Author: David Great

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said he could start some key players against Real Madrid on Saturday who have been out injured in recent weeks, if they arrive 100 percent fit. The Spanish champions have been without forwards Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, midfielders Pedri and Frenkie de Jong and defenders Jules Kounde and Sergi Roberto in the lead-up to the match. However, all those players took part in training on Friday except for the latter, with Xavi saying he was surprised by their recoveries and determination to play against Real Madrid. “I was surprised to see them in training too,” Xavi…

Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), claims the agency has captured over 6,668 tonnes of illegal drugs in the last two years. Marwa stated this in response to Gov. Dikko Radda’s appeal for collaboration and the deployment of more NDLEA officers to all sections of Katsina. This was said by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Friday in Abuja. Marwa further stated that over 36,096 individuals had been apprehended and over 6,043 had been prosecuted and convicted within the same time period. He stated that the drug problem…

Lionel Messi was among three finalists named on Thursday for Major League Soccer’s Newcomer of the Year award despite the Argentine star playing only six league matches for Inter Miami. The 36-year-old striker, who inspired Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, powered Miami to the Leagues Cup title in a tournament with MLS and Mexican league sides in August. Messi only played his first MLS match for Miami on August 26 as a second-half substitute and scored a goal in Inter’s 2-0 win at New York Red Bulls to snap an 11-match winless streak. But nagged by a late-season…

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the February 15, 2023 presidential election, expressing hope that his administration will bring peace and prosperity to the country. “On behalf of the good people of Osun State, I congratulate President Tinubu on his judicial victory at the apex court,” Olawale Rasheed, spokesperson for the governor of the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said in a Thursday statement. Adeleke, he said, offered the congratulations in the presence of Nigeria’s Iyaloja General, Folasade Ojo-Tinubu, who was in Ede, Osun State, to…

The House of Representatives, on Thursday, invited controversial singer Azeez Fashola, Naira Marley, to appear before it in an attempt to gain the musical rights to the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad. Jiggy Adeoye, the late singer’s manager, has also been asked to testify before the House Committee on Justice, Youth, and Legislative Compliance on October 31. Mohbad, a former signee for Naira Marley’s record company, died under dubious circumstances on September 12, 2023. The Lagos State Government has called for a coroner’s inquiry into the 27-year-old singer’s death. Mohbad: Coroner summons Naira Marley, Sam Larry, and…

The Akwa Ibom State Government’s Internal Revenue Service has sealed three banks for allegedly failing to return N228 million in unpaid taxes to the state government. Following an order of Notice of Distrain from the Akwa Ibom State High Court, Eket Judicial Division, the banks were closed on Thursday during an exercise undertaken by the revenue board’s Enforcement and Recovery Department. Keystone Bank branches on Abak Road and Ikot Ekpene Road in Uyo were hit, as was Heritage Bank on Aka Road in Uyo. Leo Umana, the board’s Executive Director, Enforcement and Recovery, told the media in Uyo that Heritage…

Police in Lagos on Thursday arraigned a 44-year-old man, Nurudeen Disu, who allegedly stole 33 cows. The defendant, who resides at Anthony Village, Lagos State, is facing a count charge of stealing before an Ogudu Magistrate’s Court. He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The prosecutor, Insp. Bassey Sunday, told the court that the defendant committed the offence from 2019 to 2023 behind the Newcastle Hotel in Anthony Village. Sunday said that the defendant conspired with others to commit the theft. He said the defendant stole 33 cows belonging to the complainant, Mr. Bushura Adebuosu. “The complainant gave a…

The Defence Headquarters says troops have eliminated more than 100 terrorists in air interdictions carried out on the border between Niger and Zamfara states. The director defence media operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known on Thursday in Abuja while giving an update on military operations across the country in the last one week. While showing the battle damage assessment pictures of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) air interdictions, he mentioned that the operations also significantly reduced the number of insurgents in other parts of the country. Mr Buba said the military, in a surgical operation targeted at the residence…

India said Thursday that eight of its citizens had been sentenced to death by Qatar in a case that the media reported involved high-ranking ex-naval officers accused of spying. New Delhi said it would “take up the verdict with Qatari authorities” and would continue to “extend all consular and legal assistance” to the prisoners, the foreign ministry said in a statement. “We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgement in the case involving eight Indian employees of Al Dahra company,” the statement added. “We are deeply shocked by the verdict of…

As part of Sector 2 Joint Task Force Operation Hadin Kai, troops from the 159 Battalion Geidam attacked and killed six terrorists. They also retrieved weapons from the intense combat, including two AK-47 rifles, two motorcycles, and a cell phone. The acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for Sector 2, Captain Muhammad Shehu, revealed this in a statement on Thursday. He stated that the operation, which resulted in the deaths of two rebels, was carried out on Wednesday, October 25, in Jororo village in Geidam Local Government Area (LGA) of Yobe State following tips from the residents and actionable…