Ayanwole: Family relives deceased’s ordeal as LBSL withdraws BRT services (Guardian)
Public outrage, yesterday, trailed the gruesome murder of Oluwabamise Ayanwole, who got missing after boarding a Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle, and her body was found at Carter Bridge and the confession of Andrew Nice, the arrested bus driver.
Nice, who was arrested in a hideout in Ogun State by Department of States Security (DSS), had during earlier interrogation, confessed to the crime.
A video of his initial arrest revealed the driver confessed to having carnal knowledge of the deceased. He was dressed in shabby and disheveled attire, truly reflecting his fugitive status as of the time of arrest.
But in another video, the suspect, who turned out clean shaven, in specially designed Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL) outfit, claimed innocence.
In an interview with a television station, he claimed that he was ordered at gunpoint by armed men to drop the deceased at Carter Bridge. Read more
Furore over relocation of facilities at MMIA (Nation)
Confusion is brewing in the aviation sector as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) plans to demolish facilities to pave way for the new terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Those to be affected include the Accident Investigation Bureau(AIB) building, Dominion Aviation Limited and Evergreen Apple Nigeria (EAN), hangars and offices.
The new terminal was built with the $500 million loan from the Chinese Import Export Bank.
Experts say property worth N20 billion may be lost to the relocation. Read more
Bamise: BRT vehicle used locally built, lacks inbuilt camera, says Sanwo-Olu (Punch)
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has disclosed that the Bus Rapid Transit Vehicle boarded by the deceased 22-year-old lady, Oluwabamishe Ayanwole, was locally supplied and has no inbuilt camera.
The PUNCH had reported that Oluwabamise, who closed from work around 7pm on February 26, was on her way to visit her brother, Pelumi, when she boarded the BRT vehicle around Chevron Bus-stop, in the Lekki area of the state.
The 22-year-old was, however, “killed” inside the BRT vehicle, while the Lagos State Police Command had been working to unravel the mystery behind her death. Also, the BRT driver, Omininikoron Nice, has been arrested and in police custody.
However, Sanwo-Olu, while assuring residents of the state that investigation was ongoing, explained that the particular bus boarded by Bamise had no inbuilt camera.
The governor stated this while briefing journalists on Tuesday at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Onikan to commemorate International Women’s Day. Read more
OAU student: Adedoyin’s son, hotel workers took oath after dumping corpse, says witness (Guardian)
Inspector Afeez Olaniyan, a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the murder of Timothy Adegoke, yesterday, told an Osun State High Court, Osogbo that Roheem Adedoyin, the fleeing son of Rahman Adedoyin, conducted an oath of secrecy among hotel staff after Adegoke’s lifeless body was dumped.
Adegoke, a postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, was allegedly murdered at Hilton Hotel, Ile-ife, where he lodged.
At the resumed hearing of the trial, yesterday, Olaniyan, the police investigation officer, said part of Adegoke’s body was already decomposing when it was exhumed from the site, where it was buried.
Led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, M. O. Amosun, the officer, said Roheem, who has been declared wanted, took oath of secrecy with staff of Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Ile-Ife including Magdalene Chiefuna, Oluwole Lawrence and Oyetunde Kazeem, after the corpse, wrapped in a white duvet and carton, was dumped at a refuse dumping site, not too far from the hotel. Read more
Suspected herdsmen kill 7 in Taraba reprisal attack – Police (Channels)
Seven people including a woman have been confirmed killed and many others injured after suspected herdsmen attacked Tor Damisa village, in Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State.
This reprisal attack by the herdsmen on the Tiv community is coming days after a herder was said to be brutally injured by some suspected Tiv militia while rearing his cattle on the axis of the village.
Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abdullahi Usman who confirmed the incident to Channels Television via the telephone on Tuesday also disclosed that houses were set ablaze.
According to him, the police, army and professional hunters are currently after the assailants with a view to arresting and prosecuting them. Read more
IWD: Break gender barriers by supporting women seeking elective offices, Bauchi women urged (Independent)
Women have been called upon to break the gender barriers against them by supporting more women seeking elective offices in their communities.
Daily Independent reports that the women which were drawn from community-based organizations, Non-governmental organizations, government, religious organizations and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stated this at a one-day symposium to commemorate the 2022 International Women’s day with the theme: “Gender Equality Today for a sustainable Tomorrow”, organized by the Fahimta Women and Youth Development Initiative in collaboration with Actionaid Nigeria.
