Insecurity: Buhari may not escape being kidnapped – Buba Galadima (DailyTrust)
A former ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, Buba Galadima, has said that with the lingering insecurity in the country, it won’t be surprised if the number one citizen is kidnapped.
Galadima was reacting to the insecurity bedeviling the country in an interview with BBC Hausa service.
He said, “These bandits are disdainful to Buhari administration. At the beginning of the government, everybody was scared of him (Buhari); expected him to be brave before he was now exposed to be toothless.
“Buhari knows nothing, he can’t do anything, that is why you see government officials are siphoning billions from public property and nobody can stop them.”
Galadima added that if terrorists can have access to break Kuje prison, Buhari himself is not safe. Read more
Protesting NLC members await Sanwo-Olu at gov’s office (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has refused to address the protesting members of the Nigeria Labour Congress.
The protest was organised by NLC to support the unions in the tertiary institutions over the lingering strike.
Lagos State Chairman of NLC, Mrs. Agnes Sessy, said, “We are waiting for Mr. Governor. This letter must be delivered today. We are waiting for him or his representative to collect our letter. We will wait.”
Members of NLC arrived at the Ikeja Under Bridge and marched peacefully to the Lagos State Governor’s office. Read more
Lagos empowers 500 rice farmers (Tribune)
The Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture has trained and empowered 500 rice farmers across the state as a measure to standardise farming techniques, set good quality for rice production and also compete with international value.
Speaking during the Training and Empowerment programme recently, the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Agriculture, Dr Oluwarotimi Fashola, said that the programme is designed to add value to rice production and also improve its nutritional values.
Fashola stated that the huge population of Lagos State provides a viable ready-made market for rice production, stressing that efforts must be intensified to discourage the importation of foreign rice such that locally produced rice can gain a good market share.
He said that the Lagos State Government has invested huge resources into the development of agriculture production, especially the rice value chain. According to him, in 2008 and 2015, over 1000 youths in the State were trained and empowered in modern agricultural rice farming techniques. Read more
LASTMA debunks death of hypertensive man arising from arrest by officers (Independent)
In a press release, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), has commiserated with the family of Modibo Usman for the sudden and unfortunate loss of their loved one while in its custody.
The agency added that the attention of the management of LASTMA has been drawn to a newspaper report that claimed an individual named Modibo Usman died from cardiac arrest as a result of an encounter with its officers.
The management explained that on Friday, July 22, Mr Usman was driven in his car by his son who ran foul of the traffic signal light, therefore, violating the Lagos State Traffic Law and the vehicle was subsequently impounded by LASTMA officials.
LASTMA further explained that after the apprehension, Usman, his son requested to disembark at a nearby medical laboratory for a previous appointment and later to visit LASTMA’s office to resolve the traffic offence issue, which the officers obliged and took the impounded vehicle to the premises of the Agency. Read more
INEC deadline: Sanwo-Olu okays 4 work-free days for Lagos workers to get PVCs (Vanguard)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Monday, approved four work free days for workers in the state for them to get their Permanent Voters Card, PVCs against the July 31 deadline for the procurement of PVC, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The directive was contained in a statement by the Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
According to Muri-Okunola, the work free days begin from July 26, till Friday July 29, before the deadline given by INEC for prospective voters to get registered ends.
The statement which was titled, ‘Collection of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) directed the Accounting Officers to ensure compliance, adding that workers are expected to bring along their PVC while returning for work. Read more
Ekweremadu’s wife granted bail as senator spends 1 month in detention (DailyTrust)
Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, wife of a Nigerian senator, Ike Ekweremadu, has been granted bail after appearing at the Old Bailey, United Kingdom, on Friday for bail hearing.
This is according to the Common Serjeant of London, judge Richard Marks.
Ekweremadu was accused of trafficking a 21-year-old into the UK to harvest his kidney for her ailing daughter.
“The position is that I have granted bail to Beatrice subject to some fairly stringent conditions but I have refused bail to Ike,” the judge ruled. Read more
Expose quacks, Lagos tells traditional medicine practitioners (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has urged traditional medicine practitioners in Badagry to expose quacks among them for appropriate sanctions.
The Chairman of Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board, Prof. Adebukunola Adefule-Ositelu, made this call, according to a statement on Monday, during an advocacy and sensitisation programme held at Badagry.
