Nigerian Human traffickers operating at 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

Weeks before the 2018 FIFA World Cup was due to kick off in Russia, a woman met Blessing and Mfon at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in the southern Nigeria city of Uyo. The two young sisters had gone there to watch Nigeria play Spain’s Atletico Madrid in a warmup match ahead of the global soccer fiesta in which this West African nation is proud to participate, and the woman, in her 40s, seemed to be a devoted fan.

“We sat beside her during the match, and we were all analyzing the performance of the [Nigerian] team together,” Blessing, who is 19 and the older of the two siblings, told The Daily Beast. “After the match, she asked us if we would like to go watch the World Cup in Russia and work there after the tournament.”

Russia is open to foreigners with just a single match ticket and a FAN ID, which is available online to confirmed ticket holders. Once you’re in, you can stay legally until July 25, which is 10 days after the end of the competition.

While this is good news for soccer fans visiting the country, it is equally an opportunity for traffickers to do big business.

Blessing and Mfon were told their travel to Russia would be taken care of and that they would get jobs in Moscow as social workers for a nongovernmental organization dealing with traumatized athletes once the World Cup was over. The girls were told it would take about six months to pay back the cost of the journey to Russia, put at $20,000 each, after which they could keep all the money they made.

“We took her to our parents, and she told them the same thing,” Blessing said. “She said she had slots for 20 Nigerian girls and was looking to take girls from all regions of Nigeria with a passion for sports.”

No one suspected the woman was a human trafficker because she showed documents appearing to link her to a number of humanitarian organizations in Russia, and she hailed from the same wider community as the family of Blessing and Mfon, which gave the parents of the girls the impression that she wouldn’t hurt her kindred.

Daily Beast

Suicide bomb blasts kills at least 31 in Nigeria

At least 31 people have been killed in a twin suicide bomb attack by suspected Boko Haram fighters on a town in northeast Nigeria, according to local sources.

Two blasts ripped through the Damboa government area in Borno state on Saturday evening targeting people returning from celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Following the suicide bombings, the attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades into the crowds that had gathered at the scene of the blasts, driving the number of casualties higher.

"There were two suicide attacks and rocket-propelled grenade explosions in Damboa last night which killed 31 people and left several others injured," Babakura Kola, from the Civilian Joint Task Force, a militia assisting the military with security, told AFP news agency on Sunday.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram, a group waging an armed campaign in northeast Nigeria for nearly a decade.

The blasts on Saturday occurred in the Shuwari and Abachari districts of the local government area, which is about 90km from state capital Maiduguri.

"It has destroyed our houses. We have also counted 31 innocent people including children and elderly killed in the attack," said local resident Modu Usman, son of a community leader, according to the Reuters news agency.

Boko Haram roughly translates to "Western education is forbidden".

More than 20,000 people have been killed and over two million have been forced to flee their homes since 2009, when the group launched its campaign which has seen the regular deployment suicide bombers in mosques, markets and camps housing displaced people.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier this year that the era of Boko Haram violence "is gradually drawing to end".

However, the group continues to launch attacks in the country's northeast.

Al Jazeera

Video - Nigerian President Buhari apologises for Abiola's annulled 1993 presidential win

Nigerian President Buhari has been lauded for declaring the 12th of June as Democracy Day and for recognizing MKO Abiola's 1993 presidential election victory. Many Nigerians have described Buhari's announcement as a victory for democracy. The president has offered a public apology to Abiola, who won the 1993 vote -- an election that was later annulled by the military. As of next year, the 12th of June will be a public holiday and commemorated as Democracy Day.

Messi warns 'Nigeria will be no walkover'

The Albiceleste have defeated the West Africans in all their previous meetings at the tournament but in November they went down 4-2 to Gernot Rohr’s side in a friendly tie.

They lock horns with the Super Eagles in their last group game at the Saint-Petersburg Stadium after ties with other group D rivals Iceland and Croatia.

And the Barcelona star is certain that the encounter with Gernot Rohr's side will be a tough one.

“Croatia is a good team with players in the big European leagues and that makes them dangerous, Messi told the Express.

“We don’t know so much about Nigeria but the African teams are normally compact, tough and strong. So it will be no walkover.”

Sporting News

Video - Why Nigeria has more HIV-positive infants than anywhere else

Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission is considered one of the most basic goals for curtailing the AIDS epidemic, and Nigeria is struggling mightily. In our series The End of AIDS, William Brangham and Jason Kane examine why this oil-rich nation is falling so badly behind, and profiles a unique, church-based program that’s showing real promise.