Umahi Dismisses Sex Allegation, Says Claims Politically Motivated

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has rejected allegations circulating on social media that he made an advance on a lady years ago, calling them unfounded and trivial.

A businesswoman, Tracyniter Nicholas Ohiri, in a viral video, alleged that the minister demanded sex from her in exchange for the payment of a purported debt.

Ohiri would later be arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on a defamation charge.

However, speaking in response to the claims in a video in Enugu after inspecting federal government projects in Enugu and Anambra State, Umahi said he was not troubled by online commentary, insisting that such narratives only make him stronger.

“Don’t insult your leaders because what a man soweth is what he reaps. People know me very well.

”I was a party chairman, Deputy Governor, and Governor for eight years, and nobody said I harassed anyone,” Umahi said.

“What you read on social media, you know I’m not worried about it.”

“It makes me stronger. I’ve fought many battles, so this is not one.”

Umahi insisted these were machinations of political adversaries and he would be vindicated at the end.

“I know it’s all about politics, and politics has started, but when the right time comes, and the whistle is blown by INEC, we will know what we are made of,” he said.

Umahi argued that such accusations were designed merely to stir conversation online.

“There’s nothing wrong with saying, ‘Oh, you are chasing a woman,’” he said. “But if it is Natasha who is accusing me of chasing her, then my face will be bolder.”

He added that any suggestion that a man would pursue someone for 12 years was unrealistic, dismissing the allegation as an attempt to keep social media active.

Bezzecchi wins MotoGP opener as Marc Marquez retires

Paul Battison

BBC Sport Journalist

Italy’s Marco Bezzecchi won the opening race of the MotoGP season with a flawless performance in Thailand, as defending champion Marc Marquez retired late on.

Aprilia rider Bezzecchi started on pole and never looked back as he stormed into a massive lead before sealing victory by more than five seconds.

KTM’s Spanish rider Pedro Acosta followed up Saturday’s sprint race victory by coming second, while compatriot Raul Fernandez of Trackhouse finished third.

Bezzecchi’s victory came after he crashed out of the sprint race on the second lap.

“Yesterday was a small mistake with a big consequence, so it was important today to try to bounce back,” said Bezzecchi.

“My pace was good with the medium [rear tyre], we worked super well all weekend, so I knew that I could be fast if I was in front. So I tried my all to make a good start and the bike was perfect.”

Ducati’s Marquez exited the race with five laps to go after suffering a type puncture while in fourth position.

The Spaniard, who is chasing a record-equalling eighth title this season, was closing in on Acosta and Fernandez but damaged his tyre after running wide, ending hopes of a podium finish.

Earlier this week Marquez said he was still recovering from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the final four races of last season.

Bezzecchi was fastest in all three practice sessions and set a new track record in qualifying, while this was his third-straight grand prix victory – having won the final two races in 2025.

Bezzecchi’s Aprilia team-mate and 2024 champion Jorge Martin came fourth, while Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura finished fifth.

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Iran to form interim council to oversee transition after Khamenei’s killing

Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani says the leadership transition after the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will begin on Sunday.

“An interim leadership council will soon be formed. The president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council will assume responsibility until the election of the next leader,” said Larijani, the head of Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council. He was also an adviser to Khamenei, 86, who was killed in a joint attack on Iran by the United States and Israel on Saturday.

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“This council will be established as soon as possible. We are working to form it as early as today,” he said in an interview broadcast by state TV.

Larijani accused the US and Israel of trying to plunder and break apart Iran and warned “secessionist groups” within Iran of a harsh response if they attempt action, state media said.

“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors,” he said.

A former parliamentary speaker and senior policy adviser, Larijani was appointed to advise Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

What happens next?

The death of Khamenei after almost 37 years in power raises crucial questions about Iran’s future.

According to Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution, a transitional council will be formed to handle the state duties until a new supreme leader is elected by a panel of religious leaders.

That body is to be composed of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei and a religious leader from the Guardian Council, according to Iranian media.

