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The Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, has promised to pay the Super Eagles $10,000 for every goal the team score against Cameroon in their 2018 World Cup qualifier in Uyo on Friday. The governor also redeemed his pledge of $30,000 to the Eagles for their 3-1 win against Algeria in a 2018 World Cup Group B qualifier last year. Emmanuel called on Nigerians to support the Eagles with prayers as well go to the Uyo stadium to cheer the team to victory against the Indomitable Lions.  “You (Eagles) should be able to hold the Lions; I believe the Lions by this time tomorrow (Friday) will not be able to roar. We believe in prayers. We also need your support. You have to do something to ensure that, at least, we project our own to the world. “I don’t know how I feel when I hear of some people collecting almost £300m and some of our players are equally talented enough to collect that kind of money. Nobody has the monopoly of sports. Let us also encourage ou...

While Nigerians have continued to condemn the alleged torture of an undergraduate of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State, Chioma Pius, by some policemen attached to the Rivers State Police Command for having tattoo on her body, another victim of a similar attack has spoken up. The victim, Dereck Triggs, a paint producer, told  PUNCH Metro  that prior to Pius’ ordeal, the car he was travelling in was stopped by the same set of policemen, who accused one of the occupants of wearing a tattoo. He claimed that all occupants in the car, except his sister, was locked up in the cops’ mobile cell, adding that they were all released after payment of N20,000. PUNCH Metro  had reported that Pius was travelling from Bayelsa State to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday, when her car was stopped at Elebrada Junction, in the Emohua area of Rivers State. The policemen were alleged to have accused her of having tattoos on her body and battered her with a gun and punches, a...

A policeman, Inspector Wasiu Lawal, attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ogun State Police Command, has brought the life of a father of four children to an abrupt end. The killer cop reportedly shot the car dealer, Danton Hodewu, in front of the palace of Alase of Ilase in the Ipokia Local Government Area of the state. PUNCH Metro  learnt that the deceased and the youth leader of the community, identified simply as Ope, had a few disagreements over a bus transaction and a parcel of land. It was gathered that the youth leader led policemen to arrest Danton in his house and took him to the palace. Our correspondent learnt that the 45-year-old was leaving after a discussion at the palace when he was shot by the inspector. The deceased’s son, Sunday Hondewu, told PUNCH Metro  that his father had bought the land some years ago and made part payment. “But the youth leader was also interested in buying the same land,” he added. Sunday explained that...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said he would not rest until Nigerians see the country of their dream. Buhari made the promise in his Eid-el-Kabir message to Nigerians, which he personally signed. “Once again, I assure you that this administration, which has made the security, economic well-being and prosperity of all Nigerians its priority, will not rest on its oars until we see the Nigeria of our dream,” the President promised. Buhari, who returned to the country penultimate Saturday after spending 104 days in London, United Kingdom on medical grounds, again thanked Nigerians who prayed for his recovery and had continued to extend their goodwill and support after his return to the country. The President said, “Indeed your fervent and sincere prayers, which cut across religions, political and ethnic divides, have energised me to re-dedicate myself and this administration to the task of building a great Nigeria. “On the joyous occasion of this year...

A family doctor has appeared in court charged with 118 sexual offences on 54 victims, including a girl under 13. Manish Shah, 47, is accused of assaulting his victims at his surgery in Romford, Essex, United Kingdom, between 2004 and 2013. An investigation was launched after several people went to police in July and August 2013, when he was finally arrested. He faces 65 counts of assault by penetration, 52 counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault on a girl under 13. Shah appeared at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where it was indicated that he denied all charges against him. Judge Richard Hawgood said: “I hear what your indication is. These are matters that can only be dealt with in the crown court, or they are matters that are linked to matters that can only be heard at crown court.” Shah is suspended from practising as a doctor by the General Medical Council and barred from accessing any NHS medical records. He was granted bail ah...

The quake hit the Mentawai islands in West Sumatra province about 75 kilometres (46 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Padang at 00:06 am (1706 GMT), at a depth of 49 kilometres, according the US Geological Survey. The disaster agency said officials were checking for damage and casualties. Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide. An earthquake struck the country’s western Aceh province in December 2016, killing more than 100 people, injuring many more and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

The Nigerian Communications Commission on Thursday warned Nigerians against use of   substandard phones, saying this was responsible for some cancer ailments. An official of the commission, Mr  Kunle Olorundare, gave the warning at a stakeholders workshop organised by the Ibadan Zonal office of NCC at the popular Fayose GSM Market in Ado Ekiti. Olorundare lamented that fake phones had taken over the country’s phone market, adding that they have had  negative implications on the health of users. The NCC official  also identified unapproved phones as a major cause of network interruptions. He said the preponderance of substandard phones was causing colossal damage to network services and health of users. Olorundare  warned that sellers of unapproved Information and Communication Technology products were flouting the commission’s Act. He said they could face prosecution or seizure of their market...

The United States is requiring Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco and two annex buildings in Washington, D.C. and New York City, the State Department said on Thursday, in response to the Kremlin’s decision to shrink the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia. Last month, Moscow ordered the United States to cut its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia by more than half, to 455 people, after Congress overwhelmingly approved new sanctions against Russia. “We believe this action was unwarranted and detrimental to the overall relationship between our countries,” State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said in a statement on Thursday. “In the spirit of parity invoked by the Russians, we are requiring the Russian Government to close its Consulate General in San Francisco, a chancery annex in Washington, D.C., and a consular annex in New York City,” Nauert said. “These closures will need to be accomplished by September 2.”  ...

