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Leader of the National Democratic Party, NDC Senator Henry Seriake Dickson has vowed that NDC will challenge court directive.

Dickson in a statement he e-signed stated that the order lacked legal merit and their team of legal experts have been kept on standby to rubbish the move.

He said : “This morning, I, like several other leaders, officials, candidates of the NDC, and members of the public, was jolted by the order issued by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja and presided over by Honourable Justice Isah Dashen.

“All I can say is that the order lacks legal merit and is intended to affect the foundational credibility and efforts of our party. The order is illegal and will not stand. It is against multi-party democracy, anti-democratic in nature, and aimed at narrowing and stifling the democratic space.

” It will be resisted by all of us and by all lovers of democracy in Nigeria.

“We have assembled our team of lawyers, and they are taking appropriate steps to set the order aside and restore normalcy. I call on all members, supporters, and candidates of the NDC to remain calm and continue with their normal political activities.

“This is only the first test of our commitment and resilience, both of which are not in doubt. Even this shall pass, and the NDC and all our candidates shall cruise to victory.

“We are not naive to expect that the tremendous progress we have achieved in the last five months would go without attack, but this particular development came from a very unlikely source.

“The application by an unregistered association, which is not a registered political party and has no exclusive right to any logo under the law, is shocking.

“Moreover, it was not a necessary party to the suit because it had no interest in the subject matter. It did not apply for registration in 2025, it was not one of the 171 associations that applied, nor was it among the 21 associations shortlisted for registration.

“So, we know where this is coming from. It is coming from those who are shocked by the progress the NDC has made within such a short period as a result of our hard work and commitment to deepening multi-party democracy.

“We will not allow this to slow us down or break our spirit. The struggle must continue.

“We will use appropriate judicial channels to correct the judicial anomaly that occurred under the watch of Honourable Justice Dashen. He has clearly erred in law, and we will take steps to correct it.

“All our candidates, supporters, and teeming voters across the country and beyond should hold on firmly and keep the faith. This development shows that our efforts have not gone unnoticed.

“I would also like to refer to my favourite quote on struggles “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win.”

“We are under attack, as I have repeatedly said we should prepare for challenges such as this. But thereafter, we shall win.

“Even with today’s development, thousands of Nigerians are joining us in solidarity. In fact, thousands of Nigerians across the country registered as NDC members today to show their solidarity, sympathy and support for our party. All things work together for good.

” Men may act with evil intentions, but if it is not the will of God, He turns it around for our good.

“I sincerely thank Nigerians for the confidence they continue to repose in the NDC. Your support, encouragement, and belief in our vision only strengthen our resolve to continue the struggle to deepen multi-party democracy in Nigeria.

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OpenAI on Friday launched a US-only preview of its latest powerful AI model series to a limited group of partners at the request of the US government, the company said.

The release comes two weeks after the White House took Silicon Valley by surprise by ordering OpenAI’s rival Anthropic to ban all foreign nationals from accessing its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, citing national security concerns.

Anthropic swiftly shut down all access to those models, saying it could not reliably comply with the restriction on foreign nationals.

The latest models from leading AI companies, such as Anthropic’s Mythos series and now OpenAI’s GPT-5.6, have drawn major concerns over their reportedly unprecedented ability to identify software vulnerabilities — weaknesses in code that hackers can exploit.

Under pressure over the novelty of their capabilities, Trump earlier this month signed an executive order setting up a voluntary federal review of national security risks in advanced AI models before their release.

The White House has communicated little about how it will enforce its executive order — in which companies are understood to be participating voluntarily — and what models would fall under its review rules.

The intervention was striking for a White House that has otherwise pushed to loosen AI oversight — even moving to block states from writing their own rules.

The strong action against Anthropic has drawn accusations of government overreach, and OpenAI said it was uncomfortable with the process it was required to follow for its new models.

OpenAI said it briefed the US government on its new models’ capabilities ahead of the launch and, at the government’s request, is beginning with a limited preview for a select group of trusted partners whose identities have been shared with authorities.

The partners are US-based, but OpenAI said overseas employees at those companies or entities would also have access to the new models.

“We don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default,” OpenAI said in a blog post.

“It keeps the best tools from users, developers, enterprises, cyber defenders, and global partners who need them. We are taking this short-term step because we believe it is the strongest path to broader availability in the coming weeks.”

When Anthropic was initially targeted, some believed the safety-focused company was being unfairly singled out by the Trump administration for political reasons.

In an earlier clash with the White House, Anthropic angered Trump’s team by refusing to allow its technology to be used for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, leading the Pentagon to cancel its contracts with the company.

That feud is now being litigated in two separate lawsuits.

– Three new models –

OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 series comprises three new models: Sol, the company’s new flagship; Terra, a mid-range model for everyday work; and Luna, a fast, low-cost option.

Once broadly available, Terra would be priced at half the cost of its predecessor GPT-5.5, the company said, as it seeks to lock in customers amid fierce competition from Anthropic and Google.

Both OpenAI and Anthropic have filed confidential IPO documents with US regulators and are targeting public listings at valuations approaching $1 trillion, raising the commercial stakes of the AI arms race between them.

AFP

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The Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, has set up a special court to try cases relating to cultism and kidnapping in the State.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Chief Registrar of the State High Court, B.O Osawaru, dated June 25, 2026, and titled: ‘Establishment and Composition of a Special Criminal Court for Edo State sitting in Benin City.’

According to Osawaru, the establishment of the Special Court, which is to be known as “Special Criminal Court 1”, would take effect from Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Osawaru, who noted that the court will be sitting in Benin City, the state capital, said it was “pursuant to the request by His Excellency, the Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, for the constitution of a Special Court for offences relating to cultism and kidnapping, an additional court to be known as “Special Criminal Court 1” is hereby established with effect from Wednesday, the 1st day of July, 2026, for offences relating to cultism and kidnapping and such other matters as may be assigned to the court by the Honourable Chief Judge of Edo State.”

Recall that Governor Monday Okpebholo had on June 18, 2026, during the parade of arrested suspected kidnappers and others for various criminal activities by the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, Monday Agbonika, threatened to set up a special court to try cases relating to cultism and kidnapping.

The Governor, in living up to his threat on June 19, 2026, wrote to the Chief Judge of the state requesting him to set up the special court.

The Governor’s request was contained in a letter dated June 19, 2026 and signed by Umar Musa Ikhilor, the Secretary to the State Government and addressed to the Chief Judge of the state.

The letter with reference number SGA.710/T/40 was also received by the office of the chief judge on the same date, June 19, 2026, at about 3:16pm.

The said letter is titled, ”Request for the constitution of a special court for offences relating to cultism and kidnapping”.

The SSG said the request was necessitated by the governor’s unwavering commitment to tackling and eradicating the menace of cultism and kidnapping in the State, as well as strengthening the administration of criminal justice.

The letter also requested the Chief Judge to nominate three judges or such numbers as he may deem fit, to constitute the Special Court.