Lagos police nab 7 traffic robbers (Guardian)
Officials of Lagos Rapid Response Squad (RRS) have arrested three traffic robbers at Ikeja City Mall and four others at Mile 2 Park with assistance of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) members.
Four of the suspects, Segun Peters (22), Kabiru Odeh (25), Nurudeen Suraj (22) and Dennis Ikuvbogie (24) were arrested at Mile 2, while having a field day; other suspects, Anifowoshe Kolawole (20), Patrick Ameke (21) and John Britto (27) were picked around Ikeja City Mall, based on complaints on their illicit activities around the area.
Commander, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, had on a tip off on the activities of traffic robbers in Mile 2, deployed plain cloth policemen to the area to monitor and arrest the suspects.
The Guardian learnt that members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) had hounded down the four suspects before the officers got there.
The suspects were thereafter handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution.
One of the suspects, Nurudeen Suraj, who was arrested barely a week ago and detained at Agboju Police Station, said he was released from prison two months ago. Read more
#EndSARS aftermath: RCCG DSA retools Pen Cinema Agege Divisional Police Headquarters (Vanguard)
In its pursuit of Christian Social Responsibility objectives, The Dominion Sanctuary, ACME Parish (DSA) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Region 19 headquarters, Ogba, Lagos has donated operational tools to the Pen-Cinema Divisional Police Headquarters, Agege which was one of the public facilities burnt down during the October 2020 nationwide #EndSARS protests.
The Regional Pastor in Charge of Region 19 Headquarters of the RCCG who is a Special Assistant to the General Overseer, Pastor Brown Oyitso, was respresented at the occasion by the Minister in Charge of RCCG DSA’s Christian Social Responsibility Department, Assistant Pastor (Prof) Olugbenga Ogunmoyela.
The Christian Social Responsibility is an initiative of the General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye.
Speaking during the short ceremony held in the temporary premises of the Police Station in Agege, Lagos on Sunday, Pastor (Prof) Ogunmoyela said the gesture was to demonstrate the support and appreciation of the church for the work the Police is doing under very difficult conditions. He therefore prayed that the operational tools would enable the police to discharge their duties more effectively in the face of rising insecurity in Lagos and the entire country. Read more
Nollywood veterans announce 12-film project with release of CAKE (DailyTrust)
Two Nollywood veterans Dotun Olakunri and Steve Gukas have announced that they will be releasing a 12-film project over the coming months.
The announcement was made in a statement issued on Sunday by their media consultant, Edward Israel-Ayide where the duo announced the release of the first film of the project “CAKE”.
The film was directed by Prosper Edesiri and produced by Tongryang Pantu.
The statement quoted one of the executive producers Dotun Olakunri as saying that “CAKE is a quirky romantic comedy that follows the hilarious ride of “Tomiwa Akinlolu”, a talented baker who is caught in a love triangle with two beautiful women.
“The film stars Tope Tedela, Sophie Alakija, Folu Storms as the main characters, supported by Big Brother Naija alumni Saskay, Patience Ozokwor, Emmanuel “Koloman” Jibunor and Philip Asaya,” Olakunri said. Read more
Anti-Aregbesola’s protest in Lagos, demonstrators berate minister (Punch)
Some members of the All Progressives Congress, on Sunday in Lagos, protested against the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, over his reported face-off with a national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The protest took place in the Alimosho area of the state.
The protesters were armed with banners with different inscriptions such as, ‘We reaffirm Alimosho as Tinubu’s country’, ‘We are not ingrates, Asiwaju remains our man’, and ‘Say no to BATCO’.
Some of the protesters also displayed and danced with wooden coffins, depicting the end of the minister’s politics in Lagos. Read more
StarTimes, actors guild collaborate on content production (Sun)
As part of StarTimes commitment to grow the local film industry, StarTimes is partnering with the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) on content production, with a view to tapping into the vast deposit of original African stories yet untold.
Reaffirming StarTimes commitment to deeper investment in Nollywood, StarTimes CEO, Alex Jian, said the collaboration is very crucial with the growing demand for quality local content by Nollywood aficionados.
This was disclosed during a courtesy visit to StarTimes on Wednesday by the National President of AGN, Ejezie Emeka Rollas; Secretary, Abubakar Yakubu, and veteran actor, Segun Arinze. Also in attendance were StarTimes CEO, Alex Jian; StarTimes Content Director, Viki Liu; Asst. Marketing Director, Bose Adewara and Channel Manager, Ali Auta, among others.
