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  A  U.S. court has sentenced the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede to more than four years imprisonment in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. The court handed him the sentence for creating and leading a scheme that defrauded more than $4.2 million from federal loan and grant programs that were intended to assist small businesses with economic hardship they suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.    Oloyede, 62, who holds both U.S. and Nigerian citizenship and resides in Medina, Ohio, was sentenced to 56 months (4 and ⅔ years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko on August 26, 2025 after he pleaded guilty in April to the following charges: one count of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, three counts of Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Criminally Derived Property, two counts of Making and Subscribing a False Tax Return.    The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio in a statement on Tuesday s...

  The skull of a Malagasy king decapitated by French troops during a 19th-century massacre has been returned.   France returned the skull and that of two others on Tuesday.   The skull, believed to belong to King Toera, was handed over in the first restitution of human remains since France passed a law facilitating their return in 2023, along with those of two other members of the Sakalava ethnic group   French troops beheaded King Toera in 1897, with his skull then taken as a trophy to France.   It was placed in Paris's national history museum alongside hundreds of other remains from the Indian Ocean island. "These skulls entered the national collections in circumstances that clearly violated human dignity and in a context of colonial violence,"  said French Culture Minister Rachida Dati.   Her Madagascar counterpart, Volamiranty Donna Mara, praised the handover as "an immensely significant gesture" that marked "a new era of cooperation" between the t...

  The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has written a petition over his continued detention by the Nigerian government.   He petitioned some foreign embassies in Nigeria and the international bodies to prevail on Nigeria to release him.   The petition was addressed to the following: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, European Union, ECOWAS Court, Kenya, South Africa, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Union, Netherlands, Sweden, Amnesty International, Red Cross, African Brazil, Israel, Finland, and Austria.   The petition, signed by IPOB’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, on behalf of Kanu, reads partly:  “By this letter, I respectfully implore your urgent intervention to compel the Nigerian government to adhere to its own laws, respect stare decisis, and uphold the constitutional supremacy enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.   “The Supreme Court’s lawlessness, compounded by the Court of Appeal’s illegal stay of execution, und...

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced a significant change to its exam format, revealing that it will phase out the traditional paper-and-pencil method and fully adopt a Computer-Based Examination (CBE) system beginning with the November/December 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) External. This move aligns with the Federal Government’s directive, issued in July, mandating that all national examinations including WAEC and NECO, transition to computer-based testing by 2026. In a statement, NECO said it had concluded arrangements for the transition and released comprehensive guidelines for Computer-Based Examination (CBE) centres, covering system specifications, hall requirements, personnel standards, and security protocols. NECO says its adoption of CBE for the November/December SSCE External serves as a pilot phase before a full rollout for all examinations in 2026. 

  Former Chelsea midfielder, Carney Chukwuemeka has signed for Borussia Dortmund.   He put pen to paper on Tuesday, August 26 on a contract running until 2030.   Chukwuemeka, 21, joins the Bundesliga side for a reported fee of €25 million ($29 million) after spending the second half of last season on loan at the club. During his loan spell, he made 17 appearances across all competitions, scoring once and featuring in Dortmund’s run to the Club World Cup quarter-finals despite struggling with injury setbacks.   In a statement released by the club, Chukwuemeka expressed his delight at making the move permanent.  “I am happy Borussia Dortmund is now my footballing home. I will give everything to make sure we achieve our goals as a team,”  he said.   Born in Austria and raised in England, Chukwuemeka came through Aston Villa’s academy before joining Chelsea in 2022. His development and technical ability have long marked him as one of England’s brightest mi...

  Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma has announced the approval of a new minimum wage for civil servants in the state.   The governor approved ₦104,000 as the new minimum wage.   Uzodinma made this known during a meeting with various labour union leaders on Tuesday night at the Government House in Owerri.   The minimum wage was increased from ₦76,000 to ₦104,000.   Also increased was the minimum wage of doctors from ₦215,000 to ₦503,000, while those of teachers in tertiary institutions was increased from ₦119,000 to ₦222,000, among others.   He said Imo citizens had faced numerous challenges since his government took office, including insecurity, the COVID-19 pandemic, economic hardship from reform policies, and disputes over minimum wage and subsidy removal.   “We tried as a government to always put it behind our mind that there is no way any government will do well if it doesn’t have a friendly and cordial relationship with the organized labour. ...

  The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has issued a warning to Nigerians against consuming fruits ripened with calcium carbide.   According to FCCPC, such a practice is harmful to the health of Nigerians.   The Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, Mr Olatunji Bello, gave the warning on Monday, August 25 at a one-day sensitisation programme on food quality standards, organized by the agency in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. Bello, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Quality Assurance, Mrs Nkechi Mba, frowned at the increasing sale of adulterated and contaminated foods in the markets. The FCCPC boss lamented that perpetrators of such acts were putting the lives of many innocent Nigerians at great risk. He promised that the agency would not allow those responsible for such heinous acts to go scot-free.   According to him, the sensitisation programme is the first step towards putting unsuspecting people on alert, and...