She said, “The stage is now set for a zonal office to be opened in the ancient town, the same way the board established a zonal office in Ikorodu for traditional medicine practitioners within the axis. Traditional medicine practitioners within Badagry should comply with the law by registering with the board.
“The state government is strongly dependent on the support and cooperation of practitioners as an arm of government and partners in progress in its efforts towards achieving enormous success in the field of health. Read more
Osinbajo discharged after successful surgery (Leadership)
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has been discharged from a Lagos hospital following a successful surgical operation and rehabilitation.
The Chief Personal Physician to the Vice President, Dr Nicholas Audifferen, in a statement, said: “The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN was admitted to the Duchess International Hospital, Lagos, last Saturday, July 16, 2022, on account of a right femur fracture. He had corrective surgery without any complications
“He was admitted for a total of 7 days during which he had physiotherapy and a smooth rehabilitation following the surgical operation. He has been discharged and is now recuperating.
“Prof. Osinbajo is grateful to all the clinical and ancillary staff of the Hospital led by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Tokunbo Shitta-Bey and the Medical Director, Dr Adedoyin Dosunmu-Ogunbi for their professionalism and quality of care. Read more
I pity those still in captivity – Freed train hostage (Nation)
One of the freed kidnapped victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, Hassan Uthman, has recalled his ordeals in captivity.
He said the terrorists thoroughly beat them, declaring pity for those still captivity.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa, Uthman thanked Almighty Allah for regaining freedom.
He said last Friday their relations attempted to rescue them but the government did not allow them to proceed on the journey. Read more
NAPTIP raises the alarm over rise in fake foreign scholarships inbox (Nation)
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has raised the alarm over growing cases of fake foreign scholarship advertorials.
NAPTIP said an increasing number of persons are being trafficked to foreign countries under the guise of schooling in foreign universities only to be forced into prostitution.
Director General (DG) NAPTIP Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi said a lot of Nigerians are being trafficked to countries like North Cyprus, using fake university scholarships.
She said this on Monday in Abuja at the kick-off of activities marking the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. Read more
Buhari to attend Liberia’s 175th Independence Anniversary on Tuesday (Channels)
President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday depart Abuja for Liberia to attend the country’s 175th independence anniversary celebrations.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this on Monday in a statement.
He said Buhari, who will be the Special Guest of Honour at the event, will join other world leaders and organisations to rejoice with the people of Liberia at the event with the theme: “Fostering Unity, Protecting Our Peace for Development and Prosperity.”
Accompanying the President on his trip are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar. Read more
Mira Sorvino hails Paul Sorvino as ‘most wonderful father’ following his death (Mirror)
Mira Sorvino has paid tribute to “the most wonderful father” Paul Sorvino following his death at the age of 83.
The actor, best known for starring in Goodfellas, died on Monday morning, his wife Dee Dee confirmed. She is believed to have been by his side when he died of natural causes.
He starred in nearly 50 films in his five-decade long acting career but is famed for his role as mobster Paul Cicero in Martin Scorcese’s 1990 masterpiece Goodfellas.
Paul leaves behind his three children – Mira, Michael and Amanda – and wife Dee Dee. Read more
Joni Mitchell performs 1st full set in over 20 years at Newport Folk Festival (Fox)
Folk singer Joni Mitchell graced the stage at Newport Folk Festival Sunday, performing her first full set in over twenty years at age 78.
Mitchell joined festival headliner Brandi Carlisle as she recreated the “Joni Jam” music gatherings, previously organized at Mitchell’s Los Angeles home. Other fellow music artists, including Wynonna Judd, Allison Russell and Marcus Mumford, also took part in the “Joni Jam” gathering recreation.
“But how are we gonna have a Joni Jam without our queen?” Carlisle asked the crowd. “We’re not!”
In her first Newport Folk Festival performance since 1969, the ensemble serenaded Mitchell with several of her hits, including “Circle Game” and “Big Yellow Taxi.” Read more
Long-time Academy member sentenced to 8 years in prison for child sex abuse (BelfastTelegraph)
Long time Academy member Jeffrey Cooper has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a child.
Cooper, 70, sexually assaulted a girl, who was between 12 and 13 years old at the time, at his home between 2005 and 2007.
