Court remands 61-year-old man over alleged N10.8m land scam (Guardian)
A Chief Magistrate Court, sitting in Ebute- Metta, Lagos has ordered the remand of a 61-year-old man, Olasupo Alimi over N10.8 million allegedly obtained from two prospective land buyers fraudulently.
Chief Magistrate Bola Folarin-Williams ordered his remand after he pleaded not guilty to the four counts charge of obtaining by false pretence and stealing levelled against him by the police.
Arraigning the defendant in a charge marked C/27/2021, the prosecutor, Mr. Morufu Animashaun, told the court that the defendant fraudulently obtained the sum of N7.3 million and N3.5 million from the duo of Sola Elegbede and Adeola Fatai, with false pretence of selling a plot of land to each of them.
Animashaun also told the court that the defendant, a resident of 6, Supo Alimi Streat Okun Ajah, Lagos, after fraudulently obtaining the said sums from the victims, refused to give them the land. Read more
Opportunities in Lagos critical to South-West economic aspirations ― Sanwo-Olu (Tribune)
Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, said the state is strategically important to the South-West regional economic aspirations.
The governor gave this view while speaking at the commissioning of a new Ekiti State Government’s Liaison Office and Governor’s Lodge built on Oduduwa Crescent in Ikeja GRA, Lagos.
The edifice was developed and delivered by Governor Kayode Fayemi administration.
The governor posited that Lagos, as the nation’s hub of commerce and industrial activities, would continue to strengthen partnerships and raise the economic status of states in the South-West region, stressing that his administration would always be open to collaborations that would spread socio-economic prosperity across the region. Read more
13,800 passports uncollected at Lagos offices, controller cries out (Vanguard)
The Passport Controller, Lagos Passport Command, Mrs Milka Musa, Controller of Immigration (CIS), on Monday said that about 13 800, passports remained uncollected at the Lagos Passport offices.
Musa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that about 12,300 were uncollected at Ikoyi passport office, while 1500 were at the Festac office, adding that a-yet-to-be ascertained number of passports, also remained uncollected at the Ikeja passport office.
The passport controller appealed to applicants, who had applied in any of the passport offices before September, 2021, to check their respective office of application for collection.
She further confirmed that the Passport Control Officer ( PCO) in charge of each of the offices had sent text messages as a reminder to applicants concerned. Read more
Tortured Uber driver replies Lagos CP, demands rogue cops’ arrest, N500m (Punch)
Dedotun Clement, the Uber driver brutalised by security agents who fired tear gas canisters to disperse protesters during the #EndSARS memorial at the Lekki tollgate, Lagos State, has demanded the arrest and prosecution of the policemen who tortured him.
This was in response to a statement by the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, that the police could not take any action on his case because there was no official complaint before the command.
In a petition addressed to the commissioner on Monday, Clement, through his lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said the attack on him was a violation of the Police Act 2020.
While urging Odumosu to take action to remedy the violation of his rights “as guaranteed by Section 34 and 35 of the Constitution,” the victim demanded that disciplinary measures should be taken against the policemen. Read more
Confusion dogs UNILAG visitation panel report (DailyTrust)
There is confusion over the findings of the report of the presidential visitation panel set up by the visitor to the University of Lagos (UNILAG), President Muhammed Buhari, Daily Trust reports.
While a version of the report duly signed by its chairman, Martin Luther Agwai, and six other members indicted the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the Federal Ministry of Education has denied that Prof. Ogundipe was indicted by the visitation panel.
This is even as the university’s management has refused to comment on alleged financial recklessness claiming it is not in possession of the report.
According to the signed copy of the report in Daily Trust’s possession, the removal of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, by Dr. Wale Babalakin-led Governing Council in August 2020 was not done in breach of due process. Read more
CJN, Wike, Kukah to NBA: fight for masses, good governance (Nation)
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) got a clarion call yesterday some eminent Nigerians: rise in defence of the masses.
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Ibrahim Muhammad, who was represented by Justice Mary Odili; Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, who gave the keynote, urged the NBA to also fight for good governance.
They spoke at the opening of NBA’s Annual General Conference (AGC) with the theme: Take the Lead, in Port Harcourt, the River State capital.
The CJN decried rising insecurity and criminality, and underscored Judiciary’s role in addressing the challenge. Read more
JAMB stops varsities, others from running distance learning, part-time programmes (Nation)
Universities and other tertiary institutions running degree programmes can no longer admit candidates on their sandwich, distance learning, part-time and other programmes directly, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said.
The board also said it had cancelled the regularisation of “backdoor admissions” conducted by higher institutions, going forward.
It directed that said henceforth, all admissions into various programmes in tertiary institutions must be processed through JAMB, warning institutions not to flout the new rule.
JAMB announced the new advisory in its weekly news bulletin released yesterday in Abuja by its Head of Media and Protocol, Dr. Fabian Benjamin. Read more
N780m fraud: Ex-SGF Anyim spends second night in EFCC cell (Punch)
A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, has spent the second night in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abuja, where he was being held since Sunday afternoon in connection with the ongoing probe of a former Aviation Minister, Senator Stella Oduah.
