Lagos CP Odumosu to traders, your safety guaranteed (Nation)
Lagos State Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu has assured traders in the state of their safety and the readiness of the police to counter any security breach.
He gave the assurance during an interactive meeting with traders from major markets across the state. It was at the command headquarters in Ikeja.
The police boss’ assurance came on the heels of a viral social media audio and visual messages purporting plans by criminal elements to attack Alaba International Market.
According to Odumosu, the command has tightened security in all markets, advising the traders to go about their lawful businesses without panic. Read more
Sanwo-Olu to smoke out criminals from abandoned buildings (DailyTrust)
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, said that criminals would no longer find a space in Lagos State as a long list of abandoned buildings across local government areas and local council development areas of the state, which may serve as safe havens for them have been compiled for a necessary action.
Sanwo-Olu who spoke during a live interview on Arise TV on Monday disclosed the government’s plan to take control of such buildings so as to ensure that they do not become security threats in communities where they have been found.
“The popular thinking is that such buildings are occupied by criminals who use them to plan attacks. Two days ago, I received a report of abandoned buildings across the state from Neighbourhood Watch. The list is about 250 pages with addresses and pictures of the buildings. These are some of the places where the criminals and miscreants hide to launch their activities.
“We are passing this list to the security for immediate response and actions. This surveillance speaks to the necessity of state police. All the preventable criminalities happening are because we have not agreed as a nation that there should be state police. We have been an advocate of state police and it is one of the submissions I made at the recent public hearing on constitutional amendment in Lagos. Read more
Mob set ablaze suspected kidnapper in Lagos (Vanguard)
There was a commotion in Agege area of Lagos State in the early hours on Tuesday, when mob set ablaze a suspected kidnapper with their get-away vehicle.
According to an eyewitness, the incident happened at about 9 am, in Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area, LCDA,
Two out of the three suspected kidnappers were, however, rescued by the Police and Subsequently, taken into custody for further investigation.
According to an eyewitness account, “A commercial motorcycle operator popularly called; “Okada,” said to have engaged the suspected kidnappers in a hot chase from Ajegunle Toll-Gate, along Lagos-Ogun boundary spot after some of the school children kidnapped cried out for help through the window of the kidnapers’ vehicle.
“But, nemesis caught up with them at Mulero Bus Stop in Orile-Agege LCDA, where their vehicle was intercepted by some passersby after the okada operator raised alarm to alert passersby of the action of the suspects.” Read more
JUSUN strike: Police in Lagos decongesting cells – PPRO (Guardian)
The police in Lagos have devised means to decongest its cells amidst the prolonged strike by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).
Police spokesman in the state, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday that the decongestion was carried out in collaboration with the office of the Chief Judge and Attorney-General of the state.
NAN reports that JUSUN on April 6 directed its members to shut down all courts across the country, demanding the implementation of law granting financial autonomy to the Judiciary.
”The command had been managing the situation in collaboration with the office of the state chief judge,” he said.
He, however, did not give the number of suspects that had been granted bail.
“We work with the office of the CJ and Attorney-General of Lagos State to decongest our cells.
“The CJ has provided the services of some Magistrates and District Prosecutors to assess case files and grant bail to some suspects.
“So, we are collaborating with them in this regard,’’ Adejobi said. Read more
EFCC arrests 50 for alleged internet fraud (Independent)
The Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Friday, June 4, 2021, arrested 50 suspected internet fraudsters.
The suspects were arrested at Alaro Sango, Agbaje Ijokoro, and Apete Aladura areas of Ibadan, Oyo State following intelligence on their alleged involvement in internet fraud.
Thirty four of the suspects already indicted by the investigation are:
Badmus Abeeb, Ibrahim Ahmed, Adeyemo Babatunde, Abdulrashid Ajagbe, Olajide Okiki Peter, Hassan Yusuf Atanda, Yusuf Olasupo Salaudeen, Bello Ahmed Bamidele, Read more
Governors’ wives raise alarm over insecurity, poverty (Vanguard)
Wives of state governors under the auspices of the Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum on Monday decried the worsening security situation across the country, even as they also expressed concern with the rate of poverty, joblessness among Nigerians among other social ills.
The wives of the states chief executive, have therefore declared their readiness to work with their husbands, in their respective states to tackle the alarming headlong.
The chairman of the forum, Bisi Fayemi, who is the wife of the Ekiti State Governor, disclosed this while addressing newsmen at the end of a meeting at the Nigerian Governors’ Forum Secretariat in Abuja, to appraise the work of Governors Wives Against Gender Base Violence (GBV), year after it was created in the wake of increase in gender based violence occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
According to Mrs. Fayemi, “We are concerned about the security situation and the impact it has on women and children.
“We are also concerned about the job crises in the country which is gradually consuming a whole lot of young people.
“We are also concerned about the poverty that a lot of women face especially in the rural communities.” Read more
Reps probe legality of FG’s Twitter ban, summon Lai Mohammed (Punch)
The House of Representatives has said it will, within 10 days, investigate the factors responsible for the Federal Government’s decision to ban Twitter in Nigeria and the laws upon which the action was based.
The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, in his opening address at the plenary on Tuesday, noted that the micro-blogging platform had become a huge communication tool and platform for enterprise especially for the teeming youth in the country.
Gbajabiamila also noted that the lawmakers had been inundated with protests and demands for intervention by the parliament.
The Speaker, however, noted that the House also needs to hear from the government, especially the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who issued the directive suspending the social media app in the country. Read more
Nigerian French-Canadian star, Tome bags prestigious Juno award (Vanguard)
Nigerians have been acknowledged as key players on the global music scene for quite some time, but in 2021, Nigerian artistes have effectively staked their claim as a dominant force in global music. This dominance culminated in the top Nigerian talents, Burna Boy & Wizkid, scooping Grammy Awards at this year’s Grammy Awards Show.
While the talented Nigerian duo are dominating the global music scene from Africa, another Nigerian talent named Tome is dominating from North America.
At the 50th anniversary of the Juno Awards, the beautiful Nigerian songstress bagged the award for the Best Recording of the Year for her hit single, “IPray” which featured Jamaican Singer, Sean Kingston. Tome who is also a French-Canadian capped the beautiful night with a captivating golden performance of “I Pray” befitting the Golden Jubilee of the Juno Awards. Read more
Ibarapa massacre: Makinde visits Igangan, asks FG to allow Amotekun Corps use AK-47 (Sun)
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Tuesday called on the Federal Government to permit the governors in the South West to equip Amotekun Corps with sophisticated weapons, such as AK-47, to tackle rising insecurity, especially banditry and kidnapping in the geo-political zone.
He spoke against the backdrop of the massacre of more than 10 persons in Igangan in Ibarapa zone of Oyo State on Saturday night by gunmen suspected to be criminal Fulani herdsmen, whom residents of Ibarapa said had threatened many weeks ago that they would strike, and they eventually struck.
Makinde made the disclosure in the keynote address that he presented at the opening of a two-day 2021 Governor Seyi Makinde National Democracy Summit, with the theme: ‘The Future of Democracy in Nigeria,’ held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.
Makinde, who left the summit midway for Igangan, said he took responsibility for the incident, however, expressed frustration on the challenges being faced by governors that are called chief security officers of their states, but could not actually ask federal security agencies in their respective states to attend to security situation, without them getting clearance from Abuja. Read more
Keira Knightley: Every woman I know has been harassed (IrishTimes)
Keira Knightley says that sexual harassment is such a big problem she does not know any woman who has not been subjected to it, including herself. From groping to being flashed, “everybody” has been harassed in some way, according to the British actor.
Speaking in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar magazine, which goes on sale on Wednesday, the 36-year-old says the situation is “f***ing depressing”.
Asked if she has experienced harassment, she says: “Yes! I mean, everybody has. Literally, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been in some way, whether it’s being flashed at, or groped, or some guy saying they’re going to slit your throat, or punching you in the face, or whatever it is, everybody has.
“It was when women started listing all the precautions they take when they walk home to make sure they’re safe, and I thought, I do every single one of them, and I don’t even think about it.” Read more
Kate Winslet: Huge increase in terrific roles for women in my age group (BBC)
Kate Winslet, the star of hit US TV show Mare of Easttown, says Hollywood has turned a corner for women.
Winslet, who plays a detective in the critically-acclaimed crime drama, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Things are changing in terms of equal pay.
“And there’s a huge increase in terrific roles for women… especially in my age group,” the 45-year-old said.
She added that she had been “in complete control” of how she wanted to present herself in a sex scene. Read more
Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan to play journalists who exposed Harvey Weinstein scandal in film “She Said” (HollywoodReporter)
Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are set to star in a film about the Harvey Weinstein scandal, portraying the two journalists that broke the story, ushering in a seismic shift in Hollywood led by the Me Too movement.
New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor wrote the October 2017 piece that led to the Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company founder’s dramatic fall from grace, ending up with the producer behind bars on sex crime convictions with a 23-year sentence.
Universal Pictures is prepping She Said, based on Twohey and Kantor’s New York Times best-selling book about their experience, She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, according to Deadline.
The two actors are in negotiations to lead the cast as Twohey and Kantor, with Unorthodox director Maria Schrader lined up to helm the project and Oscar-winning Rebecca Lenkiewicz writing the screenplay. Read more
ANOM: Hundreds arrested in massive global crime sting using messaging app (BBC)
More than 800 suspected criminals have been arrested worldwide after being tricked into using an FBI-run encrypted messaging app, officials say.
The operation, jointly conceived by Australia and the FBI, saw devices with the ANOM app secretly distributed among criminals, allowing police to monitor their chats about drug smuggling, money laundering and even murder plots.
Officials called it a watershed moment.
Targets included drug gangs and people with links to the mafia. Read more
Where has Lorde been as she teases first new music in 4 years? (Metro)
Lorde has sent fans into meltdown by sharing a teaser for what will be her first new music in four years.
