Dad in court over alleged defilement of five-year-old daughter (Punch)
A 29-year-old man, Adekunle Adebiyi, is currently cooling his heels in police custody in Lagos for allegedly defiling his five-year-old daughter, Bola (pseudonym).
Adebiyi reportedly committed the crime following a stormy relationship between him and his estranged lover, Anu, who is the mother of the victim.
City Round learnt that the lovers had kept each other at arm’s length but reconciled again in May 2020 on Adebiyi’s request. Read more
Lagos receives 50 noise pollution complaints in 1 week (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), said it received over 50 noise pollution complaints within a week.
The General Manager of LASEPA, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, in a statement on Friday, decried the upsurge in noise pollution across the state and the resultant environmental violations.
Fasawe said that due to the constant outcry over environmental noise, the agency had to embark on enforcement and sealed 15 hospitality facilities within seven days. Read more
Sanwo-Olu suspends director for imposing 5% levy on Netflix, Iroko TV, others (Punch)
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has suspended the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, Bamidele Balogun, for imposing a five per cent tax on digital platforms including Netflix and Iroko TV.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, said this in a statement on Friday night titled, ‘Lagos State Has No 5% Levy on Audio and Visual Contents of Physical and Digital Platforms’
Omotosho, who is the Spokesman for the state government, said Balogun acted without authorisation and was therefore suspended. Read more
3 burnt to death in Lagos-Ibadan expressway accident (Nation)
Three persons were on Friday burnt to death in an accident involving a pick up van around Danco filling station on the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway.
Mr Ahmed Umar, Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ogun confirmed the incident to journalists in Abeokuta.
According to Umar, the crash occurred around 4:37pm and was caused by excessive speeding and loss of control by the pickup van driver.
Read Also: FRSC seizes 249 vehicles in Zamfara
He said that the pickup van with no registration number was on top speed, when it lost control, hit a truck in its front and immediately burst into flame. Read more
14-year-old pupil, hoodlum killed during cult clash (Punch)
A 14-year-old pupil in Warri, Delta State, has reportedly died from a stray bullet that hit him during a clash between two rival cult groups in the city.
Our correspondent gathered that another victim who was alleged to be a member of the warring cult groups simply identified as Morku, died of a gunshot wound.
The incident happened around Old Welfare Street, near Lower Erejuwa area of the city in the early hours of Thursday. Read more
Pastor nabbed for killing 60-year old native doctor (Nation)
Police in Anambra said they have arrested a 21-year old Pastor, Uchenna Chukwuma for allegedly killing a 60-year old native doctor in Nkpo, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed who confirmed this in a statement on Friday, said the suspect claimed he was sent by God to kill the deceased.
He said the machete used in committing the crime was recovered as exhibit, adding that the case has been transferred to the State Criminal investigation Department, Awka for discreet investigation. Read more
Ghana to revisit $1 million trade levy on Nigerians, others (Guardian)
Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo has said the country will revisit the $1 million mandatory business capital for Nigerians and other nationals as a requirement for doing business.
“The review that you are asking for, why not? if it works in our mutual perspectives, we can take it for granted that your request will be taken seriously. We will have a look at it,” Addo said during a meeting with Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Amongst other demands, Gbajabiamila who is on a visit to Ghana over the continued hostilities towards Nigerian residents and entrepreneurs in Ghana, urged the president to revisit the component of the law that requires a capital base of $1,000,000. Read more
Four women sell newborn for N1.5m (Nation)
Four women have been taken into custody for allegedly selling a newborn for N1,500,000.
Officials of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) arrested three of the women near Abuja, while the fourth suspect was apprehended in Owerri, the Imo State capital, where the baby’s teenage mother hails from.
Two of the women, Bernadette Ihezuo and Cecilia Onyema are civil servants with the Federal Ministry of Finance Abuja, and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, respectively. Read more
FRSC dismisses 8 personnel, punishes 20 (Vanguard)
The Board of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has granted approval for the punishment of 28 erring officers of the Corps in accordance with the provisions of its regulation on discipline.
The Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO), ACM Bisi Kazeem, announced this in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.
Kazeem said that the action was part of the organised effort to rid the FRSC of undisciplined and corrupt elements. Read more
Iran still expanding enriched uranium stockpile, says UN watchdog (Aljazeera)
Iran continues to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium in violation of limitations set in the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, but has begun providing access to sites where the country was suspected of having stored or used undeclared nuclear material, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog agency said on Friday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in a confidential document distributed to member countries that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium now stands at more than 10 times the limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
As of August 25, Iran had stockpiled 2,105.4kg (4,641.6 pounds) of low-enriched uranium, up from 1,571.6kg (3,464.8 pounds) reported on May 20. Read more
Brutal rat and pigeon fight on NYC street goes viral (news.com.au)
A vicious fight between a massive rat and a pigeon on the streets of New York City has gone viral and is making headlines around the world.
The bloodthirsty rat was filmed locked in battle with the pigeon – and it looked like the brawl was going to end in death for one of the city dwellers.
But at the end of the video, the fight is broken up by a bystander who suddenly bashes the rat with a pole causing it to flee. The man then asks the pigeon: “Are you OK?” Read more
Japanese rescue crews find another survivor from missing freighter (RNZ)
Japanese rescue crews have found another survivor from a live export ship that sank off the country’s south-west on Wednesday.
Authorities found the sailor, a 30-year-old Filipino, on a life raft. He was conscious and able to walk by himself.
