*EFCC arrests ‘Yahoo boy’, pastor for alleged N12.7m fraud (Punch)*NSE President task engineers on Apapa gridlock, Nigeria’s rapid industrialisation (Vanguard)

EFCC arrests ‘Yahoo boy’, pastor for alleged N12.7m fraud (Punch)

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it arrested a suspected cybercriminal (Yahoo boy), Adebayo Olawale; and his pastor, Gbenga Adesoju, a pastor in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

The suspects were nabbed for allegedly defrauding one Umar Hayatu of Lafiya Quarters in Dukku Local Government Area of Gombe State to the tune of N12.7m.

They were apprehended at Ile-Ife following a petition jointly written by the relatives of the victim (Umar Hayatu) and transferred to the EFCC Zonal Office on Thursday.

Olawale and Adesoju were said to have conspired and defrauded their victim via social media platforms and phone calls under the pretence that he won a car, some expensive phones and offer of employment into a juicy position. Read more

NSE President task engineers on Apapa gridlock, Nigeria’s rapid industrialisation (Vanguard)

The President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mr Babagana Mohammed, on Saturday, challenged engineers to resolve the intractable traffic gridlock at Apapa to ensure speedy industrialisation of the country.

Mohammed, who made the remarks during the inauguration of Mr Christian Ufot as the 9th Chairman of the Apapa Branch of NSE in Lagos, said that engineers are known to be solution providers worldwide and Nigeria should not be different.

He added that Nigeria had no business with poverty, only if its engineers could explore the business and development aspects of their profession, which should solve problems to ensure their well being. Read more

Rector of Auchi poly Sanusi Jimah is dead (Guardian)

The Rector of Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi in Edo State, Dr Momodu Sanusi Jimah is dead.

He died on Friday night.

Public Relations Officer of Auchi Polytechnic, Mr. Mustapha Oshiobugie, in a telephone interview with The Guardian, said Jimah died after a brief illness.

“I can confirm that he is no more and his remains will be committed to mother earth today Saturday by 10 am according to Muslim rites,” Oshiobugie sid. Read more

Alleged assault: Broadcasters beg Alaafin to strip K1 of Mayegun title (Punch)

Broadcasters under the aegis of Freelance and Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria, on Friday, berated a popular Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde, popularly called KWAM 1, for allegedly brutalising an Ogun State-based broadcaster, Wole Sorunke.

Sorunke aka MC Murphy, a popular radio presenter and event anchor, was allegedly beaten black and blue by KWAM 1 and his boys on Thursday night at the 60th birthday party of the Olu of Itori, Oba Abdulfatai Akamo, in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Our correspondent gathered that both Ayinde and Murphy were invited to the party to perform as musician and compere, respectively. Read more

Japanese firms in Nigeria increase from 32 in 2017 to 43 in 2020, says embassy (Thisday)

The Embassy of Nigeria in Japan has said there is steady improvements in trade and economic relations between Nigeria and Japan prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, adding that the number of Japanese companies in Nigeria has increased from 32 in 2017 to 43 in 2020.

The Charge de’ Affairs, Dr. Elias-Fatile, disclosed this in a statement dated October 1, 2020.

He said both countries had commenced preparations for the 9th Session of Nigeria-Japan Special Partnership Forum (NJSPF), scheduled for June in Tokyo, but was postponed. Read more

FG justifies fuel price comparison with Saudi Arabia, others (Guardian)

The federal government says the comparison made by President Muhammadu Buhari on fuel prices between Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and other countries in his 2020 Independence Day national broadcast is justified.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the submission when he featured on a Radio Nigeria current affairs programme, “Radio Link’’ on Saturday in Abuja.

President Buhari said in his Independence Day broadcast that: “we sell petrol at N161 per litre when same is sold at N168 per litre in Saudi Arabia; N211 per litre in Egypt; N362 per litre in Ghana; N362 per litre in Chad, and N346 per litre in Niger Republic. Read more

Nigeria@60: NCWD calls on women to reposition for better opportunities (Thisday)

As Nigeria celebrates its 60th Independence anniversary, women have been called upon to reposition themselves for better opportunities and key roles towards workable policies and national development.

The Director-General of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Ms. Mary Ekpere-Eta who said this in Abuja, noted that

Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary presents a good opportunity to celebrate the immense contributions of women to the development of the nation.

In her Independence Day message, Ekpere-Eta noted that Nigerian women had played major roles in key sectors of national development, rising through cultural barriers and limited opportunities, as well as qualifying the women folk to be hailed as nation builders. Read more

Hoodlums in Warri stab priest to death for denying pregnancy (Vanguard)

There is palpable tension in Igbudu community in Warri South Council Area of Delta as hoodlums in the area allegedly stabbed a man, simply identified as Mr Victor, to death for denying a pregnancy.

