Masquerades invade Plateau church, flog pastor, worshipers (DailyTrust)
Some masquerades invaded a church (name withheld) in Shikal village of Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State, on Sunday, flogging worshipers as well as the Pastor.
Apart from flogging the worshippers and the pastor and generally disrupting the service, the masquerades were also said to have destroyed the Church’s musical equipment.
The masquerades reportedly arrived the Church while service was ongoing.
A witness said the church members were awe-stricken over the action of the masquerades, adding that members did not take any counter-offensive action, but gathered to salvage what was left of their properties.
Elders of the village are said to be making efforts to get to the root of the matter in order to restore normalcy. Read more
Court remands Canada returnee over alleged N360m fraud (Punch)
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has remanded a Canada-based Nigerian, Joseph Ifeanyichukwu, in the custody of the Police Special Fraud Unit over alleged N360m fraud.
Justice Daniel Osiagor made the remand order after the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges of alleged conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence and N360m fraud preferred against him by PSFU.
During the arraignment of the defendant on Friday in a charge marked FHC/L/484c/22, the prosecutor a Chief Superintendent of Police Emmanuel Jackson, told the court that the defendant alongside his companies, Paradox-akachi Company Ltd and Paradox Group Inc and the duo of Samuel Edu-El and Samuel Kanu, who was said to be at large, sometimes in 2016, conspired among themselves and fraudulently obtained the sum of N360m, from one Ese Avanoma of Brade Consulting Limited.
The prosecutor told the court that the defendant and others collected the money in false pretence of exchanging and selling it for the sum of $1.7m for the Naira equivalent. Read more
Anti-Graft Campaign: CACOL Team storms Coker/Aguda area of Lagos (Independent)
The anti-corruption crusaders and activists from the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) on Saturday visited the Coker/Aguda Local Government Area of Lagos State to find out how the area has been faring in its campaign for graft-free governance in the state.
The visitation, which was to the Coker/Aguda C-GATE Unit, according to the CACOL Chairman, Comrade Debo Adeniran, was to find out the extent the group’s efforts had sunk in at the area.
Adeniran, who was represented by CACOL’s Director of Administration and Programme, Tola Oresanwo, noted that the C-GATE units were formed to shift the paradigm of corruption fighting from the elites to the grassroots people who, he stressed, were the ones that had been suffering the effects of corruption most.
He commended the executives and members of the units for their commitments and efforts geared toward developing their community. Read more
Most calamity on our waterways caused by human error — NIWA (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Area Manager of National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, Engr. Sarat Braimah, weekend, said that lack of proper training by skippers is responsible for the majority of boat mishaps in the country.
Speaking during the presentation of certificates and NIWA Approved National Skipper License to the Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA (Marine Command), Braimah said that some of the skippers are of the view that the moment they can drive boats, then the inland waterways are open to them.
The Advanced Maritime Competency Training was carried out by Metropolitan Waterways Concepts Limited with support from the British Deputy High Commission, Lagos.
Braimah hinted that most of the skippers claimed to be born and grew up on waterways or that their father was a boat skipper and that they acquired knowledge from him. Read more
Jandor offers financial support to Lagosians whose vehicles were seized (Independent)
Dr Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran also called Jandor, Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s election, on Saturday visited the homes of AbdulLateet Kolapo and Osinachi Ndukwe, two of the victims, whose vehicles were seized for violating traffic laws, and whose vehicles were auctioned by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).
The governorship candidate assured them and other Lagosians of hope, which he promised his government would bring if elected into office in 2023.
However, the PDP standard bearer reiterated the fact that his visit does not suggest that he was supporting individuals breaking laws, stressing that he was not opposed to having traffic law and regulations in place or encouraging anybody driving against traffic, but said what he was against is any law that takes away people’s means of livelihood, and leaving them and all their dependant helpless and hopeless. Read more
Lagos to promote commodity export, reduce dependency on oil (Guardian)
Lagos State Government has assured of its support to promote the export of locally-made goods, in a bid to reduce the nation’s dependency on crude oil.
The Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Dr. (Mrs.) Lola Akande gave the assurance when the leadership of the Chartered Institute of Export and Commodity Brokers of Nigeria (CIECOBON) paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry.
She stated that Lagos, as the host of the two major seaports in Nigeria, the Tin Can Island and Apapa Port Terminals, has a great role to play in promoting the export of Nigerian products while addressing the imbalance in the nation’s foreign trade.
Her words: “Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is very keen at encouraging increased export of locally made goods, which is why the government has extended numerous support, especially to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and provided platforms such as the MSMEs Exclusive Fair and others for entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services to the world”. Read more
Uyo Collapsed Building: 2 children trapped, 3 victims rushed to hospital (Tribune)
The casualty figure in the three-storey building that collapsed at Aka Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, on Saturday at about 6.15pm, has risen to three.
