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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AFN opens Olympics camp in Abuja

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has opened its training and resources camp for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Abuja on Sunday, July 4 – The Punch reports

Adisa Beyioku, Secretary-General of the AFN also invited athletes and coaches for the opening in a letter dated July 2 and addressed to the Director, Federation Elite Athletes Department in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

A total of 25 athletes and 10 coaches were invited to camp ahead of the Tokyo Games.

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Buhari calls for global prayer for the Pope

President Muhammadu Buhari Sunday, July 4, called for prayers for Pope Francis as he goes in for surgery of the colon.

In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari prayed for a quick recovery for the Pontiff.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a get-well message to the Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, as he heads in for a scheduled surgery of the colon. The President called for prayers from Nigerians and the global community as the Pontiff goes in for this routine operation. He wishes him a quick recovery”, the statement said.

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Eight people abducted in hospital attack

On Sunday, July 4, at least eight people were abducted following an attack by gunmen at the Staff Quarters of the National Centre for Tuberculosis and Leprosy, Zaria LGA, Kaduna – The Cable reports

Police spokesperson in Kaduna, Muhammad Jalige, confirmed the incident to newsmen, noting that the attack occurred in the early hours of Sunday. Jalige disclosed that gunmen had earlier attacked a police station in Zaria, but met stiff resistance from the officers on duty.

“In the early hours of today, July 4, 2021, at about 0130hrs, suspected armed bandits in large number attacked the Divisional Police Headquarters, Saye Zaria LGA of Kaduna, in an attempt to overrun the officers on duty, but met with a stiff resistance from the officers who were at alert as of the time of the attack,” he said.

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SERAP sues Buhari over billion dollars overdrafts from CBN

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit, asking the court “to compel President Muhammadu Buhari to disclose details of the overdrafts and loans obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since May 29, 2015″ – Premium Times reports

In the order, SERAP is also seeking to compel the president to “explain and clarify whether the $25bn (N9.7trn) overdraft reportedly obtained from the CBN is within the five-per cent limit of the actual revenue of the government for 2020.”

The suit followed SERAP’s Freedom of Information (FoI) request to President Buhari, stating that: “Disclosing details of overdrafts and repayments would enable Nigerians to hold the government to account for its fiscal management and ensure that public funds are not mismanaged or diverted.”

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IPOB: Kanu didn’t authorise ritual killings

Emma Powerful, Spokesman for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has revealed that the group’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, never authorised the killing of humans for charms, noting that killing is an abominable act in Igboland – The Guardian reports

The update was disclosed in a statement on Sunday, July 4, where IPOB described as fallacious, the claims by a man, who claimed to be Eastern Security Network (ESN) commander, that the IPOB leader ordered him to kill security agents and 10 girls to prepare fortification charms.

Powerful also alleged that the Department of State Services (DSS) could have coerced people to make such false statements against ESN, IPOB and its leader, Kanu.