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Partey Ruins Eagles Party As Ghana Beat S’Eagles To W’Cup Ticket

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A poor display by the Super Eagles at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja Tuesday ensured Ghana’s Black Stars qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on the away goal rule after both sides played out a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their final play-off faceoff.

The Black Stars held the Eagles 0-0 in Kumasi on Friday, but they booked the ticket to Qatar after Thomas Partey’s opener was canceled out by a William Troost-Ekong penalty, but the Nigeria captain’s effort did not eventually count, as the visitors danced their way to the Middle East.

Eagles coach Austin Eguavoen made four changes to the team that earned a goalless draw at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi Friday, with Ademola Lookman on for Moses Simon, while Dennis Simon replaced the injured Samuel Chukwueze, Frank Onyeka taking the place of Kelechi Iheanacho and Calvin Bassey made his full debut ahead of Zaidu Sanusi.

Despite the Eagle’s bright start in front of a fully packed 60,000 capacity Abuja stadium, the Black Stars took the lead through captain Thomas Party in the 11th minute, the Arsenal midfielder unleashing a fierce low drive, which squeezed through the diving Francis Uzoho’s hands.

Nigeria began to mount pressure on its opponents immediately after going behind and began to carve out chances in search of the equalizer.

The three-time African champions had a penalty disallowed in Kumasi by VAR after the referee had initially blown for a penalty, but in the second leg on Tuesday, they were rewarded, after Ademola Lookman was brought down inside the box.

Captain William Troost-Ekong converted the resultant penalty kick, coolly sending goalkeeper Joseph Wollacott the wrong way to draw level in the 22nd minute and send home fans at the packed stadium into a frenzy.

Striker Victor Osimhen thought he had given the Eagles the lead in the 36th minute after the Napoli man met a long-range pass from Leon Balogun near the halfway line and bullied his way past his markers and Wollacott, but VAR ruled the goal for offside.

The Eagles were dominant, boasting 65 percent of the ball possession to Ghana’s 35, but they failed to convert their chances with Osimhen virtually isolated upfront.

Ghana made three substitutions just before the start of the second half, with Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, Andy Yiadom, and Elisha Owusu coming on for Abdul Issahaku, Idrissu Baba, and Jordan Ayew respectively. Eguavoen also brought on Abdullahi Shehu for Frank Onyeka, who copped an injury.

Emmanuel Dennis almost gave the hosts the lead in the 54th minute after he rose highest to head a looping corner from Lookman but missed narrowly.

With 30 minutes to play, Moses Simon came on for Lookman as Nigeria continued their search for the lead and tension heightened at the Abuja stadium, as the clock ticked, with the Eagles trying in vain to break down the resilient Ghana defense.

Osman Bukari, who had only spent less than five minutes on the pitch, almost put the visitors in front for the second time in the game but fired his effort marginally wide.

With just 13 minutes left, Eguavoen brought on experienced duo Ahmed Musa and Odion Ighalo but it was too little too late as the Black Stars held on to grab Africa’s first ticket to the World Cup in Qatar.

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US Court Sends British-Nigerian To Seven Years In Jail Over $5m Cyber Fraud

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Oludayo Adeagbo, a British-Nigerian, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

According to the US Department of Justice, Adeagbo, who also goes by John Edwards and John Dayo, conspired with others to steal over $3 million from various entities in Texas, including local government bodies, construction companies, and a Houston-area college.

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators also defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.

The case began in August 2022 when Adeagbo and two other Nigerian citizens, Donald Echeazu, 42, and Olabanji Egbinola, 44, were extradited from the United Kingdom (UK), where they had been residing, to face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The US Department of Justice stated that the offences were committed in North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

On April 8, Adeagbo pleaded guilty in two cases against him in North Carolina and Texas for participating in a business email compromise scheme, which is also referred to as a “cyber-enabled financial fraud” scheme.

A business email compromise scheme can be initiated by scammers creating fake accounts that mimic companies a business regularly deals with.

Court records revealed that Adeagbo and his co-conspirators gathered information about significant construction projects across the United States, including a multi-million-dollar project at a university in North Carolina.

“To execute the scheme, Adeagbo, Echeazu, and others registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the university’s project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company,” the Department of Justice said.

“Using the fake email address, the fraudsters deceived and directed the university to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account controlled by an individual working under the direction of Adeagbo and his co-conspirators.”

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators employed the same tactics in Texas, targeting local government entities and universities by impersonating construction companies. They stole over $3 million from the scheme, bringing their total haul to $5 million.

Adeagbo has been ordered to pay $942,655.03 in restitution and will serve seven years in prison.

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Nigerian-American Oye Owolewa Re-Elected To US Congress

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Oye Owolewa, a Nigerian-American Democrat, has been re-elected as the shadow representative for the District of Columbia (DC).

Owolewa, a PhD graduate from Northeastern University in Boston, made history in November 2020 when he became the first Nigerian-American elected to Congress.

He secured 164,026 votes, or 82.84 percent of the total votes cast in DC.

His role, while not officially recognized by the US government as a full member of Congress, is to advocate for the district’s interests, particularly its bid for statehood.

On Thursday, Owolewa expressed his gratitude to DC voters via a post on X, thanking them for their continued support.

“Thank you DC again for giving me chance to serve. I also want to thank the organizations that have supported, partnered with and endorsed me,” he wrote.

While shadow representatives like Owolewa do not have voting power in the US House of Representatives, they play a key role in pushing for recognition and state-level advocacy for DC residents, who are otherwise disenfranchised at the federal level.

Owolewa has consistently championed the cause of DC statehood, which has become a central focus of his work.

The re-election took place on November 5, the same day as the US presidential election.

In that election, former President Donald Trump defeated Vice-President Kamala Harris, securing over 270 electoral votes to win a second term.

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Joe Biden Urges Americans To Accept Trump’s Victory, Promises Peaceful Transition

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United States President Joe Biden has urged Americans to accept the victory of Republican Party candidate Donald Trump in the presidential election.

On November 6, Trump won the presidential election after surpassing the magic number of 270 electoral college votes.

Trump defeated Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party, who received 219 electoral college votes.

Harris has congratulated Trump on his electoral victory.

During a speech on Thursday at the White House Rose Garden, Biden said, “We accept the choice the country made.”

“I know for some people, it’s time for victory to state the obvious. For others, it’s a time of loss,” the US president said.

“Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other.

“I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbour only when you agree.

“I will do my duty as president. I’ll fulfil my oath and honour the Constitution. On January 20, we will have a peaceful transfer of power here in America.

“Remember, defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dream is calling for you to get back up.

“The America experiment endures. We are going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged. We need to keep going. Above all, we need to keep the faith.”

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