Lagos convicts 206 persons for sexual offences (Guardian)
Lagos State Government said it convicted 206 persons for sexual assault, harassment and rape in one year.
The state commissioner for justice and attorney-general Moyosore Onigbanjo made the disclosure at the annual ministerial press briefing in Alausa, Ikeja.
Onigbanjo said the ministry’s directorate of law prosecuted 281 persons who were prosecuted for various offences between April 2020 and April 2021.
The commissioner noted that 206 of the 281 convicted persons were sexual offenders and have been added to the Lagos State Government’s sexual offenders register. Read more
Police arrest ‘cultist, traffic robbers’ in Lagos (Nation)
The police in Lagos have arrested a suspected cultist, an alleged serial burglar and two suspects accused of being traffic robbers.
The suspects were arrested separately by operatives attached to Area D Command in Mushin and their counterparts at Ojo Division on Monday.
According to police spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the suspected cultist, Nwugo Oforuike, 30, was arrested at Mushin with a locally made pistol, a live cartridge, car key, one mobile phone, a neck chain and an iron rod.
He said policemen at Ojo division on the same Monday arrested an alleged serial burglar, Marcus Ikechukwu, 34, and recovered suspected stolen items from him including a larger cutter and three big generators.
Adejobi said the suspect, a resident of Karabosowa, Ojo, Alaba, terrorised people at Ikotun, Igando, Surulere and other places within the state whose homes he broke into. Read more
Lagos to replace Igbosere High Court with Ikoyi Court (Guardian)
Lagos State Government said property at Osborne Foreshore Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, for the relocation of Igbosere High Court, will be ready by end of May 2021.
Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN, made the disclosure at the Ministry of Justice 2021 ministerial press briefing in Alausa, Ikeja.
Onigbanjo explained that this and ongoing state-wide construction and renovation of courts is part of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s efforts to enhance access to justice.
He disclosed that the digitalisation of 10 of the state’s courts is ongoing and said that six of the fully digitalised courts will be ready by October. Read more
How Lagos saved property worth N139b from fire (Nation)
The Lagos State government, through the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said it saved property worth N138.54 billion from fire and related emergencies in the last two years.
Mr Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, made this known on Wednesday in Ikeja, during the 2021 ministerial press briefing to commemorate the second year in office of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Bamgbose-Martins, however, said property worth N24.69 billion were lost to fire and related emergencies in the period under review.
He said the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service in the last two years recorded landmark achievements, largely due to the tremendous support and encouragement received from the Sanwo-Olu administration. Read more
Senate passes bill to upgrade Yabatech to Federal University (Vanguard)
The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill seeking to upgrade the Yaba College of Technology to a Federal University of Technology.
Also passed was a bill to establish the Federal University, Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State.
The approval for the establishment of both universities followed the consideration of two separate reports by the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.
Senator Nora Daduut (APC, Plateau South), who presented the report on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita, said the establishment of the Federal University, Birnin-Kebbi would provide the required manpower needs of Nigeria in the area of Geosciences and Technology, and General Agricultural practices as a boost for the exploration of solid minerals, scientific and social knowledge in the promotion of cutting-edge research on n Nigerian and beyond. Read more
NLC suspends strike in Kaduna
Sodiq Oyeleke (Punch)
The Nigeria Labour Congress has suspended the five-day warning strike in Kaduna State to pave way for negotiations as requested by the Federal Government.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had said that the Federal Government would intervene to bring the labour crisis rocking Kaduna State to a peaceful end.
Mohammed said that the Federal Government was disturbed about the sudden turn of events in Kaduna State, stressing that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, is already working to broker a truce between the opposing sides.
He said, “The Federal Government is not folding its arms and already, the Minister of Labour and Employment has waded in and he is in touch with both the government of Kaduna State and the Labour. Read more
Sirika: new national carrier takes off Q1 2022 (ThisDay)
The much expected National Carrier to replace the liquidated Nigeria Airways may be on course by the first quarter of 2022, Aviation Minister, Senator Hadi Sirika, has said.
Sirika, who spoke with reporters Wednesday at the end of the virtual weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the State House stressed that government was committed in its determination to provide a national carrier for the country.
