Goods worth millions of naira were, on Friday night, April 29, 2016, destroyed as fire gutted the popular Ogbegonogo Market, the largest market in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Our reporter witnessed traders were seen wailing as the inferno consumed sections of the market before the arrival of the State Fire Service officials in company of security agents.

The inferno started at the Umuaji line at about 7:00 pm and lasted for about two hours, destroying over 30 shops while wares valued at millions of naira were burnt to rubbles.

It was gathered that the fire started when the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) restored power to the area, when one of the cables sparked fire and spread to other parts of the markets.

The fire left behind tears on the faces of the traders as they wailed uncontrollably having lost their goods in the face of the challenging economic situations in the country.

Fire service fighters, who later arrived, were seen battling the inferno while men of the Nigerian police force were seen controlling traffic and ensuring that hoodlums do not take advantage of the situation to loot shops.

Shop owners, including pregnant women, were also seen running helter skelter to salvage their goods and shops from destroying while others stood helpless watching the fire ravaging the shops.

A shop owner, who simply identified himself as Emeka, told our correspondent that he just returned from Aba market where he spent close to a million to purchase goods to stock his shop.

Another shop owner, Mrs. Mary Ejiofor who deals on expensive clothing materials, told our correspondent, “Where will I start from, now that schools have resumed and my husband just paid huge amount as rent”. She said she has lost all that she stocked in her shop.

As at the time of filing this report on Friday night, traders were still counting their losses while men of the fire service and the police were still on ground battling to put the situation under control.

Love overtures of a suspected burglar, Samson Ugbusun, to the daughter of his victim (name withheld), has led to the arrest of the suspect by the police in Benin, Edo state.
Ugbusun, a 28-year old mason, allegedly broke into the home of his unsuspecting victim at Etete, in Oredo local government area of the state, where he stole two mobile phones.

Not satisfied with his loot, the suspect, using the phone number of his victim’s daughter he saw on one of the phones he stole, went ahead to invite her to ‎spend a night with him in his apartment.

The girl allegedly fell to the randy suspect’s amorous overtures, visited him and spent a night with
him in his apartment.

She however disclosed the whereabouts of the suspect to her mother, who in turn, reported at the Etete Police Division, which eventually led to his arrest.‎



The burglar who hails from Ikpoba Okha local government area of the state‎, narrated how he was arrested to journalists at the State Police Command Headquarters in Benin.
“I stole handsets at Etete, through the window around 11:00 pm. I removed the handset through the window of the house after tearing the net. This is my first time.
“I saw her (victim’s daughter) number on the phone I stole. I called the girl and told her that I love her. She came and spent a night with me and went back to school.
“When she came to my place, she told her mother my address and everything; that was how they got me,” he said. ‎
Ugbusun who blamed his crime on family problem, added that he stole the mobile phones‎ to enable him raise the sum of N800,000 for his late father’s burial.
“It was due to family problems. My father has a house and my family (members) are trying to push me so that I would leave the house for them‎. They said that if I don’t bury my father, I can’t claim ownership of the house.
“I wanted to sell the phones on the streets. But unfortunately, they caught me and I returned the phones back to the owners. I regret it,” he said.
‎The State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Osifo, who confirmed the arrest, said that suspect would soon be charged to court, as a prima facie case of burglary and stealing had been established against him.
“Samson Ugbusun specialises in stealing from unsuspecting victims. He can steal handsets as if he had some powers to do so. Luck ran against him when he opened the window of the complainant at night.
“Constructively, he broke in and pulled the handsets with a long stick, picked it from the window. The occupant raised and alarm and he was subsequently arrested. He has confessed to the crime, including other crimes he has committed before.‎
“Very soon, he will be arraigned in court because a prima facie case of burglary and stealing is established against him; he will not go unpunished,” Osifo added.

Oluwaseyi Babatola, 26 year old secondary school leaver burnt his ex lover, her mother, kids and uncle because she died him sex.

He revealed that he is now been haunted by the spirits of the children he murdered.

Speaking to Punch in Abuja, stated that he was disturbed by the thoughts of the two children that died along with their grandmother, mother and uncle, when he set their apartment on fire on April 15, 2015, at Sabongari, Bwari, in the Federal Capital Territory.


Oluwaseyi Babatola

The fire consumed the whole building, including the apartment of the Babatolas, and also injured the suspect.

Babatola, who is being detained by the FCT Special Anti-Robbery Squad, identified his victims as Janet Isuawa; her sons, Samuel and Osaze; her cousin, Taphael; and Janet’s mother.