Speaking during the symposium, the Executive Director Fahimta Women and Youth Development Initiative (FAWODYI), Hajiya Maryam Garba, lamented that the number of women in elective position in the country was very low compared to their male counterparts, calling on women to breach the gap by seeking elective offices so that women can get a fair representation both at the state, local and national level.
She said that the aim of the symposium was to sensitize women on the need for them to break the gender barriers against them by ensuring that more women are in elective offices. Read more
UNIJOS student commits suicide over ASUU strike (Guardian)
A 300-level student of the University of Jos at the weekend committed suicide over the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) nationwide.
The deceased, Henry Ehis, of the Department of Actuarial Science of the Faculty of Management Science, of the University, was found dead last week at the Faculty.
The Guardian learnt that the deceased left a short note on his lifeless body to his parents, expressing his dissatisfaction with the current ASUU strike.
But some residents said suicide was not the best option. Read more
Terrorists kill 2, abduct Catholic Priest, 3 others in Kaduna (ThisDay)
Two people have been killed, while a Catholic priest, a woman and her two children were abducted by terrorists in an attack on Kudendan, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis.
Sources said the criminals invaded the area at about 1:15am on Tuesday.
The terrorists were said to have attacked five locations within the community.
One Mohammed Salisu was killed in one of the locations, while a security guard at St. John’s Catholic Church was killed. Read more
Opposition parties urge NASS to act on women-friendly laws (Sun)
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has urged members of the National Assembly to aft fast on all women-friendly bills before them.
Hammering on its firm resolve to end all forms of Gender-Based Violence within their powers, the CUPP also charged the lawmakers to further enlarge the space for public participation of women in the economic and socio-political aspects of the nation’s daily life.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, the spokesman of CUPP, Ikenga Imo Ugochukwu expressed sadness over the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led National Assembly leadership to slap women few days to international women day celebrations by rejecting bills that would have opened the political space for more women participation.
He spoke as part of activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day. Read more
Country legend Dolly Parton talks possibly recording a collab with Cardi B (AllHipHop)
Will music fans get to hear a female version of a Hip Hop/Country crossover like Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus? If it is up to Dolly Parton, that scenario could come to fruition.
E! News caught up with multi-time Academy of Country Music Award winner Dolly Parton prior to the “Jolene” hitmaker’s hosting gig at the 2022 ACM Awards. Francesca Amiker spoke to Parton about working with “WAP” rapper Cardi B in some way.
“She’s a character. She’s an original,” stated Dolly Parton about the Bronx-raised entertainer. Amiker then asked Parton about possibly recording a song with Cardi. The 76-year-old music industry legend responded, “I might if she’s willing.”
Throughout her music career, Cardi B collaborated with numerous other acts. Her discography contains singles with Migos, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, Megan Thee Stallion, Normani, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Bruno Mars, Maroon 5, Jennifer Lopez, and Ed Sheeran. Read more
Glass Animals react to record-breaking US number one hit (Independent)
Glass Animals has scored their first number one single in the US after a record-breaking 56 weeks on the charts.
The British band released “Heat Waves” in June 2020 and it has remained popular since.
The song’s success is partly due to its presence on TikTok, as parts of the track have accompanied over 1.1 million videos.
“Heat Waves” was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 56 weeks prior to making it to No 1. This is the longest that a track has appeared on the chart before reaching the top spot. Read more
Mandy Moore announces ‘future-tripping’ new album ‘In Real Life’ (RollingStone)
Mandy Moore has announced a new studio album, In Real Life, which arrives May 13 via Verve Forecast, and it’s available for preorder. Her upcoming LP is the follow-up to 2020’s Silver Landings, which was her first new album in more than a decade.
The title track serves as the first single, which she shared on Tuesday.
“So much of this record came from future-tripping on the next chapter of my life and what it might look like: What parenthood would feel like, how it would change everything, and all the excitement and trepidation that comes with that,” Moore said in a statement. “At the same time, it was about celebrating and acknowledging where we were at the moment and really trying to be completely present in the everyday — which is maybe the hardest part of the human condition.”
Produced by Mike Viola, In Real Life was made in collaboration with Moore’s husband Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and his brother and bandmate Griffin Goldsmith, Lucius’ Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, keyboardist Lee Pardini (the War on Drugs, Aimee Mann), and bassist Sebastian Steinberg (Sharon Van Etten, Phoebe Bridgers). Read more
Steve Jobs’ daughter Eve Jobs signs with agency to ‘launch her auspicious modeling career’ (USAToday)
Eve Jobs is taking her modeling career to the next level after signing on with DNA Model Management.
