ikoyi, Lagos, accompanied by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu. He described the primary as the expression of grassroots democratic participation.
“This is a demonstration of internal democracy,” Tinubu said after voting. “This is politics — grassroots politics, where every member of the party has a right to participate and be involved. It’s to ensure that we have internal democracy, and it’s peaceful and well-organised.”
APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru confirmed results had been collated across all 774 wards and across all states, with some state-level collation still ongoing at the time he spoke. He described what he had seen as evidence of a landslide and said the formal declaration would follow Sunday’s national presentation of state results to the presidential primary election committee.
The ground-level scenes reinforced the numerical picture. In Kaduna, party members across all 255 wards unanimously endorsed Tinubu, with Governor Uba Sani commending the exercise as peaceful, orderly, and transparent. In Plateau State, APC members formed queues from early morning at collation venues across the Central and Southern zones, with Jos North LGA Chairman J.K. Chris describing the turnout as evidence of unified resolve.
In Abia State, former Governor Orji Kalu, now a senator representing Abia North, led more than 4,000 registered APC members at Igbere Ward A in Bende Local Government Area. At Bende itself, the hometown of Deputy House Speaker Benjamin Kalu, over 13,000 party members reportedly lined up for Tinubu while Osifo received no votes.
In Bayelsa, Governor Douye Diri, who served as state collation and returning officer, certified the results after aggregating numbers from all eight local government areas. “I hereby certify that the results announced represent the true, correct, and accurate collation of votes from all local government areas in Bayelsa State,” Diri said. “The process was conducted peacefully and in accordance with party guidelines.”
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma drew applause with a declaration that captured the mood of the day. “If only our party members vote for President Tinubu, he has already won the election,” Uzodimma said, commending the electronic membership registration process.
As the APC consolidated around Tinubu with orderly if predictable uniformity, the African Democratic Congress found itself in the opposite position heading into its own presidential primary scheduled for Monday.
The ADC had initially pursued a consensus arrangement to produce its 2027 candidate, but disagreements among three significant aspirants have complicated that path. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen have each refused to step aside despite pressure from party figures seeking to avoid a contested primary.
John Oyegun, former APC national chairman and now chairman of the ADC’s 50-member Policy and Manifesto Committee, said the party preferred consensus but was prepared to hold a direct primary if the aspirants could not reach an agreement.
“Consensus will save us valuable time. This would have been better for all of us, but if the aspirants fail to agree, we will follow what the law says. The law says where there is no agreement on consensus, we must conduct a direct primary. If that is what we have to do, we will do it,” Oyegun said in an interview with Sunday Punch.
Amaechi has made his position clear repeatedly and without softening. “I am not stepping down for anyone,” he declared in Kano. “Let the people decide who they want to lead.”
Hayatu-Deen has taken a less confrontational tone while still rejecting calls to withdraw, saying he would support whoever emerged from a credible and transparent process. Atiku, the most experienced of the three in national presidential contests, has not publicly commented in recent days on the internal negotiations.
ADC chieftain Timothy Osadolor urged Atiku specifically to pursue a negotiated outcome rather than a floor fight. “No one is in doubt as to the capacity and competence of the Wazirin Adamawa in every party primary he has been engaged in,” Osadolor said. “However, times have changed significantly, and perceptions have too. He will be making a mistake in thinking that Rotimi Amaechi can be wished away or run over in today’s politics or within the ADC.”
Media entrepreneur and ADC figure Dele Momodu acknowledged that the combination of strong personalities and the financial investments each aspirant had already committed to their campaigns made consensus genuinely difficult to achieve, while arguing that a competitive process was not inherently damaging to the party provided it remained credible.
Saturday’s APC primary was not a contest in any meaningful electoral sense. The outcome was settled long before polling units opened. Every major APC organ, including the National Executive Committee, the National Working Committee, the Progressive Governors Forum, and state party structures across all 36 states, had endorsed Tinubu before Saturday. His challenger, Stanley Osifo, was not a figure with an organizational base, a political network, or a history of national political engagement capable of mounting a genuine challenge.
