Author: Opalim Lifted

Dino Melaye, a former federal lawmaker and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has compared Atiku Abubakar’s landslide victory at the party’s presidential primary poll to Arsenal FC’s recent English Premier League triumph. Melaye and Atiku are Arsenal fans. Tunde Ogbeha, returning officer of the ADC presidential primary poll, announced Atiku as the winner of the exercise on Wednesday night. Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes to defeat two other contenders — Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former managing director of the defunct FSB International Bank, and Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers State. Amaechi polled 504,117 votes, while Hayatu-Deen secured 177,120 votes. Atiku…

Troops of the Nigerian Army on Wednesday repelled an attack by suspected ISWAP terrorists in Chibok LGA of Borno State after a fierce gun battle at a military position in Yarchida. According to counter-insurgency publication Zagazola Makama, the attack occurred around 12:30pm when the insurgents attempted to overrun troops of the 115 Task Force Battalion stationed in the area. The troops reportedly responded swiftly, engaging the attackers in an intense exchange of gunfire to prevent the terrorists from gaining access to the base. Reinforcements from the 117 Task Force Battalion were later deployed to support the defending troops, strengthening the…

Olakunle Nafiu, director-general (DG) of the National Youth Service Corps, says serving corps members are not exempt from Nigeria’s cybercrime law during their mandatory national service year. NAN reports that Nafiu spoke in Abuja on Thursday during an interview, where he noted that corps members are citizens and are bound by the constitution and other extant laws regulating online conduct, cyber activities, and public behaviour. Nafiu said allegations of cyberbullying involving corps members would be investigated and handled by relevant law enforcement agencies in line with the law. He also said the NYSC is not mandated to provide legal representation…

Folasade Tinubu-Ojo has threatened to stage a protest over alleged manipulation of the results of the primary elections of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos. Recently, the APC concluded its primary elections for presidential ticket, governorship flagbearers, senatorial and House of Representatives seats, as well as state House of Assembly seats. Allegations of imposition and electoral irregularities have trailed the ruling party’s primaries in some states. Speaking at a weekly meeting of market leaders and stakeholders in Alausa on Wednesday, Tinubu-Ojo, Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, called for the scrapping of the Justice Forum and Mandate Group in the Lagos APC. The…

Several students were rushed to the Edo Specialist Hospital on Wednesday after a Children’s Day celebration at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium descended into chaos following a stampede linked to the use of pepper spray by bouncers. The event, organised by the Edo State Ministry of Education, reportedly turned rowdy after some male students allegedly harassed female students during the celebration. According to reports, the male students, said to be from Ihogbe College, made persistent advances towards female students at the venue, attracting the attention of security personnel stationed at the stadium. The bouncers reportedly confronted and rebuked the students, but…

Sarah Omakwu, the senior pastor of Family Worship Center in Abuja, has criticised WhatsApp users who disable their blue tick read receipts. Sharing a clip from her recent sermon on Facebook, the cleric urged users to turn their read receipts back on, arguing that hiding them reflects insincerity. According to her, many people disable the feature to avoid responding to messages and also keep others in “suspense”. “Put back the blue tick on your WhatsApp, put it back. Taking it off is lying, and then you keep people in suspense,” she said. “Most of you who remove the blue ticks,…

Crystal Palace claimed the first European trophy in their history after defeating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the Conference League final thanks to a decisive goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta. The French striker scored early in the second half at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, tapping home from close range after Adam Wharton’s effort was pushed into his path by goalkeeper Augusto Batalla. The victory capped a remarkable spell under outgoing manager Oliver Glasner, who leaves Selhurst Park after guiding Palace to the FA Cup, Community Shield and now Conference League success within two and a half years. Both clubs were…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has won the presidential primary election of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Tunde Ogbeha, the returning officer of the ADC presidential primary election, announced Atiku as the winner of the primary poll on Wednesday night. Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes to defeat two other contenders — Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former managing director of the defunct FSB International Bank, and Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers. Amaechi polled 504,117 votes while Hayatu-Deen got 177,120 votes. Speaking after he was presented with the ADC flag as the party’s standard-bearer for the 2027 elections, Atiku asked Hayatu-Deen and Amaechi to…

US Congressman Riley Moore has thanked Donald Trump for ordering the Pentagon to prioritise the protection of Nigerian Christians from ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). In a statement posted on Wednesday via his official X account, Rep. Moore praised President Trump for authorising a joint US-Nigerian operation that reportedly killed ISIS’s global second-in-command, Abu-Bilal al-Munuki. Moore’s appreciation followed comments by US Secretary of zwae Pete Hegseth during a White House meeting, where he explained how the operation and intelligence gathering contributed to the deaths of hundreds of ISIS fighters linked to attacks on Christians and threats to the…

Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals has reduced its gantry price of diesel by N200 as importers reportedly receive new shipments. The refinery cut the price from N1,800 per litre to N1,600 on Wednesday, according to Platts, an independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Confirming the reduction, Joseph Obele, the national public relations officer of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), said the diesel price was reduced on May 26. The development comes amid a legal dispute on import licences issued or renewed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum…