Author: News Room

There is cautious optimism among retailers of liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas) as the product becomes more available, currently selling between N1,000 and N1,400 per kilogramme, depending on location and seller. A market survey by our correspondent showed that cooking gas became more accessible towards the end of 2025, unlike the severe scarcity experienced in September and October last year. Consumers in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and other states said they purchased LPG at rates ranging from N1,050 to N1,400. Our correspondent also learnt that some major marketers sold LPG at N900 directly to consumers. To some, the current prices are…

Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a 35-year-old woman, Modupeola Bamisade, for allegedly defrauding over 100 unsuspecting victims of more than N500m through an online gadget scam. PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspect specialised in the sale of iPhones, iPads and other Apple products, which she advertised at a 50 per cent discount to lure customers online. A police source, who spoke to our correspondent on Wednesday, said Bamisade used social media influencers to promote her supposed sales, attracting buyers who paid for the gadgets but never received them. The police alleged that the suspect thereafter resorted…

The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by the United States of America is, without a doubt, a big lesson for cruel and oppressive regimes all over the world. As usual, the United Nations and several countries, such as Russia, China, Iran and France, have condemned the action taken by the United States military because it disrespected the sovereignty of Venezuela and violated international law. Curiously, very few people are talking about the character of the Maduro regime, notorious for its brutality to the Venezuelan people. Maduro, a former Vice President, became the president of…

Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has ruled out a move to boxing after his mixed martial arts career ends, insisting his legacy will be completed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. The Nigerian-New Zealander, who currently sits at No.6 in the UFC middleweight rankings, made his position clear during a Q&A session at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA in Thailand. “For me, my career is going to end in the UFC, I believe. But never say never,” Adesanya said. “I thought about this two months ago, and I always said like, nah, you’d never catch…

Character.AI and Google have reached settlements with several families whose teens harmed themselves or died by suicide after interacting with Character.AI’s chatbots, according to new court filings.The details of the settlements are still unknown. The parties notified a federal court in Florida that they had reached a “mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims,” and asked to pause the case to finalize the agreement. A spokesperson for Character.AI, Kathryn Kelly, and a lawyer from the Social Media Victims Law Center representing victims’ families, Matthew Bergman, declined to comment. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The settled…

Crypto markets need to pass three so-called checkpoints in order to reach new peaks in 2026, which include the US Senate passing a highly-awaited crypto bill, says Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan.“Crypto is off to a good start in 2026,” Hougan said in a note on Tuesday, but added there are “three big hurdles standing between us and new all-time highs.” Markets are currently down 2% over the past 24 hours, but have gained 5.6%, or around $170 billion, since the beginning of the year, pushing total capitalization to a seven-week high of $3.3 trillion on Wednesday.Hougan said that the…

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards made a huge change ahead of the 2026 ceremony airing on Netflix in March 2026. Acting Union SAG-AFTRA announced in November 2025 that it was changing the name of its annual gala to The Actor Awards because its “iconic statuette has always been called The Actor” for more than 30 years. The organization promised at the time that the “legacy and prestige” of The Actor Awards “remains exactly the same” despite the rebranding. “We’re excited to evolve the name to further support who we are and the future growth of the show,” a SAG…

There is a viral claim that Nigeria’s Vice-President Kashim Shettima “recently” told the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, that Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. The claim appeared on various news websites and blogs, including FreedomOnline, NewsReelDaily, and Nairaland, as well as several other sites and social media pages. Additionally, most of the reports in which the claim appeared were published within the week, giving the impression that Mr Shettima’s comment was recent. In one of the Facebook posts on the issue, titled “Vice…

Robinson Ewor, a former Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State, has accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of misusing public funds. Ewor claimed that the state is currently operating without an approved budget for the 2026 fiscal year. He made the allegations on Wednesday during the “thank you” visit of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to Ahoada East Local Government Area. According to Ewor, governance in Rivers State has been hampered by a lack of collaboration between the executive and legislative branches. He warned that without a formally passed appropriation law, all state spending…

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has stated that the ruling party is not controlled by any governor, stressing that authority within the APC is vested in its national structure. Speaking on the SunseT programme on Jay FM in Jos, Plateau State, Yilwatda explained that decisions taken at the state level are first planned and guided by the party’s national leadership, in line with the APC’s organisational framework. He said the party operates strictly on structure rather than personal interests, noting that no single individual wields control over the APC. “Across the country, no one…