EFCC nabs two for alleged N768.5m fraud (Punch)
Operatives of the Lagos zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested two suspected fraudsters, Konne Barieeba and Osuji Obieze, for allegedly obtaining the sum of N768,585,000 by false pretences.
A statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said the suspects, alongside one Obialor Worenwu, who is now at large, allegedly approached an investment company, Luxury Gold, for loan facilities, adding that the sum of N110m was paid into the GTBank account of Barieeba, while the sum of N255m was paid into the First City Monument Bank account of Obieze.
The statement read in part, “The third suspect, Worenwu, also received the sum of N403,585,000 in his GTBank account. The petitioner also alleged that the loans were to be repaid in March 2021. Read more
Lagosians, commuters lament deplorable state of Aswani, Emzor access roads (Guardian)
Residents, traders at Aswani Daily Market and workers at Emzor Pharmaceutical Company in Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State have lamented the deplorable state of the access road to the market.
The road, which has been abandoned for a very long time, has become an eyesore as motorists wade through the muddy road leaving their vehicles badly damaged.
The failed portion of the road has also aggravated attacks on motorists who are stuck in the mud at nightfall. Read more
Court remands Christmas Eve armed robbery suspect (Vanguard)
The police in Lagos on Monday arraigned one John Peter, who allegedly robbed a Lagos resident on Christmas Eve.
Peter appeared before a Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafa Balewa Square on a two-count charge of armed robbery and causing grievous bodily harm.
The police charged Peter with robbing one Mr Oluwasola Oyebanji of N112,000 and causing him harm.
The defendant, whose address was not given, is facing trial on a three-count charge of conspiracy, robbery and causing grievious bodily harm. Read more
Customs prepare to seize private jets over documents verification (Punch)
Private jet owners risk having their airplanes impounded by the Nigeria Customs Service if they fail to verify their documents before July 6, 2021 when a month grace period would have expired.
The Public Relations Officer of NCS, Joseph Attah, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a media briefing to update the public on the ongoing audit of privately-owned aircraft operating in Nigeria.
The PUNCH had reported in May that the NCS directed all private aircraft owners in the country to present relevant importation clearance documents to the agency for verification. Read more
Ikoyi residents excited over completion of roads (Guardian)
Excitement for residents of Ikoyi and environs as Lagos State completed the rehabilitation of roads in the area. The roads run across Lateef Jakande/MacDonald, Milverton and Thompson Avenue.
Before government’s intervention, the roads in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State were characterised with flooding and traffic bottlenecks that made commuting in the area a herculean task
Elated residents, who came in their numbers for the commissioning, were excited not only for the upgrading and rehabilitation of the roads, but the retention of their greenery and aesthetic.
One of the residents, Uthman Unoma, said the transformation was a welcome development and signpost that the government had not left them. Read more
UCH resident doctors suspend strike (Vanguard)
University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan chapter of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), on Monday, suspended its 51-day-old strike.
President of the association in UCH, Dr Temitope Hussein, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Ibadan that the decision was reached after some of their demands had been met.
Hussein said that members of the association being owed had been paid their four months salary arrears, covering January to April. Read more
JAMB delists additional 6 centres in Abuja, Kaduna, others (DailyTrust)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has delisted additional six centres following their below par performance in the conduct of the second day of the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
This is coming after the board had delisted 24 centres after the first day of the UTME on Saturday for same reason.
Head, Protocol and Public Affairs, Dr. Fabian Benjamin who disclosed this in a statement said 464,834 candidates wrote UTME today (Monday) being the second day of the examination.
The delisted centres are Dayspring Christian College, Opete, Delta state, Fountain of Knowledge INTL Academy CBT centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Twelve Apostles College, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State and Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, Abuja. Read more
Court orders FG to pay Bayelsa $951m derivative arrears (Guardian)
The Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, ordered the Federal Government to pay $951 million to the Bayelsa State Government.
The amount is the 13 per cent derivative sum due as arrears of revenue and payable to Bayelsa State.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, who delivered the judgment, held that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the sole defendant in the case, failed to enter his defence in the suit.