Basically, no one can handle it.
The Liability hitmaker shot to fame after the success of her song Royals and EP Pure Heroine in 2013, following it up with Melodrama in 2017.
But since then, it’s been quite literally radio silence from the 24-year-old.
So, where has she been? Read more
French president Macron slapped in face by member of public (IrishTimes)
French president Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face on Tuesday by a man in a crowd of onlookers while on a walkabout in southern France, video of the incident showed.
Mr Macron’s security entourage quickly intervened to pull the man to the ground and move the president away from him. Two people were arrested in connection with the incident, broadcasters BFM TV and RMC radio reported.
The incident took place while Mr Macron was on a visit to the Drome region in southeastern France, where he met restaurateurs and students to talk about how life is returning to normal after the Covid-19 pandemic.
In video circulating on social media, Mr Macron, dressed in shirt sleeves, could be seen walking towards a crowd of well-wishers who were behind a metal barrier.
The French president reached out his hand to greet one man, in a green T-shirt, with glasses and a face mask. Read more
Tigray conflict: ‘We have no food, we face death’ (BBC)
People in a district of Ethiopia’s Tigray region have told the BBC they are on the verge of starvation.
“We don’t have anything to eat,” a man in Qafta Humera said, saying their crops and livestock had been looted during seven months of war.
He added that they were being prevented from seeking aid by a militia fighting with government forces.
The testimony comes as UN chief António Guterres has warned that parts of Tigray are on the brink of famine. Read more
Tamara Zidansek continues dream French Open run to make semi-finals (IrishTimes)
Surprise package Tamara Zidansek prevailed in a dramatic tussle with Paula Badosa to reach the semi-finals of the French Open.
The Slovenian, who had never previously been beyond the second round at a Grand Slam, was the outsider of the unexpected quarter-final line-up but she held her nerve when it counted to win 7-5 4-6 8-6.
Zidansek looked poised for a more comfortable victory when she led by a set and a break but Badosa fought back and led early in the decider.
The Spaniard was also playing in her first Slam quarter-final but she has won more matches than any other woman on clay this season and went into the tournament as a dark horse.
That pressure was evident for a set and a half, with Badosa struggling to play freely while Zidansek handled the occasion superbly. Read more
Erling Haaland interested in Chelsea transfer this summer (Metro)
Erling Haaland is keen on a move to Chelsea this summer, according to reports.
The Champions League holders are currently exploring the possibility of a deal for the Borussia Dortmund striker before the end of the transfer window.
However, the cost to sign the Norway international would be in excess of £150 million, while the 20-year-old is also understood to be demanding a salary in the region of £300,000 a week.
Haaland has attracted interest from several clubs across Europe including Real Madrid, Manchester City, Barcelona and Manchester United. Read more
Johanna Konta beats Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove in Nottingham opener (BBC)
Top seed and British number one Johanna Konta marked the start of her grass-court campaign with a comfortable 6-1 6-3 win over the Netherlands’ Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove in Nottingham.
Konta’s serve kept the world number 88 on the back foot, the Briton winning 89% of points on her first serve.
After losing the opening game of the match, Konta won the next nine to put herself in control of the contest.
“I am hopeful, I am playing with a lot of hope and excitement,” she said. Read more
Stuttgart striker, Wamangituka, reveals he’s been playing under false name (Vanguard)
VfB Stuttgart striker, Silas Wamangituka, has revealed to the club that he was a victim of fraudulent practices of his former agent and Wamangituka is not his real name.
Stuttgart said in a statement on Tuesday that the player’s real name is Silas Katompa Mvumpa.
His date of birth is also wrong.
According to the club, Silas was born on Oct. 6, 1998 in Kinshasa, Congo and is thus 22 today, one year older than originally assumed.
The false identity is said to have been made up by Silas’ former agent, who let the then 19-year-old live with him in Paris. Read more
Manchester United fear Paul Pogba is running his contract down to leave on free transfer in 2022 (Metro)
Manchester United are keen to open contract negotiations with Paul Pogba’s representatives as they fear the midfielder is allowing his deal to run down in order to leave the club for free next summer.
The Red Devils triggered a 12-month extension clause in Pogba’s deal in January 2020, six months before the Frenchman’s initial five-year deal was set to expire.
Pogba has twice intimated his desire to leave the club since joining for a then-world record fee of £89m from Juventus in 2016.
The first time – in 2018 – was due to the breakdown in Pogba’s relationship with Jose Mourinho, while the second just 12 months later was down to the midfielder’s determination to play Champions League football. Read more
Tokyo Olympics: 29-strong refugee team to take part in 12 sports (BBC)
An expanded refugee team of 29 athletes will compete across 12 sports at next month’s Tokyo Olympics.
The team will compete under the Olympic flag and includes people from countries including Syria, South Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Iran.
It is almost three times as big as the inaugural team at the 2016 Games in Rio.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says the team will provide hope and inspiration to the world. Read more