@YasBeat

Croatia Three wins out of three, including a thumping of Argentina, sends Croatia through top of arguably the toughest group in the draw. Luka Modric has been arguably the player of the tournament so far. Belgium Wins over Panama and Tunisia were backed up by a victory over England. Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard are both firing, and after being rested against England, fresh. Uruguay Also through with maximum points, Uruguay’s advance through a kind Group A has gone rather unnoticed. Led by the imperious Diego Godin, they are yet to concede a goal in Russia and at the other end, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are up and running with three goals between them. Brazil Neymar’s histrionics have proven tedious but the striker is getting sharper with every game. Philippe Coutinho and Paulinho are also in form but Marcelo’s back injury is a concern. England A young squad arrived with low expectations but a late win over Tunisia was followed by a storming 6-1 victory over Panama...

Thirty-three-year-old Cynthia has grown restless in recent days. A native of Gboko in Benue State, the young woman, who refused to disclose her other names during a recent encounter with one of our correspondents posing as a potential client, has not only grown confused over what next to do with her life but also where the elusive breakthrough lies. A commercial sex worker in the Jibowu area of Lagos, she revealed how she has been living in fear since two of her colleagues suddenly disappeared more than five months ago. Though the two are yet to be found, Cynthia feared that they may have been used for ritual purposes after they went out to ‘entertain’ a client said to have lodged in a nearby hotel. “One of our madams after contacting a spiritualist told us that the two ladies had been used for rituals by the customer who engaged their services on that fateful day,” the young woman said, cutting a forlorn picture. “Since we heard that news, many of us have been very afraid. I...

His countenance was a telltale that he was under an intense emotional pain. His eyes were bloodshot, evidence that he had struggled with sleep for almost four days without success, despite being sedated. Occasionally, he looked up as he sat on a praying mat in his modest sitting room to acknowledge greetings from neighbours and friends who had converged there to commiserate with him on the death of his 22-year-old son,  Adebisi.   That was the pathetic scenario on Tuesday at the home of Prince Adedeji Oriade-Oyede, a one storey-building located at Oju-Ore in Ota, Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, when our correspondent went there to interview him on the incident. His son,  Adebisi, who was a 300-Level Computer Science undergraduate of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, was allegedly murdered alongside his girlfriend, Julia Imaga, on May 28,  2018, at Oru-Awa Ijebu axis by an alleged member of Aiye cult group,  Babatunde M...

Witnesses and survivors have recounted the horrific fire from an oil tanker  that killed nine people and destroyed 54 cars when  the tanker  fell on Otedola Bridge along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Thursday evening. According to the Vanguard, a witness  identified as Adewale Adesanya, said he  never envisaged that the truck would experience any brake failure. He said  that immediately the vehicle experienced brake failure, it fell and  spilled its contents. “Due to the state of the road, I saw the content spilling towards my vehicle with fire accompanying it. So I quickly ran out of the vehicle and cross to the other side to avoid been caught in the inferno.” Another survivor, Michael Simon, whose car was razed, said: “I am happy I didn’t die while trying to escape from the scene. I tried manoeuvring my vehicle to avoid been burnt but my efforts proved abortive.” Maria Oje, another witness  described her escape as the handiwork of God. Sh...

The Plateau State government has gazetted the Gender equal opportunity law(geo) passed since 2015 in the State making it the first in Northern in Nigeria. The Law gazette on June 27, is to protect women from all forms of discrimination in Politics, economy, traditions and social issues amongst others. Speaking at an event to celebrate the gesture on Friday in Jos, Mrs Sewuese Torkuma, the UN Gender Technical Advisor in Plateau congratulated the State Government for the giant stride. She said the law would promote gender equity and project the voice of Women in issues that affects their well being. “The voices of Women, youths, children and people with disabilities would be projected through the GEO Law gazetted in Plateau,” she said. Torkuma said UN supported the GEO Law to curb the incessant cases of gender violence in the State and facilitate more opportunities for women in leadership positions. She said UN appeals to the Plateau government to sustain its commitment in...

The Lagos State Government has revealed plans to prosecute defaulters of the Land Use Charge in the state in its bid to improve compliance. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Taxation and Revenue Matters, Mr Fatai Lasisi, stated this at a programme organised by the Lagos State Branch of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers tagged: ‘The Summit 2.0’. Lasisi, who was represented by the Head of Legal in his office, Olufemi Sowemimo, said the development became necessary in order to engender a culture of voluntary tax compliance. “Arguably, the greatest failing of property tax is the unwillingness of the government to enforce it, as we know that we have a lot of high net worth individuals in our society, who have big and gigantic properties but do not pay taxes yet; none of these people has been prosecuted for failing to pay tax. Therefore, we need strong institutional support to improve property tax compliance in the state,” he said. He added that tax edu...

