8 repentant militants, kidnappers become pastors in OPM Church (Vanguard)
No fewer than eight repentant Niger Delta militants and kidnappers undergoing rehabilitation in the Omega Power Ministries (OPM) rehabilitation centre, are now pastors in the church, General Overseer, Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere, has said.
Chinyere, who is the founder of the church disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.
The General Overseer said that the repentant militants/kidnappers turned over a new leaf after a divine encounter through evangelism organised for some of them in their various camps.
“I preached to them and many of them hearkened to salvation call and gave their lives to Jesus Christ. Read more
Abraham Adesanya Estate land against court ruling (ThisDay)
A firm, Corporate Finance Group, has advised members of the public and particularly banks and mortgage providers to avoid land sale being promoted by the Lagos State Ministry of Housing and some companies at Abraham Adesanya Estate, Ajah Lagos, because there is a pending lawsuit on the land at the Court of Appeal, Lagos.
According to Corporate Finance Group, the Lagos State Government engaged them to build Millennium Homes in two sites; Gbagada and Abraham Adesanya Estate and that these sites were covered by a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).
They said the contract was later terminated, wrongfully, and they challenged it in court and won.
Dissatisfied, the Lagos State Government went to the Appeal Court where the case is pending. Read more
5 policemen on trial for extorting N200,000 from Dubai-based Nigerian (DailyTrust)
Lagos State Police Command says it has commenced orderly room trial for five policemen at FESTAC Police Station for allegedly collecting N200,000 from a Dubai-based Nigerian who was home visiting his family.
The policemen had allegedly followed the victim to a local Point of Sale (POS) cash point in FESTAC where the said amount was extorted from him.
The policemen had accosted the victim while driving home in an Uber car.
It was learnt that the victim who recently arrived in the country from Dubai, and was also heading home from the airport, had shared the story of how police officers in FESTAC town stopped him and extorted N200, 000 from him. Read more
Sanwo-Olu lauds police officer, Erhabor, assaulted in viral video (Tribune)
Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, hailed ASP Sunday Erhabor, a police officer attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the State Command, who was assaulted by one Victor Ebhomenyen at Four Point by Sheraton Hotel, Oniru last the weekend.
The incident was captured in a viral video on social media last Saturday as Ebhomenyen, was caught driving against the traffic tried to evade arrest and violently engaged in assaulting ASP Erhabor, inflicting on him severe body injuries.
But notwithstanding the police officer, who was armed with his official AK 47 rifle, displayed a high level of professionalism despite the fierce provocations.
Governor Sanwo-Olu commended the police officer, Erhabor for displaying a high level of professionalism and calmness by restraining himself from taking laws into his hands, despite being assaulted while trying to arrest Ebhomenyen for driving against the traffic. Read more JUSUN Strike: Lagos State Judiciary enjoys 100% financial autonomy, CJ (ThisDay)
The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Hon. Justice Kazeem Alogba, has said Lagos Judiciary has been enjoying the total compliance of Financial Autonomy on recurrent expenditures 100%, and on Capital Expenditure from the State Government.
Justice Alogba also stated that the State Government has been in 75% compliance of JUSUN’s other demand, adding that, though it could be better, the Judiciary is quite satisfied with the Lagos State Government.
He called on JUSUN to end the strike action, because there is no need for it in Lagos state.
The CJ disclosed this when he presided over the meeting between the Lagos State Government and JUSUN Executives over the ongoing strike action. Read more
3 persons shot in kidnapping attempt in Osun – Police (Vanguard)
The Police Command in Osun on Monday said three persons were shot during a failed kidnapping attempt at Koka Village in Ibokun Local Government Area on Sunday.
SP Yemisi Opalola, Spokesperson of the command in a statement, said suspected hoodlums armed with guns, invaded Koka Village at about 11:45p.m. on Sunday to kidnap residents.
Opalola, however, said residents and hunters of the community were able to mobilise and engage the hoodlums in a gun battle, thereby aborting the kidnap operation.
“At about 11:45p.m. on Sunday, unidentified hoodlums attacked Koka Village in Ibokun Local Government Area and attempted to abduct some villagers. Read more
Operators await NCC directive to restart SIM card registration (Nation)
Telecom operators could not resume the sale and activation of new Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards on Monday. They were awaiting the official go ahead from industry regulator Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Some of the agents contracted to do the job, the telecoms operators said were yet restart work.
There was no activity at the popular Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos, when The Nation visited on Monday.
The agents were not on hand to register new subscribers neither were there willing customers to buy SIMS. Read more
Petrol: No increase in ex-depot Price in May – NNPC (Guardian)
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it will not increase the ex- depot price of Premium Motor spirit also known as petrol in May.
The Group Managing Director, Malam Mele Kyari, made this known at the end of a closed door meeting with Petroleum Transport Drivers (PTD), National Association of Road Transporters Owners (NARTO) and oil marketers in Abuja on Monday.
Ex-depot price is the price marketers buy products from depot owners; it determines the pump price at filling stations.
