Troops kill ISWAP commander Abu Fatima, 2 other terrorists (Leadership)
Troops of Operation Hadin Kai Joint Taskforce North-East have neutralised one Abu Fatima, a top commander of the Islamic States of West African Province (ISWAP).
Security sources said the terrorist leader was killed alongside two of his top men at Aleru Village of Kukawa local government area of Borno State.
The Nigerian Army confirmed the killing on its official Facebook page on Friday. Read more
2 Years of Tinubu’s Administration: We’re hungrier, impoverished — Nigerians (Vanguard)
Nigerians have examined their condition in the last two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and concluded that they were not better off than they were before President Tinubu assumed office on May 29 2023.
Many residents said under the Tinubu administration, the average person has experienced more poverty and insecurity than under any other government in the nation. Some, however, said the president has done his best and identified areas in which he needs to do more.
Daily survival increasingly difficult for Nigerians — Prof Okaba, INC president
Prof. Benjamin Okaba, the president of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), stated that although Tinubu came to power with audacious pledges and reforms, particularly the elimination of fuel subsidies and attempts to standardize exchange rates, these have caused a great deal of hardship for a large number of Nigerians. Read more
Niger Flooding: NEMA delivers relief materials to displaced victims (Channels)
As search and rescue operations continue following the devastating flood that struck the Kpege area of Mokwa, Niger State, in the early hours of Thursday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has delivered essential relief items to provide immediate succour to those displaced by the disaster.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Director General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, on Friday and made available to Channels Television.
Flooding in Mokwa, Niger State
The relief intervention, according to Umar, is part of a swift and comprehensive response by NEMA to the unprecedented flood, which has tragically claimed some lives, damaged homes and affected livelihoods. Read more
Nigeria blows N16.72t, $14.3b servicing loans in 5 years (Sun)
Nigeria may be groping into a debt trap if urgent fiscal and monetary recalibrations are not carried out, experts have warned.
This is because Nigeria’s debt stock has consistently been on the upward trajectory amid local crises and global headwinds that continue to jolt the economy and retard the revenue generation momentum.
Investigations by Saturday Sun reveal that between January 2020 and December 2024, Nigeria spent over N16.7 trillion on domestic debt servicing, just as external loan repayments gulped over $14.3 billion. Read more
Court jails 15 foreigners for cyber-terrorism, Internet fraud (Guardian)
Justice Yellin Bogoro and Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, have separately convicted and sentenced 11 Filipinos, two Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesian to one year imprisonment each for cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
The convicts are Winnie De Jesus, Kayceelynn Remorin, Irish Chna, Darwisa Esmael, Kimberly Nisperos, Savien Cire Renovilla, Zeng Zerong, and Guo Bin.
Others are Jessa Sanchi, Jhena Sarmiento, Rain Torida, Rex Jose Dilag (aka Madison), Tan Soon Kar, Fernando Fu Fang and Beverlyin Gumayo (aka Veb Sumayo. Read more
Benue youths protest as herders kill three (Punch)
Three people were reportedly killed by suspected armed herders who invaded Agan Community in Makurdi Local Government Area, Benue State.
The killing sparked a spontaneous protest by some youths in the community, who attempted to burn the house of the lawmaker representing the area at the state assembly, Alfred Berger.
According to a resident of the community who simply identified himself as Terna, the attackers stormed the area around 6 pm on Thursday and shot indiscriminately, leading to the death of three people. Read more
Simon Ekpa: Finnish prosecutors seek six-year jail term for agitator (Nation)
A six year jail term in Finland awaits self- styled prime minister of Biafra, Simon Ekpa, if the court now trying him for alleged terrorism in that country accedes to the request of his prosecutors.
Ekpa, who was arrested last November by the Finnish authorities, appeared before the Päijät-Häme District Court yesterday to face terrorism-related charges in a preparatory hearing.
His court appearance coincided with the fresh sit at home in the South East called by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra ( MASSOB), to mark ‘Biafra Day’. Read more
Breakthrough cancer drug doubles survival in trial (BBC)
Hundreds of thousands of people with advanced head and neck cancer could live longer without their cancer returning thanks to an immunotherapy drug, a clinical trial suggests.
This is the first sign of a breakthrough for patients with this difficult-to-treat cancer for 20 years, say scientists behind the research.
Laura Marston, 45, from Derbyshire, says she is “amazed she’s still here” after being given “dire” chances of survival following a diagnosis of advanced tongue cancer six years ago. Read more
Florence Pugh stars in new Yungblud music video, ‘Zombie’ (FarOut)
Yungblud has released a music video to accompany his latest single, ‘Zombie’, starring recent Marvel hit-maker Florence Pugh.
Pugh stars as a doctor, exhausted but still managing to tentatively take care of clients with a smile despite her own suffering. Throughout the ballad, clips of Yungblud performing in a hospital room are interspliced with emotional moments of Pugh staring into the distance.
