General news

• Baby-selling syndicate smashed, four arrested in C’River

  02-07-2026 19:39 via vanguardngr.com
  
  …as Operatives Rescue Newborn Sold for ₦3 Million in Fake Pregnancy RacketBy Ike Uchechukwu, CALABARSecurity operatives have busted a ruthless baby-selling syndicate operating in Cross River State, rescuing a newborn baby who was sold for ₦3 million in a heartless fake pregnancy scam.The dramatic raid exposed the criminal network that allegedly used fake pregnancies to traffic infants, dealing a major blow to the illicit trade in the state.Vanguard learned that Operatives of
  
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• Two killed as suspected herdsmen raid Benue community

  03-07-2026 00:20 via vanguardngr.com
  
  By Peter DuruSuspected armed cattle rustlers, believed to be herders, have killed a ranch owner and a vigilante member during an early morning attack on Okpafie community in Oyilawu, Okonobo Ward of Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, before fleeing with nearly 50 cows.The attack reportedly occurred at about 1am on Thursday when the gunmen stormed a ranch in the community, shot dead its owner, identified simply as Benjamin, and rustled his cattle.A community source said the attackers
  
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• Atiku discovered Okonjo-Iweala, Soludo; saw potential in me – Kenneth Okonkwo

  03-07-2026 00:08 via vanguardngr.com
  
  Former Labour Party spokesperson Kenneth Okonkwo has commended former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for looking beyond past criticisms to recognise what he described as his contribution to nation-building.Okonkwo spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, a day after he was unveiled as spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election.The politician, who once served as Peter Obi’s campaign spokesperson
  
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• FG pushing anti-jihadist collaboration with Benin, Niger – Defence minister

  02-07-2026 23:52 via vanguardngr.com
  
  Nigeria is working to increase military cooperation with Benin and Niger as jihadists from the Sahel encroach on the country’s northwest, the Nigerian defence minister told AFP on Thursday.Africa’s most populous country has been battling homegrown militants since 2009, in a conflict that has been reshaped recently by the growing presence of armed groups from the wider region.The United States has launched strikes against Islamic State Sahel Province in northwest Nigeria, while analy
  
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• Rubio says USA ‘screwed’ by Balogun’s red card at World Cup

  02-07-2026 23:44 via vanguardngr.com
  
  US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday his country’s World Cup team had been “screwed” and called for an appeal after star striker Folarin Balogun was sent off against Bosnia.Washington’s top diplomat tackled the sporting controversy a day after Balogun was given a red card in the 2-0 US win. Balogun is now set to miss his side’s last-16 showdown with Belgium.“It was great. They got screwed with that red card,” Rubio told reporters during a bri
  
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• Spain score 3 against Austria, maintain clean sheet to reach last 16

  02-07-2026 23:14 via vanguardngr.com
  
  Spain coasted past Austria and into the World Cup last-16 on Thursday, thoroughly outclassing their opponents in a 3-0 knockout win with a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header.The European champions controlled possession and sliced through the Austrian defense in a typically dominant performance in Los Angeles, as Hollywood stars Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and singer Rosalia cheered on.The win — which could have been by a greater margin, with a disallowed goal and a free
  
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• Ghana have ‘duty to Africa’ to progress at World Cup, says coach

  02-07-2026 23:00 via vanguardngr.com
  
  Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz said Thursday it was his team’s “duty” to ensure an African side reached the World Cup round of 16 after a string of knockout defeats for teams from the continent.The veteran Portuguese, managing at his fifth consecutive World Cup, led Ghana into the last 32 as one of the top third-placed teams.They were among a record nine African nations who progressed from the group stage out of 10 who started the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
  
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• Presidential Council scandal: ‘I’m ready to face the law’ — Adeyemi

  02-07-2026 22:51 via vanguardngr.com
  
  Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has declared that he is ready to defend himself in court amid allegations by the Presidency that he forged official documents and impersonated a government official.Adeyemi made the declaration during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, as the controversy surrounding the existence of the council and his appointment continued to
  
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• Rivers LG bans commercial motorcycles from Aug. 1

  02-07-2026 22:50 via vanguardngr.com
  
  The Obio/Akpor Local Government Area (LGA) Council has announced a ban on commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada, from operating within the area, taking effect on Aug. 1The Chairman of the council, Dr Gift Worlu, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday in Port Harcourt.He said the directive was part of efforts by the administration to strengthen security, promote public order, reduce road accidents and improve transportation within the LGA.According to him, the activities of
  
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• US pulls troops from Nigeria after counterterrorism operation

  02-07-2026 22:29 via vanguardngr.com
  
  The United States has withdrawn the majority of its military personnel deployed to Nigeria for a joint counterterrorism mission in the Lake Chad Basin, while maintaining intelligence sharing and other security cooperation with Nigerian authorities.Commander of US Air Forces in Africa, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, announced the development during a virtual press briefing on the outcome of the African Chiefs of Defence Conference 2026. He said the partnership between Washington and Abuja remaine
  
