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At just 17, Labaran Majeed Alidu is already making history in Ghanaian football after taking on the captaincy of Vision FC in the Ghana Premier League.

Born on February 24, 2009, Alidu has emerged as one of the league’s most promising young defenders and is recognised as the youngest player to captain a Ghana Premier League side.

His appointment is particularly remarkable given the demands of leading a senior professional team at an age when many players are still competing in youth football.

Alidu has been a key part of Vision FC’s commitment to developing young talent, earning valuable experience in Ghana’s top-flight league while taking on increasing responsibility within the squad.

His progress has also been recognised by the club. At Vision FC’s end-of-season awards, Alidu was named Young Player of the Season, highlighting his rapid development and growing importance to the team.

The teenage defender featured regularly for Vision FC during the 2025/26 season, further strengthening his reputation as one of Ghana’s emerging young footballers.

Beyond his defensive abilities, Alidu’s leadership qualities have set him apart. Wearing the captain’s armband at 17 represents a significant vote of confidence from the club and places him in a unique position to develop both as a player and a leader.

Vision FC’s willingness to give young players opportunities at senior level has provided Alidu with a platform to test himself against experienced professionals and accelerate his development.

His breakthrough could also serve as a model for Ghana’s youth development system, demonstrating the potential rewards of giving talented youngsters meaningful opportunities in the domestic league.

With much of his career still ahead of him, Alidu will now be hoping to build on his historic breakthrough, improve his game and establish himself as one of Ghana’s leading young defenders.

For now, his remarkable rise has already secured him a place in Ghana Premier League history.

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A crocodile handler has died after being attacked by a crocodile while working inside an enclosure at a wildlife park in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

The worker, whose identity has not been released, was attacked at Adventure Park on Saturday, September 5, while reportedly attempting to feed a crocodile.

He was rushed to 3 Mile General Hospital for treatment but succumbed to his injuries at about 7am on Sunday, September 6.

Footage of the horrifying incident circulated on social media, showing the injured worker clinging to the edge of a pool as bystanders desperately tried to assist him.

The crocodile appeared to have its jaws locked around the man’s legs while a person outside the enclosure used a pole in an attempt to help free him. Another individual was also seen supporting the victim as onlookers gathered around the enclosure.

An eyewitness, Gibson John, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the attack occurred as the handler approached the crocodile with a chicken.

“He brought the chicken to the fence and the crocodile attacked the person and tried to bring him into the pool,” John said.

He said he contacted St John Ambulance after witnessing the attack but claimed the crocodile kept hold of the man’s legs for more than an hour before emergency responders arrived.

According to John, security guards at the park did not have firearms and instead gave the victim a small iron rod to use while they waited for the police and ambulance crew.

“He was in severe pain but he couldn’t scream,” John said, describing the victim’s condition during the ordeal.

“The only thing I could hear him say was, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’”

John said he later learned that the victim had lost a leg before he was taken to hospital.

The deceased worker was reportedly from the Western Islands in northern Papua New Guinea and had worked at the wildlife park for about two years.

Following the tragedy, Adventure Park has been closed indefinitely, while colleagues who witnessed the attack are reportedly mourning the handler at a funeral home.

Authorities are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatal attack.

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Six underage children abducted by a suspected child-stealing and human trafficking syndicate have been confirmed dead in captivity, the Oyo State Police Command has disclosed.

The command also announced the rescue of 17 children and the arrest of seven suspects following an intelligence-led investigation into a criminal network allegedly involved in the stealing, trafficking and concealment of children across state lines.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, CP Abimbola Olugbenga, disclosed this on Monday at a press briefing held at the Police Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan.

He said, “The investigation began with a petition dated July 29, 2026, submitted by Adejoke Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, of Sogade Area, Ariyo, Ibadan, over allegations bordering on conspiracy, cyberbullying, threat to life and defamation of character. The petition was subsequently assigned to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad on August 3.

“While detectives were examining the circumstances surrounding the petition, their attention was drawn to the disappearance of a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on June 29. The child had accompanied his father to his grandfather’s family compound for the festival, while Popoola had arrived two days earlier to participate in preparations for the event.”

