I was never married to late Alaafin, trending Instagram influencer, Inyeneobong cries out (Tribune)
Popular Instagram influencer, Inyeneobong has denied reports doing the round that she is one of the widows of late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who passed away last Friday.
There had been a series of posts on different platforms in the last 24 hours claiming that Obong was confused about what next to do with her life now that her husband, the Alaafin was no more.
Miffed at the rate her picture continued to trend on social media platforms linking her to the royal family as one of the beautiful young wives of the late respected monarch, Obong said she was never married to Alaafin and wondered where what she described as ‘wicked rumour’ emanated from.
Obong who is a native of Akwa Ibom but lives in Port-Harcourt took to her Instagram page, @richie_demorest, to debunk the rumour, insisting that she was never married to the king.
In her words” I wonder when and where people heard that I was married to Alaafin. Please when did I get married to Alaafin? I will soon leave social media for you people,” she said. Read more
Former Ogun deputy governor arraigned by police (ThisDay)
The Former Deputy Governor of Ogun State under the Ibikunle Amosun administration, Chief Olusegun Adesegun, has been arraigned before a Lagos State Magistrate Court in Ogba area of Ikeja by the Nigeria Police.
Chief Adesegun, was arraigned before Magistrate M.O. Tanimola for allegedly being in possession of a Certificate of Occupancy belonging to a retiree. He was charged with four counts of conspiracy, concealing deeds, forcible entry and forcible possession.
The Police Counsel, SP Victor Eruada, told the court that the Defendant committed the offence between 2003 and 2017 at the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation office (NDIC), Lagos.
SP Eruada alleged that the Defendant conspired with others at large, to steal the Certificate of Occupancy with N068/68/1994 title document and property kept with the NDIC belonging to Mr Babatunde Oderinde, a Retiree. According to him, the Defendant in a manner likely to cause breach of peace, did enter the parcel of land located at No 2, Osilaja Street, Opebi-Oregun Link Road, Lagos belonging to Oderinde. SP Eruada alleged that the Defendant, in a manner likely to cause a reasonable apprehension of the breach of peace, took possession of the parcel of land at the above-mentioned address, against the Complainant who is entitled by law. Read more
Why residents can’t vandalise new Lagos blue rail tracks, by Sanwo-Olu (Guardian)
Indication has emerged that Lagos residents would not be able to vandalise parts of the new Lagos Blue Rail line when in operation as it will be powered by electricity.
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, gave the indication, during a tour of the facility.
He hinted that it would be dangerous for anyone to go near the rail tracks, not to talk of vandalising part of it.
The governor urged newsmen to help in drumming this into the ears of Lagos residents, especially as vandals have started tampering with parts of the facility.
According to him, the project is moving to the phase where the power infrastructure would be laid on the rail tracks, which would make it unsafe for humans to go near them. Read more
Chrisland: 10-year-old pupil deletes social media videos, apologises (Punch)
The 10-year-old female student suspended by Chrisland Schools, Lagos State, over alleged sexual misconducts with a colleague during a school competition at Dubai, United Arab Emirate, has deleted all the videos on her account on a social media app, Likee.
The account, with over 12,400 fans, drew attention shortly after a video clip of the pupil and her male colleague engaging in sexual acts went viral on Twitter.
The child had been operating the page for three years before the incident at the Dubai competition happened.
Her mother, while saying she was raped, accused the management of the school of conducting a pregnancy test on her without parental consent, allegations that were denied by the school. Read more
MCN Archdiocese of Lagos Mainland hosts prelate (Independent)
All is now set as the Methodist Church of Nigeria (MCN), Archdiocese of Lagos Mainland to play host to the Prelate, His Eminence, Dr. Samuel Kanu Uche (JP) and his wife, Nneoma Florence Uche.