What Saturday’s exercise provided was not drama or uncertainty. It provided legitimacy — a formal record that the incumbent president sought his party’s second-term ticket through a direct primary involving party members rather than simply receiving it through a backroom arrangement among party elites. Whether that distinction matters to Nigerian voters in 2027 will depend on what the next two years of governance look like, how the cost of living pressure evolves, and whether the security situation in the north and southwest shows measurable improvement.
The ADC primary scheduled for Monday carries more genuine uncertainty, though that uncertainty may itself be the problem. A deeply fractured opposition entering the 2027 cycle against a unified ruling party with incumbency advantages, federal resources, and a just-ratified candidate will need more than internal drama to build a credible challenge. Atiku has run for president multiple times without success. Amaechi has significant northern political capital but no clear national coalition. Hayatu-Deen brings business credibility and a fresh face but limited political infrastructure.
If the ADC cannot achieve consensus and a bruising primary produces a candidate who enters the general election with unhealed internal wounds, the practical advantage that Tinubu’s clean Saturday sweep provides grows considerably larger. The certificate Tinubu receives Sunday morning represents more than a party ticket. In the context of Nigerian opposition politics as it currently stands, it represents something approaching a running start.
A gunman who opened fire near a security checkpoint steps from the White House was shot and killed by agents Saturday evening, while a bystander suffered critical injuries in the exchange, officials said.
The U.S. Secret Service said the suspect approached the area near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue shortly after 6 p.m. and pulled a weapon from a bag before firing. Agents returned fire and struck the individual, who was taken to a hospital and later died.
A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigation, identified the suspect as 21 year old Nasire Best. Authorities are examining his background, which includes a prior arrest tied to an attempt to breach a White House checkpoint in 2025.
The incident left at least one bystander critically wounded. Investigators have not determined whether the person was struck by the suspect’s gunfire or rounds fired by responding officers.
President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time and was not harmed, officials said.
Journalists working within the White House complex described hearing a rapid burst of gunfire and were quickly directed to shelter inside the press briefing room as agents secured the grounds.
ABC News senior correspondent Selina Wang shared video on social media capturing the moment shots rang out, prompting her to take cover mid broadcast. The footage quickly spread online, drawing widespread attention to the unfolding situation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed its personnel responded to assist in the investigation, with Director Kash Patel stating that updates would be provided as more information becomes available.
Physical evidence marked the scene late Saturday, including dozens of markers placed along a sidewalk near the White House perimeter, along with medical equipment used in the emergency response.
The Metropolitan Police Department urged the public to avoid the area while federal agents processed the scene.
The shooting marks the third instance of gunfire near the president in recent weeks. Authorities had already responded to a separate incident during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April, where a suspect allegedly attempted to attack the president at a Washington hotel.
Another confrontation earlier in May near the Washington Monument also resulted in a suspect being shot by agents after gunfire was directed at officers, leaving a teenage bystander injured.
The latest violence occurred within walking distance of a deadly ambush last year involving members of the West Virginia National Guard, underscoring ongoing security concerns in the nation’s capital.
Saturday’s shooting underscores a troubling escalation in security threats around one of the most heavily protected locations in the United States. While the Secret Service maintains layered defenses designed to neutralize threats quickly, the frequency of recent incidents suggests increasing strain on the system.
The suspect’s prior contact with law enforcement, including a stay away order linked to earlier behavior near the White House, raises questions about how individuals flagged as potential risks are monitored and managed. Experts often point to gaps between legal restrictions and real time enforcement, particularly in high traffic public areas surrounding federal buildings.
The presence of a bystander critically injured in the exchange also highlights the inherent risk to civilians when violence erupts in densely populated zones. Even rapid and trained responses can carry unintended consequences in such environments.
