Lagos traders challenge quit notice (Nation)
Traders at the Alaba Rago Market in Ojo council of Lagos State have filed a suit challenging the 14-day eviction notice issued to them by the state government.
The ultimatum expires tomorrow.
The applicants, Alhaji Hussaini Lajawa, Alhaji Hamisu Mansur, Alhaji Muhammed Aminu and Pastor Timothy Asan, asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to restrain the government from evicting them or demolishing the market.
Respondents in the suit are the Lagos State Government alongside two of its commissioners, the Inspector General of Police, the Commander, Lagos Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Task Force). Read more
Okada Ban: Lagos urges residents to embrace alternatives (Leadership)
The Lagos State government yesterday said it has commenced enforcement of the ban on commercial motorcycles, also known as Okada, in six local government areas and nine local council development areas of the state, urging Lagosians to use alternative means of transportation provided by the government.
The commissioner for information and strategy Gbenga Omotoso who confirmed the enforcement on a Television Continental (TVC) Programme, “Your View”, reiterated that the ban was taken to ensure security and safety of Lagosians.
Omotoso said: “During the first quarter of this year, the record shows that over 1,712 accidents were recorded, with okada constituting 767 or 45 percent of them. Of all the victims, 54 percent are between 30 and 39 years old; our young people.”
He reiterated that during the meeting with DPOs, area commanders and the commissioner of police, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu handed down the explicit instruction of ensuring effective enforcement of the ban. Read more
Lagos Central senatorial aspirant, alleges hijack of PDP structure by APC (Independent)
Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, renowned socio-political activist and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Lagos Central senatorial aspirant, has alleged that the state’s party structure has been hijacked by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a press statement on Thursday, Onitiri called on the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) to urgently wade into the matter before it snowballed into a crisis which might tear the party apart.
He noted that the future of Lagos State PDP is bleak and very discouraging, stressing that the ruling APC through its hatchet man has commandeered the state chapter of the party with the influx of APC members at the venue of the just-concluded Lagos State gubernatorial primary election.
According to Onitiri, thousands of known APC members allegedly took over the venue of the PDP primaries held on Wednesday 25th day of May 2022 through a governorship aspirant, whom he said, joined the party six months ago. Read more
We’ll vote only pension-friendly candidates in 2023 – Pensioners (DailyTrust)
The Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) has vowed not to vote any presidential and gubernatorial candidate not committed to the plights of pensioners.
APC presidential primary: Confusion, horse-trading among govs, aspirants’ camps
“The pensioners shall pitch their tent with the presidential and gubernatorial candidates who are committed and more disposed to their plights by massively casting their votes for them to secure their tomorrow.
“We’re still watching the candidates and in due time, we’ll inform the press and our members, those we’re going to vote for.
“If we perceive that if you come into government, you’ll not pay pensions and gratuity, we’ll openly tell pensioners and relatives not to vote for that particular candidate, ’’he said. Read more
Ilado residents accuse Prince Oyekan of selling ancestral land to Chinese firm (ThisDay)
Some residents of Ilado and Inagbe, a riverine community in Oriade Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, have accused Prince Mobadenle Oyekan of selling the landed property of their forefathers to a Chinese firm.
The residents in a “Save Our Souls Letter” to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, appealed to him to intervene, and stopped Oyekan from selling their lands without their consent.
They also alleged that Oyekan and his cohorts harassed and intimidated them.
Therefore, in a petition to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, the distraught residents requested he weigh into the matter to avoid loss of lives as a result of the illegal sale of their fathers’ land. Read more
Nigerian student faces deportation from Russia as Sokoto board fails to pay fees (Guardian)
A Nigerian final year medical student at Irkutsk State Medical University (ISMU), Usman Yahaya, will be deported from Russia to Nigeria over the failure of his sponsor to pay his school fees.
A PRNigeria report said Yahaya, a Sokoto State-born medical student has been in detention in Russia, for over a month.
He was first suspended by the medical university when the Sokoto government could not pay his overdue scholarship.
Yahaya is a recipient of the Best African Medical Student award at the Russian Centre for Scientific Research.