The reception for the Prelate by the Archdiocese of Lagos Mainland forms part of his farewell tour as he rounds off his tenure as the head of the Church in Nigeria. A statement signed by Rev. Cessy Ogunnaike, Chairperson, Publicity Committee, Archdiocese of Lagos Mainland, Methodist Church Nigeria and made available to Daily Independent explained that the week-long event will start from Tuesday 26th April to Sunday 1st May, 2022.
The release stated that the tour will take him round all the four federating Dioceses that make up the entire Archdiocese namely Diocese of Lagos Mainland, Diocese of Lagos Central, Diocese of Lagos West and Diocese of Lagos North respectively.
According to the Chief host, the Archbishop of Lagos Mainland, His Grace, Most Rev. Obafemi Adeleye, the Prelate and his entourage will kick start his farewell tour on Tuesday 26th April with a Eucharist Church service at Hoare’s Memorial Methodist Cathedral, Yaba by 12 noon. Read more
Wizkid is ungrateful to Banky W – Okowa’s Aide Ossai (Vanguard)
The Special Assistant to Delta State Governor on media Mr. Ossai Ovie Success, has said that Nigeria singer Wizkid is ungrateful to his former boss Banky W.
He said when Wizkid was signed to EME record label owned by Banky W, he was so humble and Banky did all he could do to promote Wizkid, but today the story is different.
According to Ossai, Wizkid owes Banky W a lot and no matter what happened during his exit from EME, he should express appreciation to Banky W.
“Wizkid became a superstar because of Banky’s dedication to his career.
“The fame Wizkid is enjoying today is as a result of Banky W involvement.” Read more
Kwara students to represent Nigeria at World Schools’ Debate (DailyTrust)
Kwara State Government has camped its secondary students ahead of the World Schools Debate Championship holding in Netherlands later this year.
Chairman of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB), Prof. Sheu Raheem Adaramaja, said this in a statement in Ilorin, the state capital.
He said Governor AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq approved the camping exercise to properly prepare the students for the championship.
The Kwara contingent, comprising public schools students, won the national schools debate at the finals in Lagos, in what underscored the efforts and investments of the Abdulrazaq administration in basic education.
“Our children are the ones representing Nigeria in the Netherlands. Everything is being done to make sure they excel at the world schools debate championship. We have engaged various tutors, including native speakers of English language who are involved in the KwaraLEARN programme, to hone the skills of the students to be at their best.” Read more
Catholic church seeks justice for priest’s incarceration in Ebonyi (Nation)
The Catholic Church in Ebonyi is seeking justice for Rev. Fr. Timothy Ngwuta was incarcerated over alleged involvement in the Effium-Ezza Effium fratricidal conflict in the state.
The church made the appeal in a statement signed by Rev. Fr Mathew Uzoma, Chancellor, Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki on Monday while reacting to the cleric’s continued incarceration in the state.
The church, in the statement, said that Ngwuta vehemently denied all charges brought against him before the bishop of the diocese and implored those responsible for the priest’s incarceration to “listen to the voice of right conscience”.
“He was arrested by the police on Dec.21, 2021 at Mbeke-Ishieke, Ebonyi Local Government Area of the state while assisting a friend retrieve his vehicle which broke down. Read more
FG shortlists bidders for 12 highways in Lagos, Kano, others (Punch)
The Federal Government on Monday announced that it had identified preferred/reserved bidders for 12 federal highways up for concession under the Highway Development and Management Initiative.
It said this was following the conclusion of the evaluation of the proposals submitted for phase one of the value-added concession under the HDMI.
The HDMI is a PPP initiative of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing that seeks to attract sustainable investment and funding in the development of road infrastructure and maximise the use of assets along the right-of-way of federal highways across the country.
The first phase of the value-added concession under the HDMI seeks to concession 12 economically viable road corridors to technically and financially capable private sector firms/consortia. Read more
15% Vehicle Levy: Ports clearing agents shelve strike (DailyTrust)
Members of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Clearing Agents (ANLCA) have shelved their planned strike saying it could cost demurrages due to the envisaged public holidays ahead of the festivities.
