Nepal has imposed travel bans on ousted prime minister KP Sharma Oli and four former senior officials as part of an investigation into deadly unrest earlier this month, the interior minister said Monday.
Youth-led protests that began on September 8 over a brief social media ban, economic hardship and corruption quickly morphed into nationwide fury after a deadly crackdown.
Two days of violence left at least 73 people dead, the parliament and government offices were burned down, and forced the government’s collapse.
In addition to Oli, travel bans have been placed on former home minister Ramesh Lekhak, former head of the National Investigation Department security agency, Hutaraj Thapa, and two other senior bureaucrats.
Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, who is leading the Himalayan nation until elections in March 2026, set up a commission to probe the violence.
The restrictions were recommended Sunday by the commission.
Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal told AFP on Monday that the ban is “already in effect.”
Commission member Bigyan Raj Sharma said in a statement on Sunday that the five men must obtain permission to even leave the Kathmandu Valley as they “may need to appear for investigation at any time”.
The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) estimates the private sector, including automobile, hotel and retail industries, endured losses worth $600 million.
Former prime minister Oli has blamed “infiltrators” for inciting bloodshed and alleges rifles used in the protests came from another source.
Ex- Manchester United captain, Wayne Rooney says the spirit and identity of Manchester United have disappeared, and he has no confidence in manager Ruben Amorim’s ability to turn the situation around.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC Sounds, United’s all-time leading goalscorer described the club as “broken” and admitted he now attends matches expecting them to lose.
According to BBC Sport on Monday, Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat at Brentford on Saturday meant they have collected 34 points from Amorim’s 33 league games in charge and have still to win successive matches.
The club are said to remain supportive of their head coach despite the damaging loss which left them 14th in the Premier League table.
But Rooney added that some current players “don’t deserve to wear the shirt”, the side “needs a new engine” and supporters are “waiting for the club to crumble”.
“I am not seeing anything which is giving me any confidence, there needs to be big changes in my opinion,” said the former England striker, who won five league titles during 13 years at Old Trafford.
“Manager, players, whatever that is. Whatever it takes to get Manchester Untied back,” Rooney said.
No fewer than 5,000 students of the University of Benin risk being barred from writing the second-semester examinations scheduled to commence on Monday, for failing to pay their school charges.
In a memo signed by the Registrar of the institution, Mr Ademola Bobola, the university announced the strict enforcement of its “no payment of school charges, no examination” policy, insisting that repeated reminders to defaulters had been ignored.
“The university management is in receipt of the list of students who have failed to pay their school charges despite repeated reminders.
“These students have also failed to subscribe to the students’ loans being provided by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND),” Bobola said.
The registrar said all efforts to encourage the affected students to either pay their fees or access the NELFUND facility had yielded no positive response.
“With the second-semester examination set to begin on Monday, Sept. 29, these students shall be barred from writing the examination if they fail to pay their school charges or subscribe to the students’ loan by NELFUND,” he said.
Bobola disclosed that the Senate had directed provosts, deans, directors, and heads of departments to publish the list of all defaulters by 8 a.m. on Monday.
According to him, this measure is to enable affected students to confirm their status and make last-minute payments before the examinations commence.
He added that an enforcement task force headed by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) had been set up to monitor and ensure strict compliance with the directive.
“Management expects full cooperation and compliance by all stakeholders to maintain the university’s high standards,” he stated.
Similarly, on April 10 2025, PUNCH Online reported that the Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, had begun and implemented a “no school fees, no exam” policy. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, disclosed this during a pre-first semester examination roadshow around the main campus in Port Harcourt.
Zeb-Obipi also warned students to resist the temptation of diverting the school fees given to them by their parents to gamble or related acts, thereby making things difficult for themselves and their sponsors.
American rapper Cardi B has made history as the only female rapper to debut her first two studio albums at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.
Her sophomore album, Am I The Drama?, debuted at the top spot with 200,000 equivalent album units in its first week, following the groundbreaking success of her debut project, Invasion of Privacy (2018), which also launched at number one.