Meanwhile, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that queues resurfaced in most filling stations around the Federal Capital Territory with visibility of black marketers along the major highways. Read more
Slain Soldiers: 10 weapons recovered, 4 arrested – Ortom (Tribune)
Ten weapons including a machine gun and eight AK 47 that were taken away by bandits from the slain soldiers at Bonta community in the Konshisha local government area of the state have been recovered.
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, disclosed this to newsmen, on Monday, after the State Security Council meeting.
The governor who spoke at the end of the expanded state Security Council Meeting held at the Government House in Makurdi further said that four persons including two traditional rulers, the deputy Chairman of Konshisha and the Councilor of Mbatser/ Mbaguaza have also been arrested and handed over to the police in connection with the killing of the soldiers. Read more
Police arrest 2 suspects providing medical services to bandits (Guardian)
The Kaduna State Government said two people suspected of providing medical services to bandits have been arrested by the police in Buruku, Chikun Local Government Area of the state.
The government, however, said at least three people were killed by gunmen in different locations in the state within the last 48 hours.
The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr Samuel Aruwan, said in a statement on Monday in Kaduna.
According to him, in one of the attacks, bandits invaded Rafin Roro village in Kajuru local government area and killed one person. Read more
Man ‘stalking’ Taylor Swift arrested in New York (BBC)
A man has been arrested after an attempted break-in at Taylor Swift’s apartment in Manhattan, New York.
Hanks Johnson, 52, was apprehended on Saturday evening, after a 911 caller reported he was inside the property without permission, police said.
Johnson was charged with criminal trespass and released without bail on Sunday night, they added.
Swift has been plagued by stalkers in the past, with men trying to break into her homes on both coasts of the US. Read more
“Do Not Travel”: Citing COVID-19, State Department updating advisory for 80% of the world (RT)
Citing “unprecedented risk” from the Covid-19 pandemic, the State Department is urging Americans to reconsider going abroad and is updating its travel advisory to the highest, Level 4 warning for most of the planet.
On Monday, Foggy Bottom announced that it will be updating the travel advisory during the week, to “better reflect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) science-based Travel Health Notices,” which will result in the number of places at Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory to increase to “approximately 80% of countries worldwide.”
The change does not imply a judgment on the current health situation in any given country, the State Department explained, but an “adjustment” in the travel advisory system to “rely more on CDC’s existing epidemiological assessments” and reflect “logistical factors” such as the availability of testing. Read more
Derek Chauvin betrayed police badge, prosecutor says in George Floyd murder trial (France24)
A prosecutor told the jury that former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin betrayed his badge and murdered George Floyd in last year’s deadly arrest as closing arguments began on Monday in Chauvin’s trial.
Over and over again, Steve Schleicher, a prosecutor with the Minnesota attorney general’s office, repeated a phrase: “Nine minutes and 29 seconds,” – the length of time Chauvin was captured on video on May 25, 2020, kneeling on the dying Floyd’s neck.
Schleicher emphasized that the jury was weighing the guilt of only one man, although their verdict will nonetheless be widely seen as a reckoning in the way the United States polices Black people.
“This is not a prosecution of the police,” Schleicher told jurors. He cited the motto of the Minneapolis Police Department, which fired Chauvin and three other officers involved the day after Floyd’s arrest: “To protect with courage and to serve with compassion.” Read more
Covid in Uttar Pradesh: Coronavirus overwhelms India’s most populous state (BBC)
India is reeling under a severe second wave of Covid-19 and many states are struggling to cope with the rising numbers. Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, is among the worst affected in the country and its people are suffering even as authorities insist the situation is under control, reports the BBC’s Geeta Pandey.
Kanwal Jeet Singh’s 58-year-old father Niranjan Pal Singh died on Friday in an ambulance while being ferried from one hospital to another. They had been turned away by four hospitals for a lack of beds.
“It was a heart-wrenching day for me,” he told me on the phone from his home in Kanpur city. “I believe if he had received treatment on time, he would have lived. But no-one helped us, the police, the health authorities or the government.” Read more
Chad’s President Idriss Deby re-elected for sixth term with 79.3% of vote (France24)
Chad’s long-ruling President Idriss Deby Itno was re-elected to a sixth term with 79.32 percent of the votes cast in April 11’s election, according to provisional results from the electoral commission on Monday.
Chad’s veteran leader Idriss Deby has won a sixth term as president, provisional election results showed on Monday, as the army said it had beaten back a column of insurgents advancing on the capital N’Djamena.
Deby, 68, took 79.3 percent of the vote from the April 11 election after top opposition leaders boycotted to protest his efforts to extend his 30 years in power.
Deby seized power in an armed rebellion in 1990. He is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders and a close ally of Western powers battling Islamist militants in West and Central Africa. Read more
Germany’s CDU backs Armin Laschet as Merkel’s successor (BBC)
Armin Laschet has won the backing of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party to run as a centre-right candidate to succeed her in September’s elections.
