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Futbol

Juric Wants Southampton To Avoid 'worst Team' Tag

Southampton manager Ivan Juric has challenged his players to prove they are not "the worst team in the history of the Premier League". The Saints are bottom of the table, 17 points from safety and facing relegation, having won only nine points from 29 matches. Derby County hold the record for the lowest tally in Premier League history, finishing bottom on 11 points in 2007-08. "The team has to be competing and try to do our best. We have to be really motivated," said Juric, whose Southampton side host FA Cup semi-finalists Crystal Palace on Wednesday. "I don't want it to be that we are the worst team in the history of Premier League. "If we can be not the last on the table, we have to do our best, so in this moment, this is our goal. I think we are in good shape, we can do it and we will try to win the match." Southampton have lost their past five Premier League games and face one of the in-form teams in the Premier League, with Oliver Glasner's Palace winning four of their past five. Their 3-0 cup win over Fulham on Saturday was the Eagles' fifth victory in a row in all competitions. Juric added that Saints midfielder Will Smallbone will miss out against Palace because of a groin problem. Defenders Jan Bednarek and Taylor Harwood-Bellis are set to be involved, however, despite sustaining knocks while on international duty.

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News_Naija

Police Rescue Two Abducted Women In Edo

The Edo State Police Command on Saturday rescued two women who were kidnapped on April 14 at Oluoke Community, Iyamho, in Edo North. A statement by the spokesman of the command, Moses Yamu, named the two women as Esther Friday and Joy Iregbeyen. The statement noted that while the police were on the rescue mission, the kidnappers shot one of the women in the foot out of frustration. It, however, noted that the shot lady is responding to treatment. The statement read, “The Edo State Police Command rescued another two kidnapped victims on April 18, 2025, at about 21:15hrs demonstrating its commitment to tackle criminality in the State. “This is further to a case which was reported on April 14, 2025, at the Divisional Police Headquarters, Iyamho, where a woman and her sister were kidnapped. “In a swift response, the DPO, Anti Kidnapping team stationed at Edo North, and Operation Rescue in the company of vigilantes/hunters mobilised and went after the kidnappers to rescue the victims and arrest the kidnappers. “The resilience and determination of the operatives led to the rescue of the two women, Esther Friday (32 years) and Joy Iregbeyen (23 years) whom the kidnappers abandoned and ran away because of the mounting pressure by the security teams. “Unfortunately, the kidnappers shot one of the women in the foot out of frustration, but she is currently responding to treatment.” The statement further held that the husband of one of the women was shot dead on the day of the kidnapping. “There was a shooting where the woman’s husband was fatally injured. “The injured man was rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor on duty,” the statement further read. The statement further conveyed the assurance of the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, to curb further crime in the state.

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News_Naija

Police Arrest Landlady As New Tenants Abscond With Four Children

There is tension in Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State as four children were reportedly abducted on Sunday allegedly by child traffickers. PUNCH Metro gathered that two of the children, identified as Ebube and Miracle, are of the same parents. The incident, it was gathered, occurred at the Umuokwe quarters of the community, with residents pointing accusing fingers at three women who had secured an emergency accommodation in the neighborhood. Community sources alleged that the women lured the children from their homes on the pretence of buying biscuits for them from a shop in the area. “It was when the children could not be seen around the compound that neighbours expressed concern. “By the time the neighbours visited the ladies’ apartment, the room was empty as neither the occupants nor the children could be found,” sources stated. When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the State Command, SP Bright Edafe on Sunday confirmed the incident, adding that landlady of the compound has been arrested and in detention. He said, “The children were abducted three days after the women rented the apartment. “It is true; the problem is that there is no link. They just came and said they wanted to rent an apartment and the landlady gave it to them with no details, no name, no phone number, no agreement and after three days they carried four children. “The landlady has been arrested because her actions are suspicious.”

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News_Naija

NDLEA Nabs Drug Lord Supplying Bandits

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Sunday said its operatives arrested no fewer than 10 suspects during various operations across the country recently. A statement by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, listed the suspects as including a suspected supplier of illicit substances to bandits identified as Muhammad Mohammed. He was arrested in Kano, while another suspect, Mohammed Abdulaziz, was arrested with 68 blocks of skunk. He stated, “In Kano, a 22-year-old supplier of illicit substances to bandits, Muhammad Mohammed, has been arrested by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bichi-Kano Road while heading to Katsina with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection tied to his thigh and private part with Sellotape. “He was intercepted on Sunday, April 13, while another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was nabbed the same day at Research Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa, Kano, with 68 blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 30kg.” Babafemi added that “not less than 557.2kg of skunk, 5.6kg of methamphetamine and 29.8 grammes of heroin were recovered from a house along Major General Isaiah Allison Street, Opolo, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where four suspects were arrested when NDLEA operatives raided the premises on Wednesday, April 16. “The four suspects arrested during the raid include: Sarimiye Suwa Kurtis, 46; Roland Prosper, 34; Sarimiye Tare Paul, 45; and Fidelis Ugbesla, 46.” Babafemi said that a driver was arrested after its operatives recovered about 1,100kg of skunk from a delivery van in Lagos, while one Ike Ani was arrested in Kaduna at a hideout with 31,950 pills of Tramadol 225mg and Diazepam. The NDLEA spokesperson stated that three suspects, Abubakar Ibrahim, 50; Mustapha Aliyu, 32; and Bashar Lawali, 28; were arrested in connection with the seizure of 97kg of skunk concealed in sacks of charcoal in Kebbi. “A 48-year-old, Okafor Marcel, was nabbed with 11.5kg of skunk at Abatete, Anambra State, while NDLEA operatives in Osogbo, Osun State, on Tuesday, April 15, arrested Ajala Mercy, 27, with 43 litres of skushi, a mixture of blackcurrant, cannabis, and opioids, recovered from her room at Dada Estate, Halleluyah area of the state capital,” he said. Furthermore, he disclosed that two cannabis farms in Egbeta Forest, Ovia North East LGA, Edo State were destroyed. The farms were found to contain 3,717.8625kg of psychoactive plant on 1.487145 hectares, and 136.5kg of processed cannabis was recovered. “At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, a suspect, Basorun Usman Kayode, 40, who had been at large for two years, was arrested by NDLEA officers in connection with the seizure of 107kg of Loud imported from Canada in 2023, while another suspect, Dauda Yakubu, who distributes illicit drugs within the seaport community, was arrested by a team of operatives on Monday, April 14,” Babafemi added. Furthermore, NDLEA operatives intercepted 500 grammes of cocaine concealed in the pages of religious books and bound for Saudi Arabia. He said the illicit drug was intercepted on April 15, at a courier company located in Lagos State. He added that 2.8 kilogrammes of cannabis and a strain of Loud were intercepted at another courier firm in Lagos on the same day. Babafemi said, “Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted a shipment of cocaine concealed in 20 sets of religious books going to Saudi Arabia. “The cocaine consignment, consisting of 20 parcels with a total weight of 500 grammes and buried in the pages of the religious books, was uncovered at a courier company in Lagos on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, when NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation were searching through export cargoes going to Saudi Arabia at the logistics firm. “At another courier company the same day, NDLEA officers intercepted five parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 2.8 kilogrammes, hidden in a carton coming from the United States of America.”