Yahaya was thereafter detained at a Russian immigration camp at Angarsk Irkutsk, by authorities of the European nation’s Immigration because Sokoto Scholarship Board failed to pay his school fees. Read more
Nollywood actor, Jim Iyke, debunks rumours of converting to Islam (Leadership)
Nollywood actor, Jim Iyke, has debunked rumours making the rounds on social media that he has converted to Islam. Jim Iyke Converting To Islam
The social media was awash with stories that the actor converted to Islam on Wednesday in Owerri, Imo State.
Some Muslims, reacting to the claim, welcomed the actor to the Islam.
But reacting to the fake news, Jim Iyke, who is presently shooting a drama series titled ‘Sin’, in a video on his Instagram page said he had no plans of ever converting to Islam. Read more
APC exco, govs divided over Buhari’s succession plan, screening report ready (Punch)
There were strong indications on Wednesday that the All Progressives Congress national officials were divided over a plan by the President, Major General Muhammadu (retd.), to pick his preferred presidential candidate for the party.
Earlier on Wednesday, the APC National Vice Chairman (North-West), Mallam Salihu Lukman, in an open letter to Buhari, warned that picking a successor would be costly and risky for the President and the party.
But two members of the party’s National Working Committee – the Deputy National Secretary, Festus Fuanter, and the National Legal Adviser, Ahmed El-Marzuq, in separate interviews with The PUNCH disagreed with Lukman.
Also, feelers from a meeting of the APC governors’ meeting on Tuesday night indicated that the governors could not agree on a consensus and the fact that the President should pick the party’s presidential candidate. Read more
Court grants Abba Kyari’s request to present more evidence over extradition to US (Guardian)
A federal court in Abuja, on Thursday, granted a request by Abba Kyari, a former deputy commissioner of police, to file more evidence to challenge a suit seeking his extradition to the United States of America over fraud charges.
Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, filed the extradition proceedings against Kyari, seeking the court’s approval to surrender him to the United States government.
The suit is seeking to extradite Kyari at the request of the American government to face trial in his indictment in Internet fraud masterminded by Abbas Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi, a former Nigerian Instagram celebrity, who now awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to the scam and other criminal financial activities.
Kyari was the head of the Inspector-General of Police’ Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT). Read more
Accord Party hails INEC over extension of party primaries (Sun)
The Accord Party (AP) has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the extension of the date for political parties to conduct primary elections.
National Chairman of the party Rev Isaac Adebayo Adeniyi in a statement made available to Daily Sun said the extension of time will afford political parties to organize a free and fair primary election that will be acceptable to all stakeholders in the electoral process.
Adeniyi hailed INEC Chairman Prof Mohamud Yakubu for the decision taken, which he noted was in the best interest of Nigerians and political parties in particular.
He said the INEC chairman and the commission at large have demonstrated their love for the masses and their interest in the free and fair conduct of the 2023 general election. Read more
Jada Pinkett Smith wants Will Smith and Chris Rock to reconcile (Guardian)
A few weeks after the controversial slap at the Oscars 2022, Jada Pinkett Smith has aired her opinion about the incident between her husband, Will Smith, and comedian Chris Rock.
Speaking on her Facebook Watch show, Red Table Talk, she said that she hopes that “these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile.”
Will Smith had reacted to a joke by Rock about her alopecia areata. Onstage, Rock said, “Jada, I love you. ‘GI Jane 2,’ in reference to her head and its comparison with Demi Moore’s in the
1997 film. Before the incident, Jada has always been open about experiencing hair loss due to the autoimmune disorder alopecia that impacts the hair follicles, resulting in both bald spots and hair loss.
Apologising to the audience and organisers of the Oscars while receiving his award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “King Richard”, Smith had said “love will make you do crazy things.”
KC Carthew’s dystopian horror ‘Polaris’ to open Fantasia Film Festival (THR)
As it returns to an in-person format, the Fantasia Film Festival is set to open its upcoming 2022 edition with the eco-action fantasy pic Polaris.
Director KC Carthew’s dystopian horror pic, which was filmed in the Yukon and stars Viva Lee, will receive a world premiere in Montreal.
