The death toll from twin earthquakes in Venezuela rose Friday to 920, with tens of thousands reported missing as international rescue teams boosted a desperate and slow-moving search for survivors.

Caracas residents jeered interim leader Delcy Rodriguez during her visit to a devastated neighborhood, as fury over the perceived lack of an official response mounted.

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher told AFP that more than 50,000 people were missing after two powerful earthquakes struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, flattening buildings in the north of
the country.

The coastal area of La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, was the worst hit, with one building after another crumpled by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes.

Access to the disaster zone was restricted from 8:00 pm on Friday (0000 GMT Saturday), Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced in a televised address.

A rescue team from Chile arrived at one residential complex in La Guaira made up of four tall buildings housing hundreds of apartments that
had largely been reduced to rubble.

“Unfortunately, the collapse is total, and there is littlenchance of finding survivors. Efforts are now focused on recovering the bodies of the deceased,” team leader Nadiomar Polanco said at the site, which resembles many others in the city.

Elsewhere, family members, neighbors and volunteers used their bare hands to try to dig out survivors, bemoaning the lack of heavy machinery or official help to save those trapped alive.

“I am looking for my little Gael… he was only five months old,” said an anguished Marjosly Salazar, 40, whose 16-year-old daughter diednin the quake. The baby and Salazar’s cousin are both missing.

“Please, we need support here. We need machinery to start lifting the columns,” she said. “We haven’t seen any government officials here, none at all.”

In an upscale Caracas neighborhood, Rodriguez was greetednwith angry chants from a crowd of people whose loved ones were trapped under
the debris.

“The government isn’t doing anything for the people,” they yelled from behind cordons next to a pulverized building.

– ‘Very complex’ –

AFP saw workers using sledgehammers to break through detritus, calling for “absolute silence” to detect cries from survivors.

“It’s a very, very complex emergency response,” the UN’s Fletcher told AFP, warning the death toll could rise significantly.

Aftershocks and destroyed buildings still posed significant dangers.

Venezuela’s worst earthquake in more than a century has come after the oil-rich country endured more than a decade of economic collapse.

The crisis has hollowed out hospitals and public services, driving millions to leave the country.

The country is still in a fragile transition six months after the United States ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.

– Help arrives –

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries were being mobilized to help find survivors.

Spanish, Salvadoran, Swiss, Colombian, and Mexican rescue teams were already on the ground.

Rodriguez said Friday she had recieved a call from US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio who “reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the response efforts by sending rescue workers,
specialist equipment, support for temporary shelters and humanitarian aid for the affected families.”

The United States said earlier it was sending a disaster response team of more than 250 personnel, including three special search-and-rescue units with dogs trained to locate people trapped beneath the rubble.

A senior US military official landed in Caracas to oversee Washington’s relief efforts.

“Even before the earthquakes, millions of people across Venezuela were facing food insecurity, collapsing health services, protection risks, and limited access to basic services,” the UN and other aid agencies said in a statement Friday.

“The international community must not allow this emergen to deepen into a larger human tragedy.”

Earthquakes of similar magnitude claimed more than 200,000
lives in Haiti in January 2010 and 73,000 lives in Kashmir in October 2005.

– Foreigners killed –

Those killed included 28 Portuguese nationals, five Spaniards, two Brazilians, seven Chinese nationals, one Chilean and one Italian-Venezuelan.

85 Portuguese nationals and 119 Spaniards were missing or otherwise unaccounted for, according to their respective governments.

The quakes were the most powerful to hit Venezuela since a
7.7-magnitude tremor struck offshore in 1900.

Venezuela’s northern coast sits on a boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, but had not experienced a major
quake since 1997.

Minutes of silence preceded Friday’s World Cup 2026 matches to honor the victims of the tragedy.

Aprokorepublic

Ayekooto Akindele, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has defended First Lady Oluremi Tinubu over her controversial business advice that sparked backlash online.

In a viral video, the First Lady had encouraged women to embrace small-scale businesses, noting that ventures such as frying akara, selling roasted corn, or producing kulikuli are viable ways to earn a living.

Her remarks drew criticism from many Nigerians, who accused her of trivializing youth unemployment.

