Author: Vincent Osuwo

Nigeria’s Super Falcons have advanced one place to 36th in the new FIFA Women’s World Ranking, maintaining their position as Africa’s top-ranked team. The ranking, revealed on Tuesday, represents a little increase over the team’s 37th position in the December 2025 ranking. The ranking also includes two pre-WAFCON friendlies against Cameroon, which it lost 1-0 in February and won 3-1 in March 2025. Three days after a tight 1-0 defeat in the first match, the 10-time African champions returned with a better, more attacking performance to convincingly win the tie. Nigeria drew parity in the 32nd minute when forward Chinwendu…

Former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has defended his administration, stating that he did his best while in office. His response came after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar criticized his administration during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time. During the interview, Atiku, a presidential candidate for the African Democratic Congress, branded Jonathan as inexperienced and admitted to making mistakes while in power. Atiku is running for president alongside the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi; former Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi; and former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. During the interview, Atiku downplayed the importance of…

The federal government has filed a 13-count charge in Abuja’s Federal High Court against six coup plotters, including two retired senior military officers and a serving police inspector, for allegedly plotting to wage war on Nigeria and commit terrorist activities. The defendants—retired Major General Mohammed Gana, retired Naval Captain Erasmus Victor, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani—are scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 22, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. Timipre Sylva, a former minister of state for petroleum resources, is also charged but is believed to remain at large. The charge, filed on Monday by the…

Pope Leo XIV begins the final stage of his African journey on Tuesday with a stop in Equatorial Guinea, where his increasingly strident defenses of human rights will be widely monitored in one of the continent’s most closed-off countries. After three days in Angola, the US-born pontiff will arrive in Central Africa at noon (1100 GMT), where Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 83, the world’s longest-serving non-monarchical head of state, has reigned since 1979. Leo follows in the footsteps of John Paul II, who was the first pope to visit Equatorial Guinea 40 years ago, an oil-rich country of two million…

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has approved the restructure of the Police Monitoring Unit as part of measures to promote discipline and operational efficiency in the Nigeria Police Force. Anthony Placid, the Force Public Relations Officer, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja. He stated that the move was part of ongoing reforms aimed at refocusing the unit on its core mandate and enhancing oversight across commands and formations. “As part of the reorganization, the unit has been streamlined and strengthened to enhance proactive monitoring, intelligence-driven inspections, and real-time oversight of police personnel and operations across commands,…

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on Monday, April 20. Its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, confirmed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, sending impacted applicants to the board’s usual result-checking methods. “The results for Monday, 20th, have been released. Candidates can view their results using the usual process,” the statement read. Candidates can get their results by texting “UTMERESULT” to 55019 or 66019 with the phone number they used to register for the exam. JAMB has been issuing daily result announcements since the 2026…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, declared that the era of uncertainty within the party is over and directed immediate preparations for party primaries in line with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines. Wike camp leaders revealed this on Monday during the 108th National Executive Committee meeting, which was held at the PDP National Headquarters in Wadata Plaza, Abuja. Abdulrahman Mohammed, the camp’s PDP National Chairman, emphasized the necessity for discipline, internal changes, and strict adherence to party structures as part of efforts to reposition the PDP for the…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to tackle SIM-related fraud and strengthen consumer protection across Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. The agreement, signed at the CBN’s headquarters in Abuja, intends to increase coordination between the financial and telecoms sectors, with a focus on preventing electronic fraud involving mobile numbers, improving payment system integrity, and protecting consumers. Speaking at the ceremony, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso described the pact as a “practical statement of national interest,” stressing that the growing reliance on digital channels for payments and financial services necessitated greater…

Armed herders have killed five persons in a new attack on the Tse Ameen community in the Mbapa Council Ward, Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State. According to locals, some suspected armed herders broke into the settlement on Saturday night and launched an attack on the sleeping residents. One of the locals, who did not want to be identified, told journalists in a phone conversation on Monday that five bodies had been retrieved on Sunday and that many more were still missing. The local said, “Five corpses, which included three males and two females, were recovered yesterday (Sunday).”…

Gunmen have killed a bus driver and abducted an unspecified number of passengers in Benin, Edo State. The commercial bus was traveling from Lagos to the country’s east when it was hit by heavy gunfire, forcing it to come to a stop. A viral video showed the aftermath of the incident, with an anonymous narrator claiming that the gunmen opened fire on the truck before hauling occupants away. The narrator said, “The kidnappers shot and killed the driver. They also took passengers into the bush. I don’t know the number, but it looks more like the entire (sic) were kidnapped.”…