Neymar still has a “small chance” of playing against Real Madrid in the Champions League and there are no plans for an operation on his cracked bone, Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery said on Tuesday.

“For Neymar there has been no decision to have an operation,” said Emery, denying an earlier report in the Brazilian press that the world’s most expensive player would go under the knife to fix the cracked bone in his foot.

“Neymar is the first to want to play every match, he’s very focussed on Real. I think there’s a small chance that he’ll be ready for the match,” added Emery.

PSG trail 3-1 from the last 16 first leg in Madrid two weeks ago and the loss of Neymar would be a huge blow to their chances of overturning that deficit at the Parc des Princes on March 6 and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.

Neymar suffered a cracked metatarsal in his foot and a twisted ankle in an innocuous looking incident against Marseille on Sunday night.

And while Spaniard Emery said there is a possibility he’ll recover by next week, he was more pessimistic than he had been on Sunday night.

“Today, after analysing Neymar, it looks less likely than it did on Sunday that he’ll be ready for this match,” said Emery.

However, he was clear in his dismissal of a report published by Brazilian media outlet Globo Esporte on Tuesday morning that claimed a decision had already been reached for Neymar to undergo an operation, and that he would be out until May.

“Last night (Monday) the club issued an official statement: it said how the player was medically,” added Emery.

“Things (like operations) aren’t decided like that,” he added, clicking his fingers.

“You need discussions with the doctor, the player, his entourage.

“To make such an important decision you need tranquility and a bit of patience.

“Right now, I don’t think you need anything else. There’s a lot of information from outside, but the truth is what I told you, which is what the doctor told me.”

While PSG’s primary concern is having the world’s most expensive player available for their Champions League match next week, in Brazil it is Neymar’s participation at the World Cup that is most important.

The 26-year-old captained Brazil to their first ever Olympic gold medal 18 months ago on home soil and is seen as crucial to their hopes in Russia in June and July.

Were he to undergo and operation now and return to fitness in May, that would suit Brazil, who could rely then on a fully fit and fresh Neymar for the World Cup.

Source: NAN

Ex-Biafran soldier, Col. Joseph ‘’ Hannibal ‘’ Achuzia died on Monday at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, Delta. He was aged 90.

The late Achuzia was a Major in the Nigerian Army, before he defected to the Biafran side in 1967 at the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War.

Mr Onyeka Achuzia, son of the deceased, said Colonel Achuzia died at about 8 a.m on Monday.

He said that the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the hospital morgue ahead of the traditional burial rights on a date yet to be announced.

”My father died around 8 a.m at age 90 in the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba.

“He was a traditional Chief of Asaba,” the Ikemba of Asaba”, so we have announced it to the Asagba in Council; it is a sad news to us.

“I could still not believe that he is dead, even when he was entering the FMC where he died, he was smiling; we never knew he was going to die because he was still strong in spite of his age.

“He had a little bit of illness, coupled with his age, we are really going to miss him for he was such a good father,” Onyeka said.

Onyeka said that as the Ikemba of Asaba the news of his father’s death had been announced with a traditional gun shot.

Achizie is survived by a wife, children, grand children and other relations.

After he was released from prison in 1970 after the civil war, he officially retired from military activities and became a prominent figure in Nigerian politics.

Source: NAN

Aisha Wakil, the Maiduguri based lawyer and rights activist, with links with Boko Haram said she will do everything possible to get the 110 abducted Dapchi schoolgirls freed.

Aisha, also called Mama Boko Haram, believed the girls were captured by the Barnawi group of the terror sect, appealed to the group to free the girls. She said she was ready to get them out even at the risk of her life.

Wallahi I will go after them, even if it will take my life to save these girls. They call me Mummy, but they dont listen to me. I keep on talking to them, begging them to lay down their arms and embrace peace but they will say Insha-Allah mummy we are going to stop. Sometimes they will say they are scared they are going to be killed but I will tell them nobody is going to kill you, she said in an interview published on PRNigeria website today.

She appealed to the abductors to release the young female captives, said to be aged between 12 and 19 years. Acccording to a list published by the Federal Government on Tuesday, 37 of the girls are in JSS1-3, while 73 are in SSS1-3.

Aisha Wakil, was a former member of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the northern region of Nigeria under the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan.

She had, in previous efforts, brought military officers and Boko Haram Commanders together during negotiations.

She was also credited for the release of some abductees, including Chibok schoolgirls,from the Boko Haram sect via phone calls to the leadership.

PRNigeria quoted her as saying she was ready to sacrifice her life to rescue the girls from their abductors.