A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2002, he was convicted on three felony counts of performing lewd acts upon a child in May.
As well as his prison sentence, Cooper will also be required to register as a sex offender. Read more
Jean-Marie Lavalou, co-inventor of the remote-controlled Louma Crane, dies at 76 (THR)
Jean-Marie Lavalou, the Frenchman who received two awards from the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences for co-creating the Louma Crane, the first remote-controlled camera system used in the motion picture industry, has died. He was 76.
Lavalou died July 15 in Paris, his company, Loumasystems, announced.
Born on March 9, 1946, in Bourg Saint Leonard, Normandie, France, Lavalou graduated in 1968 from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière film school in Paris before entering national service.
He met Alain Masseron in the film department of the French Navy, and they created sweeping, never-before-seen shots while making a film inside a submarine by attaching a camera to the end of a wooden pole and moving through the narrow vessel. Read more
Elton John is collaborating with Britney Spears on a new version of ‘Tiny Dancer,’ (People)
Britney Spears is making her musical comeback in iconic fashion.
A music industry source confirms to PEOPLE that the Grammy Award winner, 40, is collaborating with Elton John on a new version of his 1972 single “Tiny Dancer.”
The single is being produced by Andrew Watt and released next month by Universal Music, PEOPLE has also learned.
Reps for Spears and John did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. Read more
Lil Wayne mourns late police officer Robert Hoobler who came to his aid in suicide attempt (DailyMail)
Lil Wayne is mourning the policeman who saved him from suicide.
The Lollipop hitmaker has previously spoken about his admiration for Robert Hoobler, who he called ‘Uncle Bob,’ after the cop saved his life when he was just 12-years-old, but the former officer died on Friday, leading the 39-year-old rapper to vow to ‘live for’ his friend.
Sharing a photo of Hoobler, Wayne posted on Instagram: ‘Everything happens for a reason. I was dying when I met you at this very spot. U refused to let me die. Everything that doesn’t happen, doesn’t happen for a reason.
‘That reason being you and faith. RIP uncle Bob. Aunt Kathie has been waiting for you. I’ll miss you both and live for us all.’ Read more
Tomohiro Kato: Japan executes Akihabara mass murderer (BBC)
Japan has executed a 39-year-old man who killed seven people in Tokyo in 2008 during a stabbing rampage, local media outlets have reported.
Tomohiro Kato committed one of the most shocking mass murders in the country’s recent history.
He was 25 when he drove a truck into a lunch-time crowd of pedestrians at Akihabara shopping district, killing three people.
He stabbed passers-by with a dagger, killing four and wounding eight. Read more
De Laurentiis will decide my future – Osimhen (Punch)
Victor Osimhen has revealed that Napoli President, Aurelio de Laurentiis, will decide his future at the club this summer amid reports of interest from several top European clubs, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Nigeria international, who is believed to be valued by his Italian outfit in excess of £90m is thought to be on the radar of Manchester United, Arsenal Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Despite these offers, Osimhen has debunked suggestions that he could leave Napoli that he is “very happy” at the club and is not currently interested in seeking pastures new.
“I’m in Napoli,” he told Corriere dello Sport. Read more
My abilities not centered around Adidas Adizero shoes, Amusan tells critics (Vanguard)
Nigerian hurdler and World Athletics Championships record holder, Tobi Amusan has said her record-breaking 12: 06s performance had nothing to do with her spike shoes.
Amusan’s response is coming on the heels of mixed reactions that have continued to trail the Adidas Adizero Avanti shoes Amusan she wore during the 100 metres hurdles event at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon on Sunday.
“I had patella fasciitis at the beginning of the season so that set me back for a while. I spoke to Adidas and requested if I could get spikes with a softer sole,” Amusan said in an interview with The Guardian, a UK popular tabloid.
“My abilities are not centred around spikes,” she added. Read more
Ronaldo flies in for talks on his Manchester United future (IrishIndependent)
Manchester United insist that Cristiano Ronaldo remains in their plans for the upcoming Premier League season as reports last night claimed the forward’s return to Manchester is imminent.
Talks with the unsettled Ronaldo are set to take place in the coming days with Erik ten Hag also back in Manchester after a 17-day pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia.
The 37-year-old Portuguese star has been absent from United’s entire pre-season campaign to date due to “family reasons”.
