Appeal Court upholds seven-year sentence for pastor who raped 14-year-old girl (Nation)
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the conviction and sentencing of a pastor, Apostle Basil Princewill for raping a 14-year -old girl and attempting to abort the resultant pregnancy.
Reading a unanimous judgment of a panel on three on Tuesday, Justice Stephen Adah said the appellate court found nothing wrong with the judgment given on June 25, 2019 by Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Justice Baba-Yusuf, had in the judgment, convicted Princewill, Founder and General Overseer of the Mountain Mover Fire Ministry of International, Nyanya, Abuja, on two out of the four counts contained in the charge on which he was tried. Read more
Lagos agrees to pay new minimum wage to LASU, LASPOTECH, ACOED workers (Vanguard)
Lagos State Government on Tuesday agreed to pay workers in state-owned tertiary institutions the new minimum wage/consequential adjustment starting from October this year.
This followed a meeting held with leaders of the staff unions in the institutions by officials of the state government in Ikeja on Tuesday.
In a statement by the Special Adviser on Education to the Governor, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, the state government said the payment was part of its efforts to maintain peace on the campuses.
Wahab reiterated the commitment of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to according education and workers welfare top priority. Read more
Lagos Assembly passes service commission (Amendment) Law 2020 (Vanguard)
The Lagos House of Assembly has passed into Law the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission Amendment 2020.
The bill which is an amendment to the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission Law of 2015 was unanimously passed into Law by all members present at plenary of the Assembly on Monday, September 14, after the third reading.
The Law is to give legal backing and operational modules to the new financial autonomy granted State Legislatures and Judiciary in Section 121(3) of the 4th Alteration of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which Mr President issued Executive Order upon on May 22, 2020, for its immediate implementation. Read more
NAPTIP rescues 135 victims, arrests 86 suspected human traffickers in Kano State (Guardian)
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says it has rescued 135 victims and arrested 86 suspected human traffickers in Kano State from January till date.
Mr Shehu Umar, the Commander in charge of NAPTIP in Kano Zone, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Kano.
He said that the rescued 135 victims comprised 23 male and 112 female. Read more
Landslide submerges Imo, Akwa Ibom houses, residents flee (Punch)
Three children on Sunday escaped death by a whisker in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, following a landslide which swallowed their kitchen and threatened many residential buildings on Asutan Street.
The children, Aisha Umaru, 9; Yusuf Ibrahim, 6; and Fatima Ibrahim, 5; had barely left the kitchen after preparing their evening meals when the landslide occurred around 8 pm.
The landlord of the affected house, Mr Francis Ikpe, described the landslide as devastating, adding that it was a miracle the children escaped. Read more
Emir of Biu dies at 79, leaves behind 4 wives, over 70 children, 200 grandchildren (Vanguard)
The Emir of Biu in Borno state, Umar Mustapha Aliyu, is dead, leaving behind four wives, over 70 children and 200 grandchildren, the deceased eldest son, Maina Mustapha revealed.
He died Monday night at the Federal Medical Center (Federal Teaching Hospital), Gombe after a brief illness. He was 80 years old.
The Emir was born on the 9th of November 1940 in Biu. He attended Kwaya Kusar Junior Primary School between 1947 and 1949 and Biu Central Primary School from 1950 to 1953. He thereafter proceeded to Hausari Primary School in Maiduguri between 1953 and 1955. Read more
Edo 2020: Obaseki doesn’t deserve your votes, reject him, Tinubu begs voters (Punch)
All Progressives Congress leader, Bola Tinubu, says Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State does not deserve a single vote in Saturday’s election.
He, therefore, called on Edo State voters to reject Obaseki who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Tinubu said this in a sponsored broadcast on TVC on Tuesday.
The former governor of Lagos State said, “He (Obaseki) does not deserve any democratic ballot paper. Don’t vote for him, I appeal to all of you.”
The APC leader said while he was taking part in the democratic struggle in the 1990s, Obaseki was nowhere to be found hence the governor’s inability to appreciate democratic institutions. Read more
You can’t extend your political empire to Edo, Obaseki replies Tinubu (Punch)
The Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Edo State Election, Godwin Obaseki, has faulted claims made by the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a televised broadcast on Tuesday.