He explained that the initial plan to establish a national carrier in 2021 was affected by the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, adding that the project will be realized by the first quarter of 2022.
The Minister emphasised that there was no going back on getting a national carrier for the country. Read more
Communities raise alarm over estimated billing in Ibadan (Vanguard)
Community leaders of Lalupon/Iwo Road Feeder Electricity Consumers Association Ibadan, have raised an alarm over what they termed as outrageous billing system from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
The community leaders, carrying placards with various inscriptions calling on IBEDC to stop the outrageous and insensitive billings, cried out for help at the office of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) located at Iyaganku GRA Quarters Ibadan, yesterday.
Consequent to their plea, NERC however, ordered IBEDC to write off every accumulated billing of all communities on Lalupon/Iwo Road Feeder Electricity, in Ibadan, up till November 2020.
The chairman of the commission, Engineer Olayiwola Oyelade, gave the order on Tuesday, when deciding, on a case brought before the commission by the affected communities. Read more
Brekete host apologises for hitting lady, plans to quit show (Punch)
Radio broadcaster and human rights advocate, Ahmed Isah, commonly called ‘Ordinary President’, has apologised for striking a lady on camera.
Isah, who hosts the popular Brekete family show on Human Rights Radio Abuja, was outed on Monday by a BBC Africa Eye report which showed how Ordinary President violated the rights of some persons brought before him for investigation.
The video also showed Isah physically assaulting a woman identified as Susan on his show. The woman in question had been alleged to have physically abused her six-year-old niece, burning her hair after branding her a ‘witch’. Read more
Israel-Gaza violence: The children who have died in the conflict (BBC)
Of the 219 people who have been killed in Gaza, at least 63 are children, according to its health ministry. Of the 10 people killed in Israel, two children are among the dead, the country’s medical service says.
Here are the stories of some of the children who have been killed.
When an Israeli strike hit al-Wihda street in central Gaza City early on Sunday, at least 13 members of the extended al-Kawalek family are believed to have been killed, buried in the rubble of their own home.
Many of the victims were children, with one said to be as young as six months. Read more
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 20th anniversary to be commemorated with 2 specials (Metro)
Harry Potter fans, it’s time to get excited as there are two unscripted specials on the way – to celebrate the 20-year anniversary.
Side note: How has it been 20 years since we first got a glimpse inside Hogwarts?
According to Deadline, film bosses announced that they would be commemorating the movie milestone with two specials, taking us all inside the Wizarding World once more.
Warner Brothers confirmed the first of these will be a Harry Potter fan quiz competition limited series, letting the biggest Potterheads test their knowledge in a head-to-head battle. Read more
Cryptocurrency market has lost nearly $1t in value since April peak (RT)
Wednesday’s bitcoin crash saw the entire cryptocurrency market lose nearly a third of its value with losses nearing $1 trillion since last month’s peak.
At its lowest point, the price of the world’s most popular digital asset tumbled $12,000, or nearly 30%, to trade just above $30,000. Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency, shed around 40% of its value, while joke token dogecoin lost as much as 50%.
As of 13:58 GMT, bitcoin was down more than 50% from its record price of almost $65,000 set in April.
The sharp downturn came shortly after the People’s Bank of China announced that digital tokens can’t be used as a form of payment. The regulator said virtual currencies were not real, claiming that they “should not and cannot be used as currency in the market.” It also referred to a recent surge in crypto prices as speculation. Read more
Malawi burns thousands of expired AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses (BBC)
Health authorities in Malawi have incinerated 19,610 expired doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, saying it will reassure the public that any vaccines they do get are safe.
It is the first African country to publicly do this.
The World Health Organization initially urged countries not to destroy expired doses but has now changed its advice.
Uptake of the vaccine in Malawi has been low and health workers hope the move will increase public confidence. Read more
11-year-old Florida girl escapes from knife-wielding sex offender in harrowing abduction attempt (RT)
Police in Florida have arrested a convicted sex offender suspected of trying to kidnap a girl at kinfepoint. Thankfully the child was able to escape the pervert’s clutches and run to safety.
