Customs to auction seized food items (Punch)
The Nigeria Customs Service has commenced the sale of seized food items to vulnerable Nigerians to address hunger across the country, the Comptroller General of the Service, Adewale Adeniyi, has said.
The Customs boss stated this on Tuesday on the floor of the House of Representatives during the sectoral debate series which also had in attendance the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari.
According to Mr Adeniyi, President Bola Tinubu has directed that food items produced in Nigeria and seized at the Nigerian land borders, be sold directly to vulnerable Nigerians to ease the challenge of hunger in the country. Read more
Peter Obi rewards Kano tricyclist who returned N15m with varsity scholarship (DailyTrust)
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi and his running mate, Baba-Ahmed Datti, have announced scholarship for Auwalu Salisu, a Kano-born tricycle rider for returning the sum of N15m to the owner.
Daily Trust had last year September reported how a 22-year-old tricycle rider, Salisu, returned N15m that was forgotten by a passenger who came from Chad to buy goods in Kano.
Salisu, a resident of Yankaba in Nasarawa Local Government Area of the state, returned the money after hearing an announcement about the missing money on a radio station in Kano. Read more
7 internet fraudsters bag jail terms (Tribune)
Seven suspects have received various jail terms for internet-related offences in Ogun and Oyo, as announced by the Oyo and Ogun High Courts in Ibadan and Abeokuta.
The convicts were presented before Justices M.O. Ishola, O.A. Lajide, and S.O. Adeniyi of the Oyo and Ogun States High Courts on a one-count charge by the Ibadan Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Their offence pertained to personation, as outlined in Section 484 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000. Read more
Army has no desire to truncate Nigeria’s democracy — COAS (Channels)
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, on Tuesday, restated the commitment of the Nigerian Army to defend the nation’s choice of government, democracy.
Addressing participants at a seminar on career planning and management organised by the Army headquarters, the COAS said the Army has no plans to truncate democracy in the country.
He charged officers of the Nigerian Army to remain above board in the discharge of their professional duties. Read more
Benue: State activates emergency centre as Lassa fever death toll rises to 13 (Sun)
The Ministry of Health and Human Services of the Benue State government has activated a state multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre for Lassa Fever (LF-EOC) in the state.
This became necessary after the state recorded 725 suspected cases, while the death toll rose from nine to 13.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Yanmar Ortese, who disclosed this while briefing reporters in Makurdi on Tuesday, said centre followed a risk assessment that placed the state at a very high risk of increased Lassa Fever transmission within and beyond it’s borders. Read more
Group condemns attack on members during Olu of Warri’s visit to community (Leadership)
A non governmental organisation, Children of Drivers and Fishermen Association, (CODAFA), has strongly condemned the recent attack on some of its members during the visit of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse lll to Okere Community.
Pandemonium ensued recently when the monarch visited the community located at Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State as part of the activities to mark the end of Okere Community’s royal palace guard.
The Chairman and Secretary of the association, Akpeja Romeo Diden and Akpeja Blessing Okotie gave the condemnation in a statement made available to journalists in Warri, on Tuesday. Read more
Banks involved in 70% of financial crimes – EFCC (Punch)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Monday, indicted banks as being linked to about 70 per cent of the financial crimes in Nigeria.
EFCC’s Chairman, Ola Olukayode, disclosed this while speaking in Abuja at the 2023 Annual Retreat and General Meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria.
He pointed out that the banking sector was increasingly becoming a cesspool of fraudulent activities and this had been raising considerable challenges and concerns to the commission. Read more
Smuggling responsible for food scarcity in Nigeria, says Agric Minister (Vanguard)
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has said part of the factors affecting food availability in the country is the smuggling of food out of Nigeria to other neighbouring countries.
The minister stated this on Tuesday while addressing members of the House of Representatives during the sectoral debate on agriculture and food security.