Babatola, a mobile phone technician, stated that he had wanted to commit suicide after setting the family on fire, but was dissuaded by his younger brother, James, who asked him to report the incident to the police.

Explaining what led to the tragedy, the suspect said he started dating Janet, a divorcee, sometime ago, adding that he supported her and the children financially.

According to him, the relationship developed problems after he demanded sex, noting that each time he asked for sex, Janet would turn him down and taunt him.

Babatola said matters came to a head on April 12 when Janet informed him that his mother had told her that he suffered from hernia and therefore could not date him.

He said, “Janet said my mother told her that I suffer from hernia, and that she could not date me; she called me a ‘mugu’ (fool), and said she had chopped my money. So, I went to where she was charging the phone I bought for her and took it.

“She attacked me and bit my chest, and as I struggled to free myself from her grip, her cousin, Taphael, came in and pushed me down and held me there while she beat me with her fists. After I left the house, Janet’s younger sister called me on the telephone and abused me, saying they would deal with me if I come to the house again.”

Babatola stated that he moved to an area called Arab Road in Bwari, where he stayed with a friend, adding that he kept getting telephone calls from Janet’s sister, who said he would be dealt with if he went back to the house.

“On the night of April 15, around 11pm, I went to the house and found that the gate was locked. I scaled the fence into the compound. I went towards Janet’s room and saw her sleeping, as the window was opened because there was no power supply. I went to the bathroom, where she kept a gallon of fuel and poured it into the room through the window; the room caught fire from a lighted lantern,” he said.

He further explained that he headed for the nearby bush to kill himself after coming to his senses.

“I headed for the bush to hang myself, but my phone suddenly rang and my brother told me that our house just got burnt; I told him I did it and that I was about to commit suicide. He said I should not, and persuaded me to report to the police,” Babatola added.

The technician said every night, he remembered how he used to relate with Janet’s two sons, noting that he had not been able to erase their memories from his mind.

“I can’t get them off my mind, they haunt me every time; I thought it was only Janet that was in the room, I didn’t know the children were there. I thought they had gone for a vigil with their grandmother who attended vigil every Thursday,” he said.

A senior police officer said Babatola did not know that he had killed all the family members, until he saw their charred corpses the next morning.

Last night Wizkid hopped on private jet to Freetown the capital of Sierra Leone for a sold out stadium concert. The Star boy was welcomed to the country by the President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma, who invited the pop star to his home. He was also lynched by a crowd of fans who were at the airport to welcome him to their country. The 25 year old singer revealed midnight that he was welcomed to the city by the president, Ernest Bai Koroma.
He wrote:

"With the Hon president of Sierra Leone!! Thank u for welcoming me sir! Now about to shut down the stage!! ”

Musician Seun Kuti shared a clip from Yesterday's daily time nespaper where and ad was placed by the police force for a wanted person. The ad identifies the lady as Chiyeaka Immaculata Onwuzurike and is wanted for engaging in bisegxwal activities. The ad has caused a lot reactions from people as a lot think Nigeria is suffering from misplaced priority. A lot also think that  this will give the lady an opportunity to seek asylum in more advanced countries.

French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Adrian has said the Nigerian military deserves to be lauded for bravery and courage so far shown in the fight against Boko Haram.
He noted that its successes was a source of hope to France that terrorist’s organizations plotting against the country would be defeated.

The minister made the disclosure in Abuja during his visit to Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Mansur Mohammed Dan Ali.

According to him, “I am pleased with the cooperation between the Nigerian Defence Ministry and the French Ministry of Defence. I will like to salute the bravery and courage of the Nigerian Forces in the fight against Boko Haram. I will be visiting the headquarters of the Multi National Joint Task Force in Ndjamena which is also headed by a Nigerian General, to see how things are going and can be improved upon.”

Continuing Le Drain said, “The fight against the barbaric organization, Boko Haram in Nigeria is the same fight that we have in France because these terrorists groups that are hitting Nigeria are the same that we have in France.

“The second phase that we are looking into is about maritime insecurity. We are extremely happy to help Nigeria in this area which is going to be a much longer term effort in order to guarantee security in the Gulf of Guinea”.

In his address, the Minister of Defence Mansur Mohammed Dan-Ali, said the visit of the French minister had made a very big impact “on our Defence cooperation with France.”

“If you remember, our President was in Paris and he also went to neighboring countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroon, this is to strengthen cooperation between us and our neighboring countries; and France has a great influence on these countries and that is why we are looking forward to a fruitful defence relations with France.