From a policy standpoint, the incident is likely to intensify debate over perimeter security, mental health intervention, and intelligence sharing among federal and local agencies. It also places renewed focus on how repeated threats near the president could influence operational decisions, including public access and event planning.
As investigators continue to piece together the suspect’s motives and actions, the event serves as a stark reminder that even the most fortified locations remain vulnerable to sudden and unpredictable acts of violence.
A security scare unfolded near the White House on Saturday evening after what sounded like multiple gunshots were heard close to the North Lawn, prompting a swift response from federal agents.
Journalists on the grounds reported hearing about 20 rapid shots shortly after 6 p.m. Eastern Time, with the sounds appearing to come from the direction of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which sits adjacent to the White House complex.
Agents with the U.S. Secret Service quickly moved to secure the area, directing members of the press into the White House briefing room as a precaution.
In a statement shared with CBS News, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the agency was aware of reports of shots fired near the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest and was working to verify the situation with personnel on the ground.
Earlier in the day, a White House official said Donald Trump had been at the residence, though it was not immediately clear whether he was still inside at the time of the incident.
Coverage from ABC News indicated that the North Lawn was cleared as part of standard security protocols, with reporters instructed to move quickly to a secure location.
Authorities have not confirmed whether gunfire actually occurred, and no injuries or arrests were immediately reported.
Incidents involving possible gunfire near the White House are treated with the highest level of urgency, even when details remain unclear. The rapid lockdown reflects the layered security posture designed to protect both the president and the surrounding government infrastructure.
False alarms or unverified reports are not uncommon in high security zones, where loud noises such as construction activity or vehicle backfires can trigger emergency responses. However, the scale of the reaction in this case suggests officials considered the reports credible enough to warrant immediate action.
The proximity of the reported sounds to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adds another layer of concern, as the structure houses key executive branch offices and staff.
In a broader sense, the episode highlights the constant security pressures surrounding the White House complex. Even unconfirmed threats can disrupt operations and draw national attention, underscoring the delicate balance between public access, press coverage and security enforcement in one of the most heavily protected locations in the world.
Thai police forced their way into three apartments in a luxury riverside condominium near Bangkok on Thursday, arresting six Nigerian nationals accused of running an AI-powered romance scam operation that used artificially generated faces and fake video calls to deceive older Thai women into sending money — a raid that began as a drug trafficking investigation and ended with the exposure of a sophisticated fraud network operating out of upscale accommodations its members had no legitimate income to afford.
The operation, which police named Dark Room Crackdown, was executed on May 22 at a condominium near Phra Nang Klao Bridge in Bang Kraso, Muang district of Nonthaburi Province. Officers arrived with warrants from the Nonthaburi Provincial Court covering three units. The suspects refused to open their doors, apparently tipped off to the raid and attempting to destroy evidence. Officers forced entry.
When they got inside, one suspect tried to escape over a balcony. Another was found hiding on the bathroom floor, reportedly sending warning messages to people in neighboring units. Some of the 18 mobile phones seized by officers were still displaying active conversations with victims when police picked them up.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Theeradej Thammasuthee, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, confirmed the arrests Saturday and said officers also recovered three laptop computers and three bank passbooks from the raided apartments.
The six suspects, aged between 23 and 35, initially admitted to charges of illegal association and visa overstay. Additional fraud and romance scam charges are expected as investigators coordinate with victims and police stations handling related complaints.
Who They Are and How Long They Had Been There
All six suspects were identified by first name only in the police disclosure. Denis, 23, had overstayed his visa by 726 days. Ejikeme, 24, had overstayed by 827 days. Ibekwe, 29, had overstayed by 1,166 days. Okorom, 26, had been in the country illegally for 695 days beyond his visa. Nwosu, 30, led the group with 1,560 days of overstay — more than four years beyond his permitted stay. The overstay status of the sixth suspect, Obielu, 35, was still being confirmed at the time of the arrest.
