FA Cup: Costa Sent Off, Lukaku Nets As Everton Ousts Chelsea

Everton's Romelu Lukaku, centre, scores his first of two goals during the English FA Cup quarter-final soccer match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park Stadium, Liverpool, England, Saturday March 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Diego Costa plunged Chelsea into fresh controversy in its nightmare season on Saturday by seeing red as Everton ended the London team's last hope of a title in the FA Cup.

Buhari Cautions On South Sudan Crisis

President Muhammadu Buhari receives first Vice President of South Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (left) at the State House in Abuja. With them is the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Hajiya Khadija Abba Ibrahim.

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday cautioned against the deterioration of political instability in South Sudan, saying the peace agreement signed by various political factions must not collapse.

₦1.4 Tr Fine: MTN Proposes ₦300b Settlement Deal

The Senate Committee on Communications yesterday took exception to the way and manner the out-of-court settlement arrangement between the Federal Government and MTN is being conducted regarding the ₦1.04 trillion fine imposed on MTN.

Ex-NNPC Chief: Jonathan’s Govt Blew ₦2.2b On Prayers

Aminu Baba-Kusa

Besides the fortune sunk into phoney arms deals, no less than ₦2.2billion was spent on prayers against Boko Haram, it was learnt yesterday.

Nigerian Student’s Deportation Is ‘Death Sentence,’ Say Activists

Students at the University of Sussex have occupied a campus building to oppose the deportation of Luqman Onikosi, who suffers from a life-threatening illness.

© Novara Media / YouTube

Internal Trafficking Now Prevalent In Nigeria — WOTCLEF

National Coordinator, Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation, Mrs Veronica K. Umaru, during her visit to Media Trust Headquarters in Abuja yesterday. Photo: Abubakar Yakubu

A nongovernmental organization, Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) has decried the increasing rate of internal trafficking in the country saying that thousands of children are suffering in the hands of their traffickers.

Pound: Sharapova Guilty Of 'Willful Negligence' In Drug Test; Experts Perplexed Over Why Sharapova Was Taking Banned Heart Drug

POWERED BY MELDONIUM? In this Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016, photo, Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates after defeating Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) INSET: A box of meldonium tablets, also known as mildronate, is photographed in Moscow, Tuesday, March 8, 2016.

Maria Sharapova was guilty of "willful negligence" for using meldonium, and international tennis officials were aware that many players were taking the drug before it was banned this year, former World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound said Wednesday.

Oil Workers Shut Down NNPC Over Unbundling

NNPC Towers, Abuja

Angry oil workers today shut down all offices and facilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in protest of Tuesday’s splitting of the state oil company by the federal government.

Lagos Collapsed Building Death Toll Reaches 30; Contractor Arrested

Rescue operation at scene of collapsed 5-storey building in Lekki, Lagos on Tuesday

The police in Lagos have arrested the contractor handling the collapsed five-storey building in Lekki area of the state.

Nigeria Women In Anti-Rape Protest

Image credits: BBC

Women have marched through the streets of northern Nigeria's main city, Kano, to protest against the "rising cases of rape".

‘MTN’s Slow SIM Registration Costly To Terrorism War’

South African President Jacob Zuma (L) and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari speak during a news conference after holding a closed door meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

•Zuma promises better relationship with Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said the slow registration of Nigerians on the MTN line by the service provider was costly to the war against Boko Haram terrorists.

Overspeeding, Potholes Claiming Lives On Abuja-Kaduna Expressway

An accident scene along Abuja- Kaduna road on Sunday.

Overspeeding, numerous potholes and the worsening  state of the  Abuja-Kaduna highway which links many states in the North to the FCT have gradually turned the road into a death trap.

'My Virginity Will Change My Future', Vows S.African Student

Matron, Dudu Zwane, sits with her iintombi (maidens) and explains the importance of virginity in Zulu culture in Ezakheni, on the outskirts of Ladysmith, South Africa ©Leonardo Angelucci (AFP)

Thubelihle Dlodlo would not have made it to university in South Africa this year as her family could not afford the fees, but virginity brought her a lifeline.

Federal Govt Breaks NNPC Into Four Units: Upstream, Downstream, Refinery and Gas/ Power

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu

•To end fuel import after 18 months

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)  has been unbundled into four units in a major restructuring of the 39-year-old oil giant. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu yesterday announced the new structure at a briefing in Abuja.

