An Arik Air Boeing 737-700 aircraft operating Lagos to Port Harcourt flight on Wednesday diverted to Benin airport after the crew “heard a loud bang from the left engine”.

In a statement, Arik Air said the aircraft, operating flight W3-740 with registration 5N-MJF, was descending into Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, when the incident occurred.

The airline added that as a precautionary measure, the flight crew diverted to Benin.

“There were no injuries to passengers and crew as all 80 passengers on board were safely disembarked. Arrangements have been made to transport the affected passengers to their final destination,” Arik Air said.

“We sincerely apologise to the affected Port Harcourt passengers whose journey has been disrupted. The safety and wellbeing of passengers is always our priority at Arik Air.”

More details in comment section.

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The Cross River State Police Command has commenced investigation into the lynching of a suspected thief whose burnt body was discovered along Mayne Avenue in Calabar South.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Eitiokpa Sunday Akata, disclosed that the incident was reported to officers of Atakpa Division on February 10, during an early morning surveillance patrol.

According to him, information from an undisclosed source alerted the patrol team to the presence of an unidentified male corpse, believed to be the remains of a 22-year-old, lying along Mayne Avenue by Nyong Edem Street — at the boundary between Atakpa and Efut Divisions.

Preliminary findings suggest that the deceased allegedly went out with two others to vandalise an electricity transformer at a yet-to-be-identified location.

Police said the suspect reportedly ran out of luck, was apprehended by a mob, lynched, set ablaze and later transported to the spot where his remains were found.

Akata noted that there were no signs of struggle, weapons, or burnt materials at the location where the body was dumped, indicating that the incident may have occurred elsewhere.

He added that photographs of the scene were taken, the corpse evacuated, and a full-scale investigation has commenced.

The Command assured that efforts were underway to identify and arrest those responsible for the mob action.

A United States federal judge has openly criticised the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for prolonged delays in releasing records linked to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.

The records were requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan in 2022.

They relate to a long-standing narcotics investigation from the early 1990s, during which Tinubu forfeited $460,000 to the US government.

Judge Beryl A. Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia expressed frustration over what she described as endless postponements by both agencies.

In a ruling dated February 3, she said the case had dragged on for more than three years without meaningful progress.

According to court filings, the FBI and DEA have repeatedly missed court-ordered deadlines, offering new dates without clear explanations.

Judge Howell warned that the delays were unacceptable and issued firm instructions that must be followed.

In 2023, the FBI announced plans to release about 2,500 pages of Tinubu’s records in batches of 500 pages per month.

However, the process was halted after Tinubu objected, arguing that releasing the documents could negatively affect him while his presidential election victory was still before Nigeria’s Supreme Court.

Judge Howell approved the pause at the time. But even after the Supreme Court upheld Tinubu’s election, the FBI and DEA continued to seek further extensions.

Judge Howell noted that the FBI had failed to release a single document, despite several projected completion dates that were repeatedly shifted.

She said the bureau had not provided a reliable end date for producing the requested records.

Her ruling highlighted how deadlines moved from August 2025 to September, then December, January 2026, and again to February, with what she described as minimal justification.

While the DEA has released some documents, Judge Howell criticised the agency for withholding others without clear timelines.

The DEA claimed some files were sent to other agencies for consultation but did not say when reviews would be completed.

The judge ordered the DEA to submit a detailed Vaughn index explaining why 50 pages were redacted and 172 pages withheld.

For 12 remaining records, she directed a DEA agent to file sworn affidavits explaining, page by page, the status of each document and efforts made to speed up their release.

Judge Howell also instructed the FBI to submit sworn statements explaining its repeated failure to meet deadlines. She made it clear that continued delays would no longer be tolerated.

President Tinubu has consistently denied any involvement in drug trafficking, maintaining that he committed no wrongdoing.