Author: Opalim Lifted

Patience Ozokwor, the Nollywood actress, has expressed pride in the villainous characters she often portrays on screen, saying the roles serve a greater purpose by shedding light on real societal issues. Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G, addressed the frequent misunderstanding surrounding her on-screen persona in a recent video chat. The 67-year-old film star noted that some viewers mistakenly assume her real-life personality mirrors the wicked characters she plays. However, she explained that the intent behind such roles is to expose negative behaviours and offer moral lessons to the audience. “I feel bold to expose the ills in society. Those…

Nicki Minaj, the Trinidadian rapper and singer-songwriter, has claimed that powerful figures in the music industry deliberately sideline talented artistes who refuse to comply with their demands. During a recent appearance on The Bryce Crawford Podcast, Minaj said many of the obstacles she and other artistes have encountered are orchestrated by influential individuals, though she declined to name any specific persons or groups. She described the industry’s early years as largely positive, recalling a time when artistes genuinely supported one another. However, she noted that her perspective shifted as she began to observe vindictive behaviour among certain industry players. “I…

Austria won a match at the World Cup finals for the first time since 1990 as they beat debutants Jordan in San Francisco. The European side took the lead with a stunning 21st-minute strike from Romano Schmid, but Jordan equalised five minutes into the second half thanks to a curled effort from Ali Olwan. Former Stoke and West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic thought he had restored Austria’s lead when he finished a loose ball after Jordan goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila had failed to deal with a corner. However, following an intervention from the video assistant referee, the goal was disallowed as…

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the release of results for the 2026 mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The announcement was made on Tuesday by Fabian Benjamin, who confirmed that candidates who participated in the mop-up examination can now access their results through JAMB’s approved result-checking channels. The 2026 UTME was conducted across about 966 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide between April 16 and April 23. However, technical issues at some centres prevented a number of candidates from taking the examination as scheduled. To address the situation, JAMB organised a mop-up examination on June 13 for…

Lionel Messi became the World Cup’s joint-top all-time scorer with a hat-trick as reigning champions Argentina began their defence with a statement victory over Algeria. Making his 200th appearance for his country, Messi scored his first treble at a World Cup. And it created a piece of history, as the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner took his World Cup finals goal tally to 16 – moving him level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading scorer in the competition’s history. The three-time world champions were made to work for victory at the Kansas City Stadium as they aim to become…

Norway’s prolific striker Erling Haaland bagged two goals in his maiden World Cup appearance on Tuesday to guide his team to an opening 4-1 Group I victory over Iraq, and put down a ‌marker for the tournament. The 25-year-old, one of the most exciting forwards in world football, was in the spotlight long before the match, and he lived up to his big-name billing on his debut on the biggest of stages, as Norway returned to the World Cup after a 28-year absence. After a cautious start, Haaland, who scored 16 times in eight qualifying games, double the tally of…

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reduced the ex-gantry price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, by N75 per litre. In a circular to oil marketers on Monday, the refinery said the adjustment, effective June 16, followed the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East, which had impacted energy prices. “Following the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East, which has impacted energy prices, we wish to inform you that we have reviewed our premium motor spirit gantry/coastal price,” the circular reads. “Kindly note that all outstanding unloaded gantry volumes will be repriced at the new rate effective 12:00…

The Federal High Court in Abuja has revoked the bail granted to Omoyele Sowore, activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC). Justice Mohammed Umar, the trial judge, revoked Sowore’s bail on Tuesday and issued an arrest warrant following the activist’s absence from court. During the proceedings, Sowore and his lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, were not in court. Kehinde Akinlolu, counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), told the court that Sowore was absent despite being aware of the hearing. Akinlolu asked the court to revoke Sowore’s bail over allegations that he was employing tactics to delay the…

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja has dismissed an application by Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State, challenging the N110 billion fraud case filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Maryann Anenih held that the court has jurisdiction to hear the case and rejected Bello’s request to strike out the 16-count charge. Joseph Daudu, counsel to Bello, argued that the FCT High Court lacked territorial jurisdiction over the matter. He also contended that the charge amounted to an abuse of court process because a…

A prosecution witness on Monday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, how local government funds in Taraba State were allegedly routed through a private company account and withdrawn in cash during the ongoing trial of a former governor, Darius Ishaku, and former Permanent Secretary, Bello Yero. The witness, Taiwo Johns (PW3), said he received instructions from senior officials in the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs on how funds were to be moved and disbursed after they were paid into his company account. The case is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,…