EFCC arrests ex-Abia gov Orji at Abuja airport (Punch)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a former governor of Abia State, Senator Theodore Orji at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The ex- governor, who has been on the commission’s watch list, was intercepted at about 10 am this morning and brought to the headquarters of the EFCC at Jabi, Abuja, for continuation of his interrogation.
Orji is presently being quizzed alongside his son, Chinedu, who is the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly.
Chinedu turned himself in this afternoon upon learning of the arrest of his father.
Senator Orji and his sons, Chinedu and Ogbonna, are under investigation by the EFCC for alleged misappropriation of public funds and money laundering to the tune of N551 billion. Read more
Fawehinmi’s late son, Mohammed died from COVID-19 related complications -Family (Nation)
Mohammed Fawehinmi, the first son of the late human rights lawyer Chief Gani Fawehinmi, died from COVID-19 related complications, the family has clarified.
The Nation reports the 52-year-old passed on in Lagos.
The family gave the clarification at a briefing in Lagos on Thursday.
Saheed Fawehinmi, the second son of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, who spoke on behalf of the family said: “The family could not immediately disclose the cause of our brother’s death because we wanted the information to be based on factual medical details especially as maybe contained in the death certificate. Read more
Lagos bakers beg FG to address high cost of baking materials (Tribune)
Bakers in Lagos State have called on the Federal Government to come to their aid by addressing what it described as an unnecessary and unjustifiable increase in prices of flour, sugar and other baking materials, leading to the high cost of loaves of bread in the country.
Chairman, Lagos State Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, Kosofe branch, Mr Akintola Taiwo and his counterpart in Surulere branch, Comrade Ibitoye Oladapo, respectively, made the call at the end of their monthly meeting, which took place at the headquarters of the association.
The chairmen, who spoke with newsmen, strongly condemned the arbitrary price increase of flour and other baking materials by the government,
They maintained that the association had on several occasions called on the federal government to always intervene in the increment of baking materials, saying “the situation has now deteriorated due to an astronomical increase of the price of flour.” Read more
LASPOTECH students lament lack of hostel facilities, irregular classes (Nation)
Students studying at the Isolo campus of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), are having it tough with high cost of rent and academic challenges on campus .
The students have lamented how the institution’s lack of hostels on campus is affecting their finances and studies.
They also complained about the irregularity of lectures for months after resumption, as well as what they called irrelevant rules they have to obey.
The polytechnic, like other Lagos State-owned tertiary institutions, does not have hostels on campuses – though the government has started building an 8,000-bed hostel at the Lagos State University (LASU). Read more
We are investigating abuse of Cabotage law – NIMASA (Vanguard)
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has commenced moves to investigate the alleged abuse of the Coastal and Merchant Shipping Act, otherwise known as Cabotage Law, by foreigners.
Speaking to Vanguard Maritime Report on the sideline of the just concluded Federal Ministry of Transportation Retreat held in Lagos, Executive Director of Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services at NIMASA, Mr. Victor Ochei, said that there have been reports of abuse of the law in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, patronage of foreigners.
Ochei also said that an analysis of the report of the alleged abuse is currently being undertaken by the agency. Read more
Buhari presides over crucial meeting of National Security Council (Sun)
President Muhammadu Buhari is currently presiding over a crucial security meeting with all the nation’s security chiefs and relevant cabinet Ministers in attendance.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the meeting was summoned to critically analyzed the prevailing challenges of security bedevilling the country with a view to charting the best way forward.
NAN reports that the nation security forces had in the recent times taken the battle more robustly to insurgents, bandits and all other criminals troubling the country.
NAN learnt that the meeting is expected to discuss successes being achieved in the renewed onslaught against terrorism, insurgency as well as the deadly activities of bandits across the country. Read more
Why Lafia-Makurdi road construction was suspended –FG (DailyTrust)
The federal government on Wednesday attributed threats to the life of workers as the major reason why the ongoing construction of the Lafia-Makurdi road dualisation was suspended.
Minister of Works, Raji Fashola, explained during stakeholders meeting in Makurdi that the Benue section of the road dualisation was met with swift opposition from the locals in the Guma Local Government Area axis followed by threats to “diabolically deal” with the construction workers.
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Fashola, who spoke through the ministry’s director of works, Ishak Mohammed, disclosed that the locals in the Guma had threatened to invoke ancestral powers, which would manifest in form of snakes to kill the workers because the government hadn’t paid them any compensation for the land, crops and shrines destroyed in the course of construction work.
He also said the threat handed to the workers forced them to abandon that section of the road, which formed part of the federal government’s effort at dualising the Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi road. Read more
PSC awaits DCP Kyari’s investigation report (Guardian)
The Police Service Commission has set up an in-house panel to study in details documents related to the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abba Kyari, a former head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force indicted by a Report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States.
