Alleged N10.7bn fraud: Court grants 22-year-old N2bn bail (Punch)
A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos has granted N2bn bail to a 22-year-old man, Joshua Kayode, who allegedly defrauded 170 people of the sum of N10.7bn through a fake investment scheme.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo granted the order on Wednesday sequel to a motion filed and argued by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Emeka Okpoko.
The Punch had earlier reported that the defendant alongside his company, Quintessential Investment Company Limited, were arraigned before the court on August 5, 2021 by the Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex, Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos, on 170 charges bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence.
While arraigning the defendant, the prosecutor told the court presided over by Justice Tijjani Ringim that the defendant and others now at large, committed the offences between July 2020 and March 2021. Read more
2023: George, Ogunlewe clash over Tinubu (Sun)
Former minister of works, Adeseye Ogunlewe, has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to zone the 2023 presidency to the South West while claiming only former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu can lead the party to victory.
Speaking on Arise News, Ogunlewe claimed that not even Vice President Yemi Osinbaji, Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola and Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State can defeat Tinubu in any political contest because.
“My personal prayer is that the presidency should be zoned to the South West because we have the capacity to manage the economy of Nigeria properly and there is no other person that I can support other than former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu. Politics is an investment. You have to invest your time, money and knowledge before people can listen to you and that is what he has done.
“We have people who have followed politics for a while, Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar are such persons. They have the mental capacity and structure to get things done in their favour, so anyone that wants to compete with him should start early because he would outmaneuver you and win. You have to be grounded in the politics of Nigeria to survive. It is very difficult and almost impossible to upstage APC in Lagos State. Read more
Gani Fawehinmi’s son, Mohammed, dies at 52 (Punch)
Mohammed Fawehinmi, the son of the late legal luminary, Gani Fawehinmi, is dead.
The PUNCH gathered that Mohammed died on Wednesday at the 52 years after a brief illness.
A close family source, who preferred not to be named, confirmed the death of Mohammed to our correspondent.
The source said, “We are trying our best not to let his mother hear about the death yet because it may worsen her sickness.”
The source noted that the remains of Mohammed had been deposited in a morgue in Lagos. Read more
Mother, son, others nabbed for internet fraud (Guardian)
Kaduna State Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arrested the quartet of Lucky Ebhogie, Richman Kas Godwin, Israel Justin, and Precious Iwuji, over alleged internet-related fraud.
They were arrested on August 5, 2021, in the Sabo area of Kaduna, following intelligence on their alleged involvement in fraud activities.
Spokesperson for EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, yesterday, said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects were mostly involved in impersonation and romance scams; faking the identities of US military personnel on foreign missions to deceive their victims.
One of the suspects, Lucky Ebhogie, allegedly recruited his mother into the scam by using her account to launder suspected proceeds of crime. On July 30, 2021, he purchased a Mercedes Benz GLK car for N7 million through the mother’s bank account. Read more
FG reintroduces toll plazas, Nigerians to pay N500, N200 per trip (Punch)
The Federal Executive Council has approved the reintroduction of toll collections on some selected dual carriageways across the country.
This is as it exempted diplomatic, military, para-military vehicles, tricycles, motorcycles from the scheme.
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed these on Wednesday while briefing the State House correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The decision was made almost two decades after the Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration dismantled all toll plazas on federal roads across the country in 2003. Read more
Lagos APC suspends former council chairman for dragging party to court (Tribune)
The Lagos State All Progressives Congress, APC, Apapa Local Government chapter has suspended a former chairman of the local government, Hon Elijah Owolabi Adele for dragging the party to court, describing the act as disgraceful.
The party had accused Adele of anti-party which he had since denied.
In a letter of suspension signed by the party Vice Chairman, Comrade Oye Olumide; Secretary, Adediwura and others and dated 26th July 2021, the party said it was shocked by the move made by the former council boss, despite signing an undertaking to abide by any decisions taken by the party on the primary election.
The letter read in part, “We are shocked by your recent behaviour of taking the party, APC to court, an act which you had vehemently kicked against earlier. Read more
Alleged Forgery: Court fixes august 31 for arraignment of 2 OGFZA officials (Independent)
A Wuse Zone II Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, has fixed August 31 for the arraignment of two staff members of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA) for alleged forgery and falsification of documents.
