Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

Juventus’ 15-point penalty over transfer dealings has been reversed with Italy’s highest sporting court ordering the case to be re-examined. Juve were punished in Janaury after being found guilty of false accounting. The club have now moved from seventh to third in Serie A, but could still be punished at a later date when a new hearing is held. Tottenham director of football Fabio Paratici lost his appeal against a 30-month ban as part of the same case. The former Juve sporting director was one of 11 directors at the club, either former or still in place at the time of…

A Magistrate Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of a Peter Obi supporter, Obiajulu Ujah, at the Kuje Correctional Centre. The citizen will be there for one month on observation to enable medical experts to determine the state of his mental health. On March 31, Ujah caused a stir at the Abuja airport. While inside a Lagos-bound Ibom Air flight, he warned against the inauguration of President-elect Bola Tinubu. Ujah is on trial for a criminal charge in a case marked CR/08/23 filed by the Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Magistrate Abdulazeel Ismail Muhammed of…

Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo could be arrested and deported from Saudi Arabia after appearing to make an obscene gesture towards Al-Hilal fans during a heated Saudi Pro League encounter. This was after Al-Nassr suffered a 2-0 defeat to their bitter rivals Al-Hilal and fell three points behind league leaders Al-Ittihad in the SPL title race. The football icon was angered by Al-Hilal who taunted him throughout the match with chants of Lionel Messi. Ronaldo while walking off the King Fahd International Stadium, and with the chants of ‘Messi’ ringing louder in his ears, allegedly grabbed his genitals in reaction. The…

The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has announced a 13-man Presidential Inauguration committee comprising of eminent Nigerians to plan a week-long presidential inauguration event that will usher him and his VP-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima in as the President and Vice-President of the country. Tinubu, in a letter to the Secretary to the Government of Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, announced a former Senator representing Borno North and current National Deputy Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr Abubakar Kyari as the Coordinator and Director of Finance and Budget of the Committee. The Executive Director (Business Development) at the Nigeria Export-Import…

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil, amounting to over $2.4 billion and crude oil export to China from 2014 to date, said yesterday it has uncovered payment of $200 million allegedly made as consultancy fees in whistleblower recoveries by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami within statutory approvals. Chairman of the committee, Mark Gbillah, who disclosed this at the resumed public hearing on the issue, also said Malami and the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, had not been cooperating with the committee, failing to answer…

The management of Ladoke Akintola University (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso in Oyo State, has banned students from driving or bringing cars to the campus. This was contained in a memo issued by the Registrar of the institution, Kayode Ogunleye, on Wednesday. A copy of the memo containing the decision reached by the school management was sighted by this online news platform. The memo showed that the institution also banned the use of tinted vehicles by staff members and students, and required beginner drivers to place learner permits on their vehicles. Vehicles owned by students are hereby banned from entering the university campus.…

Amid controversy, the Federal government has approved an e-Customs modernization project at N142.24 billion. The approval is coming amid reports of an existing court order restraining the e-custom project from proceeding. Meanwhile, Clem Agba, the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning said he is unaware of any court order on the project. He disclosed this to State House correspondents shortly after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Villa in Abuja. Agba explained that the concessionaire includes Bergman Securities Consultant and Suppliers Limited as the project sponsor, Africa Finance Corporation UFC…

The Federal Government has declared Friday, April 21 and Monday, April 24 as public holidays. This is to mark this year’s Eid-al-Fitr celebration. The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, announced this on behalf of the government. In a statement signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Shuaib Belgore, Aregbesola congratulated Muslims for completing the holy month of Ramadan. He called on them to imbibe the virtues of kindness, love, tolerance, peace, self-denial, sacrifice and good neighbourliness, as exemplified by Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him).

A Milan derby awaits in the Champions League semi-finals after Inter made it past Benfica with a 3-3 draw on Wednesday, sealing a 5-3 aggregate victory. Following Milan’s passage to the final four after they eliminated Napoli on Tuesday, Inter just had to see out their quarter-final second leg against the Lisbon side having taken a 2-0 lead into the clash at San Siro. As he did in the first leg, Nicolo Barella gave Inter the lead with an excellent finish, before Fredrik Aursnes equalised for the visitors with a powerful header before half-time. Lautaro Martinez put Inter back in front, before substitute Joaquin…

Manchester City set up a Champions League semi-final clash with holders Real Madrid as Erling Haaland’s goal ended Bayern Munich’s hopes of a comeback. Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel felt his side needed a miracle to go through after losing the first leg 3-0 – and they squandered plenty of opportunities to get back into the game. Haaland made them pay as he lashed home a shot into the top corner to cap off a swift counter-attack, 15 seconds after Ederson had saved Kingsley Coman’s shot at the other end. That was the Norwegian’s 48th goal for City this season, but…

University of Sydney scientists have discovered two types of fungi that can break down plastic at an unprecedented rate, potentially solving the world’s plastic waste problem. According to the researchers, the plastic-eating mould can break down stubborn plastics, such as cling wrap and ice cream tubs, in just 140 days. Ali Abbas, a chemical engineering professor at the university, called it “the highest degradation rate reported in the literature that we know in the world.” He emphasised that while the new technology is a significant step forward, tackling behavioural, social, and business issues is also crucial to address the plastics problem.…

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC said it will present the certificate of return (CoR) to the Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri in Abuja. The commission disclosed this in a statement on its verified twitter handle on Wednesday (today). According to INEC, the presentation would take place at its headquarters conference room, in Abuja. Recall that Fintiri won his re-election after Saturday’s supplementary elections, which generated controversies. The INEC statement reads, “Following the conclusion of supplementary elections nationwide and the declaration of winners, the Commission will present certificates of return to the Adamawa State Governor and Deputy Governor-elect at 3pm…