The Presidency has hit back at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for playing cheap and opportunistic politics with the latest killings in Plateau State. “These are dolorous times that call for deep introspection on how cheap human lives have become, and the proffering of actionable ideas on how to get out of the bind. But the PDP would rather dance on the graves of the dead, playing cheap, infantile politics”, said Femi Adesina, Presidential media adviser, in a statement today. The PDP had following the sad and unfortunate killings in Plateau State over the weekend declared seven days of mourning. The party also said flags would be flown at half staff during the period. But Adesina reminded the PDP that under its 16-year rulership of Nigeria, worst tragedies happened and the party did not consider it fit to shed the crocodile tears it is shedding now. “The comatose and prostrate party is declaring seven days of mourning, during which flags in its offices would...

French cement giant Lafarge was charged Thursday with complicity in crimes against humanity and financing a terrorist organisation for paying millions to jihadist groups, including the Islamic State, to keep a factory in Syria open during the war. A legal source said the company, which paid the armed groups through middlemen, has also been charged with endangering the lives of former employees at the cement plant in Jalabiya, northern Syria. French rights group Sherpa, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said it was the first time that a company anywhere in the world had been charged with complicity in crimes against humanity. The allegations against Lafarge, which merged with Swiss firm Holcim in 2015, are the most serious against a French company in years. Lafarge was ordered to hand over 30 million euros ($35 million) to authorities as a security deposit ahead of the trial. Eight Lafarge executives, including former CEO Bruno Laffont, have already been charge...

A powerful header from Barcelona’s Yerry Mina fired Colombia into the last 16 of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Group H rivals Senegal, who crashed out due to a poorer disciplinary record than Japan. Colombia and Japan will play either England or Belgium, who were playing later Thursday. The South Americans, looking to reach the latter stages after reaching the quarter-finals in Brazil, risked going out of the tournament at the first hurdle. But after seeing the video assistant referee come to their rescue in a disappointing first half, Colombia were handed a last-16 lifeline 13 minutes from the end when Mina rose to meet a corner from the right and direct a header into the roof of Khadim Ndiaye’s net. Poland’s 1-0 consolation win over Japan meant the Asians finished level with Senegal, who were agonisingly eliminated because they were issued six yellow cards in the competition, two more than Japan. In Samara, Colombia coach Jose Pekerman kept faith with the attacking ...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday assented to two new bills, the Presidential Liaison to the National Assembly (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, has said. Enang said while briefing State House Correspondents that the new laws were the Medical Residency Training Act, 2018; and the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (Establishment, Etc) (Amendment) Act, 2018. According to Enang, the medical law enacts and regulates the Medical Residency Training Programme for the training of Medical Practitioners and Dental Surgeons. The programme would be regulated and managed by the National Medical Post-graduate College of Nigeria. He said that the programme was for persons with the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB. BSc, MB. CH, B, BDS), or its equivalent, who had done the NYSC programme with discharge or exemption certificate. He said such candidates should also possess professional indemnity certificate from a reputable insurance compa...

A Nigerian-born British nurse, Josephine Iyamu, who used ‘juju’ to traffic Nigerian prostitutes to Europe, was on Thursday found guilty in the first case of its kind in the United Kingdom. Iyamu, formerly of South London, used a witch doctor to convince her victims they were under her control and exploited them to fund a lavish lifestyle that included trips to Europe and £700 designer shoes, reports Daily Mail. The 53-year-old woman, known as “Madame Sandra,” was a ringleader of an international human trafficking crime network. Iyamu charged each of her victims 30,000 euros and 38,000 euros to arrange for their travel to Europe, profiting from more than 15,000 euros from one victim alone via wire transfers and cash payments. “She would first make the vulnerable women undergo ‘juju’ ceremonies which would involve them drinking blood containing worms and eating the heart of a chicken. “The victims would then be forced to endure an arduous five-day journey to the Libyan coast...