“Nigeria will benefit in the sense that as we are fighting terrorism in connection with France and other neighboring countries, it will give us an impact in controlling or ending terrorism within our sub region and the world at large”, he stated.



On the role of France, he said, “Of course, the cooperation with France will help in mobilizing more support from Francophone West African countries. You will also recall that we have the Multi National Joint Task force and it is being sponsored by the neighboring countries of Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Benin and other countries in the region.

“France has great influence on these countries and it has a big impact on what we are doing in this region. Remember that Lake Chad is a strong agricultural belt and our people depend on it for farming, fishing and other business ventures, I am assuring you that the new France-Nigeria defence cooperation would help in addressing some of the issues in the Chad basin”.

The author of best selling novel  “Beast of No Nation” which was also adapted to a hit movie starring Idris Elba has called out a mobile policeman in Lagos for attacking him.

Uzodinma Iweala who is also the son of former minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was assaulted in traffic yesterday by another driver and its occupants.

The author then stated that the occupants of the car sent a mobile policeman to threaten & slap him. According to Uzodinma, the car owner tried to overtake him on a one-lane road, and for refusing to grant him that access, he had his mobile police officer assault and threatened to slap him.



He wrote on his Instgram page,
Please help me find the owner of this car who was trying to overtake me on a one lane road and had his mobile police officer come and punch a dent in my door and threaten to slap me. Your being an “official” does not give you the right to destroy my property for no reason after doing the wrong thing in traffic. Please share. This person should be ashamed. You will pay for the damage done to my car. #govtgonewild“





Nigerian/American actress & Chris Rock’s boo Megalyn Echikunwoke was shocked to read the news and expressed her concern for Uzodinma on his post.

Gu Ming, a college professor in China has been suspended after giving his students a rather controversial test during their final exam.
 
According to the man, in a bid to prepare them for real life, he asked his students to gulp down glasses of baijiu, a Chinese liquor, grading them based on how much they were able consume.
 
“You’re all going to do sales jobs after graduation, drinking baijiu is the thing you must learn!” Gu Ming told the students of his Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) class at Guizhou Anshun Vocational Institute.
 
He had poured the alcohol into dozens of plastic cups and laid them out on the desk in his office, asking his students to drink up.
 
“Those who ‘ganbeied’ (finished) a full glass of liquor get a full 100 mark for their exam, half glass gets 90 marks, and a sip gets 60,” one of Gu Ming’s students later posted on Chinese social media website Weibo. “Those who do not drink at all will fail.”





It sounds like the easiest exam ever, but it was actually quite difficult – baijiu is a rather potent beverage made from grain, with an alcohol content of 40 to 60 percent. But Gu Ming apparently decided to give it to his students anyway, because it happens to be the beverage of choice in the Chinese business world.
 
Photographs uploaded to social media showed that most of the students passed the test with flying colors, having managed to down their glasses of baijiu. Several students were later reported to have been found in an inebriated state on campus.
 
If the test was intended to be a joke, the institute’s deputy director Fu Guisheng did not see the humor in it, suspending Gu Ming over the issue.
 
The incident also did not go down well with others outside the institute – it sparked an intense online debate with many lashing out against the professor. Only a few sympathized with him, stating that he was trying to help his students.

A popular Abuja-based singing duo, DNA Twins who were kidnapped on their way to Lagos have been rescued from the kidnapper's den. We reported it here few days ago that Nigerian singing sensation, Clinton and Blair Roberts, popularly known as the DNA Twins, who were shot to limelight when they participated in the Glo X-Factor reality television show, were declared missing. Their elder brother, Quincy Roberts, who announced their abduction, has just revealed via Instagram that they have regained their freedon from the kidnapper's den.





Below is how he narrated the story + more photos from the hospital in Kogi State where they're currently receiving treatment;
 
"It's with great joy and happiness that I announce to everyone that my siblings, Clint & Blair Roberts (DNA Twins), who were kidnapped days ago, have finally been rescued.
 
A ransom was paid, and we got the boys back. The boys are currently in the hospital.
 
There will be a press release on the details of the incident and rescue. I also want to use this medium to thank everyone for their unending support and heartfelt efforts in the rescue of my siblings.
 
I pray that God, in His infinite mercies, bless all of you abundantly. Amen!

Following reports by good citizens about Boko Haram terrorists activities and on hearing of very loud explosions near Dikwa this morning, Wednesday 27th April 2016, troops of 22 Brigade embarked on a patrol to Ajiri and Antul villages, South East of Dikwa along Dikwa-Gulumbagana road.

