Author: News Room

Bandits loyal to notorious kingpin, Bello Turji, on Wednesday attacked Lugu village in Isa Local Government Area of Sokoto State. The terrorists reportedly killed and injured several residents and abducted at least 15 people, including men and women. The incident was disclosed in a post on X on Thursday by Bakatsine, a conflict and crisis journalist who reports on insecurity in Nigeria’s northwest. The development comes a day after Turji’s bandits raided Gajit village, where they injured people and kidnapped at least 20 residents. He wrote: “ALERT: Last night, bandits loyal to the notorious leader Bello Turji attacked Lugu village…

Manchester United have brought back two of their players from loan spells. The Red Devils announced this in a post on their website on Wednesday. The two players are Joe Hugill and Habeeb Ogunneye. Hugill, 22, joined Barnet last July, the fifth loan stint of his Man United career. The centre-forward played for the Bees in League Two and the Carabao Cup. Hugill made his most recent appearance for Barnet in the New Year’s Day win over Crawley Town. He signed for United from Sunderland in 2020 Ogunneye, on the other hand, returned to Man United from Newport County. The…

Chieftains of the Social Democratic Party, serving and former lawmakers, traditional rulers and political stakeholders on Thursday converged on Lafia, Nasarawa State, to bid farewell to the late Senator Godiya Akwashiki, who was buried amid tributes. Akwashiki, who died two weeks ago at the age of 52 in an Indian hospital after a prolonged illness, represented Nasarawa North Senatorial District in the 10th Senate on the platform of the SDP until his death. The tributes were paid during an evening programme organised by the National Working Committee of the SDP, where party leaders described the late senator as a rare…

The Anambra Police Command says it has neutralised two armed robbery suspects, and recovered firearms, a vehicle and other items, at Enugwu Agidi Junction, in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra. The command disclosed this in a statement released in Awka on Thursday by its Spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who said that the incident occurred on Wednesday. “The Anambra Police Command in the early hours of Jan. 14, recorded another major operational breakthrough in its sustained efforts to rid the state of criminal elements and ensure the safety of lives and property. “The police operatives attached to Rapid Response Squad…

Retirement and terminal benefits payouts almost doubled year-on-year, reaching N789.69bn in the first three quarters of 2025, according to The PUNCH analysis of quarterly figures from the National Pension Commission. According to PenCom’s data, total payouts for Q1, Q2, and Q3 stood at N286.35bn, N252.76bn, and N250.59bn, respectively, bringing the nine-month total to N789.69bn. This compares with N403.64bn paid out in the corresponding three quarters of 2024, indicating a sharp rise in benefit disbursements. A closer look at the breakdown shows strong increases across major benefit categories. Lump sum payments, which are one-off payments to retirees who select the programmed…

For an AI loser, Apple did an awful lot of winning last year.The mess that was the Apple Intelligence rollout was embarrassing, to be sure, but through it all, the company kept doing what it does best: selling iPhones. With this week’s news that it’ll use Gemini models to power the long-awaited smarter Siri, Apple seems to have taken a big ‘ol L in the whole AI race. But there’s still a major challenge ahead — and Apple isn’t out of the running just yet.Apple Intelligence got off to a well-documented rough start in 2024. The iPhone 16 was “Built…

Data shows Bitcoin’s (BTC) largest holders reaccumulating coins after a period of heavy distribution. Data indicates that whale balances have turned higher following the sharpest selloff since early 2023, while the mid-sized holders continue to reduce exposure.Key takeaways:Whale addresses added 46,000 BTC this week, turning the one-year net change positive for the first time since Q4 2025.Dolphin addresses, including ETFs and treasury entities, cut holdings further to 589,000 BTC, extending a multi-month slowdown in demand.Dolphin flows have dominated price impact this cycle, but whale accumulation has historically preceded key rallies.Bitcoin whale balances turn positive after record drawdownLast week, CryptoQuant’s report…

Timothy Busfield‘s lawyer is speaking out after the actor was accused of inappropriately touching a teenage girl more than 20 years ago. “The allegations were never challenged, they were never proved, and they’re 25 years old,” civil attorney Larry Stein noted in a statement to People on Wednesday, January 14. “And there doesn’t seem to be any connection between these allegations regarding women 25 years ago and the allegations regarding these young boys.” A pretrial detention motion filed earlier on Wednesday included claims by a man named Colin Swift, whose daughter accused Busfield, 68, of sexual abuse several years prior.…

A Grade A Customary Court at Mapo, Ibadan, has dissolved the 30-year-old marriage between two police officers: Gladys Faniyi and her husband, Abayomi Faniyi. The court’s president, S. M. Akintayo, held on Thursday that she dissolved the marriage in the interest of peaceful coexistence after Gladys complained of constant domestic violence and infidelity. “The marriage between the petitioner and the respondent has ceased to be henceforth, because the duo no longer wish to continue to live together as husband and wife. “Abayomi is directed to be responsible for the children’s education and other needs,” Mrs Akintayo said. She granted an…

Nigeria’s economy could grow by 5.5 per cent in 2026 if the government fully implements key fiscal, monetary and structural reforms, according to a new macroeconomic outlook published on Thursday by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG). In its Macroeconomic Projections for Nigeria in 2026 and Beyond, the policy group said the outlook is based on an “optimal consolidation pathway”, which assumes consistent execution of fiscal, monetary and structural reforms. The projections were generated using the NESG Macroeconomic Model (Macromod), which the group said reflects near-realistic performance of key economic variables Using its NESG Macromod, the group also developed a…