Reacting on his official X handle, Akindele argued that the advice was directed at those living in poverty, not internet fraudsters or supporters of opposition candidate Peter Obi.

“Every petty business Mama mentioned is patronised daily by virtually every home in Nigeria. Even the yahoo boys and Obidients who are lamenting eat one or two of these items daily. But Mama was talking to those on or under the poverty line, who want to retain their dignity while earning a livelihood without sleeping with strangers or duping foreigners online. There’s dignity in lawful labour,” he wrote.

Akindele insisted that Remi Tinubu’s message was about encouraging self-reliance and lawful survival strategies for struggling Nigerians, rather than dismissing the challenges of unemployment.

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Residents and businesses in Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Bauchi, and Yobe states are set to experience temporary power disruptions on Sunday as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) carries out scheduled maintenance on critical grid infrastructure.

The planned outage, announced by TCN on Friday through its spokesperson Ndidi Mbah, will also affect Gazaoua in the Niger Republic, which receives power through Nigeria’s national grid.

According to TCN, the maintenance is scheduled at the Kumbotso 330-kilovolt transmission substation in Kano. It will allow contractors to upgrade the 330kV Bus II jumpers and replace existing 350mm² conductors with higher-capacity 800mm² conductors.

These upgrades are part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the transmission network and improve overall power reliability in the northern region.

During the maintenance period, affected electricity distribution companies primarily the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), and parts of Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) and Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) will be unable to offtake power.

This will impact supply to Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa states, as well as Azare in Bauchi State and Nguru in Yobe State.

TCN assured consumers that the outage is temporary and necessary for critical infrastructure improvements aimed at enhancing the stability and capacity of electricity supply in the long term.

Customers in the affected areas are advised to plan accordingly for the disruption. No specific duration was detailed in the statement beyond the general notice for Sunday’s works.

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Public affairs commentator Mahdi Shehu has described Northern Nigeria as a conquered society, blaming what he called poor leadership, greed, insecurity, and worsening economic hardship for the region’s current challenges.

Shehu made the remarks in a post on his X handle on Thursday, where he argued that the North had been defeated physically andbtactically under democratic rule.

According to him, the region’s problems were largely self-inflicted.

“The North has been defeated physically and tactically,” he wrote.

“The defeat became possible on account of some greedy and cowardly Northerners with material afflictions, who mortgaged the North on selfish grounds just for them to remain comfortable,” he said.

Shehu also blamed what he described as the complacency of many northerners for the region’s current situation.

According to him, “The defeat has been foretold because docility became part of the pathology of majority Northerners.”

He further argued that poor judgment and a lack of foresight had contributed to the North’s decline: “The defeat became inevitable on account of the avoidable stupidity and shortsightedness of most Northerners.”

The public affairs commentator said many people in the region misunderstood the nature of modern conflicts.

“We lost the war because we stupidly thought wars are fought with guns only whereas propaganda and shamelessness are the modern-day weapons
of war,” he said.

Criticising northern elders for their failure to provide courageous leadership, he said: “A society whose population of elders is madebup mostly of cowards, selfish imbeciles with too much survival instinct is a society whose defeat is inevitable. Such is the Northern society.

“With the level of hunger in the North, increasing death tolls from wanton killings, arson, deliberate murder, hunger, starvation,diseases, malnutrition, total collapse of infrastructure, compromised culture
and values, total confusion and frustration, which are all signs of a conquered society, what remains is for the North to surrender and become prisoners of
war.”

Shehu concluded by claiming that the North had been conquered and decimated under democracy through a combination of violence, economic policies, and what he described as the region’s own stupidity and docility.

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The media office of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has described the Lokoja High Court judgment regarding the party’s registration status as a temporary setback, saying the
decision will be challenged legally.

This is contained in a statement by the Peter Obi Media Reach, POMR, signed by its spokesperson, Idris Zekeri Jnr, on Friday.

POMR noted that it has been flooded with inquiries from journalists and concerned Nigerians following the decision.

The media office urged Obi’s followers, political partners, and the general public to stay calm while the legal team finishes reviewing then judgment and prepares to file an appeal.

It maintained that it fully expected to face systemic hurdles in the ongoing bid to challenge the political establishment, viewing the court’s decision as a brief obstacle rather than a permanent defeat for its political objectives.