Spokesman of PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, said the panel is expected to examine the facts of the allegations as contained in the FBI indictment and also to look at the extant rules as a means of keeping abreast of the matter pending the submission of the Report by the Police Investigative Panel.
The panel headed by Bar. Tijani Mohammed, Director, Department of Police Discipline in the Commission is required to gather and document relevant information on DCP Abba Kyari in view of his disciplinary matter and to analyze the information gathered and make appropriate recommendation/s to the Commission.
“The Panel, which has been inaugurated by the Permanent Secretary/ Secretary to the Commission, Alhaji Abubakar Ismaila has started work while the Commission awaits the Report of the DIG Joseph Egbunike Police investigative Panel on the matter,” Ani said. Read more
Why I withdrew from BBNaija S6-KayVee (Sun)
Big Brother Naija ”Shine Ya Eye” ex housemate, KayVee, has broken his silence days after he voluntarily withdrew from the ongoing reality TV show.
KayVee whose real name is Gbolahan Ololade, withdrew from the show on August 16 following advice from doctors who visited him on the show.
His fellow housemates drew the attention of big brother after they noticed he was exhibiting some ”weird behaviours”.
KayVee in a statement released on his Instagram page this evening, said that he wanted to stay on the show till the end but certain events escalated the anxiety he felt in the house and this impacted his disposition. Read more
Ed Sheeran terrifies anyone with music coming out in October as he confirms new album = (Metro)
Ed Sheeran has confirmed that he will release his new album = in October.
If you listen carefully, you can hear music publicists the world over frantically trying to reschedule their releases.
After making a comeback with his single Bad Habits, and subsequently topping the charts, the 30-year-old has confirmed his fifth album will be released on October 29, four years after he began recording it.
In the grand tradition of naming his albums after mathematical symbols (+, x and ÷ ), Ed has called his album =, which is pronounced Equals, if you plan on looking for it in a physical shop. Read more
Sonny Chiba, Martial Arts Legend and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor, Dies at 82 of COVID Complications (Variety)
Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba, the Japanese actor and martial arts legend who had roles in American films like Kill Bill and The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, died on Thursday of COVID complications, his agent and manager confirmed to Variety. He was 82.
Chiba’s career in film and television spanned from the 1960s through the 2010s, and he appeared in countless Japanese titles, in addition to some popular American films. In many of his projects, he showcased his expert martial arts skills, and he went on to choreograph fight scenes later in his career.
Born Sadaho Maeda in Fukuoka, Japan, on January 22, 1939, he began learning martial arts while at the Nippon Sports Science University in 1957. He studied under karate master Masutatsu “Mas” Oyama and earned a first-degree black belt in 1965. He later played Oyama in a trilogy of films, “Champion of Death,” “Karate Bearfighter” and “Karate for Life,” in the late 1970s. In 1984, he received a fourth-degree black belt. He also held black belts in ninjutsu, shorinji kempo, judo, kendo and goju-ryu karate. Read more
Will Congolese rumba join the Unesco world heritage list? (RFI)
The Democratic Republic of Congo has given the official kick-off to a campaign to put Congolese rumba, one of the most popular forms of music in Africa, on Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
The bid is being pushed by both the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its smaller neighbour, the Republic of Congo, also called Congo-Brazzaville.
Culture minister Catherine Kathungu Furaha, in a ceremony in Kinshasa on Tuesday, called for Congolese embassies, universities, schools and social networks to throw their weight behind the effort.
Rumba “has been part of our identity, descendants of Africa and all of us, throughout the ages,” she said. Read more
It’s not just sex crimes for R. Kelly: trial hinges on proving criminal enterprise (Billboard)
The case against the singer is underpinned by one count of racketeering — a charge normally brought against mobsters.
Whitey Bulger, John Gotti and… R. Kelly? As the disgraced R&B hitmaker’s federal trial kicked off in Brooklyn on Tuesday, front and center was the charge of racketeering — unusual for someone person accused of sex crimes, and more commonly reserved for mobsters and other organized crime syndicates.
For the “I Believe I Can Fly Singer” born Robert Sylvester Kelly, however, it could mean 10 years to life in prison if convicted on all charges. The trial also includes 14 underlying acts — including kidnapping, sex trafficking and forced labor — and eight counts of violating the federal Mann Act, which outlaws sex trafficking across state lines. In New York, Kelly is alleged to have committed these crimes against six women and girls, including the late singer Aaliyah, whom Kelly married when she was 15 and he was 27. (Kelly faces additional federal charges, including the sexual exploitation of children, in a separate case brought in Illinois.) Read more
Nicole Kidman’s Hong Kong quarantine exemption for TV series sparks major backlash (Metro)
Nicole Kidman has sparked major backlash in Hong Kong as it emerged that the government issued her a quarantine exemption to film a TV show.