No fewer than nine persons died in a tanker explosion that occurred on Otedola Bridge outward Lagos on Thursday evening. According to the Federal Road Safety Corps spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem, 54 vehicles were burnt in the incident while four persons were injured. He added that rescue operations are still ongoing. Details soon…

Former Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba has said bad officiating led to Nigeria’s ouster from the 2018 World Cup. Nigeria lost 2-1 to Argentina on Tuesday to finish third in Group D and crash out of the competition. Lionel Messi and Marcos Rojo scored for the two-time champions while Victor Moses scored for the Super Eagles from the spot. Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir failed to award a penalty to the Eagles after Rojo had headed the ball onto his hand in the penalty area under a challenge from Odion Ighalo. The referee consulted VAR after the insistence of Eagles captain Mikel Obi but ruled that the defender committed no wrong in the act. Former Chelsea striker Drogba, who was a guest analyst on BBC One, said the referee favoured Argentina unjustly with the decision not to award the second penalty. He said, “I think it’s a bad decision from the referee not to give Nigeria a second penalty. It’s the defender’s mistake – he didn’t read the ball well. It’s difficult to give t...

The Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has cautioned the state’s civil servants not to sell their votes to the All Progressives Congress on the election day. He said the offer to buy votes could be a trick to arrest the workers and hand them over for prosecution by the Electoral Offences Tribunal. The governor warned that any worker caught taking money to vote for a particular candidate on the day of election would be on his own because the people offering the money might not be able to secure their freedom. He urged the workers to vote and stay until result was announced and their preferred winner win the election. Fayose gave the warning on Monday when he handed over promotion letters to civil servants at the Fajuyi Pavilion in Ado Ekiti. Fayose told the workers, “Be very careful of the way you collect money to vote during the coming election. They will use money to entice you, but collecting such money at polling centres is an electoral offence. “If you are caug...

Violent protest rocked Jos, the capital of Plateau State, on Wednesday, as residents protesting the killings in three local government areas of the state by herdsmen invaded the state secretariat destroying vehicles and buildings. The protest, which started peacefully, turned violent when youths and women damaged some cars parked at the New Government House in Jos and other offices. During the fracas, vehicles belonging to Peter Amine of the News Agency of Nigeria and Douglas Francis of Core TV, were damaged. The protesters, who had converged on the Old Airport Junction and marched to the Government House, were initially repelled from getting access to the premises.  Some of them climbed the fence to gain access to the Government House, forcing security agents at the gate to eventually open it. One of the protesters, Mafeng Gyendeng, expressed displeasure over the failure of the Plateau State Government to receive them. The Plateau State Director of Peace Building Agen...

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Wednesday knocked President Muhammadu Buhari for doing little to stop killings by herdsmen amid the general insecurity in the country. Obasanjo, who paid a condolence visit to Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State on Wednesday, said the magnitude of security challenge the country was experiencing under Buhari’s watch was on the high side when compared to what happened during his tenure. However, Soyinka noted that killings by herdsmen had been persisting because the Federal Government under Buhari had been treating killer herdsmen with kid gloves. Obasanjo challenged the federal and state governments to identify the root cause(s) of insecurity and deal with them so that people would get a reprieve from the incessant violence in the country. Obasanjo admitted that although there were problems during his time in government, “but not in this magnitude.” “Even in my time, we had problems but not ...

A labourer, Achibong Koko, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly defiling a five-year-old girl. It was gathered that detectives arrested the suspect on Sunday, June 24, 2018, at his residence on Dansa Street, Abule-Oshun. During a press briefing on Wednesday, the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, said a medical test that was conducted on the victim showed her hymen was broken. He said, “Information was received by the Divisional Police Officer, Onireke division, that a five-year-old girl had been defiled. A team of detectives was mobilised to the area, where the suspect, Achibong Koko, was arrested. “According to the mother of the victim, the daughter left her room while she was asleep. She added that the girl was  violated while she slept. However, she noticed that the daughter was not walking properly, so she questioned her. The girl revealed that the suspect took advantage of her. “The victim was taken...

Soldiers deployed in the Benue and Nasarawa states border have allegedly killed about six Fulani herdsmen and over 150 cows at Akpanagya, in the Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. The acting Police Public Relations Officer, Nasarawa State Command, ASP Usman Samaila, who confirmed this in a telephone interview with The PUNCH in Lafia, said the command received information that the military personnel came from Benue and carried out the operation that led to the killing of six people suspected to be Fulani herders in the state. He said the command did not know what really happened between the Fulani herders and the military men. He said, “The command is aware of the incident that took place in the Keana Local Government Area of the state. “I can confirm to you that our men went to the scene of the incident and recovered about six dead bodies killed by the suspected military men in the area.” He described the incident as “a wild operation that was formed by the mil...

