Category Nigeria News

Benjamin Sesko stretched his hot streak with the winning goal as Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2-1 to go third in the Premier League, while Tottenham failed to dispel relegation fears after defeat at Fulham.

Sesko was handed his first start in seven games since Michael Carrick took charge at Old Trafford and rewarded his boss with another vital goal to edge United closer to a return to the Champions League.

Palace had taken an early lead at Old Trafford when Maxence Lacroix outmuscled Leny Yoro to guide in a header from Brennan Johnson’s corner.

But United hit back to remain unbeaten under Carrick and take their tally to 19 points from a possible 21.

The game swung on one incident as Lacroix was sent off and conceded a penalty for pulling back Matheus Cunha just before the hour mark.

Bruno Fernandes confidently stroked the resulting spot-kick past former team-mate Dean Henderson.

Fernandes was then the creator for the second as his curling cross was powered in by Sesko.

The Slovenian has now scored seven times in his last eight appearances to quieten critics of his £74 million ($100 million) price tag after a slow start to his career in England.

“It feels like a big result. We were behind and had to show some character,” said Fernandes.

No Tudor Turnaround For Tottenham

Tottenham remain perilously poised just four points above the relegation zone as interim boss Igor Tudor again failed to halt their alarming slide after a 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage.

“We were not good, (we) lacked everything attacking and defending,” said Tudor after two defeats in his two games in charge.

“There are problems here, big problems. We need to stay calm, believe in what we are doing in training, and get out (of trouble), staying all together.”

Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi gave Fulham a deserved half-time lead as they moved up to ninth and back into contention for European football next season.

Richarlison headed in a late consolation for Tottenham, but they remain the only Premier League side without a win in 2026.

The one crumb of comfort for Spurs was a defeat for relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, 2-1 at Brighton.

All three goals arrived in the first 15 minutes as Diego Gomez and Danny Welbeck netted for the Seagulls, either side of Morgan Gibbs-White’s reply.

Forest sit two points above the drop zone ahead of a daunting trip to Manchester City on Wednesday.

The pressure is on leaders, Arsenal.

The Gunners’ lead at the top of the table was reduced to two points after City battled to a 1-0 win at Leeds on Saturday.

Chelsea are also in need of the points after dropping to sixth in the table, with only the top five set to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Elder Francis Igwe, the Father of the ex-deputy governor of Ebonyi State, Kelechi Igwe, has been abducted by gunmen.

He was kidnapped on Sunday, March 1, 2026, while on his way to church at Ndufu-Alike community in Ikwo Local Government Area.

Sources said Elder Igwe was driving when his vehicle was intercepted by armed men on a motorcycle.

The gunmen forced him out of his car and whisked him away on the motorcycle to an unknown destination.

[READ ALSO]: Ebonyi Killings: Gov Nwifuru Relaxes Curfew In Amasiri, Orders Prosecution Of Suspects

The Chairman of Ikwo Local Government Area, Sunday Nwankwo, confirmed the incident, stating the council is working with security agencies to gather information and facilitate his rescue.

Confirming the incident to Channels Television, the police spokesperson, SP Joshua Ukandu, stated that operatives of the Command have been deployed to the area for a rescue operation.

The Electoral Act 2026 has been signed by President Bola Tinubu just about one year ahead of the 2027 general elections. 

But what are the implications for voters and next year’s election? The Citizens’ Townhall on the Electoral Act will explore these and many other burning issues concerning the law.

Politicians, civil society organisations, and several others are live on the show to deal with these questions.

Guests at the event include INEC Chairman Joash Amputan; Oby Ezekwesili; Sen. Ireti Kingibe; APC chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda; Nenadi Usman of the LP, among others.

Watch the event live: 

Key members of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced a greater-than-expected increase to production quotas on Sunday following US and Israeli strikes on Iran that triggered retaliation by Tehran across the Middle East.

