3,298 inmates on death row in Nigeria – NCoS (DailyTrust)
No fewer than 3,298 inmates across the custodial centres in Nigeria are on death row, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), has revealed.
Its Public Relations Officer, Mr Abubakar Umar, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
He pointed out that death sentences were not always carried out immediately after they were imposed. “There are often long periods of uncertainty for the convicted while their cases are being appealed at higher levels. Read more
NYSC presents cheques to family of Lagos corps member crushed (Vanguard)
THE Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General Yushau Ahmed, has presented insurance cover cheques to the family of the late corps member Juliana Oreoluwa Aina.
Juliana lost her life in a tragic accident in Lagos in March this year when a BRT bus she was travelling in was crushed by a train.
The cheque presentation ceremony took place on Wednesday at the family house of the deceased corps member in Abuja, with the NYSC DG, presiding over the event. Read more
LAUTECH bans students from driving vehicles on campus (Nation)
The management of Ladoke Akintola University (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso has banned students from driving or bringing cars to the campus.
The Registrar of the institution, Dr. K.A. Ogunleye, in a memo, said the decision was reached at a management meeting on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.
It reads: “Vehicles owned by students are hereby banned from entering the University Campus.”
“Vehicles with no registration numbers are no longer allowed into the campus.” Read more
Adamawa: Tinubu asks Police to conduct investigation on Binani’s announcement (Tribune)
President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has called on the Police to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the controversial announcement of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Adamawa State, Senator Aisha Dahiru Binani as the winner of the election.
Tinubu in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja congratulated the incumbent governor, Ahmadu Fintiri who won a fresh mandate in the North East state, while he equally appealed to the aggrieved to seek redress in a peaceful manner.
He further urged all those elected to brace up to serve Nigerians. Read more
Aviation workers issue seven-day ultimatum ahead of indefinite strike (Guardian)
Aviation workers’ unions, yesterday, warned of an impending indefinite strike action should the authorities fail to resolve the nagging non-implementation of Condition of Service (CoS), and other welfare-related issues in the next seven days.
The unionists, at the end of their two-day warning strike on Tuesday, vowed to shut down the airspace to jolt the attention of the current administration.
While the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has since kept mum on the development and remained seemingly unperturbed by the disruptions, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been engaging in negotiation with the aggrieved workers. Read more
FG retires acting Immigration boss, Idris (Punch)
The Governing Board of the Nigeria Immigration Service, on Wednesday, served a retirement notice to the acting Comptroller-General of the Service, Isah Idris, effective on or before April 24, 2023.
In a secret memo sighted by The PUNCH, the board cited the expiration of the one-year extension of service granted by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), directing the CGI to hand over to the most senior Deputy Comptroller General.
The memo, dated April 17, 2023 with code number CDCFIB/APPT.CG&DCG/61/VOL.IV/74, was signed by the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board Secretary, Obasi Edmond, on the orders of the Board chairman and Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola. Read more
Police arrest 8 cattle rustling syndicate fueling attacks in Benue (Sun)
The Benue state police command have
arrested suspected cattle rustlers who have been fomenting trouble and causing the crises between herders and farmers in the state.
Among the eight members of a vicious syndicate made up of herders and farmers, were two brothers, who were conniving, rustling cattle belonging to the herders, selling them and sharing the proceeds his gang members.
Speaking to newsmen while parading the suspects at the Command headquarters in Makurdi, on Wednesday, the Commissioner of Police Benue State Command, CP. Wale Abass, said the syndicates specialized in rustling cattle and making it look like it was the handiwork of the farmers. Read more
Civil Society Group calls on Lagos, IG to tackle land grabbers (ThisDay)
Civil society stakeholders on the platform of Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) have expressed deep concern over what they described as the continuous threats to public peace of the unlawful activities of land grabbers in Ojomu community otherwise referred to as Ajiran Land in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The group therefore, stated that it considered it compelling to draw the attention of relevant authorities in Lagos State as well as security agencies and other relevant institutions to the perilous situation in Ojomu community and to demand urgent actions.
