Alleged failed plastic surgery: Court adjourns trial of Lagos surgeon (Guardian)
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday adjourned the trial of a Lagos-based surgeon, Dr Anuoluwapo Adepoju, charged with evasion from an investigation into an alleged failed plastic surgery.
The defendant is charged alongside her clinic, MedContour Services Ltd., on five counts bordering on refusal to honour an invitation for investigation and failure to produce an investigation document.
She was arraigned on July 3 alongside her medical outfit, before Justice Mohammed Liman. Read more
Lagos police arrest suspected cult gang leader, Iron man, 8 others (DailyTrust)
A suspected leader of Eiye, a dreaded secret cult gang in Lagos State, Francis Diamond, alias Iron Man, has been arrested. Diamond’s arrest followed acts of violence, murder, and armed robbery in the Ikorodu, Epe and Ajah areas of the state. Lagos police arrest suspected cult gang leader, Iron man, 8 others Lagos police arrest 179 violators of inter-state travel lockdown, impound 43 commercial vehicles The Lagos State Police Command linked the crimes to the gang of the arrested suspect. The police disclosed they also arrested eight other members of the gang in different parts of Ikorodu on the strength of a voluntary statement Diamond made to them. Read more
NDDC paid N1.5b as COVID-19 relief allowance to staff, says Senate Committee (ThisDay)
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) paid a total of N1.5 billion as COVID-19 pandemic relief allowance to its 1,269 workers between February and May this year.
Chairman of the Senate Ad-hoc committee on investigation of the alleged financial recklessness in the NDDC, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, who made the disclosure at a public hearing on the investigation stated that one of the staff got N10 million as relief allowance.
Adetumbi, who read out the figures, explained that the figures were sourced from the current Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the NDDC. Read more
I thank God the police arrested us, says gang leader (Nation)
The Nigeria Police on Thursday paraded seven members of a gang responsible for robbing three banks in Ondo and Ekiti States between 2019 and the early part of 2020, killing six policemen in the process.
Leader of the gang, 42-year old Ojo Tubonsun, who confessed to the crime, said he was grateful to God that they were arrested by the police.
Tubonsun was paraded alongside six other members of his gang at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad Headquarters in Abuja. Read more
Hushpuppi is into real estate, not a fraudster – Lawyer (Punch)
Gal Pissetzky, counsel for alleged international fraudster, Ramon Abbas aka Hushpuppi, says his client is not a fraudster.
Pissetzky of Pissetzky & Berliner said Hushpuppi ran legitimate businesses including real estate, according to Forbes.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the 37-year-old was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, by the Dubai Police. Read more
FG explains deregulation of oil downstream sector (Guardian)
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Sylva says the deregulation of the downstream oil sector was to ensure economic growth and development of the country.
Sylva made this known in a statement in Abuja, on Thursday.
He said it was unrealistic to continue to subsidise the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol as it had no economic value. Read more
Metering Gap: Discos seek massive CBN-funded rollout scheme (ThisDay)
Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) Thursday called for a massive meter rollout project to be funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure customers are adequately served before the full take-off of the proposed Service Reflective Tariff (SRT) scheduled for the first quarter of next year.
The umbrella body of the Discos, the Association of Electricity Distributors (ANED), in a statement, noted that one of their representatives, the Managing Director of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Mr Ernest Mupwaya, made the call when he appeared before the House of Representatives. Read more
RCCG sacks pastor for attempting to sleep with member (Punch)
The Redeemed Christian Church of God has sacked an Assistant Pastor of the church in Akure, Ondo State, Mr Gideon Bakare.
The church also relieved him of all ministerial duties in the mission.
Bakare was recently accused of attempting to sleep with a woman in her matrimonial home in Akure.
In a viral video, the pastor is seen naked as the church member sits beside him while her family films the event. Read more
Naya Rivera: Glee star missing after boat trip with son (BBC)
Glee star Naya Rivera is missing after her four-year-old son was found alone in a boat on a lake in Southern California, officials say.
The 33-year-old rented the boat on Wednesday afternoon at Lake Piru, north-west of Los Angeles, the Ventura County Sheriff’s office said.
It said a search and rescue operation was suspended overnight and “will continue at first light”.
Rivera is best known for playing cheerleader Santana Lopez in Glee.
The musical comedy TV series ran on the Fox network from 2009 to 2015. Read more
Seoul mayor found dead after search – police (RT)
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has been found dead in the north of the South Korean capital, according to police. A major search was launched on Thursday after he disappeared, with his cell phone turned off.
Park didn’t show up to work on Thursday, prompting his family to alert the police. The mayor had his cell phone switched off, and reportedly had left a message resembling a will.