The patrol made contact with Boko Haram logistics elements who specialised in using the 2 villages as base for food storage and other logistics before moving them to Bama and then to Sambisa forest. In the encounter, 5 Boko Haram terrorists were arrested comprising 3 adults and 2 minors.

The under aged male children were dressed in new Boko Haram uniforms we earlier reported. The troops recovered 1 truck, 2 Golf cars painted in mud, 4 bicycles and 3 x 5kva power generating set, as well as 55 bags of corn.

Paul Okoye of Psquare also took to instagram to show off his sexy workout pictures.

More photos after the cut

Yvonne Akuabata Ogbuogu Aka STORMREX is an amazing songstress that hails from Enugu state.

Tagged Queen of new school Igbo music,she released these new photos to announce that she is back or still there....

The Federal Government says it will embark on a free school feeding programme for the development of the children in school age.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

“Government as you know is also embarking on school feeding programme to help the development of young children of school age by giving them a balance diet. Not that they don’t eat at home but they probably don’t eat the correct thing, the balanced food.

So, they will get the balanced one meal a day minimum to develop better manpower for Nigeria. That is the purpose. So, the free feeding programme is in the schools and also in the IDPs camps at the moment,” he said.


Minister of State for Health: Dr. Osagie Ehanire

The minister said that the free balanced diet had been extended to the Internally Displaced People’s (IDPs) camp where farming had been disrupted due to insurgency.

“We are learning more about food, those who didn’t know are learning that what you eat is what you are. We are spreading the message on how to feed children properly, to give complementary feeding particularly after the six months of exclusively Bosom  feeding. The message will ensure that transition into the age when children will take other kinds of meals has to be communicated in a way that it is complementary and meets the purposes of growth,” he added.

Fight over a woman between two neighbouring communities of Badarawa Kwaru and Unguwar Yero in Kaduna North local government area of Kaduna State has turned bloody.

 According to Daily Post, it was gathered that not fewer than six persons have lost their lives since the eruption of fight on Sunday night, while several others have sustained various degree of injuries.

Eye witnesses accounts said the fight started between two men on Sunday night over a woman.

Emmanuel Kaja told Daily Post that a man from Kwaru community came on motorbike to Unguwar Yero to see his alleged concubine who incidentally is a wife of a man in Unguwar Yero.

According to him, “The woman was in relationship with the man from Kwaru when she was a girl and used to give her money when they were dating. The lady in question married another person. But after their marriage, the lady and her former boyfriend were still going out.

“On that Sunday evening, the Kwaru man came as usual to look for his concubine. They met as usual, but the husband who was already suspecting his wife trailed her to where they were standing. So, when he accosted them, the Kwaru man kicked his bike and stabbed the man from Kwaru in the stomach.

“The man later died before he could be rushed to the hospital. But, what got people of the area angry is that, the Governor later came begging the people to be patient without taking action to bring the culprit to book.

“That was why Unguwar Yero people also started attacking people suspected to be Hausa-Muslim,” he said.

Another eye witness also told Daily Post that governor Nasir El-Rufai who was at Unguwar Yero on Sunday night to broker peace was stoned by the angry youths.

He said, “When the governor arrived the area, the angry youths didn’t even allow him to speak, they just started chanting ‘bama so’, meaning, ‘we don’t want’.

Meanwhile, after the Governor’s visit, the crisis started taking religious and ethnic dimensions since Monday, as groups from the neighboring Kwaru and Unguwar Yero resulted to attacking people identified as members of the opposite ethnic or religious group.

As at Wednesday morning, tension had risen again, as youths suspected to be of Kwaru extraction stormed Ghana Road area of Malali and Unguwar Yero, attacking two traders, one of whom is feared dead.

Casualties figure, according to eye witnesses, now stands at six.

Nollywood actress, Stella Damsaus has reacted to allegation that she was a ‘husband snatcher’.

The actress was lambasted by fans and followers after the news of her relationship with fellow actress, Doris Simeon’s ex-husband, Daniel Ademinokan, went viral.


Reacting to the ‘husband-snatching’ tag which she had been labeled , the actress cum gospel artiste in a recent chat with ThisDay, said:

“I have kept mum on the allegation until now and I feel it’s time I expressed myself.“One of the comments I have seen consistently, over and over again is, ‘Stella snatches somebody’s husband’; ‘Stella the husband snatcher’; which is what has been going on.

