Author: News Room
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says the continent is moving closer to meeting the criteria for downgrading Mpox as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security. The move, it said, becomes imperative as more countries record zero cases for extended periods. Yap Boum, Incident Manager for Health Emergencies at Africa CDC, made the remarks on Thursday during the continent’s virtual weekly press briefing. Mr Boum noted that seven countries have now reached the ‘end phase’, while Sierra Leone is expected to enter the ‘control phase’ on 16 Dec, after maintaining more than 42 days without…
The men who cornered Ita James did not come for his catch. In this bustling town of Ibaka, one of Nigeria’s largest fishing towns, fishers know how sudden and brutal such an encounter could be. Speedboats fitted with twin 200-horsepower engines emerge from the horizon, shots are fired, and fishermen are forced by men armed with automatic rifles to promptly unbolt and hand over their outboard engines. Those who resist are beaten, sometimes killed. After the attackers vanish, the victims’ boats are left dead on the water, drifting until help arrives. Many fishers return home broken, having borrowed to replace…
The Oba Otudeko Foundation has commenced a comprehensive food assistance programme aimed at easing hardship among residents of Ogun State. In a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, Yewande Giwa, on behalf of the foundation’s founder, Oba Otudeko, said the outreach was designed to provide relief to 2,000 at-risk . She disclosed that more than 500 people in Odogbolu Local Government benefited from the first distribution exercise. Ms Giwa stated that the programme formed part of the foundation’s December community support activities and was being executed through a zonal strategy spanning all four geopolitical zones of the state.…
The Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations, COCIN, for Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, has promised to personally present evidence of alleged Christian genocide to United States President, Donald Trump. The outspoken cleric, who made the promise in a video message posted on his X handle on Thursday, said he has sufficient facts and evidence which he intends to present to Trump to counter denials by the Nigerian government that Christians are not being deliberately targeted for elimination in the state by terrorists and bandits. In the statement, Rev. Dachomo said…
The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum has thanked Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang, for “heeding” its call to defect to the party from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Muftwang’s defection was officially confirmed on Thursday night by APC national chairman Prof Nentawe Yilwatda at the party’s 14th national caucus meeting, held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja. Reacting to the development on Friday in a statement by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central APC Forum, which has for more than one year – since April 2024 – been campaigning for Muftwang to join the APC, welcomed…
Scores of residents sustained varying degrees of injuries, while properties estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of naira were destroyed following a fuel tanker explosion in Auchi, the administrative headquarters of Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State. The incident occurred after a petrol tanker reportedly overturned along the Auchi-Okene Highway, discharging its highly flammable contents into drainage channels across parts of the town. Some of the spilled fuel reportedly flowed into underground tunnels, worsening the situation. Eyewitness accounts indicated that the tanker later went up in flames, with the fire racing through the drainage network and igniting…
Manchester United legend, Roy Keane has predicted the result and goalscorer of Everton’s Premier League clash with Arsenal. Everton will face the Gunners in a Premier League tie on Saturday night at Hill Dickinson Stadium. In a recent episode of The Overlap, Keane predicted Arsenal would win 2-1 against the hosts. However, the Irishman also suggested that the Toffees could find the net from a set piece, with defender James Tarkowski scoring. “2-1. I think Everton might get one from a set piece. [James] Tarkowski. 2-1 Arsenal,” Keane said. A win for Arsenal against Everton would place Mikel Arteta’s side…
The Mountain Top University, Ogun State, has announced that its best graduating student for the 2024/2025 academic session, Miss Akinyemi Omolola Faith of the Department of Mathematics, recorded an outstanding Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.94. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Elijah Ayolabi, disclosed this on Monday during a pre-convocation press briefing held at the institution, ahead of its seventh Convocation Ceremony and 10th anniversary, scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025. Addressing journalists, the Vice-Chancellor described the achievement as a reflection of MTU’s commitment to academic excellence, noting that a total of 346 students would graduate across undergraduate and…
The Obaro of Kabba and Chairman of the Kabba/Bunu Traditional Council, Oba Solomon Owoniyi, in collaboration with the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, has ordered the suspension of all church activities in the area until further notice. The directive followed a series of security breaches in the community, including recent attacks on churches and the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition by security operatives in the state. A notice issued by the Coordinator of CAN in Kabba/Bunu LGA, Rev. Kayode Osatuyi, and sighted by PUNCH Online on Friday, said the…
An Ikeja High Court in Lagos State has discharged and acquitted Ikechukwu Ogbonna, popularly known as IVD, of all criminal charges related to the death of his wife, Bimbo Ogbonna, after ruling that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Justice Modupe Nico-Clay, who delivered the judgment on Monday, dismissed the three-count charge against him, which included involuntary manslaughter, causing death by threats and intimidation, and domestic violence. The judge observed that the evidence presented by the prosecution was largely hearsay and lacked credible support. PUNCH Metro gathered that Ikechukwu Ogbonna was arraigned by the Lagos…
