Europa league full match fixtures, as man u battles Van Persie

Manchester United will face Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk in the group stage of the Europa League.
It pits United against their former striker Robin van Persie, who is now with Fenerbahce.
Southampton, the other Premier League side still in the competition, will play Inter Milan, Sparta Prague and Hapoel Beer Sheva.
League of Ireland side Dundalk have been drawn with Zenit St Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
The match dates for the group stage are 15 and 29 September, 20 October, 3 and 24 November, and 8 December.
United boss Jose Mourinho said he knew little about Ukrainian opponents Zorya, whose home ground is close to the Russian border, meaning they will play their fixtures 500 miles away in Odessa.
But welcomed being drawn with Fenerbahce and Feyenoord, who will have a reduced capacity at their De Kuip stadium due to trouble at previous games.
"We all know the competition is not the same as the Champions League but to have Manchester United playing against clubs with tradition like Fenerbahce and Feyenoord is good for us," he said.
"We know that it will be a difficult group, but I think that is a good thing. It is good for the fans and for the players because it will help motivation."

Full draw:
Group A: Man Utd, Fenerbahce, Feyenoord, Zorya Luhansk

Group B: Olympiacos, Apoel Nicosia, Young Boys, Astana

Group C: Anderlecht, St Etienne, Mainz, Qabala

Group D: Zenit St Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Dundalk

Group E: Plzen, Roma, Austria Vienna, FC Astra Giurgiu

Group F: Athletic Bilbao, Genk, Rapid Vienna, Sassuolo

Group G: Ajax, Standard Liege, Celta Vigo, Panathinaikos

Group H: Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Gent, Konyaspor

Group I: Schalke 04, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Krasnodar, Nice

Group J: Fiorentina, PAOK Salonika, Liberec, Qarabag

Group K: Inter Milan, Sparta Prague, Southampton, Hapoel Beer Sheva

Group L: Villarreal, Steaua Bucharest, FC Zurich, Osmanlispor

kogi state governor escapes stone attack by angry youths

Angry youths in Lokoja, Kogi State began pelting stones at Governor Yahaya Bello yesterday during the Jumaat prayers, according to eyewitnesses.

The stoning, it was learned by Kadibia's blog, is likely connected corruption allegations rocking Mr. Bello’s administration and from growing resentment against the Kogi government for not paying workers salaries or pensions. Kogi residents have noted that bailout funds were made available to Governor  Bello but they have not been used to pay worker debts.

Mr. Bello, who was attending prayers at the Lokoja Central Mosque, arrived to the location in a long convoy of state cars including Armored Personnel Carriers, according to Kogi residents.

The governor reportedly arrived late to the prayers, missing one raqa’at prayer, but was forced from completing his remaining prayers when worshipers inside the mosque began booing and jesting him.

Mr. Bello was forced to flee the humiliating scene based on “security advice” from his aides, according to sources at the scene.

However, when the embattled governor left the mosque he was met by a horde of disgruntled youth who began to pelt stones and castigate him with insults.

The scene erupted when security agents began shooting their weapons into the air to disperse the crowds and firing tear gas canisters at them.

Eyewitnesses disclosed that nearby youths retaliated by throwing the canisters back at the security detail as Mr. Bello cowered from the scene.

Mr. Bello was eventually smuggled into his car and whisked away accompanied by his convoy.

According to an NGO Egalitarian Mission for Africa, the Kogi State government, under the leadership of Mr. Bello, has been accused of looting N11 billion in state funds and not paying its workers as a consequence.

