Nigeria has facilitated the safe return of former Sierra Leone President Ernest Koroma to the country, following more than two years of temporary relocation to Nigeria.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who accompanied Koroma to Freetown on the instruction of President Bola Tinubu, said his return marked the successful conclusion of a regional diplomatic and confidence-building process.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Odumegwu-Ojukwu said Koroma’s relocation to Nigeria in January 2024 followed engagements by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) aimed at promoting peace, stability and political understanding in Sierra Leone.

According to her, the process helped create conditions for greater understanding between President Julius Maada Bio and the former president, paving the way for Koroma’s temporary stay in Nigeria.

“His conduct throughout this period reflected restraint, statesmanship, and commitment to a peaceful outcome,” the minister said, according to the statement issued by her Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Magnus Eze.

The minister noted that during his stay in Nigeria, sustained engagements involving ECOWAS, the Nigerian Government and other stakeholders contributed to resolving issues that had necessitated his relocation.

She expressed appreciation to President Bio, former President Koroma and the people of Sierra Leone for their cooperation and commitment to peace.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu said Nigeria remained committed to regional harmony, constitutional order and democratic stability, expressing confidence that Koroma’s return would further strengthen national reconciliation and peace in Sierra Leone.

Koroma had left for Nigeria in 2024, days after being charged with treason and other offences over a deadly 2023 army uprising.

The ex-president, who led Sierra Leone from 2007 to 2018, arrived at the international airport in the capital, Freetown, accompanied by Nigerian ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo and the minister.

He was welcomed by Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Rahman Swarray and officials from Koroma’s party, the opposition All People’s Congress (APC).

“Today I have come back home and I’m happy,” Koroma told journalists, smiling.

Koroma had been cleared by Sierra Leonean authorities to travel to Nigeria for three months for medical treatment but ended up staying more than two years.

In July, Sierra Leone’s justice ministry said it had dropped the charges against him, without giving a reason.

On Friday, Vice President Mohamed Jukdeh Jalloh told a gathering of local leaders and residents in Koroma’s stronghold, the central city of Makeni, that the ex-leader was returning home.

His homecoming comes ahead of presidential elections set for 2028.

The case against Koroma dates to November 2023, when armed attackers stormed a military armoury, two barracks, two prisons and two police stations, clashing with security forces.

Twenty-one people were killed in what authorities deemed a coup attempt.

Two dozen soldiers and Koroma’s former bodyguard were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 50 to 100 years by a military court for their alleged roles in the mutiny.

Koroma had briefly visited Sierra Leone in July, after the charges were dropped, during a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the invitation of current President Julius Maada Bio.

At least five people were killed when an Amazon cargo plane overshot a runway after it landed Sunday at Miami International Airport, crashed into vehicles and caught fire, officials said.

Miami-Dade County fire chief Ray Jadallah told reporters that in addition to five fatalities, three people were transported to trauma centers “in critical condition” and two more were treated at a local hospital.

“The airplane did strike a couple of vehicles,” which left “a couple of victims that were actually trapped in the vehicles,” Jadallah said.

“A complex extrication with our technical rescue team” was needed, “including a search and rescue of the pilot and co-pilot that were trapped in this aircraft.”

Jadallah did not clarify whether the pilot or co-pilot survived, and officials declined to answer questions after brief statements were made.

Video showed thick smoke billowing from the blue and white Boeing 767 after it arrived at 1:58 pm (1758 GMT) from Puerto Rico, as fire trucks raced to the scene.

Officials investigate the scene where a Prime Air cargo plane overran the runway and crashed into other vehicles at Miami International Airport at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, on September 6, 2026.

The plane operating as Prime Air Flight 7598 caught fire as a result of the “crash,” fire officials said.

“A total of 60 fire apparatuses arrived, just short, just shy of 200 men and women from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, to begin the actual search and rescue and firefighting,” Jadallah said.

“The actual cause of the incident will be determined by the FAA and the NTSB,” he added, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.

In a statement posted to X Sunday evening, fire officials said they used foam to extinguish a fire in the engine compartment.

“One person was trapped under one of the involved vehicles and had to be extricated by specialized technical rescue personnel. Specialized hazardous materials (HazMat) units safely shut down the aircraft’s engine and worked to control a fuel leak,” the statement said.

Investigation Launched
The NTSB said in an X post on Sunday that the B-767-300 cargo airplane was flying into Miami from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and they have “launched a go team to investigate Sunday’s runway excursion accident.”

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement the tech giant will cooperate with any investigation into the incident.

“We’re heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami International Airport. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families, loved ones, and all those affected by this devastating loss,” Nantel said.

Miami Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz told reporters Sunday that her officers encountered a “really tragic scene,” but there was “no apparent threat to public safety.”

The airport closed all runways and taxiways because of the incident and posted an update to its website Sunday evening that travelers should check directly with their airline before heading to the airport.

After hours of holding all flights at the international airport Sunday, with numerous delays and canceled flights for commercial airline passengers, the Miami Herald newspaper reported that two of the airport’s four runways had reopened Sunday.

In a statement on X, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava thanked first responders for their speedy response, saying “our fire rescue team was there within seconds of the crash, so we’re deeply grateful.”




AFP

…Says Demand For Student Loans Has Been Overwhelming

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyerr, has dismissed claims that the Federal Government’s student loan scheme favours children whose parents are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Sawyerr described the allegation as a “completely ridiculous idea”, arguing that the electronic application process makes it impossible for NELFUND to determine or favour beneficiaries based on political affiliation.

“I have not heard this allegation, but I can tell you that it’s a completely ridiculous idea that the administration of Bola Tinubu is focused on trying to fund people who support the party. We are talking about students; many of them are yet to vote, some of them are going to be voting for the first time, [and] many of them are not party members.

“How, in any event, do we determine who is a party member and who isn’t? Even if you are running a manual process, how do you do that? You can’t. It’s unlikely to yield you any result,” Sawyerr said during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme.

He said the loan application process was designed around objective eligibility criteria, adding that applicants must apply electronically and provide information such as their names and matriculation numbers.

“It is a process you have to apply for this loan electronically. If you don’t have a name, you can’t apply for this loan. You provide your matriculation number; you have to be in a public institution,” he said.

The NELFUND MD added that the scheme’s system does not discriminate based on personal characteristics, religion or ethnicity.

“We have a system that is focused on people who are Nigerians and meet the standard. The system doesn’t recognise your gender. There is no bias in the system at the front end or the back end.

“This is a system that doesn’t care whether you are of one tribe or the other. This system does not have a view or an opinion on whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, or an African traditional religionist; it doesn’t want to know,” he said.

Sawyerr also said demand for the student loan had been “overwhelming”, describing the scheme as a lifeline for students struggling to finance their education.

He revealed that NELFUND had disbursed ₦162 billion in upkeep allowances, while the scheme had contributed to a reported 20 per cent reduction in student dropout rates.

Weighing in on repayment, Sawyerr said beneficiaries would repay the loans based on their ability to pay. He also said funds reportedly recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the scheme had not yet been received by NELFUND.

The student loan scheme was established under the Student Loans Act signed into law by President Tinubu in April 2024. It provides interest-free financial support to eligible Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions.

The scheme covers approved institutional charges and upkeep allowances, with repayment scheduled to begin two years after completion of the National Youth Service Corps programme.