Present at the sectorial debate are the Minister of State (Agriculture and Food Security), Sabi Abdullahi, and Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, among top government officials. Read more
Ice Spice says she’s ‘obsessed’ with Lana Del Rey (Billboard)
Ahead of her 2024 Billboard Women in Music Hitmaker ceremony on Wednesday (March 6), “Munch” hitmaker Ice Spice talked about some of her biggest musical inspirations, one of which might surprise you.
In a recent chat with Billboard, Spice was asked to name some of her favorite hit-makers of all time. After shouting out past Hitmakers honorees including Charli XCX and Dolly Parton (“they’re iconic, each in their own way”), Spice specifically called out Lana Del Rey as her musical north star.
“I’m obsessed with her, and I feel like all of her songs are hits, even the ones that aren’t as big as the others,” Ice Spice, 24, said of the sad-eyed singer who joined her and Taylor Swift in a skybox in February for Super Bowl LVIII to root on champs the Kansas City Chiefs. Read more
Influencer gang raped on round-the-world trip speaks about ordeal (Metro)
Three men in India have appeared in court after being accused of gang-raping a travel vlogger on a round-the-world trip with her husband.
Police are also searching for four other suspects believed to have been involved in the violent assault.
Victim Fernanda, 28, and her husband Vicente, 45, were attempting to visit every country in the world on motorbikes, and were documenting the journey to their 300,000 followers on social media. Read more
50 Cent mocks Diddy’s legal woes while pleading for ‘love’ from phoenix crowd (HipHopDx)
50 Cent has continued his taunting of Diddy by mocking him live on stage during a concert.
Performing at the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix on Sunday (March 3) after he was forced to cancel a show at the venue last year due to a heat warning, 50 had the crowd in the palm of his hand when the topic quickly switched to the Bad Boy boss.
After defending his decision to postpone his previous concert and joking about the harsh criticism he received online because of it, 50 said: “I love you, why don’t you love me back? Where is the love?!” Read more
‘The blood was everywhere’: Inside Israel’s Flour Massacre in Gaza (AlJazeera)
It has been five days since the Israeli army fired into a crowd of the hungry and the starving at al-Rashid Street in Gaza City, an incident that has been dubbed the Flour Massacre.
However, for the families of the 118 civilians killed by Israeli fire during the early hours of Thursday morning, it is the moment their lives would forever be divided into before and after.
Thursday’s massacre has been followed by two subsequent killings by Israeli forces of hungry Palestinians scrambling for aid, on Saturday and Monday night, adding to the mounting death toll among the uncounted and malnourished thousands battling the first signs of starvation. Read more
Biden to launch task force to crack down on ‘unfair and illegal pricing’ amid rising inflation (NBC)
President Joe Biden on Tuesday will launch a new task force to take on “unfair and illegal” corporate pricing, which Biden sees as a major reason why consumers are not yet feeling the impact of cooling inflation rates and a strong economy.
The task force will be jointly led by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, two agencies at the forefront of the Biden administration’s aggressive regulatory agenda over the past three years.
“We’re excited to be co-chairing the president’s new Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing, which builds on the FTC’s far-reaching work to promote competition and tackle unlawful business practices that are inflating costs for Americans,” FTC Chair Lina Khan told reporters on a call Monday. Read more
2 dead as planes collide mid-air in Nairobi, Kenya (AfricaNews)
Two planes collided at Nairobi National Park, leaving at least two people dead. 44 others escaped unharmed in the incident on Tuesday morning.
One of the planes involved was a Dash 8 owned by Safari Link, bound for Diani with 44 passengers and crew.
The other was a Cessna plane on a training session, carrying two people. The Cessna crashed in the park, while the Dash 8 safely landed back at Wilson Airport. Both planes had taken off from Wilson Airport, according to officials, who confirmed two fatalities in the accident. Read more
3 women returning from baby shower killed by alleged drunk driver in California: Police (People)
Three women have died after their car collided with an alleged drunk driver in California.
