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Following the 2-0 loss to Croatia in their opening game of the 2018 World Cup, the Super Eagles have been adjudged as the 29th best of the 32 teams participating at the World Cup after the first round of games. British newspaper Daily Telegraph, in an appraisal of all the teams, rated Nigeria as only better than Saudi Arabia which lost the opening game of the competition 5-0 to host country Russia and debutants Panama who lost 3-0 to Belgium. Of Nigeria’s performance, the paper wrote; “A horrible performance from a group of players who didn’t seem to grasp quite how important their opening game at the World Cup was. Whether the manager’s fault or those in green shirts, there was no urgency, no great surge to try and rescue a point, an isolated striker and full-backs who weren’t allowed to get forward. Nigeria should be so much better than this.” Spain and Portugal, who played out an enthralling 3-3 draw came in first and second while Mexico, which defeated reigning champions G...

Three people have been confirmed dead in the accident which occurred on the Ojuelegba Bridge, Surulere, Lagos State. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said the rescue operation ended around 4am on Wednesday. PUNCH Metro had reported that a truck conveying piles of plywood had an accident on the Ojuelegba Bridge around 8pm on Tuesday. The truck, which tilted sideways, emptied the plywood on commuters and motorists under the bridge, killing three of the victims. The LASEMA General Manager, Adeshina Tiamiyu, in a statement by the agency’s Public Affairs Officer, Adebayo Kehinde, said the accident was preventable. He said, “The agency received a distress call via the control room on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, around 08.30pm regarding a trailer accident at Ojuelegba Bridge inward Fadeyi and immediately activated the emergency response plan to the scene with other stakeholders. “On arrival at the incident scene, it was discovered that a truck with yet-to-be idenfied num...

The United States Government on Wednesday deported 34 Nigerians for various offences. A Nigeria Immigration Service source said it was a special deportation, as the deportees were sent home for fraud, homicide, impersonation and possession of prohibited items, among other offences. The deportees, comprising 32 males and two females, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 2.30pm aboard a chartered Omni Air International aircraft with Registration Number: W342AX. The spokesperson for the Lagos Airport Police Command, DSP Joseph Alabi, confirmed the development. “At about 14.30 hours (2.30pm), we received 34 Nigerians who were brought back from the United States. They were made up of 32 males and two females. “ He stated that 25 of the deportees were alleged to have committed criminal offences; one was allegedly involved in narcotics while the others were alleged to have committed immigration-related offences. He said the deportees were recei...

The Governing Council of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, has dismissed Prof. Richard Akindele, who was accused of demanding sex to upgrade the mark of a female postgraduate student, Monica Osagie. Osagie was a postgraduate student in the Department of Management and Accounting and was said to have completed her programme in 2018. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, announced the verdict of the council at a press conference at the university on Wednesday. The council, led by its Chairman, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, had held a meeting earlier in the day and approved the sacking of the professor. The Senate of the university had on June 14 claimed it had established that the prof had an inappropriate relationship with the student and compromised his position as a teacher and an examiner by demanding to have sex with the student to upgrade her scores. The vice-chancellor said the Senate, as well as the Governing Council, found the lecturer liable ...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday lamented that the 2018 Appropriation Bill which he signed into law would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement because of the alterations members of the National Assembly effected on the document he submitted to them on November 7, 2017. He accused the federal lawmakers of, among others, increasing the National Assembly budget from N125bn to N139.5bn, without any discussion with the Executive. The President also accused them of injecting 6,403 projects of their own totalling N578bn into the national budget while making cuts amounting to N347bn in the allocations to 4,700 projects as submitted to them. Buhari spoke shortly after signing the document into law in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The President noted that many of the projects cut were critical and might be difficult, if not impossible, to implement with the reduced allocation. He regretted that some of the new projects inserted by the National Assembly ...

Tragedy struck in Ifira Akoko, in the Akoko South-East Local Government Area of Ondo State on Wednesday as an indigene of the town, Adelogba Ademuyiwa, was allegedly killed by his in-laws. The 45-year-old was allegedly beaten to death by four men, who were members of his wife’s family, following an alleged domestic violence against his wife, Itunu. According to a source in the town, the alleged killers took action against the deceased to avenge his wife’s maltreatment. The source said, “The husband was fond of beating his wife. The domestic violence against the woman became unbearable for her family members.  So, on Tuesday, he again beat up his wife and took her to a health centre in the town. “He was at the health centre with his wife when some boys from the wife’s family attacked him. They beat him till he gave up the ghost.” Another source said the couple always had disagreements, adding that the fight on the day of the incident started when the deceased decided ...

