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The Nigeria Police Force has stopped the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, vigilante groups and other non-state security outfits from participating in security operations for Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.

The Force warned political parties, candidates and their supporters against engaging, arming or deploying such groups for election-related activities.

The directive was communicated through a statement from the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, speaking on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu.

According to the police, these community and quasi-security formations will have no involvement whatsoever in election-related security functions. This includes activities such as escorting electoral materials to polling locations, providing security at polling units, setting up checkpoints, or carrying weapons in connection with the election.

The police also issued a broader warning to political parties, their candidates, supporters and the general public, cautioning against violence, intimidation tactics and thuggery in the lead-up to and during voting. The Force stated plainly that persistent election-related crimes, among them snatching ballot boxes, intimidating voters, buying votes and confrontations between opposing camps of supporters would not be permitted to occur unchecked, as individuals implicated in these offences, whether as the ones physically committing the acts or as those funding and organising them, will face arrest and prosecution regardless of their political connections or standing in society.

The Force named the agencies authorised to handle election security: the police itself, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Correctional Service, and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). They are expected to cover all polling units, collation centres, election materials, officials, observers, journalists and voters alike in the 30 Local Government Areas in Osun State.

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The Central Bank of Nigeria has commenced applications for the second cohort of its regulatory sandbox programme, inviting innovators, financial institutions, virtual asset service providers, fintechs and technology companies to submit proposals for supervised testing of new financial products and services.

The application window opened on August 12, 2026, and will close on August 31, 2026, according to a statement signed by the acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department, Hakama Sidi-Ali.

The CBN said the second cohort builds on its efforts to promote responsible innovation within Nigeria’s financial system while maintaining consumer protection, financial stability and market integrity.

Under Cohort 2, the programme will operate through two dedicated testing tracks.

The first is the virtual asset service provider track, which is designed to support innovative solutions involving virtual assets, stablecoins, payments, settlement, custody, wallets and related financial infrastructure that require supervised live testing.

The second is the data-enabled financial services track, which will support innovations that use secure digital infrastructure and permission-based data sharing to improve financial inclusion, payments, credit, risk management, operational efficiency and consumer outcomes.

The CBN explained that its regulatory sandbox provides a controlled environment where eligible participants can test innovative financial products, services, business models and enabling technologies under the supervision of the apex bank.

According to the bank, the arrangement allows regulators and innovators to engage throughout the testing process, enabling the CBN to better understand emerging technologies while allowing companies to test their solutions within clearly defined regulatory parameters.

The apex bank said the launch of the second cohort reflects its commitment to developing a transparent, proportionate and risk-based regulatory framework capable of encouraging innovation without compromising monetary and financial stability.

It added that lessons gathered from supervised testing would contribute to the development of regulatory and supervisory frameworks for Nigeria’s evolving digital financial ecosystem.

Eligible applicants will be assessed based on several criteria, including the level of innovation, readiness for controlled live testing, potential benefits to consumers or the market, governance structures, risk management capacity and the suitability of their proposed testing plans.

Successful participants will conduct supervised testing within parameters agreed with the CBN.

The bank said the testing process would include safeguards covering consumer protection, operational resilience, cybersecurity and regulatory reporting.

However, the CBN stressed that participation in the regulatory sandbox should not be interpreted as a licence or approval to operate outside the specific testing parameters approved by the bank.

It said the programme is intended to facilitate responsible experimentation, strengthen engagement between regulators and innovators, and support evidence-based policymaking in accordance with the CBN’s statutory mandate.

Interested organisations are required to submit their applications through the CBN regulatory sandbox portal before the August 31 deadline.

The latest initiative comes as Nigeria’s financial sector continues to see rapid development in digital payments, fintech services, virtual assets and data-driven financial products, increasing the need for regulatory frameworks that can accommodate emerging technologies while managing associated risks.

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Finally, Cross River State has recorded a significant breakthrough in its long-running quest for recognition as an oil-producing state, following the emergence of its onshore petroleum assets within the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing .

This development has opened a new chapter in oil and gas exploration in the state, with three petroleum blocks in the Calabar Flank—PPL 2A61, PPL 2A62 and PPL 2A45—included in the licensing process. The NUPRC has described the Calabar Flank as a historically underexplored geological province with significant potential for future petroleum discoveries.

The development is particularly significant for the Ikang, Calabar and Odukpani–Mbiabo petroleum corridors, where previous exploration activities produced wells, including Ikang-1 and the Calabar wells, as well as long-documented capped and abandoned wells around Mbiabo Ikot Offiong. With the latest licensing cycle, these historical petroleum frontiers could now be subjected to modern seismic interpretation, subsurface modelling, exploratory drilling and contemporary oil and gas technologies.

At the NUPRC commercial bid conference held on July 21, 2026, 31 companies emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks. Saratoga emerged as the successful bidder for PPL 2A45, Clinton Oil Field for PPL 2A62, while Nikstallis won PPL 2A61.

Final awards have been made, while payment of the applicable signature bonuses is ongoing and said to be nearing completion in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.

The successful companies are also processing their entry into Cross River State.

The development represents more than another licensing exercise for Cross River. It signals a shift in the state’s petroleum narrative from historical evidence and political agitation towards regulated investment, exploration and potential commercial production.

The participation of new investors in the Calabar Flank indicates that the area is increasingly being recognised within Nigeria’s upstream petroleum architecture as a legitimate frontier for oil and gas exploration.Geographic Reference The development is also being viewed as a significant milestone for Governor Bassey Edet Otu, whose administration has consistently pushed for recognition of Cross River’s oil-producing status and greater participation in Nigeria’s petroleum economy.

Governor Otu’s administration has continued to place the state’s petroleum claims within the national policy and development conversation, helping sustain pressure for recognition based on geological, technical and documentary evidence.

The latest development shifts the central question from whether Cross River possesses petroleum potential to how the state can responsibly develop those resources and convert them into revenue, investment, employment and sustainable development.

From Oil Status to an Oil Economy

The next challenge for Cross River will go beyond securing recognition as an oil-producing state.

The state will need to develop the institutional and economic structures required to capture value across the petroleum chain, including exploration, drilling, production, gas development, infrastructure, local content, technical skills, host-community development, environmental protection and petroleum-linked industrial investment. The Ikang–Calabar–Odukpani–Mbiabo corridor could become an important component of this emerging energy economy.

From Petitions to Regulatory Validation Cross River’s campaign for oil-producing-state recognition predates the current licensing round. The state government has made a sustained series of petitions and representations to the President of Nigeria, backed by documentary, geological and technical evidence relating to onshore and offshore oil wells and derivation interests.

The state’s position has consistently been that its petroleum resources and verified well locations deserve appropriate recognition within Nigeria’s derivation and upstream regulatory framework.Geographic Reference The emergence of Cross River’s onshore petroleum potential within the NUPRC licensing architecture therefore represents a major milestone in that long-running campaign. It also strengthens the state’s position as it pursues the next stage of its petroleum claim—offshore recognition.

Offshore Frontier Remains Attention is now expected to shift towards the offshore component of Cross River’s petroleum claim. According to the state’s technical position, more than 119 offshore well coordinates have been verified and are awaiting presidential consideration and approval. If approved and formally incorporated into the relevant national petroleum and derivation framework, the offshore recognition could further strengthen Cross River’s position in Nigeria’s petroleum economy and potentially improve its revenue prospects. The strategic implication is significant: while onshore validation provides an important foundation, offshore accreditation could complete a broader petroleum recognition being pursued by the state.

Cross River will therefore need to consolidate the current momentum through a coordinated petroleum investment and development strategy that links exploration with infrastructure, community development, local enterprise, technical manpower and long-term economic planning. The wells of yesterday may have been capped, but Cross River’s petroleum future is being reopened. The ultimate objective, however, should go beyond crude oil and gas production. The state must ensure that its petroleum resources translate into broad-based economic prosperity, sustainable development and improved opportunities for its people.