As of the time of filing this report, about three casualties have been rushed to the hospital.
The cause of the collapse is suspected to be substandard building materials.
According to an eyewitness account, two children, who were watching television while the mother and an elder brother went out to buy foodstuff, are trapped but believed to be still alive as they were still picking up calls. Read more
First Lady, govs, ministers to attend Buhari’s last UN General Assembly meeting as president (DailyTrust)
President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja, Sunday, for the annual meeting of world leaders, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA77) in New York.
On the entourage of the President are the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, some Governors, Ministers and top government officials.
His spokesman, Femi Adesina, in a statement issued on Saturday, said the theme for the 77th session which opened on Tuesday, September 13 is: “A watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions to Interlocking Challenges.”
He added that key topics of discussion at the UNGA this year include; the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, climate action, ending the COVID-19 pandemic, and a special Transforming Education Summit. Read more
Police prevent Jigawa community from burying 7 alive (Nation)
The Jigawa State Police Command has prevented a community in Birniwa local government area from burying seven people alive.
It was gathered that an argument ensued between the police and the seven families whose relations were trapped in a collapsed building at Bursali village in Birniwa local government area.
The trapped victims were rescued by the villagers and prepared for burial.
Jigawa Police spokesman DPS Lawal Shi’isu Adam said: “A local moulds building collapsed at Bursali and trapped the seven of the occupants. Read more
DG: I distanced myself from NATFORCE after passage of NATCOM bill (DailyTrust)
The Director General of National Taskforce on the Prohibition of Illegal Importation-Smuggling of Arms, Ammunition and Light Weapons (NATFORCE), Dr. Baba Muhammed, has distanced himself from the passage of the Bill to establish the National Commission for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NATCOM).
Muhammed disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Saturday.
According to him: “I championed the need for NATFORCE to transit to a Commission, NATCOM in line with the provision that stipulates that the functions of the body shall be in line with Article 24 of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Convention on the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons to which Nigeria is signatory and which came into force in 2009.
“I distanced myself from NATFORCE and all of its operations after the Senate passage of the NATCOM bill which has now automatically changed the name NATFORCE to NATCOM.” Read more
Black Panther 2 star reflects on filming without Chadwick Boseman (DigitalSpy)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Winston Duke has recalled working on the sequel without the late, great Chadwick Boseman.
Boseman (who played King T’Challa so perfectly across five projects) tragically left us in August 2020 following a battle with colon cancer, yet his legacy will be celebrated in the upcoming MCU blockbuster.
“There was no preparing for it,” the M’Baku actor told Variety of the early shoot days.
“It was melancholic, to say the least. [There was] a lot of joy because it’s a fun place, you know, at the end of the day it’s friends and chosen family, and it’s a fun place to just be. Read more
Louis Tomlinson recalls ‘struggle’ around album release (RTE)
Louis Tomlinson has said the time around the release of his debut album was not a “daily struggle, but maybe a weekly struggle” as the record failed to secure regular radio play.
The ex-One Direction star, 30, released Walls in 2020 and it charted at number four in the UK although its singles performed less strongly.
Meanwhile, as part of his former boyband, Tomlinson has scored four number one albums and four number one singles.
Speaking to the BBC about his solo debut, he said: “I won’t say it was a daily struggle, but maybe a weekly struggle. Read more
Bad Bunny shares new documentary about Puerto Rico as part of new music video (NME)
Bad Bunny has shared a new music video for ‘El Apagón’ alongside a documentary about his native Puerto Rico.
The documentary, titled Aquí Vive Gente (People Live Here), plays after the official video for the new single on YouTube, and is narrated by Bianca Graulau.
In the short film, a plethora of issues in Puerto Rico are discussed, including rising rent prices, social and economic issues and the development of luxury accommodation.Bad Bunny released his new album ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’ in May of this year. In a four-star review of the album, NME wrote: “Of course, 23 tracks is a lot to take in, especially if you’re listening to ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’ on the bus to work rather than a balmy beach. But there’s no sense of bet-hedging in its lengthy runtime and no real filler. Read more
Box Office: ‘The Woman King’ prevails with projected $18m opening weekend (Variety)
“The Woman King” has found its throne at the box office.
The Sony release is drumming up a projected $18 million opening from 3,765 locations, in line with most analysts’ estimates heading into the weekend. The epic also benefited from landing some premium format auditoriums, such as Imax, lending an additional boost to revenue.
Though that doesn’t necessarily qualify as a grand opening, it’s a solid start for the action film, which carries a $50 million production budget and has no ties to existing franchises. What’s more, it’s more than enough for “The Woman King” to top box office charts on a slow weekend with few rival releases.
