Many persons, including operatives of the Ondo State Security Network a.k.a. Amotekun, have been injured by herdsmen in Akure North Local Government Area.

The attack took place while Amotekun personnel were trying to enforce the anti-open grazing law at Igoba, a community on Ado Road.

The armed Fulani herdsmen were said to be grazing their cows on some farms when they attacked the officers with guns, bottles, cutlasses and stones.

Spokesman for the Ondo Amotekun Corps, Jimoh Adeniken, said in a statement that the corps surveillance team was led to the farms by their owners where they met more than 120 cows ravaging the farms but no herder was seen with them.

Adeniken said the Amotekun operatives moved the cows out of the farms but were attacked by the herdsmen.

He said: “The assailants continued to throw stones and bottles till they invaded the main road and hacked one of the Amotekun officers into coma even as they attempted to disarm officers and men of the Amotekun corps.

“Other officers sustained varying degrees of injuries during the attack and they are currently receiving medical attention.

“The owner of the cows has been identified while investigation by the corps continues.

“Government will continue to ensure strict compliance with the law with a view to ensuring that efforts of farmers would not be truncated through destruction of their farmlands by herders and their cows.

“Officers of the corps will continue to carry out its legal functions of protecting the people of the state as well as their property.”

The Netherlands scored twice in the second half to complete a come-from-behind win over Turkey in their European Championship quarter-final encounter at the Olympic stadium in Berlin on Saturday.

Ronald Koeman’s side fell behind in the pulsating encounter and had to wait until later in the second half to overpower the Turks, thanks to two quick goals within six minutes.

Turkey were without Merih Demiral, their two-goal hero in the last-16 following a two-match ban, and his defensive solidity was sorely missed on a night they matched the Netherlands for long spells before the eventual capitulation.

Despite is absence, Samet Akaydin scored in the 37th minute with a header from Arda Guler’s cross to put The Crescent Stars in the lead at the interval.

The Dutch worked their way to the equalizer on 70 minutes with Memphis Depay crossing for Stefan de Vrij to power home a header from a shot corner. Fans regained their voice and the Netherlands went ahead for the first time in the match six minutes later, when Mert Mulder bundled a cross into the net for an own goal as Turkey crumbled.

The Netherlands held on to claim a deserved victory that put them in the last-four stage where they will face England. The Three Lions had needed a 5-3 shootout win over Switzerland following a 1-1 scoreline after 120 minutes.

Manuel Akanji saw his kick saved while Trent Alexander-Arnold converted the winning kick.

The Dutch became the second country after Portugal in 2016 to qualify for the semi-final after finishing the group stage as one of the four best losers.

Abdourahamane Tiani, Niger Republic’s military leader, says the people of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have “irrevocably turned their backs” on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Speaking on Saturday at the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) held in Nigerien capital city Niamey, Tiani accused ECOWAS of not doing enough to combat jihadist violence.

The AES was set up after the three Sahel nations pulled out of ECOWAS in February.

The military-run states fell out with the West African regional bloc following the coup d’etat which brought Tiani to power in Niger in July 2023.

 

ECOWAS imposed sanctions — including border closure and halt of the export of electric power to Niger — against the junta-led countries as part of efforts to reverse the coups in the nations.

The sanctions were however lifted in February, and few days later, the countries pulled out of ECOWAS. 

“Our people have irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS,” Tiani said.

The AES also alleged that ECOWAS is being manipulated by former colonial ruler France, with Tiani calling for the AES to become a “community far removed from the stranglehold of foreign powers”.

The countries said they would instead turn towards Russia, Turkey and Iran — their “sincere partners”.

“The AES is the only effective sub-regional grouping in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

Meanwhile, ECOWAS is due to hold a summit of its heads of state in Abuja on Sunday.

Part of the agenda to be discussed at the summit is the issue of relations with the AES.

A nationwide power outage has hit Nigeria as the national grid experienced system collapse again on Saturday.

Emeka Ezeh, the Head, Corporate of Communications at Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, disclosed this in a notice on Saturday.

According to the notice, the National Grid Collapse occurred around 15:09 hours on Saturday. 

Consequently, bulk electricity supply from the Transmission Company of Nigeria National Control Centre has been disrupted.

EEDC said the situation is the reason for the loss of power supply in the Southeast states – Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.

“This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network.

“Due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide services to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states.

“We are on standby awaiting detailed information of the collapse and restoration of supply from the National Control Centre (NCC), Osogbo,” the notice reads.

