Our Reporters, Author at Trendbrio.com

“I Am Not Under Duress,” Ex-Rivers HoS Nwaeke Responds to Wife

Our Reporters3 weeks ago3 weeks ago02 mins

The immediate past Rivers Head of Service, George Nwaeke, has denied claims by his wife, Florence, that he was kidnapped and under duress. Nwaeke, who recently released chilling allegations against suspended Governor Siminalayi, said contrary to his wife’s emotional outbursts, he was safe in Abuja. He disclosed that he went to Abuja to voluntarily report himself to security agencies over the ongoing crisis in Rivers State. The former HoS spoke in a trending video released early hours of Saturday. He insisted thatwife’s claim was false and suggested that she had been misled and given a script to readHe said: “I am in Transcorp Abuja. I arrived this morning from Port Harcourt to meet security agencies and report myself, as well as the troubling events happening in Rivers State. I resigned as Head of Service on Monday because of these developments”. Addressing his wife, he said: “I just saw a video of my wife trending. She was told I had been kidnapped and given a script to read. I want to make it clear—I am not kidnapped. I am in Abuja, working. “When I was Head of Service, my wife was not involved in my official duties. That script she read is null and void. I am safe and sound. I will report myself to the appropriate security agencies because Abuja houses their headquarters, and I feel safer making my report here.”

Wife of Ex-Rivers Head of Service Raises Alarm Over Husband’s Disappearance Following Resignation

Our Reporters3 weeks ago3 weeks ago01 mins

The United Kingdom has announced a visa fee increase from April 9, affecting multiple categories, including study, visit, sponsorship, and transit visas. Under the revised fees, a six-month tourist visa will now cost £127, up from £115—a nearly 7% increase. The cost of a two-year visitor visa has risen from £432 to £475, while five-year and ten-year visitor visas now cost £848 and £1,059, respectively. Students and their dependents will also see a 10% hike, with the previous £490 fee increasing to £524. Transit visa fees have also been adjusted, with air passengers now paying £39 instead of £35, and land travellers paying £70 instead of £64. The increases extend to visa extensions, skilled worker visas, naturalisation, and electronic travel authorisations (ETAs). However, premium services such as fast tracks and premium sponsorships remain unchanged. The fee adjustments come as part of the UK government’s broader efforts to manage immigration numbers.

UK to Increase Visa Fees Starting April 9

Our Reporters3 weeks ago3 weeks ago01 mins

The United Kingdom has announced a visa fee increase from April 9, affecting multiple categories, including study, visit, sponsorship, and transit visas. Under the revised fees, a six-month tourist visa will now cost £127, up from £115—a nearly 7% increase. The cost of a two-year visitor visa has risen from £432 to £475, while five-year and ten-year visitor visas now cost £848 and £1,059, respectively. Students and their dependents will also see a 10% hike, with the previous £490 fee increasing to £524. Transit visa fees have also been adjusted, with air passengers now paying £39 instead of £35, and land travellers paying £70 instead of £64. The increases extend to visa extensions, skilled worker visas, naturalisation, and electronic travel authorisations (ETAs). However, premium services such as fast tracks and premium sponsorships remain unchanged. The fee adjustments come as part of the UK government’s broader efforts to manage immigration numbers.

Tinubu Orders Security Agencies to Track Down Killers of Travelers in Edo

Our Reporters3 weeks ago3 weeks ago03 mins

President Bola Tinubu has given marching orders to security agencies to fish out those behind the killing of some travellers in Edo State. The victims, who were said to be travelling from Port Harcourt to the northern part of Nigeria, were allegedly killed by a mob in Uromi, Edo State, on Thursday.While reacting to the incident, President Bola Tinubu described it as dastardly. “The President, who expressed shock at the dastardly act on Thursday, directed Police and other security agencies to conduct swift and thorough investigations and punish the suspected culprits,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a statement on Friday. The President noted that jungle justice has no place in Nigeria, and all Nigerians have the freedom to move freely in any part of the country. Tinubu condoled with the families of the affected people and assured them “that criminals would not be allowed to shed the blood of innocent Nigerians in vain”.Meanwhile, the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has visited the community, condemning the killing of the travellers. The governor described the incident as barbaric, according to a statement from his spokesman Fred Itua, and ordered a full-scale investigation into the killing. “The Governor directed the State Police Command and other security agencies to conduct thorough and speedy investigations into the matter and bring those found culpable to book. He also charged the community to work with the security agencies to fish out the culprits,” Itua said in a statement on Friday “Governor Okpebholo also commended community leaders, especially the leadership of Arewa community in the area, for deescalating tensions and handling the situation with restrain.” The governor promised justice for the victims and maintained that there is “no excuse for the vigilante members to take the law into their hands without recourse to statutory law enforcement agencies”.