The Super Eagles held a crisis  meeting behind under-fire  Nigeria coach  Gernot Rohr on Monday night as  they try to  turn things around their precarious position at the Russia 2018 World Cup ahead of their next fixture against Iceland on Friday. Nigeria are  in grave danger of an early World Cup exit after opening their campaign in the tournament with a  2-0 defeat to Croatia in Kaliningrad on Saturday. The three-time African champions must win the clash  at  Volgograd Arena to keep alive their hopes of advancing to the second round of the championship. A below-par Croat side fired by La Liga stars Lukas Modric and Ivan Rakitc ran out winners after an analogue Nigerian team failed to deal with dead ball situations. New Stoke City midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo, who was the shining light in the hapless Rohr’s side, inadvertently directed the ball into his own net, while William Troost-Ekong gave away a needless penalty converted by the ...

The return of Mohamed Salah from injury couldn’t prevent World Cup hosts Russia virtually sealing their place in the last 16 by beating Egypt 3-1 on Tuesday. An own goal by Egypt captain Ahmed Fathy opened the floodgates on a sodden night in Saint Petersburg before goals from Denis Cheryshev and ArtemDzyuba furthered Russian hopes they can defy pre-tournament expectations with a deep run into the latter stages. Salah did net Egypt’s first goal at a World Cup since 1990 from the penalty spot after he had been hauled down 17 minutes from time, but it was too little, too late for the Pharaohs. Russia will be guaranteed a place in the last 16 and Egypt eliminated unless Saudi Arabia beat Uruguay on Wednesday. Salah was making his first appearance since injuring his left shoulder when falling heavily after being dragged to the ground by Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos in the Champions League final just over three weeks ago. His presence in the starting line-up after sitting out...

he police in Delta State have arrested a 73-year-old herbalist for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl in the Giwa-Amu area of Okumagba Avenue, Warri. It was gathered that the teenager was caught with the septuagenarian, Joseph Umuluku, in a bathroom. It was reportedly discovered that the girl had become pregnant when she was taken for a medical test after they were caught by neighbours. The suspect was said to have been arrested by policemen from the ‘B’ Division, Warri, where the mother of the victim reported the case. A source at the division confirmed the development to our correspondent, saying the suspect allegedly hypnotised the girl. “The suspect and the parents of the girl reside in the same neighbourhood. It was said the man had been having sexual affairs with the girl for some time,” he added. The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Andrew Aniamaka, confirmed the arrest of the 73-year-old man, saying Umuluku was nabbed for defilement. He said, “The o...

A 20-year-old man, Juan Penayo, surprised his grieving family when he walked into the funeral they were holding for him. The incident took place in Paraguay, in the village of Santa Teresa in the eastern department of Amambay, reports Mirror UK. Penayo returned home after he had been missing for several days and his family and friends suspected foul play. Police had earlier discovered the gruesome remains of a burned body that could not be identified and family members believed it was Penayo. As drug gangs operated in the area, they feared that he had become involved in trouble and killed. Organised crime specialist, Candido Figueredo, told local media that Penayo left his home on Thursday last week and had not come back. READ ALSO: BREAKING: Colombia’s Carlos Sanchez gets first red card of 2018 World Cup When police found the unidentifiable burned body, it was concluded it was Penayo and his family organised the funeral and accepted to bury the remains. However, they...

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said the immediate past Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is the best man to lead Ekiti State. He urged the people of the state to vote massively for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the July 14 governorship election. Osinbajo spoke in Ado Ekiti at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium on Tuesday during the official presentation of the governorship flag to Fayemi. At the event were the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; a former Osun State Governor, Chief Bisi Akande; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; a former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, and 12 serving governors,  among others. The governors are Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN (Ondo), Mr. Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Abdufatah Ahmed (Kwara), Alhaji Abubakar Badaru (...

Death toll has risen to 17 in Niger and Kogi states in the last five days with a reported case of 72 victims in the two states. Two deaths were recorded in Lokoja, Kogi State, over the weekend while the Niger State Ministry of Health on Monday reported that 15 people lost their lives in Bida Local Government Area of Niger State. While speaking with our correspondent, an Epidemiologist with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Yennan Sebastin, said, “We had a rapid diagnostic test which confirmed cholera within Lokoja metropolis, a total of 13 suspected cases, three of them positive and two have died so far,” he said.  Asked what the NCDC was doing to curtail the outbreak of cholera in the country, Sebastin said the job of the disease control body was the plan before the outbreak of an epidemic. He said, “We engage the stakeholders on the issue of pre-epidemics, during epidemics and post epidemics planning which involve the positioning of the requirements of consumables...

A 25-year-old man identified as Agaezichi Ogbonna from Akpaa Mbato village in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State has reportedly killed his 52-year-old mother after allegedly impregnating his cousin. Southern City News learnt on Tuesday that following the development, angry youths in Akpaa Mbato village descended on Ogbonna, but for the timely intervention of the soldiers attached to a nearby checkpoint, the suspect would have been lynched. An anonymous source disclosed that Ogbonna, who is said to be the last son of his mother, was allegedly accused of having sexual affairs with sisters of the same parents at his maternal home. He was said to have impregnated one of them in the process, an act which the villagers, said was a taboo in their community and Igbo land in general. It was learnt that defiant Ogbonna was said to have ignored the warning of the community to continue sleeping with one of the sisters whose name was simply identified as Ugochi, which did not go ...

