Author: Opalim Lifted

Former Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has met with former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla during the Hamburg Sustainability Conference in Germany. Osinbajo, who is serving as co-chair of the Future of Development Cooperation Coalition (FDCC), disclosed the meeting in a post shared on Instagram. According to him, the discussions focused on strengthening collaboration between the FDCC and the newly launched South-North Coalition on Development, which is co-chaired by Scholz and Chinchilla. “We explored how our two commissions can align efforts to build a development cooperation system that is truly fit for…

A federal government special investigator on Friday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pushed one of the bank’s special dollar accounts into a negative balance. Testifying as the 15th prosecution witness in the trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Jim Osayande Obazee said the transaction left the account used for internal staff and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with a negative balance of ₦2.858 billion. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Emefiele on an amended 20-count charge bordering…

Senate President Godswill Akpabio says he no longer watches television because his comments are often misrepresented. Akpabio spoke on Friday at the inauguration of access roads in Karsana, Abuja, where he clarified his recent remarks on infrastructure projects under the administration of President Bola Tinubu. “I have stopped watching television because most of the things they say are not what I said,” Akpabio said. “You were there on that day, and they misrepresented what I said. I’m used to it. What I said was about the Federal Capital Territory.” The Senate president said his remarks were specifically about the number…

The Oyo State Government has refuted claims that it paid a ransom to secure the release of the 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers abducted by gunmen in Oriire LGA on May 15. In a viral video circulated on X, Martins Otse, a social media influencer popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), claimed that the Oyo State Government had paid a ransom to the kidnappers for the release of the schoolchildren. “Yesterday, I got information that the Oyo State Government paid ransom for the release of the schoolchildren and teachers abducted on May 15. But the kidnappers collected the money and have…

A high court in Kwara has fixed July 22 for the arraignment of Bukola Saraki, former Senate President, after dismissing his preliminary objection challenging its jurisdiction to hear a criminal defamation charge filed against him by the state government. In a ruling on Friday, M.O. Folorunso, the presiding judge, held that the court has territorial jurisdiction to entertain the case and dismissed the seven preliminary objections raised by the defence. The judge also declined the prosecution’s application for a bench warrant against Saraki over his absence from court. The criminal charge stems from a social media post published by Saraki…

A 43-year-old security guard has been rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in Venezuela, eight days after two devastating earthquakes struck the country, in what rescuers and relatives described as a miracle. According to AFP, Hernan Gil was pulled from the ruins of a seven-storey building in Catia La Mar on Thursday after an intensive three-day rescue operation involving teams from Venezuela, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Mexico. Gil, who had been trapped since the powerful earthquakes on June 24, was kept alive with more than 10 litres of water delivered through…

The trial of former Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige over an alleged N2.2 billion fraud continued on Thursday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gwarimpa, Abuja, with the court reserving its decision on disputed defence documents until October 14. Ngige is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an eight-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office and fraudulent contract awards valued at N2,261,722,535.84. During proceedings before Justice M.A. Hassan, the third prosecution witness, Onwusoro Maduka Iheamelam, was cross-examined by Ngige’s counsel, P.I.N. Ikwueto (SAN). The witness requested to see documents referenced during…

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has come under fire on social media following the appointment of Yusuf Cassim, an Indian-South African politician, as the country’s Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training. The Presidency announced Cassim’s appointment in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, but the announcement quickly sparked a wave of criticism, attracting more than 3,000 comments, many of which contained anti-immigrant and Islamophobic remarks. Much of the backlash centred on Cassim’s appearance in the official government portrait accompanying the announcement. In the image, he wore a blue turban, a traditional head covering worn by some Muslim…

The trial of former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, continued on Thursday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja, with a prosecution witness affirming that two key EFCC exhibits presented in court are identical in content. Agunloye is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended seven-count charge bordering on alleged official corruption and the fraudulent award of the 3,960MW Mambilla Hydro-Electric Power Project contract to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited, valued at $6 billion. According to the EFCC, the fifth prosecution witness, Iliya John Iyakwari, concluded his re-examination before Justice Jude…

Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye scored to seal Switzerland’s first World Cup knockout stage win since 1938 as they comfortably beat Algeria to book a last-16 place. The Swiss took an early lead in Vancouver after some brilliant wing play from Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi, who beat his man before delivering a lovely cutback for Rennes’ forward Embolo to turn home in the 10th minute. Nottingham Forest winger Ndoye then doubled their lead just 46 seconds after the half-time break with a fine finish inside the area. It was the first time Switzerland scored more than one goal in a World…