89 men beaten, violated by their wives in Lagos – Commissioner (DailyTimes)
Between 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, 89 men confirmed being battered by their wives in cases of domestic abuse, according to the Lagos State Government.
Cecilia Bolaji Dada, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), announced this on Tuesday at a ministerial news conference in Ikeja, Lagos, to commemorate Governor Babajide Sanwo-second Olu’s year in office.
According to the commissioner, 46 men confirmed their wives had violated them to the ministry in 2020. She went on to say that 43 men reported being battered by their wives in the first quarter of 2021, bringing the number to 89 in less than two years.
She explained that the number only included cases that were reported to WAPA, and that some cases were reported directly to the Ministry of Justice and police station, which the ministry might not be aware of. Read more
One per cent of Lagosians vaccinated in first phase (Nation)
Lagos Health Commissioner Prof. Akin Abayomi has said the about 260,000 persons vaccinated against COVID-19 represents just one per cent of the state’s population.
Abayomi, who spoke at the ministerial briefing to mark Governor Bababjide Sanwo-Olu’s second year in office, said the second phase of vaccination would start soon.
The commissioner warned Nigeria stood the risk of experiencing a third wave having vaccinated only less than one per cent of its population.
Abayomi said: “Health facilities in Lagos State have been placed on high alert to pick up early trends that may suggest a third wave of COVID-19. Read more
Lagos places 4,000 interns on N40k monthly stipend (Independent)
As part of its initiatives to address the unemployment challenge among graduates in the state, the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment (MWCE) disclosed that it has targeted 4,000 interns to be placed on a monthly stipend of N40,000 for a period of six months.
The Commissioner, MWCE, Yetunde Arobieke, stated this during the Year 2021 Ministerial Press Briefing in commemoration of the Second Year Anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration, held in Alausa, Ikeja, on Wednesday.
Arobieke noted that MWCE initiated the graduate internship programme for the unemployed youths in Lagos State to tackle head-long the ills of unemployment.
According to her, the programme, which is planned to last for six months, is meant to, among others, expose interns to a particular job, profession or industry; network; give them the opportunity to excel and possibly learn a job with the organisation; expose interns to professional skills and interpersonal relationships in a structured setting, expose interns to possible niche of entrepreneurial opportunities, among others. Read more
6,000km fibre optics to connect Lagos (Nation)
The 6,000km Fibre Metro Connection being laid across Lagos State is to boost digital learning, encourage tele-health, ensure a spike in E-commerce, among other benefits, Commissioner for Science and Technology Hakeem Fahm said yesterday.
The first 3,000km was laid in 2020, while the remaining 3,000km will be laid this year.
Fahm addressed reporters yesterday as part of activities to mark Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second year in office.
He said the moves were tailored towards making Lagos a Smart City, adding that the interconnectivity would also help to balance life-work activities. Fahm noted that implementation of the Smart City project would incorporate smart technology into transport, infrastructure surveillance and security, health care services, education and government services. Read more
Mbaka: Protesting youths vandalise Enugu Catholic Bishop’s residence (Guardian)
Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu created what I wish to call a scene of debauchery when some big personages of our politics visited, on his invitation, his Catholic ministry’s organized bazaar.
Protesting youths on Wednesday vandalised the official residence of the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Bishop Callistus Onaga in protest of the alleged arrest of Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the irate youths suspected to be members of the Adoration Ministry and numbering over 1,000 stormed the residence of the Bishop located at Igboeze Street, Independence Layout
Mbaka is the founder and director of the popular Adoration Ministries, Enugu and Parish Priest, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Emene.
One of the protesters told NAN anonymously that they wanted the Bishop to clarify the whereabouts of Mbaka who had not been seen since Tuesday.
The protesters, who were chanting anti-Bishop Onaga songs asked him to resign. Read more
NDLEA arrests 80-year old grandma, granddaughter with 192kg cocaine, heroin – Babafemi (Independent)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an 80-year-old woman, Mrs Mary Adebayo, alongside her 19-year-old granddaughter, Funmilola Adebayo, with 192kg of assorted drugs in Akure, Ondo State.
NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, in Abuja.
Babafemi said that two other ladies were also arrested alongside the duo for selling assorted illicit drugs that included cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, tramadol, swinol and skuchies.