No fewer than two people have been killed while many others are feared dead after piles of plywood fell off the Ojuelegba Bridge, Lagos State. We learnt that the incident happened around 8pm on Tuesday. A source at the scene said three commercial buses and a car belonging to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital were trapped under the plywood. He said, “There is pandemonium everywhere. The truck was ascending the bridge when the plywood fell. The truck is still on the bridge. Three commercial buses and a car belonging to LUTH have been trapped. I don’t know if there are people in the commercial buses.” Our correspondent learnt that officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency were coordinating the rescue operation, which also involved officials of the state fire service. One of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said two people had been reported dead. He explained that three commuters had been rescued, adding that the operation was ongo...

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie called Sunday for a larger focus on conflict prevention rather than responding to its repercussions, during a visit to Iraq with the UN refugee agency “I hope that we can find the strength to find a better way forward together: so that we move into a new era of preventing conflict and reducing instability, rather than simply struggling to deal with its consequences,” Jolie told a news conference at the Domiz refugee camp in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. It was Jolie’s third visit to the camp as UNHCR special envoy, after previous visits in 2012 and 2016.

Iceland national team have shown their support for Nigeria goalkeeper Carl Ikeme before both teams meet at the Volgograd Arena on Friday. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side will take on the Super Eagles for their group D second fixture on Friday. The Wolves goalkeeper was diagnosed with acute leukaemia after abnormal blood tests were returned during the club’s pre-season medical testing. Ikeme, currently on his way to recovery, last played for the Super Eagles in their 2-1 win over Zambia in October 2016 and did not travel with the team to Russia. Nigeria will be aiming for maximum points against Iceland after suffering a 2-0 loss to Croatia in their Group D match. Iceland on their part, held Argentina to a 1-1 draw and are placed third in the group while the Super Eagles sit at the bottom of the log.

Nigeria captain Mikel Obi has stepped up preparations for the team’s second Group D match at the 2018 World Cup in Russia against Iceland on Friday. The 31-year-old was widely criticised for putting up a below-par performance in the team’s 2-0 loss to Croatia in their opening match on Saturday. However, after apologising to Eagles fans for the defeat to Croatia, the team returned to training on Monday ahead of Friday’s match, which holds at the Volgograd Arena in Volgograd. In a video posted by Kwese ESPN on Monday, Mikel arrived at the team’s training ground in Essentuki 10 minutes ahead of the other members of the team. The China-based midfielder was seen doing some personal trainings to correct some of the mistakes made in the Croatia match. In the short video, Mikel was seen practicing set-pieces with none of his teammates in sight while only a few members of the team’s technical crew were also around. The video showed the Nigeria captain exuding the body language of ...

A former Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, has called on the All Progressives Congress to prepare to accept its defeat to the Peoples Democratic Party in the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State. He advised the party to be ready to follow the concession of defeat by the PDP in the 2015 presidential election. The former Vice President, who was in Ekiti State with the members of the PDP Governorship Campaign Council on Monday, expressed satisfaction with the level of the preparation of his party for the upcoming governorship election. He said, “We are satisfied that the PDP is prepared for this election. We hope that the APC will accept the outcome of the election. They should be democratic for the first time. We have seen how democratic they are, but for the first time in 2015 we had an opposition party taking over from the ruling party, we expect them to do the same.” Answering questions from reporters, Governor Ayodele Fayose said that the only thing the oppos...

A clash between two rival cults has resulted in the death of an unidentified man at Alapere, in the Ketu area of Lagos State. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the incident took place on Modupe Street, off Kazeem Street in Alapere on Sunday. A resident of the area, who claimed to have witnessed the fight, recounted that the cult members came from a nearby street, describing the area as a hotbed of cultism. It was learnt that the Alapere cult war had been on for more than three years, resulting in the death of no fewer than eight people within the period. The resident identified  the warring parties as members of the Eiye and Aye confraternities. “These cult members are always at war with one another, shooting guns all night some of the time. “Kazeem, Aminu and Akampson streets near the transformer at Alapere are notorious for cult activities,” the source added. The spokesman for the Lagos Police Command, CSP Chike Oti, confirmed the clash, adding that the vic...

President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the 2018 Appropriation Act into law on Wednesday. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed this to our correspondent on the telephone on Monday. “I can confirm to you that the President will sign the budget into law at midday on Wednesday,” the presidential spokesman said. Our correspondent further learnt that the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council that normally holds every Wednesday will not hold on that day. The meeting usually holds inside the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja at 11am on Wednesdays. It was not clear as of the time of filing this report if the meeting was put off because of the signing of the budget. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, had on Wednesday told State House correspondents that the budget would be signed into law this week. Adesina, however, did not give details of the specific day ...