The activist was reported to have helped in circumcision of some of the Boko Haram members when they were kids over two decades ago.

Her relationship with the sect members earned her the name Mama Boko Haram.

Disturbed about the latest abduction of 110 students of Government Girls Technical College Dapchi, Aisha has renewed her commitment to fight to end the Boko Haram insurgency.

The activist who cried during the interview said : This thing that is happening, is really breaking my heart. These children dont even know what they are doing. Some of them were not even born at the time this thing started.

She appealed to the leader of the Barnawi group to release the girls:

I heard you are now been called Abu Mussad Albarnawi but I know you as Habib and I am begging you to stop the killing and abduction. I have sent many messages to you. I dont know if you are getting these messages or you just choose to continue to hurt your mother and make her cry.

Dear Habib, Nuru and others, I was told you may be the ones responsible for the kidnapped of these girls. Whereever you may be if you are listening to me, I beg you in the name of Allah to release the girls back to their families.

What type of children will continue letting their mother to continue crying. Dear Habib, I pray Allah touches your heart and that of your colleagues to stop what you are doing. Please come out. I will never deny you even if the whole world did. Those who know you know your heart. They know you are no longer interested in the fight anymore.

I will hold all of you and wrap you with my wrapper and bring you out and no one is going to shoot you. If they will shoot you, they will have to shoot me first. I dont mind sacrificing my life if you will stop what you are doing. If I die stopping Boko Haram, I know I will go to paradise.

Aisha Wakil has been actively involved in efforts to end Boko Haram through her NGO Complete Care and Aid Foundation aimed at restoring peace to the northeast by rehabilitating the youth against warped ideologies that mislead them to join the terror group.

The organisation is designed to provide a free feeding centre, fight drug abuse, sex hawking, human trafficking, female genital mutilation and de-worming among persons displaced by the insurgency.

Source: NAN

Christian leaders in Jerusalem said that they would on Wednesday reopen the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre, closed since the weekend in protest at Israeli tax measures.

The announcement came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said a professional team would be appointed to resolve the financial dispute.

The closure which seemed to be the longest since at least 1990 has left thousands of pilgrims and tourists seeking to visit the site locked outside.

Some have kneeled in front of its massive wooden doors to pray on the cobblestones of Jerusalems Old City.

We hereby announce that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre will be reopened to the pilgrims tomorrow, February 28th, 2018 at 4:00 AM (0200 GMT), said a joint statement by church leaders issued on Tuesday night.

The church is built where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. Custody of it is shared by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations.

Tuesdays statement was signed by senior clerics of the three faiths in the Holy Land.

We give thanks to God for the statement released earlier today by Prime Minister Netanyahu and offer our gratitude to all those who have worked tirelessly to uphold the Christian presence in Jerusalem, it said.

Christian leaders are in part angry over attempts by Israeli authorities in Jerusalem to enforce tax collection on church-owned property they consider commercial, saying exemptions only apply to places of worship or religious teaching.

Netanyahus office said the measures would be suspended pending discussions.

Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi will also look into the issue of land sales in Jerusalem by Christian bodies.

During that time, a proposed law that Christian leaders say would allow Israel to expropriate church land is to be shelved, the statement said.

An official of the Roman Catholic Custody of the Holy Land welcomed the prospect of talks with the Israeli authorities.

From the beginning we said that we have duties to have a dialogue, and not let ourselves be forced to make drastic decisions, he told AFP.

Dark period

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat says the city is due 650 million shekels ($186 million/152 million euros) in uncollected taxes on church properties.

He stresses the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and all other churches are exempt, with the changes only affecting establishments like hotels, halls and businesses owned by churches.

Christian leaders say the measure jeopardises their ability to conduct their work, which also includes social services to those in need.

Source: NAN

Ten herdsmenm who were destroying farmland in Tse-Tigir and Tse-Ndugh villages in Benue, have been arrested by troops.

The troops were deployed to Yelwata under the ongoing Exercise Ayem Akpatuma (Cat Race).

Brig.-Gen. Texas Chukwu, the Director, Army Public Relations, in a statement issued late Monday night in Abuja, said the suspects fled into the bush when they sighted the troops.

“While in the act of destroying the farmland, the herdsmen sighted the aggressive troops and fled into the bush.

“The determined troops pursued and arrest them.

“Items recovered from them are five motorcycles, two machetes, assorted charms and N120,000,” he said.

Chukwu said the suspects and the items were handed over to the Police for investigation.

The spokesman said the Army was determined to fish out criminals and recover weapons they use in killing innocent citizens.

