Headlines
Arsenal Demolish Real Madrid in Three Goals Champions League Q/Final Thriller
Arsenal stormed to a stunning 3-0 win over Champions League holders Real Madrid as Declan Rice’s free-kick masterclass left the Gunners within touching distance of a place in the semi-finals.
Rice scored two majestic free kicks in the second half of the quarter-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Merino added Arsenal’s third goal before Real’s Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for kicking the ball away in the closing minutes to leave the Spanish giants in disarray.
The brilliance of Rice’s brace cannot be understated, with even Real keeper Thibaut Courtois — usually so inspired on Champions League nights — unable to get anywhere near the England mid-fielder’s thunderbolts.
Incredibly, Rice had never scored a free-kick in his career before the first of his missiles hit the back of the Real net.
It was no more than Arsenal deserved for a mature performance that exposed injury-hit Real in ruthless style.
Mikel Arteta’s men will travel to the Bernabeu for the second leg on April 16 as firm favourites to advance to a semi-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain or Aston Villa, who meet in their quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
The Gunners have not reached the Champions League semi-finals since 2009, but that target is now within their grasp after an evening that will go down as one of the most memorable in the club’s storied history.
Arteta had labelled the clash with Real as the “biggest night” of his career as he urged his players to write their own history by winning Arsenal’s first Champions League crown.
They rose to the challenge so successfully that even Arteta might have been surprised.
Arsenal trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by 11 points and look destined to finish as runners-up for a third successive season.
But the Champions League now offers Arteta genuine hope of a first major trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, providing they can finish the job in Madrid next week.
Beaten by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals last season, Arsenal’s only Champions League final appearance ended in defeat against Barcelona in 2006 — a run that included a last 16 victory over Real.
For Real, it was a chastening defeat as the 15-time European champions were punished for the flaws that had already seen them beaten 10 times in all competitions this term as they lag four points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Jude Bellingham was largely anonymous and Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior posed only sporadic threats after a promising start.
Vinicius Junior threatened in the opening stages, curling wide after Mbappe picked him out inside the Arsenal area.
Mbappe’s electric pace took him clear of the Arsenal defence in another lightning raid, but the France star shot straight at David Raya.
Arsenal showed no signs of being cowed by Real’s star-studded attack and Rice’s towering header from Jurrien Timber’s cross forced a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, who scrambed across to keep out Gabriel Martinelli’s effort from the rebound.
Mbappe lashed into the side-netting from an acute angle, but Real were unable to match Arsenal’s intensity in the second half and the Gunners deservedly took the lead in the 58th minute.
Rice stepped up 25 yards from goal and whipped a sublime free-kick around the Real wall and into the far corner.
It was a stunning strike that even former Real defender and set-piece maestro Roberto Carlos, watching from the Emirates stands, would have been proud of.
Arsenal almost struck again in a remarkable sequence that saw Courtois save Martinelli’s blast before Merino’s shot from the rebound was hacked off the line by David Alaba and Courtois again denied Merino.
Real were on the ropes and Rice landed another devastating blow in the 70th minute, lashing an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner from 20 yards as Courtois grasped at thin air.
As the ecstatic Arsenal fans roared “Declan Rice, we got him half praise”, that reference to his £105 million fee didn’t seem like hyperbole for once.
Arsenal weren’t finished yet and Merino put Arsenal in dreamland five minutes later with a clinical finish from 12 yards as the Emirates turned into a roiling red sea of celebration.
AFP
Headlines
ADC Presidential Primary: Hayatu-Deen Alleges Rigging, Withdraws from Results Announcement
One of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, says he will not attend the announcement of the party’s presidential primary election results, citing allegations of widespread vote rigging.
In a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, Hayatu-Deen expressed concern over reports of electoral irregularities from across the country.
The ADC aspirant noted that he witnessed some of the incidents.
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps,” the statement read.
The development comes amid keen competition for the ADC presidential ticket involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and Hayatu-Deen.
The ADC presidential primary election collation exercise will take place in Abuja. Results are expected from across the nation.
Ahead of the nationwide presidential primary held on Monday, the ADC had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative.
According to him, the party remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” Abdullahi stated.
The party also stressed that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
Headlines
You’re Not Different from APC, INEC, Amaechi Slams ADC, Rejects Presidential Primary Results
A former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the results of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, described the outcome of the exercise as “concocted results.”
He said he had earlier made it clear that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that about 80 percent of party members across the country were prevented from voting during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Governor of Rivers State accused the party of engaging in practices it had previously condemned in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to him, the ADC cannot criticize vote buying, rigging and manipulation of election results by others while allegedly engaging in similar acts during its own primary.
Amaechi added that the development was unacceptable and contrary to the ideals upon which the party was founded.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to bar former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election, effectively clearing the way for him to participate in the polls if he chooses to run.
Justice Peter Lifu, who delivered judgment in the matter, held that the suit instituted by Johnmary Jideobi lacked merit and amounted to an abuse of court process.
The court further ruled that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the suit, noting that he failed to show how Jonathan’s possible participation in the election directly affected his interest.
Justice Lifu consequently awarded a total cost of N21 million against the plaintiff — N20 million in favour of Jonathan and N1 million in favour of the Attorney General of the Federation.
The judge described the suit as frivolous and a waste of judicial time, particularly after previous courts had already dismissed similar cases on the same subject.
He cited earlier judgments in Andy Solomon v. Jonathan at the Federal High Court and Cyracus Njoku v. Jonathan at the Court of Appeal, aligning with the decisions and stating that he had “nothing else to add.”
Justice Lifu also expressed dismay that the plaintiff and his counsel continued with the suit despite being aware of the earlier judgments.
The suit, filed in October 2025, sought a determination on whether Jonathan remained constitutionally eligible to contest the presidency in 2027.
The plaintiff argued that Jonathan had exhausted the constitutional two-term limit under Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, having completed the unexpired tenure of late President Umaru Yar’Adua between 2010 and 2011 before serving a full four-year term after winning the 2011 presidential election.
Jideobi had asked the court to restrain Jonathan from presenting himself as a presidential candidate and to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing his name as a candidate in the 2027 election or any future presidential contest.
The plaintiff also sought an order directing the Attorney General of the Federation to enforce the requested injunctions if granted.
During proceedings, counsel to the plaintiff maintained that Jonathan had served more than twice in office and was therefore constitutionally barred from seeking another term as president.
Jonathan, INEC and the Attorney General of the Federation were listed as defendants in the suit.
