AFOLABI
Nike Unveils Nigeria’s New 2024 Home, Away Jersey
Sports Kit manufacturing giant, Nike, has revealed Nigeria’s new 2024 home and away kits.
The design of the jersey will be the first time in three years that the Super Eagles use white as a main colour.
The Nike Nigeria 2024 home football shirt is predominantly white with green and red detailing.
The most unusual feature of the Nike Nigeria 2024 home shirt is that Nike have used the words ‘NAIJA’ on the front of the shirt instead of the Nigerian football crest.
This design is reminiscent of the Puma third shirt from the 21-22 season.
Nike combines the Nigeria 2024 home football shirt with white shorts and socks.
The Nike Nigeria 2024 away football shirt has a first in the country’s history.
The Nike Nigeria 2024 away kit is mainly black, combined with a green graphic design.
The green pattern of the Nigeria 2024 away jersey is inspired by the famous Nigerian rainforest.
Bodies Of Taraba Pastor, Wife Found, 13-month Baby Still Missing
Four days after seven passengers in an 18-seater bus were killed to retaliate the abduction of a pastor, his wife and their 13-month baby, their decomposing bodies have been found.
The bodies were found on Saturday in the bush in Maraba Baisa in Donga local government area of Taraba State while their baby is yet to be seen.
Until his sudden disappearance, Pastor Kumator Jacob Aba was with the African Church.
Aba was declared missing last Wednesday after he left his church in Bali, the headquarters of Bali local government area of Taraba State to attend a church congress in Donga on a motorcycle with his wife and baby.
While the pastor could not reach his destination, members of the African Church followed reports that some travellers of Tiv stock were killed on Maraba-Baisa Bali Road.
The head of Tiv traditional rulers in the state and the Ter Bali, Chief David Gbaa, told LEADERSHIP that the body of the pastor was found in the bush near Maraba Baisa when the youths and security agents conducted a search for him and his family.
He said when the bodies were found, they invited the police for proper documentation before they were evacuated to the morgue.
Gbaa said, “Pastor Jacob Aba is the pastor in Adi Parish of African Church in Bali. He left Bali last Wednesday to attend his church congress in Donga, he could not get to the destination and he did not return home after over three days.
“All the pastors of the parish were worried; the Tiv community was disturbed because of the level of killings going on within the Maraba area. We embarked on a search and yesterday being Saturday, 16th March, 2024, we found the decomposing bodies of the pastor and his wife in the bush.
“Their 13-month-old baby is still missing. The motorcycle they used for the trip is also nowhere to be found. We were accompanied to the scene by the police to evacuate the bodies,” Gbaa said.
The commissioner of police in the state, David Iloyonomon, did not respond when contacted over the incident.
However, Governor Agbu Kefas has since ordered for the arrest and prosecution of those behind the Donga killings.
Ramadan: Gombe PDP Chieftain Gives Party Exco N7.8m
A notable politician in Gombe State and former governorship aspirant, Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, has donated the sum of N7.8 million to the executives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to enable them observe Ramadan fast.
Saleh, also a former senatorial candidate, made the cash donation to the state executives, elders and ward chairmen of the party.
Gombe State PDP secretary Adamu Abubakar who disclosed the receipt of the assistance from the party chieftain expressed appreciation to him on behalf of the beneficiaries.
He lauded Saleh for the gesture and prayed to God to reward him.
The PDP secretary said the assistance would make the party stalwarts happy, especially in this period when Nigerian Muslims observe the Ramadan fast amid economic hardships.
Video: Violence erupts between players, fans after match in Turkey
Violence broke out between supporters of Trabzonspor and players from Fenerbahce after a match on Sunday in the Turkish top flight, which has been plagued by trouble this season.
A crowd of home supporters invaded the pitch at Trabzonspor’s stadium after the final whistle of an encounter that Fenerbahce won 3-2.
Images show a Trabzonspor fan enter the pitch and begin running towards the celebrating Fenerbahce players, some of whom reacted by running towards him to try and strike him.
Other fans then invaded the pitch as stewards tried to restore order.
Videos showed Belgian international Michy Batshuayi kicking a fan who had entered the pitch and Nigerian international Bright Osayi-Samuel punching another supporter.
In other images on social media, a fan can be seen to threaten a visiting player with a corner flag and Fenerbahce’s goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic receives a punch to the face.
Following the violent scenes, Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the opening of an investigation into the incident.