“We have received the news of today’s bizarre ruling from the court in Lokoja regarding the legal status of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC.

“While our legal teams are thoroughly reviewing the judgment to initiate immediate corrective and appellate measures, our Principal urges all our supporters, coalition partners, and patriots nationwide to remain
absolutely calm and focused,” the statement said.

According to the group, the legal decision would not changenthe ultimate goal of establishing an alternative political platform for Nigerians.

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Tijani Mustapha, media aide to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has fired back at the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his criticism of the State Police Bill.

In a post on X on Friday, Mustapha insisted that Obi failed to read the legislation before commenting on it.

Recall that Obi had criticised the Senate’s passage of the bill, describing the process as hasty and lacking due legislative procedure, arguing that the manner in which the bill was passed had fuelled public suspicion about the political motives behind its introduction.

He also expressed concern that the legislative process appeared disorganised, noting the absence of a public hearing, warning thatnstate police could easily be exploited by state governors to suppress political opponents.

Responding, Mustapha dismissed Obi’s concerns, stating that they demonstrated he had clearly not read the bill as passed.

Mustapha noted that the bill already makes provision for the establishment of an independent State Police Service Commission, addressing Obi’s major concern.

“I know this because his major concern of the creation of an independent State Police Service Commission was duly addressed in the bill.

“For a man who doesn’t know the meaning of KPI, one again wonders what this individual’s mental capacities are,” Mustapha wrote.

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There was outrage at the University of Osun (UNIOSUN) on Friday following the death of Grace Osunlakin, a 400-level student, over alleged poor healthcare facilities at its Ifetedo campus.

Some students staged a protest to express their anger over the death of their colleague, whom they claimed could have survived if adequate
medical care had been available.

In a video from the protest seen by TheCable, a student accused the university management of failing to provide functional healthcare
services despite collecting fees from students.

“You claimed you built a hostel and clinic for us, but none of them is functioning. There are no nurses or doctors. We paid school fees and everything, but you’re just extorting us. Let us go if you can’t take care of us,” the student said.

According to students, Osunlakin, a student of criminology and security studies, suffered a medical emergency and fainted on Wednesday.

In another viral video seen by TheCable, Oguntola Helen, welfare director of the university’s students’ union, alleged that the deceased required oxygen but could not get it at the campus health facility.

“She just finished her exam on Monday, but she died on June 24. She had an attack and fainted. All she needed was oxygen, but the school medical facility didn’t have it,” Helen said.

“We lost Grace just because there was no oxygen to stabilise her.”

“These are the drugs. This is all we have to cater for over 2,000 students. We have no oxygen, we have no medical facility.

“I had ordinary cramps. I had to go outside the school to get a drug. We lost Grace because there was no oxygen to stabilise her. This is not just fair.”

‘SHUT DOWN THE UNIVERSITY’

Meanwhile, Akinteye Azeez, president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), condemned the “negligence” and inadequate healthcare provision at the institution.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Azeez expressed condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased student.

“It is deeply painful that we lost one of our own to the cold hands of death due to the incompetence and negligence of those who ought to have provided the immediate medical attention necessary to keep her alive,” he said.

Azeez alleged that Osunlakin died because the university health centre lacked the drugs, equipment and facilities needed to stabilise her condition.

“Students pay substantial fees to attend school, and embedded within these fees are charges for healthcare services. It is therefore only reasonable that students should have access to functional and adequately equipped medical facilities whenever the need arises,” he said.

“Healthcare is not a luxury; it is a fundamental necessity and one of the most critical services any educational institution owes its students.”

The NANS president said the circumstances surrounding the
student’s death raised serious concerns about healthcare delivery within the
institution.

He called on the university management to investigate the incident, engage with the deceased student’s family, and urgently improve healthcare facilities across the institution.

Azeez also urged the management to temporarily shut down the Ifetedo campus until adequate healthcare facilities, equipment, drugs and
emergency response mechanisms are put in place.

‘SHE WAS NEVER TREATED AT THE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTREax’

The university, however, disputed claims that Osunlakin was denied treatment at its medical facility.

In a statement, Ademola Adesoji, spokesperson of the university, said the student was never taken to the university health centre on
the day of the incident.