The commissioner said Popoola offered to carry the child during the event, after which both she and the child disappeared from the venue. The matter was subsequently reported at the Atiba Police Divisional Headquarters in Oyo Town.

“Pictorial and video materials from the event showed Popoola carrying the missing child, while digital trails and statements obtained from persons connected to the event further established that she was with the child around the time of his disappearance,” he said.

Popoola was arrested on August 4 and, according to the commissioner, admitted attending the masquerade festival and subsequently leaving with the missing child. Her statement, Olugbenga said, provided the first major breakthrough into what investigators discovered to be a wider criminal network.

The suspect allegedly disclosed that she had been involved in the stealing of more than 15 children, aged between two and seven years, from churches, parties and other event venues within and outside Oyo State. She also reportedly identified one Adekanbi Janet, also known as Hosanna, as her partner in the alleged criminal enterprise.

Adekanbi was subsequently traced to Mowe, Ogun State, where police rescued four children aged between two and four years from her custody and recovered two pregnant young women. The commissioner said Adekanbi admitted knowing Popoola for about 10 years in connection with the alleged stealing and sale of children, although she denied having custody of Ifakunle.

According to him, Adekanbi further disclosed that some of the stolen children were kept in custody pending their sale, while the pregnant women were allegedly cared for until delivery. Information obtained from her subsequently led detectives to the location of Ifakunle, who was rescued in the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.

The investigation later extended beyond Oyo State. Olugbenga said detectives travelled to Agbor, Delta State, on September 2, where four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were rescued from their suspected buyers. Two suspects, identified as Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested and allegedly confessed to involvement in the illicit business.

The development, he said, confirmed the interstate dimension of the criminal network and showed that children were being moved outside Oyo State as part of the alleged criminal enterprise. The commissioner further disclosed that the investigation uncovered an alleged ritual dimension to the activities of the syndicate.

One of the suspects allegedly confessed that whenever a child died while in their custody, the body would be sold to ritualists. The disclosure reportedly led to the arrest of Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, who the police said confessed to their alleged involvement in using the bodies for ritual purposes.

The development came against the backdrop of a chilling testimony attributed to one of the principal suspects, who allegedly told investigators that she had stolen 13 children before her arrest. In the testimony, the suspect, nicknamed Orente, reportedly said she would visit homes and, whenever she found nobody around, take a child.

Asked how much the children were sold for, she mentioned amounts ranging from N500,000 to N600,000. She also claimed to have operated the business since October 2024. The suspect allegedly described how children could be taken from places where traditional or spiritual activities were being held, including masquerade festivals, by gaining the confidence of parents.

In one account, she reportedly said she would tell parents of children with disabilities that she could help heal them before taking the children away.

The six deceased children were identified as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, 2; Greatness Adeagbo, 5; Sainat Amoo, 2; Taiwo Usman, 2; Daniel Solomon Olayinka, 7; and Miracle Olaniyi, 4.

The 17 rescued children are Ifakunle Ifagbenro, 3; Musibau Olasupo, 5; Sulaimon Osamo, 7; Murina Fidaus, 3; Aminat Yusuf, 3; Taiwo Olamilekan, 3; an unnamed nine-day-old male infant; Rafiat Waheed Babalola, 2; Quwiyat Alade, 5; Rejoice Divine, 3; Alhaji Divine, 5; Eniolorunda, 3; Victoria, 3; Isoma Prince, 3; Roqeeba, 4; Boluwatife Odedeyi, 3; and Ireoluwa Elizabeth Olapade, 7.

The commissioner appealed to parents and guardians who had lost their children in recent times to visit the Police Command Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.

He said the command was working with other security and government agencies to uncover the full structure of the alleged network, locate other missing children, establish the circumstances surrounding the reported deaths and ensure that anyone found culpable was brought to justice.

Olugbenga urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report cases of missing children to the police without delay.

He particularly cautioned parents and guardians to exercise care when dealing with individuals who present themselves as traditional or spiritual healers, especially where such persons seek to separate children from their families or take them to undisclosed locations.

The commissioner also appealed to members of the public with credible information that could assist the investigation to contact the police, assuring them that such information would be handled professionally and, where necessary, confidentially.

He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting children and other vulnerable persons, dismantling criminal networks and ensuring that justice was served in accordance with the law.