20-year-old sells newborn for N130,000 (Nation)
A 20-YEAR-old woman arrested by the police for selling her newborn for N130,000 to suspected traffickers yesterday said the money she took was for her upkeep and that she gave the child away because it would have died of hunger in her care.
The suspect identified as Miracle Kalu was trailed to Imo State by the police in Lagos after operatives on pin-down patrol on April 26 intercepted a couple with a month-old baby.
Policemen attached to Anthony Division around 2am that day while manning a roadblock at Anthony Oke, intercepted a Toyota Sienna bus carrying seven passengers including one Patrick Mbama, 41, and Ogechi Chinonso Ekwebele, 30, carrying the baby.
While all the occupants were held for violating the ban on inter-state travels, the police team discovered suspicious movements between the couple carrying the baby which prompted further probing. Read more
Air force men lead hoodlums to demolish Lagos buildings (Punch)
Pandemonium broke out in the Aboru area of Iyana-Ipaja in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State recently as four air force men attached to the OP MESA allegedly led about 17 hoodlums to demolish some buildings at the Valley View Estate.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the air force men, led by Staff Sergeant T. A. Oyewo, and the hoodlums allegedly acted on the instructions of one Mr Yinka Campbell, when they force their way into the estate around 10.30am, destroyed some buildings and took advantage of the situation to loot property worth millions.
While these were going on, the owners of some of the affected buildings informed the Oke-Odo Police Division and policemen, who were detailed to the scene, arrested the air force men and nine of the hoodlums. Read more
Amotekun: Lagos Assembly passes Neighbourhood Corps Bill (Vanguard)
Lagos State House of Assembly, on Monday, passed into law a bill for the amendment of Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency Law, 2019.
The bill, read at the plenary after the third reading, was raised as “Business of the Day” by the Deputy Majority Leader, Noheem Adams, representing Eti-Osa Constituency I.
After the amendments, the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, directed Mr. Azeez Sanni, the Clerk of the House to forward a clean copy of the Bill to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his assent. Read more
Court dismisses N100m alleged rights abuse suit against IGP, firm (Guardian)
A federal High Court, Lagos has dismissed a N100 million suit filed by a businessman, John Obi, against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and a firm, Suntory Beverage and Food Limited, for lacking in merit.
Justice Ayokunle Faji, while ruling on the matter, also turned down the plaintiff’s request for a declaration that his arrest and detention between June 6 and 7, 2018 by men of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (ForceCID) Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos was unconstitutional. Read more
NSE ranks second in Bloomberg’s Best Performing Indexes in April (Vanguard)
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has been ranked second best performing stock exchange in April by Bloomberg following significant rallies recorded in the market in the past weeks.
This is contained in Bloomberg’s “Best Performing Indexes” report.
“As the Exchange sustains remote trading, free flow of information and vibrant market activity, the index has accelerated+16.39% in the past month. Total market capitalization at the NSE now stands at N12.6 trillion as at May 7, 2020. Read more
Couple bags three months jail term for assault on woman (Guardian)
An Egor Magistrates’ Court in Benin City, Edo State, yesterday sentenced a husband and wife to three months imprisonment each for assaulting a woman and her mother, Mrs. Hope Ughabugo and Mrs. Tina Omogbai. The magistrate, Mrs. Florence Aghedo, sentenced the defendant’s Johnson, 44, and Patience Johnson, 36, after they were found guilty of one count charge of assault out of two filed against them.
Aghedo, however, gave the convicts an option of fine of N5,000 each. She also ordered the defendants to pay N10,000 to the complainant, Ughabugo as compensation. However, the magistrate dismissed the charge of conspiracy filed against the defendants, adding that there was no trace of conspiracy as they were husband and wife. Read more
Madagascar drug: COVID Organic to be used when confirmed safe, working, says PTF (Punch)
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, on Monday said the Federal Government and the World Health Organisation were carrying out COVID-19 drug trial in the Federal Capital Territory and fives states.
Ehanaire, who disclosed this at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 press briefing in Abuja, listed the states as Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kano.