READ ALSO: [UPDATED] Trump, Netanyahu Claim Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei Killed After Israel-US Attack In Tehran

The eight-strong V8 (Voluntary Eight) group in the alliance, which includes top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia — as well as several Gulf states bearing the brunt of Tehran’s missile strikes — said they had agreed a “production adjustment” of 206,000 barrels per day (bpd).

“This adjustment will be implemented in April,” they said in a statement.

The text did not mention the outbreak of the Iran conflict, instead citing “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals” as their reasons for the increase.

Before the weekend’s meeting, experts had forecast a more modest increase of 137,000 bpd.

However, Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad Energy, warned that the agreed-upon increase might not be large enough to prevent the Iran conflict from causing a spike in oil prices when trading opens on Monday.

Leon pointed to the possibility that Iran could target the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for nearly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil supplies, in retaliation.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have contacted ships to announce that the Strait was closed.

On Sunday, Iranian state TV said an oil tanker in the strait was struck while attempting to “illegally” pass through and was sinking, showing footage of a burning tanker at sea.

“If oil cannot move through Hormuz, an extra 206,000 barrels per day does very little to ease the market,” Leon said, arguing that “logistics and transit risk matter more than production targets right now”.

The OPEC+ move “is unlikely to calm markets”, he said.

“Prices will respond to developments in the Gulf and the status of shipping flows, not to a relatively small increase in output,” Leon added.

‘Nightmare Scenario’

Besides Russia and Saudi Arabia, the V8 group within OPEC+ includes Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, all of which were targeted by Iranian attacks for a second day on Sunday.

Algeria and Kazakhstan are also part of the group.

Another analyst, Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said that, with the fear of incoming missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, insurers cancelling contracts for vessels wanting to go through there, and jammed electronic signalling in the Gulf region, commercial shippers were scared.

They are “starting to act as if the route is compromised,” he said.

“A full closure for more than a few days is the nightmare scenario,” he said.

A blockage of the strait could mean oil prices leaping from around $72 before the war to $120 to $150 a barrel when trading starts on Monday, he said, based on industry estimates.

He and other analysts pointed to land pipelines Saudi Arabia and the UAE could use to get around shipping through the strait, but noted that would still leave a shortfall of some eight million to 10 million bpd on the market.

“Those are meaningful pressure valves, but they are not a replacement for the full seaborne flow,” Innes said.

While higher prices might seem a boon for OPEC+ countries, it in fact carries the risk of increasing competition from producers outside the cartel, such as the United States, Canada, and Brazil.

Kpler analyst Homayoun Falakshahi told AFP that the cartel might “prefer prices of $80 to 90, but around $70 per barrel is the ideal price level” to cut the incentive for more investment by those rival producers.

He added that Russian production has been on a downward trend since November, leaving analysts to think that it was at its maximum output.

Leon, of Rystad Energy, said the only OPEC+ members “who can really boost their production are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and, to a lesser degree, Kuwait and Iraq”.

A suspected drug dealer has been arrested after hiding for 13 years.

The suspect was nabbed by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over cocaine and heroin shipments said to be linked to him.

Disclosing this in a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said he was first arrested in 2013 for cocaine trafficking and arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/187c/2923.

Babafemi noted that the suspect jumped bail after being released and went underground.

According to the anti-narcotics agency, his name resurfaced in February 2024 as one of the masterminds behind the importation of 49.70 kilogrammes of heroin from South Africa.

READ ALSO: Navy Hands Over 500kg Of Suspected Cannabis To NDLEA

“After 13 years in hiding, a notorious drug kingpin, Reginald Peter Chidiebere, has been taken into custody following the seizure of large consignments of cocaine and heroin linked to him by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos,” the statement read.

“The drug lord was first arrested in 2013 over the shipment of cocaine into Nigeria and was subsequently arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court Lagos in charge no. FHC/L/187c/2923. He however, jumped bail and went into hiding after the trial judge granted him bail in 2013 and has since remained at large.

“In February 2024, his name featured prominently as one of the masterminds of the shipment of 49.70 kilograms of heroin imported from South Africa following the interception of the consignment by NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Lagos airport.