The accomplishment was confirmed by Billboard on Sunday, in an official post on Instagram, which read, “ Cardi B scores her second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as ‘AM I THE DRAMA?’ debuts atop the tally. ”
“With 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States, according to luminate_data, it marks 2025’s biggest week for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman.”
“’AM I THE DRAMA?’ is Cardi B’s second full-length studio project, and follows her chart-topping debut, ‘Invasion of Privacy,’ in 2018.”
Beyond this historic feat, Am I The Drama? also recorded the biggest first-week sales of 2025 for a female hip-hop/R&B artist, fueled by massive streaming figures and strong physical sales from multiple vinyl and CD variants.
Cardi B is expected to embark on an arena tour in February 2026 to promote the album.
In addition to her chart-topping success, Cardi B also earned a Guinness World Record for the most drone deliveries in one hour. On September 19, 2025, she partnered with Walmart and Wing Drone Delivery to distribute 176 signed CDs of Am I The Drama? across the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area in Texas.
The official Guinness confirmation stated, “Most deliveries by UAV drones in one hour: 176, by @iamcardib, @AtlanticRecords, @Wing & @Walmart at multiple locations today across the Dallas–Fort Worth region, Texas, USA.”
The initiative marked a groundbreaking moment in music marketing — the first time an artist has tied a world record to an album release using drone technology. Cardi B described the rollout as “a special moment for my fans and a crazy new way to drop music.”
The Ogun State Government has berated Senator Gbenga Daniel over his criticism of Governor Dapo Abiodun following a stop-work order on the ongoing rehabilitation of the 260-metre Paddy Arikawe Oye-Igbimo Road in Sagamu.
The government described the senator’s comments as “reckless and misleading,” accusing him of deliberately distorting facts and inciting the public with false claims.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Kayode Akinmade, the state government said Daniel thrives on stirring controversy instead of respecting due process.
“Only a mind bent on mischief will describe adherence to due process as obstruction.
“The same contractor has since accepted the government’s recommendations, which makes Daniel’s claims even more misleading,” Akinmade stated.
The state government argued that Daniel remains the only federal lawmaker in Ogun State constantly embroiled in disputes over constituency projects.
“It is ironic that Senator Daniel, who spent years undermining state institutions while in power, now pretends to seek collaboration.
“A genuine statesman would comply with established processes rather than attempt to impose shoddy and unsafe engineering works on the people,” Akinmade said.
The state government further recalled what he described as Daniel’s history of disregard for the law, including a previous standoff over property verification in Sagamu.
“Daniel, who is currently under suspension by his party’s state executive, has made it a pastime to attack the government at every turn.
“He complains about roads, yet how many did he construct as governor? Meanwhile, the present administration has built over 1,000 kilometers of roads across the state,” the aide added.
He concluded that while the senator may continue his “media war,” the Abiodun administration would not compromise the rule of law.
“Daniel may continue to play to the gallery, but we will never endanger the public simply to satisfy the whims of a single individual,” Akinmade stressed.
PUNCH Online had reported that the face-off follows a September 17 letter by the Ogun Ministry of Works directing contractor Minim and Tonye Nigeria Limited to stop work on the road project for failing to obtain the requisite approvals.
Daniel’s camp, however, accused the state government of sabotage.
His media aide, Steve Oliyide, described the stop-work order as “counterproductive and premeditated acts to deny the people of the state from enjoying the fruits of good governance under President Tinubu.”
“This is not the first project the state government has stopped. The Sagamu-Aiyepe road already has a budgetary approval, signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and no sooner than the contractors were mobilised to site than the Ogun State government moved in,” Oliyide said.
He also cited similar clashes over projects in Ijebu Ode, alleging a deliberate attempt by the Abiodun administration to frustrate federal interventions in Ogun East.
“If the state government continues like this, they are just deliberately sabotaging the efforts of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu towards impacting the lives of the people positively.
“It is a sabotage of the Federal Government’s efforts and an attempt to portray the President in a bad light before the people,” Oliyide added.
The Federal Government on Sunday assured Nigerians that there would be no disruption in the supply of refined petroleum products, following concerns over the Naira-for-crude oil arrangement and disputes involving the Dangote Refinery.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance after a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Domestic Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency Initiative, the government stressed that energy security and stability in the downstream oil sector remained a top priority.
