Author: Abimbola Ogunnaike

The Nigerian Navy disclosed that its troops of Operation Delta Sanity have intercepted and arrested three suspects conveying 125 bags of industrial chemicals, 820 tubes of pethidine, and 22,800 bottles of Codeine in a large wooden boat around Bendoyo and Uta Uyata general area, Akwa Ibom State. The Nigerian Navy made this disclosure in a statement on its verified Facebook page on Monday, 2 December, 2024. “On Monday 25 November 2024, Forward Operating Base IBAKA intercepted and arrested 3 suspects conveying 125 bags of industrial chemicals, 820 tubes of pethidine, and 22,800 bottles of Codeine in a large wooden boat…

The Casino Hawks’ Super Computer has predicted that the Premier League runaway leaders Liverpool will go on to win the title next May. Arne Slot’s tutored side is now nine points ahead of both Arsenal and Chelsea. The Reds also have 11 more points than champions Manchester City, who they beat 2-0 on Sunday, 1 December, 2024. If they indeed finish top at the end of this season, it would be their first league title since 2020. That season, they ended on 99 points under Jurgen Klopp. Casino Hawks’ SuperComputer has said Arsenal will finish in second place for the…

A former Nollywood actress and beauty queen, Princess Chineke, has joined the U.S. Army. The former beauty queen who represented her state in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, MBGN, pageant has traded her crown for a soldier’s uniform, making a surprising career shift. The Nation reports that this makes her the first Nollywood actress to join the U.S. Army. Princess once modelled for several television commercials, billboards and runways. Princess Chineke’s decision to enlist has shocked many of her fans, who remember her for her captivating performances on screen. Some of her works include; Battleground, Forever in Me, Last Flight to…

Early morning fire disaster that occurred at Oja Agbe (farmers market) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Monday, 2 December, 2024 destroyed property worth millions of naira. Thegazellenews.com gathered that the fire incident started in the early hours of Monday, 2 December, 2024 at the market located at Moniya garage in the Akinyele local government area of the state. The remote cause of the fire incident was traced to electrical appliances unattended to. It was gathered that the intervention of the men of the Oyo State Fire Service saved the situation and prevented further escalation of the fire. General…

Armed terrorists have attacked Dan Tudu, a community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, killing nine people and injuring one person. The heavily armed terrorists also abducted several persons and looted valuables in the community. A Lake Chad Basin counterterrorism and insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, made this disclosure in a post on his X handle on Monday, 2 December, 2024. According to Makama, intelligence sources identified the perpetrators as members of the notorious gangs led by Saidu Zango, Bello Turji, and Jammo Baki, who are known to operate in the Gangara axis.

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has promised massive support for Abakiliki FC in their bid to gain promotion to the elite league. Abakiliki FC are featuring in the 2024/2025 NNL League and the governor believes that with massive support, the team will gain promotion to theAbakiliki FCnext season. The Governor made the commitment after watching the state team play out a 2-2 draw with Madiba FC of Lagos in the NNL opener Saturday, 30 November, 2024 in Abakiliki. “I’m impressed with the performance of Abakiliki FC in the league opener with Madiba FC and my plan is…

Guinean government on Monday, 2 December, 2024 announced that at least 56 people lost their lives after a fan clash at a football match led to a stampede in the country’s city of Nzerekore. According to a statement issued by the government on Monday, 2 December, 2024, said the incident occurred during Sunday afternoon’s final of a local tournament in Nzerekore. The statement said rival fans invaded the pitch in protest of the referee’s penalty decision. It was gathered that the stampede ensued after police attempted to defuse the commotion with teargas. According to the statement, the government pledged to…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that the federal government spent N6.2 trillion on foreign exchange subsidy in 2022 alone compared to N4.5 trillion spent on fuel subsidy. CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso made t6his disclosure in a recent 59th annual Bankers Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, in Lagos. According to him, in the past years, FX subsidy losses have been a bigger problem for the country’s revenue than fuel subsidies. “In 2022 alone, the potential revenue total revenue lost due to a less reflective FX regime is approximately N6.2 trillion compared to 4.5 trillion…

Kogi State Agency for the Control of AIDS (KOSACA) has disclosed that at least over 36,000 people are living with AIDS in the state. The Acting Executive Secretary of the KOSACA, Ibrahim Anate, disclosed this in commemoration of the 2024 World AIDS Day in Lokoja, which was organized by the Centre for Integrated Health Programs (CIHP) in collaboration with the state agency for the Control of AIDS. According to him, “36,066 are presently on treatment in Kogi State. We are seriously fighting the scourge, and we are raising awareness in all the communities and hard-to-reach areas of Kogi State about…

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF)has confirmed that a successful operation conducted by its officers from Zone 7 Command and the National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) in Abuja resulted in the arrest of 113 foreign nationals involved in sophisticated cybercrime activities, including internet fraud and marketing scams. The NPF Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi confirmed the development in a statement via X on Monday, 2 December, 2024. Adejobi revealed that the arrests took place on 3 November, 2024, in Jahi, Abuja, during an operation that revealed substantial evidence crucial to the syndicate’s cyber operations. Items recovered during the operation included: –…

