The University of Minnesota is offering significant financial support to international students including Nigerians through its prestigious Undergraduate Scholarship, also known as the Global Excellence Scholarship.

This initiative, as reported by Scholarship Region, aims to attract top talent from around the world, providing up to $60,000 in funding to help cover educational expenses for deserving students.

Details provide that international students who apply before 15 November 2024, will be automatically considered for the scholarship.

Scholarships AF reported that “this scholarship offers substance support to outstanding international first-year students and transfer students. The GES awards are also highly competitive and based on academic merit.”

The scholarship, as reported, is available to international students applying for undergraduate programmes at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

The university is reputed for its broad range of academic disciplines and its comprehensive approach to education.

“We are committed to fostering new knowledge and preparing our students to tackle global challenges,” a university spokesperson said.
For its eligibility, applicants must be an international student seeking admission into an undergraduate degree programme with full-time enrollment in the honours programme.

Prospective beneficiaries are also expected to have exceptional personal skills and academic merit; obtain a high school transcript and/or GCSE results and if the transcript is  not in English, also require a certified translation.

Applicants are also required to have obtained a high school certificate or equivalent, hold an offer for a full-time programme at the university and for English Language requirements, applicants are mandated to provide evidence of meeting the University of Minnesota’s minimum English language proficiency requirements.

The institution said that they accept results from English Proficiency Tests including TOEFL, with a test score of 79, IELTS, with a test score of 6.5 in Writing, Pearson Test of Academic English, with a test score of 59, Cambridge Assessment English (CAE),  with a test score of 180, and Duolingo, with a test score of 110.

To qualify, interested students are urged to apply for admission into the University of Minnesota’s undergraduate programmes.

Then upon submission of their application, they will be automatically considered for the scholarship based on an overall assessment.

Candidates are also to maintain their F-1 immigration status to remain eligible for the scholarship, noting that no separate application is required for the scholarship itself.

Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested 56 persons suspected to be internet fraudsters in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The arrests were carried out between September 3 and 4, 2024, at different locations following credible intelligence on the activities of the suspected fraudsters that have thrown unsuspected citizens into tears through their dishonest operations.

A statement signed by the EFCC’s head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale listed items recovered from the suspects to include 18 different brands of exotic cars, laptops, expensive smartphones, and charms.

Oyewale added that suspects would be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared his support for the candidate of the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris in the upcoming US presidential election.

The backing has been seen as an apparent sarcastic remark a day after Washington accused Moscow of seeking to influence the vote.

Putin comments on political and social issues in the United States often with sarcasm.

He said last year that the US political system was “rotten” and that Washington could not lecture other countries about democracy.

“Firstly, (US President Joe) Biden recommended all his supporters support Mrs Harris,” Putin said during a question-and-answer session at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

“Here, we are going to do that too, we’re going to support her,” he added, with a wry smile.

“She laughs so contagiously that it shows that everything is fine with her,” the Russian leader said.

“(Former US President Donald) Trump has imposed as many sanctions on Russia as any president has ever imposed before, and if Harris is doing well, perhaps she will refrain from such actions.”

In February, Putin backed Biden over Trump, calling the current president more “predictable”.

The White House called on Putin to “stay out” of US elections.

Putin’s comments came a day after the United States indicted two employees of the state-run Russian news network RT and slapped sanctions on its top editors.

Washington accused them of trying to influence the upcoming US ballot.

In a tragic turn of events, a 300-level student from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Christiana Idowu, who was kidnapped between Ikorodu and Yaba in Lagos State, has reportedly been killed by her abductor.

Christiana left her home in the Itaoluwo area of Ikorodu to travel to the University of Lagos in Yaba, where she was undergoing her industrial training when she was abducted by kidnappers.

The suspect has since been arrested after combined efforts from security agencies.

In a now-viral post on X, a user named @letter_to_jack shared that intelligence agents were able to track down the abductor using the BVN and bank account information associated with the ransom payments made by the family.

The tweet read, “On the 19th of August 2024, Christiannah Idowu was declared missing after her parents were contacted by her abductors using her own WhatsApp contact.

