THISISLAGOS MIDDAY NEWS UPDATE MARCH 24, 2018
Monkeys, the thieves of Lagos posh estate (Punch)
It looks serene: sitting quietly at the boundary of Lagos and Ogun states, tucked in the middle of the chaos offered by Lagos, the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and unplanned Ogun communities. Even the large signboard that welcomes people to the estate boldly says ‘Welcome to Riverview Estate, Isheri North …For purposeful habitation’. And like it says, the quiet in the estate is calming and refreshing. When Mr. Sola Olubunmi moved to LSDPC Riverview Estate, now famously known as Tinubu Estate, two years ago, he loved it immediately. He recalled being taken in by the sights and sounds as he was rewarded with the sound birds piercing the quiet of the early morning. Read more
Estate agent, 37, bolts with “Suya” man’s N.5m in Lagos (Vanguard)
A 37-year-old man, Tajudeen Olukoya, was on Thursday brought before an Ikeja Magistrate Court for allegedly collecting N550, 000 on the pretext of leasing a space to a man for a“Suya” spot at a night club in Lagos. Suya is a spicy meat skewer which is a popular food item in Nigeria and West Africa; it is traditionally prepared in the Northern part of Nigeria. Olukoya, who claimed to be an Estate Agent, resides at Lekki area of Lagos Island and he is facing a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and obtaining money under false pretenses. Read more
CDAs hail Ambode on downward review of Land use Charge (Vanguard)
Community Development Associations, CDA in the 57 Local Government and Council Development Areas in Lagos State have commended Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on the downward review of the controversial Land Use Charge, adding that the governor meant well for the State. Following outcry and protest that greeted the announcement of the increased land Use Charge, government bowed to the pressure and reduced the payment by 50 percent. Speaking to Saturday Vanguard at a Stakeholders’ meeting presided over by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communities and Communications, Akeem Sulaimon, held at LTV auditorium, Agindingbi, Ikeja, recently, residents across the 57 local councils expressed happiness that the government listened to the voice of the people by reducing the LUC, urging the Ambode-led administration to use the proceeds judiciously by developing infrastructure in the state. Read more
2019: I Inherited Powers to command Guns from my Father —Sunday Igboho (Tribune)
Whenever and wherever Sunday Igboho is mentioned, what comes to the minds of most people is a picture of brigandage and violence, but you have often maintained that you are a man of peace. Who is Sunday Igboho?
People don’t know a lot of things about me. The thing I detest the most is oppression: whenever I see that anyone is being oppressed or cheated for being on his right, I defend such people. I say it all the time that anyone who can point out that Sunday Igboho killed someone should come out with the facts. Even at the height of the heated politics between the late Chief LamidiAdedibu and former Governor Rashidi Ladoja in Oyo State, I didn’t kill anyone. The only thing I did was to protect Ladoja and shield him from harm whenever he was to be attacked. As hot as the venue of the Akure, Ondo State primary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was in 2006, I ensured the safety of the former governor. Read more
I am still to see the vision in visionscape (Vanguard)
Speaking of vision, a thick, black smoke enveloped the air in the afternoon of last week Wednesday reducing visibility and making it almost ‘dark at noon.’ I was scared as thicker and darker smoke billowed. It seemed so close to home that I thought one of the factories next to ours had caught fire. I felt I needed to do something in case of eventualities but the sheer magnitude of the smoke made me feel helpless. So there was I, petrified and fidgety, until a worker told me it was not as near as I thought and was sure the authorities would have been aware because of the scale of the fire. It turned out to be true, but it was cold comfort at the time. Olusosun, one of the dumpsites of the Lagos State Government was on fire. Read more
Stop blaming politicians, get involved in politics, youths urged (Punch)
The convener of the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ initiative in Surulere Federal Constituency I in Lagos State, Mr. Ifeoluwa Chris, has called on youths to participate in politics instead of lamenting and blaming the older politicians. Speaking at the first general assembly of the group, themed, ‘The youth and their significance to the struggle for a new Nigeria’, Chris said the symposium was to create awareness for youths in Surulere and its environs to wake up from their slumber and join politics. In a statement on Friday, speakers at the symposium also called on youths to embrace politics and make sure they were registered before the 2019 general elections. Read more
Nigerians misunderstood Bill Gates on ERGP, says FG (SUN)
Following comments made by Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, that President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Recovery Growth plan (ERGP) does not address the needs of Nigerians, the Federal Government, in a swift reaction, said Nigerians misunderstood him. The government explained that Mr. Gates’ comments depicted that human capital development should have been explicitly indicated as part of the execution priorities of the ERGP, and it is not the same as saying that the ERGP does not address human capital development or that Mr. Gates faulted Nigeria’s economic plans as some newspapers have put it. Read more
Nigerian Anti-Corruption Group wins UN Award (Vanguard)
A Nigerian anti-corruption youth group, the Creative Youth Initiative Against Corruption (CYIAC), has emerged the winner of the Innovative Category of the first UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Action Awards. Ms Foluke Michael, the Project Director of CYIAC in a statement said the Innovative Category top award was presented to the group in Bonn, Germany by Mr Markus Hipp, the Director, BMW Foundation. She said the campaign that led to the awards demonstrated the extraordinary momentum towards achieving the SDGs in different parts of the world At the event, the Global Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign, Mitchell Toomey disclosed that the Awards ceremony was held in tandem with the second edition of the Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Development in Bonn Read more