The National Assembly on Friday responded to the issues raised by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 2018 budget, justifying the insertion of projects and cuts in the amounts allocated to projects in the Appropriation Bill originally proposed by the President on November 7, 2017. It explained that projects and votes in the 2018 budget were rejigged to correct the alleged imbalance in Buhari’s version of the bill. According to the legislature, projects as proposed in the bill violated the federal character and did not reflect the needs of ordinary Nigerians. The President, while assenting to the bill on Wednesday, had complained about the increment of the 2018 budget from the proposed N8.612tn to N9.12tn, as well as the adjustments made to the estimates. Buhari had said in part, “The National Assembly made cuts amounting to N347bn in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to N578bn.” However, ...

At a time when many actors are opting to own choice houses in posh parts of Lagos, popular actor Aremu Afolayan is not convinced that they made their money through the craft. The actor told Saturday Beats that Nigerians are quick to believe anything especially once it is on the internet but the truth is that most actors driving big cars most likely got their money from influential people. READ ALSO: I killed our victim because he struggled with us –Suspect He said, “By the way, I live my life, people tend to think that I am the richest Yoruba actor, but that is a lie. Nigerians assume a lot. I live in a rented apartment because I cannot afford to build one. When they see me buy a new car, they don’t know if I paid for the car in instalments; instead they call me a big boy. What type of big boy lives on N50,000 or N100,000 income per film as an actor? I challenge any Nigerian actor that is living larger than life to state how they made their money because I am sure it is not fro...

A 300-Level Computer Science undergraduate of the Olabisi Onabanjo  University, Ago Iwoye, Adebisi Oriade and his girlfriend, Julia Imaga, also a diploma student at the same institution, have been allegedly killed by two members of Aiye confraternity, Muritala Babatunde and Taiwo Razak. The Ogun State Commissioner of Police,  Ahmed Iliyasu,  disclosed this at the state police headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta, on Friday while parading no fewer than 25 suspects arrested for various offences ranging from armed robbery,  cultism, to stealing and rape. Parading the two major suspects among other suspected criminals, Iliyasu said one of the brothers of Adebisi, Oriade Adeola, had on June 3, 2018, reported to the police that he (Adebisi) had left home since May 28,  2018 with his girlfriend in his car, a Honda Crosstour with the number plate, FST 350 FA,  but had yet to return. He said on the receipt of the complaint,  the men of the Inspector-Gene...

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of being the most hypocritical former leader of the country, following his attempt to hijack the movement for political change. He stated this in Abuja on Friday at a dinner organised by the International Press Institute. “Obasanjo has crossed the red line and I will launch a publication to expose him on July 3 at Freedom Park in Lagos,” Soyinka stated. He is trying to hijack a recovery process he is least worthy to lead. According Soyinka, Obasanjo is not the right person to lead any movement for reform on change of leadership in the country in 2019 and that Obasanjo’s Coalition for Nigerian Movement should not be glorified. He said Obasanjo and other geriatric leaders of his generation should step aside and allow a new generation to lead the nation. Responding to a question that he has not been critical of Obasanjo as he had been of other past leaders, especially late General Sani Ab...

Captain Luka Modric hailed his Croatia side’s “deserved” 3-0 victory over Argentina on Thursday but called on them to keep their feet on the ground after qualifying for the World Cup knockout rounds. Zlatko Dalic’s men outclassed their opponents in Nizhny Novgorod, leaving Lionel Messi and two-time world champions Argentina on the brink of an embarrassing group-stage exit. “Let’s not be euphoric or get ahead of ourselves,” said Real Madrid midfielder Modric, who scored the second goal. “Of course this win will boost our confidence for the next game, and we have shown we can create opportunities, but let’s keep our feet firmly on the ground. “Our team effort throughout (was the key) and particularly in the second half when we had more possession. “In the first half when Argentina had the ball we cut off Messi and stopped him getting the ball. We created three clear chances which we missed. But in the second half it opened up and we deserved to win.” Croatia were the bette...

History-making Iceland forward Alfred Finnbogason and goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson have described the Super Eagles as a physically strong side ahead of their Group D World Cup fixture at the Volgograd Arena on Friday.  The Super Eagles, who lost their opening match against group leaders Croatia in Kaliningrad on Saturday, are desperate for victory to boost their chances of reaching the second round. But the three-time African champions face a Nordic side, who walked into the global limelight after their shocking 1-1 draw with  giants Argentina at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow on Saturday. Germany-based striker Finnbogason, who history by becoming the first player to score a World Cup goal for the tiny country who are making their first appearance in the tournament, and Halldorsson, who has become a very important personality in Iceland after stopping Lionel Messi’s penalty, tipped the Blazers for victory.