The 54-year-old is the star and executive producer of the Amazon Prime Video series Expats, based on the book The Expatriates by Janice K Lee, and was seen arriving in Hong Kong via a private plane from Sydney last Thursday.
The actress was then seen two days later shopping in the Sai Wan district.
Under current Hong Kong quarantine rules, fully vaccinated inbound travellers from Australia must serve seven days of quarantine, while from Friday onwards, they will be required to quarantine for 14 days after Australia is reclassified as a medium risk country. Read more
Lizzo: Facebook and Instagram remove abusive comments from singer’s accounts (BBC)
Facebook and Instagram have removed several hateful comments on US singer Lizzo’s social media accounts.
The move comes after the singer spoke tearfully about the “hurtful” abuse she’d received on social media.
A spokesman for Facebook told The Hollywood Reporter the comments which had been removed broke the company’s rules about hate speech and harassment.
Earlier this week, Lizzo said she had received attacks online which were “fatphobic” and “racist”. Read more
Mbappe not unsettled by speculation over PSG future, says Pochettino (RFI)
Kylian Mbappe is “relaxed” and not unsettled despite ongoing speculation about his future, Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted on Thursday.
“Kylian is relaxed, he is our player and I don’t see him being anywhere else this season,” Pochettino told reporters at a press conference ahead of PSG’s Ligue 1 game against Brest on Friday.
Mbappe, 22, has just a year left on his contract in Paris and has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, with the speculation intensifying since the arrival of Lionel Messi in the French capital.
In Madrid, Mbappe was on the front page of leading sports dailies Marca and AS on Thursday, with Real apparently hopeful of signing the World Cup winner before the transfer window closes in Europe on August 31. Read more
Champions League winners Kante, Jorginho shortlisted for UEFA prize (Guardian)
Chelsea duo N’Golo Kante and Jorginho have been shortlisted for the UEFA men’s player of the year prize for the 2020/21 season alongside Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne, European football’s governing body announced on Thursday.
The winner will be revealed at a ceremony in Istanbul next Thursday, August 26, when the draw for this season’s Champions League will also take place.
Midfield duo Jorginho and Kante both starred as Chelsea beat De Bruyne’s City 1-0 in the Champions League final in Porto in May. Jorginho then helped Italy win Euro 2020.
The shortlist was selected by a jury composed of the coaches of the 24 national teams who took part in Euro 2020, 80 coaches of the clubs which played in the group stages of last season’s Champions League and Europa League, as well as one journalist from each of UEFA’s 55 member associations. Read more
Manchester United handed major injury boost as Marcus Rashford could return sooner than expected (Metro)
Manchester United have been handed a major injury boost with Marcus Rashford looking set to return earlier than expected following shoulder surgery.
Rashford played through the pain barrier during the second half of last season, as well as at this summer’s Euro 2020 tournament.
Two weeks ago, Rashford successfully underwent shoulder surgery to correct the problem, effectively ruling him out of up to three months.
But the 23-year-old is said, according to The Sun, to be weeks ahead of schedule on his road to recovery, with United hopeful that he could be back playing next month. Read more
NBBF clears air on Nwora (Nation)
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has said that coach Alex Nwora remains an integral part of the senior men’s National basketball team’s technical set up.
The federation said the technical crew remains intact while shedding more light on the recent rumours about the resignation of Coach Nwora after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Nwora who guided the team to the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket silver medal in Tunisia before picking the 2019 FIBA World Cup ticket was named Associate Head Coach following the arrival of renowned Golden State Warriors coach, Mike Brown.
NBBF President Engr Musa Kida said the coaching crew remains intact and will be working closely with Brown. Read more
Denis Law: Man Utd and Scotland legend diagnosed with dementia (BBC)
Scotland and Manchester United legend Denis Law has been diagnosed with dementia.
Law, 81, who says he has Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, is the latest former player to reveal he is suffering from the degenerative brain disease.
His former United team-mate Sir Bobby Charlton was diagnosed with the condition last year.
“This will not be an easy journey especially for the people who love you the most,” Law said. Read more
Martin Odegaard completes Arsenal medical with Aaron Ramsdale undergoing his ahead of £26m transfer (Metro)
Martin Odegaard has completed his medical with Arsenal with goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale currently undergoing his ahead of a move to The Emirates.
Odegaard is now set to complete his return to north London from Real Madrid after spending the second-half of last season on loan with Mikel Arteta’s side.
But with his visa application process still ongoing, the Norway international is not expected to take part in Sunday’s clash with Chelsea, according to Sky Sports News.Arsenal have agreed personal terms with Odegaard and are set to pay Real Madrid £30m plus bonuses. Read more