Ese Oruru: Police Arraign Yunusa For Abduction

Yunusa Dahiru

The alleged abductor of 14-year-old Ese Oruru from Bayelsa,Yunusa Dahiru, aka Yellow, was on Tuesday arraigned before a Federal High Court Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

South Africa’s Zuma Arrives Nigeria

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa arrived Nigeria last night on a two day state visit. He was received by former President Atiku Abubakar and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama. During his visit, Zuma will have bilateral talks with President Buhari, meet with the Nigerian business community and the South African community in Nigeria. His visit ends March 9th.

The Federal Government says South African President Jacob Zuma is visiting President Buhari today with a view to deepening the trade relations between both nations.

Govt To Exploit Construction For Economic Growth, Says Fashola

Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola

The Federal Government will look at the construction sector to grow its potential, Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola has said.

Maria Sharapova Provisionally Banned From Tennis After Revealing Failed Drugs Test

"I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it," said Sharapova at a news conference in Los Angeles

Maria Sharapova has been provisionally banned from tennis after she revealed on Monday she tested positive at the Australian Open for a recently banned drug that she has been taking for 10 years for health reasons.

Lawmakers Seek Relocation Of Mile 12 Market

Lagos State House of Assembly in session

•Police deny being partisan in clash

The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday called for the relocation of Mile 12 Market on Ikorodu Road to a more conducive place.

South Africa’s Zuma In Sexism Row

Mr Zuma was in rural areas on Saturday to urge people to register for upcoming local elections AFP

South Africa's main opposition party has accused President Jacob Zuma of making "outrageously sexist" comments when he told female journalists on Saturday that it had become difficult to compliment women in a "white man's world", the News24 site reports. 

Messi Or Ronaldo? Nigerian Stabs Birthday Boy To Death In India Over World’s Best Footballer

Indian police say a Nigerian national stabbed one of his countrymen to death after the two of them wrangled over whether Barcelona star Lionel Messi (L) or Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was better ©Javier Soriano (AFP)

Indian police said Monday a man has been charged with murdering his friend after a heated argument over whether Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo is the world's best footballer.

Minister, Wife, Son Die As SUV Somersaults; Buhari, APC, Atiku, Others Mourn

James Ocholi - Oak TV screengrab

*Driver, Chief Detail, Orderly, PA injured

Minister of State for Labour and Employment James Ocholi (SAN) died yesterday in an accident on the Kaduna-Abuja road. He was 55.

Electricity Generation: Dearth Of Infrastructure Threatens 20,000MW Projection

Dearth of infrastructure will affect Nigeria’s projection of hitting 20,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity generation, the Chief Executive Officer, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EDEC), Rob Dickerman, has said.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode On BMJS Girls Rescue: Lagos Won’t Tolerate Criminality

•Ambode speaking at a news conference on the rescued school girls...yesterday. With him (from left) are: Commissioner for Information and Strategy Steve Ayorinde; Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information Fola Adeyemi; Commissioner for Justice Adeniji Kazeem; Owoseni and Commanding Officer, 9 Mechanized Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen. Bulama Biu

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday warned that the state will not tolerate criminality from any quarters.

FOR THE RECORD: Buhari In That Aljazeera Interview

Media reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigeria will join the Saudi Arabia led coalition of Muslim countries against terrorism. The President stated this in an interview with Aljazeera News Channel.

Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary Girls Rescued, Undergo Medical Tests

Olaoluwa Adeyemi, the school’s principal, speaking

The three female students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary, Ikorodu, Lagos state, who were kidnapped from their hostel on Monday have been rescued.

Polls Open In Benin Presidential Election

OUTGOING: President Thomas Boni Yayi

Polls opened in Benin on Sunday in an election to replace President Thomas Boni Yayi who is stepping down after two terms, leaving 33 candidates to vie for power in the small West African nation.

Low Oil Prices Put Strains On Gulf Currency Pegs

The slide in oil prices has battered the economies of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states at a time when an improving American economy and prospects of higher US interest rates are lifting the dollar ©Hassan Ammar (AFP)

Weak oil prices pose a threat to Gulf Arab states' currency pegs against the dollar, but the energy-rich region is unlikely to abandon the policy yet, analysts say.

Harvard Law School To Drop Official Shield Over Legacy Of Slavery

© blogs.harvard.edu

President Barack Obama's alma mater – Harvard Law School – will scrap its official shield featuring the crest of a slave-owning family that helped endow the oldest US university, amid protests that it is a distasteful symbol of a racist past.

There Are Saboteurs In My Govt — Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari

*Target Reduced Cost of Governance*Says Nigeria Won’t Tolerate Biafra *Vows Not to Pull Out of OPEC *No LGA Under Boko Haram Control’

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed doubts about the loyalty of some key members of his administration. However, the President did not name these officials.