The Japanese Coast Guard said a local government office made an emergency call at about 3 pm (local time), saying it could see an “orange-coloured boat on the sea”.
The Coast Guard diverted one of its search aircraft to the area and located the man who was wearing a life jacket. Read more
Kanye West kicked off Virginia ballot for US election in humiliating setback (news.com.au)
Kanye West’s presidential campaign has suffered a humiliating setback, with a judge throwing his name off the ballot in a key state.
Earlier this week, two men filed a writ against the State Board of Elections and the Department of Elections in Virginia, alleging the Birthday Party – yes, that is what West’s party is called – had obtained their signatures as electors “under false pretences”.
You might be wondering what an elector even is.
Under America’s political system, the goal of a presidential candidate is not to win the popular vote, but to claim a majority of electoral votes. Read more
Biden slams Trump for alleged comments disparaging soldiers, war dead (CBC)
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden declared U.S. President Donald Trump “unfit” for the presidency on Friday, delivering an impassioned reaction to a report that Trump allegedly mocked American war dead.
The president and his allies have dismissed the report in The Atlantic magazine as false.
The report, attributed to anonymous sources, outlined multiple instances of Trump making disparaging remarks about members of the U.S. military who have been captured or killed, including referring to the American war dead at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in 2018 as “losers” and “suckers.” Read more
Facebook limits Messenger forwards to curb misinformation (nznews.net)
Social media giant Facebook is putting a cap on how many times a message can be forwarded on Messenger. The company has limited the forwards of a message to five at once for the sake of curbing misinformation.
According to Mashable, Jay Sullivan, the executive responsible for Messenger’s privacy and safety said in an official blog post, “Limiting forwarding is an effective way to slow the spread of viral misinformation and harmful content that has the potential to cause real-world harm.”The social media giant added that it is imposing a limit on message forwards to foil the efforts of bad actors aiming to cause chaos and undermine accurate information. The decision has been taken in view of the coronavirus pandemic (and the spread of linked conspiracy theories) as well as the upcoming elections in the US, New Zealand and other countries. Read more
James Bond’s new international “No Time To Die” trailer may have given away a major plot spoiler (Metro)
No Time To Die’s newly-released second international trailer may have given away a major plot point. Suffice to say, spoiler alert. (But then again, it could just be the internet’s overactive imagination, so possibly not.) In the English language version of the trailer, Daniel Craig’s Bond is heard saying he’s met ‘your new OO’ – Lashana Lynch’s character, Nomi. However, in the dubbed Italian and Spanish versions of the trailer, he says ‘007’.
This, of course, is Bond’s own code name – and, as we already know, Craig is bowing out of the franchise after this final flick. Read more
Original Africa Cup of Nations trophy ‘missing’ in Egypt (BBC)
An investigation has been launched by the Egyptian FA (EFA) after it found that several trophies have disappeared from its headquarters in Cairo, with an original African Cup of Nations reportedly among them.
Egypt received the prize after winning the 2010 edition of the tournament, so winning that particular incarnation of the trophy for a third time.
The trophy, whose style was first used in 2002 after Cameroon received the previous cup after winning that for a third time in 2000, was awarded after Egyptian triumphs in 2006, 2008 and 2010. Read more
Ibadan hospital rejected late Eagles star – Shorunmu (Punch)
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu has told Saturday PUNCH a private hospital in Ibadan declined treating Ajibade Babalade before the retired 3SC defender died in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Friday afternoon.
According to Shorunmu, Babalade’s teammate at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal, the former footballer died in Ibadan after suffering cardiac arrest.
Babalade, 48, died while being rushed to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, our correspondent learnt. He is survived by a wife and three kids, who are all based in the US. Read more
Sifan Hassan sets rare women’s world record, runs nearly 19 km in 1 hour (CBC)
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands broke the rarely run one-hour world record on Friday by covering 18.930 kilometres at the Memorial Van Damme meeting.
The previous record of 18.517 kilometres was set by Ethiopia’s Dire Tune at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting in 2008.
Gabriela DeBues-Stafford reflects on historic 1,500m run: ‘I want to do that again’ Read more
Lionel Messi confirms he will stay at Barcelona to avoid legal dispute (NZHerald)
Lionel Messi delivered a brutal attack on Barcelona’s board after announcing he will stay at the Nou Camp this season to avoid taking the club to court.
The 33-year-old angrily accused president Josep Bartomeu of breaking a promise to him about being allowed to leave this summer and says his decision to quit was made during the season after the decline of the Spanish club over a period of years.
Manchester City will be among those closely looking at his situation in 2020/21 and will be able to negotiate a pre-contract in four months’ time when the world’s greatest player is within six months of his contract expiring. Read more
Kai Havertz: Chelsea sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder for £71m (BBC)
Kai Havertz (right) is Chelsea’s second most expensive signing
Chelsea have signed attacking midfielder Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year contract in a deal worth about £71m.
The Germany international has scored 36 goals and contributed 25 assists in 118 appearances for the Bundesliga club.
He is Chelsea’s second most expensive signing after Kepa Arrizabalaga joined from Athletic Bilbao (£71.6m) in 2018. Read more
Dani Ceballos rejoins Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid (Guardian)
Dani Ceballos has rejoined Arsenal for a second season on loan from Real Madrid, the Premier League club announced on Friday.
The Spanish international scored two goals in 36 appearances for the Gunners last season, helping Mikel Arteta’s side win the FA Cup.
“Dani was an integral part of our team last season and finished the season in excellent form,” said Arteta. Read more