They were to begin a protest on Monday at the seaports over the implementation of the 15 per cent National Automotive Council (NAC) levy by the Nigeria Customs Service from April 9.
However, one of the agents, James Uzor, yesterday said the amount agents would have incurred as demurrage would have been colossal considering the long holiday.
“Those who have consignments to clear at the seaports have only Monday and Tuesday to do so. Failure of which would attract a humongous amount as demurrage. The move would have been counterproductive which would have backfired at the end,” he said. Read more
Barbra Streisand celebrates her 80th birthday (DailyMail)
A number of stars showed up to celebrate Barbra Streisand’s 80th birthday at her Malibu home on Sunday, including her stepson Josh Brolin, Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson.
Streisand’s husband James Brolin, 81, was seen walking with son Josh, 54, walking up to the home, donning a black T-shirt with dark blue slacks and black pants, with his hair slicked back.
Josh donned a grey button-up top with black pants and black shoes, toting a box while smiling alongside his father.
The Oscar-nominated Milk actor honored Streisand in an Instagram post on Sunday, writing on the social media site, ‘There’s something about the weather of a birthday that moves memorable.
‘Today is yours and the weather holds fast but in the background storms churn and mate and what might come (or what might were) are days of creative ebullience or that digging down to learn oneself along this ever deepening circus trajectory of a life,’ the Avengers mainstay said. Read more
Coachella artists went on a fender bender thanks to guitar company’s rebrand push (Variety)
The annual Coachella music festival has become one of the largest music gatherings in the world, bringing together some 120,000 fans to watch more than 150 acts spanning every genre imaginable. But one constant throughout this year’s three-day event, which runs on two consecutive weekends — and featured Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Swedish House Mafia with the Weeknd as headliners — was the seeming popularity of Fender guitars.
Gearheads were first to take notice of the market penetration that Fender had at the festival, with some reasoning that the brand is a favorite of indie-rock bands, which have typically been a big draw for Coachella crowds. But as many media outlets have observed, on this year’s lineup — following multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic — guitar-based bands factored less on the bill. In fact, where the main stage has in the past been home to the likes of Radiohead, Paul McCartney, AC/DC and the Red Hot Chili Peppers — the 2022 edition saw a bevy of Latin and R&B acts pick up the mantle, including Anitta, Karol G and Daniel Caesar.
On the outdoor theater stage were artists more often associated with guitars, like Phoebe Bridgers and Finneas, and in the tents were Italian glam-rockers Maneskin, Japanese Breakfast and hardcore newcomers Turnstile — all but Bridgers, who rocked a custom BC Rich Warlock, Fender devotees.
That’s not by accident. While Fender has long been favored by older musicians — Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton come to mind — the company has made great efforts, and gains, into attracting not just a younger audience, but a female one. Among the company’s programs are Fender Play, an all-in-one learning platform for guitar, bass and ukulele with a vast library of songs to play along to, from the Rolling Stones to Green Day to Billie Eilish. Fender also recently launched an online Beginner’s Hub, which helps aspiring musicians with tips, tools, apps and advice on everything from choosing your first guitar to playing your first riff. The Fender Custom shop, meanwhile, works with brands and artists like Hot Wheels and Shawn Mendes. Read more
Mum forced to stab family pet to death as 2 dogs attacked her baby (People)
A California mother took drastic measures to save her 1-year-old daughter as she was attacked by the family’s pit bulls.
Jamie Morales of Pico Rivera stabbed the pit bulls that mauled her daughter around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, per KTLA. During the incident, a 3-year-old dog tackled the baby, identified by her family as Ruby Cervantes, before the second pit bull came in and also attacked the child.
The family all rushed to try to pull the dogs off little Ruby.
