Author: Opalim Lifted

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to crush an armed mutiny after the private army of mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin seized control of a southern city as part of an attempt to oust the military leadership. In Russia’s first armed insurrection since the Chechen wars decades ago, heavily armed fighters from Prigozhin’s Wagner militia were in control of the streets of Rostov-on-Don, a city of more than a million people close to the border with Ukraine. Prigozhin, whose private army fought the bloodiest battles in Ukraine even as he feuded for months with the top brass, said he had captured the…

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abia State command, foiled an attempted trafficking of two female students. The corps arrested the secondary school teacher, Ikechukwu Uduma, and his accomplice, Enyiazu Godswill. The state NSCDC Commandant, Paul Igwebuike, while briefing the press, said the suspects were apprehended around 12.20 a.m. on Thursday. Parading the men before journalists in Umuahia on Friday, Igwebuike said, “We got actionable intelligence that one of the suspects, Ikechukwu Uduma (33), who is a Mathematics teacher attached to Christ Firm International School, Ubaha, Umunna Nsulu, in Isialangwa North LGA, Abia State, had concluded plans to…

Anita Alaire Afoke Asuoha, also known as Real Warri Pikin, is a well-known comedian who recently disclosed that after her partner shattered her heart in college, she became celibate till her wedding night. After the separation, the mother of three claimed that she made a vow promising that no guy would witness her “nakedness again” until her wedding night. In an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Real Warri Pikin stated she was committed to serving God. She said, “E get one boy wey break my heart [during my university days], I come give my life to Christ. I said,…

President Bola Tinubu has welcomed an investment of $520 million in specialised agro-processing zones by the African Development Bank (AfDB), praising the leader of the multilateral institution, Dr. Adewunmi Adesina, for further opening up the economy for investments that provide job opportunities and reduce poverty. Receiving Dr. Adesina after the two-day summit on A New Global Financing Pact in Paris, President Tinubu said the agro-industrial project strengthens an area of the country’s competitive advantage as he listed other areas of priority that require Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The President urged the Bank to inject funds into projects that target women…

The Edo State Taskforce Against Human Trafficking has apprehended a 48-year-old man, Anthony Igbinogun, and his girlfriend, Joy Umukoro, 28, for allegedly selling their one-month-old baby to fund their drug addiction. The suspects were arrested with their friend, 26-year-old Precious James, who facilitated the illegal transaction and linked them to the baby’s buyer in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Briefing journalists in Benin City, the Head of the Investigation Unit of the Edo State Taskforce Against Human Trafficking, Abigail Ihonre, said the baby was sold for N1.7 million, noting that the investigation was ongoing to rescue the baby and apprehend the…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered financial institutions to collect their clients’ social media handles, email addresses, contact information, residence addresses, and more. This is an effort to further strengthen the identification process in the banking system and is part of its new client due diligence standards. This information was provided by the top bank in its recently published regulation, “Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023.” According to the CBN, the purpose of the new legislation is to give financial institutions that fall within its regulatory scope extra consumer due diligence processes. It noted, “To…

Bayern Munich have signed Portugal left back Raphael Guerreiro on a free transfer from rivals Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga champions said on Friday. Guerreiro, whose contract with Dortmund expires on June 30, has signed a three-year deal with Bayern. The 29-year-old will reunite with Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, who brought him to Dortmund from French side Lorient in 2016. “When the call came from Bayern, I made my decision quickly,” Guerreiro said. “It’s an honour for me to be able to play for this great club, and I also regard Thomas Tuchel highly from our time together at Dortmund.” Raphael…

US intelligence agencies found no direct evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic stemmed from an incident at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, a report declassified on Friday said. The four-page report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said the US intelligence community still could not rule out the possibility that the virus came from a laboratory and had not been able to discover the origins of the pandemic. “The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency remain unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both natural and laboratory hypotheses rely on significant assumptions or…

The senator representing Delta North, Ned Nwoko, has expressed his grief over the loss of his close friend and business partner, Hamish Harding, who died alongside four others during a submersible expedition to visit the ruins of the Titanic ship. He said he would have been part of the trip because he was invited, noting that in 2020 he and Harding embarked on an expedition to Antarctica together. He shared on his official Instagram account, “Nwoko shared, “I have lost a very dear friend and business partner, Captain Hermish Harding. We both went on a very dangerous expedition to South…

An event last week is nudging me back to a subject I have avoided for a long time in my sports discourse: Nigerian football. The Teranga Lions quietly created history last week in Lisbon, Portugal. The world has been in a state of awe and shock, stunned by the transformation of the Senegalese national football team. The team that struggled to hold the lowly Squirrels of Benin Republic to a 1-1 draw in Cotonou became giant conquerors a few days later, last Tuesday. I have not read many analysts do a forensic analysis of the friendly match of the Lions…