He said that the arrest came after intelligence-based raids and follow up operations on their locations on Sunday, May 2, 2021. Read more
27 Kaduna college students released (Leadership)
The 27 of the 29 students of the College of Forestry Mechanisation Afaka in Kaduna kidnapped in March, have been released by their abductors.
According to a credible source, one of the intermediaries who collected the freed students at a designated point, confirmed the development. Read more
Citing insecurity, House urges FG to suspend proposed 2021 population census (ThisDay)
The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to suspend the proposed 2021 population and housing census due to insecurity in the country.
The House also summoned the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) to clarify the feasibility of concluding census in the face of insecurity.
The decision of the House was sequel to the adoption of a motion moved by Hon. Sheu Beji at plenary on Wednesday.
Moving the motion, Beji said that the federal government through the National Population Commission has commenced preparations for the 2021 population and housing census across the country. Read more
Tekno features Mafikizolo in “Enjoy” remix video (Guardian)
Afropop singer, songwriter and producer, Tekno has dropped the remix to his hit single, “Enjoy” featuring South African duo, Mafikizolo.
The Enjoy Remix video, which was shot in Ikeja, Lagos by Nigerian cinematographer Clarence Peters and styled by Uduak Betiku, is a colourful and enjoyable video that demonstrates beauty and fashion while leaning into that spirit of celebration. Read more
Malian woman gives birth to nine babies (BBC)
A 25-year-old Malian woman has given birth to nine babies – two more than doctors had detected during scans.
Halima Cisse gave birth to the nonuplets in Morocco. Mali’s government flew her there for specialist care.
The five girls and four boys were born by Caesarean section and were doing well, Mali’s health minister said.
It is extremely rare to give birth to a set of nonuplets – and complications during and after birth often mean that some of the babies do not survive. Read more
Jennifer Lopez poses with her mum and daughter for stunning 3 generations of beauty snap (Metro)
Jennifer Lopez let the world know that she got her glow from her mama as she posed for a stunning three generations of beauty photo. The hitmaker teamed up with her mother Guadalupe Rodriguez, 75, and her 13-year-old daughter Emme for a stunning campaign shoot to promote her JLo beauty range. Now this is what you call a triple threat! In the snap, the trio all wore grey as they posed in height order and showcased their side profiles. Read more
Pétrus wine aged in space up for sale at Christie’s (BBC)
A bottle of French wine that orbited the Earth for more than a year has been put up for sale.
The bottle of Pétrus 2000 – made from merlot grapes in the Bordeaux region – spent 14 months in orbit as part of a privately funded research study on food and agriculture.
On Tuesday Christie’s announced the wine is now available through its private sales.
The auction house estimates a sale price of $1m (£720,000; €830,000). Read more
Andrew Garfield denies he’s returning as Spider-Man in “No Way Home” (Metro)
Spider-Man fans have been in a tizzy over the rumours that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will join Tom Holland for a Peter Parker multiverse extravaganza in the upcoming film No Way Home. But while the stars have played coy so far, brushing off reports and claiming they’re in the dark, Andrew has given the strongest denial so far – so that’s our dreams crushed. The 37-year-old, who played Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, confirmed that he is not in No Way Home, begging fans to ‘chill’ over the rumours. Read more
Seychelles brings back curbs despite vaccination success (BBC)
The Seychelles, which has fully vaccinated over 60% of its population against Covid-19, is bringing back restrictions amid a rise in cases.
The archipelago of nearly 100,000 people recorded close to 500 new cases in the three days to 1 May and has about 1,000 active cases.
A third of the active cases involved people who had had two vaccine doses, the country’s news agency said.
The rest had either had a single dose or were unvaccinated. Read more
Egypt in Covid 3rd wave calls off end-of-Ramadan festivities (France24)
Egypt on Wednesday announced a partial shutdown of malls and restaurants and called off festivities for the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr to curb rising coronavirus cases.
The closure of cafes, malls and restaurants from 9 pm will take effect from Thursday until May 21.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli told a televised news conference that Egypt was in a “third wave” of the Covid-19 pandemic, urging citizens to follow health guidelines and register for vaccinations.
Egypt, the most populous Arab country, has recorded nearly 232,000 positive cases including more than 13,000 deaths.