“I walked into the kitchen and that’s when I (saw)…my two daughters and my son on the floor trying to get the dogs off. Finally, my daughter got up…and that’s when I (saw) my granddaughter,” Ruby’s grandmother Margaret Morales told ABC 7. “I (saw) the dog was latched on her left leg. That’s when I had to actually get my hand into his jaws and open them up and that’s when he released her.” Read more
Will Smith still hasn’t personally apologized to Chris Rock for Oscars slap (PageSix)
to do “the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”
One insider said, “Will’s ‘spiritual journey’ to India for yoga and meditation seems cynical and ridiculous, given that he hasn’t apologized personally to the one person he assaulted in front of millions.
“No amount of Namastes will make up for that.”
Ardent sources told People on Monday that Smith was “on a journey inward,” one month after he shockingly slapped Rock, 57, onstage at the 2022 Oscars. Read more
Bad Bunny to play Spider-Man character El Muerto in standalone Marvel pic for Sony (Deadline)
Looking to continue to expand and diversify its universe of Marvel characters, Sony has announced a El Muerto movie is in development with Latin Grammy winner and platinum-selling recording artist Bad Bunny attached to star. The news came out of Cinemacon during Sony’s panel where Bad Bunny made a surprise appearance.
The character of El Muerto aka Juan Carlos was a super powered wrestler who originally fought Spider-Man in a charity wrestling match where he nearly unmasked Spider-Man before being stung by Spider-Man, with a paralyzing poison. After being saved from the hospital by Spider-Man after his oppressor El Dorado came to claim his life, the two would team up to defeat Dorado.
El Muerto would mark the first Latin superhero to get his own film in the universe of Marvel characters, coming right after Sony recently dated Madame Web, which marked the first female-centric character from the Spider-Man universe to get her own film.
Though the character isn’t as popular as Venom or Kraven the Hunter, Sony’s rush to get this film into development had a lot to do with Bad Bunny’s persistence in finding that right superhero property for himself. Bad Bunny is set to make his major studio debut in the highly-anticipated action pic Bullet Train on July 29, a project the studio is very high on and has already led to Aaron Taylor-Johnson landing the lead role in Kraven the Hunter. The same situation looks to have happened to Bad Bunny as well following recent test screenings where his character in the film came out with some of highest scores among the all-star cast. Read more
‘Super Mario Bros.’ pushes release to April 2023 (THR)
Illumination and Universal are pushing back the theatrical release of Super Mario Bros. from Dec. 21, 2022 to April 7, 2023, the companies announced late Monday.
The computer-animated film stars Chris Pratt as Mario. The star-packed voice cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Charlie Day (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek) and Sebastian Maniscalco (Spike).
Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, known for Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, are directing from a script by Minions: The Rise of Gru screenwriter Matthew Fogel.
The Super Mario Bros. film hails from Nintendo and Illumination, with Universal distributing in North America and co-financing with Illumination. Read more
Twitter CEO tells employees no layoffs planned ‘at this time’ following Elon Musk buyout (TheVerge)
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal didn’t have many concrete answers for staff about what will happen once Elon Musk takes over the company later this year. During a virtual all-hands call Monday, hours after the company announced it had agreed to be bought by Musk for $44 billion, Agrawal fielded questions on the future of his job, the company’s board, and possible layoffs.
Layoffs aren’t planned “at this time,” Agrawal said, according to a person who heard the remarks and who asked to remain anonymous. Agrawal also said that he’d remain as CEO until the deal’s close, but he didn’t comment about what would happen after that. The company’s board will dissolve once the deal closes, said Brett Taylor, the board’s independent chair.
“There is indeed uncertainty about what will happen after the deal closes,” Agrawal told staff.
Since Musk’s intention to buy Twitter became public earlier this month, some Twitter employees have expressed discomfort or outright resistance to Musk’s takeover of the company. And Musk has made clear he wants to see changes on the platform, insisting his attempts to purchase it aren’t financial. Calling Twitter a “de facto town square,” Musk said last week he believes Twitter should “open source the algorithm.” Read more
Rivers, Plateau Utd continue title chase with home wins (DailyTrust)
Title chasing Rivers United and Plateau United yesterday recorded victories in their home matches as they continued with the hot chase for this year’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) title.