Co-financed by eOne, “The Woman King” started to draw great buzz when it made a splashy debut at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. Reviews have been largely glowing since, with the film currently holding a mighty 94% approval rating on review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. In his review for Variety, chief film critic Peter Debruge wrote that “the movie embraces the codes of mid-20th-century costume dramas: It’s stirring but slightly stodgy, designed to stand the test of time.” Read more
Magic Mike 3 announces release date (DigitalSpy)
Magic Mike 3 is officially on its way. The third instalment of the Magic Mike franchise is titled Magic Mike’s Last Dance and will be released in cinemas on February 10, 2023.
While there are few details about the plot of the movie, Steven Soderbergh is returning to direct Magic Mike’s Last Dance after he helmed the first movie in 2012. Channing Tatum will return to the film alongside Salma Hayek, Caitlin Gerard and Gavin Spokes. Reid Carolin, who wrote the first two movies, returns to write this instalment, while Magic Mike XXL director Gregory Jacobs is on board as a producer.
The first two films both proved to be hits, grossing $285.6M at the global box office between them. Magic Mike took a behind-the-scenes look at male strippers as a leading dancer taught an up-and-coming stripper how to perform, party and make money.
Matthew McConaughey starred in that film as Dallas, a former stripper and Mike’s boss, and garnered rave reviews for his performance, which was part of a string of critically acclaimed performances in several movies that eventually culminated in him winning the best actor Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club in 2014. Read more
Anne Heche’s final performance in ‘Girl in Room 13’ was ‘a tour de force,’ says Elisabeth Röhm (People)
Anne Heche takes one of her final bows this weekend in Lifetime’s Girl in Room 13.
After the late actress died at age 53 last month, director Elisabeth Röhm tells PEOPLE she and Heche “were really proud of what we did,” shedding light on human trafficking with the film, which premieres Saturday.
“It was a really positive experience working with her,” says Röhm, 49. “These Lifetime movies move very quickly and they’re a tough schedule, but she worked really, really hard, and she always brought her A-game, always elevated the other actors, and was so generous to all the other actors.”
In Girl in Room 13, Heche plays Janie, the “heroic mother” of a recovering opioid addict (Larissa Dias) who is kidnapped by human traffickers. The movie follows Janie’s determined fight to rescue her daughter. Read more
Ukrainian women joining the military amid Russia’s invasion (Aljazeera)
On a rain-soaked grassy field at a military training centre, a dozen Ukrainian army recruits are lined up in staggered formation with guns pointed forward in position to quickly pull the trigger.
They are practising formation drills on how to storm an enemy position. The drill sergeant yelling out commands is 23-year-old Diana*, who goes by the nickname Sledgehammer. She joined the military six months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
“I didn’t think I would be in the military when I was growing up,” Diana said. “As every little girl, I just wanted to live a happy life, working to be able to travel and see the world.”
As Russian tanks rolled towards Kyiv in the early days of the war, Diana’s brother signed up to fight against the invading forces. Diana also decided to join him and asked to be moved to a combat division of the Ukrainian army. Read more
Iranian police fire tear gas at rally after woman’s funeral (ABC)
Iranian police fired tear gas on Saturday to disperse a protest rally in the country’s west following the funeral ceremony for a young woman who died while in police custody in Tehran earlier this week, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The police have said that 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained on Tuesday after Iran’s so-called “morality police” found fault with her headscarf, or hijab, had died of a heart attack. The police have also released closed circuit footage from the police station, which they say shows the moment Amini collapsed. A relative has said she had no history of heart disease.
According to the Fars report, after Amini’s funeral in the city of Saqez, about 460 kilometers (280 miles) west of the capital, Tehran, some protesters gathered in front of the governor’s building, chanting slogans. The report did not elaborate.
After police showed up and fired tear gas, the protesters dispersed. There was no immediate information about any injuries. Read more
Algeria friendly: Onyedika in, Aribo out (Punch)
Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, has called up uncapped Club Brugge midfielder Richard Onyedika for this month’s international friendly against Algeria in Oran, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The game was billed for the Miloud-Hadefi Olympic Stadium in Oran on September 27.
The 21-year-old has been in fantastic form for Belgian Pro League champions, Club Brugge since joining from FC Midtylland this summer on a five-year deal and has featured prominently for the Club Brugge since then.
He was in full action as Club Brugge defeated FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League last Tuesday. Read more
Son sets, then rises again with stunning 13-minute hat-trick (IrishIndependent)
Dropped in the morning, hat-trick in the evening: and these were no ordinary first goals of the season for Son Heung-min. Rather, they were a demonstration of the rare ability of one of the most technically accomplished players of his generation, to make you wonder which of his is supposed to be the stronger foot.
