BREAKING: Nigerian TikToker Monique Pearls Is Dead; 5 Die, 10 Injured In Ogun Lone Crash

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Nigerian TikToker Monique Pearls is dead 

The Nigerian social media community has been thrown into mourning following the death of popular TikTok content creator, Monique Pearls.

Monique Pearls, whose real name was Monica Okafor Owuunaka, died at the age of 30.

The Abuja-based creator, who hailed from Cross River State, was widely known for her emotional and relatable content on motherhood, family life and caregiving.

Her videos also featured a young girl identified as Precious, whom her family reportedly brought from the village.

The bond between Monique and Precious became one of the major themes of her online storytelling, drawing reactions from many followers who admired her family-centred content.

Monique built a strong audience on TikTok by sharing real-life experiences around parenting, domestic life and modern Nigerian family relationships.

Her death was confirmed by her family, shared on her official Instagram page, in May 2026.

Five die, 10 injured in Ogun lone crash 

Five persons were burnt to death while 10 others sustained injuries in a lone crash along the Abeokuta-Lagos Expressway in Ogun State on Thursday.

The accident occurred around Iyana Egbado at about 11:12 am.

The spokesperson for the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ogun State, Afolabi Odunsi-Oyewole, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists.

According to him, the vehicle was carrying 20 persons, comprising six adult males, 11 adult females, one male child and two female children.

Odunsi-Oyewole said that “The lone crash involved one white Mazda E2000 bus with registration number KRD809XC. A total of twenty persons were involved in the crash, comprising six adult males, eleven adult females, one male child, and two female children.

“Out of the twenty persons involved, five persons were killed, comprising one adult male, two adult females, one male child, and one female child. Ten persons sustained varying degrees of injuries, while five persons escaped unhurt.”

He attributed the crash to speeding and overloading.

According to him, the injured victims were taken to the General Hospital, Ifo, and Oreofe Specialist Hospital, Itori, for treatment, while the corpses were deposited at the General Hospital morgue in Ifo.

The Ogun State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Oludare Ogunjobi, sympathised with the families of the victims and advised motorists to avoid speeding, overloading and traffic violations.

He also urged drivers to obey traffic regulations, especially during the festive period.

US, Iran accuse each other of violating truce after attacks 

The United States and Iran accused each other of violating an ongoing truce on Thursday following an exchange of fire, three months after the Middle East war began with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.

The latest exchange was the most serious since the ceasefire started in April, rattling ongoing efforts to negotiate an end to the war and drawing in US ally Kuwait, which accused Iran of a “dangerous escalation”.

It came as violence on the war’s Lebanese front escalated sharply after Israel declared much of the country’s south a combat zone and stepped up strikes, including near Beirut.

Iranian forces had fired at four ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation, state broadcaster IRIB reported on Thursday. Iran has blockaded the waterway since the start of the war on February 28.

US forces said they had intercepted five attack drones in and around the strait, and prevented the launch of a sixth from a ground control station in the southern port area of Bandar Abbas.

The strike in Bandar Abbas prompted Iran to target “the American airbase that served as the source of the attack”, according to IRIB, citing the country’s Revolutionary Guards.

The Guards did not specify the location of the base, but Kuwait, which hosts US troops, said its air defences had responded to incoming fire.

Its foreign ministry later condemned “the criminal Iranian attacks that targeted the territory of the State of Kuwait with missiles and drones, in a dangerous escalation”.

The US Central Command called the attack an “egregious ceasefire violation”.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, for his part, said the Islamic republic would “take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty”, likewise describing the US strikes as “violations” of the truce.

A US official told AFP the actions had been “measured” and “intended to preserve the ceasefire”.

Iran’s Guards threatened a “firm response” on Thursday in the event of renewed attacks.

The clash underscored the uncertainty surrounding the stuttering negotiations aimed at formally ending the conflict, though neither side has appeared eager to return to all-out war.

Before Thursday’s strikes, Amir, a 27-year-old software developer in the Iranian capital, said fears of renewed fighting were ever present in spite of the ceasefire and talk of a deal.

Ukraine says another Nigerian killed fighting for russian forces 

The Ukraine Defence Intelligence has reported the death of another Nigerian man, Ayebusiwa Olabode Victor, who was allegedly killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in the ongoing war with Ukraine.

The development was disclosed in a statement by the Ukrainian National News Agency, Ukrinform, and the country’s Defence Intelligence arm, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine on Thursday.

Victor, born April 28, 1992, was said to be from Ilutitun in Ondo State.

According to the report, he was killed in the Kharkiv region near the settlement of Hrafske during combat operations involving Ukrainian troops.

The intelligence agency said Victor signed a mercenary contract in late February 2026, about one week after Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned citizens against illegal recruitment into foreign conflicts.

It alleged that many foreign recruits were lured through promises of employment and quick financial gain, only to be deployed to the frontline shortly after arrival in Russia.

“Their story is typical… deception, promises of ‘easy money,’ a week of training, deployment to the front, and a quick death,” the statement read.

Ukrainian authorities further alleged that recruitment networks use social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp to target African nationals.

It claimed victims are issued visas and one-way tickets, and upon arrival in Moscow, their passports are seized under the guise of documentation processing.

They are then allegedly told there is no job, no valid visa, and no means of return, leaving them with limited options.

“Deportation with debt, imprisonment, or signing a contract with the occupying army,” the agency said, describing the alleged choices faced by recruits.

The report also cited figures suggesting that at least 215 Nigerians have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence, while about 25 are either dead or missing in action.

It further referenced earlier cases of Nigerian nationals reportedly killed in similar circumstances, as part of what it described as an expanding pattern of foreign recruitment.