Obaseki said this in a press statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie.
The statement was titled ‘You can’t extend your political empire to our state – Edo govt tells Tinubu’.
Obaseki boasted that Tinubu cannot extend his political empire to Edo State, noting that Edo people were determined to end godfatherism in the state. Read more
Sudan’s Bashir trial adjourned to September 22 (Guardian)
The trial of Sudan’s deposed strongman Omar al-Bashir over his role in the 1989 military coup that brought him to power was adjourned to September 22, the judge said Tuesday.
The brief session, which was broadcast on Sudan TV, saw Bashir and other co-accused appear behind bars in the courtroom crowded with lawyers.
The judge said Tuesday’s hearing was “procedural”, and that requests were being considered to change the courtroom as it was hard to adhere to coronavirus precautions in the packed setting. Read more
ICE whistleblower: Nurse alleges ‘hysterectomies on immigrant women in US’ (BBC)
Rights groups have filed a complaint against a migrant detention centre in the US, alleging medical neglect and a lack of Covid-19 safety measures.
The complaint condemns the practices and conditions at the private Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia.
It is based on the allegations of a whistleblower, a nurse identified as Dawn Wooten.
She worked at the centre, which houses immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As part of her complaint, filed on Monday, Ms Wooten expressed concerns about the high number of hysterectomies performed on Spanish-speaking women at the centre. Read more
8 people caught without face masks ordered to dig graves of virus victims (Metro)
A group of eight people in Indonesia were made to dig graves for coronavirus victims after they were caught leaving their homes without a face mask.
Officials in east Java reportedly ordered eight people to the public cemetery in Ngabetan village, and said it would act as a ‘deterrent’ for those who break the rules.
Cerme district head Suyono told Tribun News: ‘There are only three available grave diggers at the moment, so I thought I might as well put these people to work for them. ‘Hopefully this can create a deterrent effect against violations.’
They were reportedly told to dig the graves in groups of two but were not ordered to participate in the funeral services. Read more
John Boyega resigns from Jo Malone ambassador role over Chinese ad (BBC)
John Boyega has resigned as global ambassador for perfume brand Jo Malone after he was replaced in an ad he made for them by a Chinese actor.
The Star Wars actor made the personal video in his home city of London, but it was re-shot for the Chinese market.
The company apologised for what it described as a “misstep” that caused “offence”.
However, Boyega has said Jo Malone was “wrong” to have used another actor “without my consent or prior notice”.
Writing on Twitter, the British star said while he accepted that companies would use different representatives around the world, “dismissively trading out one’s culture this way is not something I can condone”. Read more
Rami Malek on playing ‘unsettling’ Bond villain Safin in “No Time To Die” (Metro)
Rami Malek has told of how he wanted to make his Bond villain Safin ‘unsettling’ in No Time To Die. The 39-year-old plays James Bond’s nemesis in Daniel Craig’s final 007 movie, and Rami made sure to make it memorable. ‘What I really wanted from Safin was to make him unsettling, thinking of himself as being heroic,’ he said in a new featurette on the film. ‘Safin is a formidable adversary, James Bond has to adapt to that.’ Rami plays the terrorist leader who is seeking revenge and was described by director Cary Fukunaga as ‘more dangerous than anyone Bond has ever encountered’. Gulp. Read more
Doctor put on ventilator after being reinfected as Spain braces for second wave (Metro)
A Spanish doctor is in intensive care after becoming one of a handful of people confirmed to have been reinfected with coronavirus.
The unnamed medic is currently on a ventilator at Badalona’s Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital near Barcelona after catching the deadly virus for the second time.
He is said to have suffered a mild case of Covid-19 in March, before falling ill for a second time while on a recent holiday.
His condition is serious, but he is expected to survive and make a good recovery, health officials said on Tuesday morning.
However, Bonaventura Clotet, head of infectious diseases at Badalona hospital, has admitted he is shocked at how serious the reinfection is. Read more
Nigerian forward Okereke tests positive for COVID-19 (Punch)
Club Brugge has announced that Nigeria international, David Okereke, has tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.