Justice Ekwo ruled that the development made the court to declare the plaintiff’s case “unchanged.” Read more
Nigerian stock market resumes week with N54bn loss (Vanguard)
The Nigerian equities market began trading for the week on Monday still on negative mood with 0.27 per cent loss due to renewed profit taking.
Specifically, the All-Share Index which opened for the week at 38,648.91 shed 103.61 points or 0.27 per cent to close at 38,545.30.
Accordingly, month-to-date gain moderated to 0.3 per cent, while year-to-date loss increased to 4.3 per cent.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation lost N54 billion or 0.27 per cent to close at N20.089 trillion from N20.143 trillion achieved on Friday. Read more
Nearly 4,000 women report changes to their periods after vaccine (Metro)
Almost 4,000 women have reported changes to their period patterns after receiving a coronavirus vaccine in the UK.
But the changes could have occurred ‘by chance’, according to leading gynaecologists – while experts also noted that the number is low given the millions of women vaccinated.
Experts at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said that many women experience a temporary change to their periods in their lifetime, so for some women the change may occur around the time they receive a Covid-19 jab.Read more
India vaccinates 8m in a day (BBC)
India has launched a new vaccine drive, announcing a record eight million jabs on the first day of the programme.
The new policy sees the federal government buying Covid-19 jabs from manufacturers and supplying to states.
India is one of the largest vaccine makers in the world but its own vaccination drive has been moving at a slow pace.
It has fully vaccinated just over 5% of the total eligible population so far and shortages persist in many states. Read more
COVID: South Africa to host vaccine tech transfer hub (DW)
In a bid to increase access to coronavirus vaccines in Africa, the World Health Organization is setting up a hub to share mRNA technology to produce the jab in the continent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that it is planning a technology transfer hub for producing mRNA coronavirus vaccines in South Africa.
The move aims to boost vaccine access across the African continent, where cases and deaths increased by almost 40% over the past week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Today I am delighted to announce that WHO is in discussions with a consortium of companies and institutions to establish a technology transfer hub in South Africa,” Tedros told a press conference.
“The consortium involves a company Afrigen Biologics & Vaccines, which will act as the hub both by manufacturing mRNA vaccines itself & by providing training to a manufacturer Biovac.” Read more
Alexandra Burke lands leading role in Tina Turner-inspired blockbuster (Metro)
Alexandra Burke has nabbed the main part in a Tina Turner-inspired blockbuster and is busy prepping so she can be simply the best.
The 2008 X Factor winner has carved out a successful theatre career for herself, starring in West End productions like The Bodyguard, Sister Act The Musical and Chicago, and showing off her dancing skills as the runner-up on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017.
But now she’ll be transferring all of that performance experience to the big screen to star as a leading character whose journey is inspired by the career of the 81-year-old musical legend.
According to The Sun, the musical is a ‘big budget’ co-production between the BBC and the BFI and is set to be released next year. Read more
Teachers’ The Greatest Showman student TikTok dance goes viral (BBC)
A group of teachers dancing to a song from the hit musical The Greatest Showman has been watched more than 900,000 times in three weeks.
Staff and pupils at Ormiston Sudbury Academy in Suffolk performed From Now On as a way to say goodbye to their Year 11 students.
The school has been using its TikTok channel as a way of connecting with students and the wider community, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more
Newsreaders can’t stop laughing at the shape of Jeff Bezos’ rocket (Metro)
Jeff Bezos is less than a month away from climbing aboard a Blue Origin rocket and blasting off into space.
The billionaire founder of Amazon has announced he will personally fly aboard the firm’s flagship spacecraft, the New Shepard, alongside his brother and the winner of an anonymous online auction.
Despite the incredible engineering achievement of the New Shepard, many onlookers are more concerned with the shape of the rocket. Read more
German Peace Prize goes to Tsitsi Dangarembga (DW)
The German Publishers and Booksellers Association is honouring Zimbabwean filmmaker and author Tsitsi Dangarembga with its 2021 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade , an award created in 1950 and endowed with a €25,000 ($30,000) prize.
