Odita Sunday 
MONDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2026
WORLD & AFRICA EDITION
WORLD • UNITED STATES
Tennessee Prisons Chief Resigns Over Botched Christa Pike Execution
Tennessee’s prison system director, Frank Strada, announced his resignation on 4 October following last week’s failed execution of death-row inmate Christa Pike, who survived two doses of pentobarbital and is still hospitalised in critical condition. It marks the second execution failure in the state since May, intensifying scrutiny of Tennessee’s lethal-injection protocol as Governor Bill Lee’s ordered third-party review continues, with all executions in the state still suspended.
Elsewhere in world news, a shooting near Halden in southern Norway left two people dead and a third seriously injured, with the suspect arrested at the scene; a U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa has been arrested over the robbery and murder of a woman in Naha, Japan; and nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals, including 86 women convicted of immigration offences, have been returned to Yangon from Malaysia despite UN warnings that conditions for their return remain unsafe.
AFRICA • HORN OF AFRICA
Ethiopian Forces Capture Tigray Capital Mekelle as Regional Leaders Meet in Egypt
Ethiopian federal forces and allied militias took control of Mekelle, the Tigray regional capital, on 3 October, with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front confirming it had “retreated from the capital” after Addis Ababa’s forces also recaptured Mekelle’s airport. The renewed fighting, which began with a TPLF offensive on 23 September, has killed at least 52 civilians, with the military claiming 270 Tigrayan fighters killed and Doctors Without Borders reporting a surge of wounded patients.
The presidents of Egypt, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea met in Egypt’s Alamein on Sunday to discuss containing the conflict, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi calling for “dialogue, not confrontation.” Ethiopia has accused Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea of backing the rebels, all of which deny involvement; Amnesty International has urged the African Union’s Peace and Security Council to convene an emergency session, warning of risks of “mass atrocities” and wider regionalisation of the conflict.
NIGERIA • SECURITY
Kidnappers Demand ₦50 Million Per Captive as Imo Corps Members Remain Held
All 20 prospective NYSC corps members abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway on 1 October remain in captivity, with their kidnappers now demanding ₦50 million per victim, according to police. Imo Police Commissioner Audu Bosso said a drone had pinpointed the captors’ camp, “but our predicament is that with the intel we have, the IEDs, the camp is mined with IEDs,” delaying any ground assault.
The Deputy Inspector-General of Police assured families “they are going to be rescued safely” and urged cooperation with security agencies, as Oyo and Imo state governments coordinate with federal security agencies on the operation. Specialised equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, is being deployed to clear a safe path to the camp before any rescue attempt can go ahead.
NIGERIA • HEALTH & INDUSTRY
Fidson Healthcare Picked for Global Licence to Manufacture Flu Antiviral
Fidson Healthcare Plc has been selected as one of 11 manufacturers across nine countries to produce a generic version of the influenza antiviral baloxavir marboxil, under a voluntary licensing agreement between Swiss drugmaker Roche and the Medicines Patent Pool. The scheme aims to diversify global supply of flu treatment and strengthen regional production ahead of future outbreaks, following an open application process that evaluated manufacturers’ technical and regulatory capacity.
The selection positions Nigeria within a global pandemic-preparedness manufacturing network and is being read locally as a validation of the country’s pharmaceutical manufacturing standards, building on recent momentum in domestic drug production capacity.
EXCHANGE RATE WATCH
Official window: ₦1,330 / US$1
Black market (aboki): ₦1,390 / US$1
Naira steady for a third straight session.
SECURITY WATCH
Imo: 20 corps members still held; ₦50m-per-victim ransom demanded.
Camp mined with IEDs; rescue equipment being mobilised.
Tigray capita
l Mekelle recaptured by federal forces.
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