Magistrate Mabel Segun-Bello fixed the date through the hearing notices issued and delivered to parties in the suit by the bailiff in accordance with Order 3, Rule 7 of the court.The two staff members, who are defendants, include Mr Wasiu Sule, the Head of Legal Services and Secretary to OGFZA’s Board and Mr Alenju Ngofa, who is the Human Resource Head of the organisation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court had earlier fixed July 23 for their arraignment following the suspension of the 64-day industrial action embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) but the absence of the trial judge stalled the proceeding.The court had, on March 16, gave the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, three weeks to produce the defendants for arraignment.
The court gave the order after counsel to the nominal complainant, Nkereuwem Akpan, informed the court that the accused persons had evaded service of court processes on them despite several attempts.The magistrate then fixed April 26 for their arraignment but the JUSUN strike action hindered the sitting.NAN reports that while the complainant is Mr Olufunmilayo David Omosule, the 1st and 2nd defendants are Sule and Ngofa respectively. Read more
Drama as Zulum conducts impromptu test for teachers (DailyTrust)
Professor Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno State, conducted an impromptu test for school teachers at Baga on Monday.
According to Isa Gusau, his spokesman, the test was meant to determine the level of their qualifications and ability to teach.
Zulum reportedly told the teachers that the essence of the aptitude test was not to sack anyone, but to determine their capacity and know where to place them.
“Those that have no capacity to teach would be given a choice, either to redeploy them to administrative department or send them for further training.” Read more
Jury selected in R. Kelly’s sex-trafficking trial (PageSix)
An anonymous jury was selected Wednesday to weigh sex-trafficking charges against R. Kelly, who faces multiple allegations that he sexually abused women and girls for decades.
Brooklyn federal Judge Ann Donnelly swore in the 12-person panel — seven men and five women — after they were selected. There are also six alternate jurors.
The jurors will remain anonymous and partially sequestered during the trial — meaning they will be escorted to and from the courthouse each day by US Marshals.
Opening statements are slated to begin next Wednesday with the trial expected to last a month. Read more
Shell pays $111m over 1970s oil spill in Nigeria (BBC)
Oil giant Shell will pay a Nigerian community $111m (£80m) over an oil spill more than 50 years ago.
A spokesman said the payment would mark the “full and final settlement” to the Ejama-Ebubu community over a spill during the 1967-70 Biafran War.
The company has maintained that the damage was caused by third parties.
A Nigerian court fined Shell the equivalent of $41.36m in 2010, but the company launched a number of unsuccessful appeals. Read more
“I Am Legend” scriptwriter slams vaccine conspiracy as he’s forced to insist film is fiction (Metro)
Evidently, because humanity needs a good talking to, Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote the screenplay for 2007 film I Am Legend, has been forced to set the record straight on the vaccine conspiracies inspired by the tale.
The Will Smith post-apocalyptic film (based on a 1954 book of the same name by Richard Matheson) centres around a failed attempt to genetically re-engineer measles to cure cancer, killing 99% of the world’s population and turning others into terrifying mutant, vampiric, zombie-like creatures who can’t take the sun.
The conspiracy was brought to the mainstream in a recent New York Times piece about employees of Metro Optics Eyewear who were hesitant to be vaccinated against Covid-19, with one person said to be concerned ‘because she thought a vaccine had caused the characters in the film I Am Legend to turn into zombies’. Read more
Cryptocurrency heist hacker returns $260m in funds (BBC)
The hacker behind one of the largest ever cryptocurrency heists has returned almost half of the $600m (£433m) stolen assets.
Yesterday, blockchain platform Poly Network wrote a letter on Twitter, asking the individual to get in touch “to work out a solution”.
The website said the amount of money hacked was “biggest” incident so far in the decentralised finance industry.
But at 18:28 BST on Wednesday, Poly Network said it had received $260m. Read more
Namibia sells just a third of the elephants put on auction (RFI)
Namibia said Wednesday it had sold just a third of the 170 live elephants it put up for auction in a bid to reduce tusker populations under pressure from drought and territorial conflict with humans.
In a statement, the environment ministry said it has “successfully sold 57 of the 170 elephants which were put on tender in December 2020”.
It raised 5.9 million Namibian dollars ($400,000) from the sale.
Forty-two of those pachyderms will be exported to destinations that government did not disclose.
The other 15 will remain in Namibia but under private ownership. Read more
“Suicide Squad” star Joel Kinnaman under investigation for rape (NYPost)
Suicide Squad star Joel Kinnaman is under investigation for rape in Sweden — but the actor claims the accusation comes from an obsessed woman seeking revenge over a restraining order.
The public prosecutor announced Wednesday they were investigating the allegation against Kinnaman, TMZ first reported.