“The first contact with the parent was established around 8:49pm after which they sent photos of the victim in captivity to them using the WhatsApp ‘view once’ feature.

“The abductors requested for a ransom fee of N1,500,000. Christiannah’s parents raised N350,000 immediately. The abductor then requested that the money be sent to a bet account through a bank deposit channel. (Info reserved for now)

“After receiving the money, on the 22nd of August, the abductor requested that bank statement of the sender be forwarded to his email (withheld).

“On the 23rd of August, family complied. Immediately after that, the abductor stopped communicating with the parents.

“Meanwhile, on the 22nd of August, some amount was sent to the GTB account of Christiannah and the amount was then withdrawn into the wema bank account belonging to the main suspect ( Name withheld for now).

“Investigation by intelligence operatives began on the 26th to unravel details of the account number.

“By the 29th, intelligence operatives had confirmation from the bank that the BVN linked to the masked Betting account allegedly belonged to the account owner (name withheld for now) who also operates the Wema Bank (account no withheld for now).

“Further investigation revealed that he was able to withdraw the sum of 100,000 from the betting account before agents got the bet company to lock the account.

“Armed by these information, operatives began investigation into the suspect whom they observed to have a mutual relationship with Christiannah Idowu, especially judging by Instagram posts as they both commented on each other’s pages.

“The crazy thing is: the same account number used to launder some amount directly from Christiannah’s account has been posted on Twitter once to “beg for a give away free money.

“With all these information at hand, the operatives began to track down his cell phone activities and text messages. The cell phone tracking led them to his parent’s house, somewhere in IKORODU.

“Operatives then got confirmation of his presence in the building through active tracking of his mobile device. Immediately, gallant personnel of the Nigerian army 174bn swooped in on the suspect to conduct arrest.

“After the arrest, damning evidences were seen with the suspect and this includes the victim blue ITEL A56 with IMEI:35230.

“Also, in his phones are details of the money moved and also details confirming he owns the Betting account that was locked. It was registered with his phone number.

“On his phone, they found an interaction between his personal email and the email address that has been interacting with the family of the deceased.

“After reviewing the evidence, the suspect was then taken into custody to enable the operatives conduct further investigations. Upon reviewing this evidence, suspect was successful taken into custody for necessary action.

“On September 3, the suspect reportedly confessed to the father and the soldiers that he killed the girl and buried her in their house.

“There is also a new story awaiting further confirmation that in 2018, the suspect’s ex-girlfriend was killed in same manner. Also that in 2020, the suspect’s own biological sister met the same fate, and the same thing has happened to Christiannah in 2024.”

The horrifying incident has ignited widespread outrage across Nigeria, especially on social media. Many Nigerians have taken to Twitter to demand justice for Christiana, with the hashtag #JusticeForChristianah trending.

Gunmen have reportedly kidnapped a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and one of Governor Seyi Makinde’s key supporters, Hon Benedict Akika, popularly known as “Bene” in his home on Wednesday night.

The gunmen wearing masks reportedly stormed the Idi Ape, Olorunda-Aba residence of Mr Akika in Lagelu local Government Area of the state and abducted him.

Unconfirmed report also indicated that a life was possibly lost during abduction on Wednesday night.

The Oyo State Police Command is yet to issue an official statement on the matter but in a message via the phone, the command’s spokesman, Adewale Osifeso, indicated that investigation has commenced into the matter and details would be provided accordingly.

The Oyo state government have also not issued any statement concerning the unfortunate incident.

Dangote Refinery has announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is yet to lift Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol from its refinery.

It also added that the refinery is yet to announce any price for the sale of petrol from its refinery to members of the public.

The Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, made the clarification in a statement on Thursday where the company reacted to a report which claimed the NNPC has lifted fuel from Dangote refinery and is selling it at ₦897 per litre.

Dangote said it is yet to finalize contractual agreements with the NNPC nor announce a price for its products, hence members of the public should disregard any misleading information on the subject matter.

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a headline “NNPC lifts Dangote Petrol, sells at ₦897 per litre” published in the BusinessDay Newspapers of Wednesday, 4 September 2024.