“After the Trabzonspor-Fenerbahce football match played this evening, an investigation has been initiated immediately to identify the spectators who entered the pitch and to investigate the incidents that took place at the end of the match,” he wrote on X.
“Incidents of violence on football pitches are never acceptable.”
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) called the events “unacceptable” and said in a statement that “the necessary criminal sanctions will be imposed on those responsible for these incidents”.
It is not the first time violence has been seen in the Turkish Super Lig this season.
The league was suspended for a week in December after a referee was attacked during a match between Ankaragucu and Rizespor.
Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, alongside other men, attacked referee Halil Umut Meler on the pitch after the match, injuring the official.
A number of Fenerbahce trips to Trabzon in recent times have also been marred by violence.
A 2016 game against Trabzonspor was abandoned in the closing minutes after an assistant referee was attacked by a home supporter.
The year before that the Fenerbahce team bus came under attack from a gunman en route to the airport on the way back from the neighbouring Black Sea city of Rize, leaving the driver seriously injured.
In 2014 a match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce was called off at half-time after the Istanbul club’s players were pelted with objects thrown onto the pitch by home fans.
Trabzonspor, who won the Turkish title two years ago, also found themselves in the spotlight in 2015 when the club president locked the referee and his assistants inside the stadium overnight in protest at the decision not to award his team a penalty.
They were eventually released in the early hours of the following morning after a phone call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Provide data of persons trading on your platform to EFCC – Court orders Binance
A Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive data or information on all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.
Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.
“The applicant’s application dated and filed 29th February, 2024, is hereby granted as prayed.
“That an order of this honourable court is hereby made directing the operators of Binance to provide the commission with comprehensive data/information relating to all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform,” the judge ordered.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the interim order was granted to enable the anti-graft agency to unravel the alleged money laundering and terrorism financing on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
A certified true copy of the ruling, which was delivered on Feb. 29, was sighted by NAN on Monday.
The ex-parte motion, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024, was brought pursuant to Sections 6(b), (h), (I), 7(1), (a)(2), and 38 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 15 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended) and the inherent powers of the court.
In the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Hamma Bello, an operative of the EFCC, he said he was attached to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the commission domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Bello averred that, following the inauguration of the Technical Committee on Currency Stability and Forex Manipulation by the ONSA, the SIT “received an intelligence report stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
“That on receipt of the intelligence, the team began investigation by conducting surveillance of the activities of the platform.
“That the team uncovered users who have been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation, and market manipulation, which has caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the Naira losing its value against other currencies.
“That the damage the platform has caused was clearly explained to the operators of the platform, and they were requested to delist the Naira and avail the ONSA of the activities of the Nigerians on their platform.
“That, from the information afforded to the team by Binance, shows that the total trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at $21.6 (twenty-one billion, six hundred million dollars).
“Attached and marked as Exhibit EFCC 1 is a copy of the document from Binance to the ONSA stating this fact, amongst others.
“That the commission will ensure that investigation is conducted within such reasonable time.”
Bello, who said that the matter was of utmost urgent public interest, said the data provided would enable the commission to accomplish its investigation activities.
He said it was in the interest of justice to grant the application, as refusal of the request would largely hamper the commission’s investigation.
NAN reports that Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that lists more than 350 cryptocurrencies globally.
In addition to cryptocurrency trading, it offers several services that enhance the experience for users and blockchain developers. (NAN)
VIDEO: K1 De Ultimate Hits Back At Ex Drummer, Speaks On Using Staff As Slaves
Nigerian Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as Kwam1 or K1 De Ultimate, has reacted to allegations of maltreating his staff and treating them like slaves.
Naija News reports that Kwam1’s former drummer, Kunle Ayanlowo, in a recent interview, claimed he had worked with the fuji icon for 32 years, and there has been a pattern of alleged abuse and mistreatment.
Kunle also alleged that Kwam1 confiscated passports from band members during foreign travels, leaving them vulnerable and subject to his authority for undisclosed reasons.
The former drummer further recounted distressing incidents, including one where he was allegedly ordered to return home while en route to the hospital for urgent medical treatment.
Kunle attributed the stress and strain of such encounters to the onset of an ulcer, highlighting the lasting impact of his experiences with Kwam1.
According to him, despite his dedication and contributions to Kwam1’s music career, he lacked meaningful gains for himself and his family.
Responding to the allegation, the musician, in a video shared on his Instagram page, urged Kunle to refrain from spreading falsehoods.
