Author: News Room
Former world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, has made his first social media post since a fatal car accident in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two close friends and team members. Joshua sustained minor injuries in the incident that killed his friends, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele on Monday, December 29, on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway. The 36-year-old boxer, who was discharged from the hospital on New Year’s Eve, returned to the United Kingdom on Saturday. He made his first public comment since the accident in a post across his social media handles on Sunday. Joshua shared the post,…
At least 25 people were feared dead in a canoe accident in Nguru Local Government Area of Yobe State, while 13 passengers were reportedly rescued and 14 others remain missing, according to a preliminary report by authorities. PUNCH Online had reported that the incident occurred at about 7:48 pm on Saturday, when a canoe carrying 52 passengers capsized while travelling from Adiyani town in Guri Local Government Area of Jigawa State to Garbi town in Nguru LGA, Yobe State. Eyewitnesses and initial findings indicate that the victims were returning from Adiyani town, where they had been engaged in fishing, farming,…
Just when Nigerians were smoothing over their perennial sorrows with a shot of Yuletide merriment, the Grim Reaper came knocking again. This time, a couple of days shy of the 2025 exit gate. It had been a year dotted with calamities, most of them manmade, wicked and avoidable. This latest one, an accident on the highway, was ironic because it took the lives of young Diasporans who ordinarily would not have felt comfortable travelling to a terror-infested country but chose to show their friends that Nigeria was indeed safe. There could be no worse dark tale than this. This is…
Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State on Friday said the Independent National Electoral Commission’s exclusion of the party’s governorship candidate, Dr Wole Oluyede, from the list of candidates for the June 20 governorship election would not stand. The party leaders expressed confidence that Oluyede would contest the election and deliver victory for the PDP in Ekiti State. They spoke at Igede Ekiti in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area during a meeting of PDP leaders from across the state with party members from the three political wards in the community. A former Chairman of Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area, Toba…
Nigeria’s banking sector recorded a rise in bad loans in 2025 after the Central Bank of Nigeria withdrew the regulatory forbearance granted to lenders during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the apex bank’s latest macroeconomic outlook report. The report showed that the banking industry’s Non-Performing Loans ratio climbed to an estimated seven per cent, exceeding the prudential benchmark of five per cent. The CBN said the increase reflected the impact of ending the temporary reliefs earlier granted to banks to cushion the effect of the pandemic on borrowers. “The Non-performing Loans ratio stood at an estimated 7.00 per cent relative…
Former Olympic champion Enefiok Udo-Obong has unveiled a N5m athletics support grant aimed at strengthening grassroots development across Nigeria, with five athletics clubs set to receive N1m each through his Udo-Obong Athletics Academy. In a document shared with Sunday PUNCH on Saturday, the academy confirmed that the grant scheme is designed to support grassroots athletics development and improve athlete performance nationwide, with applications open to eligible clubs across the country. Explaining the motivation behind the initiative, the current Technical Adviser to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Athletics Development Programme told Sunday PUNCH that the decision was driven by a desire…
Nollywood actress Bimbo Thomas has recounted a terrifying ordeal in which armed robbers allegedly invaded a hotel housing cast and crew of Omo Ghetto Part Two during filming in Ebute Metta, Lagos, a night she said nearly turned fatal. Thomas, who played Nikky in the blockbuster movie, her breakout role that propelled her into mainstream fame, said the attackers appeared to have come specifically for filmmaker and lead actress Funke Akindele, following an earlier confrontation on set. Speaking in an interview with Chude Jideonwo uploaded on Saturday, Thomas said filming the thuggery-themed movie attracted frequent disruptions from hoodlums in the…
The National Universities Commission has approved the commencement of 17 undergraduate degree programmes at the University of Fortune, Igbotako, Ondo State. The approval is to take effect from the 2025/2026 academic session. The approval was conveyed in a letter dated December 29, 2025, signed by the Acting Director of Academic Planning, Abubakar M. Girei, on behalf of the NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu. According to the commission, the university met all stipulated requirements for the establishment of the programmes and was granted a total admission quota of 800 students. “I am directed to convey the Executive Secretary’s approval for…
Ilya Lichtenstein, the hacker behind one of the largest Bitcoin thefts on record, has been released from prison just over a year after receiving a five-year sentence, thanks to a criminal justice reform law signed during former President Donald Trump’s first term.“Thanks to President Trump’s First Step Act, I have been released from prison early,” Lichtenstein said in a Friday post on X. “I remain committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity as soon as I can,” he added. The First Step Act, passed in 2018, expanded eligibility for sentence reductions through earned time credits and other rehabilitation measures.…
Professional violinist Brian King Joseph appeared to allude to the alleged harassment he claimed he suffered at the hands of Will Smith days before filing a lawsuit against the famed actor. “Earlier this year, I was hired to be a performer on a major, major tour with somebody who was huge in the industry,” Joseph, 35, claimed in a video shared via Instagram in December 2025. “So I was excited, you know, proud of myself for getting the opportunity. Unfortunately, some things happened.” He continued, “I can’t get too into the details of exactly what that was because it’s already…