Before his disappearance, Park canceled his appointments for the day, and was reportedly last spotted on Thursday morning by security cameras near a wooded area in the north of the sprawling city, where his cell phone signal was last detected. Around 600 police officers searched the area with dogs and drones throughout the night. Read more
Coronavirus: Serbia scraps curfew plan for Belgrade after protests (BBC)
The Serbian government has scrapped a plan to impose a weekend coronavirus curfew in Belgrade after two nights of protests in the capital.
Instead, PM Ana Brnabic announced more limited measures, including a ban on all gatherings of more than 10 people.
President Aleksandar Vucic had wanted the curfew due to a rise in infections. Read more
Astronomers spot four mysterious, unidentified circular objects in outer space (RT)
Astronomers in Australia have discovered four unexplained circular objects, each with an unusual glow, that defies current understanding and may represent a new type of phenomenon hitherto unseen by humanity.
The brightly-edged, ring-shaped objects, dubbed odd radio circles, or ORCs for short, were discovered by astrophysicist Professor Ray Norris using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. Read more
Trump taxes: Supreme Court says New York prosecutors can see records (BBC)
The US Supreme Court has ruled that President Trump’s financial records can be examined by prosecutors in New York.
In a related case, the court ruled that this information did not have to be shared with Congress.
Mr Trump is the first president since Richard Nixon in the 1970s not to have made his tax returns public.
His lawyers had argued that he enjoys total immunity while in office and that Congress had no valid justification to seek the records. Read more
Comedian and River City actor Johnny Beattie dies aged 93 (Metro)
Comedian Johnny Beattie has died at the age of 93, it has been revealed.
The Scottish comedy legend, who was best known for playing Shieldinch’s loveable pensioner Malcolm Hamilton in BBC soap River City, is said to have died after a short stay at St Margaret’s Hospice.
Sharing the sad news, Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre tweeted: ‘We have just received the very sad news that Johnny Beattie has passed away. Read more
50 Cent goes ballistic in NJ, throws table, chair at familiar instigator (TMZ)
50 Cent flew into a rage, throwing a table and chair, after getting into it with a guy he’s beefed with in the past.
The incident went down Wednesday night in the patio area at the Edgewater Commons Mall in Edgewater, NJ … where the rapper was enjoying drinks with a woman sitting on the other end of the table.
We’re told at some point a man outside walked up to 50’s area and exchanged words before the incident turned violent. You can see in the video Fiddy grabbed a table and launched it in the man’s direction. Read more
Katie Taylor to face Delfine Persoon in rematch on 22 August (BBC)
Undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor will meet Delfine Persoon in a rematch on 22 August.
The bout will take place 14 months after Ireland’s Taylor claimed all four of the division’s belts with a controversial victory over the Belgian in New York.
Part of promoter Eddie Hearn’s ‘Matchroom Fight Camp’, the contest will be held behind closed doors and act as chief support to the interim WBC world heavyweight meeting between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin. Read more
Africa’s MVPs: Fans query exclusion of Eagles stars (Punch)
Some Nigerians on social media have questioned the exclusion of Super Eagles players from the list of Top 10 Most Valuable Players in Africa.
The PUNCH reported on Wednesday that Liverpool duo Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane, led a list of Africa’s 10 MVPs that had no Nigerian.
Both players are each valued at €120m. Read more
Jamie Murray could skip the US Open (Metro)
Jamie Murray is unsure of whether he will participate at the US Open next month amid concerns over returning to Europe ahead of the French Open.
In a jam-packed modified tennis schedule, there will be just two weeks between the US Open final and the start of the French Open.
There are two Masters 1000 events, in Madrid and Rome, squeezed in between, with the Madrid Open starting the day of the men’s singles final at Flushing Meadows. Read more
Mahrez hails Man City goalscoring power (Guardian)
Riyad Mahrez hailed Manchester City’s goalscoring power after the dethroned Premier League champions swept Newcastle aside 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
The Algeria international found the net along with Gabriel Jesus, David Silva and Raheem Sterling, while City benefited from a Federico Fernandez own goal in the victory.
The rout took City’s goal tally in the Premier League this season to 86 from 34 games — 11 more than champions Liverpool, who they hammered 4-0 last week. Read more
Solskjaer wants Pogba to extend Man United deal (Punch)
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will not seek huge funds for transfers this summer due to the economic realities of the coronavirus crisis but is keen for the club to tie down Paul Pogba to a long-term contract.
United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has warned it will not be “business as usual” in the transfer market and said during football’s shutdown from COVID-19 that “speculation around transfers of individual players for hundreds of millions of pounds this summer seems to ignore the realities that face the sport”. Read more
Zambia coach Micho: ‘We have to work, not sit crying’ over Covid-19 (BBC)
New Zambia coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevich has insisted that the coronavirus pandemic is a time to “be proactive instead of sitting and crying”.
He had only been in his job for a month before the crisis cancelled world sport, including his debut games in March.
The 50-year old Serbian, appointed at the start of February has been holed up in Lusaka since the beginning of the pandemic. Read more