According to sources, the deceased until his alleged murder, was a priest of the community.

They said trouble started when the deceased denied impregnating a Hausa girl in the area which made some Hausa boys in the area angry.

The angry youths allegedly laid a siege for the deceased at a carnival held at Degbori street on Thursday night, where they stabbed him multiple times. Read more

Sudan’s government, rebel groups sign landmark deal (Aljazeera)

Sudan’s transitional government and several rebel groups have signed a peace agreement aimed at resolving years of war in which hundreds of thousands of people died and millions displaced in different regions across the country.

Cheers rang out as representatives from the government and a coalition of armed groups called the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) signed the deal on Saturday, a year after the peace talks began, at a ceremony in Juba, the capital of neighbouring South Sudan.

Guarantors of the deal from Chad, Qatar, Egypt, the African Union, European Union and United Nations also put their names to the agreement.

“Today we have reached a peace agreement. We are happy. We have finished the mission,” Tut Gatluak, head of the South Sudanese mediating team said, shortly before the signing of the deal that happened a year after the peace talks began. Read more

Russia gets closer to new wheat harvest record thanks to surging grain yields (RT)

Russia has boosted grain yields by around six percent year-on-year, harvesting 124 million tons of grain, according to the latest data from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture.

With harvest season nearing an end, Russian farmers have cultivated over 90 percent or more than 43 million hectares of the planted land as of October 2, the ministry said. Crop yield stood at 28.6 centner per hectare, compared to 26.9 centner per hectare over the same period last year.

The harvest of one of Russia’s key grains, wheat, rose to 85.9 million tons, already exceeding last year’s results. While this can be already considered the second-largest wheat harvest for the country, it is moving closer to the 2017 record, when 86 million tons of wheat were collected in Russia. Read more

At least 1 dead, some 20 missing as storms lash southern France, Italy (France24)

One person died and authorities listed some 20 as missing Saturday after heavy storms lashed southern France and northern Italy with hundreds of aid workers deployed to villages cut off by the deluge.

Italian civil protection officials said a 53-year-old volunteer firefighter died in the Aosta Valley as severe flooding hit the country’s northwest after torrential rain overnight.

Regional authorities said 11 people were missing in the Piedmont region, where several villages were cut off after the downpour rendered roads impassable.

They said the situation was “extremely critical.”

Authorities in Venice expected the city — which also suffered violent storms in August — to be submerged by an ‘acqua alta’, an occasional tidal peak coming in from the Adriatic to reach the Venetian Lagoon and flood as far as the iconic Saint Mark’s Square. Read more

NASA’s new $23 million space toilet now accommodates women (NYPost)

NASA’s first new space potty in decades — a $23 million titanium toilet better suited for women — is getting a not-so-dry run at the International Space Station before eventually flying to the moon.

It’s packed inside a cargo ship that should have blasted off late Thursday from Wallops Island, Virginia. But the launch was aborted with just two minutes remaining in the countdown. Northrop Grumman said it would try again Friday night if engineers can figure out what went wrong.

Barely 100 pounds and just 28 inches tall, the new toilet is roughly half as big as the two Russian-built ones at the space station. It’s more camper-size to fit into the NASA Orion capsules that will carry astronauts to the moon in a few years. Read more

Italy’s Salvini goes on trial, accused of ‘kidnapping’ refugees (Aljazeera)

Matteo Salvini appears in court on Saturday on charges of kidnapping more than a hundred migrants, in an event that the Italian far-right leader has attempted to use to boost his dwindling popularity.

The case relates to an incident in July 2019 when, as interior minister, he refused to allow 131 refugees and migrants – including 15 unaccompanied children – to disembark in Sicily from the Gregoretti coastguard ship for five days.

Prosecutors in the southern Sicilian city of Catania accuse Salvini, head of the far-right League party, of abuse of power. He faces up to 15 years in jail for aggravated kidnap. Read more

Space X launch aborted 2 seconds before launch, days after Starlink mission failure (RT)

Friday’s Space X launch of a Falcon 9 rocket, which was supposed to deliver into orbit an advanced GPS satellite for the US military, was aborted just two seconds before lift-off.

The launch was scheduled for 9:43 p.m. EDT (01:43 GMT on Saturday) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch sequence was aborted by mission control two seconds before ignition. Space X would not immediately report what caused the hiccup or when another attempt would be made.

The abort was the second in as many days for Space X. A different Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 60 satellites of the Starlink internet system was scheduled for launch on Thursday. But that mission was pulled just 18 seconds before lift-off due to irregular ground sensor readings. Read more

Why smash-hit show “Game of Thrones” was nearly doomed from the start (NYPost)

During filming of the first season of “Game of Thrones,” storms destroyed sets. Endless rain delayed shooting. There was not enough money to realise the filmmakers’ vision.