“When StarTimes entered the market about 12 years ago, our mandate was to provide digital-TV to every home. The reception was huge for us. However, at the time, we had more foreign content. Over the years, the standard of Nollywood has improved and so also, is the market. This brought about the need to satisfy this growing appetite for Nollywood. Thus, our new brand vision is to balance our content offering. We know AGN stands for the larger Nollywood market. StarTimes is glad to cooperate with you to bring significant impact to Nollywood as well as grow and ensure that filmmakers have value for their productions,” Jian said. Read more
Kenya High Commissioner to Nigeria dies in Abuja hospital (Punch)
Kenya High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Wilfred Gisuka Machage is dead.
The Ambassador, it was gathered, was ill and was rushed to an undisclosed hospital in Abuja.
The nature of his ailment could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report.
But a source close to the Ambassador said he died at the hospital around 1pm on Saturday. Read more
Gbajabiamila distributes 1,020 laptops to teachers, principals (Independent)
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Saturday, distributed 1,020 laptops to teachers and principals of secondary schools in his Surulere 1 Federal Constituency.
At the constituency outreach programme held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Saturday, the Speaker also donated 145 vehicles to constituents while 351 young constituents who are students in public tertiary institutions across the country got education grants.
Addressing the gathering of his constituents including All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders and dignitaries, Gbajabiamila restated his passion for education, saying the gesture would improve the learning environment.
He said the laptops and the ICT gadgets would aid the teaching and learning of ICT for students. Read more
LASUTH holds woman’s corpse in morgue over N860,000 debt (Punch)
The corpse of a mother of three, Fatimo Olamide, is being held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital’s morgue over N860,000 outstanding medical bill.
It was learnt that Olamide was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital for a terminal illness and underwent a surgery before she died on Monday, February 14.
Her father, Shamusideen Shobowale, a 64-year-old retiree, said the family had spent about N1m – sourced from relations and friends – on Olamide’s treatment and were only able to raise N200,000 out of the N860,000 outstanding.
Shobowale, who retired as a head watchman at Ikorodu Senior Grammar School, said Olamide was supposed to be buried in accordance with Islamic rites, lamenting that the family was sad the burial was being delayed. (Punch)
Drums roll for Coal City film festival (Nation)
After a successful debut outing, The annual Coal City Film Festival sets to roll out the best of movie showbiz in African entertainment.
The theme of this year’s edition is the “Glocalization of Africa Cinema” set to hold from 24th to 26th of March in Enugu, the historic capital of southeast Nigeria.
The festival first made its way into the galore of theatrical ceremonies in March 2021 when it celebrated locally renowned and impressive filmmakers, actors, actresses, screenwriters, directors, producers involved in the movie-making with accolades for their great cinematic endeavours in the Nigeria film industry.
Similarly, it also featured tourism visitations, as it recorded an entry of a whopping 62 selected films submitted by different numerous filmmakers all over the world.
Coal City Festival Director of Communications, Sammy Ajufo, stated that everything is in place to ensure another successful outing for this year’s film festival. Read more
Olivia Munn joins Tales Of The Walking Dead series (NME)
AMC has announced a number of new cast members who have joined its upcoming series Tales Of The Walking Dead, including Olivia Munn.
As revealed by Deadline, the Newsroom actor has joined The Walking Dead spin-off series alongside Danny Ramirez (The Falcon & The Winter Soldier), Loan Chabanol (Fading Gigolo), Embeth Davidtz (Old, Ray Donovan), Jessie T. Usher (The Boys) and Gage Munroe (Nobody).
Tales Of The Walking Dead will be a six-episode anthology series featuring standalone stories from the original show’s zombie-infested universe.
Deborah Kampmeier (Star Trek: Picard), Tara Nicole Weyr (The Wilds) and Haifaa al-Mansour (Motherland) will each direct one episode, while The Walking Dead producer Michael Satrazemis will helm the remaining three episodes of the season.
Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead franchise, said: “Olivia, Danny, Loan, Embeth, and Jessie are the latest massive talents that will bring new worlds of TWD to life with big, daring, different, emotional, shocking, scary, and crazy stories. We’re excited for them to come walk with us.”