According to Adesoji, Osunlakin had earlier completed her project defence and interacted with her project supervisor and fellow students
before returning to her off-campus residence.

“Following the defence, she reportedly interacted with her project supervisor and fellow students before returning to her off-campus residence, a privately rented apartment,” he said.

“She showed no visible signs of illness while on campus that day.”

The spokesperson added that Osunlakin had been identified as an asthmatic patient since her 100-level and that her condition was documented in the records of the university health centre at the Ifetedo campus.

He said testimonies obtained from Durosinmi Mariam, Osunlakin’s housemate, indicated that she returned from a Christian fellowship later that evening and complained of stomach pain.

“She subsequently went to the toilet, where she reportedly screamed, drawing the attention of her housemate,” Adesoji said.

According to the university, Mariam assisted Osunlakin back to her room before efforts were made to take her to a medical facility when her
condition worsened.

Adesoji said transportation was complicated by an unannounced Oro ritual in Ifetedo, which restricted movement at night.

He added that despite the challenge, Osunlakin was transported on a motorcycle to the Community Health Centre in Ikija, Ifetedo.

“She was not taken to the University Health Centre at any point on the night of the incident,” Adesoji said.

He added that upon arrival at the health centre, Osunlakin had already lost consciousness and was immediately placed on a stretcher.

The university spokesperson said Oyeyipo Eyitayo, the student’s project supervisor, and Olawale Gbadeyan, acting head of the department of peace and conflict studies, were contacted and proceeded to the facility.

“Both lecturers immediately proceeded to the Community Health Centre, where the matron on duty confirmed her passing in the presence of her friends,” he said.

Adesoji added that the lecturers subsequently took Osunlakin
to a specialist hospital in Ondo for further medical confirmation.

“On arrival at about 12:10 a.m., the medical doctor on duty reportedly carried out preliminary checks and confirmed that she was dead on arrival,” Adesoji said.

The institution noted that throughout the process, university officials remained in contact with those involved and reiterated that Osunlakin was never taken to the University Medical Centre on the day of
her death.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has not yet received the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in Lokoja, which set aside an earlier order on the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

In a statement issued on Saturday, Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, confirmed that the commission is aware of media reports on the June 26 ruling but cannot comment until the certified judgment is formally obtained and reviewed.

“As of this moment, the Commission has not yet received the Certified True Copy of the court’s order. Once our legal department receives and thoroughly studies the judgment, INEC will take an informed, lawful decision in line with the court’s directives,” Oketola stated.

Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court had on Friday set aside the earlier judgment of December 10, 2025, which directed INEC to register the NDC.

The court ruled that the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which claimed ownership of the disputed logo, was not joined in the original suit, thereby affecting its rights.

Following the ruling, the NDC rejected the decision and announced plans to appeal, with party leaders including Senator Moses Cleopas and presidential candidate Peter Obi describing the judgment as a threat to multiparty democracy.

INEC, however, emphasized that it will reserve its official position until the certified judgment is received and studied.

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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Friday, said opposition leaders are now using roads constructed by President Bola Tinubu’s administration after neglecting similar projects while in office.

Wike made the remark during the commissioning of the Mabushi–Ahmadu Bello Way Link Roads in Abuja to mark Tinubu’s third year in office.

The minister recalled how Tinubu directed that every district in Abuja must feel the impact of his administration.

Wike said: “Your directive is that every district in Abuja must be touched. Every district must see the impact of your administration.

“I have told everybody that road is the bedrock of any development.”

He noted that the President had commissioned the Jahi–Gwarinpa Interchange on Thursday and was expected to inaugurate more roads
in satellite towns as part of the ongoing 31-day project commissioning
exercise.

Wike argued that road infrastructure remains the foundation of development, saying newly completed roads have attracted housing projects and increased property values in affected communities.

“Road is the bedrock of any development. Look at this road.
Look at the houses. But for this road, these houses would not have come up.”

Speaking to opposition figures, Wike said some politicians who once held top public offices failed to construct critical roads but now benefit from projects executed by the current administration.

“But thank God, you have made it possible. They no longer fly with helicopters. They now drive by road to their various areas. I will soon compile a list of opposition members staying here and using this road,” he said.

He also vowed to compile the names of opposition party leaders living in Abuja and show them the roads built under the Tinubu administration.

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