Lassa fever kills two pregnant women in Benue

The Benue State Government, Thursday, confirmed that two pregnant women and one other person have died in Makurdi as a result of outbreak of Lassa fever in the state.

The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Cecilia Ojabo, who disclosed this to newsmen in Makurdi, Benue State, said one of the pregnant women was confirmed positive after her blood sample was taken and sent to a specialist hospital at Irua in Edo State.

My husband forces me to have sex with him – Wife tells court

A businesswoman, Adenike Bolarinwa, has begged a Lagos Customary Court in Agege to dissolve her eight-year-old marriage to her husband, Abiola Bolarinwa, over constant sexual harassment and battery.

The 32-year-old petitioner, and indigene of Abeokuta, Ogun, told the Court that there was no more love and that her husband molests her at will.

Gov. Aregbesola releases N1bn for pension payment

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun has approved the release of N1 billion for the payment of contributory pension to retired civil servants in the state.

Dr Festus Oyebade, the state Head of Service, made this known on Friday in Osogbo at a meeting of the Forum of Head of Service/Permanent Secretaries, Coordinating Directors, Director-General, General Managers and Executive Secretaries.

Court remands monarch, other for allegedly maligning Ooni

An Osun Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ile-Ife on Friday remanded a traditional ruler, Oba Adeoye Adefarakan, 63, and one Abidemi Olukanmi, 18, for allegedly spreading rumour against the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

The Prosecutor, Inspector Christian Olajide, told the court that the accused committed the offence sometime in November, 2017 at Ile-Ife.

Ernesto Valverde hopeful Andres Iniesta will stay at Barcelona amid China speculation

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde is hopeful Andres Iniesta will stay at Barcelona following reports his captain has offers on the table to move to China at the end of the season.

“I can’t comment on every story in every newspaper. This has not happened, and we want Andres to stay, to keep scoring and creating goals for us,” Valverde said at a press conference on Friday ahead of the trip to Eibar in La Liga.

South Africa’s Jacob Zuma faces 18 criminal charges on multi-billion rand payments for arms deal

South Africa’s Jacob Zuma, president until Wednesday when he resigned on live TV, faces an uncertain future as his legal challenges mount and his support network crumbles.

Analysts sketch several scenarios for Zuma, an anti-apartheid activist who rose to the presidency only to become thickly tarred by a reputation for graft.

Libyan returnee dies two days after arrival

A female returnee recently evacuated from Libya, Towobola Adebayo, died after two days of medical treatment at University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.

Sani Datti, the Head of Media and Public Relations, National Emergency Management Agency, in a statement on Friday in Abuja said the returnee was 32 years old and hailed from Ogun State.

Nigerian national stabbed in xenophobic attack in South Africa

The Nigerian Community in South Africa said on Friday that a member was stabbed during a xenophobic attack in Rustenberg, North-West Province area.

The President of Nigerian Union, South Africa, Mr. Adetola Olubajo, told the News Agency of Nigeria on telephone that the victim, identified as Desmond, was attacked on February 14.

Court jails fake policeman in Abuja

A Karmo Area Court, Abuja, on Friday sentenced a driver, Nura Mohammed to four months in prison for dishonestly parading himself as a policeman.

Mohammed, who has no fixed address, was convicted on a charge of impersonation.

The Judge, Abubakar Sadiq, handed down the punishment after Mohammed pleaded guilty to a count charge leveled against him and begged the court for leniency.

Ex-VP Atiku Abubakar condemns Zamfara massacre

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the latest massacre in Zamfara State in which scores of innocent people were forced out of their vehicles and brutally killed by unknown bandits.

In January, Abubakar spoke out on the killings in Rivers, Kaduna, Benue States.

Seven months after changing to woman, father becomes man again

A father of two who transitioned to be a woman after eight years of marriage is transitioning back to being a man after just seven months.

James Cohen, 36, told his wife, Eirian, 36, that he wanted to become a woman after claiming he’d hidden his gender secret since he was a child.

Sergio Aguero wins Premier League Player of the Month award

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has won the Premier League Player of the Month award for January.

The accolade is recognition for the major part the Argentinian is continuing to play in City’s relentless pursuit of the Premier League title.

I won’t demolish Zuma’s statue… he resigned honourably - Okorocha

Rochas Okorocha, governor of Imo state, says he is not going to pull down the statue of Jacob Zuma, former South African president, which was erected last year.

Okorocha said this on Friday in reaction to recent calls for the statue to be pulled down.