But the actor’s legal team told The Post the alleged victim, a Swedish model, only stepped forward with the accusation after Kinnaman had gone to the police himself and gotten the restraining order.
Kinnaman claimed in a recent social media thread that he was being extorted by model Gabriella Magnusson, who goes by the name Bella Davis. On Friday, Kinnaman filed an extortion complaint against her in Sweden and got a restraining order against her in Los Angeles, his attorney Patricia Glaser told The Post. Read more
Chelsea beat Villarreal 6-5 in a penalty shootout to lift the Uefa Super Cup (BBC)
Chelsea beat Villarreal 6-5 in a penalty shootout to lift the Uefa Super Cup for a second time after a draining 120 minutes in Belfast.
Substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga saved captain Raul Albiol’s spot-kick at Windsor Park on a night that began superbly for the Blues with an excellent first-half performance before the Spaniards stormed back into the contest after the break.
Hakim Ziyech opened the scoring midway through the opening 45 minutes but was then forced off with what looked like a worrying shoulder injury before half-time.
The Spaniards hit the woodwork either side of the break before Gerard Moreno equalised in the 73rd minute to force extra time. Read more
Thomas Tuchel provides Hakim Ziyech injury update after Chelsea’s Super)(Metro)
Hakim Ziyech looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after Thomas Tuchel indicated that the midfielder had sustained a ‘serious’ shoulder injury in Chelsea’s Uefa Super Cup win over Villarreal.
The 28-year-old had shone across Chelsea’s pre-season schedule and opened the scoring with a smart close-range finish in the 27th minute in Belfast on Wednesday evening.
But Ziyech was forced off after a seemingly innocuous collision with Juan Foyth at the end of the first half and Christian Pulisic came on to replace the Moroccan before Chelsea eventually prevailed on penalties.
The former Ajax star was administered oxygen as he lay on the pitch and was later pictured wearing a sling as he watched the remainder of the game from the substitutes bench at Windsor Park. Read mor
Konta beats third seed Svitolina at Canadian Open (BBC)
Johanna Konta’s last tournament was the Nottingham Open in June, where she beat Shuai Zhang of China in the final
British number one Johanna Konta fought back from a set down to defeat third seed Elina Svitolina and reach the Canadian Open third round.
Svitolina looked in control when she took first set in just 38 minutes.
However, Konta showed remarkable resilience, winning eight out of nine games to take the second set and go a double-break up in the decider on her way to a 3-6 6-3 6-2 win.
She faces Russia’s Anastasia Potapova or American Coco Gauff in the last 16.
GB’s Dart beaten by Andreescu at Canadian Open
It is Konta’s first ever win over the world number five and Olympic bronze medallist. Read more
My biggest challenge at PSG -Lionel Messi (Punch)
Paris Saint Germain’s new attacker, Lionel Messi, has identified culture as his biggest challenge in the Paris-based club.
He said He said this at a press conference held to officially unveil him by the club, monitored by The PUNCH on Wednesday.
When asked ‘Is your biggest challenge the change in culture’, Messi replied, “Yes that’s true, I told Leonardo [PSG’s sporting director] that I really hope my family will be at ease in Paris and in France.
“Of course for me, it is a new experience but I am really ready for that. Read more
Man City’s Phil Foden out for “around four weeks” through injury (BBC)
England midfielder Phil Foden will miss the start of Manchester City’s Premier League title defence with the foot injury he picked up during Euro 2020.
Foden, 21, is likely to miss City’s first three league games – against Tottenham, Norwich City and Arsenal.
The midfielder is also a doubt for England’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against Hungary in September.
“It has been really difficult for me personally – I want to get back on the pitch as soon as possible,” said Foden.
“Picking up a foot injury just before the final, it was a strange one. I was just training and it happened. I just twisted my foot. It was unfortunate.” Read more
David De Gea especially excited about Tom Heaton of Manchester United’s new signings (Metro)
David De Gea is more excited about the arrival of Tom Heaton at Manchester United this summer than Jadon Sancho or Raphael Varane, hailing the ‘great bloke’ who he is looking forward to working closely with.
The Red Devils have seemingly had an excellent summer transfer window so far, snapping up Sancho from Borussia Dortmund and Varane from Real Madrid, two of their primary targets.
A much lower-key arrival at Old Trafford over the summer has been Heaton, who returns from Aston Villa to the club he was signed to from 2002-10.While Heaton is not expected to get too many first team appearances, with De Gea and Dean Henderson ahead of him in the pecking order, but the Spaniard is delighted to see him arrive back in Manchester. Read more