“We would like to state that NNPC has not commenced lifting of refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from our Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

“Therefore, the issue of fixing the price of petrol lifted from our refinery does not arise, as we are yet to finalize our contract with NNPC.

“The PMS market is strictly regulated, which is known to all oil marketers and stakeholders in the sector, hence we can not determine, fix, or influence the product price, which falls under the purview of relevant government authorities.

“We urge the public to disregard the headline as it is misleading and does not represent the true position in this matter.

“We are guaranteeing Nigerians of exceptionally high quality petroleum products that will be readily available all over the country.”

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ibrahim Modibbo, has said Advisers and Ministers of President Bola Tinubu are incompetent and deserve to be sacked.

The Taraba State APC chieftain, Ibrahim Modibbo, said ministers of President Tinubu are newspaper tigers.

He accused them of relying solely on textbook economics as solution to Nigeria’s hunger and hardship problems than the people.

Modibbo, in an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday, stated that Tinubu advisers are giving him wrong advice that is responsible for the economic hardship.

He appealed to Nigerians to give the President time, stating there would be light at the end of the tunnel.

“I’m a Nigerian and I also feel the pains just like Mr. President also feel the pains and the pulse of Nigerians.

“I don’t want to defend some of these conditions. I’m not here as a government spokesperson. Therefore as a caveat, I’m not going to defend that because to me it will show sensitivity and compassion. That is why I said people around Mr. President are giving him wrong advice.

“If I were a president today I would have sacked almost virtually all the ministers and what have you, to get new people, new advisors because some of this economic team, they are just mere newspaper tigers as far as I’m concerned.

“They can only limit themselves towards the textbooks econometrics without looking at the proper inventory of Nigeria’s economic system, looking at the poor masses as a ladder,” Modibbo said.

He added that President Tinubu made wrong decision in getting a new presidential jet without selling the old one in the fleet.

He, however, assured Nigerians that the President would find a solution to the current economic hardship caused by his administration’s policies.

“With all these problems, must we buy a new jet? If you ask me, I’ll say yes, and I’ll say no. Yes, because recently we’ve seen how some of the former presidents, Iran President had air crash.

“Therefore I would have sold some of the fleets and get a new one. No, in the sense that for us to be very sensitive to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigeria and 2027 is just by the corner, elections coming up, the way Nigerians today in terms of aggregation of opinion, in terms of sensitivity with the current economic temple, Nigerians are not finding it funny.

“But Tinubu has history by his side, he has two more or three more years to change the whole economy to the dynamics of governance.

“Therefore looking at every parameter of democratic practice, we know that there is no democracy that will be able to give you a hundred percent satisfaction.

“And this is where we are as painful as Mr. President’s decision to take some of these policies which he knows to his heart that is painful. I am sure he’s looking for a way out to see to the possibilities of maybe finding solutions,” Modibbo added.

The Executive Vice President (Downstream) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Adedapo Segun, has urged Nigerians to brace for more fuel scarcity.

This warning follows a recent surge in fuel prices, which has significantly impacted citizens nationwide.

Naija News recalls that the NNPC, on Tuesday, adjusted the pump price per litre of petrol to ₦855 across its filling stations.

Segun, while speaking on Thursday on Arise Television’s Morning Show, emphasized the importance of establishing a competitive market to stabilize fuel prices and ensure a steady supply.

“The pump price today is not market reflective. NNPCL is the sole importer of PMS in the country, which is abnormal. We should be moving towards a situation where the free market determines prices,” Segun emphasized, highlighting that pricing should be dictated by competitive forces rather than a single entity.

Segun elaborated that NNPCL’s position as the exclusive importer of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) was not by design, but rather a reaction to shifting market dynamics. He made it clear that the company did not intend to monopolize the market.

“Let me put it in the proper context. NNPCL is not a regulator. We didn’t choose to be the sole importer. We don’t determine who plays in the market. We stepped in when others reduced their participation. It’s not about wanting to be monopolists,” Segun clarified, underscoring that the company’s role emerged due to a lack of participation from other market players.

Additionally, Segun pointed out that for fuel prices to stabilize, there must be ideal market conditions, especially concerning foreign exchange availability.