The daughter of the late Apple creator Steve Jobs made the announcement Monday, the same day she was seen at the Louis Vuitton show during Paris Fashion Week. “Now represented by @dnamodels,” the 23-year-old wrote on Instagram with a headshot of herself.
The model agency also shared the news on its website: “DNA is thrilled to announce we are representing Eve Jobs. The young Californian is an accomplished equestrian and Stanford graduate, and we are very excited to help her launch her auspicious modeling career.”
Jennifer Gates, daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, wished her congratulations on the news with heart emojis in the comments. Read more
Zoë Kravitz says previous ‘Batman’ movie rejected her as too ‘urban’ (HuffPost)
“The Batman” star Zoë Kravitz suggested that racism was behind her being rejected for a role in a previous “Batman” movie.
Kravitz, who plays Catwoman in the current box-office hit headlined by Robert Pattinson as Batman, told The Guardian this week that she tried to get an audition for director Chris Nolan’s 2012 “The Dark Knight Rises.”
But she said she was told she was too “urban.”
“I don’t know if it came directly from Chris Nolan,” she said. “I think it was probably a casting director of some kind, or a casting director’s assistant. … Being a woman of color and being an actor and being told at that time that I wasn’t able to read because of the color of my skin, and the word urban being thrown around like that, that was what was really hard about that moment.” Read more
Ryan Reynolds reveals how his father’s death inspired a moment in The Adam Project (EW)
The stars of The Adam Project came to the film for different reasons.
Director Shawn Levy and actor-producer Ryan Reynolds, who previously worked together on Free Guy, started with the idea of revisiting and making peace with your own history, which was a personal subject for Reynolds.
The story follows 13-year-old Adam Reed (newcomer Walker Scobell), who’s still dealing with the death of his father (Mark Ruffalo) with his mom (Jennifer Garner) when he meets his future self. Adult Adam (Reynolds), a time-traveling pilot from the year 2050, crash lands in the past in search of his missing wife (Zoe Saldana).
“There’s a line in there that is from my real life, which is that ‘boys always come back for their mamas.’ And that’s very true when my dad passed away,” Reynolds says during the latest installment of EW’s Around the Table video series, referring to a scene when adult Adam runs into his mother at a bar. “I’m one of four boys and it was just like this circling the wagons around my mom. We really all came back for her in a way that I know was incredibly meaningful to her. And to this day she still talks about it.” Read more
Helen Mirren honours Chita Rivera at roundabout theater gala (Variety)
Nothing can stop Chita Rivera!
That was the message of the evening at Monday’s Roundabout Theatre Company Gala, which carried the moniker, “Paint the Town.” The celebration, held at New York City’s famous Ziegfeld Ballroom, celebrated three-time Tony recipient Chita Rivera.
Rivera, who starred in two major Broadway shows for Roundabout — 2003’s “Nine” and the 2013’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” — is best known for originating roles in “West Side Story,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Chicago” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”
The night kicked off with a cocktail hour filled with theater stars, including Jane Lynch, Tony Shaloub, Richard Kind, Betsy Wolfe, Cherry Jones and many more, who mingled and couldn’t help but chat about how nice it was to be mask-free and able to hug one another again. Read more
Chukwu tasks Eagles, Black Stars on fairplay as NFF advises fans on COVID-19 certificates (Guardian)
Former Super Eagles Coach, Christian Chukwu, has urged Nigeria and Ghana to be professional in their approach to their Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying matches scheduled for March 25 and 29 in Cape Coast and Abuja, respectively.
Speaking ahead of the first leg of the World Cup qualifying tie, Chukwu charged the Ghana Football Federation to ensure the Super Eagles are not harassed by spectators, players and officials or employ any unprofessional antic that could rubbish the existing cordial relationship between both countries.
He also urged Nigerian authorities to be sportsmanlike in handling the Black Stars when they come for the return leg, adding that the whole world will be watching out for good football from both teams.
According to Chukwu, based on the football rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana, it will be unreasonable for the Black Stars to be hostile to the Super Eagles in the away tie, as such treatment can lead to reprisal behaviour when they come to Nigeria. Read more
Shorunmu recounts near-death experience at 2002 AFCON (Punch)
Less than two weeks to the mouth-watering World Cup play-off between Nigeria and Ghana, former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Ike Shorunmu, spoke on the rivalry between the two countries and recounted his ordeal against the Black Stars at the Africa Cup of Nations in Mali in 2002.