“Dangarembga combines inimitable storytelling with a universally compelling perspective in a body of work that has made her not only one of the most important artists in her native land, but also a popular and widely-recognized voice of Africa in contemporary literature,” said the jury of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association in a statement on Monday.
Beyond her award-winning work as an author and filmmaker, Tsitsi Dangarembga is dedicated to fostering creative industries in her home country and is renowned as an activist committed to protecting civil liberties and promoting political change in Zimbabwe.
The founding member of writer association PEN Zimbabwe was recognized with the PEN Award for Freedom of Expression and the PEN Pinter Prize earlier this year. Read more
Siasia rejects 5-year ban, will challenge CAS’ verdict on alleged match-fixing, says Akanni (Guardian)
Super Eagles Former Coach, Samson Siasia, does not accept the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) verdict on the match-fixing charge brought against him by world football governing body, FIFA, an associate of the Olympic silver medallist, Waidi Akanni, has said.
In 2019, FIFA banned Siasia from all football related activities for life over an alleged plot to fix matches. In addition, the world body also imposed a CHF 50,000 fine on the former Super Eagles striker.
FIFA based the sanction against Siasia on his liaison with Wilson Raj Perumal, a convicted match-fixer from Singapore. FIFA said it tried to contact Siasia via email, adding, however, that the coach never replied any of its messages. Read more
England qualify for Euro 2020 last 16 as Denmark set up clash with Wales (Metro)
Wales will do battle with Denmark for a quarter-final place at this summer’s European Championships, while England discovered that they qualified for the last 16 without kicking a ball on Monday.
An enthralling day of action in Groups B and C also confirmed that the Czech Republic, France, Sweden and Switzerland – who, like England, have all picked up four points in their respective groups – reached the knockout stage of the tournament.
Ukraine and Finland both finished third with a tally of three points in their respective groups, meaning the Three Lions can – at the very least – progress as one of the four best third-placed sides. Read more
Harry Kane: Manchester City lining up bid for Tottenham and England striker (BBC)
Manchester City have taken the first steps towards trying to sign England captain Harry Kane from Tottenham.
Sources from both clubs have distanced themselves from suggestions an official £100m bid has been lodged by City.
However, there have been talks which it is understood are leading towards the club making a formal offer.
Kane is one of the two striking targets identified by City boss Pep Guardiola this summer, along with Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Braut Haaland. Read more
Andy Murray rules out Serena Williams reunion at Wimbledon (Metro)
Andy Murray has ruled out teaming up with Serena Williams in mixed doubles again at Wimbledon this year as he looks to focus his efforts on the singles.
Murray, the two-time Wimbledon champion from Dunblane, will make his return to singles action at the All England Club for the first time since hobbling out of the quarter-finals against Sam Querrey four years ago.
He has since competed in both men’s doubles, alongside France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and the mixed at the 2019 Championships but he is not planning on doing the same this time around. Read more
Finland 0-2 Belgium: Romelu Lukaku strike secures top spot in Group B (BBC)
Belgium secured wins in all three group games at a European Championship for the first time with a battling victory that left Finland’s hopes of qualifying for the last 16 in the balance.
The world’s number-one ranked side dominated proceedings in St Petersburg but only led through a late own goal from Finland keeper Lukas Hradecky, before Romelu Lukaku drilled a second.
Finland slipped from second in Group B to third by virtue of Denmark’s 4-1 win over Russia in Copenhagen and they must now wait to see whether they qualify as one of the four best third-placed teams. The Danes go on to face Wales on Saturday in Amsterdam. Read more
Cardiff City snap up Arsenal defender Mark McGuinness as two more youngsters leave the Emirates (Metro)
A trio of youngsters have left Arsenal, with Mark McGuinness, Zech Medley and Trae Coyle all departing the club on Monday.
The three 20-year-olds had all been part of the Arsenal academy, with McGuiness and Coyle both being at the club from a very young age, while Medley joined from Chelsea in 2016.McGuinness has made the most high-profile move, signing for Cardiff City on a deal until 2024 after impressing on loan at Ipswich Town last season. Read more