“You have a responsibility not just for yourself but also your family,” he said, flanked by Health Minister Hala Zayed and other senior officials.
“We are at a critical stage,” he said. Read more
Facebook oversight board upholds Trump ban (Guardian)
Facebook’s independent oversight board on Wednesday upheld the platform’s ban on former US President Donald Trump while ordering a further review of the case, in a decision with a potentially far-reaching impact on the regulation of online speech.
The board, whose decisions are binding on the leading social network, said Trump “created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible” with his comments regarding the January 6 rampage by his supporters at the US Capitol.
“Given the seriousness of the violations and the ongoing risk of violence, Facebook was justified in suspending Mr. Trump’s accounts on January 6 and extending that suspension on January 7,” the board said after its review.
But the panel also ruled that “it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension.” Read more
Federations: Board members tell Dare to reverse decision (Punch)
Protesting board members of the dissolved 30 National Sports Federations on Tuesday issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, to reverse the decision or face legal action.
They also threatened to mobilise Nigerians to ground the ministry to a halt.
The spokesperson of the aggrieved group, Frederick Abah of the Nigeria Judo Federation, stated that the minister should desist from jeopardising the future of the country’s youths, especially sportsmen and women.
The federations that signed to be part of the action include aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, chess, cricket, cycling, darts, deaf sports, golf, gymnastics and handball. Read more
Premier League fans to return to stadiums for final two rounds of matches (Metro)
Away fans will be barred from attending the final two rounds of Premier League games this season, the league has announced. Up to 10,000 fans will be allowed into matches in round 37 on May 18 and 19 and in round 38 on May 23, provided the Government goes ahead with the planned easing of coronavirus restrictions on May 17. However, a decision has now been taken to limit this to home spectators. ‘Following consultation with clubs, it was agreed matches would not be open to away supporters due to varying operational challenges across the league and the need to deliver a consistent approach, while maximising the opportunity for home-fan attendance,’ a league statement read. Read more
Infantino urges restraint in punishing Super League clubs (Punch)
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says he is not in favour of sanctions against the 12 clubs that tried to launch a European Super League, preferring “dialogue” on football reform.
The plan to create a closed competition was “unacceptable” and “unimaginable”, the world football boss told French sports daily L’Equipe in an interview published on Wednesday.
“Certain actions should have consequences, and everyone must assume their responsibilities,” said Infantino, who has publically joined the opposition to the project.
“But you always have to be careful when you talk about sanctions. Read more
Jens Lehmann sacked by Hertha Berlin for ‘quota black guy’ message to Dennis Aogo (BBC)
Former Arsenal and Germany keeper Jens Lehmann has been sacked from his role on Hertha Berlin’s board after sending a Whatsapp message to pundit Dennis Aogo calling him a “quota black guy”.
Aogo, who works for Sky in Germany, posted a screenshot of the message from Lehmann on Instagram and wrote: “Wow you’re serious? The message was probably not for me.”
Lehman has apologised and said he meant that, as ex-Germany defender Aogo was “very knowledgeable”, he had helped increase the “quota”. Read more
Arsenal’s Aubameyang reveals full extent of malaria scare (France24)
Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has revealed his family were scared by his weight loss after he contracted malaria while on international duty in March.
The Gabon forward missed four games following the diagnosis after a feeling of lethargy left him questioning the cause.
He returned off the bench in the Europa League semi-final first-leg defeat by Villarreal last week and is in line to start the return game, having scored in Sunday’s Premier League win at Newcastle.
But the 31-year-old has only now revealed how a sudden drop in weight and change in mood had his relatives worried about his health. Read more
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals apology from Glazer family after Manchester United supporter protests (Metro) Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that he has received a personal apology from the Glazer family and admits Manchester United need to improve their communication with supporters in the wake of Sunday’s protests. United fans turned up at Old Trafford to voice their disapproval of the club’s Glazer ownership, but some who were in attendance clashed with police, with one officer requiring hospital treatment for a slash wound to his face. United’s Premier League match against Liverpool was subsequently called off, while supporters have threatened to protest again before the season ends. Speaking about the protests, Solskjaer urged United supporters to remain ‘peaceful’ and has vowed that the club are looking to build a bridge with fans. Read more