Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

Seven suspected victims to be trafficked to Baghdad, Iraq have been rescued by operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) during a raid at a popular hotel in Zamaru, near Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The operatives also arrested the hotel manager. The raid was prompted by credible intelligence from stakeholders who had observed unusual activity, including the movement of young girls and suspicious individuals within the hotel, raising concerns about potential human trafficking. Saddened by the growing trend, Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, lamented the role of certain service providers in…

Pope Francis appeared at the window of the Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Sunday, offering a blessing for the first time since being admitted on February 14. The 88-year-old pontiff was discharged shortly afterwards, and doctors advised that he would need at least two months of rest at the Vatican, BBC reports. Dr. Sergio Alfieri, one of the doctors treating the Pope, revealed that during the past five weeks, Pope Francis experienced “two very critical episodes” where his “life was in danger.” Dr. Alfieri clarified that the Pope was never intubated and remained alert and oriented throughout his hospital stay.…

Russian authorities said on Sunday that its air defence units destroyed 59 Ukrainian drones that targeted Russia’s southwestern regions and killed one person in Rostov. In a message on Telegram, the Russian defence ministry said that 21 of the drones were downed overnight over the Rostov region in Russia’s south, adding that another 20 were downed over the Astrakhan region on the Caspian Sea. The ministry said the rest of the drones were downed over the Voronezh, Volgograd, Kursk and Saratov regions, as well as over Crimea. The acting governor of the Rostov region that borders Ukraine, Yuri Slyusar, said…

The Oluwo of Iwo, Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has accused the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi of scheming to remove him from his stool. The Oluwo, in a now viral video, said he influenced Oba Ogunwusi’s emergence as the Ooni when he was contesting the stool in 2015, expressing regrets that the Ooni had been orchestrating his removal for no known reason Oba Akanbi also alleged that Oba Adeyeye was behind his suspension from the Osun State Council of Obas a few years back. However, the Ife monarch has dismissed Oluwo’s allegation, adding that he would not react to it as…

The security cabinet of Israel on Sunday approved a plan to separate 13 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from their neighbouring communities. Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, in a post on X, said the settlements would ultimately be recognised as independent, which follows the approval of tens of thousands of housing units across the West Bank. Smotrich said in the ststement, “We continue to lead a revolution of normalisation and regulation in the settlements. Instead of hiding and apologising – we raise the flag, build and settle. This is another important step on the path to actual sovereignty…

44 civilians have been killed in a terrorist attack on Fambita village in the Tillabéri region of Niger Republic, the government authorities have confirmed. The government attributed the assault to militants of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). A counter-insurgency expert focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed this in a post on his X handle on Saturday. According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, the attack occurred on Friday while Muslim worshippers were observing prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. The assailants, heavily armed, surrounded the mosque before launching their assault. “These…

Pope Francis will be discharged from the hospital on Sunday — five weeks after he was admitted for treatment for double pneumonia, the doctors treating the pontiff announced Saturday. He will return to the Vatican, but doctors said he will need at least two months of rest and rehabilitation after leaving Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. The 88-year-old pontiff has been battling double pneumonia in both lungs after he was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis that made it difficult for him to speak. He has remained out of public view since then. His doctors held…

Testimony features sexual harassment, groping, inappropriate touching and forced penetration Rape culture exists in more than 1,600 primary schools in the UK and Ireland, an investigation by a campaign group has found. The ‘Everyone’s Invited’ list names 1,664 primary schools where pupils aged five to 11 have submitted anonymous testimonies alleging rape culture. This includes experiences of sexual harassment, groping, inappropriate touching and forced penetration during primary school. The report claimed that almost half of schoolchildren under seven are showing signs of misogynistic behaviour, and that “misogynistic rhetoric and harmful gender norms” are ingrained from as early as nursery. It…

Famed KGB double agent, Oleg Gordievsky, has died at his Surrey, UK home at the age of 86. The former Soviet secret agent defected to Britain in 1985 after being smuggled out of the country in the boot of a car. His death is not being treated as suspicious and he died peacefully in his home, the BBC reported. Gordievsky was the most prominent Soviet agent to defect to Britain during the Cold War. He provided Britain with reports on Soviet operations for more than a decade, using his position as a colonel in the KGB to acquire secret information.…

The last is yet to be heard of the death of Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad as his former Record label boss, Naira Marley has testified before a Magistrate Court sitting in Ikorodu, in the Coroner’s inquest seeking to discover the root cause of the deceased singer’s passing. Azeez Fashola street-named Naira Marley joined the proceedings virtually on Friday to tell the court everything he knows about his colleague’s passing and, in the process, wash his hands off all allegations being made against him. The lewd lyricist told the Coroner, Magistrate Adedayo Shotobi that he signed late Mohbad on his record…