At least five persons were on Wednesday stabbed when the indigenes of Owerri Municipal Council clashed with thugs allegedly brought from the Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of the state to enforce the demolition of the Owerri main market. The clash caused panic in the state capital, causing people, including motorists, to run for their lives. Motorists abandoned their vehicles, even as shop owners also fled to safety, abandoning their shops. According to eyewitnesses, trouble started when the indigenes started exchanging words with the thugs. The argument, our correspondent gathered, degenerated into a free for all. A resident who simply gave her name as Chika said, “One person was stabbed in my presence. He was stabbed in his head. I had to run for my life, abandoning the things I bought.” She disclosed that the warring groups were using knives and other weapons of destruction against one another. The clash, our correspondent gathered, extended to Wethereal road...

A 30-year-old Russian woman accused of being a cocaine mule faces the death penalty in Vietnam. But Maria Dapirka, who has already written a ‘farewell letter’ to her mother, claims she was set up by her lover who posed as a top footballer. Her lawyers have said she has accepted she may soon be executed, but still clings on to some hope she will be freed after three years in prison. Dapirka, who lived in Thailand when she met her lover, known as Nick, was caught with almost 3kg of cocaine by Vietnamese customs on a flight from Singapore. She said the cocaine was planted in her luggage by Nick — or ‘Chib Eze’ — who apparently has a penchant for seducing attractive young women before conning them into carrying drugs. Dapirka’s verdict and sentence was due to be handed down by a Vietnamese judge on Thursday in a Ho Chi Minh city court, but the session was postponed ‘for further investigation’ for the fifth time. In a letter to he...

The Niger State Police Command on Thursday said 184 Inspectors in the command were among the officers recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police for their diligence. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Austin Agbonlahor, said this in Minna while decorating the officers with their new ranks. Agbonlahor said that the personnel were promoted after the Inspector General and the Police Service Commission had recognised their commitments to work. He lauded the police authority for approving the promotions and urged the beneficiaries to reciprocate the gesture by working harder to justify their new ranks. “Niger state is lucky to be one the states with the highest number of police personnel promoted across the country recently. “Your promotion will spur you to hard work and to be good ambassadors of the police force and Nigeria,’’ he said. ASP Mathew Abubakar, who spoke on behalf of others, said that promotion means more responsibility....

The Nasarawa State Government has placed an embargo on the employment of non-academic staff in three of its tertiary institutions. Commissioner of Education, Tijjani Ahmed, disclosed this during a tour of Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, on Thursday. He said, “In the course of my tour of College of Education, Akwanga, College of Agriculture, Lafia, and the polytechnic, I discovered that the non-academic staff outnumbered the academic staff. “This situation is not healthy for a higher institution to have more non-teaching staff than teaching staff. “Therefore, as from now henceforth, no head of any tertiary institution in the state should employ any non-teaching staff till further notice.” Ahmed explained that the government would give priority to the employment of more academic staff in order to meet up the necessary requirements for accreditation of courses in the three institutions. He directed all the institutions to write formally to the government ...

A South African university student’s spending spree on clothes, a party and a new smartphone slammed to a halt after it emerged that the roughly $1m fuelling her splurge had been given to her in error. A company that hands out student funding accidentally transferred 14 million rand into the young woman’s account, instead of the 1,400-rand ($107) monthly food allowance she was supposed to get, officials said Wednesday. The Walter Sisulu University, in the Eastern Cape region, said the whopping error was made in June during monthly disbursement of state-issued student loans. “The error was only discovered on Monday after the matter was reported to us by another student,” the university spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo said. Tukwayo said the student, who cannot be named, had already spent nearly 800,000 rand ($61,250) of the money. “She is liable for the amount that she has already spent, as part of our  agreement with students who take out loans,...

The Government College University of Lahore, Pakistan, has announced scholarship offer for Nigerians interested in its undergraduate and post graduate studies. The Head of Chancery, Pakistan High Commission, Azim Khan, made this known in an interview with  News Agency of Nigeria  on Wednesday in Abuja. Khan said the scholarship offer covered “all degree programmes,” adding that there were already about 30 Nigerians on Pakistani scholarship, studying in the university. “The scholarship is on first come, first served basis,” Khan said, urging interested Nigerians to  apply online via http://www.gcu.edu.pk/foreign_stu.htm . The envoy disclosed that the current scholarship offer would admit “at least 30 Nigerians.” GCU is a public research university. Its alumni network includes two Nobel Prize laureates Abdus Salam and Har Gobind Khorana; as well as philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, World Court President (1970-1973) Muhammad Zafarullah Kh...

Women have greater muscle endurance than their male counterparts, a recent study suggested. The study, published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, has found that women are considerably less exhausted after natural, dynamic muscle exercises than men of similar age and athletic ability. “We’ve known for some time that women are less fatigable than men during isometric muscle tests, static exercises where joints don’t move, such as holding a weight, but we wanted to find out if that’s true during more dynamic and practical everyday movements,” said Brian Dalton. Dalton, a study author and an assistant professor at the University of British Colombia, said: “the answer is pretty definitive: women can outlast men by a wide margin.” The study had a small sample, involving eight men and nine women at a similar level of physical fitness to flex their foot against a suite of sensors as quickly as they could 200 times. Th...