Author: Vincent Osuwo

Barcelona triumphantly returned to their rebuilt Camp Nou stadium on Saturday after two and a half years away, defeating Athletic Bilbao 4-0 to go joint top of La Liga. The Spanish champions had expected to reopen their stadium a year ago, but building delays and other difficulties forced them to wait until their return. Following Robert Lewandowski’s opening goal, Ferran Torres scored twice. Fermin Lopez also scored in an easy victory over Athletic, who saw Oihan Sancet sent off in the second half. Hansi Flick’s side drew level with Real Madrid at the top of the league. On Sunday, Los…

Michael Olise scored twice and assisted three times as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich rallied from two goals down to defeat Freiburg. Yuito Suzuki scored from close range, and Johan Manzambi rose highest to head in Jan-Niklas Beste’s corner, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead after only 17 minutes. Bayern, who hadn’t lost in the league since March, responded admirably and had restored parity before halftime. Teenager Lennart Karl shot into the bottom corner from Olise’s ball in the 22nd minute, setting up the Frenchman for a ferocious finish in first-half injury time, though Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu may have done…

President Bola Tinubu has stated that insecurity remains Nigeria’s most serious concern, particularly in the north. He stated on Saturday in Kaduna that immediate action was needed to reestablish confidence, strengthen unity, and restore safety across communities. Tinubu, represented by Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, spoke at the Arewa Consultative Forum’s (ACF) 25th anniversary and the establishment of its Endowment Fund. The president stated that insecurity must be addressed aggressively to avoid additional economic collapse and educational failures. Tinubu said, “Nothing troubles me more gravely than the security crisis bedevilling Nigeria, especially Northern Nigeria, “We cannot prosper…

Governor Alex Otti has formally responded to the life imprisonment judgment imposed on Nnamdi Kanu, an Abia-born leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja on November 20. Otti stated that he had already implemented a strategy to win his final freedom, which he had begun while Kanu’s trial was ongoing. “While Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is free to appeal his conviction, I’m happy to inform you that I have activated and will continue to work on the already agreed strategy until his freedom is secured,” Otti said in a statement…

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 election, has cautioned that the conviction of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu could exacerbate security tensions in the country. Obi stated in a message posted on his X account on Saturday that the decision has the potential to exacerbate rather than alleviate national tensions. He stated that the news of Kanu’s conviction should encourage Nigerians to consider seriously, particularly “at a time like this,” when the country is dealing with economic hardship and growing insecurity. Obi claimed that Kanu’s arrest and detention were avoidable, stating that the…

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has berated US President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy military forces to Nigeria, describing the comments as showing a lack of understanding of the country’s complex security challenges. Soyinka made the remarks on Friday after meeting with Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia in Makurdi. The Nobel laureate emphasized that no foreign leader can simply intervene in Nigeria’s security concerns without first grasping the nuances involved. He chastised Trump for claiming he would “come to help” the country without conducting a thorough investigation of the situation. “You don’t just open your mouth and say, ‘I’m coming to…

The United Nations (UN) has denounced the Friday kidnapping of hundreds of students and staff from Niger State’s St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric called the attack “heartbreaking” and stressed that “schools must be safe places for learning.” This event follows a similar kidnapping in Kebbi State. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria, gunmen abducted 215 children and 12 teachers from a school in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State. “We have witnessed yet another abduction of pupils in Niger State, just days after the kidnapping of schoolchildren in Kebbi,” Dujarric said. On…

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has disclosed that its organs will meet and decide on the next line of action as the ultimatum it issued to the Federal Government over the looming industrial action in public tertiary institutions expires on Saturday (today). Benson Upah, the acting secretary-general of the NLC, disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Friday. Following a conference of tertiary institution-based unions, the NLC resolved to give the Federal Government a one-month deadline to resolve the ongoing issue in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. “We have decided to give the Federal Government…

Senator Shehu Sani has called for calm over the sentencing of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. Sani, in a statement shared on his official X page on Friday, stated that the life sentence issued to Kanu is not the “end of his life.” His comment comes following the life sentencing of Kanu over terrorism and other related charges. The sentencing, which has attracted widespread condemnation, has led to accusations and counter-accusations, with many alleging that the trial was influenced for political reasons. Reacting to Nnamdi Kanu’s sentencing, Sani, who reminisced on his imprisonment…

Catholic priests in Makurdi, Benue State, have distanced themselves from Governor Hyacinth Alia’s recent statement that the insecurity in the state is not a genocide. Alia, a Catholic priest turned governor, had on Wednesday stated that the security challenges facing Benue should not be described as genocide. The governor stated this at a consultative forum on protecting the rights of Internally Displaced Persons and Forcibly Displaced Persons, organized by the National Human Rights Commission in Abuja. He said, “I am a Reverend Father, so being in governance does not take that away from me. In my state of Benue, we…