The minister confirmed that Nigeria was expecting a herbal drug, COVID Organic, from Madagascar. The drug was reported to have been used by the Indian Ocean island country to cure patients, who tested positive for COVID-19. Read more
Four to die by hanging in Ekiti for killing brothel owner (Nation)
AN Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti on Monday sentenced two men and two women to death by hanging after being found guilty of murder.
The convicts are Rashidat Abdul, 37, Oluwatosin Akarakiri, 32, Abdulrasheed Mutairu, 22, and Iyoriochile Eromoina, 18, to death by hanging.
The quartet conspired and killed a 70-year-old man, Samuel Oloyede, on April5, 2017 in Odo Owa Ekiti, Ijero Local Government Area of the state. Read more
South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown: Doubts creep in (BBC)
It is tempting to imagine that South Africa will look back, almost fondly, on late March 2020 as a special moment in its young democracy.
As plenty of nations around the world appeared to flounder, or panic, or even turn their backs on the rising threat of Covid-19, this country was possessed by a rare and extraordinary degree of unity and decisiveness.
President Cyril Ramaphosa – a man whose consensus-building instincts have long been a source of frustration to many here – was transformed into a man of action, brusquely implementing a series of almost unimaginably severe and decisive steps that changed South. Read more
Parisians enjoy coffee, company and haircuts as lockdown lifted (France24)
On the sidewalks of the Marais, the vibrant central Paris neighborhood that is both quaint and chic, local residents, merchants, and workers enjoyed each other’s company on the first day of the easing of France’s Covid-19 lockdown.
A little after 11am this morning, Frank Barron, 40, was enjoying a latté at Fringe, a small coffeeshop on the Rue de Turenne, for the first time in almost two months. He had to stand on the sidewalk, but his drink, with an artful, leaf-like design on its surface, came in a ceramic mug.
Barron told FRANCE 24 that making coffee at home, which he’s been doing since France’s lockdown began on March 17, isn’t the same as drinking it at a neighborhood spot. But that isn’t just because of the java – it’s also due to the camaraderie with neighbors. Read more
White House staffers told to wear masks (VOA)
The system at the White House did not break down and “we’ve controlled it very well,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday when asked about two people close to him or Vice President Mike Pence testing positive for the coronavirus.
“I felt no vulnerability whatsoever,” said Trump in the wake of one of his military valets and the vice president’s press secretary contracting COVID-19.
Several members of the task force, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, Centers of Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn have been self-isolating following exposure to an official who has tested positive for COVID-19. Read more
California inmates tried to infect themselves with coronavirus for freedom (NYPost)
A group of California inmates are accused of trying to intentionally infect themselves with the coronavirus — thinking they would be set free if they contracted the contagion, authorities said Monday.
Prisoners at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic were filmed sharing a disposable cup and sniffing a used face mask in order to accomplish their alleged plot, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
“Somehow, there was some mistaken belief among the inmate population that if they tested positive, that there was a way to force our hand and somehow release more inmates out of our jail environment — and that’s not going to happen,” Villanueva said. Read more
Covid-19 crisis leaves 700,000 children without sufficient food in Italy – report (RT)
The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic hardship has left 700,000 children under 15 years of age in Italy without enough food, the country’s biggest farming organization has warned.
“The number of children under the age of 15 who need help to get milk or food to eat has risen to 700,000,” the farmers organization Coldiretti said in a statement released on Sunday, which was Mother’s Day in Italy.
The “critical” situation has been “aggravated in many families by the closure of schools and school restaurants” which were where many children received a guaranteed hot meal every day, the union said. Read more
Harry Dunn’s alleged killer now ‘wanted internationally’ (Metro)
A woman accused of killing a British teenager is now ‘wanted internationally’, after Interpol issued a Red Notice for her arrest.