There are indications that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may retire about 1,000 of its employees by December 31, 2024. This is according to a recent report by Daily Trust, which states that the exercise will cost the apex bank N50 billion. The CBN, led by Olayemi Cardoso, described the move as a strategic realignment of its workforce. This comes as, in the last 10 months, the CBN disengaged many of its staff, including 17 directors who served under the immediate past governor, Godwin Emefiele. In a circular released three weeks ago by the CBN, it stated that the…

Yobe State government has engaged critical stakeholders as part of strategies to nip farmers/herders conflict in the bud. An expanded security meeting chaired by Governor Mai Mala Buni brought together heads of security agencies, Emirs of Ngelzarma and Jajere, as well as local government chairmen and leaders of Miyetti Allah. The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Idi Barde Gubana, said the security meeting was aimed at reviewing and analysing the security situation across the state and to ensure that citizens are safe and their property adequately protected. He further explained that the harvest period usually comes with crisis,…

President Bola Tinubu has disclosed that the economic policies that he initiated upon his assumption of office are now yielding the desired results. Tinubu, who acknowledged that the policies were harsh on the people, stated that the move became imperative in order to salvage the country from the crises facing it. Speaking during the 34th and 35th convocation ceremonies of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, the President, who was represented by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, stated that the country is now graduating from a consumption to a production economy. While calling for…

President Bola Tinubu will travel to Cape Town, South Africa, from France on Monday. Tinubu would co-chair the 11th session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission alongside President Cyril Ramaphosa. Tinubu is currently in France on the invitation of the French President, Emmanuel Macron. A statement by Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said the BNC commences on Tuesday, 3 December, 2024. Onanuga said Tinubu will engage in talks with President Ramaphosa of South Africa. “The Presidential BNC, scheduled for Tuesday, December 3, will be preceded by a ministerial meeting on December 2, 2024, at the South African Parliament Building in Cape…

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Nigerian businessman, Ezeokoli Sylva, based in Brazil, who returned home with 700 grams of cocaine buried in his stomach. The suspect has been living in Brazil for the past 35 years. According to the agency,  its operatives made the discovery following the suspect’s arrest at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday, 1 December, 2024. Babafemi disclosed that the 59-year-old Ezeokoli was arrested on Friday, 29th November 2024, at the E-Arrival…

Armed terrorists have launched a deadly attack on the Kungurki community in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara State, killing an elderly man and abducting 13 residents, including a two-month-old baby and his mother. A Lake Chad Basin counterterrorism and insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, made this known in a post on his X handle on Sunday, 1 December, 2024. According to Makama, intelligence sources informed him that the assailants stormed the village under the cover of darkness, firing sporadically to instill fear among residents. The terrorists also looted several shops, carting away food items, household supplies and other valuables.…

The Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress,(APC), has insisted that Governor Monday Okpebholo was duly elected by the majority of the people of the state and not selected as alleged. A member of the party’s transition committee and the Assets Verification Committee, Prince Kassim Afegbua, stated this while responding to the labelling of the State Governor as “Governor-Select by the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Thegazellenews.com reported that on November 26, 2024, the PDPP at a press briefing titled, “The State of the Nation Address”, read by the caretaker committee chairman of the party in the state, Dr Anthony Aziegbemi…

 The former Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited(NNPCL) Retail, Prof. Billy Okoye, has told Nigerians that the implementation of deregulation in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry will force the newly revived Port Harcourt and Dangote Refineries Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) ex-depot prices below the current N1030 and N970 per litre. Okoye disclosed this on Friday, 29 November, 2024 during an interview with online medium in Abuja at an event organised by the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association, PETROAN. According to him, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s remark on fuel subsidy removal in May 2023 set the tone for…

Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), has disclosed that at least 22 bodies have been recovered after the boat mishap that occurred between Baro and Akwanu communities of Agaie local government area of the State. It stated that a total of eight persons have been rescued alive. The agency in a statement signed by its Director General, Abdullahi Baba Arah in Minna, said the incident occurred on the night of Thursday, 28 November, 2024, at about 2:00 am. Arah stated that the boat was sailing from Ebe Community of Kogi State with a population of almost 50 passengers heading to…

Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has revealed his musical inspiration. The afrobeats star disclosed that women are the inspiration behind his music. “Women inspire music! Gods on earth,” he wrote in a now-deleted post on X. Wizkid is known for his romantic songs, dedicated to women. His latest album, ‘Morayo’ is dedicated to his late mum, Morayo Jane Balogun. The album has broken Tyla’s record for the most first week streams for an African album on Spotify with 48 million streams in 6 days. It has surpassed Tyla’s previous record of 46.4 million Spotify streams. ‘Morayo’…