Author: News Room

The operatives of the Obalende Division of the Ogun State Police Command have successfully foiled a coordinated conspiracy to kidnap a Chinese national and arrested two principal suspects, Chinedu Onwuemena, aged 41 years, and Jimoh Ojo, aged 37 years, in connection with a planned N50,000,000 ransom demand. The spokesperson for the state police command, Oluseyi Babaseyi, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday. Babaseyi said that the suspects were arrested on June 9, 2026, at about 5:30pm, following credible and actionable intelligence received by the divisional police officer indicating an imminent kidnapping plot along the Ijebu-Ode/Odogbolu Expressway corridor. He stated,…

There is something quietly revealing about a Nigerian bank stepping back from its profit focus to confront a crucial challenge: the lack of honest, open communication within its walls—and the risk this silence poses to its future. Two weeks ago, I sat with senior managers at a Nigerian bank for a feedback session. We were not discussing interest rates, currency instability, recapitalisation, regulatory pressure, or digital disruption. The focus was more basic, yet harder: giving and receiving truth without fear, ego, humiliation, or paralysis. An internal review revealed sobering news. The bank’s growth and productivity lag due to internal issues:…

Sports e-commerce and chat application Leaguebook has launched a new campaign aimed at helping football fans navigate the chaotic final stretch of FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket sales, as the 48-team tournament kicks off across Canada, Mexico and the United States. The “Squad Up to Score” campaign, announced on Thursday, introduces a group-buying feature that allows fans to pool resources and purchase match tickets and official team merchandise together through the app’s built-in community chat engine — a direct response to the frustration that has accompanied the tournament’s complex primary ticket release process. With reseller prices fluctuating wildly and millions…

Crypto exchange Coinbase has launched a tool that allows artificial intelligence agents to make payments and trade crypto on behalf of users, as crypto companies look to ride a wave of interest in AI.Coinbase said Thursday that it is launching Coinbase for Agents, which will allow AI models like ChatGPT and Claude to connect with a user’s exchange account and be prompted to make trades or execute strategies.AI agents can also make payments using Coinbase’s AI payments protocol x402, allowing the bots to pay for data services to gather information for carrying out trading strategies without human intervention.Crypto companies have…

Mirrorball champs or not, Dancing With the Stars has featured some impeccable professional dancers in the years since the ABC competition series premiered in 2005. Derek Hough, Cheryl Burke and Maksim Chmerkovskiy are among the talent who have lit up the ballroom. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Both Derek and his sister Julianne Hough, however, are perhaps two of the biggest names to come out of the show. After winning six mirrorball trophies, Derek became a DWTS judge in 2020. He also married DWTS troupe dancer Hayley Erbert in 2023, and two years later, the pair welcomed their first baby —…

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has approved a cash grant of N1 million each for all Imo indigenes evacuated from South Africa, while telecommunications company MTN announced a support package of N100,000 and N50,000 worth of airtime for every Nigerian repatriated in the first batch of the Federal Government’s evacuation exercise. The interventions were announced on Wednesday as the first batch of 258 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (Cargo Terminal), Lagos, aboard a specially chartered Air Peace flight. The returnees, comprising men, women and children, are the first among more than 1,000…

South Korea got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start by beating the Czech Republic 2-1 Thursday after finally converting some of the many chances they created. Until the 80th-minute mark it seemed that the Czechs would punish the Koreans’ wastefulness, but substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the decisive goal in a Guadalajara stadium that was far from full. Son Heung-min’s Koreans had dominated the first half but were unable to find the net. The former Tottenham star blasted one effort over the bar before making a driving run to his left and evading two Czech defenders only to…

Two farmers and a motorcyclist have been rescued in the Ohuhu community of Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State after they were abducted by suspected kidnappers during a farm attack on Wednesday. PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred near Umuawa Alaocha in Ohuhu on Wednesday, where two farmers from Umuezeroala Community were allegedly abducted while working on their farmlands close to Akpahia Community. According to a community leader, Dan Nwokojie, the victims had gone to their farms as usual when armed kidnappers descended on them and whisked them away into the surrounding forest. A community source informed,…

Nearly 50 per cent of Nigerian households still live without electricity. In practical terms, in almost every group of 10 Nigerians, four to five people either lack access to electricity entirely or contend with severe limitations in access. Behind every statistic is a business that cannot operate at full capacity, a health facility managing around unreliable power, or a student whose opportunities are constrained by energy poverty. For a country seeking to accelerate industrialisation, attract investment, create jobs and improve living standards, few statistics are more consequential. According to Oando Clean Energy Limited’s National Wind Resource Capacity Report, developed in…

Shell Nigeria Gas has attributed the growth in domestic gas production and investment to reforms that introduced clearer pricing frameworks and reduced policy uncertainty in the sector. The company stated this at the second business forum of the Association of Local Distributors of Gas held in Abuja, where industry stakeholders discussed ways to improve access to gas and drive industrialisation across the country. Speaking during a panel session titled Building a Bankable Gas Distribution Ecosystem: Infrastructure, Capital and Market Demand, Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Gas, Ralph Gbobo, said recent reforms had helped strengthen confidence in the domestic gas market.…