The committee, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, said the recent reports of a suspension of the Naira-for-crude oil deal by the Dangote Refinery had been “amicably resolved.”
The statement added, “For the avoidance of doubt, the committee reassured that the crude oil for the Naira initiative will continue. It also assured that all outstanding issues, particularly the dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and Dangote Refinery, are being addressed with urgency and in good faith.”
Also present at the meeting were the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Zacch Adedeji, who also chairs the Technical Committee; representatives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Afreximbank, and the Dangote Refinery.
The government insisted that Nigerians should not expect scarcity or price instability.
“The Federal Government remains fully committed to ensuring energy security, protecting consumers, and maintaining stability in the domestic petroleum products market,” the statement noted.
By addressing labour concerns and reaffirming the continuity of its local currency crude oil sales initiative, the committee sought to calm growing public fears of another fuel crisis.
The PUNCH earlier reported that the Dangote refinery said it has resumed the sale of fuel in naira.
In a memo sent to marketers on Saturday, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent, the refinery said this was due to the intervention of the naira-for-crude technical committee.
“Following the intervention of the Naira for Crude Technical Committee Chairman, we are pleased to inform you of the resumption of PMS sales in Naira commencing immediately.
“You may kindly proceed to place your orders in naira for both self-collection and free delivery of PMS to the earlier advised locations across the country. Thank you for your continued patronage,” the memo read.
In an earlier memo on Friday, the refinery announced the suspension of petrol sales in naira, effective from Sunday, September 28, 2025, citing the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocation as the reason.
However, the intervention of the Federal Government committee in charge of the naira-for-crude deal was said to have resolved the differences.
The PUNCH also reported that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria instructed its members nationwide to withdraw their services following the alleged mass dismissal of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery.
In a circular issued after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2025, and signed by General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation conventions by dismissing workers for joining the association.
The NEC alleged the refinery had replaced the dismissed staff with “over 2,000 Indians,” calling the action “an affront to all workers in Nigeria.”
To press its demands, PENGASSAN directed members in field locations to down tools from Sunday, and ordered a total nationwide shutdown across offices, companies, institutions, and agencies from Monday.
The NEC further announced 24-hour prayer vigils and appealed for government intervention, declaring the strike will continue until the dismissed workers are reinstated.
However, with the intervention of the Federal Government, the strike might be called off.
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria on Sunday placed its members on strike notice over what it tagged as “anti-worker” policies currently being implemented by the management of Dangote refinery.
The TUC also placed its members on alert for a nationwide strike should Dangote refinery fail to reinstate its sacked workers and issue full apology to its workers.
The TUC in the statement signed by its General Secretary, Dr Nuhu Toro, reads, “The TUC strongly condemns the recent anti-worker actions of the management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, particularly the unjust termination of workers for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of association and unionisation.
“We stand in full solidarity with the affected workers and with their union, our affiliate PENGASSAN, whose members have been victimised merely for declaring membership.
“Such actions amount to a direct assault on Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution and on Nigeria’s obligations under International Labour Organisation conventions.”
The TUC in the statement demanded, “Immediate and unconditional reinstatement of all affected workers; Public apology from Dangote management with firm assurances against future victimisation; An independent investigation involving the Ministry of Labour, ILO and stakeholders into the refinery’s labour practices.”
“Congress hereby places all affiliates on stand-by for a national industrial action if Dangote management fails to comply with these demands within a reasonable time.
“No corporation, regardless of size or wealth, will be allowed to trample on the dignity and rights of Nigerian workers. The TUC stands united and ready to act decisively in defence of our members and the Nigerian workforce.”
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has instructed its members nationwide to withdraw their services following the alleged mass dismissal of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery.
In a circular issued after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2025, and signed by General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation conventions by dismissing workers for joining the association.
The NEC alleged the refinery had replaced the dismissed staff with “over 2,000 Indians,” calling the action “an affront to all workers in Nigeria.”