I Was Moved To Tears After Reading The Judge’s Sentence For a 15-Year-Old Boy

Our Reporters3 weeks ago3 weeks ago05 mins

This was a fifteen year old boy…. He was caught stealing bread from a store.On trying to escape from the hold of the guard, a shelf of the store was also broken. The judge heard the crime and asked the boy, “Did you really steal something, a loaf of bread and cheese?” The boy responded by looking down.;- “Yes.” Judge: – “Why?” Boy: – “I needed it.” Judge: – “Couldn’t you have bought?” Boy: – “There was no money.” Judge: – “Take it from the family.” Boy: – “There is only a mother in the house. Sick and unemployed. Judge: – “You don’t do anything?” Boy: – “Used to wash a car. When I took a day off to take care of my mother, I was fired.” Judge: – “Don’t you ask someone for help?” Boy: – “Had left the house since morning, went to about fifty (50) people, but no help; so, I decided to take this step at the very end.” When the arguments ended, the judge began to pronounce the verdict; … “the theft and especially the stealing of Bread by a hungry boy is a very shameful crime and we are all responsible for this crime.” Every person in the court, including me, is guilty and a perpetrator, so every person present here is fined ten dollars each. No one can get out of here without giving ten dollars.” Saying this, the judge took ten dollars out of his own pocket and then picked up the pen and started writing name accordingly: ‘By giving the full amount of fine to this boy, the court asks for forgiveness from that boy.’ After hearing the verdict, tears were pouring from the eyes of the people present in the court, that boy’s handcuffs were also untied. The boy was watching the judge again and again, who came out hiding his tears. Are our society, systems and courts ready for such a decision? if a hungry person is caught stealing bread, then the people of that country should be ashame. If this touches your heart:chose someone to give succour… People around you should not sleep without food’ PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU IF YOU’RE MOVED BY THIS MESSAGE, BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE, LOOK AROUND YOU AND MAKE SOMEBODY HAPPY, NO MATTER HOW SMALL, YOU ARE BETTER THAN SOME PEOPLE, YOU DON’T NEED TO BE RICH TO GIVE FROM THE LITTLE YOU HAVE. THANK YOU You can share this in other platform you belong. It will go a long way in feeding the hungry today.

Ex-Barca star, Dani Alves, Release From Prison

Our Reporters3 weeks ago3 weeks ago03 mins

The top court in Spain’s Catalonia region on Friday overturned Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves’ rape conviction, saying the case against him had inconsistencies and contradictions. The 41-year-old defender was convicted last year of raping a woman in the restroom of a Barcelona nightclub in 2022 and sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison. “Dani Alves is very happy. He is innocent, and that is demonstrated. Justice has spoken,” Ines Guardiola, lawyer for the former Barcelona, PSG and Juventus player, told RAC1 radio. Two former power houses of world soccer, former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and France soccer great Michel Platini, were cleared of corruption charges on Tuesday. In its appeal ruling, the Catalan high court said the accuser’s testimony lacked reliability over facts that could be objectively verified through video, “explicitly indicating that what she recounted does not correspond to reality”. “The inadequacies of the evidence lead to the conclusion that the standard required by the presumption of innocence has not been met,” it said, noting “a series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies and contradictions concerning the facts, the legal assessment and its consequences”. Alves had already been released from prison on a 1 million euro ($1.1 million) bail while awaiting the appeal. He may now leave the country as the Catalan court lifted all restrictions, including a travel ban and restraining order, plus the payment of compensation. The court said that the alleged victim’s argument that she went with Alves into the restroom for fear that his friends might follow them did not appear reasonable, concluding that she instead “voluntarily went to the bathroom area for the purpose of being with the defendant in a more intimate space”. It added that CCTV footage did not allow any inference about whether she consented to the subsequent interaction or not. Ester Garcia, the accuser’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The regional prosecutor’s office declined to comment. The decision can still be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Wilder Set For Ring Return Against Herndon in June

