SERENA WILLIAMS FALLS TO 20-YEAR-OLD MAYA JOINT IN WIMBLEDON RETURN AFTER NEARLY FOUR-YEAR SINGLES ABSENCE. (PHOTO).

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 Serena Williams falls to 20-year-old Maya Joint in Wimbledon return after nearly four-year singles absence Serena Williams showed flashes of the power and precision that defined her Hall of Fame career in her return to professional singles tennis Tuesday, but ultimately fell short in a three-set opening-round loss at Wimbledon. The 44-year-old Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, was defeated 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 by 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint in a match that lasted 2 hours and 22 minutes on Centre Court. It marked Williams’ first singles appearance in nearly four years, since the 2022 U.S. Open. Williams still produced trademark moments, including powerful serves and heavy groundstrokes that once carried her to seven Wimbledon singles titles. But Joint, ranked 87th, absorbed the pace and proved steadier on the biggest points, repeatedly finding angles that pushed Williams out of position. “I don’t know what just happened, to be honest,” Joint said afterward. “I didn’t get ...

EFCC ARRESTS AVSEC INSPECTOR, TWO OTHERS FOR ALLEGED CASH, GOLD SMUGGLING IN KANO. (PHOTO). #PRESS RELEASE


 EFCC Arrests AVSEC Inspector, Two Others for Alleged Cash, Gold Smuggling in Kano


 The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested one Ali Baffa, an Inspector 1 with Aviation Security, AVSEC, and his accomplices, Aushabu Nasidi and Mukhtar Muhammad Dan Zaria at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, for alleged involvement in bulk cash and mineral resources smuggling.


The suspects were intercepted on Friday, June 11, 2026 during a routine surveillance operation by the Land and Property Fraud Section of the Kano Zonal Directorate, following a directive by the Executive Chairman that all Directorates intensify efforts to tackle smuggling of mineral resources and bulk cash at international airports.


Preliminary investigations revealed that Ali Baffa allegedly concealed 22.2 kilograms of unprocessed gold bars estimated at over N4,400,000,000 (Four Billion, Four Hundred Million Naira) in his trousers, with the intent to bypass security checks and hand over the precious minerals to overseas-bound passengers for illegal export out of Nigeria.


Further investigation led to the arrest of Aushabu Nasidi, who allegedly supplied the gold bars to Baffa. Upon arrest, Nasidi was found in possession of various foreign currencies, including: 3,000 Saudi Riyals, 40,000 Turkish Lira, 199.75 Kuwaiti Dinar, 20,700 Philippine Peso, 80 Australian Dollars, 310 Chinese Renminbi, 4,000 Algerian Dinar, 40 Hong Kong Dollars, 26,000 Hungarian Forint, and 1,000 Sudanese Dinar.


The investigation also led to the arrest of one Mukhtar Muhammad Dan Zaria who allegedly gave the gold bars to Nasidi. While being interviewed , DanZaria revealed to the Commission that he had smuggled an estimated 40.2 kilograms of gold from June 1 to June 11, 2026 using the same modus operandi.


All the suspects are currently in EFCC custody. They will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.

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