The development comes days after TCN announced that electricity generation declined to 4,723.30 megawatts peak on July 4, 2024, compared to 4800mw in May.

In 2024 alone, Nigeria has recorded at least three system collapses. System collapse has occurred about 227 times in the last 14 years, according to TCN.

This comes amid the April 3 and July 1 2024 electricity tariff hike for Band A customers, who are supposed to get 20-24 hours of power supply.

The electricity tariff for Band A rose to N206.80 per kilowatt-hour from N66 kWh.

The Big Brother Naija reality show has finally announced the date to kick off its Season 9 edition.

The show organisers made the announcement on their official Instagram page on Friday night.

According to the graphics posted, the show which will last for 71 days, will kick off on July 28, 2024.

According to the organisers, the 2024 Season 9 edition will be ‘Two Journeys in One House’.

“BBNaija Season 9 is HERE! This is a must follow Season! Get ready for double the drama, ships, and HUGE competition! Cameras 24/7 for 71 days. Don’t miss the premiere on July 28th at 7 PM WAT.”

Sophia Momodu, embroiled in a heated custody battle with music sensation Davido, isn’t pulling any punches. She’s thrown the gauntlet by leaking a WhatsApp exchange between herself and Davido’s billionaire father, Adedeji Adeleke.

In the leaked conversation, Sophia firmly rejected Adeleke’s proposal for their daughter Imade to spend Christmas 2023 with the Adeleke family.

Sophia made it abundantly clear that Davido must fulfill his parental obligations if he hopes to secure future holiday visits with Imade.

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In response to Sophia’s message, Davido’s father showed empathy, underscored the importance of joint custody for Imade’s well-being.

He assured Sophia that Davido would uphold his responsibilities, including covering school fees, lesson fees, a monthly upkeep of N1 million, medical expenses, and contributing N5 million towards accommodation costs.

SEE SCREENSHOT BELOW 

Sophia fired back, asserting that the mentioned provisions, including N1M monthly upkeep, fell far short of what was necessary to adequately meet Imade’s needs.

SEE SCREENSHOT BELOW 

In a bombshell revelation reported by WITHIN NIGERIA, Sophia leveled explosive accusations against the Afrobeats icon’s sisters, accusing them of orchestrating a brazen abduction plot targeting their infant daughter, Imade, when she was just three months old.

Sophia detailed a chilling account where Davido’s sisters purportedly conspired to whisk Imade away permanently, masquerading the scheme as an innocuous holiday plan.

The alleged scheme, according to Sophia, was on the verge of execution when immigration authorities intervened, thwarting the abduction attempt just in the nick of time.

Nigerian actor Richard Mofe-Damijo, affectionately known as RMD, is celebrating his 63rd birthday on social media with a touching message of gratitude, while adorned in a stylish Yoruba attire called Dansiki and another black leather jacket with a touch of green flaps.

On Saturday July 6, RMD took to his Instagram account to share pictures of himself, expressing deep appreciation for God, his family, and friends.

The actor donned a traditional Yoruba Dansiki attire, beaming in one photo while making hand gestures. In another, he posed thoughtfully with his hand on his cheek.

Captioning the post, RMD wrote:

“Celebrating 63 years of blessings! Immensely grateful to God, my amazing family, cherished friends, and unwavering fans who stand by me. I salute you all.”

RMD’s second post which had him wear black jacket, trouser, tshirt and sneakers was captioned:

“Here comes the lost GenZ files, y’all thought i forgot?

63 is giving Steeze on Steeze, Aura for Aura!.”

RMD’s post quickly gained traction, with celebrities and fans alike flocking to the comments section to extend their congratulations.

Fellow actor Chinedu Ikedieze wrote, “Happy birthday great man. Age gracefully,”

Mercy Aigbe commented, “Happy Birthday sir.”

Ruth Kadiri added, “Happy birthday sir,”

skit makers Broda Shaggi and Kiekie also joined in with “Happy birthday sir” and “Happy birthday legend,” respectively.

Media personality Mo Abudu commented, “Happy birthday to the one and only,” while comedian Ushbebe added, “Migwo Daddy, happiest birthday Ose.”

Big Brother Naija host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu wrote, “Happy birthday egbon. Keep inspiring and leading.”
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The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, on Saturday, warned that President Bola Tinubu is not the messiah Nigeria needs.

Primate Ayodele said Tinubu only came to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy but nothing much will happen to the country’s economy.