GEJ: I left Nigeria in best economic state

In a recent statement, former president Jonathan said he handed over the best Nigerian government, and the largest economy in Africa to president Buhari.
“I took over a Nigeria that was the second largest economy in Africa with a GDP of $270.5 billion in 2009, I handed over a Nigeria that had grown to become the largest economy in Africa and the 24th largest economy in the World, with a GDP of $574 billion.
I inherited a Nigeria in which the trains were not working, and handed over a Nigeria in which citizens can safely travel by trains again.
I inherited a Nigeria that was a net importer of cement, and handed over a Nigeria that is a net exporter of cement.
In 2009, the richest Nigerian was the 5th richest man in Africa, but I handed over a Nigeria that produced the richest man in Africa.
The former President stated that democracy will continue to grow in the African continent if leaders value the process of elections more than the product of the process.
Even in the 2015 general elections in my country, Nigeria, there was potential for major crisis if I was not a President duly elected by the will of the people.
The campaigns leading to the elections almost polarized the country into Christian vs Muslims and North vs South divide. Most World leaders were worried that our elections will result into major crisis.
Some pundits even from here in the United States said that those elections would spell the end of Nigeria and that we would cease to exist as a nation because of the polls.
That is where the leadership question comes into play. As a leader that was duly elected by the people, I considered the people’s interest first.
How do I manage my people to avoid killings and destruction of properties?
With the interest of the people propelling all the decisions I took, we were able to sail through.
Indeed, we sail through because I refused to interfere with the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, having appointed a man I had never met in my life to run it.
My philosophy was simple. For elections to be credible, I as a leader, must value the process more than the product of the process. And the citizens must have confidence in the electoral body”.

Kidnappers arrested in Bauchi with large stark of money

Following a tip off by well meaning Nigerians, troops of 33 Brigade Nigerian Army, deployed at Forward Operation Base (FOB) Toro, Toro Local Government Area (LGA) of Bauchi State, yesterday arrested 2 suspected kidnappers; Dayibu Abdullahi and Nasiru Adamu at Badiko village along Gumau road, Toro LGA, Bauchi State.
Troops also recovered a bag containing the sum of Four Hundred and Thirty Nine Thousand Naira (N439,000.00k) and some personal items from the suspects. Preliminary investigation shows that the amount was their share from a paid ransom  of a recent kidnap incident.
Similarly, another suspected kidnapper, Jibrin Dakam, was arrested same day at Magama, also in Toro LGA, by the troops. Preliminary investigation confirmed that he escaped from their den at Jenge following the military Operation FOREST KUNAMA at Lame-Burra Forest recently. It was further confirmed that he frequently supply alcohol and other stimulants to the kidnappers.
In a related development,  troops deployed at "Kano 2" checkpoint near Durum, in Bauchi LGA, of the same unit, also arrested a  suspected armed bandit named Adamu Saleh who was found to be in possession of 8 rounds of 7.62mm (Special), 2 mobile telephone handsets and local charms.
All the suspects are being interrogated further before their eventual handing over to other relevant security agencies.

Update: Police arrests those that killed a man in obiagu, Enugu state

Some unknown gunmen invaded Obiagu area of Enugu state, killing one person on Wednesday, August 24.

Sources revealed that the victim, a heavily built middle-aged man identified as ‘Ayaka’, was a very popular figure in the area.
Before his death, Ayaka was said to be a commercial bus driver.
The heavily armed hoodlums, who also wore bullet proof vests, shot Ayaka while he was drinking in a bar with other customers.

Eyewitnesses reported that the gunmen, who were about 10 in number, stormed Obiagu at about 5:00pm and fired several shots into the air.
The sound of the gunshots caused panic in the highly populated area, as people, including residents, shop owners and visitors, fled in different directions.
Others watched from a safe distance as the group approached the bar, where Ayaka was.
On sighting Ayaka at the bar, the hoodlums shot him several times, and made sure he was dead before they stopped shooting.
The Punch reports that no other person was injured in the attack.
However, the eyewitnesses further said the gunmen dispossessed other customers in the bar of their valuables.
Moments later, the hoodlums escaped in three vehicles – two Toyota Camry cars and a Sienna mini bus.
The attack lasted for about 20 minutes.
Men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Enugu state police command later arrived at the scene some ten minutes after the hoodlums had left.

Spokesman for the  Enugu state police command, Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the incident, later disclosed that two of the gunmen was killed, while two others were arrested, in a shootout with policemen.
According to a statement he made available to journalists, the Enugu state commissioner of police, Emmanuel Ojukwu applauded his operatives on their effort leading to the arrest of two of the hoodlums, with two others shot dead.
“The hoodlums had operated around Edingburgh /ogui new layout axis and some of the metro in the afternoon, which led to the death of one person before operatives of the command confronted them headlong and ensured that they did not have a free day.
“Meanwhile manhunt on other members of the gang are on as operatives are still combing.”