My Ex-Aide lied against me over $800,000 estacodes, possession of 12 houses, 25 cars, others – Communication Minister (Vanguard)
The minister of communication, Adebayo Shittu, has denied allegations labeled against him by his former aide, Mr. Oluwadamilare, saying that his claims that he (Shittu) owned twelve houses, twenty five cars, printing machine, others under two years were lies that will soon be treated in court. Mr. Oluwadamilare had written a letter claiming to be owned an accumulated emoluments totaling Fourteen million naira (N14million). According to him, “the non-payment has caused my household physical, psychological and emotional trauma”, he said. Read more
I’m not desperate to become Imo gov –Nwosu, Okorocha’s chief of staff (Punch)
You must feel privileged that your father-in-law, Governor Rochas Okorocha, is really pushing for you to succeed him…
I think whoever he (Okorocha) thinks or wants to replace him must be divine. Something must have made the governor to think in that direction. He is the governor of the state and he has watched all his aides for six to seven years and he must have seen special qualities and leadership prowess in the person he is rooting for to take over from him in 2019. Whatever decision he takes, I will take it in good faith, with the conviction that the governor will always make the right choice. Read more
Dapchi fallout: Shake-up in Army, new DMI, Provost Marshall, others appointed (SUN)
There has been a major shake-up in the Nigerian Army with the appointment of a new Director Military Intelligence and an acting Provost Marshall. The appointment Friday now has Major-General S.A Adebayo, as the new Director Military Intelligence (DMI), while Brigadier-General H. Ahmed, is acting Provost Marshal (Army). The redeployment, Daily Sun gathered, might not be unconnected with the allegation of negligence in the area of intelligence gathering and information management concerning the abduction of the female students of Government Girls Science Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State by the Boko Haram terrorists group. Read more
Pastor Adeboye prays for defiant schoolgirl still held captive by Boko Haram (Nation)
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has prayed that God might ensure the safe return of the lone Dapchi schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu, remaining in the captivity of Boko Haram. The terror sect refused to release Leah, a Christian, with other abductees on Wednesday because she would not renounce Jesus Christ and her religion. Adeboye, in a tweet on his official handle, prayed that the Lord should ”visit the camp of the captors and “in a way that You alone can, see to the safe release and return of the missing girl, Leah Sharibu, in Jesus name.” Read more
PDP to hold rally despite police ban (DailyTrust)
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano State has promised to invoke appropriate constitutional provisions to go ahead with its planned political rally scheduled for today in Gaya town, Gaya LGA of the state. Addressing a press conference yesterday in Kano, the PDP chairman in the state, Senator Mas’ud El-Jibril Doguwa, said if government forces them to stop, the party would take legal action. Doguwa said: “If government through political repression forces us to stop, as law abiding citizens and as a law abiding political party, PDP will have the option of appropriate legal resources.” Read more
When friendships go sour, Yawa fit gas (Vanguard)
Take it or leave it. Women are the darkest of God’s creatures. Save for grace, the mind of a woman is deep, almost bottomless. It is dark and filled with a pot pouri of emotions. Name it; joy, sadness, love, hate, jealousy, envy, anger happiness, unforgiveness, etc. In one minute she can be cold as ice and in the next, as hot as lava. Her ability to manipulate and control her emotions and actions to suit her purpose often make her tower above the male specie, having imbibed in her strides, the ability to stoop to conquer all odds. Read more
I have nothing to prove to anyone, Rudeboy boasts (Punch)
Apparently, the feud between the singing twin brothers, Peter and Paul, formerly known as P-Square, is still waxing strong going by an interview granted by Paul now referred to as Rudeboy. The singer mentioned that he had nothing to prove to anyone as he revealed why he is not in a hurry to release an album. He admitted that he had changed everybody around him especially in his management team and the friends he relates with but he decided to stay with his brother, Jude. Read more
Beverly Osu warns bleaching cream sellers to stay off her (Vanguard)
Former Big Brother Africa star Beverly Osu, who came into limelight after participating in the Big Brother Africa 2013 has taken to Instagram to call out manufacturers and sellers of bleaching cream. Beverly who is always flaunting her black colour called out manufacturers and sellers of bleaching cream for always sliding into her D.M ( Direct Message) to market their products which makes her uncomfortable. Read more
We were still undressing when she slumped and died – Man arrested over lover’s mysterious death (Punch)
The Ogun State Police command has arrested a 36-year-old man, Owolabi Musiliu, over the alleged mysterious death of his lover, Fausat Idowu,. The suspect, who is a mechanic at the Mechanic Village in the Camp Area of Abeokuta, was alleged to have taken 40-year-old Fausat, a divorcee and mother of four, to a hotel in Abeokuta for sexual pleasure when she fell ill and died mysteriously. But, in a brief interview with journalists when he was paraded by the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Command, Ahmed Iliyasu, on Friday, Musiliu, a father of three, explained that it was the first time he and the deceased attempted to have sexual intercourse since they started dating about six months ago. Read more
