Again, FG shuts Eko bridge for repairs (Punch)
The Federal Government on Friday said it would shut the Ijora ramp of Eko Bridge from midnight, to be able to fix a major expansion joint undergoing rehabilitation.
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, said this during an inspection of the bridge.
He said that construction works on the Costain section of the bridge had been completed, while the entire project was 35 per cent complete.
Popoola said that it was time to continue work on a major expansion joint where traffic coming from Apongbon and the one from Ijora merged around Iponri section on the Eko Bridge. Read more
In Lagos, families struggle to survive as food prices soar (Guardian)
Nigerian nutritionist Emiolo Ogunsola stands in front of a dozen new mothers in a Lagos public hospital, listing the basic foods they need to keep their children well-nourished: Eggs, vegetables and beans among them.
Her pitch is abruptly interrupted. For the mothers listening, even those essentials are increasingly beyond their reach.
“Ma, how can you expect us to buy that, everything is so expensive, there is no money to buy all that,” says one young mother with a child cradled in her arms.
Inflation is rising around the world as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, and while Western central bankers say it is only temporary, the soaring prices are having dramatic consequences in countries like Nigeria. Read more
Lagos court remands boy, 13, for allegedly defiling 11-year-old girl (Punch)
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State on Friday remanded a 13-year-old boy (name withheld) in a correctional home, for allegedly defiling an 11-year-old girl.
The Magistrate, Ejiro Kubeinje, who did not take the juvenile’s plea, directed the police to send the case file to the state Director of Public Prosecutions for advice.
She adjourned the case until August 17 pending legal advice from the DPP’s office.
The Prosecution Counsel, Bisi Ogunleye, told the court that the defendant committed the offence in March at his residence. Read more
Court remands man for alleged attempted murder (Guardian)
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Friday remanded a 33-old-year-old man, Saheed Odusote, in Kirikiri Correctional Centre for alleged attempted murder.
The Magistrate, Mrs Ejiro Kubeinje, who did not take the defendant’s plea, directed the police to send the case file to the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
She adjourned the case until Aug. 25, for DPP’s advice.
The defendant, who resides at Iju, Lagos State, is being tried for conspiracy, belonging to an unlawful group and attempted murder.
The Prosecution Counsel, ASP Bisi Ogunleye, told the court that the defendant and other persons still at large committed the offences in April at Iju-Ishaga, Lagos State. Read more
Southern governors set to meet in Lagos on Monday (Tribune)
Southern governors will on Monday converge in Lagos for a meeting, following the recent one held last May 11, 2021, in Asaba, the Delta State capital, which focus was on recent happenings in the polity and security concerns in the country and particularly in their domain.
Tribune Online gathered that the planned meeting, which is to be hosted by the Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will take place at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, with all the 17 governors in the region expected to attend.
The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed that the parley would discuss issues relating to Insecurity, True Federalism, Open Grazing, State Police, restructuring, food security, among others.
Besides, it was learnt that the meeting is expected to discuss the gains of the last meeting and the next move to make. Read more
Dangote wants Navy’s protection for new refinery, pipelines in Lagos (DailyTrust)
The Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on Friday, appealed to the Nigerian Navy to mobilise its personnel for the security of his newly established refinery located at Lekki, Lagos State.
Dangote, who made this appeal when he met with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, at Naval headquarters in Abuja, said the appeal became important sequel to growing insecurity in the maritime sector of the country.
According to him, the refinery, being the largest single line in the world, would attract a lot of operations and activities, the development he said would drive away pirates from Apapa to Lekki.
He said: “I am here to look for a partnership between Dangote Group and the Nigerian Navy.
“There are a lot of things we can do between the Navy and the Dangote Group. I think we can be two hands while we can clap together. Read more
Amotekun arrests 400 cows in Ondo (Punch)
The Ondo State Security Network Agency has disclosed that no fewer than 400 cows have been arrested by the men of the corps in its ongoing “Operation Clean up” in the state.
The state Commander of the corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, made this known while speaking with journalists in Akure the state capital.
The commander also stated that the directive of the state government that all local government chairmen should set up a vigilante system has been yielding results.
He said, “We started from the state capital and combed all the black spots and made over 400 arrests before we headed to the local government areas and concentrated on the northern senatorial district ( of the state) where we embarked on 24 hours patrol. Read more
Customs hands over suspect with foreign currencies concealed in diapers to EFCC (Guardian)
The Kano, Jigawa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has handed over one Sabo Suleiman to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.
The command comptroller, Mr Suleiman Umar, made this known while beefing newsmen in Kano Umar said that Suleiman was arrested in possession of 184,800 dollars and 1.7 million Saudi Riyals at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.