Reflecting on the song, Yungblud wrote in a statement, “The song was written initially about my grandmother going through serious injury and trauma, leading her to become a different person to who she was before.” Read more
Elon Musk brushes aside drugs allegations as he bids goodbye to White House (Independent)
After spending 130 days working to dismantle entire federal government agencies, firing tens of thousands of civil servants and sparking dozens of lawsuits over potential misuse of Americans’ personal data, the world’s wealthiest man was rewarded with a gold-plated skeleton key to the White House.
Seated behind the Resolute Desk, President Donald Trump praised Elon Musk from the Oval Office for his four months of work leading the Department of Government Efficiency, a role from which Musk is required to depart due to his now-former status as a “special government employee,” which had let him work for free without complying with any financial disclosure rules — but only for 130 days per year.
He called the Tesla and SpaceX CEO “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced” and hailed him for having led what Trump called “the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations.” Read more
Trump offers Emmanuel Macron marriage advice after slap by wife Brigitte (NYPost)
President Trump offered up a tip for France’s first family to preserve domestic tranquility after his Paris counterpart Emmanuel Macron was publicly slapped by his wife Brigitte on a foreign trip earlier this week.
“Make sure the door remains closed,” Trump chuckled in the Oval Office while responding to a question about the stunning video of Madame Macron’s assault as the couple prepared to disembark in Vietnam Sunday night.
“That was not good,” Trump said of the video.
“No, I spoke to him and he’s fine, they’re fine. They’re two really good people. I know them very well. And, I don’t know what that was all about but I know him very well and they’re fine.” Read more
Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams wins BBC defamation case (UPI)
Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams Friday won $113,486 in a defamation lawsuit against the BBC.
Adams claimed in court that the BBC defamed him in a documentary and online article that said Adams had sanctioned the murder of former Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson.
After the courtroom win, Adams said, “The British Broadcasting Corporation upholds the ethos of the British state in Ireland, and in my view it’s out of sync in many, many fronts with the Good Friday agreement. It hasn’t caught on to where we are on this island as part of the process, the continuing process, of building peace and justice, and harmony, and, hopefully, in the time ahead, unity.” Read more
Abused, exploited: How 2 Africans became trapped in a cyber-scam in Laos (AlJazeera)
Khobby was living in Dubai last year when he received an intriguing message about a well-paying job working online in a far-flung corner of Southeast Asia.
The salary was good, he was told. He would be working on computers in an office.
The company would even foot the bill for his relocation to join the firm in Laos – a country of 7.6 million people nestled between China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar.. Read more
Chelle: Expect better Eagles against Jamaica on Saturday (Guardian)
Super Eagles Coach, Eric Chelle, has assured Nigerians that the national team project is progressing as envisaged, saying that such games as the one against Ghana on Wednesday and tomorrow’s encounter with Jamaica are part of the process aimed at making the national team ready for the challenges ahead.
Speaking after the 2-1 victory over Ghana in the Unity Cup on Wednesday, Chelle, who picked a blend of home-based players and their Europe-based counterparts in the game, promised a better team against Jamaica in the final game of the Unity Cup tomorrow.
Nigeria advanced to the final of the Unity Cup holding at the Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford, England, with a first-half goal by Cyril Dessers and Razak Simpson’s own goal, before Christopher Bonsu Baah halved the deficit in the 70th minute. Read more
2025 U-20 W/C: Nigeria draw Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Norway (Sun)
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have been drawn in Group F against Colombia, Saudi Arabia, and Norway for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Early Friday morning, the draw ceremony was held in Santiago, Chile.
The Flying Eagles were put in Pot 2 for the draw. Read more
Iga Swiatek’s French Open hopes given boost as nemesis Jelena Ostapenko exits (Independent)
Iga Swiatek remains on course for a fifth French Open title after a major obstacle was removed from her path.
Swiatek swept into the fourth round and has yet to drop a set after beating Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5.
The defending champion feared she would meet her nemesis, Jelena Ostapenko, who has remarkably beaten Swiatek in all six of their career meetings. Read more
Olympic boxing champ Imane Khelif requires gender test to continue fighting (AlJazeera)
Algeria’s Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif must undergo genetic sex screening in order to participate in upcoming events, the sport’s governing body said, as it introduced mandatory sex testing for all boxers in its competitions.
World Boxing announced the new policy on Friday and specifically mentioned Algeria’s Khelif, who won the women’s welterweight gold at the Paris Olympics last year and prompted a gender-eligibility row.
“Imane Khelif may not participate in the female category at … any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic sex screening in accordance with World Boxing’s rules and testing procedures,” the organisation said in a statement. Read more
Piastri expects ‘tight battle’ for pole in Spain (BBC)
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri says he expects a “tight battle” for pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix after setting the pace in Friday practice.
The world championship leader led Mercedes’ George Russell by 0.286 seconds.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third and Lando Norris fourth. They set exactly the same lap time as each other – 0.024secs behind Russell – but four-time world champion Verstappen was classified third because he set his first. Read more