At a press conference held in Lagos and addressed by the President of CHSR, Alex Omotehinse, the service-oriented non-governmental organisation (NGO) said: “The intervention of civil society stakeholders has become imperative to put an end to reckless abuse of human rights, malicious disobedience of constituted authorities as well as brazen disregard for the laws of Lagos State as enforceable in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Read more
Rachel McAdams turned down Iron Man, Casino Royale, Mission: Impossible III and Devil Wears Prada in 2-year period (Variety)
Nicholas Hoult recently made headlines for revealing he lost roles in “The Batman,” “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” and “Top Gun: Maverick” in a row, but that’s nothing compared to the handful of A-list projects Rachel McAdams consecutively turned down in the mid aughts. As revealed in her new Bustle profile, McAdams turned down offers for “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Casino Royale,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Iron Man” and “Get Smart” in the two-year period where she moved back to Canada following a rise in Hollywood with “Mean Girls” and “The Notebook.”
“There’s certainly things like ‘I wish I’d done that,’” McAdams said. “[But] I step back and go, ‘That was the right person for that.’”
All five movies which McAdams rejected, released between 2006 and 2008, ended up being box office hits, with “Casino Royale” reigniting the Bond franchise with Daniel Craig in the role (presumably McAdams was up for Eva Green’s role) and the first “Iron Man” launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe. McAdams waited to enter the superhero universe until 2016’s “Doctor Strange” and reprised the role of Dr. Christine Palmer in 2022’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” Read more
Jonathan Majors Booted from Multiple Projects Following Assault Charges (MovieWeb)
Jonathan Majors’ rise in Hollywood looks to be descending even more quickly with the news coming in that he’s losing multiple movie roles. Up until recently, Majors was established as one of Hollywood’s hottest stars of today, as this included lead roles in the films Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. That all changed in late March when it was revealed that Majors was arrested on charges of assault and harassment over an alleged skirmish with a woman he’d been dating. Through his legal team, Majors has insisted upon his innocence, arguing that a text message exchange proves as such, but as of now, the charges still stand.
In any case, given the seriousness of the charges, Majors was dropped from the U.S. Army’s “Be All You Can Be” ad campaign. It has also since been revealed that the Lovecraft Country star’s talent agency and PR team have both parted ways with Majors. Now, per Deadline, it’s been reported that Majors has been dropped from the Protagonist Pictures movie The Man in My Basement as well as an Otis Redding biopic that was also in the works. Additionally, Majors has been cut loose from another ad campaign for the MLB’s Texas Rangers baseball team. Read more
Killer Mike previews song with Andre 3000 and Future (AmericanSongwriter)
Atlanta emcee Killer Mike, 47, is set to release his comeback solo album Michael any day now. Considering he took a solo hiatus over the past decade to release four different albums as 1/2 of the Run The Jewels duo, Mike is now ready to put out his first full-length LP since 2012.
During a listening party for Michael in New York on Monday (April 17), he played the album for his invite-only crowd. Held inside a church, Mike’s project wow’d attendees, as it included a feature verse from Lil Wayne and an interlude from comedian Dave Chappelle.
One of the key highlights of the album though, according to those present, was when he played the song “Scientists & Engineers,” which features fellow Atlanta natives Future and Outkast legend Andre 3000. In videos uploaded by Twitter account @OnThinIce and Instagram account @deborhoxtail, the angelic song can be heard, including consecutive verses from the song’s two high-profile guests. Read more
Pras drops FBI bombshell in federal conspiracy trial testimony (HipHopDX)
Pras is currently in the midst of his federal trial for criminal conspiracy charges, and recently dropped a bombshell when he took the stand.
According to Rolling Stone, The Fugees star took the stand on Tuesday (April 18) and discussed his relationship with Malaysian financier Jho Low – revealing he served as an unofficial FBI informant regarding China’s efforts to extradite Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui. Low is named as a co-defendant in the case but is currently on the run.
Testifying is rare and was certainly a bold move, but Pras reportedly told the judge he chose to do so “after consulting with my attorneys and the universe.” Though he denied he worked with China on the Wengui matter, Pras said he voluntarily met with FBI agents on multiple occasions to discuss him and three Americans being held hostage in China. Read more
Aaron Carter drowned accidentally in tub after inhaling cleaner, coroner rules (NBC)
Singer Aaron Carter accidentally drowned in his bathtub in November after he inhaled compressed gas and took alprazolam, the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office has ruled.
Carter, a former teen heartthrob who rose to fame in the 1990s and in recent years opened up about mental health issues and drug addiction, died Nov. 5 at his Lancaster, California, home at age 34.