The 11-year-old was playing alone at a bus stop in West Pensacola, Florida, when the terrifying attempted abduction occurred. Surveillance footage released by law enforcement shows a car circling the area before abruptly stopping on the side of the road. A man, reportedly armed with a knife, then exits the vehicle and runs towards the girl, lunging at her. Seeing him approaching, the child gets up from the ground and attempts to run away, before being grabbed. The suspect then tries to carry her to his car, but falls to the ground. After a brief struggle, the girl is able to free herself. She then picks up her bag that she dropped on the ground and runs away, as the kidnapper hurries back to his car and flees the scene. Read more
China on Mars: Zhurong rover returns first pictures (BBC)
China has released the first pictures taken by its Zhurong rover on Mars.
The forward view shows the landscape ahead of the robot as it sits on its landing platform; the rear-looking image reveals Zhurong’s solar panels.
The rover touched down on the Red Planet early on Sunday, Beijing time.
In doing so, it made China only the second nation – after America – to successfully put a probe on the surface of Mars and operate it for a significant length of time. Read more
Boston Celtics beat Washington Wizards to secure play-off berth (BBC)
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 50 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 118-100 to secure their place in the NBA play-offs.
Boston won the play-in contest on Tuesday to secure the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference play-offs.
They will meet the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets in the first round, with game one scheduled for Saturday.
Washington have one more chance to make the post-season when they host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. Read more
Chelsea set to submit £80m bid for Manchester United target Jadon Sancho (Metro)
Manchester United face competition for Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho from rivals Chelsea, who are set to launch an £80m bid for the England playmaker. United are the favourites to sign the 21-year-old, having tracked him for the last two years. The Red Devils were keen on signing Sancho last summer but refused to meet Dortmund’s £108m asking price. However, Dortmund have since lowered their valuation of Sancho to around £80m and that’s attracted more interested parties. Read more
Monaco GP: Lewis Hamilton says Max Verstappen ‘feels he has a lot to prove’ (BBC)
Lewis Hamilton says he believes Max Verstappen “feels perhaps he has a lot to prove” in their title fight.
The pair have had a number of near-misses racing wheel-to-wheel in 2021.
“I think I have done well to avoid all the incidents,” Hamilton said. “But we have 19 more [races] and we could connect. He feels he perhaps has a lot to prove. I’m not in the same boat.”
Verstappen responded: “I have nothing to prove and avoiding contact goes both ways. So we have done well.” Read more
Frank Lampard hits back at Jorginho for criticism of his Chelsea reign (Metro)
Frank Lampard has hit back at Jorginho’s pointed criticism of his Chelsea tenure after the Italy international claimed the club legend wasn’t ready to take on a job of that magnitude. The 42-year-old cut his managerial teeth at Derby County and, after just a solitary season in The Championship, he was hired by Chelsea as Maurizio Sarri’s successor. Lampard’s first term back at Stamford Bridge was considered a success after he secured Champions League qualification, despite working under a transfer ban. The former England midfielder was subsequently allowed to spend in excess of £200million last summer but after surrendering a 17-game unbeaten run, things quickly began to unravel before he was sacked in January. Read more
Israeli footballer photoshops image of Pogba carrying Palestinian flag, thanks him for his ‘support’ (RT)
Footballer Eran Zahavi has shared a photoshopped image of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba carrying an Israeli flag, after the French World Cup winner expressed support for Palestine following a Premier League match.
Pogba was seen carrying a Palestinian flag around the Old Trafford pitch with Ivorian teammate Amad Diallo after the 1-1 draw with Fulham on Tuesday, having apparently been handed it by a supporter in the stands.
The gesture from the duo was the latest show of support from football stars after Leicester City players Hamza Choudhury and Wesley Fofana displayed Palestinian colors after the FA Cup final against Chelsea last weekend. Read more
Kieran Crowley replaces Franco Smith as Italy’s head coach (BBC)
Former All Black Kieran Crowley has replaced Franco Smith as Italy’s coach.
Smith had been in the role since 2019 and will now become Italian rugby’s head of high performance.
Former Canada coach Crowley – who has spent the past five seasons at Italian club Benetton – was part of New Zealand’s 1987 World Cup-winning squad.”We have a generation of talented young people who have recently entered the international Test scene,” the 59-year-old said of his new side. Read more