As a result, those behind the show were constantly left to cut pages and scenes from the scripts in the interest of saving time and money.

When the rough cuts of episodes were assembled, the producers found they had a major problem. Some of the installments were far too short, with episodes three, four and five clocking in at just a half hour, instead of a full 60 minutes.

To fill the holes, the writers created scenes using existing actors and sets that would be quick and inexpensive to shoot. Read more

Calvert-Lewin scores again as Everton see off Brighton (BBC)

Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his ninth goal of the season and James Rodriguez netted twice as Everton beat Brighton to make it four Premier League wins from four for the impressive table-topping Toffees.

However, it was another game that will prompt questions about the quality of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for both club and country.

All was going well for the home side after Calvert-Lewin rose highest to head in at the back post to cap another excellent week that saw him score his second hat-trick of the season and earn a first call-up to the senior England squad.

But in the closing stages of a first half in which he had barely been tested, England keeper Pickford dropped a tame bouncing ball at the feet of Neal Maupay, who then slotted the ball in on the turn. Read more

Bundesliga: Haaland nets twice as Dortmund thrash Freiburg 4-0 (Punch)

Erling Braut Haaland again demonstrated his deadly finishing by netting twice on Saturday as Borussia Dortmund climbed to second in the Bundesliga table with a 4-0 demolition of Freiburg.

Dortmund bounced back from last weekend’s shock defeat at Augsburg as Haaland shone to leave him on 21 goals in 23 games for Dortmund since his January transfer as the burly Norwegian claimed clinically-taken goals.

Having also scored in Wednesday’s German Super Cup 3-2 defeat at Bayern Munich, the 20-year-old Haaland has netted five goals in as many games this season. Read more

Ronald Koeman hails Lionel Messi’s attitude as Barca season gets underway (RT)

New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has labeled Lionel Messi an ideal captain and a great example to his teammates after the Argentinian ace has buckled down and applied himself after a turbulent summer period.

Messi went public with his unhappiness with the Catalan club as he demanded a move from the Camp Nou. But, despite he and his advisers believing he would be free to leave the club in the off-season, a contractual stipulation meant he missed his window to leave and would have to remain at the club unless a team met Barca’s release clause.

Since declaring his intention to stay this season, Messi has returned to the squad and on Thursday night put in an impressive performance to help his team to a 3-0 win over Celta Vigo, despite the team having 10 men with the entire second half. Read more

Lakers take 2-0 NBA Finals lead over Heat thanks to Anthony Davis’ domination (NYPost)

LeBron James and Anthony Davis put on a show worthy of Shaq and Kobe. And they’re two wins away from joining them as a title-winning Lakers duo.

After watching the Lakers cruise to a 124-114 victory Friday night in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., over the outmanned Heat in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, two more wins might not take that long.

James flirted with a triple-double (33 points, nine assists, nine boards). Davis followed up his 34 points from Game 1 on Wednesday with an even better encore. He had a 32 points on 15-of-20 shooting, and snatched 14 rebounds. Read more

Lampard won’t rule out Hudson-Odoi Bayern move (France24)

Frank Lampard has refused to rule out the possibility of Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi joining Bayern Munich before Monday’s transfer deadline.

European champions Bayern have expressed interest in signing Hudson-Odoi after previously trying to buy him last year.

The 19-year-old made his first Premier League start since February as Chelsea routed Crystal Palace 4-0 on Saturday.

Hudson-Odoi, who struggled with injuries and poor form last season, is understood to favour staying at the Blues. Read more

London Marathon: Kenenisa Bekele to miss race because of injury (BBC)

Kenenisa Bekele’s much-anticipated London Marathon duel with Eliud Kipchoge is off after the Ethiopian pulled out with a calf injury.

Bekele, 38, was just two seconds short of Kipchoge’s world record when he won the Berlin Marathon last year.

“I am very disappointed,” said Bekele.

“I picked up a niggle in my left calf after two fast training sessions too close together. I truly believed I would be ready but today it is worse and I now know I cannot race on it.”

He added: “This race was so important to me. My time in Berlin last year gave me great confidence and motivation. Read more

Spotlight on Man Utd’s lack of signings ahead of Mourinho’s return (Guardian)

Manchester United need a response on the pitch when Jose Mourinho returns to Old Trafford as Tottenham manager on Sunday to calm the unease of supporters frustrated by a lack of movement in the transfer market.

Dutch international midfielder Donny Van de Beek is the only player United have signed in the transfer window so far with Monday’s deadline leaving precious little time for more deals to be concluded.

Despite boasting the third highest revenues in world football and securing a return to the riches of the Champions League, United have refused to meet Borussia Dortmund’s reported 120 million euro (£110 million,$140 million) valuation for England international winger Jadon Sancho. Read more

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