He appealed to the people to cooperate with the troops.

Source: NAN

Arsenal’s legend and all-time top scorer Thierry Henry said it would be a “dream” to manage the club, whose season is threatening to unravel after their capitulation to Manchester City in the League Cup final.

Arsene Wenger’s side crumbled 3-0 at Wembley on Sunday and languish 10 points off the top four in the Premier League, with the Europa League their only chance of silverware this season.

Wenger is under contract at Arsenal until 2019 but a failure to qualify for the Champions League for a second straight year would ramp up pressure for him to step down.

Asked on-air after the game about whether replacing Wenger would appeal to him, the Sky Sports pundit, who is also a member of Belgium’s coaching staff, said: “I still have a job to do with Belgium, but let’s see what’s going to happen.

“It will be a dream for me, but I’m still with Belgium.

“Interested? Yes, who wouldn’t be? But I can’t talk about that out of respect for the man that is in charge still and my job that I’m doing right now with Belgium. But who wouldn’t be interested?”

Henry, who was brought to Arsenal by Wenger in 1999, believes a lack of consistency is the key to the club’s troubles, with the Gunners having lost six games in all competitions since the turn of the year.

“With Arsene, what is difficult is when you have bad momentum,” the 40-year-old told Sky Sports News on Monday.

“The consistency is not always there and you need to be consistent. You need to also sometimes have some good games away from home.

“The feeling with the fans is that you cannot brag about the win because next week we might be in trouble.

“What’s difficult when you start to lose is getting that energy and commitment back. When you don’t win the league for a long time — 14 years running — that doesn’t help.”

Source: NAN

Paris Saint Germain has now confirmed that Neymar Jr.’s injury on Sunday was more than a sprain of the ankle and it has ruled him out of the Champions League match against Real Madrid next week and Brazil’s friendly matches in March.

There are even fears that the talented Brazilian attacker will have a race against time to be ready for the World Cup in Russia in June.

According to a short medical report published on the club’s website, the injury to the right ankle also involves a fractured fifth metatarsal, the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects to the little toe.

“Complementary examinations performed this day (ultrasound and CT) confirmed antero external sprain of the right ankle but also the associated existence of a fissure of the fifth metatarsal”, PSG said.

The Brazilian was stretchered off in tears as strikes from Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani plus an own goal from Rolando gave PSG a 3-0 win at the Parc des Princes.

Neymar was tracking back behind Bouna Sarr in the second half when his right ankle awkwardly twisted, leaving him in agony on the turf.

It is now certain, the player is ruled out of the Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid on 6 March.

The injury is likely to rule the 26-year-old out of Brazil’s March friendlies against Russia and Germany. And it may leave him with a race against time to be ready for the World Cup in Russia this summer.

In and ill-tempered game, Neymar was brutally tackled twice, each time falling on the field. But the serious injury, was self-inflicted.

PSG star Dani Alves was also subject to a horror tackle by Marseille’s Lucas Ocampos – who only got a yellow card.

But the durable Brazilian was even able to walk away from challenged – and carried on in the match.

Neymar’s sidelining is certainly a devastating blow for the French club, whose season will be defined by their success in Europe – with a 14-point lead in Ligue 1 over Monaco.

EFCC has filed a counter-affidavit asking the court not to give Ms. Bola Shagaya access to the account which was frozen in December 2016.

EFCC filed the affidavit at the Federal High Court Sitting in Lagos not to unfreeze the bank account with a balance of N1.9 billion allegedly belonging to Ms Bola Shagaya.

EFCC claimed that the money was the balance of a total of N3.3 billion which Shagaya received as “founder’s fees” on behalf of a non-governmental organization – “Women for Change”, which was allegedly spearheaded by the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience.

According to the EFCC, the N3.3 billion was realised through Shagaya’s “fraudulent activities” in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where she allegedly “influenced the fraudulent allocation of Dual Purpose Kerosene to one Index Petrolube Africa Ltd., with the aid of the former first lady, Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan.”

The N3.3 billion was said to have been paid by Index Petrolube Africa Ltd. and its sister company, Autodex Nigeria Limited.

The companies allegedly belong to one Honourable Ezeani ThankGod.

The EFCC also claimed that out of the N3.3 billion, Shagaya had “paid a cumulative sum of N1.2 billion to the former First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, through her account, ‘Women for Change Initiative’ account, to which the former first lady is the sole signatory.”

It said after paying the money to Patience, Shagaya kept the balance of N1.9 billion for herself by “warehousing” same in her personal bank account.