Peter Okoye of the former Psquare fame has said that he loves the fact that he has moved on with his career after the break-up controversy. Mr P, as he now prefers to be called, was a recent guest on Hot 93.3 FM, on a show hosted by Sensei Uche and Misi. He spoke about his new single, ‘Ebeano‘, the possibility of a P-Square reunion and more. Peter said he was enjoying every bit of his career after breaking up with his brother, Paul.  He said, “I left a Psquare who has almost a million subscribers on Youtube to start my own and I wasn’t afraid to start afresh. I know there’s something good out there, but I’ve moved on, and I love it, I love the energy.  “When people come to my show expecting to see Psquare, I ask myself: Am I giving them the same energy? The answer is ‘Yes, I am’. Most people that doubted me because of what has been said out there had all been proved wrong. I’m a multi-instrumentalist. I produce songs but I don’t want to brag about it. I’m a studio en...

Singing sensation, Davido, has taken to the social media to announce that his private jet is intact to quench rumours that he was lying about its purchase. About a month ago, the hip-hop star had showed off papers of the jet he called ‘Air OBO’, but many of his fans did not believe him. The self-acclaimed Omo baba olowo referred to the issue again when one of his Twitter followers asked him about Air OBO. “E dey ground yakata… but as dem no wan gree say we get , us sef gree say we no get.”, he noted in Pidgin English. This means that he has, however, yet to give details about the model of the jet and the amount he bought it.

The police in Niger State have apprehended a 45-year-old man, Baba Mohammed of Edo Baba village in the Lavum Local Government Area of the state for allegedly setting his neighbor ablaze, Usman Tetengi, for wooing his fiancée. The attack on Tetengi led to his demise, the police stated. It was learnt that the suspect had asked the victim to stop courting the woman he proposed to marry, but Tetengi reportedly failed to heed the warning. Northern City News gathered on Thursday that Mohammed allegedly drenched his victim with three litres of petrol before setting him ablaze. He told our correspondent that he killed Tetengi because he threatened to attack him, adding that he felt no remorse for his action. Mohammed said, “I am not regretting my action because if I did not kill him at that particular time, he would have killed me; so let him go, in his next world, he will not join issues with me again. “I don’t care where this case will get to, the most important thing is that I...

The Niger State Police Command has arrested one Usman Ibrahim, 21, of  the Barkin Sale area of Chanchaga Local Government Area of the state for organising the party where the Kpakungu Divisional Crime Officer, Aaron Sunday, was murdered on March 3, 2017. It was learnt that Sunday was killed when he attempted to intervene in a fight which broke out among the partygoers, most of whom were said to be gangsters. Northern City News gathered that Ibrahim was the leader of a gang called ‘Down Base Boys of Barkin Sale’ which has been giving the entire community sleepless nights. The suspect told our correspondent that he hosted the party where the DCO was killed by the hoodlums in attendance. “We have two groups in our area, upper and down base that are known for their unlawful possession of dangerous weapons and unlawful assembly at Barkin Sale. As the party was going on, the two groups started fighting but when the police officer intervened, they stabbed him with a knife and he...

A 13-year-old schoolboy, Usman Adamu, has allegedly been killed by a solder attached to the 32 Artilery Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Ajowa Akoko, in the Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State. In the incident that occurred on Wednesday, it was gathered that one other person, Kayejo Adbullahi, was also shot by the yet-to-be identified soldier, who was among the military men deployed in the community which is at the boundary of Ondo and Kogi states. A source in the town said some members of the Fulani community in the area had a disagreement with one another, which led to the invitation of the soldiers to maintain law and order. He said, “The Fulani people were using their sticks and cutlasses for acrobatic display which later became rowdy. This attracted soldiers to the scene to maintain law and order. It was at the scene that one of the soldiers fired a gun that killed Adamu. “One other Fulani, Kadejo Abudulahi, had a gunshot injury; but he is receiving medi...

A  17-year-old girl has been gang-raped and killed in Ogwugwu village, Oba, in the Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State. The deceased, who just finished her West African Senior School Certificate Examination, was said to have been attacked and raped by six young men while on her way to buy garri for dinner around 7pm on Wednesday. A source told our correspondent that the suspects believed to be known to the victim had lured her to an uncompleted one-storeyed building where she was raped and killed. The source said, “The boys lured her to an uncompleted building, where they took turn to rape her until she became weak. “They threw her down from the storey building so that she would not expose them.” He added that the girl’s corpse had been deposited in a morgue. The Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ojoto Police Division, Prince Ezejiofor, confirmed the incident, saying no arrest had been made. The  DPO said, “They perpetrated the act about ...