“And I had sworn that I would never talk about it or even listen or stress myself about the issue. But I have decided to talk about it now, so that I end it once and for all’, she said.

“How is it possible to go to somebody’s home, take a happily married man, take his son away from his home and say follow me.

“Let’s assume you are a man, and according to their story, he is happily married inside his home with his family complete, and I walk into that home to forcefully take a man, able-bodied man, and a kid, away from somebody’s hand and you are there looking at me.

“How does that work?

“So logically if people actually sit down and think about it intelligently, how do you snatch somebody from somebody and the person is there looking at you?

“So when you see a man who has settled ties with a woman and decides to move on with his life and you feel that there is something in this man that you like and he likes you, is there a problem there?

“I am not a kid. I am 38 years old. I am not about to start hiding myself’ she said

Ugonna Madueke, the son of the former Minister of petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been implicated in an ongoing investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Reports say Mr. Madueke's name was mentioned while EFCC operatives were interrogating the Managing Director (MD) of Fidelity bank PLC, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo. Okonkwo was arrested by the anti-graft agency for allegedly receiving the sum of $115m from former minister of petroleum resources.



According to an EFCC source who spoke to Punch, the Fidelity bank MD said Diezani asked him to help with some payments to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The bank MD also revealed that the former minister’s son however acted as a middleman as the funds were being disbursed.
According to the EFCC source, “The MD said it was Diezani’s son that sent him a list of beneficiaries which included several INEC officials and election monitors across the 36 states. Diezani specifically instructed that the funds be disbursed at least a day or two before the elections. The total amount of money was $115m and Diezani told the bank to convert the funds into naira, which was about N23.3bn at the time.
“However, the suspects told us that the volume of money was too big and they had problems converting the funds. So, Diezani told the bank MD to use the bank’s funds and hold on to the dollars as collateral and that after elections, the bank could use the dollars to replace the bank funds.”
Okonkwo might be for conspiracy by the EFCC. The EFCC recently recovered jewellery worth over £2 million (N593 million) from Diezani and the wife of her associate, Jide Omokore.
The former minister is currently in the United Kingdom (UK), reportedly receiving treatment for Cancer.
She was arrested in  London on Friday, October 2, 2015, by the UK National crime Agency, for money laundering.

Famous Nigerian rapper, born Shola Idowu, better known by her stage name as Weird MC has narrated how she was robbed last week in Lagos state.

The ‘Ijoya’ crooner known for her English/Yoruba lyrics recently made this disclosure while she spoke with newsmen in Lagos.

She said the attack happened while she was held up in traffic at Pen Cinema in Agege area of the state.

She said the robbers gave her an option on what to let go of.

“They asked me to pick between losing my Lexus Jeep or my phone.

“I was a bit smart, I had to give them my phone to save my Lexus Jeep,” she added.

The farmers were allegedly kidnapped by the Fulani herdsmen around 6 am, but were later released by 1pm.
Fulani herdsmen unleashed terror in Obiaruku community, Ukwani Local Government Area, Delta State, yesterday, Wednesday, April 27, 2016.
The herdsmen reportedly harassed farmers and  allegedly held eight of them hostage for several hours.
The Daily Sun reports that the farmers were allegedly kidnapped by the Fulani herdsmen around 6 am, but were later released by 1pm.
A youth leader in Obiaruku, Chika Uwabuofu  said “For some time now, Fulani herdsmen have been harassing our men and women in their farms, eating the food in their barns and using their cows to destroy their crops.
“On account of this, we have been reporting their activities to the police and a meeting was held by the council chairman, some top government functionaries and the state chairman of the Fulani herdsmen where they were given three days to leave the community.”
40 people were also reported dead after an attack by suspected Fulani herdsmen in  Uzo- Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu state on Monday, April 25, 2016.
President Muhammadu Buhari has however ordered the Inspector-General of police (IGP), Solomon Arase and security agencies to stop the killings by suspected herdsmen across the country.
This is coming after Nigerians criticised Buhari for failing to respond to attacks by Fulani herdsmen in some states of the country.

Jurgen Klopp faces a selection dilemma ahead of Liverpool's Europa League semi-final clash against Villarreal on Thursday following Mamadou Sakho's suspension for failing a drugs test. The French defender could face a lengthy ban, which puts at risk his participation for his national team in the European Championship finals and for the Reds next season.

Liverpool are looking to reach their first European final since 2007 when they play Villarreal in the Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday night.
The Reds beat Borussia Dortmund in a highly dramatic second leg of the quarter-finals which saw the Merseyside club come from 3-1 down to win 4-3, progressing to the semi-finals 5-4 on aggregate.