The cause of death was drowning due to the effects of the gas, difluoroethane, and alprazolam, the medical examiner’s office said in a report. Read more
Animal Friends: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Momoa, and more cast in Legendary’s animation-live action hybrid (Deadline)
Legendary has set an all-star cast for their forthcoming film ‘‘Animal Friends,’’ combining live-action and animated characters from writing duo Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider, with Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool 3), Jason Momoa (Fast X), Vince Vaughn (Bad Monkey) and Aubrey Plaza (Megalopolis) coming aboard for roles.
Plot details for the project, described as an R-rated road trip adventure, are being kept under wraps. Emmy-winning director Peter Atencio (The Machine) is at the helm.
The idea for the film came from a general meeting between Burrows & Mider and Patrick Gooing, an executive at Reynolds’ production company, Maximum Effort. Producing alongside Legendary are Maximum Effort and Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios. Visual effects and animation will be provided by leading visual entertainment services company, DNEG. Read more
Russian court rejects appeal by detained US journalist (DW)
Evan Gershkovich will remain in custody at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison as he awaits a trial, a Russian court ruled. Gershkovich was arrested for espionage, an allegation his lawyers and the US government strongly deny.
A Moscow court has upheld the detention of US-journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last month on spying charges.
The 31-year-old appeared at a hearing on Tuesday to appeal against a decision to keep him behind bars as he awaits a trial. Read more
NFF board backs Gusau’s stance on ‘unwilling’ Super Eagles (DailyTrust)
The board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially thrown its weight behind the president, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, who had announced that henceforth only foreign based players who have shown sufficient interest in representing Nigeria would be invited to the Super Eagles.
The NFF president made the declaration of the recent sloppy performances of the Super Eagles, especially their 0-1 loss at home to the Wild Dogs of Guinea Bissau in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers.
Interestingly, at the board meeting held on Monday in Abuja, the members of the NFF Executive Committee unanimously agreed that the federation shouldn’t beg any player to come and play for the Super Eagles. Read more
Osimhen equals Obafemi Martins’ 18-year-old Champions League record (Guardian)
Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen has equaled the goalscoring record of compatriot, Obafemi Martins, in the Uefa Champions League.
Osimhen was on the scoresheet to help Napoli play out a 1-1 draw with AC Milan on Tuesday night.
The Nigerian strike’s spectacular header in the Partenopei’s 1-1 draw against Milan made him match Martins’ record for the most goals scored by a Nigerian player within a single Champions League season. Read more
NFF set to constitute boards for NPFL, others (Independent)
The nation’s highest soccer governing body, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has said that it would in the next month constitute boards for the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) and the other league governing bodies.
The other bodies are: the Nigeria National League (NNL), the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) and the Nigeria Nationwide League One (NLO).
In a communique released after its meeting on Monday in Abuja, the NFF said it would do this as enshrined in the statutes. Read more
AC Milan, Real Madrid advance to Champion’s League semi-finals (France24)
AC Milan is regaining its pedigree as a European power after a turbulent stretch marked by the end of Silvio Berlusconi’s ownership and financial issues.
The seven-time continental champion reached the last four of the Champions League with a 1-1 draw at Napoli on Tuesday with a first-half goal from Olivier Giroud proving decisive.
Also, Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan blocked a late penalty from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Napoli’s standout winger, with Giroud also having a penalty kick saved before his goal. Read more
Footballer Neymar and Bruna Biancardi announce they are expecting their 1st child together (DailyMail)
Neymar and his girlfriend Bruna Biancardi have announced they are expecting their first child together.
The Brazilian footballer, 31, and the influencer, 28, shared a joint post to their respective Instagram pages on Wednesday to reveal their jovial news.
Neymar is already a father to son Davi Lucca, 12, who he shares with his ex-girlfriend and social media personality Carolina Dantas. Read more
FIBA bans Russia men’s basketball from 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris (CBS)
FIBA, the international governing body of basketball, has chosen to ban Russia men’s basketball from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. On Tuesday, FIBA announced that Russia would not be allowed to participate in the qualifying tournament this year.
In its announcement, FIBA cited the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation that Russia and Belarus be prohibited from participating in team sports in 2024.
“Following the IOC recommendations on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions published on 28 March, the FIBA Executive Committee has decided to not allow the registration of the Russian men’s national team in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments 2023,” FIBA said in its press release. Read more