He highlighted his role in Kunle’s rise from obscurity and expressed disappointment at what he perceived as an attempt to tarnish his reputation.
His words, translated to English, read, “Liars and naysayers get away from me, stop lying. Trying to damage the reputation that raised you when you were a nobody. Disassociate from liars, you have nothing to gain from them.”
Four Nigerian teenage girls invent generator that produce six hours of electricity with a liter of urine [PHOTOS]
Four Nigerian teenage girls have invented a generator powered which can use a litre of urine to produce six hours of electricity.
The girls – Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin, and Bello Eniola displayed the invention at the annual event Maker Faire Africa, held in Lagos.
According to the girls, the idea of using urine as fuel was not new but Adeola, Abiola, Oluwatoyin and Eniola came up with a practical way to put the idea into action and many households can utilise it.
RusselSmith, a leading provider of Integrated Energy Solutions disclosed this, adding that Adebola, a 14-year-old said the idea of using urine to produce electricity started when she read an article about a family of five who lost their lives.
She said that the family members died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning as they inhaled fumes emanating from their generator while asleep.
She said she was worried by the incident thinking about how she could help to prevent similar occurences from happening in the future concluding that the way out was to find another power source that does not release carbon monoxide.
Adebola said she related the idea with her three friends – Abiola, Oluwatoyin who are also 14-years-old and Eniola, a 15-year-old.
The four friends named themselves “Fantastic Four” and began their journey to develop a solution which later on became successful and celebrated even on a global scale.
The Fantastic Four stated that they told their science teacher, Olaide Lawal, about their idea, who encouraged them that the indication was possible.
With this inspiration, the teen girls began experimenting with possible materials that could produce power instead of relying on carbon. They said that it dawned on them that rocket engines run on hydrogen.
According to the girls, the premise of their invention was that if hydrogen was the raw material in their generator, the end product would be water. The team said after they experimented with water, they encountered a hurdle.
The team revealed that because water produces low hydrogen, they concluded that if they electrolysed water, the generator would lose 1.25 volts per cycle.
Adebola said she suggested to the team that they should experiment with a material with no cost anything but will generate the power needed to run domestic activity. It was at this point that the team considered the idea of using urine as the source of raw material.
Adebola mentioned that they initially built a system consisting of an electrolytic cell, which consisted of an old car battery. The system also had filters and pipes as well as an empty gas storage tank.
“We then reconfigured our petrol-based generator and carried out our first experiment – and then we faced another huge challenge as the cell exploded,” the girls said.
“We kept on checking our process and setup until Mr. Lawal pointed out our error: The hydrogen-oxygen gas mixture was returning to the cell. We then inserted one-way valves into the pipes to ensure a one-directional flow of the gas mixture, and it worked,” they added.
The Fantastic Four said when they first exhibited their invention publicly, people did not have hope it would work. But they remained determined and made improvements to it. They gained national attention when they exhibited their invention once again at the Maker Faire Africa in 2012.
Since the exhibition, the Fantastic Four has earned both national and international awards for their urine-powered generators. The Lagos State government also expressed the desire to fund the invention to be developed on a large scale for it to be used in homes.
The teen girls expressed their gratitude to their school, Doregos Private Academy stating that they provided the funding, transportation, and moral support for them to pursue the dream.
Labour Party Reps Reject Date For National Convention
The Labour Party (LP) House of Representatives caucus has rejected the March 27th proposed date for the opposition party’s National Convention, calling for a postponement.
Naija News reports that the LP leadership had initially fixed the convention to take place on March 29 but later changed it to March 27. The party’s leadership said the date was changed because the initial day falls on Good Friday, a significant date for the Christian faith worldwide.
But in a statement to journalists, the leader of the LP caucus in the lower legislative chambers, Afam Ogene, called for the postponement of the national convention for proper planning.
He stated that the party needs to make proper and more comprehensive consultations and make efforts to bring every stakeholder on board.
According to him, the party should have started with ward congresses before jumping to a national convention.
The statement read: “The national convention of any national political party is such an important event that ought not to be conducted without proper planning or in a hurry.
“While we acknowledge that the various challenges currently being thrown at the national leadership may have been responsible for the seemingly sloppy organization of the proposed convention, we hasten to add that the fact that many stakeholders, including my colleagues in parliament, were not carried along in the whole process leaves resentment trailing the process.