Our Reporters4 weeks ago4 weeks ago03 mins

Former WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will return to the ring to face Tyrrell Herndon in Kansas this June. The 39-year-old fighter suffered back-to-back defeats against Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker in his last two bouts. Wilder famously fought British superstar Tyson Fury in three iconic contests between December 2018 and October 2021. However, with four defeats in his last five fights, Wilder will be desperate to prove he is still up there with the best in the world when he collides with Herndon on June 27 in Wichita, Kansas. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ established himself as one of the hardest hitters in the heavyweight division as he built up an impressive 40-0 professional record between 2008 and 2018. He pushed Fury to the limit during the Brit’s comeback fight for the WBC heavyweight title in December 2018, settling for a draw after ‘The Gypsy King’ dramatically got off the canvas in the closing stages. He followed that up with successful title defences against Dominic Breazeale and Luis Ortiz, but Fury outclassed him in their second and third fights to reclaim heavyweight gold. The American has struggled to recover from those defeats, beating Robert Helenius but losing to Zhang and Parker. Herndon has a professional record of 24 wins and five defeats ahead of the all-American clash. There had been talk that Wilder may retire after losing to Parker, but he insisted that he has more to give in an interview with TMZ. “The best is yet to come,” he said last November. “I had a lot of outside distractions that I had to get rid of. I took care of a lot of people and it got to the point where I couldn’t do it anymore. “I’ve got seven kids of my own, I can’t take care of everybody. Even the closest ones to me, I’ve been betrayed so many times. “It’s been a domino effect for the last five years. The thing about betrayal is it’s worse than heartbreak.”

Courts Jail 17 Internet Fraudsters in Benin City

Our Reporters4 weeks ago4 weeks ago04 mins

The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has secured the conviction and sentence of 17 internet fraudsters before Justices A.N. Erhabor and W. I. Aziegbemhin of Edo State High Courts, sitting in Benin City. The convicts are: Ekene Ezerioha, Ayeleso Ayodeji Richard, Prince Unity Igbinekaro, Marvelous Adebor, Osayande Oseh, Chukwuebuka James Edozie, Clinton Osayi Okojie, Chinedu Ugwu Kingsley, Emmanuel Ezeala, Isioma Christopher, Adebayo Ayomide, Ubaro Best, Junior Oboh, Chieye Goodluck, Lucky James Isioma, Jeremiah Okwuezuru Nwadiashi, and Destiny Grace. They were prosecuted on a separate one-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence, retention of proceeds of crime and possession of fraudulent documents. The charge against Ekene Ezerioha reads: “That you Ekene Ezerioha (m) on or about the 14th of March, 2025 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did have in your possession, documents which you knew or ought to have known contained false pretence, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 6 and 8 (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.” All the defendants pleaded “guilty” to their charge when they were read to them, prompting the prosecution counsel, F.A Jirbo, K Y. Bello, Isa K. Agwai, Faisal Ibrahim, Al-Amin Ibrahim Abdul, Bala-Ribah and Salihu Ahmed to pray the court to convict and sentence them accordingly, while counsel to the defendants pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, stating that they have become remorseful for their actions. Justice Erhabor convicted and sentenced Igbinekaro, Adebor, Oseh, Edozie, Okojie, Christopher, Best, Nwadiashi, and Grace to two years imprisonment, each or to pay N200, 000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) fine respectively, while he sentenced Richard, Kingsley, Ezeala, Goodluck and Isioma to three years imprisonment, each or to pay N200, 000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) fine respectively. On his part, Justice W.I. Aziegbemhin convicted and sentenced Oboh, Ayomide and Ezerioha to two years imprisonment each or to pay N400, 000 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira) fine, respectively. In addition to their sentences, all the convicts forfeited their phones, computers and money in their respective bank accounts to the federal government and undertook in writing to be of good behaviour henceforth. The convicts’ journey to the correctional centre began with their arrest in a sting operation by operatives of the Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC following intelligence that linked them to fraudulent internet activities.