Cult fight goes bloody as one man gets killed in obiagu, enugu (Graphic picture)

Unknown gunmen killed a man yesterday at Obiagu in enugu state, the pics are not that clear because we were running according to eye witness.
Update: its a cult fight, he had multiple shots on the hand, stomach and genitals. His brother and sister have carried his dead body to God knows where. The unknown gunmen hijacked a toyota camry spider and drove off rambo style, they were 6 men with 4 AK47.
Normalcy has since returned to the area as police took charge of the issue.

Uber set to launch self-driving car in Nigeria

Uber aims to catch up with Google in the production of self-driving cars.
The taxi-service company is on the verge of replacing over one million drivers with computers – which is quite unfortunate for those who make a living from being Uber drivers, thousands of young, middle aged Nigerian men inclusive.
Uber is said to have been working on self-driving cars since 2015.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber revealed that the company is preparing to add self-driving cars to its fleet of active drivers in Pittsburgh as early as this month.
“The company will deploy around 100 modified Volvo XC90s outfitted with self-driving equipment. Each vehicle will be staffed by one engineer, who can take the wheel as/when needed, and a co-pilot to observe and take notes.
“There will also be a “liquid-cooled” computer sitting in the trunk recording trip and map data.”
Customers will make requests from their phones through Uber’s app and will be paired with a driverless car, as is presently being done in other countries.

African man with the longest nail

A 34- year- old Kenyan man is planning to make history as he aims for the Guinness World Records as the person with the longest nails on earth.
John Waweru has grown his nail 30 centimetre -long nails on his left hand as he prepares to achieve this feat. He is probably the man with the longest nails in the world.

“ This is my job , this is what feeds me, I go to the beaches and tourists pay to see the fingernails . I also go to places like Agricultural Society of Kenya ( ASK ) shows, get -togethers and schools where people pay to see my nails ,” the Mombasa - based man told the Daily Nation .
Waweru said that the nails earn him between KSh 2 ,000 and KSh 10,000 a day . Now , he has built a four roomed Swahili house and started a nail salon for manicure and pedicure from the income .

Shridhar Chillal hold the Guinness World Records as the person with the longest nails in the world
Waweru can neither cook nor wash his clothes, he also stopped covering himself with a bed- sheet while sleeping in order to avoid breaking the nails because of his ambition.
The Guinness World Record is being held by India's Shridhar Chillal. Chillal was in 2015 recognised by Guinness World Records as the person with the longest fingernails on a single hand ever .

Yobo joins Nigeria premier league side after successful negotiation

Ex-Nigeria Captain, and retired Everton defender Joseph Yobo , 35, has agreed to join Northern Nigeria club side , Kano Pillars after the NPFL club beat three other clubs to his signature .
Alhaji Shehu Dikko , Chairman of the League Management Company, LMC, in an interview with Completesportsnigeria on Tuesday revealed that Kano Pillars is the club that appealed most to the footballer and can meet his demands .
“ Kano Pillars ” , Dikko replied when Completesportsnigeria .com asked him which club Yobo will eventually play for in his celebrated return to the Nigerian domestic top flight .
When asked further on when Yobo will turn out for Kano Pillars , who have won four league titles, Dikko said ;
“ For now, that is being worked out, but we’ re looking at the next (home ) game ,” Dikko said on Tuesdayduring the unveiling of the LMC partnership deal with Star beer , as the official beer of the Nigeria Professional Football League at Eko Hotel and Suites , Lagos.
Joseph Yobo is an ambassador of the Nigerian Professional Football League and it is hoped that his presence in the league will help increase stadium turn out and also improve the league .

Orton: I know what it means fighting brock lesnar.

Despite confusion on the pre-show, where they said Randy Orton would miss SmackDown Live due to the injuries he sustained at SummerSlam at the hands (and elbows) of Brock Lesnar, the Viper and the ten staples in his head made his way to the ring tonight (Aug. 23) in Connecticut.