The provisional council will work until an 88-member panel called the Assembly of Experts chooses a new supreme leader.

Police Rescue Two-Month-Old Baby In Akwa Ibom

Police authorities have rescued a two-month-old baby said to have been abducted in Akwa-Ibom State.

The spokesperson of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

John, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the rescue followed a report lodged by the baby’s mother about the child’s sudden disappearance.

“On 26th February, 2026, at about 0828hrs, one Peace ‘F’, in company of her mother, reported at the Police Station that her two-month-and-three-week-old baby boy had been abducted,” she said.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that at about 0559hrs on the same date, the mother of the child had briefly left the baby in the care of her own mother.

“Upon her return at about 0630hrs, she was informed that the grandmother had left the baby asleep on the bed while she took her bath. However, on returning to the room, the child was nowhere to be found.”

READ ALSO: Police Confirm Killing Of Five Persons In Plateau Attack

The Command’s spokesperson said “further enquiries led to the discovery that one Goodnews ‘F’, aged 23 years, of Ikot Etetuk Village, allegedly tore the window net of the room and stole the baby.”

According to John, a swift search operation within the vicinity resulted in the suspect being apprehended with the baby in her custody.

She also reiterated the Command’s commitment to the protection of lives and properties in Akwa Ibom State.

On his part, the state Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, reassured residents of the Command’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and ensuring that offenders are brought to justice.

US-Israel attacks on Iran, day 2: Khamenei is killed, Iran retaliates

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in the attacks by the United States and Israel, alongside his top security officials, as Tehran pledges to take “revenge” for the killing of the supreme leader.

Khamenei’s killing is a serious setback for Iran, where more than 200 people have been killed in the attacks across 24 out of 31 provinces since Saturday. Iran’s retaliatory attacks have targeted Israel and neighbouring Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

Khamenei, 86, was killed in the strike at his office in Tehran. The supreme leader’s daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were also killed in the attack.

Iran
People mourn the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on March 1, 2026 [Atta Kenare/AFP]

Here is everything that happened so far on Day 2

Inside Iran

  • The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had begun striking targets deep inside Tehran, a day after a joint US-Israeli attack killed Khamenei.
  • Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the sixth wave of “extensive missile and drone” attacks targeting Israeli military assets and 27 US bases in the Middle East in retaliation.
  • Iran’s state media confirmed the killing of Khamenei, as well as security adviser Ali Shamkhani and IRGC Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour. According to the Hamshahri newspaper, Ahmad Vahidi has been named the IRGC’s new commander-in-chief. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the news.
  • Iranian armed forces’ chief of staff, Abdul Rahim Mousavi, and Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh were also killed in the attacks.
  • A three-person council – consisting of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, head of the judiciary, and one of the jurists of the Guardian Council – will temporarily assume all leadership duties in the country, Iran’s state TV reported.
  • Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said plans are in place to form a temporary governing body to carry out Khamenei’s duties.
  • The death toll in the attack on an elementary girls’ school in southern Iran’s Minab city climbed to 148 people, and 95 others were injured.
  • Khamenei’s supporters have taken to the streets in the main Iranian cities, including Tehran and Isfahan, to mourn the killing of the supreme leader.
  • Iran’s highest-ranking official to appear on camera since Khamenei’s killing, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker, called the US and Israeli leaders “filthy criminals” who will face “devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg”.
Reporters are seen in the briefing room near a TV monitor
A TV monitor displays an illustration reading ‘Trump at War’ alongside a photo of the US president at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2026 [Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP]

Latest from Trump

  • “Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever been hit before,” US President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late at night. “They better not do that, however, because if they do, we will hit them with a force that has never been seen before!” he added.
  • In an interview with CBS News, Trump said he believes the US is better positioned to reach a diplomatic solution with Iran. “Much easier now than it was a day ago, obviously”, Trump said, adding, “because they are getting beat up bad”.