But United, and new manager Ten Hag, have been unwavering in their position throughout that they expect Ronaldo to honour the second year of the contract he signed on returning to the club last summer. United’s stance has not wavered at all, and they will play “hard ball” in those face to face negotiations. Read more
John Eustace vows to protect Birmingham City starlet (BirminghamLive)
John Eustace has moved to temper expectations surrounding Birmingham City teen Jordan James. The midfielder has had a very strong pre-season, culminating in a barnstorming second-half display in the 2-2 draw with Rayo Vallecano at the weekend.
The departure of Ivan Sunjic on loan to Hertha Berlin and the injury to Gary Gardner – who has not played any of the warm-up matches – has seen James, Ryan Woods and Juninho Bacuna dominate game-time throughout Blues’ programme of friendlies.²Jamess has done as well as anyone and might have scored in the last two matches but for a struck post against Vallecano and a good save from an inspired goalkeeper against Solihull Moors a week ago. He has also applied his signature to a new long-term contract ensuring Blues have locked in the value of one of their crown jewels.
But Eustace says he won’t demand too much of a lad who this time last year had just come from playing a year down in the club’s academy. Read more
Oscar Rivas’ bridgerweight bout vs. Lukasz Rozanski, two other WBC title fights in Colombia on Aug. 13 postponed (NBC)
A boxing card in Colombia on Aug. 13 featuring three WBC title fights, headlined by bridgerweight champion Oscar Rivas’ bout against Lukasz Rozanski, has been postponed, according to his promoter, Yvon Michel.
Michel said no date has been finalized for a rescheduling of the fight, which was going to be Rivas’ debut in the country of his birth. Rivas (28-1, 19 KO) had become the WBC’s first bridgerweight champion last year, beating Ryan Rozicki. As of now, the WBC is the only one of the four major boxing organizations to recognize the bridge weight division. Rozanski (14-0, 13 KO) last fought in May 2021, knocking out Artur Szpilka in the first round.
The card also featured two women’s title fights, including the return of former No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Cecilia Braekhus. It was going to be the first fight for Braekhus since 2021, when she lost a rematch trying to win back her undisputed welterweight titles against Jessica McCaskill. McCaskill had beaten Braekhus in 2020 to win the belts — the first time Braekhus had lost in her career and the first time she had been without at least one welterweight belt since 2009.
Braekhus (36-2, 9 KO) was scheduled to fight WBC junior middleweight champion Patricia Berghult (15-0, 3 KO). It was going to be the first title defense for Berghult, who beat Olivia Belkacem for the belt in November 2021. Read more
Michael Johnson ‘accused of racism’ for questioning track world records (NYPost)
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson said early Monday that he was “attacked and accused of racism” after he questioned the accuracy of athletes’ times recorded at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
Johnson, a Black former U.S. track and field star who won eight World Championship gold medals in his career, was skeptical on the BBC broadcast and on social media after Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan set a world record in 100-meter hurdles semifinals with a time of 12.12 seconds.
Amusan, herself, also appeared stunned by her time. She beat the previous world record set by American Kendra Harrison in 2016, by 0.08 seconds.
Johnson, 54, then took to Twitter on Sunday to question the hurdle times. Read more
Coach Goran Ivanisevic explains why Novak Djokovic deserved Wimbledon title (TennisWorld)
Goran Ivanisevic said he felt Novak Djokovic deserved to win Wimbledon after all the “unfair” and “bad things” that happened to him earlier this year. Djokovic, 35, was denied participation at the Australian Open, as well as the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami.
After being deported from Australia and later suffering a quarter final defeat at the French Open, Djokovic lifted his 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. In the Wimbledon final, Djokovic recovered from a set down to beat Nick Kyrgios and claim his seventh Wimbledon title.
“First, it is an honor and a pleasure. A man who has conquered everything and is still hungry and eager for success. He has had a difficult, unfair year, many bad things have happened to him. He deserved that Wimbledon, in the final there were two of the world’s best tennis players on grass, him and Kyrgios,” Ivanisevic said during his appearance on Nova TV.
Alcaraz, 19, is already a two-time Masters champion and a top-5 player in the world. Alcaraz has been widely tipped to win multiple Grand Slams and reach the top ranking. Read more