The proposed Super Eagles friendlies against Venezuela and Colombia are now expected to be called off following the team’s qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup Playoffs.

Nigeria earned a place in the playoffs following a 4-0 victory over the Cheetahs of the Benin Republic.

The Super Eagles were due to tackle Venezuela on November 14th.

Éric Chelle’s side will face Gabon in the semi-final of the playoffs on Thursday, 13th November.

The African Union has announced that it had suspended Madagascar from its bodies with immediate effect until constitutional order is restored after a coup that ousted President Andry Rajoelina.

The group previously suspended several other member states after military coups, including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.

The uprising resulted in a military-backed coup that brought Rajoelina to power as the transitional leader of his Indian Ocean country.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) social policy manager, Muhammed Okorie, has revealed that Oyo State is the major focus of the organization among other states in the southwest, giving the proactiveness of the state government to the organization’s commitment.

Okorie disclosed this at a one-day stakeholder meeting held in Ibadan, calling the attention of the Oyo State government to out-of-school children, malnourished children, and poor hygiene in the state.

He affirmed that investment in children within their first one thousand days of existence has the highest returns.

The internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepened as the party’s National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, and National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, clashed openly at the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday. The dispute erupted during a hearing on a suit seeking to stop the party’s forthcoming National Convention. Both senior advocates disagreed over who has the constitutional authority to appoint legal representatives for the party.

The disagreement disrupted court proceedings, forcing Justice James Omotosho to call a short recess to allow reconciliation, but no resolution was reached.

Consequently, the judge adjourned the matter to Thursday, October 16, and approved the inclusion of Damagum, Ali Odefa, and Emmanuel Ogidi as defendants. The case, filed by three aggrieved PDP members, seeks to halt the National Convention scheduled for November 15th and 16th in Ibadan, where new national officers are expected to emerge.

Some legal practitioners in Ibadan have called for the establishment, reinforcement, and effective management of juvenile correctional homes across the country to ensure that minors are separated from hardened criminals.

Speaking in an interview with Dominion News, the lawyers expressed concern over the practice of keeping minors in adult correctional facilities, describing it as improper and harmful to the moral and psychological development of young offenders.

The practitioners, however, urged the government to prioritize the creation of more juvenile correctional centers and to ensure that existing facilities are properly managed to provide rehabilitation and reformation for young offenders.