“Market conditions need to be perfect, and there must be FX liquidity,” he remarked, implying that resolving the pricing issue would likely involve broader economic reforms to improve liquidity and competition in the market.

The scarcity, already visible across the country, is linked to NNPCL’s challenges in managing fuel imports and debts to suppliers.

Additionally, experts have called for more strategic borrowing by the NNPCL to address supply issues and prevent further disruptions in fuel availability.

This spike in fuel costs has further strained the pockets of Nigerian citizens, many of whom are already grappling with the high cost of living.

The situation has also sparked concerns about the potential impact on transportation costs and the prices of goods and services, which are likely to rise as a result.

Burkina Faso has officially removed the logo of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from its new biometric passports, a move that underscores the country’s decision to withdraw from the 15-member regional bloc.

This development follows the decision of Burkina Faso, along with Niger and Mali, to sever ties with ECOWAS after the organization imposed sanctions on them in response to military coups.

The bloc has consistently called for the return to constitutional order as a condition for lifting the sanctions.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Mahamadou Sana, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Security, confirmed the move, stating: “On this passport, there’s no ECOWAS logo, and no mention of ECOWAS either. Since January, Burkina Faso has decided to withdraw from this body, and this is just a realisation of the action already taken by Burkina Faso.”

Burkina Faso’s decision to omit ECOWAS from its passports further signals the country’s growing estrangement from the regional organization.

All three nations — Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — have accused ECOWAS of prioritizing selfish interests over the spirit of pan-Africanism.

ECOWAS has warned that the withdrawal of these countries could negatively impact the bloc’s common market and the freedom of movement for the 400 million people living within the region.

Despite these tensions, President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, who serves as the current ECOWAS chairman, and his team continue to seek diplomatic avenues to bring Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali back into the fold.

Tinubu emphasized that the bloc remains open and friendly to the nations despite the current situation.

According to the Henley Passport Index, Burkina Faso’s passport ranks 78th globally, with access to 60 visa-free destinations, including many ECOWAS member states.

Whether this change will affect Burkina Faso’s visa agreements within the bloc remains to be seen.

One of the travellers kidnapped on Saturday along the Emure-Eporo Road in Emure, Ekiti State, has been killed, PUNCH gathered on Wednesday.

The victim, identified as Shile Ogunmolasuyi, a recent secondary school graduate, was abducted alongside her mother, Mrs Yemi Ogunmolasuyi.

The kidnappers later released Yemi and another woman, Caroline Taiwo, whose husband, Oluwole Taiwo, was killed during the abduction last week Wednesday.

According to family members, who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday, the victims were released after a N10m ransom was paid.

A community leader in Emure, who spoke with one of the victims, said Shile was killed after being repeatedly raped, which left her unable to walk.

“The kidnappers made them walk for 24 hours nonstop without food or water. Shile, who had been raped several times, became too weak to continue and was subsequently killed by the kidnappers,” the community leader said.

The victims were abducted around 5:30 PM on Saturday near Oyimo River, along the Emure-Eporo Road.

The kidnappers shot and killed Taiwo Oluwole, who was driving the car transporting the victims to Akure after an event in Emure.

Sources revealed that the kidnappers initially demanded a N30m ransom around 8 PM on Sunday.

However, the families were able to raise N10m, which was delivered at a spot on the Owo-Ikare-Benin Road in Owo, Ondo State.

The captives were later released around 1:30 AM on Wednesday in Owo.

“Efforts are reportedly underway to locate Shile’s body and recover her remains”, said one of the family members.

The Secretary of Emure Progressives Association, Niyi Awopetu, confirmed the release of the victims, stating, “Two people were released at midnight, but a girl among them was killed. I learnt the kidnappers collected N10m ransom.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, did not respond to calls or messages from our correspondent seeking his reaction to the development.

PUNCH Metro reported that some pupils and teachers of Apostolic Faith Children School were kidnapped at the same spot on January 29.

Five pupils, three female teachers and a driver of the school bus were kidnapped.

Mrs Atinuke, wife of a retiree, Albert Adanikin, was also kidnapped on July 13 around the same area.