In La Liga, Villarreal have performed above expectations and are currently fourth in the league standings. However, they have failed to win their previous three league games.
Christian Benteke has travelled with Liverpool's squad for their Europa League semi-final first-leg tie in Villarreal. The Belgium international has not featured for the club since the 3-2 defeat at Southampton on March 20 after sustaining a knee injury training with the international side.
Marcelino in stark contrast can almost call upon a fully fit squad. Only Leo Baptistao is missing as Jaume Costa and Mateo Mussachio passed late fitness tests.



Cedric Bakambu has been in good form throughout Villarreal's Europa League campaign
This will be the first meeting between Villarreal and Liverpool in Europe.

Villarreal are winless in their last 10 games against English opposition (D6 L4) whilst Liverpool have lost three of their last four games against Spanish clubs.

This will be Liverpool's fourth European semi-final against a Spanish side; they've progressed from two of those but were eliminated last time versus Atletico Madrid in the 2009/10 Europa League semi-finals. Jurgen Klopp's side travel to El Madrigal, but the German has not won a UEFA game in Spain before. He will be looking to put that record straight to try and lead Liverpool to the Europa League title in Basel.


Kolo Toure and Martin Skrtel will be vying for a place alongside Dejan Lovren ahead of Liverpool's clash against Villarreal

UEFA has indicated that Sakho can play the first-leg as no formal disciplinary proceedings have begun, but the Reds have made the defender unavailable for selection until the investigation has been concluded.

" A formal communication was received from UEFA stating that they are investigating a possible anti-doping rule violation by Mamadou Sakho. The player will respond to UEFA on the matter," Liverpool explained in a statement on their official site.

"The player is currently not subject to any playing suspension. However, the club, in consultation with the player, has decided that while this process is followed the player will not be available for selection for matches."

Shakhtar Donetsk had a miserable end last time they took on Sevilla in UEFA club competition, but Mircea Lucescu's side are yet to lose in this season's UEFA Europa League.


 
FC Shakhtar Donetsk will look to erase the memory of a fateful defeat from 2007 as they welcome holders Sevilla FC, the Pitmen unbeaten in six UEFA Europa League games.

Previous meetings
• Juande Ramos's Sevilla overcame Shakhtar in dramatic fashion in the round of 16 en route to winning the 2006/07 UEFA Cup. After a 2-2 draw in Spain, Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop scored at the death to make it 2-2 in the return leg, Ernesto Chevantón winning it for the visitors in extra time.

• The teams for that game in Donetsk on 16 March 2007 were:
Shakhtar: Shust, Lewandowski, Chygrynskiy, Kucher*, Shevchuk* (Raţ 44), Gai, Matuzalém (Duljaj 86), Fernandinho, Jádson, Marica, Bielik (Elano 64).
Sevilla: Palop, Navarro (Duda 81), Dani Alves, Escudé, Dragutinović, Hinkel (Chevantón 57), Adriano (Puerta 57), Maresca, Poulsen, Luís Fabiano, Kanouté.
* registered to play for the club in this season's UEFA Europa League

• Shakhtar's 21 games against Spanish sides have ended W4 D5 L12 (W2 D3 L5 at home – W2 D2 L6 in Spain). Those games include a 1-0 loss to FC Barcelona in the 2009 UEFA Super Cup in Monaco.

• Sevilla are unbeaten in five meetings with Ukrainian clubs (W4 D1); they have won both of their previous matches in Ukraine, and most recently beat FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3-2 in last season's UEFA Europa League final in Warsaw.

• Sevilla's 2-1 success at Athletic Club in the quarter-finals was their first away win in Europe all season (W1 D1 L4).

• This is the first time Shakhtar have featured in the semi-finals since they won the final edition of the UEFA Cup in 2009.

• Sevilla won the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League for a record fourth time last term – and a second time in succession. No team have won three consecutive editions of a major UEFA competition since FC Bayern München's third straight European Champion Clubs' Cup triumph in 1975/76.

• Sevilla are the first club to contest the UEFA Europa League semi-finals for three seasons running.

• Of the four semi-finalists, only Shakhtar, the last UEFA Cup winners, have never reached this stage of the UEFA Europa League before.

• Sevilla progressed despite their record 11-match winning run at home coming to an end. Their penalty shoot-out success against Athletic was their third in three attempts in the UEFA Europa League (after previous triumphs against Real Betis and Benfica). No other team has ever been involved in more than one UEFA Europa League shoot-out