Author: Vincent Osuwo

Mark van Bommel’s Belgium side beat Roberto Mancini’s Italy in their Nations League opener in Rome on Friday. Van Bommel, a former Netherlands midfielder, was managing the Red Devils for the very first time, whereas Mancini was beginning his second stint in charge of the Azzurri. Paris St-Germain’s Mika Godts netted his first goal for Belgium, weaving past two defenders inside the box before slotting the ball home. Then Benfica’s Dodi Lukebakio surged from his own half and fired in their second goal from 25 yards out. Late in the game, Mancini sent on Sporting’s Issa Doumbia and Nuremberg’s Mohamed…

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday, ordered the remand of luxury goods dealer and lifestyle influencer Afolabi Kazeem Michael, widely known as KC Luxury, along with two others, over allegations of trafficking and attempting to export 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine worth roughly N39bn. Michael was arraigned together with Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on a 22-count charge involving conspiracy, cocaine trafficking, illegal export of narcotics and money laundering. When the counts were read to them, the defendants entered a plea of not guilty to all of them. The…

The Super Eagles kicked off their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a 2-1 comeback victory over Madagascar on Friday at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo. What made the win even more notable were the goals from debutants George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor, who each scored in a different half to erase Madagascar’s early advantage. Madagascar drew first blood by making the most of a swift transition, beating goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali and quieting the home supporters. Nigeria hit back before the interval, as Ilenikhena found the net in the first minute of added time to level…

A woman who claimed Jay-Z raped her when she was 13 has now formally stated that her allegation was not true. In a 2024 lawsuit, the unidentified woman alleged that Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, along with Sean “Diddy” Combs, drugged and raped her at a party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Both celebrities denied the accusation, and she withdrew the lawsuit last year. Carter subsequently filed a lawsuit against her and her attorneys. In a statement submitted on Thursday in that case, she wrote, “Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me. I have never met or…

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has clarified where he stands regarding President Bola Tinubu’s bid for re-election in 2027, stating that, as a governor and a member of the National Economic Council, he is obliged to back the president. Otti offered this clarification during an exclusive interview broadcast on Arise Television on Friday, when he was asked if his backing of Tinubu’s re-election represented a “comfortable arrangement” between him—a Labour Party governor—and the ruling All Progressives Congress. The governor stated that he was in no position to oppose Tinubu’s candidacy, noting that doing so while serving within the government…

The Benue State Police Command has stated that Dr. Jonah Ogbaji, the Chief Medical Director of Multicare Hospital in Makurdi, was taken into custody by a squad from the Force Headquarters in Abuja. In a brief statement released on Thursday morning by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Peter Aondongu, he explained that the doctor was apprehended by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad under the Force Intelligence Department, Abuja, over a matter that has not been disclosed. Reports had been circulating widely on social media that the medical doctor was suspected to have been abducted at about 9pm on…

The Ogun State House of Assembly has passed a bill aimed at lowering maternal morbidity and mortality, encouraging safe motherhood and reproductive health rights, and setting out conditions for the safe termination of pregnancy in line with legal indications and for related purposes. The bill, bearing the short title “H.B. No. 036/OG/2026 – Ogun State Safe Termination of Pregnancy Law, 2026,” was passed at Thursday’s plenary, which was presided over by the Speaker, Oludaisi Elemide, at the Assembly Complex in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. As stated in a statement issued by the clerk of the House on Thursday, the passage came after…

Delegates walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall in New York on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address, during which he defended Israel’s military action against Iran. Netanyahu could be seen walking toward the podium as several delegations exited the hall. The walkout followed a call from the Palestinian Mission to the UN urging representatives to leave during Netanyahu’s address. In response to the departures, Netanyahu remarked, “If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left the hall, please do so now.” Defending Israel’s military action against Iran, he said that striking the…

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, has maintained that throughout his eight years as governor, he never borrowed money or issued bonds on behalf of Anambra State. Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time program on Thursday, Obi stated that when his administration left office in March 2014, it owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, pensions, or payments to contractors whose jobs had been completed, certified, and verified. The former governor was reacting to questions about recent claims by the Anambra State Government that his administration left behind unpaid debts and other liabilities for later governments to settle.…

The 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory generated N5.15tn in internally generated revenue (IGR) in 2025, with taxes deducted from workers’ salaries providing the biggest source of tax revenue, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed. The most recent Internally Generated Revenue at State Level report, released on Thursday, revealed that total IGR climbed by 40.93 percent, up from N3.65tn in 2024. This indicates that subnational governments collected roughly N1.50tn more in revenue over the course of a single year. “The 36 states and the FCT generated a total of N5.15tn in 2025, indicating a growth rate of 40.93…