BRT crushes Lagos businesswoman to death, driver flees (Punch)
A driver with the Bus Rapid Transit, Collins Nnodi, has gone into hiding after crushing a businesswoman, Mrs Grace Okeleke, to death at the Agric bus stop in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
The incident happened on Monday.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Grace, the wife of the Head of Public Relations, Globacom, Andrew Okeleke, attempted to cross the road after being dropped off by her driver around 7.20 pm, when Nnodi, who was driving a bus with number plate EPE 59 XR, knocked her down.
It was learnt that the businesswoman died on the spot.
However, Nnodi was said to have zoomed off and abandoned the victim at the scene of the accident. Read more
We now collect N1,000 because of COVID-19 – Lagos sex worker (Vanguard)
Among the sex workers rescued in Lagos, one has said she and her colleagues now collect N1,000 from customers due to economic constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was among the 24 girls, who were trafficked from Akwa Ibom State to Lagos for prostitution, rescued at Abbatoir, Agege, area of the state by the Police, on Thursday.
Four men, suspected to have brought the girls to Lagos, were arrested.
The girls, whose ages were between 13 and 22 years, lived in shanties, where their male customers patronised them.
They revealed during interrogation that they collected N1,500 from their male customers, but had to reduce the price because of the impact of the COVID-19. Read more
3 armed robbery suspects in police net for alleged attack on estate residents (DailyTrust)
Three suspected armed robbers, who the police in Lagos said have been terrorizing residents of Abesan Estate, Ipaja, have been arrested. Their arrest followed complaints by residents of the estate of constant attacks by armed robbers. Following the complaints, the Divisional Police Officer, Ipaja Division, Tokunbo Aboniwonda, drafted plain-clothes policemen to go after the robbers. The police said that after weeks of surveillance, they arrested three members of the gang, namely Segun Oluwole, 21; Jamiu Olanrewaju, 20; and Idris Eniola, 25. Read more
Tight race as social media poll on lockdown ends today (Guardian)
Following a fierce contest and intense criticism on social media that trailed the Lagos State online public opinion poll on another lockdown, the state government explained that the outcome of the polls slated to end today, May 15, will not be the only determinant of the final decision of the government on the statewide lockdown.
The State government, through three of its social media platforms, namely; Twitter: @followlasg, Facebook: Lagos State Government and Instagram: @lagosstategovt, on Tuesday, May 12, instituted a poll to determine the perspective of members of the public on the possibility of another lockdown of Lagos. Read more
Lagos begins enlightenment campaign in 57 councils (Nation)
Lagos State government has begun an extensive public enlightenment campaign to reinforce its efforts at curbing further spread of Coronavirus pandemic.
The campaign will be held across all the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) in the state.
Information and Strategy Commissioner Gbenga Omotoso broke the news on Thursday in Lagos.
The commissioner said the move followed the discovery that members of the public did not comply with the directives announced by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to ease the lockdown on the state. Read more
I engage in illegal deals to feed my family, says dismissed policeman (DailyTrust)
A dismissed policeman, Femi John, being paraded at the Oyo State Police Command for alleged impersonation A dismissed policeman, Femi John, has told the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Sina Olukolu, that he engages in illegal deals because it is the only way through which he feeds himself, his wife and children. The suspect confessed on Wednesday before journalists at the Command Headquarters Eleyele, Ibadan, that the allegation of impersonation levelled against him was true and accurate. The 54-year-old Iseyin, Oyo State, indigene said he had been arrested many times for the same offence, adding that he was not afraid of going to jail. Read more
Buhari meets service chiefs, vows decisive action against insecurity (Guardian)
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday vowed to deal decisively with the security challenges bedevilling the country.
This came as bandits on Wednesday reportedly killed eight people in a fresh attack on Gonan Rogo settlement in Kufana District, Kajuru Local Council of Kaduna State. The incident followed the killing of 17 persons a day before in the same village.
Responding, the police, in a statement by the command spokesperson, Mohammed Jalige, had sworn to apprehend the culprits. Read more
“Face mask” order must be enforced, says Mustapha (DailyTrust)
The Federal Government has said that the wearing of face mask is a law signed by President Muhammadu Buhari and which must be enforced as the nation battles the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, said this on Thursday in Abuja at the 31st joint national briefing of the taskforce.
The Federal Government has said that the wearing of face mask is a law signed by President Muhammadu Buhari and which must be enforced as the nation battles the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
Russia to offer permanent residency to foreigners who buy property (RT)
If you’ve always wanted to move to Russia, there may be no better time. With notoriously hard-to-navigate bureaucracy, foreigners have long been put off moving to Russia, and many have gone elsewhere. Now, things are changing.
A new proposal from Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development will allow foreigners to obtain a residence permit after purchasing real estate. According to Russian newspaper Izvestia, the bill has been designed to help boost the economy by attracting investors from abroad and could come into force as early as July 2021. Read more
Wisconsin bars packed after court blocks coronavirus shutdown order (NYPost)
Hours after Wisconsin’s Supreme Court blocked an extension of the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order, patrons flooded bars to celebrate after a trade association gave businesses the green light to “OPEN IMMEDIATELY.”
In a 4-3 ruling, the court ruled that Gov. Tony Evers’ administration overstepped its authority when it pushed the shutdown to May 26 – but the conservative majority agreed to keep the measure in effect until May 20 to give lawmakers time to come up with a new coronavirus plan.
The Tavern League of Wisconsin welcomed the court’s ruling, saying in a message on Facebook to its roughly 5,000 members: “We will get you a more detailed summary of the decision, however, according to the ruling you can OPEN IMMEDIATELY!” Read more
Chinese manufacturer denies sending counterfeit N95 masks to US during coronavirus outbreak (Newsweek)
Shanghai Dasheng, a Chinese manufacturer, has denied responsibility for the counterfeit N95 masks that arrived in America bearing the company’s name.