Orton addressed his fight with Lesnar, saying he “knew what he was getting into” and expressed some disappointment in Shane McMahon’s getting involved - even though the fight had already been called by the time the Commissioner arrived.

Randy said that at some point in the future, he and Brock’s paths would cross again.
But that will be down the road. For now, Bray Wyatt has set his sights on the Viper.

Mystery: Tree grows on 7-year-old boy's skin

A 7-year-old boy identified as Ripon Sarker is suffering from a skin disease known papillomaviruses, the infection leads to the growth  of scaly wart.

 The young lad who is from bangladesh, was affected with
the sickness when he was three months had his first treatment on August 20.

The condition aggravated due to the family in ability to pay his hospital debt and inappropriate nutrition owing to the poor stste of his family.

Currently, he is admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.

See more photos below:

PMB reacts on killing of 8 people in zamfara via twitter

Yesterday, violence erupted in Talata-marafa zamfara , when a student was accused of religious blasphemy, which saw not less than 8 people killed 

President Muhammadu Buhari, however has assured Nigeria that they won't be a hiding place for those who engage in violence in the name of religion.

See the reason why top musician was arrested

A top rap star has been detained in Malaysia on blasphemy charges after allegedly insulting Islam in his latest music video.
Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport where he was returning from overseas, the Bernama agency said.
The word ‘Allah’ and sounds of the Islamic call to prayer were said to be used in the four-minute Mandarin music video, titled ‘Oh My God.’
The video, ‘Oh My God,’ was released in July and featured three other singers rapping in Mandarin in front of various places of worship and using the word Allah
Enraged Malay Islamic activists lodged police complaints against Wee, saying the video was rude and disrespectful to Islam but the singer has defended himself by stating that what he was singing in the video was supposed  to promote religious harmony.

Video: watch how Boko Haram leader was killed by airstrike

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has released another video, showing it's latest operation in the northeast where it fatally wounded Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram.
The video, which was released after the Nigerian military claimed 300 insurgents were killed, is a follow-up to the one detailing how insurgents were monitored by the military.
Images from the video show some firepower, but not much of graphic realities to confirm how many people were killed in the attack.
The video does not show Shekau, or any other Boko Haram commander to be “fatally wounded”. Watch video below

Drug issues: 37-year-old man arrested in india

The Bengaluru police on Monday, August 22, arrested a Nigerian national for alleged drug peddling and recovered cocaine worth Rs lakhs.
The suspect, Adinife Raphael, 37,was arrested after police received a tip-off on his activities. They raided his home on Monday in the Bengaluru police station limits. The police found out that he had destroyed his passport.
Adinife arrived India in 2010. After two years in Mumbai and New Delhi, he settled down in Bengaluru in 2012. His visa and passport expired in 2015, but he continued to stay illegally in the country. Later, he joined a group of drug peddlers, who procured the contraband material from suppliers in Goa. It is alleged that Adinife would supply cocaine to college students in east Bengaluru India.
The police have registered a case against him under the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

NFF demands for $390,000 given to U23

On Saturday , the NFF issued a statement quoting
president Amaju Pinnick as saying it was mischievous
to say they planned to use the donation from the
Japanese plastic surgeon Katsuya Takasu to offset
mounting debts .
Rather , they insisted that they were merely conducting
an integrity test on the donation and the donor .
The Japanese fan issued two Citibank cheques –
$200, 000 in favour of coach Samson Siasia and
$190, 000 in favour of Mikel .
“ We have resolved that no matter what , we will not
surrender this cash to the NFF , the team was quoted to
have told africanfootball .com .
“ Mikel has insisted all of us will get our share of the
money. That we should not mind what the people in
the NFF are saying .
“ He will make available this cash when he comes for
next month ’ s AFCON qualifier against Tanzania in Uyo .”
A team meeting has already resolved that both players
and officials will receive equal amount of the cash with
Mikel himself agreeing to give part of his own share for
the chief coach (Siasia ) to get more than the rest of the
squad .
It was further gathered that the sharing formula agreed
was a flat rate for the 22 players (18 accredited players
and four alternate players ) and 10 officials.
Japanese plastic surgeon, Takasu had travel from Tokyo
to Brazil to watch Nigeria beat Honduras 3- 2 to win the
bronze on Saturday .
“ I had travelled from Tokyo prepared to reward them
anyway , and to watch them win the bronze inside the
stadium was very fulfilling, ” he said.
“ This team showed resilience and fought the hardest
to achieve success , despite all their problems – some
people would have given up but they didn ’t .”
“ In everything we must always let people understand
that they are appreciated and not just in football but
generally in life , ” said Takasu.