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• Commonwealth Games: Tinubu urges Team Nigeria to win clean, break record

  02-07-2026 22:16 via vanguardngr.com
  
  President Bola Tinubu has urged Team Nigeria to compete with integrity and surpass the country’s best-ever Commonwealth Games performance at the 2026 edition in Glasgow, Scotland.The President also warned athletes against doping, urging them to depend on talent, discipline and hard work to achieve success on the global sporting stage.Tinubu gave the charge on Thursday at the State House, Abuja, while receiving Team Nigeria athletes and officials before their departure for the Games.The Pr
  
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• Dangote crashes petrol price to ₦1,075/litre, opens sales to all marketers

  02-07-2026 21:51 via vanguardngr.com
  
  By Udeme AkpanDangote Petroleum Refinery has slashed the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, to ₦1,075 per litre, from ₦1,125 per litre, in a move expected to trigger another round of price reductions across Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.The refinery also aligned its coastal loading price at ₦1,075 per litre and suspended its consortium marketing arrangement, effectively opening petrol loading at its gantry to all qualified marketer
  
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• ASUU threatens indefinite strike over unpaid 2025 agreement at Plateau varsity

  02-07-2026 21:41 via vanguardngr.com
  
  By Golok NanmwaThe Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Plateau State University (PLASU) Branch, has threatened to embark on a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike over the failure of the Plateau State Government to implement the 2025 Federal Government/ASUU Agreement.The union issued the warning on Thursday at a press conference held in Jos, saying the continued delay in implementing the agreement, particularly the payment of salary adjustments and academic staff allowances, had
  
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• D’Tigers defeat Tunisia 84-81 in World Cup qualifiers

  02-07-2026 21:24 via vanguardngr.com
  
  Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, on Thursday defeated Tunisia 84-81 in a crucial Group C match of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 African Qualifiers in Luanda, Angola.The victory marked a winning start for newly appointed head coach, David Fizdale, who took charge of his first competitive game with the team.D’Tigers made a strong start, edging Tunisia 23-21 in the first quarter before the North Africans responded to claim the second quarter 23-20, lea
  
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• Honeywell Group acquires 14% stake in Ikeja Hotel

  02-07-2026 21:08 via vanguardngr.com
  
  By Peter EgwuatuHoneywell Group Limited, has acquired a 14.12 percent stake in Ikeja Hotel Plc.
  This was disclosed in a statement sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX by Ikeja Hotel Plc and signed by the company secretary,OOT Nominees Limited on Thursday.
  The company, in the statement stated: “Ikeja Hotel Plc (the company) hereby notifies the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the general public that it has received notification from HGL Real Estate Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Gro
  
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• Ghana, South Africa in diplomatic spat after migrant’s death

  02-07-2026 21:07 via vanguardngr.com
  
  Ghana and South Africa were Thursday embroiled in fresh diplomatic spat following the killing of a migrant, a death Pretoria said was not linked to the anti-immigrant protests held in the country earlier this week.Several thousand people marched across South Africa on Tuesday after a weeks-long campaign against undocumented immigrants peaked with an unofficial June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country.More than 25,000 people, including hundreds of Ghanaians, have already f
  
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• Court rejects El-Rufai’s fresh bail bid over disputed medical report

  02-07-2026 21:00 via vanguardngr.com
  
  By Ibrahim Hassan-WuyoA Kaduna State High Court has dismissed a fresh bail application filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, after the National Hospital, Abuja, disowned a medical report tendered in support of the request.Justice Darius Khobo rejected the application, which was based on claims that El-Rufai was suffering from advanced metastatic prostate cancer requiring specialised treatment allegedly unavailable in Nigeria.During the proceedings, counsel for the Independent C
  
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• Gbajabiamila aware of my appointment, alleged fake Presidential DG insists

  02-07-2026 20:58 via vanguardngr.com
  
  By Dickson OmobolaPrince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who allegedly paraded himself as the Director-General of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Thursday, denied any wrongdoing, insisting that Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, was aware of his appointment.Adeyemi, who is facing allegations of impersonation and related offences, said the matter was already before a court and expressed confidence that he would
  
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• Don’t make State Police FG’s appendage, Afenifere tells NASS

  02-07-2026 20:53 via vanguardngr.com
  
  …Urges lawmakers to move policing to Concurrent ListBy Dayo Johnson, AkureThe Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for transmitting the State Police Bill to the National Assembly but urged lawmakers to amend provisions it said would make state police “appendages of the federal government.”The group also called on the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to place policing on the Concurrent Legislative List to ensure g
  
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• Opposition twisted Oluremi Tinubu’s ‘small business’ comment

  02-07-2026 20:47 via vanguardngr.com
  
  — Defends First lady over Akara, groundnut remarkBy Dayo Johnson AkureFormer Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) governorship candidate in Ondo State, Abass Mimiko, has said that attacks on First Lady Oluremi Tinubu over her “small business” advice are politically motivated.Mimiko tied the backlash against the First Lady to resistance against President Tinubu’s economic reforms.Speaking with members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Akure, h
  