“A follow-up operation was carried out on 19th February 2024 at his Golden Platinum Hotel & Suites, located at No. 16/18 Reginald Peter Chidiebere Street, Hope Estate, Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, where an additional 2.20 kilograms of heroin was recovered from one of his guests, Igbuanugo Ebuka ThankGod. As a result, Chidiebere went underground. The agency however, secured the interim forfeiture of his hotel and blocked all bank accounts traced to him since 2024.

“Following these developments, Chidiebere could no longer sustain himself in hiding, prompting his surrender to the agency on 13th February 2026, and he has since been taken into custody to face his pending charges for which he jumped bail in 2013 and fresh charges based on the 2024 heroin consignments linked to him.”

In a related development, NDLEA operatives in Imo State dismantled a clandestine laboratory at Isiozi Obiato, Umuaka, in Njaba Local Government Area, where 18.4kg of methamphetamine, precursor chemicals and production equipment were recovered.

“Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Imo state on Wednesday, 25th February 2026 dismantled a clandestine laboratory tucked in Isiozi Obiato, Umuaka, Njaba local government area of the state where 18.4 kilograms of methamphetamine were recovered along with a large quantity of precursor chemicals and equipment used in the production of the illicit substance,” Babafemi stated.

Iranian top officials vowed Sunday to avenge their slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and declared a new wave of strikes on US bases in the Gulf, defying US President Donald Trump’s threat of an unprecedented escalation in force.

As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out, and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s killing a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”

Ali Larijani, the powerful head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, declared: “The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors.”

In a social media post that adopted Trump’s style and rhetoric, he warned: “YESTERDAY IRAN FIRED MISSILES AT THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL, AND THEY DID HURT. TODAY WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT THEY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.”

Meanwhile, blasts were heard in northern Tehran, and smoke was seen emanating from a building, an AFP journalist reported. It was not immediately clear what the target was.

– Unprecedented force threat –

Earlier, cheers had been heard as some Iranians celebrated early reports of the death of their longtime leader, but — after state media confirmed his killing — pro-government demonstrations also formed, chanting “Death to America!”.

As crowds demanded revenge — and Iran’s army announced strikes targeting US bases in the Gulf and Iraqi Kurdistan — Trump threatened to unleash “force that has never been seen before” and urged Iran’s people to rise up and seize power.

Iran’s first retaliatory strikes on Saturday had hit all the Gulf states apart from Oman, which had sought to mediate US-Iran talks. But on Sunday the country’s commercial port of Duqm was hit by two drones, injuring a foreign worker, the Oman News Agency said, with a tanker off the sultanate’s coast also hit.

Outrage at Saturday’s wave of US and Israeli strikes against Iran, which killed 86-year-old Khamanei and some other senior figures, spilled over into neighbouring Iraq and Pakistan, where crowds attempted to storm US diplomatic missions.

In the Pakistani megacity of Karachi, at least eight people were killed during pro-Iran protests at the US consulate, according to Muhammad Amin, a spokesman for the Edhi Foundation rescue service, who added that most had bullet wounds.

In Iran, the Red Crescent said strikes had left 201 people dead and injured hundreds more.

Iran’s judiciary confirmed that Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Khamenei and the head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, were both killed.

Iran responded to the strikes with a flurry of missile and drone strikes across the Middle East, killing at least two people in Abu Dhabi and another in Tel Aviv, before following up with a new wave after state media confirmed Khamenei’s death.

– Question on succession –

Iran had already seen intense speculation on a successor to Khamenei, given his age. Upon his death, many observers expected greater power for the Revolutionary Guards, which are deeply entrenched in the Iranian economy.

Pezeshkian and two other top officials would lead Iran in the transitional period following Khamenei’s death, state television said Sunday.

Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late pro-Western shah deposed in the 1979 Islamic revolution, said any successor within the system would be illegitimate.

Hailing the demise of Khamenei, Pahlavi said: “With his death, the Islamic Republic has effectively come to an end and will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.”

Pahlavi, who has spent most of his life in exile near Washington, has presented himself as a transitional figure to a secular democracy, but he does not enjoy support from across the opposition.