The first of the substitute’s hat-trick was a stunning right-foot knuckleball, his second was a left-foot curler and by then it scarcely mattered that the third was a scuffed right-foot finish that needed a Var referral to pass it.
The season has finally started for Tottenham Hotspur’s mercurial son, dropped for this game after a run of bad form that saw him substituted in the Champions League in Lisbon this week. Within 13 minutes, all the time he needed to hit three goals, he was back in the old groove. Read more
Lagos team wins as Edo tournament ends (Punch)
The second Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament, Friday, came to an end amidst pomp and pageantry with FC Robo Queens of Lagos crowned as champions after beating hosts Edo Queens 1-0 in an explosive final.
The 10-day event came to a thrilling conclusion, featuring scintillating cultural displays, singing, dancing and drumming as well as exciting displays by various groups to announce the end of the tournament.
The tournament, which is Nigeria’s only pre-season women’s football championship, is a brainchild of the wife of the Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki.
The tournament, themed ‘Say No to Drugs’ was aimed at raising awareness on the adverse effects of drug abuse by youths. Read more
Bruno Lage makes fresh transfer admission after Wolves defeat to Man City (BirminghamLive)
Wolverhampton Wanderers should use the free agent market to sign a new centre-back, according to Bruno Lage.
Nathan Collins saw red in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City and now faces a three-game ban. Collins will miss games against West Ham, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest after the international break.
Lage has previously admitted he believes there is a ‘gap’ in quality between his first choice central defenders and his two back-up options. With Collins set for a spell in the stands, Lage will have to play one of Toti Gomes or Yerson Mosquera alongside Max Kilman unless Wolves sign a new defender.
“I think I have already answered this,” Lage said when asked if Wolves will move for another free agent. “When you miss (Willy) Boly, I think we should have the opportunity to find a good centre-back to support these two. Read more
Manning on the mark and Obafemi returns to action in Swans win (RTE)
Republic of Ireland international Ryan Manning was on the scoresheet and Michael Obafemi returned to action as Swansea defeated Hull 3-0 to claim only their third win of the Sky Bet Championship season.
Galway native Manning, who has six caps to his name since making his Irish bow in 2020, volleyed home just after the hour mark to open the scoring before Luke Cundle doubled their advantage three minutes later.
Joel Piroe wrapped things up late on as Swansea, who started the day in the relegation zone, picked up the three points.
Obafemi, who has been at the centre of a back-and-forth between Swans manager Russell Martin and Irish boss Stephen Kenny, was restored to the bench after being left out of recent match-day squads, and was introduced in the 88th-minute for goalscorer Piroe. Read more
Andy Murray says he hopes for ‘special’ final match with tennis great Roger Federer at Laver Cup (TalkSport)
Andy Murray has admitted he wants a ‘special’ match with soon-to-retire Roger Federer at the Laver Cup.
Federer – who has won 20 Grand Slam tournaments across his career including a record eight Wimbledon – is set to hang up his racket after next week’s tournament.
“The Laver Cup next week in London will be my final ATP event” the 41-year-old Swiss star announced last week in a heartfelt retirement announcement this week.
“I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in Grand Slams or on the tour.” Read more
Phil Mickelson adamant LIV Golf here to stay as he makes dramatic PGA Tour prediction (Mirror)
Phil Mickelson has insisted the LIV Golf Series is “here to stay” and claimed it will “never be the case again” that the PGA Tour has “all the best players in the world”.
Mickelson was among the first group of golfers to defect to the controversial Saudi-backed tour and the six-time Major winner has called for LIV and the PGA to “come together”. Speaking during LIV’s fifth event in Chicago, he said: “The PGA Tour for the last 20 or 30 years have had all the best players in the world.
“That will never be the case again. LIV Golf is here to stay, and this type of divisive talk is doing nobody good.
“The best solution is for us to come together. I think that the world of professional golf has a need for the old, historical history of the game product that the PGA Tour provides, and I think that LIV provides a really cool, updated feel that is attracting a much younger crowd. Read more
Canelo Alvarez will earn £40m – more than double than that of Gennady Golovkin (DailyMail)
Canelo Alvarez is set to earn one of his highest paydays of his career when he takes on Gennady Golovkin for the third time on Saturday.
The undisputed super middleweight champion will reportedly take home a guaranteed £40million for the trilogy bout, more than double GGG’s £17million purse.
Backed by the financial might of DAZN and Matchroom Boxing, the figures are by far the highest paid between the three fights, with the guaranteed totals making up just one source of revenue that the fighters will collect.
In addition to their purse, both fighters will also earn a cut of the pay-per-view and sales from the live gate. Read more