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• Trump wants ‘senseless killing’ in Ukraine to end – US official

  02-07-2026 20:46 via vanguardngr.com
  
  President Donald Trump wants a peace deal to end the “senseless killing” in Ukraine, a US official said Thursday after a massive Russian barrage on Kyiv killed at least 21 people.“President Trump has a humanitarian heart and wants this war settled so the senseless killing ends,” the US official told AFP in response to a query on the Russian attack.“The President and his team have worked very hard to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and he remains optimistic
  
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• Amaechi meets Tambuwal in Abuja amid 2027 ADC consultations

  02-07-2026 20:36 via vanguardngr.com
  
  ABUJA — The vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election, Rotimi Amaechi, on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, in Abuja.Although details of the meeting were not immediately disclosed, it comes amid ongoing political consultations ahead of the 2027 general elections.The meeting also followed the upload of the names of the ADC’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his run
  
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• US Embassy in Abuja, Lagos Consulate shut Friday for Independence Day

  02-07-2026 20:33 via vanguardngr.com
  
  The United States Embassy in Abuja and the Consulate General in Lagos will be closed on Friday, July 3, in observance of the United States Independence Day.The US Mission in Nigeria announced the temporary closure in a post shared on its official social media platforms on Thursday.“The US Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos will be closed on Friday, July 3, 2026, in observance of US Independence Day,” the mission said.The closure is in line with the annual celebration of
  
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• Tinubu: Economic reforms have ended states’ reliance on salary borrowing

  02-07-2026 20:31 via vanguardngr.com
  
  …FG flags off Babban-Lamba–Sharam Phase II Road in PlateauBy Golok NanmwaJOS — President Bola Tinubu has said his administration’s economic reforms have freed state governments from borrowing to pay workers’ salaries, attributing the development to increased revenue allocations that now enable states to meet salary obligations, settle gratuities and undertake development projects.The President, represented by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress
  
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• Tunji-Ojo meets Assembly Speakers, seeks stronger Federal-State ties

  02-07-2026 20:26 via vanguardngr.com
  
  By Omeiza AjayiABUJA: Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has reaffirmed his commitment to fostering stronger institutional relationships with sub-national legislatures as key stakeholders in governance.The minister made the pledge on Thursday when he received the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, led by its Chairman and Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Emomotimi Dennis Guwor, on a courtesy visit to the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.H
  
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• School abductions are national disgrace, crime against humanity — NSCIA

  02-07-2026 20:23 via vanguardngr.com
  
  By Luminous JannamikeABUJA — The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has described the recurring abduction and killing of schoolchildren in Nigeria as a ‘national disgrace’ and a ‘crime against humanity’, following recent attack on Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno state, where terrorists killed a teacher and abducted scores of students and staff.The attack has renewed fears over the safety of schoo
  
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• WHO declares Hantavirus outbreak over, warns of escalating Ebola crisis

  02-07-2026 20:20 via vanguardngr.com
  
  The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared the recent Hantavirus outbreak over.
  The declaration was made after the final person exposed aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius completed quarantine, tested negative, and returned home.
  Speaking during an online briefing on Thursday, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said that no new infections have been recorded since May 25, marking the end of the international public health response to the outbreak.
  According to him, the out
  
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• Power supply will improve before year-end, minister assures Nigerians

  02-07-2026 20:10 via vanguardngr.com
  
  …REA, UNDP unveil 23 mini-grids across 15 statesBy Obas Esiedesa, AbujaThe Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, on Thursday assured Nigerians that electricity supply would improve before the end of 2026, saying the Federal Government is simultaneously rehabilitating the national grid and expanding off-grid renewable energy projects to bridge the country’s energy access gap.Tegbe gave the assurance in Abuja at the media launch of the Africa Mini-Grid Programme (AMP) Nigeria Pilot Projec
  
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• Players who cover mouths will not be sent off in UEFA competitions

  02-07-2026 19:55 via vanguardngr.com
  
  UEFA has confirmed that players who cover their mouths while confronting opponents will not automatically receive red cards in its competitions, opting against adopting the recently introduced law for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.The decision means European football’s governing body will not implement the optional rule approved earlier this year by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), despite its use at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.The issue gained
  
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• Only God-fearing leaders can transform Nigeria, says Fubara

  02-07-2026 19:54 via vanguardngr.com
  
  By Daniel Abia, Port HarcourtRivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said Nigeria needs God-fearing leaders to move in the right direction and achieve meaningful development.Fubara stated this on Thursday while receiving the World President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Pastor Erton Kohler, his wife, Andriene Marques Kohler, their daughter, Mariana Marques Kohler, and other church leaders at the Government House in Port Harcourt.The governor commended the Seventh-day Adventist Chur
  
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