The parents of motorcyclist Harry Dunn, 19, were told by Northamptonshire Police that Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US Diplomatic, could be arrested if she leaves the states. In an email to the victim’s family, the force said: ‘should she leave the USA the wanted circulations should be enacted’. Mrs Sacoolas, 42, has been charged after allegedly knocking Mr Dunn off his bike while driving on the wrong side of the road near a US military base in Northamptonshire. She fled the country claiming diplomatic immunity and has not returned following the incident outside RAF Croughton on August 27, 2019. Read more
Premier League clubs facing £340m TV refund even if season resumes (BBC)
Premier League clubs have been told they could have to repay an estimated £340m to domestic and international broadcasters – even if the season resumes behind closed doors.
And BBC Sport has learned the clubs were warned on Monday that figure could rise if the season is curtailed or if relegation is scrapped.
Club officials met on Monday to continue talks on ‘Project Restart’.
Items including playing matches at neutral venues were also discussed.
The refund has been requested as matches are not taking place as expected – both because they will be played without fans and at different times to originally scheduled. Read more
In emotional video, Algerian tennis player Ines Ibbou takes on No. 3 Thiem over relief fund (France24)
Algerian Ines Ibbou was hailed as a hero by Venus Williams while her country’s president pledged full support after the low-ranked tennis player posted an emotional video to take on world No. 3 Dominic Thiem for his opposition to a player relief fund.
Thiem rejected the notion that top tennis players should chip in to help lower-ranked competitors who are struggling financially due to the pause in tournaments due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
In the video, which runs over nine minutes and was posted on Ibbou’s Instagram page, the world number 620 starts with “Dear Dominic” and goes on to talk about the difficulties she has had to endure and the sacrifices she needed to make in her career. Read more
WWE’s Becky Lynch announces she’s pregnant, stepping away from wrestling (NYPost)
A teary-eyed Becky Lynch, who is engaged to fellow WWE star Seth Rollins, opened “Monday Night Raw” by announcing she is pregnant and that she had to “go away for a while.” She relinquished her Raw women’s championship to Money in the Bank winner Asuka.
“You are the champion and as happy as you are to be the champion I might be a little bit happier,” Lynch said while addressing Asuka to end the segment. “So you go be a warrior, ’cause I’m going to go be a mother.”
The 33-year-old Lynch, who has become one of WWE’s biggest crossover stars, has only wrestled three times since Jan. 26, her last match being against Shayna Baszler during the WrestleMania 36 tapings in late Match. Read more
Mike Tyson teases comeback as former champ demonstrates fearsome speed and power in Instagram montage (RT)
Former heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson has reminded fans why he was once the “Baddest Man on the Planet” as he teased a possible comeback by snarling and hammering at pads in a powerful Instagram montage.
The 53-year-old has been out of the ring for 15 years but has claimed he feels “unstoppable” after reportedly receiving a $1 million offer to make his comeback in Australia.
Now the former champion has posted a video on his Instagram in which he rushes at new trainer Rafael Cordeiro, smashing the pads while weaving in and out as part of a preview that is certain to remind fans of the incredible power with which he recorded 44 knockouts during a 50-fight career. Read more
George Karl reveals the real reason he blanked Michael Jordan after Last Dance claims (Metro)
Former Seattle SuperSonics coach George Karl has revealed why he blanked Michael Jordan on the eve of the 1996 NBA Finals. After a two-year absence, Jordan’s Chicago Bulls were back in the Finals against the Sonics as they targeted their fourth crown in six years. Last Dance, the 10-part Netflix documentary illustrating Jordan’s stint in the Windy City, covers an episode before Game One of the 1996 Finals in which Jordan claims Karl blanked him at a restaurant. The pair knew each other as they’re both alumni of North Carolina and Jordan was put out by the fact that Karl blanked him, claiming it gave him motivation to win his fourth ring. Read more
Premier League players to negotiate wage cuts on club-by-club basis (Guardian)
Premier League players are set to start negotiations on a club-by-club basis over proposed wage cuts.
It comes after talks aimed at a collective pay deal in response to the coronavirus crisis broke down without resolution over the weekend.
The Premier League proposed a 30 percent pay cut, but the Professional Footballers’ Association says that may harm the NHS.
The row has escalated into one of the most serious disputes between players and clubs in the league’s history. Read more