Alejandra Olaez, 33, her sister-in-law Yesenia Olaez, 33, and family friend, Lorena Morales, 58, were killed on Saturday in Pomona, according to a release from the Pomona Police Department.
The statement added that officers attended the scene of a two-vehicle collision at 10:59 PM on Saturday, where “all involved parties were moderately to severely injured.” Read more
Abia Warriors shock Pillars in Kano as Sporting Lagos
hold Doma Utd (DailyTrust)
Abia Warriors yesterday defeated Kano Pillars at the Sani Abacha stadium by a lone goal in the match day 23 fixtures of the 2023/24 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season.
Pillars who have had an indifferent season so far suffered its ninth league loss when Daniel Ijeh struck a thunderbolt in the 78th minute to ensure his side secured its tenth win of the season.
The visitors have never defeated the ‘Sai Masugida’ side away from home in the NPFL, last doing so in the FA Cup with a 1-2 victory in 2018 ensured their have now lost their first home league game this season. Pillars have now lost back-to-back games for the first time in the league since losing 1-0 to Plateau United 2-1 to Wikki Tourists in the 2021/22 season. Their last home loss was a 1-0 defeat to Rivers United on March 2, 2022. Read more
30-year-old Super Eagles’ AFCON star ‘tempted’ to ‘definitely consider’ Saudi Arabia move (Soccernet)
Super Eagles defender William Troost-Ekong has confessed he is open to leaving Greek giants PAOK Thessaloniki at the end of the season should a tempting offer make it to his table, Soccernet.ng reports.
Troost-Ekong only joined PAOK last summer for €1 million after ending his three-year association with Watford.
For PAOK, Troost-Ekong featured in six Conference League matches and ten Super League 1 games before he left for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Read more
Indian Wells Open: Rafael Nadal faces Milos Raonic clash, while Andy Murray could tackle Andrey Rublev (SkySports)
Rafael Nadal will face a clash with former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic on his return to action at the BNP Paribas Open, live on Sky Sports.
The Spaniard, a three-time winner at Indian Wells, is making only his second appearance of the year after reaching the quarter-finals of an ATP 250 event in Brisbane in the first week of the season.
That marked Nadal’s return from a hip flexor injury which had sidelined him for nearly a year, although he was then forced to miss the Australian Open due to a muscle tear. Read more
Mohammed Ben Sulayem: FIA president allegedly told officials not to certify Las Vegas GP (BBC)
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of Formula 1’s governing body, allegedly told officials not to certify the Las Vegas circuit for its race last year.
The claim is from the same whistleblower who accused Ben Sulayem of allegedly telling officials to overturn a penalty to Fernando Alonso in Saudi Arabia last year.
The whistleblower says they were told “on behest of the FIA president” to find a way not to pass the circuit safe for racing. Read more
Mo Salah threat issued by Egypt to give Liverpool cause for concern on star’s injury return (Mirror)
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been told that Mohamed Salah will feature for Egypt on international duty if he plays any games for the Reds between now and the break
The Egyptian FA have called up Mohamed Salah for international duty and will use him if he features at all for Liverpool in the next two weeks.
Mid-March sees a number of the Premier League’s biggest names jet off around the world to represent their national sides while club football is paused for the last time this term. Egypt will take part in the Winsunited Cup, coming up against the likes of Tunisia, Croatia and New Zealand. Read more
South Africa: Safa mourns the passing of former Bafana defender Siphiwe Mkhonza (AllAfrica)
Siphiwe’s father, former Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza, confirmed to www.Safa.net that his 44-year-old son, who also played for Kaizer Chiefs, Golden Arrows and Bloemfontein Celtic, among others, passed away at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital on Tuesday, 5 March 2024 after illness. He was a soccer analyst at the SABC at the time of his passing.
“We are devastated as a family and we are in shock,” he said. “We were looking forward to so much from him and we thought he would recover. I am at a loss for words.”
SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan said the country had lost yet another giant, a versatile player during his time and an intelligent individual. Read more