News
Top Nigerians involved in illegal mining, funding banditry, terrorism —Alake
The Minister of Solid Mineral, Mr Dele Alake, has alleged that powerful Nigerians involved in illegal mining were responsible for other criminal activities and involved in sponsoring banditry and terrorism in the country.
Alake said this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals for the 2024 budget defence in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, a lot of banditry and terrorism are sponsored by illegal miners; they are not people who pick gold on the ground but powerful individuals in the country.
He said the majority of the illegal miners were not foreigners but added that foreigners could be seen as symptoms.
“Nigerians are those powerful people behind them; we are identifying them with both kynetic and non-kynetic means. We have encouraged those petty illegal miners to form cooperatives.”
He said the most disturbing aspect was that most of the foreigners engaged in illegal mining in the country had no proper immigration.
He said for mining to generate the requisite revenue, there was a need to have a formal structure that the multinational could deal with, just like the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd.
He, however, said that the approach of the ministry under his leadership would be different from NNPCL, adding that the structure being proposed for Nigeria Mining Cooperation would be primarily private sector-driven.
He added that “Nigeria will also have its equity, adding that this would mean that no government could destabilize the structure.
He said the conservative amount of minerals deposited in the country is over 700 billion dollars, adding that in Nigeria, we had not even accessed a quarter of what it has.
He urged the chairman of the committee to support the process, adding that this would help change mining in the country.
He also said that the host communities where mining activities take place across the country would be engaged to forestall the breakdown of laws and orders.
He pleaded with the committee to consider the amount budgeted for the ministry in the 2024 budget proposal.
“If we are given that amount of money, I can tell you that what the ministry will contribute will outweigh other ministries, including what we are deriving from oil.
“We can return trillions to the coffers of this country as revenue if we are given such a budget as proposed,” he said.
According to him, we have 44 minerals in high demand, but we have six that are in global demand.
He said Nigeria had the potential to become one of the destination hubs of the world’s economy through solid minerals.
He, however, said there was a need to sanitize the operating environment for investors.
The chairman of the committee, Rep. Gaza Gbefwi, said that the solid minerals sector remained the last hope for the country to attain the level of diversity it required.
He, however, said that the funds appropriated to the sector in the 2024 budget were grossly inadequate.
He added that the committee has taken proactive steps to put up motions and bills that would strengthen and reorganize the sector.
International News
Transfer: Real Madrid , Cucurella Reach Verbal Agreement
Chelsea reliable defender, Marc Cucurella may join Spanish giant, Real Madrid before the end of the current transfer window.if information from transfer journalist, Fabrizio Romano are anything to go by.
Romano In a latest transfer update, said Real Madrid has reached verbal agreement to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea.
“Verbal agreement in place between all parties, player too — he’s the left back wanted by Mourinho” the update read.
News
Hakimi, Vinicius Barred From Speaking Spanish At World Cup
FIFA has come under scrutiny after several high-profile players, including Achraf Hakimi and Vinicius Junior, were discouraged from speaking Spanish during media engagements at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.
The issue first surfaced ahead of Morocco’s Group C clash with Brazil when a Spanish-speaking journalist attempted to question Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi in Spanish.
Despite Hakimi, who grew up in Madrid and speaks the language fluently, indicating he was comfortable answering in Spanish, event officials reportedly insisted that questions be asked in English.
Hakimi attempted to reassure organizers that language would not be a barrier, but officials maintained that no Spanish translator was available for the session. A compromise was eventually reached, with the reporter asking the question in Spanish while Hakimi responded in English.
The controversy intensified during Brazil’s media session when Vinicius Junior was also interrupted while responding to a question in Spanish.
The Real Madrid forward, who is more comfortable speaking Portuguese or Spanish than English, was reportedly asked by organizers to switch languages.
Rather than continue in Spanish, Vinicius opted to answer in Portuguese before turning his attention back to Brazil’s World Cup preparations.
The incidents sparked widespread debate among journalists and fans, many of whom questioned why Spanish—a language spoken by millions across North America—was effectively restricted at a tournament being hosted largely in the United States.
According to Spanish media outlet El País, FIFA only provides Spanish-language translation services at World Cup press conferences involving Spanish-speaking nations such as Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
For all other teams, questions and answers are expected to be conducted either in English or the official language of the participating country.
The policy has generated criticism online, with many supporters arguing that multilingual communication should be encouraged at a global event like the World Cup.
The backlash was particularly strong in Vinicius’ case, as the Brazilian forward appeared visibly uncomfortable being asked to communicate in English.
The controversy overshadowed what was otherwise a highly anticipated encounter between Brazil and Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
With the issue now drawing international attention, FIFA may face increasing calls to review its media language guidelines as the tournament progresses.
News
It’s Illegal’…Falana’s Bombshell Indicts Govs, FG.
Human rights advocate, Femi Falana, has warned federal and state governments against negotiating with and rewarding terrorists.
According to Falana, the practice is illegal.
He stated this while delivering the keynote address at the Amnesty International Second Annual General Meeting in Abuja on June 13, 2026.
Falana claimed it is public knowledge officials of the Federal Government and some State Governments have been holding meetings and negotiating with terrorists and bandits, which has led to thousands of ‘repentant’ criminals being forgiven and given cash gifts of undisclosed sums of money.
Asserting that the “satanic Boko Haram sect and similar bodies have been proscribed” under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, Falana insisted that “their members and allies shall be prosecuted and not pampered and forgiven by the Nigerian State.”
Highlighting the legal consequences, he quoted Section 22 of the Act, stating: “A person who knowingly—(a) arranges, manages, assists in arranging or managing, participates in a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, (b) collects, or provides logistics, equipment, information, articles or facilities for a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, or (c) attends a meeting, which in his knowledge is to support a proscribed entity or to further the objectives of a proscribed entity, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of at least 20 years.”
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