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The Imole Campaign Council has commended the Nigerian Navy for what it described as professionalism and neutrality in Osun State, while condemning the reported release of an All Progressives Congress House of Assembly candidate allegedly arrested with a gun.

In a statement issued on Friday by its spokesman, Pelumi Olajengbesi, the council said its attention had been drawn to “the arrest and subsequent controversial release of an All Progressives Congress member, Babatunde Festus Komolafe, who is also the APC House of Assembly candidate for Atakumosa East/West Local Government Area.”

According to the statement, Komolafe, popularly known as BFK, was apprehended by naval personnel in his hometown of Ifewara on Thursday.

The council alleged that “during a routine search conducted by men of the Nigerian Navy, the APC candidate was arrested alongside his supporters while travelling in a campaign vehicle reportedly belonging to the APC after a gun was allegedly discovered in the vehicle.”

It said the arrest had become public knowledge after a video of the suspects circulated widely on social media.

“The arrest is no secret, as a video showing the suspects has since gone viral and attracted public outrage,” the statement read.

The campaign council further claimed that the suspects were released shortly after their arrest due to pressure from senior APC figures.

“However, we gathered reliably that the arrested APC candidate and his co-perpetrators were immediately released following pressure from APC top goons,” it stated.

The statement added that “a news outlet even chronicled how the naval officer in charge was forced to release the suspects and asked to step aside.”

Despite its criticism of the release, the council praised the conduct of the armed forces during the ongoing governorship election campaigns.

“The Imole Campaign Council commends the men and officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces, especially the Nigerian Navy, for their neutrality and professionalism since the commencement of the governorship election campaigns,” the statement said.

It added, “The men and officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces have been proactive in arresting troublemakers regardless of party affiliation. Special salute to our gallant troops!”

The council, however, insisted that releasing a suspect allegedly found with an unauthorised firearm was dangerous.

“That said, the release of a suspect who was caught with an unauthorised gun is unacceptable. It sends the wrong signal to political criminals whose pastime is killing and maiming,” the statement declared.

The group linked the incident to what it described as the APC’s past conduct in Osun State.

“This is particularly alarming because of the APC’s antecedents in Osun. Just two weeks ago, the police launched an attack on military personnel to rescue five APC hoodlums, including the notorious APC thug, Asiri Eniba, arrested by the Nigerian Navy for shooting sporadically in Ile-Ife with pump-action guns,” it alleged.

The council called on the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to intervene.

“We call on the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to look into this grave injustice and punish the suspects,” the statement said.

It concluded, “No politician is above the law, and no political thug should be released to keep fomenting trouble.”

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An American Christian missionary, Kevin Rideout, has been released to U.S. officials after spending over nine months in captivity in Niger.

His organization, the Charlotte-based SIM International, confirmed on Friday that Rideout is in good health and will soon be reunited with his family.

“We are grateful to confirm that our good friend and brother in Christ, Kevin Rideout, has been released after over nine months in captivity,” SIM International Director Phil Bauman told CNN in a statement.

“Kevin is in good health in the care of US officials,” the statement said, adding Rideout will soon be reunited with his family.

Rideout was abducted on October 21, 2025, from outside his home in the capital city of Niamey by three unidentified men who fled toward the western Tillaberi region—an area known for active Islamist militant groups.

Following the incident, the U.S. Embassy in Niger heightened its security protocols and warned of elevated kidnapping threats across the country.

According to reports, Rideout is currently in FBI custody, though specific details regarding his release, his exact timeline, and the identity of his captors remain undisclosed.

Niger continues to grapple with intense violence and instability driven by militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and Islamic State forces operating along its borders.

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Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President of Nigeria, on Friday commended recent report by the United States Department of State highlighting concerns over fiscal transparency in Nigeria, with specific reference to the federal government’s failure to disclose revenues and expenditures.

Stating that it vindicated his position for consistently calling out President Bola for its failure to uphold the basic standards of fiscal transparency, accountability, and disclosure required in a modern democracy.

The US report, had stated that: “The government made its enacted budget and end-of-year report widely and easily accessible to the public, including online, but did not publish its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period.

“…Budget documents did not provide a substantially complete picture of the government’s revenues and expenditures, or break down expenditures to support executive offices in the budget.”

Atiku, who said the report aligned with his concerns quoted the part, where it said: “Actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget.”

The report also carpeted the Office of the Auditor-General, for did not meeting international standards of independence and did not publish substantive reports, adding that the Tinubu-led government did not meet the minimum requirements for fiscal transparency during the period under review.

Citing the failure to provide timely, detailed, and publicly accessible information on government revenues and expenditures, as well as the absence of credible audit trails, the former VP, said the observation was on all fours with his position over the years that Nigerians were being kept in the dark about how public resources are generated and spent.

Maintain that without full disclosure of how public funds were earned and spent, Nigeria could not attract investment, fight corruption, or build public trust, Atiku, added: “Transparency is not a slogan. It is the foundation of good governance.

This report confirms what we have been saying that Nigerians deserve to know where every kobo is coming from and where it is being spent. They are our resources and not the resources of President Bola Tinubu and his family and friends.”

While stressing the importance of fiscal transparency as a key benchmark for investors, donor agencies, and credit rating firms, he argued that since the Nigerian economy also relied heavily on foreign investment and multilateral support to fund infrastructure and social programmes, publishing detailed, timely data on revenue from oil, taxes, and borrowing, and on how that money was spent, remained critical to restoring confidence amid rising debt and inflation.