Having unveiled its second wave of titles on Thursday, Fantasia also booked world premieres for writer, director and co-star Franklin Ritch’s The Artifice Girl; Toshiro Saiga’s boxing drama Red Shoes; Jesse Thomas Cook’s Cult Hero, starring Liv Collins; and Lenin Sivan’s The Protector.
And Fantasia programmed North American premieres for the Japanese pop sci-fi pic Shin Ultraman, directed by Shinji Higuchi; Shinichiro Ueda’s Popran comedy; Eduardo Casanova’s sophomore feature La Pieta, a mother and son drama; and Yoon Seo-jin’s existential horror pic Chorokbam, which earned the CGV Arthouse Award in Busan. Read more
Amber Heard’s lawyer reveals what actress said right after verdict (CBS)
Hours after a jury found that Amber Heard defamed Johnny Depp in an op-ed published in The Washington Post and awarded Depp $10.35 million in damages, Heard is feeling “heartbroken,” her lawyer Elaine Charlson Bredehoft told “CBS Mornings” on Thursday.
“One of the first things that she said when she came back from the verdict when we went into the conference room, was ‘I am so sorry to all these women,’ Bredehoft recalled. “She felt like she had let down all of these women because she had more evidence than most people do. And yet they still didn’t believe her.”
Bredehoft called the verdict — in which Depp was also found liable for a statement his attorney made to the Daily Mail calling Heard’s claims a hoax and ordered to pay Heard $2 million — a “major setback for women.” She said the jurors’ verdict sent a message to all domestic abuse victims.
“Amber had an enormous amount of evidence, although a lot of it was suppressed in this case as opposed to the UK. But look at all the women who have no evidence. All these women who suffer from domestic violence, domestic abuse, and they don’t have evidence,” she said. “And basically what this jury said is unless you pull out your cell phone and you tape record your spouse beating you, you’re out of luck.” Read more
South African Music Awards partners with TikTok (Channel24)
In anticipation of the 28th edition of the South African Music Awards (Samas), the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA) has announced its partnership with social media giant TikTok.
It is the organisation’s first time partnering with the international entertainment platform which will help with the promotion of the awards.
Yuvir Pillay, TikTok Africa music operations manager said: “Our platform has become a channel for music discovery and a launch pad for various artists in South Africa as well as the globe.
“We are honoured to be a part of this prestigious event, such as the Sama, that celebrates the art of music, the artists and the producers. We are happy to be able to bring this celebration to our TikTok community.” Read more
The Weeknd partners with Binance for ‘1st Crypto Powered World tour’ (MBW)
On July 8, superstar artist The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) will play the first date of his ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ world tour at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
According to an announcement from the artist, the stadium tour will be “the first global concert tour to integrate Web 3.0 technology for an enhanced fan experience”, with cryptocurrency exchange Binance named as the tour’s official sponsor.
Binance has collaborated with Toronto-based HXOUSE, a so-called “think-center and community incubator” for creative entrepreneurs, to release an exclusive NFT collection for The Weeknd’s tour, along with co-branded tour merchandise.
Attendee’s virtual ticket stubs can also gain access to “commemorative” NFTs which Binance says will provide unique experiences for fans. Read more
EU deploys 200 firefighters to Greece in case of wildfires (ABC)
More than 200 firefighters and technical equipment provided by European Union countries will be soon deployed to Greece to allow for a swift response to large wildfires.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Thursday that Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Romania and Norway will take part in the initiative coordinated by the bloc’s Civil Protection Mechanism.
Hundreds of massive blazes burned across Greece for days last summer.
“It is clear that we are facing a global weather change, and that requires us Europeans to respond jointly,” Janez Lenarcic, the commissioner for crisis management, said. “In August 2021, Greece witnessed about 65 simultaneous forest fires per day with average temperatures often exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.” (104 degrees Farhenheit.) Read more
Nigeria kicked out of basketball World Cup after FG ban (Punch)
The Nigerian female basketball team, D’Tigress have been kicked out of the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after the Federal Government withdrew all teams from international competitions.
D’Tigress had qualified for the World Cup billed for Sydney, Australia, starting in September 2022, after defeating France and Mali in the Group B of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.
FIBA’s decision comes after deliberations with the Nigeria Basketball Federation to see how the decision could be rescinded for the defending African champions to represent the continent.