Anyim, who responded to an invitation from the anti-graft agency in respect of a N780 million aviation ministry’s fund, has been held since Sunday afternoon.
The former Senate President was grilled on Sunday for several hours in connection with the fund which was traced to a company in which he was a director.
The detention of the former SGF is coming days after Oduah was named in the Pandora Papers as one of 10 Nigerians hiding their wealth in tax havens. Read more
‘Invest in cassava seed system for optimum raw materials’ (Guardian)
Sufficient investments must be made in the cassava seed sector to address the challenges plaguing the supply of quality cassava roots as raw materials to industries, says Dr Godwin Atser, an Advocacy, Promotion and Outreach Lead with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
In a presentation titled, “Harnessing Opportunities in Cassava Seed System for Industrial Growth,” at the just concluded conference organised by the Nigeria Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), Dr Atser situated the current challenges of cassava production in Nigeria within the corridors of demand and supply.
According to him, the present high cost of cassava roots was demand-driven, and farmers’ use of local varieties significantly hampered productivity.
Early this year, many processors had to shut down their factories when cassava root prices rose to more than N85,000 per tonne, up from N12,000 per tonne, before receding to N25,000 per tonne. Read more
“The Good Wife” star Alan Cumming opens up about friendship with Monica Lewinsky (PageSix)
Alan Cumming says he’s “so proud” of his “brave and courageous” pal Monica Lewinsky.
“She’s just one of the most hilarious, kind people,” he enthused. “And considering what she’s been through in her life, that’s remarkable.”
The Scottish-born star, 56, writes in his upcoming book “Baggage,” that he first met the former White House intern turned activist in 2000 at a dinner party and they “immediately connected.”
“Knowing her for so long and seeing her happy and more fulfilled these sort of last five years — her kind of coming out — she’s done such great things and used what happened to her to help other people …” he told Page Six. Read more
US pauses aid to Sudan, threatens military coup leaders with ‘all measures’ if government not restored (RT)
The US State Department has frozen $700 million in aid to Sudan, after the country’s military staged a coup and arrested the civilian government. A spokesman said the US is willing to use “all measures” to resolve the crisis.
“The United States is pausing assistance from the $700 million in emergency assistance appropriations of economic support funds for Sudan,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Monday, adding that none of the aid money had been transferred so far.
The funding was intended to help Sudan transition to democratic rule after long-time leader Omar Bashir was removed from power in 2019 in the wake of months of civil unrest and protests. Read more
Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg says claims against company are attempt to paint a ‘false picture’ (Sky)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said recent claims against the social media giant are an attempt to “paint a false picture of our company”.
Whistleblower Frances Haugen has told MPs that groups on the social media site can be “dangerous” because they use algorithms that “take people who have mainstream interests and push them to extreme interests”.
She said groups can become “echo chambers” that reinforce people’s opinions and gave the example that users with left-wing opinions can be pushed to the radical left, while those looking for healthy recipes can be pushed towards anorexia content.
Mr Zuckerberg’s comments came after reports on the Facebook Papers, a vast cache of internal documents, and Ms Haugen’s testimony to MPs and followed a 17% increase in the company’s net income in the July-September period to $9.19bn, buoyed by strong advertising revenue. Read more
Signs of first planet found outside our galaxy (BBC)
Astronomers have found hints of what could be the first planet ever to be discovered outside our galaxy.
Nearly 5,000 “exoplanets” – worlds orbiting stars beyond our Sun – have been found so far, but all of these have been located within the Milky Way galaxy.
The possible planet signal discovered by Nasa’s Chandra X-Ray Telescope is in the Messier 51 galaxy.
This is located some 28 million light-years away from the Milky Way. Read more
Dave Chappelle speaks out in wake of Netflix stand-up special backlash (People)
Dave Chappelle is standing by his Netflix stand-up special, The Closer, but says that he’s open to a discussion with the LGBTQ community about concerns he was perpetuating transphobia.
Days after the comedian’s rep told PEOPLE that he was willing to speak with the streamer’s employees about the controversy, the 48-year-old extended the offer to any transgender person who wanted to sit down with him — although, he did have a few conditions.
“It was said in the press that I was invited to speak to the transgender employees of Netflix and I refused. That is not true,” he said in a video posted to Instagram on Monday, which appeared to be taken during a recent stand-up comedy show.
“If they invited me, I would have accepted it, although I’m confused about what we’re speaking about,” he continued. “I said what I said. And, boy, I heard what you said. My God, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. Well, it seems like I’m the only one that can’t go to the office anymore.” Read more
Japan’s Princess Mako finally marries commoner boyfriend Kei Komuro (BBC)
Japan’s Princess Mako has married her college sweetheart Kei Komuro – thus losing her royal status.
Under Japanese law, female imperial family members forfeit their status upon marriage to a “commoner” although male members do not.
She also skipped the usual rites of a royal wedding and turned down a payment offered to royal females upon their departure from the family.
She is the first female member of the royal family to skip both. Read more
Spanx CEO gives employees free first-class trip, $10K (NYPost)
Spanx founder Sara Blakely is tripping — in the best way!
