IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

Coming on the heels of last Wednesday's colourless and fiercely fought barren draw against oriental neighbours, Abia Angels on home soil, Heartland Queens will challenge for the first points of the season at two-season topflight experiencers, Remo Stars Ladies in the NWFL Premiership matchday 4 game on Wednesday, February 05 at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun state.

The topflight matchday 4 matchup will be the very first time ever both premier leaguers are meeting themselves in an elite league clash. The first time ever both sides met in any competition was at the 2023 Federation Cup Round of 16 game then the Blue Sky ladies who campaigned as Lakeside Queens actually stunned the Owerri mainstreams on that occasion and thereby denied them a historic back to back quarterfinals performance in the oldest and glamorous Cup competition in the land.

Thereafter, both sides narrowly missed meeting again with some whiskers at the 2024 Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament (BOWFT) in Benin City as well as the 2024 Sheroes Cup preseason showpiece in FCT, Abuja where the Ikenne side went ahead to emerge champions in their maiden of the annual football event that witnessed its uninterrupted seven-year running.

On current form, Remo Stars Ladies are princely placed joint top on points with the reigning champions, Edo Queens in the eight-team Group A log while the Owerri mainstreams are yet to come to terms on what she wants in the ongoing season given her poorly placed seventh position on the pecking order. 

Heading into the Wednesday's showdown, both topflights were contented sharing the spoils with their opponents in matchday 3 clashes but the Ikenne side were far better off with the road trip point at the champions, Edo Queens in Benin City compared with the Owerri landladies who laboured effortlessly for a point on home soil against the oriental neighbours, Abia Angels.

The saying that hell knows no fury than a woman jilted is apt with the Owerri side and a most likely definer of the attitudes they will be bringing into the game on Wednesday in Ikenne. 

The timely return from injury of the side's hitherto first choice netminder, Uchenna Chukwu to the dugout in the barren draw against nextdoor neighbours, Abia Angels, the mien, calmness and stability she brought to bear in the game will be huge this time around in the Ikenne showdown. The other trusted regulars, Oluomachi Onwere, Henry Chisom, Prisca Nwachukwu, Faith Samson, Monica Matthew, Oluchi Okwara, Chimebere Opara, Emmanuella James, and other new breeds, Oluebeube Umejiaku, Olaronke Ola, Mary Popoola, et cetera are going to keep their shirts in the battle for the first points of the season.

The gaffer of the Owerri side, Obi Ogbala, not the happiest person at the moment, and not one known to runs away from difficult tasks, knows he must come up with or conjure a lineup that will grind or squeeze out any manner of victory in the potentially fierce faceoff in Ikenne, Ogun state.

After the Ikenne showdown, the Owerri mainstreams will come back home to play host to another two-season experiencers, Dannaz Ladies in the NWFL Premiership matchday 05 game.

Bauchi State is witnessing a surge in child trafficking, leaving parents fearful for their children's safety. A recent case highlights how easily traffickers operate— a woman who lived in a compound for just five days managed to abduct three children by gaining the trust of families.

On December 17, 2024, three children disappeared from Gwallameji, Bauchi. The suspect had appeared friendly, often buying snacks and gifts for the children. She promised to take them to the market but vanished instead.

Parents endured 21 days of agony before the children were eventually found in Anambra State, nearly 700 km away. One mother, Maryam Habibu, expressed relief that her daughter returned safely but vowed to take stricter precautions.

Another parent, Abdulkadir Salisu, recounted how the woman had promised gifts before abducting the children unnoticed. Authorities intervened, but the ordeal left families traumatized.

The incident has heightened concerns about child safety in Bauchi, with parents urging increased vigilance to prevent future cases. 

The Yobe State government has granted freedom to 30 inmates held in various correctional facilities for different offenses.

Chief Information Officer of the Ministry for Justice, Alhassan Sule Mamudo, confirmed the release in Damaturu, stating that it was based on the recommendation of the State’s Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Saleh Samanja.

Before approving the pardons, the council visited correctional centers in Potiskum, Nguru, and Gashu’a to assess eligible inmates.

Mamudo noted that the periodic release of inmates with minor offenses or those who could not afford fines is part of the state’s efforts to decongest correctional facilities. 

The Kaduna State Police Command has rescued 23 kidnapped victims in a joint operation with security forces.

In a statement, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSC Mansir Hassan, said the rescue mission was carried out on February 2, 2025, following credible intelligence on the movement of armed bandits in Kajuru.

Acting on this information, security personnel advanced into the bush near Doka Village in Kajuru Local Government Area, where they encountered the kidnappers attempting to move their victims to Kajuru Forest.

Led by the Divisional Police Officer of Kajuru Division and supported by the military, the operation inflicted heavy casualties on the bandits, forcing them to flee with gunshot wounds.

“The operation resulted in the rescue of 23 victims who had been abducted from Kauru LGA. They have since been reunited with their families,” the statement read.

The police have intensified surveillance and patrols in the area to prevent further criminal activities. Commissioner of Police, CP Rabiu Muhammad, reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to ensuring the safety of residents and pledged continued collaboration with the military and other security agencies to combat crime across the state. 

The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Gusau, Prof. Muazu Abubakar, has refuted claims that members of the House of Representatives Committee on University Education demanded N480 million to approve federal universities' 2025 budgets.

In a letter dated January 27 and addressed to the committee’s chairman, Abubakar Fulata, the VC dismissed media reports alleging that lawmakers pressured vice-chancellors to pay N8 million each as a condition for budget approval.

He clarified that while the report referred to a “stubborn vice-chancellor,” speculated to be him, he initially chose to ignore the claims but later responded to prevent misinformation from being accepted as fact.

“The attention of the Federal University, Gusau, has been drawn to an online report titled Investigation: Nigerian Lawmakers Demand N480 Million from Universities to Approve 2025 Budget,” he stated.

He emphasized that no member of the university’s team involved in the budget defense had any connection to the allegations and urged the committee to disregard the “malicious and misleading” report. Abubakar also praised the committee for conducting a “robust, friendly, and engaging” budget defense session.

Similarly, Fulata dismissed the allegations in a press briefing, describing them as an attempt to tarnish the committee’s efforts to improve Nigeria’s education sector.

“It is absurd to suggest that lawmakers demanded even a kobo to approve budget proposals,” he said, adding that the report sought to mislead the public about the committee’s activities.

House spokesman Akin Rotimi also condemned the report, stating that it was a deliberate attempt to discredit lawmakers. He reaffirmed the 10th House of Representatives' commitment to transparency, accountability, and ethical standards, stressing that the allegations lacked credible investigative effort and were meant to erode public trust in the legislature.

Following the confirmation of an Ebola outbreak in Uganda, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has heightened its preparedness efforts and advised Nigerians to avoid non-essential travel to countries with confirmed cases of the disease. 

Although no cases have been reported in Nigeria, the NCDC is monitoring the situation and strengthening surveillance at points of entry. The public is urged to follow preventive measures such as good hand hygiene, avoiding contact with infected persons, and refraining from consuming bush meat. The NCDC reassured that vaccines and therapeutics are available for some strains of the virus.