Christian Democrat (CDU) leader Mr Laschet was supported by 77.5% of the party’s executive board members.
His rival Markus Söder, who heads the CDU’s Bavarian sister party the CSU, was supported by 22.5% of the board.
Mr Söder had earlier said it was up to the CDU to choose who would represent the conservative alliance. Read more
Canada rolls out post-pandemic spending plan ahead of likely election (Fox)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government on Monday lined up billions in new spending to provide emergency support during a virulent third wave of COVID-19 and to help launch an economic recovery ahead of an election expected later this year.
The budget, the Liberal government’s first in two years because of the pandemic, is aimed squarely at boosting near-term growth and includes a long-promised national daycare plan.
It also follows through on stimulus promised late last year, outlining a C$101.4 billion ($81 billion) “growth plan” over three years, with nearly half of that spending coming in the first year. Read more
James Charles: YouTube temporarily demonetises beauty influencer (BBC)
YouTube has temporarily demonetised the channel of beauty influencer James Charles.
Earlier this month, he admitted to sending sexually explicit messages to two 16-year-old boys.
YouTube confirmed to the BBC that the 21-year-old has been temporarily removed from their Partnership Program. The program allows YouTubers to monetise their content.
They did not say how long his channel would be demonetised for. Read more
Bam Adebayo scores buzzer-beater to give Miami Heat win over Brooklyn Nets (BBC)
Bam Adebayo’s buzzer-beater clinched a 109-107 victory for the Miami Heat over the Brooklyn Nets, who lost Kevin Durant to injury.
Adebayo sunk a mid-range jumper to end the Heat’s three-game losing streak, finishing the game with 21 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.
NBA All-Star Durant limped off in the first quarter with an injury to his left thigh.
Landry Shamet scored a career-high 30 points for the Nets. Read more
Football Super League threatens meritocracy as faltering English giants sign up (France24)
The proposed creation of a breakaway European Super League by 12 major football clubs on Monday elicited a torrent of indignation from the footballing and political worlds alike – as well as questions in England about how “super” four of those teams have shown themselves to be this season, languishing outside the Champions League zone.
For many football fans the European Super League is the ugly apotheosis of the commercialisation of the game – which has snowballed since broadcaster Sky paid a then-shocking £191 million in 1992 for the rights to show English Premier League matches in the UK for five years.
“Super League has always been inevitable,” tweeted Guardian football writer Barney Ronay. “It turns out these very rich, ruthless people did not buy your club because they love heritage, old stories and community sport.” Read more
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez rubbishes UEFA’s threats over European Super League, slams Aleksander Ceferin (Metro)
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has defended the creation of a European Super League and says it will ‘save football’, while he dismissed the possibility of Uefa imposing sanctions on the 12 breakaway clubs. On Sunday evening, the Premier League’s ‘big six’ along with trios of clubs from Spain and Italy announced they would form a new competition to rival the Champions League, with none of the founding members able to be relegated and just five ‘open’ slots for other clubs. The plans were greeted with outrage from fans, pundits, governing bodies, politicians and even players, with clubs threatened with expulsion from their domestic leagues and Uefa saying any players from the Super League would be banned from playing international games. Read more
Dominic Thiem is exhausted and struggling, says Novak Djokovic (TennisHead)
Novak Djokovic says Dominic Thiem is ‘exhausted’ with tennis due to COVID restrictions, and he’s not alone among the players.
Thiem was due to return to action in Belgrade this week, but he pulled out a few days ago citing a knee injury as the cause.
The Austrian has not looked right mentally all year, though, and he recently admitted that he had ‘fallen into a hole’ mentally.
And, according to Djokovic, ‘most’ of the players on the ATP Tour are suffering similar issues.
“It’s definitely a big loss for our tournament to not have Dominic Thiem here,” Djokovic told the press in Belgrade.
“The tennis world needs him because he’s a Grand Slam champion and one of the top players of the world, a big star. Read more
Llorente denies Liverpool place in top four (BBC)
Diego Llorente scored a late equaliser for Leeds to deny Liverpool a place in the top four of the Premier League – as uncertainty reigns over what that would mean following the announcement of the European Super League.
The Reds are one of 12 clubs to agree to join a breakaway ESL to “commence as soon as practicable”. Even if it does not start next season, Uefa has said it could ban the clubs – including six English sides – from European competition for their defection.
There was a strange mood around the first game involving any of the 12 teams since Sunday night’s announcement, with protests inside and outside the ground. Read more
Jose Mourinho promises to make immediate comeback after Tottenham sacking (Metro)Jose Mourinho has declined to comment on his shock sacking by Tottenham but insists he is ready to return to management as soon as possible and does not want to take a break. The Portuguese coach was dismissed by Spurs after a disappointing season, with the club sitting in seventh place in the Premier League table and their chances of qualifying for the Champions League looking bleak. They did, however, make the final of the Carabao Cup, with Mourinho axed just six days before the showpiece at Wembley on Sunday. Read more