The Commission said it was on this basis that it secured an order of Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court in Lagos on December 29, 2016, to freeze the account.

It, therefore, begged Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo of the same court not to unfreeze the account, so that Shagaya would not “use this honourable court as a shield against criminal investigation and prosecution.”

Shagaya, through her lawyer, Mr Napoleon Emeaso-Nwachukwu, argued that she was not given a fair hearing before Justice Hassan who gave the freezing order.

She further urged Justice Oguntoyinbo to set Justice Hassan’s order aside and declare it unconstitutional, null and void on the basis that it violates her right to own movable property as guaranteed by Section 44(1)(k) of the I999 Constitution of Nigeria.

In a 19-paragraph affidavit deposed to by one Sulaiman Aliu, Shagaya was worried that the ex parte freezing order made by Justice Hassan appeared, otherwise, to be final as the judge “did not give any return date for further proceedings and did not avail the applicant, who was the respondent therein and owner of the attached properties, a hearing.”

She said there was no criminal charge against her before and after the freezing order was made to justify the EFCC’s action, denying her access to her funds, a situation which she said has caused her business losses and opportunities.”

Justice Oguntoyinbo consequently set May 17 to deliver judgment on the issue.

Source: NAN

Despite all the controversies generated by Olamide’s hit single, Science Student, the official video of the song was quietly released on Sunday on You Tube on Vevo label.

The video is already stirring controversy afresh, trending as number 3 on You Tube in Nigeria. It has within 24 hours garnered close to 85,000 views, with 584 dislikes and over 9,000 likes.

Olamide - Science Student (Official Video) – 07:36
— OlamideVEVO

The video opens on a note of drama, with Olamide being abandoned by friends in a dumpsite. The rapper is seen alone wading through the place, prodded by a woman with fire in her eyes. The symbolism is telling immediately, afterall this is a song about drug addiction. The woman leads him to a disused building, filled with drug addicts, smoke and drug chemicals.

The video ends with Olamide in a choreography with scores of people and if you wonder, about the relevance of the pulsating steps, you get the answer when the video signs off with ”Say No To Drugs”.

Kaffy is behind the creative direction of the clips while the video was shot and directed by Unlimited L.A.

Source: NAN

The Senator representing Nasarawa West in the National Assembly, Senator Abdullahi Adamu has said that he would always continue to defend President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration.

Adamu who was sacked last week as the Chairman of the Northern Senators’Forum disclosed this as a meeting of All Progressives Congress’ stakeholders in Nasarawa.

The senator was only last week removed as the chairman of the NSF over allegationsof misappropriating N70 million belonging to the forum. He was replaced with Sen. Aliyu Wamakko.

Adamu who was responding to a vote of confidence passed on him by the Nasarawa State APC, assured them of his continued stand in defence of truth, his party and the Buhari administration.

The senator also promised to pursue development issues that would better the lives of Nigerians.

Earlier, APC stakeholders made up of federal and state legislators among others, expressed their confidence on the leadership qualities of Sen. Adamu.

Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, moved the motion for the vote of confidence which was seconded by Rep. Mohammed Ibrahim (APC-Nasarawa/Toto), at the meeting.

Abdullahi told newsmen at the end of the meeting that the confidence vote was passed on Adamu after assessing his positive contributions at the Senate in the last six years as well as his role in the development of humanity.

“We the lawmakers, both at the federal and state levels, under APC from Nasarawa West including the state party executives led by the Chairman, Mr Philip Shekwo, and critical stakeholders are here to discuss on some vital national issues that affect our party and the present administration in general.

“We are loyal and in total support of what our distinguished Sen. Abduallhi Adamu is doing in defence of truth, in defence of our party and in defence of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, and we urged him to stand firm on that.

“We told him to continue to stand firm in defence of truth and we are solidly behind him and President Buhari beyond 2019,” he said.

The speaker called on the people to continue to pray and give their maximum support to Adamu and Buhari to enable them succeed in the tasks ahead of them.

He noted that Adamu, who was a two time governor of the state, had performed credibly well in office, hence the need for the people of the senatorial district to support his re-election come 2019.

The Nasarawa state number three citizen also called on APC faithful to remain united and work for the progress of the party at all levels beyond 2019.

Besides, Abdullahi called on Nigerians to continue to live in peace and tolerate one another irrespective of their ethnic, religious and political affiliation for the overall development of the country.

After Adamu’s suspension, it was alleged by Sen. Shehu Sani that the unaccounted sum may have been taken by monkeys that invaded the senators farm house.

Source: NAN