Showrunner Channing Powell added: “Somehow we have lucked into the greatest cast – Olivia, Jessie, Embeth, Danny, Loan… We’ve been hoping these episodes will feel like unique, little films and with this range of actors, we are well on our way.” Read more
Mum marches son, 18, to police station after recognising him as suspect in $100 Chicago armed train robbery (DailyMail)
A Chicago student who allegedly robbed a train conductor at gunpoint to buy a snack before class was turned into police by his own mother, who recognised him through widely-circulated surveillance images of the brazen daytime robbery.
Loyola University Chicago student Zion Brown, 18, was charged with armed robbery for allegedly pulling out a black semi-automatic handgun Tuesday aboard a Metra Electric Line train and stealing the conductor’s petty cash.
He fled on foot and remained on the lam until later that night, when his mom recognized him through news coverage and drove him to the Calumet City police department to surrender, court heard last week.
During a bond court appearance, Brown’s defense attorney told Judge Maryam Ahmad that the teen committed the crime because he was hungry and needed to eat before class. Read more
Channing Tatum on the female perspective in ‘Magic Mike 3’ and why training for his role is “Unhealthy” (THR)
Channing Tatum spoke about the reality of training for the Magic Mike movies and why it was time for the franchise to add a female equal to his character Mike Lane.
While visiting The Kelly Clarkson Show, a photo of the Dog star and director as Lane appeared on the screen behind host Clarkson. “That might be the reason why I didn’t want to do a third one because I have to look like that,” the actor-producer said to the audience’s laughs.
After Clarkson asked whether that meant Tatum didn’t work out regularly all the time, he clarified that how his body looks in those films goes behind a healthy, consistent workout routine. “It’s hard even if you do work out to be in that kind of shape,” he said.
And when the topic of “eating well” to maintain that kind of physique was broached, the Magic Mike 3 star and producer wouldn’t even use the word “well” to describe the diet regimen. “‘Well’ is not even — that’s not even healthy. You have to starve yourself,” he said. “I don’t think when you’re that lean, it’s actually healthy for you.” Read more
Kanye West is making a list, and checking it twice, to include his various beefs (Deadline)
Where’s the beef? It’s on Kanye West’s Instagram, where the erratic hip-hop star today posted a list of the numerous people with whom he has had issues with over the years.
Much like former President Richard Nixon’s famed “Enemies List,” Kanye’s lengthy schedule is apparently a work in progress. The usual suspects are present — Pete Davidson, whom West refers to by the nickname “Skete” in his messages. There’s also Kid Cudi, who was recently banned from Kanye’s inner circle for his friendship with Davidson. Then there’s Taylor Swift, the victim of a Kanye West stage protest, and Drake, with whom he has a long-running animosity.
Surprisingly (or maybe not) estranged wife Kim Kardashian and her clan are not on the list, except for mom Kris Jenner, even as they have jointly unfollowed him. The couple’s divorce has grown increasingly acrimonious and public, mostly driven by West’s tweets and grand gestures, such as sending such, as sending a truck of roses on Valentine’s Day.
While West has been known to make threats, the general tone of today’s list seems light-hearted enough, including some strange choices and others clearly somewhat random. Read more
Encanto star cast in David Harbour’s Christmas action movie (DigitalSpy)
Encanto star John Leguizamo has signed up to join Stranger Things and Black Widow actor David Harbour in his upcoming festive action movie.
The Christmas-themed Violent Night has also added Beverly D’Angelo, Alex Hassell and Alexis Louder to the cast, writes The Hollywood Reporter, following the announcement of Harbour’s lead role in November last year.
Violent Night takes place on Christmas Eve, at the estate of a wealthy family who have very tough and competitive dynamics. When a group of mercenaries attack the mansion, a disillusioned Santa (Harbour) has to step in and try to save Christmas in an unconventionally brutal way.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Leguizamo will play the leader of the violent gang that breaks into the estate – marking a bit of a departure from his role as misunderstood Bruno in the Oscar-nominated Disney animated hit, Encanto.
National Lampoon’s Vacation and Entourage star D’Angelo will play the family matriarch, who leads their corporation and plays a cruel game of making her kids fight each other for her love. Read more
Antonio Brown lands $5m deal with Tunecore a music app ahead of debut Rap album (HipHopDX)
Antonio Brown’s burgeoning rap career already has the blessing of Kanye West, who appointed him the president of Donda Sports. Now it appears the exiled NFL wide receiver is proving his rap bona fides even more with a seven-figure deal.
