Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top news stories you shouldn’t miss.

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DSS declares Sunday Igboho wanted

The Department of State Services (DSS) has opened a manhunt for Sunday Igboho, a Yoruba activist after he escaped arrest after his Oyo residence was raided in the early hours of Thursday, 1st of July – The Cable reports

Spokesman of the DSS, Peter Afunanya, disclosed that his team recovered illegal arms — including seven AK-47 rifles — and thousands of ammunition from Igboho’s house. The DSS also paraded 13 supporters of the activist, who allegedly attacked their operatives during the raid on Thursday morning.

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Man gets life after raping undergrad with charms

A high court in Ekiti, Ado Ekiti division, has on Thursday, 1st July, sentenced a 24-year-old man, Dayo Asiwaju, to life imprisonment for raping a college student with charms – The Punch reports

Dayo was tried and found guilty on two counts bordering on rape and unlawful possession of charms.

Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, in her judgment, declared, “The sole issue for determination is resolved in favour of the prosecution. The defendant is accordingly found guilty as charged on both counts. He is sentenced to life imprisonment on count one (rape) and on count two, he is sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.”

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Malami: Twitter ban is in national interest

Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister has disclosed that the ban on the use of Twitter in Nigeria was done to protect Nigeria’s interest – The Nation reports

The AGF revealed that Nigeria’s interest is paramount above other considerations. He disclosed this on Thursday, 1st of July, while hosting the High Commissioner of Great Britain, Ms Catriona Laing, in his office in Abuja.

“If you want operate as a business entity in Nigeria, you must do so within the context of Nigerian laws. Nothing offensive or that breaches the Nigerian laws should be entertained,” he said

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Senate passes Petroleum Industry Bill

The Nigerian Senate has passed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) – Premium Times reports

The bill was passed after the lawmakers considered the report of the Joint Committees on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream) and Gas Resources on Thursday.

The passage of the bill was also a sequel to a closed-door meeting with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari.

The meeting lasted for almost two hours.

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COVID-19 knocks Michael Eric out of Tokyo Olympics

Nigeria’s basketball team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games got a big hit yesterday when it was announced that one of the rising stars of the game, Michael Eric, has tested positive to COVID-19 – The Guardian reports

The announcement was revealed in an official statement published on Thursday, 1st of July, by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). According to the report, Eric, who recently won the European Championship with CSKA Moscow, revealed he has tested positive to COVID-19.

“I will not be able to represent my country, Nigeria in this year’s Olympics in Japan. During the last two and half weeks, my health and physical shape went through a traumatic experience that will, unfortunately, make me miss this tournament,” he said.