The Belgian club made this known on their website.
“Attacker David Okereke took a positive Corona test this (Tuesday) morning,” a statement on the club’s website said.
“The attacker was immediately quarantined and will be retested next week.” Read more
Wilder retains WBC No 1 spot, Whyte drops after Povetkin loss (Vanguard)
Last month’s shocker at Matchroom’s Fight Camp has created a shuffle of names in the WBC’s latest heavyweight rankings.
Dillian Whyte, who coming in was the WBC’s mandatory challenger and interim-champion, was brutally knocked out in the fifth round by Alexander Povetkin. While Povetkin captured the WBC’s interim-title, the sanctioning body president, Mauricio Sulaiman, made it clear that his victory over Whyte did not necessarily make him the new mandatory.
Coming in to the fight with Whyte, the Russian boxer was ranked at number nine in the WBC’s top ten. And the World Boxing Council had sanctioning the fight as a voluntary defense for Whyte. Read more
Aubameyang signs new three-year Arsenal contract (Nation)
Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has put an end to the speculation regarding his future at the club by signing a new three-year contract.
The Gabon international’s previous deal had been set to expire in the summer of 2021 and he had been locked in talks over a renewal for several months.
The Gunners had been hugely reluctant to lose their skipper and top scorer of the last two seasons amid interest from big-name clubs such as Barcelona and Antonio Conte’s Inter.
Fans can now relax, however, as the 31-year-old will remain the spearhead of Mikel Arteta’s rebuilding project at the Emirates Stadium for the foreseeable future, with the forward now expected to earn somewhere in the region of £250,000 ($320,000) per week as part of his new deal. Read more
Manchester United target £28m deal to sign Uros Racic from Valencia (Metro)
Manchester United are targeting Valencia midfielder Uros Racic, according to reports.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has already strengthened his midfield options with the £40 million signing of Donny van de Beek from Ajax this summer. But United have also been linked with a move for Thiago Alcantara, with Bayern Munich demanding a €30 million (£27.6m) transfer fee for the Spain international. Read more
New Libya coach determined despite obstacles (BBC)
The new coach of the Libyan national team, Ali El Margini, is confident he can be successful despite the ongoing problems in the country.
He replaces Tunisian Faouzi Benzarti who left earlier this year as the coronavirus pandemic began.
El Margini, who was Benzarti’s assistant, will prepare the team for November’s resumption of 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
As well as the global Covid-19 pandemic problems this year, the political unrest in Libya means competitive club football has become erratic in the country in recent years.
“I am optimistic despite the conditions that Libyan football is going through,” El Margini insisted.
“We have a group of players who are active outside Libya in large leagues and will help achieve the goal with their other colleagues, which is to reach the Africa Cup of Nations 2022.” Read more
Jack Grealish signs new Aston Villa contract and ends Man Utd transfer speculation (Metro)
Jack Grealish has ended months of speculation surrounding his future by signing at new long-term contract and will remain at Aston Villa.
The 24-year-old is said to have penned a five-year deal worth £140,000-a-week and puts to bed persistent speculation linking him with a summer transfer to Machester United.
Grealish played the lead role in Villa’s survival campaign last season as Dean Smith’s side ensured their top flight status on the final day following a 1-1 draw against West Ham with the club captain scoring what turned out to be the decisive goal. Read more
Alvaro Gonzalez: Andre Villas-Boas defends Marseille player after racism claim (BBC)
Marseille head coach Andre Villas-Boas has defended the club’s player Alvaro Gonzalez following Neymar’s racism claim against the centre-back.
Paris St-Germain forward Neymar was the last of five red cards in Sunday’s bad-tempered Ligue 1 match, sent off for hitting Gonzalez.
On Twitter, Neymar later accused Gonzalez of racism and PSG said they would “strongly support” the Brazilian.
“We are sure that Alvaro is not racist,” said Villas-Boas.
“Marseille and PSG are here to help find the truth about this controversy. I am behind my player.” Read more