While Rivers United made mincemeat of Niger Tornadoes with a resounding 3-0 win in the week 25 fixture, their closest rivals, Plateau United, laboured to win 1-0 against fourth placed Remo Stars in Jos.
In Port-Harcourt, 2021 NPFL leading goalscorer, Rafiu Kayode Isahq, opened the scoring for Rivers United in the 30th minute.
Three minutes later, Nyima Nwagua doubled the scoreline after he was assisted by Akuneto as the first half ended 2-0. Read more
Giorgio Chiellini: Italy defender to retire from international football after Wembley game (BBC)
Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini will retire from international football after the European champions’ friendly against Argentina at Wembley in June.
The 37-year-old has made 116 appearances, but was part of the squad that failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
“I’ll say goodbye to the national team at Wembley,” Chiellini told DAZN after Juventus’ 2-1 win at Sassuolo.
“Where I experienced the pinnacle of my career winning the Euros.” Read more
Jesse Marsch hails a ‘really big point’ as Leeds hold Crystal Palace to draw (Independent)
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch hailed a hard-fought goalless draw at Crystal Palace as a “really big point” in the battle to avoid Premier League relegation.
A forgettable, if sometimes fiery, 90 minutes at Selhurst Park could yet have yielded a pivotal result for Leeds, who sit 16th in the table.
They are now five points clear of Everton, who currently occupy the final relegation berth, but have played a game more than the Toffees.
With their next three games coming against top-four sides in Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, taking a share of the spoils in south London was key for Marsch. Read more
Raptors rout 76ers in Philadelphia to force a Game 6 in Toronto (USAToday)
Pascal Siakam scored 23 points, Precious Achiuwa had 17 and the Toronto Raptors forced a return home for Game 6 in their Eastern Conference first-round series against Philadelphia, beating the 76ers 103-88 on Monday night.
Yo, Canada! Once holding a 3-0 series lead, the 76ers are headed back north.
The Raptors have won two straight in the series and jumped all over injured Sixers center Joel Embiid and ineffective James Harden to make Thursday night’s game a necessity.
Embiid had 20 points and 11 rebounds playing with a thumb injury. Harden scored 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Read more
Glamorous make-up artist becomes first Muslim woman to box for Australia at the Commonwealth Games (DailyMail)
When Tina Rahimi wandered into a gym in the western Sydney suburb of Bankstown in 2017 she had no idea her life was about to be transformed.
Fast-forward to 2022 and Rahimi has qualified for both the International Boxing Association Women’s World Championships in May and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in July, making her the first Muslim woman to lace up the gloves and represent Australia.
After winning Boxing Australia’s 2022 Selection tournaments, Rahimi was also named March winner of the Commonwealth Games Australia emerging athlete of the month award.
They’re enormous accomplishments, but Rahimi never had a shred of doubt that she would make it. Read more
Phil Mickelson asks to play controversial Saudi tourney in possible golf return (NYPost)
Phil Mickelson has signed up for the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, and his manager asked the PGA Tour for permission to play in a Saudi-funded golf tournament outside London without saying whether Mickelson will play any of them.
“Phil currently has no concrete plans on when and where he will play,” Mickelson’s longtime manager, Steve Loy of Sportfive, said in a statement. “Any actions taken are in no way a reflection of a final decision made, but rather to keep all options open.”
Monday was the deadline for players to ask for a conflicting event release from the PGA Tour to play in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational on June 9-11 in England.
It also was the deadline to register for the PGA Championship, to be played May 19-22 at Southern Hills. Mickelson is exempt as the defending champion, winning at Kiawah Island last year at age 50 to become the oldest major champion. Read more