Eight killed on account of blasphemy in zamfara state

A community in zamfara state, Talata-mafara has on Monday seen no less than 8 people killed on the basis of religious blasphemy.

Violence erupted when a student of Abdu Gusau polytechnic was accused of blasphemy against islam.

The attackers were said to have set fire on the house of a

man who tried to rescue the student. The student was

alleged to have made a blasphemous statement against

Islam and Prophet Muhammad and was consequently

attacked by a mob who beat him to a pulp. The man,

whose name was simply given as Tajudeen, took him in

his car and rushed him to a hospital.

According to a witness, in anger the mob who were not

pleased with Tajudeen’s action, marched to his house,

set it on fire and killed eight persons.

The governor, who called for an emergency Security

Council meeting over the incident, expressed sadness

and vowed that “no stone will be left unturned until all

those behind this act are brought to book".

Mean while the police have imposed a 12-hour curfew in the

community, from 7pm to 7am daily until further notice,

with warning that anyone caught violating the order

would be prosecuted.

No fewer than 300 militants were killed in Borno state

Report reaching kadibia's blog from a reliable source is that no fewer than 300 militants has been killed during Friday night raid in Borno state.

According to the source, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, has disclosed that no fewer than 300 militants were killed during Friday night's airstrikes in Borno State.

Mr. Abubakar announced this while speaking after commissioning the construction of a hospital and borehole built by the Nigeria Air Force to address the health crisis afflicting the Bama internally displaced persons (IDP) camp.

He stated out that the Air Force had carried out many successful airstrikes against Boko Haram in the last few weeks.

"We have intensified airstrikes in recent weeks and have had outstanding results," Mr. Abubakar said.

"On the 19th of this month [August], 300 terrorists were killed by our night operations."

The Air Marshal warned the Boko Haram militants to surrender now and face the wrath of justice because there would be no safe haven for them.

Earlier, he commissioned the borehole and hospital construction for IDPs and promised that well-trained personnel had been deployed to attend to the health challenges faced by IDPs.

Police officers Stops #BringBackOurGirls campaigners from entering Aso Rock

Heavily armed policemen, on Monday, barred members of the Bring Back Our Girls group (BBOG) from entering the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during a march to renew their call on the Federal Government to safely rescue the Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists in 2014.

The policemen blocked the Presidential Villa entrance from the Federal Secretariat area, telling protesters that they were acting on orders to ensure that the protest did not turn violent.

The action forced the campaigners to hold a press conference on the road.

The march began from the popular Unity Fountain in the Maitama area of Abuja, with protesters adopting the slogan: "Mr. President! No More Excuses, No More Delay, Decide Now, Act Now, We Want Result". The turnout was huge, as it was swelled by an army of graduates recruited into the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in 2015, but have had their appointments terminated at the end of their three-month induction period.

The BBOG campaigners also called on Federal Government to reinstate them without further delay.

Coordinator of the group, Dr. Oby Ezekwezili, told journalists that the government is expected to help unemployed youths, not create more problems them.

The group expressed regret at what it considers the government’s tepid attitude towards safe rescue of the girls, who have been in the captivity for over two years, arguing that the abandonment of the Chibok girls in captivity amounts to corruption.

Former Governor's daughter is engaged to a barrister, Check Out Who

Billionaire daughter Neya Kalu, former Abia state governor Orji Uzor Kalu’s daughter is engaged and This is exclusive photos from the romantic proposal. Her man of almost a year, Lawyere Iyere, said to be a very successful businessman, proposed to her at a restaurant in London on Saturday night.
The newly engaged couple recently both finished they master degree  from University of Buckingham UK where they met. Congrats to the duo.
See more pictures below