The Eagles and the Black Stars squared off at the quarter-final stage of the AFCON in Mali and apart from Garba Lawal grabbing a late winner for Nigeria, newspaper headlines were dominated by Shorunmu, who collapsed following a clash with a Ghanaian player.
A misplaced place from Isaac Okonkwo almost gave the Black Stars a chance to take the lead but the goalkeeper fainted as he strived to rescue the situation, following a collision, and was revived with the aid of oxygen after he was rushed to hospital.
Speaking with The PUNCH, Shorunmu said the rivalry between the two countries played a key role in the incident as players were ready to die for their respective countries while putting on the jersey. Read more
House of Commons speaker calls on police and government to look into Jack Catterall’s defeat to Josh Taylor (Standard)
House of Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle has weighed into Jack Catterall’s controversial defeat to Josh Taylor – by alerting the government.
The Labour MP for Chorley, the hometown of the defeated boxer, has called both the police and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to look into the super-lightweight world title fight.
A number of figures in the boxing world have slammed the judges’ split-decision victory that was handed to Scottish fighter Taylor in Glasgow last month, including Tyson Fury.
Hoyle said: “Everyone is disgusted by what’s happened – it brings the sport into disrepute. I have to question why the judges got it so wrong? I have already sent a letter to the police. Read more
Aaron Rodgers to remain with Green Bay Packers into 18th season (BBC)
Aaron Rodgers says he will remain with the Green Bay Packers for an 18th season but denies he has signed a record-breaking new contract.
Some reports suggested the quarterback was to become the highest-paid NFL player in history after agreeing a four-year deal worth $200m (£152.4m).
However, the 38-year-old insisted those reports were “inaccurate”.
Rodgers was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second time in as many seasons in February.
Writing on Twitter, Rodgers confirmed he would stay with the Packers but insisted “reports about me signing a contract are inaccurate, as are the supposed terms of the contract I ‘signed'”. Read more
Bayern reach last eight as Lewandowski hat-trick sinks Salzburg (Guardian)
Robert Lewandowski scored a record-breaking 11-minute hat-trick to send Bayern Munich sailing into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 7-1 win at home to Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday.
The Polish striker had three goals to his name by the 23rd minute — the earliest anyone has ever completed a hat-trick in a Champions League game — as Bayern shook off their early nerves to crush Salzburg.
The Austrian champions had held Bayern to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but their hopes of an upset in Munich were left in tatters when Lewandowski scored a tap-in and two penalties to send Bayern on their way to a famous victory.
With just ten minutes and 27 seconds between Lewandowski’s first and third goals, it was the fastest of the six hat-tricks the Pole has now scored in the Champions League. Read more
Josh Okogie a trusted voice on Timberwolves bench (StarTribune)
Every NBA player wants minutes, especially when he is in a contract year. That’s the situation guard Josh Okogie is in this season for the Timberwolves, as he is playing through the last year of his rookie deal.
Okogie will be a restricted free agent in the offseason, meaning the Wolves control his free-agent rights. He hasn’t played less in any of his previous three seasons for the Wolves and has been out of the rotation for weeks.
But Okogie hasn’t let whatever disappointment he may feel bleed over into the team, coach Chris Finch said, and Finch considers Okogie one of the leaders even though he isn’t playing on a regular basis.
“When you have leaders who don’t play, it means you have true leadership on your team,” Finch said. Read more
Liverpool deserve quarter-final spot despite ‘slapstick’ finishing in loss to Inter, says Klopp (BBC)
Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool deserve to be in the Champions League quarter-finals despite some “slapstick” finishing as they were beaten by Inter Milan in the second leg of their last-16 tie at Anfield.
An outstanding finish by Lautaro Martinez was not enough for the Italian champions as the late goals by Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in the first leg in Milan three weeks ago proved decisive.
“The art of football is to lose the right games,” said manager Klopp after Liverpool’s seven-match winning run in Europe this season came to a disappointing end.
“I still hate it, but if there was any game we could have afforded to lose it was this one because the main target of this competition is to get through.
“It’s not that I am over the moon – I’m really happy we went through, because when we saw the draw it was ‘OK, that’s a tough one’. But we went through over two legs and I think we deserved it. Read more