In celebration of selling the shapewear brand for a cool $1.2 billion, Blakely, 50, surprised each of her Spanx employees with an elite trip to their dream destinations and an extra $10,000 for splurging while on their excursions.
“To celebrate this moment, I have bought each one of you two first-class tickets to anywhere in the world,” the self-made mogul announced to a room full of her delightfully flabbergasted staffers Friday.
A viral Instagram clip of Blakely’s big announcement shows Spanx personnel screaming, crying and embracing one another in excitement over the wildly thoughtful work perk. Read more
Ministry postpones NBBF elections indefinitely over protracted crisis (DailyTrust)
The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports development has postponed indefinitely elections into the executive committee of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) scheduled for October 30, 2021 in Benin City, Edo state.
This was disclosed via a press statement issued by the permanent secretary of the ministry Ismaila Abubakar on Monday following the protracted crisis that has bedeviled the federation.
Part of the statement reads, “Having reviewed the crisis around the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and in consideration of the several attempts by the supervising Ministry to resolve the lingering crisis and fractionalization in the Basketball family, the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD) hereby directs an indefinite suspension of the NBBF Elective Congress scheduled for 30 October, 2021 in Benin City. All concerned stakeholders are expected to take note and comply. Read more
Manchester United include Brendan Rodgers on four-man shortlist to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Metro)
Manchester United have included Brendan Rodgers on their four-man shortlist of potential replacements for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, according to reports.
United’s hierarchy are now considering Solskjaer’s position at the club following the team’s crushing 5-0 defeat at home to Liverpool on Sunday.
The result has left United with three defeats in their last four Premier League games and Solskjaer’s side are already eight points behind leaders Chelsea after nine games played.
Solskjaer is adamant that he will not step down following his side’s comprehensive defeat to Liverpool, but it’s understood that United are now assessing their options. Read more
Nets make early season ills go away in convincing win over Wizards (NYPost)
Slow starts. Silly turnovers. Wretched defense. All the flaws that have plagued the Nets in their uninspired early stages of the season got fixed — at least for one night.
The Nets got well Monday with a 104-90 rout of Washington before 14,487 at Barclays Center, including Jay-Z seated courtside.
“I liked that when we didn’t make shots to start the second half we still got stops. We still showed them bodies,” Kevin Durant said. “This team was playing with confidence and we came in here on the second night of a back-to-back and imposed our will the whole game.” Read more
Floyd Mayweather rejects photo with male fan ‘because he has his nails painted’ (Metro)
Floyd Mayweather turned down a photo request from a male fan after seeing that he had his nails painted.
The 44-year-old, who retired from boxing in 2017, won 15 major titles during his career which ended with an unbeaten record of 50-0.
Mayweather is a huge fan of the NBA and regularly attends games in Los Angeles, but after the LA Clippers vs Memphis Grizzlies fixture at the Staples Center on Saturday night, the legendary boxer rejected a selfie request from a fan.
In footage obtained by TMZ, Mayweather could be seen telling the teenager: ‘You want to take a picture, you’ve got painted nails, you can’t… I don’t take pictures with guys with painted nails.’
Mayweather’s bodyguard then told the teenager to ‘back up’ before pushing him away as the legendary boxer exited the arena. Read more
Israeli UFC hopeful Oron Kahlon calls Afghan opponent Javid Basharat ‘a terrorist’ during testy exchange at weigh-in (RT)
Fight fans have hit out at an ugly moment during a UFC weigh-in on Monday evening after Oron Kahlon, who missed weight for his fight, appeared to refer to Afghan opponent Javid Basharat as a ‘terrorist’ during a heated staredown.
The pair of UFC prospects are hoping to catch the eye of Dana White ahead of Tuesday’s ‘Contender Series’ match-up between the two bantamweights as part of the company’s drive to identify new talent capable of competing on the global stage – but Kahlon may have gone one step too far after he appeared to be overheard referring to Basharat as a ‘terrorist’.
Footage of the dramatic moment was captured on social media and has prompted widespread scorn towards Kahlon, who is of Israeli descent. The slur was noted when the two were posing for photographs alongside UFC official Sean Shelby – and is even more remarkable given that it was Kahlon who missed weight for their fight. Read more
Ronnie O’Sullivan reveals the ‘problem’ with next generation of snooker stars (Metro)
Ronnie O’Sullivan is ‘baffled’ by the ‘egos’ of the next generation of snooker stars and says a false sense of self-belief is a ‘problem’ with up-and-coming players.
Six-time world champion O’Sullivan, widely considered one of the best players of all time, has frequently admitted he is not overly impressed with the next crop coming through.
‘There are a lot of good players, but I think the problem with snooker now is the issue that I see with a lot of players,’ O’Sullivan told Eurosport ahead of the English Open, which starts on November 1 in Milton Keynes.
‘They come in, they haven’t really had an amateur or junior background and they turn professional and the ego kicks in: “I’m a professional playing Mark Williams in the first round”, and they’re not really that good. Read more