The global basketball body stated that Nigeria was withdrawn from participating in the tournament due to the failure of the NBBF to confirm Nigeria’s participation in the tournament. Read more
Nigeria vs. Ecuador: Eagles eye victory in New Jersey (Nation)
The Super Eagles will later tonight conclude their tour of the United States of America with a match against Ecuador at the 25,000 –capacity Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
In what was coach José Santos Peseiro’s first outing with the squad, an under-strength Nigeria put up a gallant fight but were unlucky to lose 1-2 to Mexico in a game of two halves in Dallas on Saturday.
England –based forward Emmanuel Dennis has joined the team and defender Olaoluwa Aina has shaken off a knock to train with the squad on Tuesday.
The match against the Ecuadorians comes exactly a week before the Super Eagles tackle the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja in their opener to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series. Read more
Schweinsteiger pays tribute to Chiellini on Italy retirement (FootballItalia)
Ahead of Italy’s Nations League match with Germany, Bastian Schweinsteiger paid tribute to Giorgio Chiellini on his international retirement.
The two teams will face off in Bologna on Saturday June 4, then on German soil on Tuesday June 14 as part of the Nations League group stage.
Chiellini will not participate, as the 37-year-old made his 117th and final appearance for the Azzurri in last night’s 3-0 defeat to Argentina at Wembley Stadium.
Schweinsteiger was watching and made an impassioned speech on social media hailing the centre-back for his contribution to Calcio. Read more
Real Madrid duo send Antonio Rudiger messages as Chelsea players have their say on transfer exit (FootballLondon)
New Real Madrid teammates and former Chelsea pals have all flooded into Antonio Rudiger’s mentions to send him different messages after his latest move has been announced.
Rudiger, 29, has finally completed his long-awaited move to the Santiago Bernabeu as the defensive overhaul officially begins with Todd Boehly now having the monumental task at hand of providing Thomas Tuchel with a suitable replacement for the German. A club statement on the website said: “We bid farewell to Antonio Rudiger as he departs Stamford Bridge with his Chelsea contract expiring, bringing to a close his five trophy-filled years with the club.”
“Rudiger made 54 appearances in all competitions in his final campaign, all from the start, more than any other Chelsea player. He departs with 203 appearances and 12 goals to his name, in that time establishing himself as one of the most passionate characters to represent the club in recent memory. Chelsea Football Club thanks Toni for his contribution to our success over the last five years and wishes him well in his future career.”
Manager Tuchel was a massive fan of Rudiger, who he had resurrected from the dead in West London after Frank Lampard had fallen out with the charismatic character during his one and half seasons in charge prior to Tuchel’s appointment at the Stamford Bridge. Read more
Swiatek reaches French Open final (WestAustralian)
Iga Swiatek continued her march towards a second French Open title in three years when she demolished Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-2 6-1 to reach the final and extend her winning streak to a jaw-dropping 34.
The world No.1 conceded an early break, but made the most of Kasatkina’s string of unforced errors, peppering court Philippe Chatrier with winners.
Swiatek, the 2020 champion, has not lost since February and has matched Serena Williams winning run from 2013, having now lost only two sets in her last four tournaments.
She will meet either American teenager Coco Gauff, the 18th seed, or Italy’s Martina Trevisan in Saturday’s showdown. Read more
Paul McGinley fears Dustin Johnson’s Saudi event decision could “turn golf upside down” (Mirror)
European stalwart Paul McGinley fears Dustin Johnson ’s decision to join the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit could well ‘turn golf upside down’. After months of speculation the field of the inaugural event of the LIV Golf Series was confirmed on Wednesday.
The biggest name – and surprise – on the list was 2020 Masters champion Johnson, who despite ruling himself out of the Saudi-backed event has decided on a huge u-turn. A report from the Telegraph revealed that the American is set to collect around £100million in signing up for the rebel circuit.
Following the announcement, Johnson’s decision was defended by his agent David Winkle, who revealed the 37-year-old took the offer in ‘his and his family’s best interest’.He said: “Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years. Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family’s best interest to pursue it. Dustin has never had any issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it has given him, but in the end, felt this was too compelling to pass up.” Read more