PUNCH Online reports that this particular clash began when Dangote refinery, in a letter dated September 24, 2025, ordered the sacking of some staff over alleged sabotage that it said threatened the operational safety of the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility.
PENGASSAN put the number of sacked staff at around 800, and called on the labour unions, relevant government agencies, and other stakeholders to intervene, describing the matter as one of “urgent national importance.”
But Dangote refinery denied the mass sacking. Management said the company was conducting an internal reorganisation to improve efficiency and insisted that the majority of its workforce remained Nigerian.
PENGASSAN’s action, if fully observed, risks disrupting supplies to the refinery and could have broader implications for downstream operations linked to the plant.
European Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain will play their first-ever Intercontinental Cup final in Doha, Qatar, on December 17, FIFA announced on Sunday.
Their opponents will only be determined four days earlier in the final playoff, called the Challenger Cup.
This will pit Egyptian club Pyramids, the African champions, against the winner of the match between Central American champions Cruz Azul from Mexico and the future winner of the Copa Libertadores.
The South American tournament is currently in the semi-final stage and includes two Brazilian sides.
Palmeiras are up against LDU Quito of Ecuador, while Flamengo take on the Argentinian side Racing.
The Copa Libertadores final takes place on November 29.
From 1960 to 2004, the Intercontinental Cup pitted the champions of Europe and South America against each other.
In 2005, it was renamed the Club World Cup to include other continental champions, but that competition was relaunched this year as a quadrennial tournament featuring 32 teams, with Chelsea as the inaugural winners of the new format.
The Intercontinental Cup was relaunched in its new form last year when Real Madrid beat Mexican club Pachuca.
Nigerians may face a nationwide blackout from Monday as power generation companies have raised the alarm over an imminent shutdown of thermal plants following directives from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of the Association of Power Generating Companies, Joy Ogaji, raised the alarm over the imminent blackout in a WhatsApp message on Sunday.
She revealed that gas suppliers had issued notices to halt supply to thermal power stations in line with PENGASSAN’s strike resolution.
“Good day, all. Thermal GenCos have received notification from our gas suppliers to shut down our thermal power plants following directives from PENGASSAN. The Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company has specifically requested GenCos to comply,” Ogaji said in the post.
She warned that the development could plunge the country into darkness, as hydroelectric dams alone cannot sustain the national grid.
“Please all be notified of the imminent darkness, as hydros alone cannot sustain the system,” she added.
The warning comes hours after PENGASSAN announced that it would commence a nationwide strike on Monday to protest the dismissal of over 800 workers at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The oil workers’ union, after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, directed its members in all oil and gas installations to down tools until the sackings were reversed.
The action could cripple crude production, fuel supply, gas distribution and now electricity generation, worsening the hardship faced by Nigerians.
With thermal stations accounting for more than 70 per cent of Nigeria’s electricity supply, industry experts say the shutdown will trigger widespread outages, stretch hydro plants beyond capacity and heighten the risk of a nationwide system collapse.
As part of Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary celebration, the Federal Government held a special thanksgiving service on Sunday at the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja to offer prayers and give thanks for the nation.
The event drew top government officials and security chiefs, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, as well as their spouses.
Other notable guests included Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun, former Plateau State Governor, Senator Simon Lalong, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who led the service chiefs in attendance.
Service chiefs present included the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Emmanuel Ogala, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mrs Kemi Nandap and Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, among others.
The service came days after the government unveiled the official theme and some of the activities slated for the 2025 Independence celebrations.
This year’s anniversary is tagged “Nigeria @ 65: All Hands on Deck for a Greater Nation,” as announced by the Director of Information and Public Relations at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, in a statement on Wednesday.
“As part of activities to mark the 65th Independence Anniversary, the Juma’at Prayer and the Inter-Denominational Church Service will be held on Friday, 26th September at 1 pm and Sunday, 28th September at 10 am respectively, as well as the World Press Conference on Monday, 29th September at 10 am,” he said.
PUNCH Online had earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu, alongside former Heads of State, Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, is expected as a special guest at a national discourse convened by the Island Club, Lagos, to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary.
The event is slated for October 2, 2025, at the Peacock Hall, Lagos.