“While we agree that the 29th, as earlier scheduled, is not appropriate for the reasons given, we also note that the 27th is not any better. Indeed, many have wondered why a national convention would seem more preferable, as against the bottom-up approach of beginning congresses from the wards.
“In fact, even more fundamental is the health and sustainability of our dear party. The party has, for some time now, witnessed internal friction and glitches, just like every other political party in the nation. So, we in the House of Representatives, as the direct representatives of the people, are of the view that the party needs some more time to smooth the rough edges in the party leadership system and operational mechanism before the next convention.
“So, for these reasons, we respectfully call for the postponement of the national convention and the immediate activation of a consultation mechanism that would inject a healing and reinvigorating tonic in the party for a more successful and sustainable future, for the overall good of our teeming supporters and Nigeria in general.”
Cardoso ‘Retires’ CBN Directors Employed By Emefiele
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, is reportedly set to retire eight directors of the apex bank, barring any last-minute change.
Naija News gathered that the directors, who were employed by the former governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, would be served early retirement letters this week.
According to Daily Trust, some directors were initially redeployed to an arm of the bank, FSS 2020, under the Governor’s Directorate, which worked closely with Emefiele.
The newspaper reported that the directors have worked from the Directorate’s office located in the Maitama District of Abuja since 24the November 2023, and are kept in a sort of pool to await “further directives.”
The newspaper said sources within the bank revealed that some had already been served the disengagement letters since Friday, 15th March 2024, but could not state clearly under what terms those affected were disengaged.
One of the sources said: “We don’t know whether they were given early retirement or their appointments were terminated outright.”
The sources could not confirm if those being served early retirement letters have been found guilty of any offences, adding that the news of the planned sack has been widespread since Thursday last week.
One of the sources said the main reason for the sack of the affected officials was “because they had worked very closely with the immediate past governor of the bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele”.
It was learned that the decision has raised great concern amongst staff of the CBN, who fear that it could be a prelude to more layoffs by the current management of the banking regulator.
Recall that the apex bank had relocated no fewer than 150 staff of the Banking Supervision Department (BSD), which is one of the 29 departments of the bank, to Lagos. The BSD is under the Financial System Stability Directorate of the CBN.
The relocation saga, it would be recalled, had generated heated controversy across the country, with many people of northern extraction alleging that it was an attempt to dislodge staff who are northerners from the institution.
But the CBN rebuffed those insinuations, insisting that it was part of a proper reorganisation of the bank, to ensure that the regular onsite examination of the 24 banks in the country was diligently carried out since most of those national and regional banks are headquartered in Lagos.
It also adduced that part of the reason for the relocation was the desire to de-congest the corporate headquarters of the bank.
Nigeria Among Most Difficult Countries to Live – Peter Obi
The Labour Party, LP, 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi has cried out over the hardship Nigerians are passing through.
Speaking on Monday, Obi lamented the kidnapping in the country.
According to him, about 7,000 Nigerians have been kidnapped in the past one year with several cases of killings and clashes recorded across the country.
This was as he described Nigeria as one of the hungriest nations and most difficult countries to live in the North.
Posting on X, Obi called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps towards improving the situation in the country.
“In the past 1 year, about 7000 Nigerians have been kidnapped, with about 700 kidnapped in the last 3 weeks, notwithstanding the violent crimes and killings that occur in every part of the nation, which must have included us in one of the world’s riskiest countries to live in.
“A report by the globally respected publication, Financial Times, on March 12, 2024, described Nigeria’s kidnapping racket as a sign of a failed state. With all of these happening in our nation, how then can we attract foreign investors, & retain the confidence of local investors?
“We have become one of the hungriest nations in the world and one of the most difficult nations in the world to live in, with food prices constantly going out of the reach of most Nigerians. Power supply is abysmally poor and Nigerians are now mostly in total darkness,as over 60% are without power supply. Even those in perceived privileged areas now go for days without power supply.
“A 2022 Energy Progress Report designated Nigeria as the country with the largest number of people lacking access to electricity with 92 million of its over 200 million population living without electricity. About 80 percent of our primary healthcare centres are not functional. The cost of medical treatments and medicines have gone beyond the reach of most Nigerians.
“We now hold the enviable position of having the highest number of out of school children, with about 20 million out-of-school children. We need to take our children off the streets and give them access to basic education.
“I, therefore, urge our executive and legislative arms to consider the many challenges facing our nation and re-allocate resources to these very critical areas. This is the time for complete sacrifice. A New Nigeria is still very POssible,” he wrote.