Author: Opalim Lifted

A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has narrated how she was swindled of $183,000 by one Wawe Nelson in 2023. The EFCC arraigned Nelson on February 11 for allegedly defrauding two US victims – Kathleen Sharp and Holly Stamm – of $968,000. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the 11-count charge bordering on advance fee fraud, impersonation, conspiracy and money obtaining under false pretence. According to the EFCC, Nelson pretended to be James Andrew Smith, a petroleum engineer based in the US, to defraud Sharp. He also pretended to be Philip Bradley sometime in 2022 to…

Chelsea edged past Manchester City in the Women’s League Cup final to win their first trophy under Sonia Bompastor and keep their bid for a historic quadruple alive. Bompastor has exceeded expectations since succeeding Emma Hayes as head coach last May, winning 26 of her 28 games. Mayra Ramirez netted an early opener for Chelsea, bundling in a rebound that bounced off City skipper Laia Aleixandri at Derby County’s Pride Park. Aoba Fujino levelled after the break with a stunning strike, but an own goal by Yui Hasegawa restored Chelsea’s lead and ended their three-year losing streak in League Cup…

Man City stumbled again in the battle to secure a return to the Champions League as they were pegged back twice by fellow top-five challengers Brighton in an entertaining encounter at Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland became the first player to reach 100 Premier League goal involvements in fewer than 100 games when he marked his 94th appearance in the competition with his 84th goal by sending Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen the wrong way with his 11th-minute penalty. In a game of superb goals, Pervis Estupinan levelled with a curling free-kick that bounced in off a post, although City keeper Stefan…

Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna state, has appealed to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, ex-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP). El-Rufai moved to the SDP from the All Progressives Congress (APC) on March 10 over what he described as a divergence in values with the ruling party. “Developments in the last two years confirm that there is no desire on the part of those who currently control and run the APC to acknowledge, much less address, the unhealthy situation of the party,” he had said. “On my part, I…

Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, has disclosed that he and his allies supported President Bola Tinubu’s presidential bid in 2023, despite being aware of allegations surrounding his forged Chicago certificate and other controversial aspects of his past. In the lead-up to the 2023 general election, Tinubu’s alleged fake Chicago certificate became a major topic of public debate and was later brought before the courts for judicial review after the election. In a recent interview with BBC Hausa, aired on Saturday, El-Rufai explained that they believed Tinubu could replicate his achievements as Lagos State governor on a national…

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of not taking US-led attempts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine seriously. Starmer made the comments after Russia’s leader said he had “serious questions” over how the 30-day ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration would work. “We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal,” the British premier said in quotes released by his Downing Street office. “The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.” Starmer said that Putin “is trying…

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) said smear campaign will not discourage the agency from recovering the N455 billion debt owed by Arik Air and its affiliate companies. The agency said it has a legal mandate to recover debt and that it will not relinquish the duty. Speaking during a media luncheon in Lagos on Friday, Jude Nwauzor, head of the corporate communications department at AMCON, said the agency continues to face opposition and skewed narratives from debtors, who are unwilling to pay without a fight. Nwauzor accused Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, the promoter of Arik Air, and other companies of…

The Kano state government has addressed confusion surrounding the recent ruling by the appeal court regarding the emirship tussle in the state.    In a ruling delivered on Friday, the appeal court temporarily held off on enforcing its own judgment. The court had overturned a ruling of the federal high court invalidating the Kano state government’s repeal of the 2019 Emirate Council Law. The appeal court restrained the enforcement of its January 10 judgment pending the determination of an appeal filed before the supreme court. Addressing journalists in Kano shortly after the ruling, Haruna Dederi, the state’s attorney-general and commissioner…

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum (oil), has called on oil-producing communities in Niger Delta to work together in peace to be able to fully benefit from the host community trust fund provided by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). Lokpobiri appealed to the communities on Friday while speaking at the KEFFESO Stakeholders Forum in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. He said one of the reasons for the PIA is to ensure that communities directly benefit from the resources generated in their region. “Host Communities (HostCom) must sustain peace and a conducive environment across the Niger Delta to continue benefiting from the…

PZ Cussons Nigeria (PCZN) Plc said it was unable to secure the necessary support from some minority shareholders to convert the N51.79 billion ($34.26 million) outstanding intercompany loan owed to PZ Cussons Holdings (PZCH) into equity. In a statement on Friday, PZ Cussons Nigeria (PCZN) said voting for the conversion deal was made at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on Thursday in Abuja. The development comes more than a month after the firm announced its intentions to convert intercompany loans from PZ Cussons Holdings (PZCH), its parent company based in the United Kingdom (UK), into equity as part of…