Author: Opalim Lifted

Liverpool struck twice late on as they opened the defence of their Premier League title with a dramatic victory over Bournemouth on an emotional night at Anfield. Tributes were paid before and during the game to Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who died in a car crash in July, with a minute’s silence observed before kick-off and applause in the 20th minute – the forward having worn Liverpool’s number 20 jersey. Liverpool head coach Arne Slot gave first Premier League starts to four of his summer recruits, and it was Hugo Ekitike – a £70m signing from Eintracht…

Premier League champions Liverpool have strengthened their defence with the signing of 18-year-old Italian centre back Giovanni Leoni from Parma on a long-term contract, the Merseyside club announced on Friday. Financial details were not disclosed but British media reported that the deal to sign the Italy Under-19 international was worth 26 million pounds ($35.24 million) plus add-ons, with Leoni signing a six-year contract. “I’m very happy to be here. It’s a really great sensation and I’m honoured to be here,” Leoni said in a statement. “It’s one of the best clubs in the world. It’s not possible to say no…

British Airways dropped 58 passengers from boarding its flight from Abuja to London on Friday morning as a result of a faulty door. Michael Achimugu, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) spokesperson, wrote on the incident in an X post on Friday. He said after a faulty door was discovered, “the seats around the door had to be kept unoccupied for safety reasons”. The NCAA official said the incident occurred on Friday morning on BA052 ABV-LHR, asking affected passengers to file for compensation. “Hotel accommodation has been provided, and 28 passengers opted to return home, while 30 accepted the offer,”…

A fire incident, caused by an explosion from a storage facility, damaged parts of the Ilese barracks in the Ijebu-Ode area of Ogun state. The incident occurred on Thursday morning after a device exploded in one of the storage buildings in the barracks. The facility belongs to the 42 engineers brigade counter improvised explosive device squadron. Confirming the incident, Appolonia Anele, acting director of army public relations, said the explosion led to “limited” fire incident that affected the storage building. Anele said no lives were lost from the incident. “Specifically, in the early hours of today, 14 August 2025, a…

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior, said the digitalised biometric system is helping to swiftly recapture inmates who escape from correctional centres. He spoke on Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’ on Thursday, disputing claims that there have been up to seven jailbreaks since 2023, and insisting the actual figure is lower. He also said many of the custodial centres in Nigeria were over 100 years old, with at least 12 of the 246 centres the country currently undergoing rehabilitation. “The simple truth is that from 2015 to 2023, these incidents were not under this government. I can tell you that jailbreaks…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has reduced its price of petrol across its retail outlets to N865 per litre in Lagos and N890 per litre in Abuja. The price slash represents a N10 cut in both cities from the previous prices of N875 per litre and N900 per litre, respectively. On Friday, TheCable observed that the product was sold for N865 per litre in Lagos and N890 per litre in Abuja. At the NNPC outlet in Abule Ado in Lagos, the price of petrol dropped to N865 per litre. Similarly, in Abuja, at the NNPC outlet at Federal…

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu of spending nearly a quarter of his presidency outside the country. On Wednesday, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said Tinubu will embark on a two-nation trip to Japan and Brazil on Thursday. However, in a statement on Thursday, Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC national publicity secretary, described Tinubu’s foreign travel record as “excessive” and “disturbing”. Abdullahi said the president’s trip this week would be his 40th since assuming office 26 months ago. He said the trips add up to 181 days abroad, which is the equivalent…

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the federal government to refund allegedly diverted workers’ funds from the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). In a communiqué issued at the end of its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting recently held in Abuja, the congress condemned the diversion of 40 percent of workers’ contributions from the NSITF to the national coffers, describing it as a violation of the NSITF Act and an assault on workers’ social protection rights. “The CWC expressed outrage at the ongoing assault on workers’ social protection rights through the Federal Government’s diversion of…

Comfort Emmanson, the passenger who was accused of assaulting airline officials on an Ibom Air flight, has issued a statement following her release from prison. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Emmanson confirmed she had regained freedom, adding that she was still in pains in the wake of the incident. She promised to tell her side of the story after some rest and medical treatment. “Thank you so much for all the Prayers, Love, and support. I’ve been released from the Prison, but I’m still in pains due to how I was treated,” she said. “I just need some rest…

The police command in Rivers has arrested Ifediorah Onyeibor Joseph, a 41-year-old pastor, over alleged “dehumanisation” of children in his church. In a less than two-minute clip making the round online, at least 20 children were seen kneeling and clutching palm leaves, as a man serially flogged them with palm fronds. Most of the minors in the video were unclad. The narrator relayed that the setting was a church in Port Harcourt and that the children had been lacerated and maltreated for days on end. “Only God knows if they kidnapped these children. There is blood in that basin. They…