On Thursday (February 17), Fwaygo Music, a brand new streaming service backed by TuneCore, announced they had inked AB to a $5 million deal to make him the face of their brand. The brand’s founders joined AB on a stream shared to Instagram where the controversial wide receiver proclaimed it was his “first” move.
“Fwaygo is a platform that gives artists an independent opportunity to be able to drop,” he says in the clip before it cuts to him playing his latest single, “Pit Not The Palace.”
Fwaygo initially launched in November 2021 and refers to itself as a music platform which highlights independent artists. The app and service will offer a “first-of-its-kind music discovery experience.” According to a press release, TuneCore, which specializes in distributing music for independent artists, partnered with Fwaygo in early February. Read more
Dave postpones London shows at The O2 due to Storm Eunice damage (NME)
Dave has been forced to postpone his upcoming London shows at The O2 due to the damage the venue suffered this week at the hands of Storm Eunice.
The rapper was due to perform at the venue on Monday (February 21) and Tuesday (22) as part of his ‘We’re All Alone In This Together’ UK tour.
However, winds caused by the adverse weather conditions shredded parts of the white-domed roof of The O2, which is located near Greenwich in South East London.
Posting on Twitter, Dave wrote: “Bad news, The O2 have told us Monday and Tuesday shows can’t happen. (Storm/roof) we’re doing everything we can to reschedule the shows to play as soon as possible. Read more
Remo unfazed by successive defeats after fine run (Punch)
Despite suffering two consecutive defeats in the Nigeria Professional Football League, Remo Stars media officer, Oladimeji Oshode, said the team was confident of bouncing back, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State club had an impressive start to the 2021/22 NPFL season and were unbeaten in 11 games, but suffered their first defeat to Gombe United on match-day 12.
Three days later, the Gbenga Ogunbote-led side were dealt another heavy blow in their title ambition as David Onovo’s 27th-minute strike was enough to condemn them to another defeat as Akwa United claimed all three points in Ikenne.
Speaking with PUNCH Sports Extra, Oladimeji hailed Ogunbote for doing a great job, adding that they were confident of getting their season back on track. Read more
NPFL: Again, Enyimba stumble at home, draw 1-1 with MFM (ThisDay)
Enyimba’s profligacy in front of goal saw MFM FC sharing the points with full time score at 1-1at the Enyimba International Stadium, Aba on Saturday in a Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) MatchDay 14 encounter.
The People’s Elephant were tipped to wallop a struggling MFM side that are bottom of the league table and they did have a bright start as early as the 7th minute when a long ball from goalkeeper Olorunleke Ojo was nicely controlled by Emeka Obioma.
Obioma did well to beat his marker before laying a through ball to onrushing Victor Mbaoma in a good shooting position. Mbaoma was composed enough to pick his spot at the far post to give the home team the lead.
Five minutes later, Enyimba was stunned as the first real attack from MFM ended in the back of the net. Read more
Hakim Ziyech lifts Chelsea to victory, but Blues need a lot more from star forwards (ESPN)
When listing the issues he encountered while adapting to life in England, Hakim Ziyech once included the act of learning how to drive on the left-hand side. Saturday’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace was a reminder that he has always been more comfortable on the right, producing the match-winning moment a minute from full-time that enabled Chelsea to keep looking up at Liverpool and Manchester City with a sliver of optimism, rather than over their shoulders at the scrap for a top-four finish.
It also extends a promising run of Premier League performances that suggest the 28-year-old could yet make a success of his time in England, having often looked like an inconsistent misfit since arriving from Ajax in July 2020 for an initial €40 million.
Ziyech scored for the third league game in a row at the end of a 90 minutes that typified the false dawn feel to his Chelsea career. With 16 minutes remaining, Ziyech thought he’d opened the scoring when reacting smartly as Palace substitute goalkeeper Jack Butland parried away Romelu Lukaku’s left-footed drive. VAR had other ideas, adjudging Lukaku to have strayed offside in the build-up.
Chelsea appeared to be heading for a stalemate in a game that never truly settled, somehow reflective of the turbulence London had encountered the day before as Storm Eunice caused damage throughout the capital, before Ziyech struck again. Substitute Marcus Alonso’s raking cross found Ziyech, drifting in off the right wing, at the far post and he steered a smart first-time finish past Butland for a victory that keeps the Blues in third place, seven points behind Liverpool and seven clear of Manchester United. Read more
Martin Odegaard “oozes class” as Arsenal star embarrasses Brentford with outrageous skill (DailyStar)
Martin Odegaard showed off his Real Madrid pedigree during Arsenal’s win over Brentford in the Premier League by bamboozling a rival with an inspired piece of skill.