All six had been living in the luxury condominium on student visas, police said, with no evidence that any of them had ever attended a class or reported to any place of employment. Their lifestyle did not match their immigration status. Their cash flows were described as unusually large. Investigators found the disconnect suspicious long before they found the scam scripts.
The Scam and the AI Behind It
The alleged operation was designed to exploit loneliness and trust. The suspects created fake online profiles using AI-generated images of attractive, wealthy-presenting foreign men — pilots, American military officers, lawyers, doctors, and engineers — and used those identities to approach victims through Facebook Messenger, WeChat, TikTok, Line, and Zalo, the Straits Times confirmed.
The targets were predominantly older Thai women. Once a romantic connection was established over days or weeks of conversation, the script shifted to a crisis: a valuable package or gift sent from abroad was being held by customs officials and required payment of clearance fees before it could be released to the recipient. Victims were asked to transfer money to resolve the customs problem.
Police found the scripts on the seized devices. They also found sexually suggestive conversation templates designed to deepen emotional manipulation and keep victims engaged. Some phones were logged into active chats with victims at the moment of arrest.
The AI component went beyond profile images. Investigators said the group manipulated video calls as well, using artificially generated Western faces to maintain the fraud even when video contact was expected. The technology allowed the suspects to sustain long-running deceptions with victims who had never met them and had no way to verify that the person they were communicating with had any connection to reality.
The Drug Trail That Led to the Condo
The arrests were the second phase of an investigation that started with narcotics. In April, Thai police arrested a Nigerian suspect identified only as Patrick, described as a significant figure in a cocaine trafficking network, along with four associates. Officers seized assets valued at approximately 2.5 million baht in that operation.
Financial analysis of that case pointed investigators toward unusual transactions connected to foreign nationals living in the Nonthaburi riverside condominium. When police examined who was living there, how they were paying for it, and what their declared immigration status allowed them to do, the picture did not add up. The romance scam network emerged from that financial thread.
Theeradej said some of the phones seized during the raid still displayed active drug transaction conversations, suggesting the two criminal operations, romance fraud and narcotics trafficking, may have overlapped within the same network. The investigation is continuing.
All six suspects were taken to Rattanathibet Police Station along with the seized evidence.
AI as a Criminal Tool and the Geography of Fraud
The Nonthaburi arrests illustrate something that law enforcement agencies across Asia and Africa have been documenting with increasing frequency: the use of artificial intelligence to industrialize romance fraud in ways that were not possible five years ago.
Generating convincing profile photographs of non-existent people once required access to stolen images, careful curation, and the risk that a reverse image search would expose the fraud. AI face generation eliminates that vulnerability. The faces do not exist anywhere else on the internet because they were never photographs of real people. Video call manipulation takes the technology a step further, allowing fraudsters to maintain the fiction even when a suspicious victim demands a live interaction.
For older women who may be less familiar with the capabilities of AI generation, the combination of a convincing profile, extended emotional engagement through scripted conversation, and a video call that appears to show a real person represents a deception that is genuinely difficult to detect without specific knowledge of how these technologies work.
The geographic pattern matters too. Six Nigerian nationals in Thailand, living on student visas with no evidence of student activity, financing a luxury lifestyle through money that came from victims in a different country, operating a fraud network that stretched across multiple messaging platforms and presumably multiple national jurisdictions. The crime does not belong to any single country’s law enforcement framework. It requires exactly the kind of coordinated international response that the separate Ugberaese extradition case from the United States this week also demonstrated.
Thailand has increasingly become a staging point for international fraud networks, with its accessible visa pathways, high-quality infrastructure, and proximity to both Southeast Asian victims and regional financial systems making it an operationally convenient base for criminal groups that target people elsewhere.
For the Thai women whose phones were still mid-conversation when police walked in and picked them up, Thursday’s raid represents an intervention that came, for at least some of them, before the money transfer request arrived. For others, whose conversations were further along and whose bank accounts may already have been drained, the raid comes too late to undo the damage but perhaps early enough to prevent more.