Alli, Onyenze flying on fate’s good wings, gunning for better future (Guardian)
Fate, they say, sometimes takes tortuous routes, but it inevitably leads one to his right destination when not tampered with. Oftentimes, the world is served stories of good turns for individuals, who ordinarily would have been consigned to the backwaters of the society. Simply put, not every talented prodigy gets to realise his potential if left without a helping hand from a benevolent spirit. And so, it is in the story of two young talented lads, Musa Alli and Elvis Onyenze, who recently graduated from the popular Greensprings School, Lagos. Read more
The Great Eagles of 1980 – 38 years after (Guardian)
The ‘Chief Justice’ of Nigerian football, distinguished legal luminary and Member of the Order of the Niger (MON), Chief Adokie Amiesimaka was the one who called me up and reminded me it was 38 years to the day on March 22 that a group of young Nigerian footballers won the African Cup of Nations for their country for the first time and created history. He told me he was celebrating the team in his own way, and was calling up all those he could reach to extend his handshake and a token gift in appreciation and demonstration of how well the Lord has blessed him. Read more
Usain Bolt wants Borussia Dortmund return after positive trial (The42)
Usain Bolt believes his performance during two days’ training with Borussia Dortmund was enough to earn him another chance to impress. Forging a football career has long been sprinting superstar Bolt’s ambition after hanging up his running spikes, with Dortmund the first club to offer him a chance to show his skills. The Jamaican completed two sessions with Dortmund over Thursday and Friday, the latter in front of the world’s media and 1,400 supporters. Read more
Anyone with a brain and common sense can see Manchester United are in transition (Independent)
Jose Mourinho has once again hit back at his critics by suggesting anyone “with a brain” or “common sense” can see Manchester United are in transition. United are enduring a difficult season with rivals City champions elect some 16 points clear in the Premier League with fans and onlookers critical of Mourinho’s perceived negative style of play. That criticism only intensified in the wake of the Champions League last-16 defeat to Sevilla last week which leaves the FA Cup, where they will play Tottenham in the semi-finals next month, as their only remaining chance of silverware this term. Read more
‘Hero’ French policeman who swapped himself for hostage in Isis supermarket attack dies (Independent)
The French police officer who was shot after he swapped himself for a hostage during an Isis-inspired terror attack on a supermarket has died. Arnaud Beltrame, 44, took the place for a woman being held captive by suspect Redouane Lakdim at the Super U store in Trebes in the south of France. “He fell as a hero, giving up his life to halt the murderous outfit of a jihadist terrorist,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on Saturday morning. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb also paid tribute to the gendarme by tweeting that he had “died for his country”. Read more
7 Arrested in Bahrain over Arson attack at Police Patrol (Aawsat)
Seven suspects wanted over an arson attack at a police patrol at the entrance of Deraz village have been arrested, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said in statement on Friday. The attack, according to Bahrain’s Director-General of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science, took place on March 21 and caused a minor injury to a policeman. Crime scene specialists and other security teams were deployed to carry out an investigation, which led to identifying the suspects and arresting them, he said. Read more
Saudi Crown Prince heads to Boston for Second stop of US Tour (Aawsat)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, will kick off in Boston on Saturday the second stop of his visit to the United States. He had arrived in Washington on Tuesday, the first of his multi-state tour of the country. He started his visit by holding talks with President Donald Trump at the White House. On Friday, he met with US Vice President Mike Pence, who threw a dinner banquet in his honor. The ceremony was attended by Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Ambassador to the US, Minister of State, Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Cabinet Member, and a number of senior officials of the American Administration. Read more
Canada: more arrests as protest against oil pipeline expansion heats up (Vanguard)
One of Romilly Cavanaugh’s first jobs was an environmental engineering position at the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which carries crude and refined oil across western Canada. Two decades later, Cavanaugh was arrested for blocking the entrance of a facility belonging to her former employer, as part of a wider protest against plans to expand a pipeline snaking from Alberta’s oil sands to the Pacific coast. She was one of more than 115 people detained this week in the Canadian province of British Columbia as an indigenous-led protest against the Trans Mountain Expansion project heated up. Read more
The man who redefined what it means to be an African artist (CNN)
Ben Enwonwu etched himself into Nigerian history.
His painting of a Yoruba princess in “Tutu” is considered a national masterpiece, with copies of it hanging in Nigerian homes across the country. Too much speculation, the sought-after original was lost for over 40 years. The renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, told BBC’s Radio 4 in 2013: “This particular painting “Tutu,” the print, hung on every wall, of every middle class family in eastern Nigeria when I was growing up.” So when the famous portrait was recently unearthed in a “modest” London flat and sold at auction for $1.6 million (February 28) — four times its estimated price, it sparked huge interest in the art world and amongst buyers in Nigeria — many had set up shop in a hotel in Lagos to make live bids. Read more