Israeli attacks and Iranian retaliation

  • The Israeli ambulance service says one Israeli woman has been killed, and 121 others wounded, mostly with minor injuries, in waves of Iranian missile attacks.
  • Air raid sirens continue to blare in and around the city of Tel Aviv.
  • The Israeli military said the majority of these missiles and drones were intercepted or downed, but some managed to get through in Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, a city west of Jerusalem.
  • Israel’s military said it struck more than 30 targets in attacks on western and central Iran in another wave of strikes “to target the ballistic missile array and air defence systems of the Iranian terror regime”.
  • Attacks will continue on air defence installations, missile sites, military headquarters, and other “regime targets” in Iran, the statement from Israel’s military added.
Tel Aviv
Israeli police and emergency teams respond at the scene after a missile hit buildings in Tel Aviv’s Gush Dan area, March 1, 2026 [Nir Keidar/Anadolu]

Iran continues to target the Gulf region

  • At least 11 explosions were heard above Qatar on Sunday morning. The Qatari Ministry of Interior says a total of 16 injuries have been recorded following the Iranian attacks.
  • Oman’s Duqm commercial port was hit by two drones, injuring one person, the state news agency said on Sunday. Oman was mediating between the US and Iran.
  • Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said on Sunday the Palau-flagged oil tanker Skylight was targeted about 5 nautical miles (9km) off Musandam. “A twenty-person crew were evacuated, initial information shows four people were injured,” it said.
  • Jordanian defence systems intercepted missiles that entered the airspace of the capital, Amman, as well as northern areas.
  • The US embassy in Jordan issued a security alert early on Sunday morning, urging people to shelter in place.
  • Sirens have also been reported in Kuwait as Iran continues its retaliatory attacks against the US allies in the Gulf.
  • More explosions were heard in Dubai as well, a day after a fire broke out in the city’s Palm ⁠Islands tourist attraction. Debris from a drone intercepted by Dubai’s military led to a fire at Jebel Ali port, a frequent stop for US Navy ships in the Gulf.
  • Iraq’s Muqtada al-Sadr expressed “sadness and sorrow” over Khamenei’s killing as protesters in Baghdad confronted security forces in areas that host the country’s government, parliament, and foreign embassies.
  • Protests have erupted in neighbouring Iraq as well as in Indian-administered Kashmir and Pakistan. At least six people were killed and several injured in riots that broke out near the US consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.
  • Iraq has announced three days of public mourning across the country in the wake of Khamenei’s killing.
Iran
A person sits in front of a store damaged in a reported overnight Iranian strike in Tel Aviv on March 1, 2026 [Ilia Yefimovich/AFP]

At the United Nations Security Council

  • US Ambassador Mike Waltz said the strikes on Iran were directed towards dismantling its ballistic missile capabilities, degrading naval assets, and ensuring that “the Iranian regime can never, ever threaten the world with a nuclear weapon”.
  • Russia’s UN envoy strongly condemned the latest military attacks on Iran, calling them “another unprovoked act of armed aggression”. Vassily Nebenzia said, “The US and Israeli military operation has been a betrayal of diplomacy.”
  • China’s Ambassador Fu Cong called the US-Israeli strikes “brazen”, condemning the threat of force and calling for respect for Iran’s “sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity”. He said it was “shocking” that the US and Israeli attacks came in the middle of diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iran.
  • The UN Chief said the military action carries the risk of “igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world,” and added that “everything must be done” to prevent wider escalation of war across the Middle East.
iran
A yacht sails past a plume of smoke rising from the port of Jebel Ali following a reported Iranian strike in Dubai on March 1, 2026 [Fadel Senna/AFP]

What’s the latest situation at the Strait of Hormuz?

  • Iran moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, while ships in the Gulf reported receiving warnings from the IRGC that vessels would not be permitted to pass through the strategic waterway.
  • Reuters news agency reported that the IRGC mandated that “no ship is allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz”.
  • Nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil consumption passes through the strait, making it one of the world’s most vital oil export routes.