Author: Opalim Lifted

A shocking case unfolding in northern Nigeria has ignited national and international outrage. Zainab Muhamadu, a 22-year-old woman from Zamfara State, is facing a potential death sentence for leaving Islam and embracing Christianity—a move that has triggered a controversial apostasy trial under Sharia law. Her story began with an unexpected encounter. During his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posting, Pastor Samuel was assigned to her community. Known for his compassion and integrity, Samuel formed a genuine bond with Zainab, sharing his Christian beliefs and treating her with respect and kindness. Their connection eventually deepened into a shared spiritual journey, culminating…

Spain has clinched hosting rights for the 2027 UEFA Champions League final, with the showpiece set to take place at Atlético Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium, Sports Minister Pilar Alegría confirmed on Tuesday. The decision marks a major win for Spanish football, bringing one of Europe’s most prestigious sporting events back to Madrid. It will be the second time the Metropolitano, which opened in 2017, hosts the final, following its successful staging in 2019 when Liverpool triumphed over Tottenham. “Spain is ready to welcome the world’s football fans once again,” Alegría said, celebrating UEFA’s nod to the nation’s world-class infrastructure and fan…

Leicester City have been referred to an independent commission by the Premier League for an alleged breach of EFL financial rules during the 2023-24 Championship season. The club could be punished with a possible points deduction and fine, although it is not clear at this stage when, what or how that will be applied. At the centre of the tribunal decision were two contrasting decisions. The tribunal upheld a decision that the Premier League could not punish the Foxes for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability (PSR) rules for the 2022-23 season as the club had been relegated from the…

Former Spain and Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina will retire from football at the end of the season, he said on Monday. The 42-year-old goalkeeper, a product of Barcelona’s academy, spent eight seasons at Liverpool where he won the FA Cup and League Cup while also earning the Premier League Golden Glove award for most clean sheets in his first three seasons with the club. He went on to play for Bayern Munich, Napoli and AC Milan before signing for Como in July last year, making 11 appearances in the current Serie A campaign. “A very beautiful career is coming to…

Bismarck Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives Company, has questioned the credibility of the latest consumer price index (CPI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The bureau had said Nigeria’s headline inflation rate slightly dropped to 23.71 percent in April 2025 – down from 24.23 percent in March. Commenting on the figure, Rewane said the NBS result shows that some food-producing states are experiencing high inflation rates, while major consuming states have significantly lower rates. The MD Financial Derivatives Company said the data might be as flawed as the 2025 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam scandal,…

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, has petitioned the inspector-general of police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, alleging that Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, is behind “a coordinated smear campaign” aimed at tarnishing her reputation. In a letter dated May 15 and titled ‘Petition Against Coordinated Defamation and Cyberbullying by Sponsored Syndicate at the Behest of the President of the Senate – Godswill Akpabio,’ the lawmaker accused Akpabio of “deploying media proxies to publish false and damaging stories” about her. Akpoti-Uduaghan cited several online platforms which simultaneously published articles on May 10 accusing her of sponsoring terrorism, orchestrating killings in Kogi central,…

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has partnered with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to launch a data verification service to ease doing business. The Registrar General of the CAC, Ishaq Magaji, said that what is unveiled is an Application Programming Interface (API) integration of the systems of a few carefully selected private sector organisations (Super Agents) with the system of the Commission. Magaji explained that the integration will enable the super agents to retrieve data from the commission’s database at a fee, modify or transform the data into a specific type of information desired by the super agent’s client,…

The Imo state police command has clarified reports concerning 15 students of Eminent Scholars Imperial Academy, Onitsha, Anambra. The students were said to have entered a chartered bus which departed Onitsha on May 16 for their rescheduled Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) at a CBT centre in Okigwe Zone, Imo. They were said to have been kidnapped and declared missing on Saturday. The children, the school owner, and his wife, the driver, were said to be unreachable. However, in a statement on Monday, Henry Okoye, the Imo police spokesperson, said no abduction occurred. Nasarawa police arrest notorious cattle rustler, recover…

Tokunbo Wahab, Lagos commissioner for environment and water resources, has statedd that the state will begin full enforcement of the ban on single-use plastics (SUPs) from July 1, 2025. SUPs are products intended for short-term use. They are sometimes discarded after a single application. Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) used for building insulation on walls and roofs. It is also used for production of single-use cups and plastics. In January 2024, the Lagos government banned the use and distribution of styrofoam and other SUPs to reduce environmental pollution across the state. The development elicited…

Super Eagles striker, Taiwo Awoniyi has shared an emotional message of appreciation after undergoing emergency surgery and spending time in an induced coma following a serious abdominal injury. The 27-year-old Nottingham Forest forward suffered a ruptured intestine during the club’s 2-2 English Premier League (draw against Leicester City last Sunday and was rushed to the hospital the following day. After undergoing a double surgery, he was placed in a medically induced coma before regaining consciousness on Wednesday. Taking to Instagram on Sunday, Awoniyi thanked football fans, family, and Nigerians for their overwhelming support during what he described as “one of…