Addressing journalists in Lagos, the prophet also warned that Tinubu would have challenges contesting for a second term.

The prophet warned that state police are not the solution to Nigeria’s insecurity problems.

He noted that some politicians would use state police as a weapon to cause insecurity.

According to Ayodele: “Tinubu is not Nigeria’s messiah but only came to do one or two things, and what he came to do is to strengthen our democracy.

“Nothing much in the economy, we are still going to experience more hardship till 2025 and confusion in our economy.

“In the area of insecurity, the question is will there be anything special? We have good Service Chiefs but if they don’t improve their services, insecurity will continue.

“State police will not help our nation, it will even add to the troubles of insecurity, and as a matter of fact, some politicians will use it as a weapon to cause disorderliness in our security. So let’s suspend the issue of State police for now, it’s not the best idea.

“Tinubu will have a very tough and challenging time going for a second term. There will be so much pressure on him and he needs to look after his health.”

Speaking about the upcoming elections in Edo State, Primate Ayodele said the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will lose if Governor Godwin Obaseki fails to negotiate with the powers that be.

“If Obaseki does not negotiate with the powers that be, PDP will lose Edo disgracefully.

“Anambra: APC will lose Anambra State and give it back to Soludo,” he said.

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has said he is still wary of sexual immorality despite his ‘anointing’ and years in the ministry.

Adeboye said despite his age, he runs faster than before to avoid any form of sexual temptation, noting that no amount of anointing can fight such temptation.

The cleric also warned ministers of the gospel to be wary of sexual immorality and the erroneous belief that their ‘anointing’ could help them withstand any temptation.

He stated these during a sermon at the just concluded Ministers & Workers Conference of RCCG America 1, which consists of North, Central & Caribbean with the theme: “The Glory Ahead”.

During the sermon shared on his YouTube page on Friday, Adeboye noted that Samson, who was a judge in Israel, fell into sexual immorality despite the anointing over him.

He said, “Somebody says, at your age, why are you still running? I run faster than before because the closer you get to the finishing point, the more careful you must be.

“Some of you can say, ‘Daddy, what are you saying, are you still running?’ I run fast.

“‘With all your anointing?’ Does anointing turn your body to stone? Samson was anointed. Single-handedly, he killed a thousand soldiers. A woman finished him. I hope the boys are listening.

“You can say, ‘Is anybody still interested in an 82-year-old man?’ She is not interested in you but interested in putting an end to all the great works God has done through you.

“You see that woman smiling at you everywhere you go, she is there smiling, and she is not your wife, run.”

Adeboye also counselled youths to be careful of lust, urging them to run away from anything that looks like sin.

He added, “And you girls, when you see a boy smiling at you saying, ‘Where have you been all my life? It looks as if the sun has just come out.’

“He is calling you sunshine. By the time he finishes with you, you won’t even know the difference between sunshine and sunset. You may laugh but mark my words.

“I do warn my children, particularly the boys. I said if the devil comes against you, tell the devil to get lost, but when you see a girl smiling at you in a funny way, run because you can’t win the battle.

“Didn’t you read a report that a man committed an offence about 42 years ago, and now his ministry is finished? Anybody who tells you that whatever you do is hidden, it’s hidden until the wind begins to blow.

“The Bible says, flee youthful lust. It did not ask you to say grace would be sufficient. There is no grace for what God says you should run from. Maybe grace to run.”

Innocent Ujah Idibia, the legendary Nigerian singer, who is popularly known as 2Baba, has said despite the dominance of the new wave of Afrobeats artistes, he is still relevant in the music scene.

The ‘African Queen’ crooner noted that his sacrifices and that of his pairs propelled Afrobeats to its current level.

He stated this in a recent interview with AFRIMMA.

He advised young artistes to trust the process rather than being overambitious.

The music icon urged them to take a clue from Burna Boy, highlighting that he started touring by selling out small venues and built a strong fan base before moving to arenas and stadia.

2Baba said, “Burna Boy sells out Madison Square Garden and they [other artistes] think they are on the same level. And that’s unrealistic.

“He knows what he passed through before getting to the level he is, and you have to go through that process in full. Burna boy didn’t just wake up and sell out Madison Square Garden, it’s a process that took a long time.

“He started by touring small venues and he built a huge followership from there. And you see the results now. It’s the same process. We are part of the sacrificers; the instrumental process [laughs].

“But that doesn’t take anything away from the fact that I am still very much relevant. I’m still here making good music.”