The Norway international joined the club on a permanent deal in the summer following an initial loan deal from La Liga, playing an important role under Mikel Arteta.
With the Gunners securing an important win over Brentford on Saturday (February 19) thanks to goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, Odegaard earned praise of his own for his efforts before Christian Norgaard’s consolation.
As well as for his overall performance, the 23-year-old has been hailed for one piece of brilliance that set his side on a promising counter-attack out of nothing. Read more
Amir Khan’s five-word retirement hint speaks volumes after Kell Brook defeat (MEN)
Amir Khan admits he may be ready for retirement after losing to Kell Brook on Saturday night.
The 35-year-old was stopped in the sixth round after a gruelling onslaught from Brook at the AO Arena in Manchester.
It was Khan’s 40th fight since turning professional back in 2005 and although it didn’t go the way he had hoped, he admits it could be time to step away from the sport and hang up the gloves.
It’s not a decision he’ll take lightly, but it’s one that he will be mulling over in the coming weeks and months. Read more
Riviera record beckons for Joaquin Niemann (PGATour)
Lanny Wadkins has sat on the Riviera Country Club throne for 37 years but Joaquin Niemann is coming for him at The Genesis Invitational.
A day after smashing the 36-hole scoring record at The Genesis Invitational, the 23-year-old Niemann took down the 54-hole mark and the Chilean star now stands on the precipice of securing the longest standing active 72-hole tournament scoring record on the PGA Tour.
Wadkins put up a 20-under 264 at Riviera when claiming the 1985 tournament and it has stood firm since. But Niemann is hunting after his 63-63-68 start left him at 19-under 194 with a round to play.
One should never count chickens before they hatch but the elevated, Tiger Woods hosted Genesis Invitational appears Niemann’s to lose as he sits three clear of rookie Cameron Young (16-under) and six shots ahead of third placed Viktor Hovland (13-under). Read more
NBA is not currently investigating 76ers for tampering in James Harden trade, Adam Silver says (CBS)
James Harden wasn’t traded to the Philadelphia 76ers until the final hours leading up to the NBA trade deadline, but rumors linked him to his ultimate destination for years prior. Harden was nearly dealt to the 76ers in 2021, but the Brooklyn Nets won out and nabbed him at the last second. When his situation in Brooklyn soured, though, he turned to Philadelphia for salvation. The 76ers are run by Daryl Morey, Harden’s former general manager in Houston, and Tad Brown, former CEO of the Rockets.
James Harden wasn’t traded to the Philadelphia 76ers until the final hours leading up to the NBA trade deadline, but rumors linked him to his ultimate destination for years prior. Harden was nearly dealt to the 76ers in 2021, but the Brooklyn Nets won out and nabbed him at the last second. When his situation in Brooklyn soured, though, he turned to Philadelphia for salvation. The 76ers are run by Daryl Morey, Harden’s former general manager in Houston, and Tad Brown, former CEO of the Rockets.
Those relationships compelled plenty of amateur detectives to connect some dots. If ever a situation lent itself to tampering, it was this one. But according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the league is not currently investigating the 76ers for tampering. “I think, in this case, you have two teams that seem satisfied with the outcome of the trade,” Silver said.
Brooklyn ultimately turned a 32-year-old declining Harden into a 25-year-old Ben Simmons along with several other valuable assets. Even if the Nets wanted to keep Harden, it would be hard to argue with the package they got in return. Simmons is exactly the sort of defender they’d lacked. They recouped some of the draft capital they initially spent on Harden, and now look to be a far more balanced team than they were a month ago. For now, it looks like a win-win trade.
Even if the Nets believe that Philadelphia tampered to convince Harden to force a trade, there are a variety of reasons why they likely didn’t push for a tampering investigation. The obvious one is that they themselves traded for Harden only a year ago, and their players reportedly wanted Harden badly. They just as easily could have tampered themselves. Even if the 76ers were caught in the act, it’s not as though the penalty is especially steep. The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls were each docked only a second-round pick for tampering on Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball, respectively, this past offseason. Read more