”The suspect arrived on Ethiopian Airlines.
”The law in Nigeria mandates that every traveller who intends to travel with cash above 10,000dollars must declare it to the authorities. Suleiman failed to do.
”The suspect and the currencies have been to the Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation,” he said. Read more
Family planning can reduce death of pregnant women by 30% – FG (Tribune)
Federal Government has stated that family planning has the capacity to reduce maternal deaths in the country by 30 per cent.
According to the 2018 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) for every 100,000 live births in Nigeria,512 women die.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, made the assertion in Abuja, at the media launch of the National Family Planning Campaign organised by Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RMCH).
Mamora also advocated for increased investment in family planning services at all levels of government, particularly in the procurement of contraceptives. Read more
Boy Scouts of America: $850m deal agreed over sexual abuse claims (BBC)
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has reached a $850m (£617m) settlement with some 60,000 people over claims of historic sexual abuse.
Lawyers say it will be the largest sexual abuse settlement in US history.
In terms of reported numbers, it dwarves similar complaints made against the Catholic Church in the country.
The BSA has apologised to victims and filed for bankruptcy last year, saying it would set up a compensation trust for victims of sexual abuse. Read more
Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO after 27 years (RT)
The founder of online shopping giant Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is set to officially step down on July 5 as the company’s chief executive officer.
Bezos, named the world’s richest man by Forbes magazine earlier this year, with assets worth some $189 billion, is set to quit his post to free up time for his space-travel venture, Blue Origin.
Initially built as an online bookstore back in the 1990s, Amazon is now one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world, with a market capitalization of $1.7 trillion.
Bezos plans to keep his 10.3% stake in the company, as well as his position as executive chairman of Amazon’s board. Read more
Bitcoin billionaire Mircea Popescu dead, leaving $2b fortune in limbo (NYPost)
Controversial Bitcoin billionaire Mircea Popescu, 41, has suddenly died, leaving behind a massive crypto fortune that could be worth as much as $2 billion — and which some speculate could be lost forever.
Popescu, known to be among the largest individual holders of Bitcoin in the world at one point, drowned last week off the coast of Costa Rica near Playa Hermosa after going for a morning swim, according to local news reports.
Popescu was reportedly “swept away by the current and died on the spot.”
His death has since been confirmed by three women who were reportedly known to be close to him, though others have raised questions over whether he’s actually dead.
His website, which he previously actively maintained, has not been updated since June 23, the day of his reported death. Read more
Statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II torn down in Canada (BBC)
A prominent statue of Queen Victoria has been torn down by protesters in Canada as anger grows over the deaths of indigenous children at residential schools.
The protesters cheered as the statue at the legislature in Manitoba’s capital Winnipeg was toppled on Thursday.
A smaller statue of UK monarch Queen Elizabeth II was also upended nearby.
Local media say police used a stun gun to arrest at man at the scene but the protest was largely peaceful. Read more
Nigeria, Gambia sign MoU to tackle insurgency (Punch)
A Memorandum of understanding between the Governments of Nigeria and the Gambia on Military Cooperations has been signed to tackle insurgency.
The Special Assistance to the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abdulkadri, in a statement on Friday, in Abuja that the common threats of insecurities were to be jointly tackled.
Abdulkadiri in the statement said the Minister of Defence Maj Gen Bashir Magashi and the Gambian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mohamadou Musa Njie were the signatories for both countries.
Magashi agreed that the MoU could not have come at a better and more auspicious time than now when both countries are experiencing insurgency. Read more
Ethiopia says won’t ‘suffocate’ Tigray as UN clamours for access (RFI)
Ethiopia on Friday rejected charges that it planned to choke off aid to war-hit Tigray after rebels took control of the northern region this week — a stunning turnabout in the eight-month-old conflict.
The comments from Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen came a day after two key bridges allowing desperately-needed aid into Tigray were destroyed and as the UN warned more lives would be lost if supply routes were not restored.
“The insinuation that we are planning to suffocate the Tigrayan people by denying humanitarian access and using hunger as a weapon of war is beyond the pale,” Demeke told diplomats gathered at a hotel in the capital Addis Ababa.
Officials are “using every ounce of our strength to extricate” Tigrayan civilians “from the dire situation they find themselves in”, he added. Read more
Howard University students want Phylicia Rashad fired over Cosby tweet (NYPost)
Outraged Howard University students and alumni are calling for actress Phylicia Rashad to be fired as dean of its College of Fine Arts in the wake of her enthusiastic support of Bill Cosby’s release from prison.