In October 2017, the Imo government erected a statue of the former South African president in Owerri, the state capital, a move that had irked many Nigerians.

SMS to girl lands man in court

A Man, Akinsina Ibrahim, who allegedly sent a text message threatening a girl, was yesterday granted a temporary reprieve by an Osogbo Chief Magistrates’ Court in Osun. Ibrahim, 22, was released on bail at N100,000, with two sureties.

The Magistrate, Mrs. Olubunmi Ajanaku, said the sureties must live within the court’s jurisdiction with an evidence of tax payment. In addition, she said, one of the sureties must be a civil servant on Grade Level 8, while the other must be a relation of the accused.

Cross River Assembly passes N1.3trn 2018 budget

The Cross River House of Assembly on Thursday passed the 2018 appropriation bill of N1.3trillion presented by Governor Ben Ayade.

The budget, tagged Budget of Kinetic Crystallisation, was presented to the House of Assembly by the governor on November 30, 2017.

German football league breaks revenue record

Revenues in Germany’s top two divisions have increased for a 13th straight season and topped four billion euros for the first time, the German Football League reported on Thursday.

The annual figures for the DFL, which is made up of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, show a 4.2 percent growth in revenue for the 36 clubs to 4.1 billion euros ($5.1 billion) in 2016/17.

MTN Nigeria pays N110 billion NCC fine

MTN Nigeria has paid a total of N110bn into the coffers of the government out of the N330bn imposed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this at a workshop on Code of Corporate Governance organised by the commission in Kano on Thursday.

Budget: NASS berates Amaechi over non-utilisation of N48bn

The Joint Committee on Land Transport has faulted the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi over non-utilisation of N48 billion released to the Ministry of Transportation in 2017 budget.

Mr Aminu Sani, the Chairman, House Committee on Land Transport, faulted the minister on Thursday during the 2018 Budget Defence of the ministry before the Joint Committee on Land Transport in Abuja.

Man steals £5 million from wife to buy English club

The man who owned Portsmouth for six weeks during an ill-fated spell in 2009 has been sentenced to five years in a United Arab Emirates jail for stealing £5m from his wife to fund the purchase.

Sulaiman Al Fahim, who also fronted the Abu Dhabi United Group’s deal to buy Manchester City in 2008, was found guilty of forgery, using forged documents and aiding and abetting.
He and an accomplice were found to have stolen the money used to buy Pompey from Sacha Gaydamak, with Al Fahim soon selling the club to Ali Al Faraj.

“I Was Deceived By My Friend”; Nigerian Lady Who Returned From Libya

The executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Mr. Emmanuel Shior yesterday received Miss Alice Adah, a Benue deportee from Lybia at the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, zonal office Portharcout, River state.

Mr. Shior stated that he got a call from NEMA zonal office Port-Harcourt that there was a Benue indigene among the returnees from Lybia, and without delay he swung into action and traveled to Portharcourt where he received her from the management of NEMA zonal office Portharcout to bring her back to Makurdi, Benue State capital.

447 foreign trained doctors fail assessment exam

No fewer than 447 of the 686 foreign trained doctors who wrote the assessment test of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) failed.

The Federal Government decried the poor performance of the foreign trained medical and dental graduates as only 249 were successful in the examination conducted in November 2017.

Propaganda may help you win election, you can’t govern with it - Jonathan taunts APC

Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan has taken a swipe at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying even if a party wins through propaganda, it can not govern with it.

Speaking when he received leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state capital, on Friday, Jonathan said the APC had failed to fulfil its promise to Nigerians.

Germany arrests suspected member of al-Shabab militia

German authorities have arrested a 20-year-old Somali man on suspicion of being a member of the extremist militia al-Shabab.

Federal prosecutors say the man was detained Thursday in the central state of Hesse.

Turkey’s coup attempt: Six journalists sentenced to life imprisonment

A court in Istanbul on Friday sentenced six Turkish journalists to aggravated life imprisonment each over their alleged involvement in a failed coup in July 2016, local media reported.

The defendants, including Turkey’s well-known journalists Nazli Ilicak, Ahmet Altan and Mehmet Altan, were charged with trying to remove the constitutional order, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Chelsea’s Antonio Conte eyes squad rotation to tackle tough fixtures ahead

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will rotate his squad, starting from Friday’s English FA Cup clash with Hull City.

The London side are faced with a tough run of fixtures ahead, but the coach said a strong Cup run was high on his list of priorities for the rest of the season.