The management of Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara in Kogi state, has expelled two students for alleged involvement in gay practice.

In a statement issued by the department of public relations, the institution also rusticated four other students for alleged involvement in fighting on campus.

The punishment was approved at the 31st sitting of the university senate held at the faculty of law lecture theatre.

By Tor Kaka, Makurdi

The abducted pastor of the Nongo u Kristu u i Ser u sha Tar (NKST) Church, Rev. Samuel Gbinde, has died shortly after regaining freedom from captivity in Benue State.

Rev. Gbinde and two members of his congregation were abducted on June 30, 2026, when armed men invaded his residence at the NKST Church in Andyar, Ishan Classis, Benue State.

Following the abduction, the General Secretary of NKST, Rev. Dr. T. A. Targba, appealed to security agencies as well as the Benue State and federal governments to intensify efforts to rescue the victims and ensure those responsible were arrested and prosecuted.

Confirming the pastor’s death on Saturday, an NKST official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Rev. Gbinde sustained severe injuries after he was allegedly tortured by his abductors while in captivity.

According to Leadership report, the pastor was released after a ransom was paid but was in critical condition, with the left side of his body reportedly paralysed.

“Pastor Gbinde died in the early hours of Saturday. He was manhandled by his abductors while in captivity. When he regained freedom, the left side of his body was not functioning. He was first taken to a hospital in Anyiin in Logo Local Government Area, but when his condition failed to improve, he was transferred to NKST Hospital, Mkar, for further treatment.

“At NKST Mkar, doctors discovered that he had sustained a severe head injury after being struck with a gun, which badly affected his brain and required urgent surgery. He was later moved to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, where he died in the early hours of Saturday. May his soul rest in peace,” the source said.

The source added that Rev. Gbinde and the two other abducted church members were released after a ransom was paid, noting that the cleric was in the worst health condition at the time of their release.

Efforts to obtain an official reaction from the Benue State Police Command were unsuccessful, as the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, neither answered calls nor responded to messages at the time of filing this report.

By Shehu Dogo, Senior Reporter 

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has advised Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike to allow the Peoples Democratic Party to die, saying he was surprised the opposition party was still in existence.

Akpabio made the remarks, on Wednesday, while representing President Bola Tinubu at the inauguration of Akinwumi Ajibola Street in the Gaduwa District of Abuja.

The Senate President made the comment while acknowledging dignitaries at the event, including Senator Olaka Nwogu, who recently won the Rivers South-East Senatorial District by-election on the platform of the PDP.

Calling the names of senators present, Akpabio said, “Senator Olaka Nwogu, who, to my understanding, just won an election. I didn’t know there was still PDP. I am sure he is somewhere, and so many other distinguished senators, members of the working committee of the APC.