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A 26-year-old man, Samuel Douglass, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison by an Akure Magistrate’s Court, Ondo State, for diverting four baskets of tomatoes belonging to his employer.

Douglass was said to have sold the produce instead of delivering it as instructed, with the prosecution alleging that he converted the proceeds to his personal use.

The offence was committed in July 2026 at about 6am at Fourth Gate, Afunbiowo Estate, Akure, within the Akure Magisterial District.

The court heard that the defendant’s employer, Abimbola Akintomide, had given him the tomatoes valued at N140,000 to deliver to a driver at Ilesa Garage.

According to the prosecutor, Taiwo Oniyere, Douglass failed to make the delivery and allegedly disposed of the four baskets for his own benefit.

The police subsequently brought him before Magistrate Olusola Olujobi on a one-count charge of stealing under Section 390(6) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State, 2006.

Douglass admitted committing the offence when the charge was read to him, prompting his lawyer, Adeluyi Segun, to plead for mercy.

Counsel urged the court to consider that his client was young and had no previous conviction, while also asking that he be allowed to pay a fine rather than serve a custodial sentence.

Magistrate Olujobi, however, sentenced him to one year imprisonment and directed him to pay N140,000 to the complainant. The court ruled that failure to make the payment would mean serving the custodial sentence.

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Ibrahim Shittu, a lawmaker in the Oyo State House of Assembly, has rallied voters to vote only for Muslim candidates in the 2027 elections, claiming that Christian candidates are a menace to Islam.

The lawmaker representing Saki West made the remarks while addressing voters at a recent gathering in Oyo State, calling on them to support Muslim candidates and reject Christian politicians.

Mr Shittu alleged that Christian candidates will punish Muslims in the state if they are elected.

“We are appealing to you, our fathers, that you must stand with our candidates who are Muslims. Anyone who selects a Christian candidate for governor, let us reject them and not vote for them. If we vote for them, they will punish Muslims,” the All Progressives Congress lawmaker alleged.

Mr Shittu’s comment came as political parties prepare for the 2027 polls, with religious affiliation expected to be a major topic of discussion among the public.

Many have criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration, citing his Muslim faith and Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s.

Meanwhile, Mr Shittu’s remarks have sparked widespread criticism among netizens, who are condemning his decision to invoke religion for political gain.

“One of the dumbest politicians ever. When are we going to wake up from this nepotism? I couldn’t believe that religious affiliations will still becloud any sane person in this generation. Ibrahim Shittu and brain are miles apart,” X user @Timileyinm69969 said.

@valentinepaulal said, “This is very wrong in a sane society. It breaks my heart to see politicians who are supposed to promote love and oneness between the members of the public are the ones causing hate among them. Shame on you, sir.”

“Nigeria is already using religion to play politics… and it hasn’t even fully started yet. You saw the game your godfather played during the presidential election. That same playbook will hurt this country badly—and if we’re not careful, it could burn it to the ground,” @Paid_ stated.

Some called for his prosecution.

@ObisesanOlarin1 said, “This kind of people should not be representing at state level, let alone national level; preaching religious hate speech should be a punishable offence that needs to be addressed by the law.”

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Concern is mounting among Nigerians who participated in the latest Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise but are yet to receive their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), with the 2027 general elections only months away.

The development has triggered calls for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide a clear timetable for the production, distribution and collection of PVCs, particularly for first-time voters who registered during the recently concluded exercise.

INEC recorded 10,399,288 completed voter registrations across the three phases of the CVR exercise conducted between August 2025 and July 2026. The figure includes more than 3.8 million registrations recorded during the final phase alone.

INEC had earlier explained that the registration figures would remain subject to verification and data cleaning, including the removal of multiple registrations and other invalid entries, before the final voters’ register is published.

The issue of PVC distribution has now become a growing concern as the electoral commission intensifies preparations for the 2027 polls.

According to INEC’s current official election calendar, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.

With the registration exercise already concluded, some new registrants say they are still waiting for information on when their PVCs will be ready and where they will be collected.

The concern has also attracted the attention of political stakeholders.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) recently urged INEC to publish a comprehensive nationwide timetable showing when newly registered voters would be able to collect their PVCs.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party called for greater transparency around the production and distribution process, arguing that Nigerians who successfully completed registration should know when and where their cards would be available.

The ADC specifically called for information to be made available on the number of newly registered voters, PVCs produced and distributed, outstanding cards and designated collection centres on a state-by-state basis.

The concern comes against the background of the importance of the PVC in the Nigerian electoral process. INEC’s voter information platform currently allows registered voters to check their registration status and locate their PVC collection centre.

INEC has also said the completed registration data must undergo further administrative processes before the final voters’ register is established. The commission’s CVR schedule shows that the final phase of registration ended in August 2026, followed by the display period for claims and objections.

For newly registered voters, however, the immediate concern is whether the production and distribution of their cards will be completed early enough to allow them to collect and verify their PVCs before election day.

The development has therefore placed renewed focus on INEC’s voter-management and logistics preparations ahead of what will be one of the country’s largest electoral exercises.

As preparations continue, stakeholders are urging the commission to communicate clearly with new registrants and ensure that eligible voters who successfully completed the registration process are not left uncertain about the status or collection of their PVCs.

For the millions who registered ahead of the 2027 elections, the next critical step is no longer registration—but receiving the voter card that will enable them to take part in the electoral process.