In March, boxes of N95 masks were unloaded in Los Angeles to help front-line health care workers respond to the coronavirus outbreak. Stamps falsely indicated they were certified as safe for health care workers by the U.S. government, according to an Associated Press investigation, but they had ear loops instead of a band that stretches across the back of the head, meaning they were fake.
While information about the masks claimed they were produced by Shanghai Dasheng, the company said Wednesday in a statement it didn’t export N95 masks with ear loops to the U.S. Read more
Trump eyes China Crackdown as Coronavirus Retribution (VOA)
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he is eyeing ways to crack down on China as retribution for the way it handled the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“There are many things we could do,” Trump told Fox News. “We could cut off the whole relationship.”
“Now, if you did, what would happen?,” Trump asked rhetorically. “You’d save $500 billion if you cut off the whole relationship,” although it was not clear how Trump arrived at such a figure.
The Trump administration has been considering ways it could punish Beijing for what it believes was its withholding of information about the virus late last year and into early 2020 as it spread from the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China across the globe. Read more
Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis Defend Johnny Depp: ‘He Was Never, Never Violent’ (DailyBeast)
Johnny Depp’s former romantic partners, Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, have come to the actor’s defense as he sues British tabloid The Sun for libel. In 2018, the newspaper ran a story with a headline calling Depp a “wife-beater,” referring to his ex-wife Amber Heard’s domestic abuse allegations, which Depp has denied.
Variety reports that both Ryder, who dated Depp in the early 1990s, and Paradis, who was in a relationship with him from 1998 to 2012 and has two children with him, have submitted witness statements ahead of Depp’s libel trial. Both statements say Depp was never violent toward the women.
Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp in 2016, after the two married in 2015. She released photos of her injured face after an alleged incident with Depp. Read more
Adele impersonators fear star’s seven-stone weight-loss will leave them jobless (Sun)
Adele impersonators told of their panic after the star’s seven-stone weight loss during an appearance on This Morning earlier today.
The 32-year-old star shocked fans with her trim frame earlier this month, but it has left her lookalikes jobless and desperate to shed the pounds.
Adele showed off her seven-stone weight loss earlier this month
Adele showed off her seven-stone weight loss earlier this monthCredit: Refer to Caption
Jax, Natalie, and Maria spoke to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield live on the daytime show, with the latter two admitting that they hoped to emulate her weight loss success going forward. Read more
Nigerian football coaches threaten legal action over bribery allegations (DailyTrust)
Following recent allegations of bribery levelled against some of their members, the Nigeria Football Coaches association is encouraging its members to take legal action against those who accuse them without evidence to prove their claims.
A former Super Eagles striker, Chinedu Obasi recently stirred the hornet’s nest when he made a damning allegation that he was dropped from the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad because he refused to bribe his way to Brazil.
Even as the dust created by the damning accusation targeted at late Stephen Keshi was yet to settle, another former Super Eagles forward, Obinna Nsofor also alleged that he was dropped from the Flying Eagles squad to the 2005 FIFA U-20 championship in Netherlands because he refused to give bribe. Read more
Joshua title defence won’t take place before October – Promoter (Vanguard)
Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight title defence against Kubrat Pulev will be pushed back until at least October because of the coronavirus crisis, his promoter said on Thursday.
Britain’s Joshua was originally scheduled to fight the Bulgarian at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20, with a second date in July also mooted after the pandemic took hold.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said the bout would not happen for several months but he hopes it can be fitted in before the end of the year.
“With everything going on and the fact we have no idea yet about when we will be allowed crowds, and what size crowds, it won’t be the summer,” Hearn told the Daily Mail on Thursday. Read more
‘Bribery allegation painting Nigerian coaches bad’ (Guardian)
Worried by the recent bribery allegations levelled against some national team coached by two former players of the Super Eagles, the President of Nigeria Football Coaches Association, Ladan Bosso has asked the accusers to mention names of the ‘corrupt’ individuals to bring sanity into the nation’s football.
Two ex-Super Eagles players, Chinedu Obasi and Taye Taiwo recently made shocking revelations of bribery allegations against some handlers of the national team.
Former Schalke 04 striker, Obasi had claimed in a recent interview that he was denied a spot in Stephen Keshi’s list to Brazil 2014 World Cup because he refused to pay a bribe.
“I was playing for Schalke, I was playing in the Champions League and I was doing well. Read more
Bundesliga: Augsburg boss Heiko Herrlich breaks quarantine rules and will miss restart (BBC)
Augsburg head coach Heiko Herrlich will miss the Bundesliga restart after breaching quarantine rules by leaving the team hotel to buy toothpaste.
Herrlich, whose side face Wolfsburg on Saturday, told a news conference on Thursday that he had visited a shop, breaking league rules. Read more
Rio Ferdinand reveals why Manchester United should sign Jadon Sancho (Metro)
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand admits he’s desperate for the club to sign Jadon Sancho as he believes the Dortmund winger can bring some much needed flair and imagination to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
The Red Devils have been tracking Sancho’s progress for just under 18 months and are leading the race to sign the 20-year-old this summer. Despite the grave financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic, United remain intent on signing Sancho and clubs have since dropped out of the race for his signature, boosting the Red Devils’ chances. Read more
Tokyo 2020: IOC sets aside $800m Olympics fund for delayed Games (BBC)
IOC president Thomas Bach says there will have to be cutbacks
The International Olympic Committee has set aside $800m (£654m) to help with the “severe” financial impact caused by the postponement of the Tokyo 2020.
Organisers will get $650m after this summer’s Games were postponed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The other $150m is set to be split into loans for international sports federations and national Olympic committees with cash flow problems. Read more