Author: Chronicle Editor

Romelu Lukaku scored for a record ninth consecutive Europa League game as Inter Milan beat Bayer Leverkusen in Dusseldorf to reach the semi-finals. Nicolo Barella fired home an excellent 20-yard strike to give Inter the lead. Lukaku controlled Ashley Young’s pass, turned a defender and slotted home for his 31st goal of the season. Kai Havertz smashed home from six yards out to give Leverkusen hope but they could not find a leveller to force extra time in the one-off tie. Antonio Conte’s side will face the winner of Shakhtar Donetsk v Basel in the semi-final on 17 August, also…

A musician in Nigeria’s northern state of Kano has been sentenced to death by hanging for blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad. An upper Sharia court in the Hausawa Filin Hockey area of the state said Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, 22, was guilty of committing blasphemy for a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March. Mr Sharif-Aminu did not deny the charges. Judge Khadi Aliyu Muhammad Kani said he could appeal against the verdict. States across Muslim-majority northern Nigeria use both secular law and Sharia law, which does not apply to non-Muslims. Only one of the death sentences passed by Nigeria’s Sharia courts…

Reverend Ladi Thompson, the founder and Senior Pastor of Living Waters Unlimited Church has said that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is a vessel prepared by God unto honour. In a message posted on his Facebook page, the international coordinator of “Macedonian Initiative” said that there are many Osinbajo’s that will come after the incumbent Vice President. “Prof Yemi Osinbajo goes beyond being an individual, he is a prophetic dart thrown into the fray for the light to begin to shine,” Rev Thompson said. He added that, “At this point in time you need to rise above politics, pettiness, ethnic and…

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has reversed the de-registration of 74 political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The court has set aside the judgement of Federal High Court that upheld INEC’s actions saying the de-registration exercise was illegal for not following due process. The court has subsequently ordered that the 74 deregistered parties should be relisted as registered political parties in Nigeria. It would be recalled that on 6 February 2020, INEC had deregistered the political parties for failing to meet constitutional requirements that determine the continuous existence of political parties in the country. INEC…

Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham and West Ham are all interested in signing Wales midfielder David Brooks, 23, following Bournemouth’s relegation. (Star) Arsenal face a wait to begin talks with Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho, 28, because the Brazil international – on loan at Bayern Munich – wants to focus on winning the Champions League first. (Star) Manchester United’s English goalkeeper Dean Henderson, 23, looks set to spend another season out on loan after manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted he will not be able to keep all of the club’s keepers happy. (Standard) Liverpool have agreed a £11.75m fee with Olympiakos for Greece left-back Kostas Tsimikas, 24, but have yet to agree personal terms with the player. (Liverpool Echo) Tsimikas is expected…

The controversy surrounding the stamp duty operated by the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) took a new twist on Sunday. NIPOST explained that it was not operating an illegal stamp duty, noting that, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) operates the Treasury Single Account (TSA) opened for stamp duty. The agency described as an act of misinformation the allegation by the Director of Communications and Liaison of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Abdullahi Ismaila, that NIPOST operates such account. A statement by NIPOST’s General Manager for Corporate Communications, Mr. Franlin Alao, said the account being operated for stamp duties was…

Lagos Police Command have arrested four suspected armed robbers alleged to have invaded Mayfair Garden, Awoyaya in Ibeju Lekki. Rasheed Odetola, 25, John Zion, 23, Damilare Salami, 20, and Adeboye Dayo, 25, were arrested by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) at the weekend allegedly with a locally-made pistol, four unexpended cartridges and a stolen phone. They denied being armed robbers, insisting that they were land thugs. The suspects were arrested during a fight with some men. Odetola said, “It is true that the gun was found with us. We are land grabbers’ thugs. We use the gun to…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deployed its resources to wooing former governor Olusegun Mimiko to support it in the October 10 governorship election. Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state had visited Mimiko at his Ondo home twice within one month to pressure him to dump the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and support the PDP. Sources said Mimiko was offered to run as a running mate with either Atiku Abubakar or Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state in the 2023 presidential election. Mimiko is the national leader of ZLP and his support for any party is seen as a plus…

Tertiary institutions may be prevailed upon to delay the screening of admission seekers for the 2020/2021 academic session, it was learnt on Sunday. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and heads of all tertiary institutions are billed for a meeting today to discuss the possibility of shifting the commencement of admission processes to a new date. The Nation learnt that a date may be picked in September for the kick-off of admission processes for 2020/2021 academic session. On the table for discussion is the possibility of institutions either delaying or prolonging their screening exercises to accommodate candidates who will…

Gunmen have attacked a group of aid workers in Niger, killing six French citizens, their local guide and driver, officials say. The gunmen arrived on motorcycles and opened fire, the governor of Tillabéri region, Tidjani Ibrahim, told the French news agency AFP. They were in the Koure region, which attracts tourists who want to see the last herds of giraffe in West Africa. The French presidency confirmed the deaths of the French citizens. The French nationals worked for an international aid group, Niger’s defence minister Issoufou Katambé told Reuters news agency. Earlier, officials had described them as tourists. ACTED, a…