The hashtag #ByePhylicia — a play on “Bye Felicia” — started trending this week after the actress celebrated her former “Cosby Show” co-star’s release with a jubilant, “FINALLY!!!!”
“A terrible wrong is being righted — a miscarriage of justice is corrected!” the actress tweeted along with a photo of Cosby, whose sex assault conviction was overturned Wednesday on a legal technicality.
Howard University has so far not announced any planned action against its incoming celebrity dean, herself a former student, merely noting that Rashad’s “tweet lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault.” Read more
Tokyo 2020: US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson set to miss Olympic (BBC)
US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has received a one-month ban after testing positive for marijuana – and is set to miss the Tokyo Olympics.
The 21-year-old won the 100m at the US Olympic trials in Oregon in June and earlier this year ran the sixth-fastest time in history.
But the Texan’s positive test means her qualification result has been expunged.
“Don’t judge me, because I am human, I just happen to run a little faster,” she told NBC’s Today show.
The athlete’s positive test came at the Olympic trials event, where she finished well clear of the field in 10.86secs. Read more
Cops who stopped sprint duo ‘face investigation over alleged racism & dishonesty’ (RT)
Police officers who were involved in the stop and search of British sprinter Bianca Williams and her athlete partner are now under investigation for gross misconduct in relation to racism and dishonesty, reports have claimed.
Ricardo dos Santos and Williams were stopped in north-west London on July 4 last year by Territorial Support Group officers linked to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).
They were searched on suspicion of possessing drugs and weapons, with their then-three-month-old son in the back seat. Nothing was found in the vehicle or on their person.
Since then, an investigation launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has looked into misconduct claims against five officers and is said to have become more serious after the discovery of new evidence. Read more
Knicks’ Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley named to USA Select Team (NYPost)
Knicks rookies Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley were both named to the USA Basketball Select Team on Thursday.
It will give the pair a chance to be coached by Erik SpoNYPost, scrimmage with the Olympic squad in their Las Vegas training camp and have a clear pathway to the national team pool if they continue to progress.
In short, it’s a golden opportunity.
“It’s an honour to be selected for the USA Select Team,” Toppin said in a video shared by the Knicks. “It’s an opportunity for me to get out to Vegas and play against the best players in the world — guys like [Kevin Durant], Khris Middleton, Kevin Love, Dame Lillard. … Can’t wait to get out there and help them prepare to go to Tokyo and win the gold medal.”
After being drafted eighth overall out of Dayton, Toppin recovered somewhat from a disappointing rookie regular season by raising his production in the playoffs. The power forward averaged just 4.1 points in 11 minutes during the season, but upped that to 6.4 points in 13 minutes during a first-round playoff loss to the Hawks. Read more
Harry Kane makes promise to Chelsea fan who died celebrating his goal against Germany (Metro)
England captain Harry Kane has vowed to ‘give it everything’ to honour the memory of Charlie Naughton who tragically passed away earlier this week while watching the Three Lions’ historic win over Germany at Wembley.
Gareth Southgate’s side progressed to the quarter finals of Euro 2020 following a 2-0 win, during which Kane scored his long-awaited first goal of the tournament and ensuring a nerve-shredding final few minutes was avoided.
While the rest of the nation was reveling in the celebrations, paramedics worked for three hours to try and bring Naughton back to life but the Chelsea fan ultimately passed away aged just 29.
Ahead of tomorrow’s match against Ukraine in Rome, Kane wrote on Twitter: ‘I’m so sorry to hear about Charlie passing away – my thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends. Read more
Austrian Grand Prix: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton fastest in second practice (BBC)
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in second practice at the Austrian Grand Prix to give Mercedes hope of clawing back some lost ground to Red Bull.
Hamilton beat team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 0.189 seconds, while title rival Max Verstappen was 0.217secs back.
Red Bull’s Verstappen moved 18 points clear of Hamilton in the championship after dominating Sunday’s Styrian Grand Prix on the same Red Bull Ring track.
The Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel were fourth and fifth. Read more
Manuel Locatelli intent on joining Juventus despite Arsenal offer (Metro)
Manuel Locatelli is intent on joining Juventus this summer despite Arsenal’s interest, according to reports in Italy.
The Gunners have already submitted an offer for the midfielder, who has impressed for Italy at Euro 2020 with two goals in three appearances.
Borussia Dortmund have also expressed their interest in signing the 23-year-old this summer.But according to Alfredo Pedulla, Locatelli is holding out for Juventus’ offer and is keen to wait for the Turin club to reach an agreement with Sassuolo. Read more