Most fearsome of my abductors handed me N5k to return home — Odje (Vanguard)
Human rights lawyer, Dr Akpo Mudiaga-Odje, has recounted how the most fearsome of his abductors handed him N5,000 for transportation back to his home.
He said he trekked one and a half kilometres on bare feet to the attention of a motorcyclist who took him to his home.
Unidentified gunmen had kidnapped Mudiaga-Odje from his office at about 7 pm on Sunday and whisked him away to an unknown destination. Read more
Police officers set fire on criminal hideouts in Alaba International market, Hundeyin clarifies (Guardian)
Lagos police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, has explained what led to the fire incident at Alaba International Market in Ojo.
On Friday, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service reported that shops at the popular Alaba International Market are on Fire.
The agency also reported that angry mobs prevented firefighters from carrying out their duties. Read more
PDP PDP has given nigeria first albino governor (DailyTrust)
The Chairman, The All Rights Foundation (TAF Africa), formerly known as the Albino Foundation , Mr Jake Epelle, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has produced the first governor with Albinism in Nigeria.
He said Mr. Umo Eno, Governor-elect of Akwa Ibom State, is the first albino governor, not just in Nigeria, but in Africa.
Epelle also charged President-elect Bola Tinubu to appoint Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) into his cabinet. Read more
Mavin records resumes future five talent programme, calls for entries (Guardian)
Prominent music record company, Mavin Record, has announced the second instalment of its novel mentorship programme, The Mavin Future Five. After sifting five deserving mavericks out of a thousand applicants last year, the talent-grooming programme has called for entries for its 2023 edition.
In last year’s edition, the five selected candidates underwent six months of experiential internship during which they worked on campaign with the team at Mavin Records, met with industry leaders across varying facets of the entertainment industries, music executives, and professionals who impacted their work culture, personal philosophy, and vision.
“This has helped me assess myself in a new light, and improve. I now challenge myself even more, I’m more outgoing, and even more prone to blurting out my ‘crazy’ ideas,” Miracle Udoh, an alumnus of the programme told Weekend Beats. She also alludes to being able to collaborate with her fellow alumnus Ifeoma Iheagwara with whom they are building a resilient music collective together. Read more
Oke Ogun people celebrate installation of kinsman as monarch in Lagos (ThisDay)
The people of Oke-O)gun in Oyo State, under the aegis of Oke-Ogun Development Consultative Forum (ODCF), have congratulated the first Oba of Ogombo in Lagos State, Oba Abiodun Muslim Ogunbo, who was recently installed by the Lagos State Government.
The Ogombo kingdom in Eti Osa Local Government Area has boundaries with areas such as Ajah, Sangotedo, Okun Ajah, among others, with the founders of the kingdom coming from Saki in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, in the 17th century.
The National President, ODCF, Ahmed Raji, in a statement issued in Iseyin, yesterday, said the people of Oke-Ogun, are happy that the region has positively impacted the whole world with sons and daughters who have lived their lives to better humanity, stating that with the emergence of Oba Ogunbo, as the first traditional ruler of Ogombo Kingdom, developmental strides would follow. Read more
Tinubu vows to toe Yar’Adua’s path, hails ex-president on posthumous birthday (Leadership)
President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has extolled the virtues of the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua on his posthumous birthday, saying he is determined to follow the good examples set by leaders like him who showed exceptional sense of propriety and selfless service to Nigeria.
The late President Yar’Adua was sworn in as Nigeria’s President in 2007 died in office on May 5, 2010 before the expiration of his tenure.
In a statement he personally signed yesterday titled, “We’ll Never Forget You”, Tinubu recalled what he described as the steadfastness, patriotism and excellence in public service the late Yar’Adua left behind as governor of Katsina State between 1999 and 2007, as well as president of Nigeria between 2007 and 2010. Read more
Nurses, midwives dump JOHESU, give reasons (Punch)
The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives has withdrawn its membership of the Joint Health Sector Union, Saturday PUNCH reports.
NAMMN said its purpose for joining JOHESU had been achieved and there was no need to remain in the union.
Speaking with our correspondent, the General Secretary of NANNM, Thomas Ahmed Shettima, stated, “We came together as unions who have a common interest and we have achieved the interest. It is only good that everybody should go to their house. There is no agitation; unions are just like families. In the end, it is achieving that common goal, we have achieved that goal, then everybody should go to their bodies. Read more
Appeal Court upholds Doguwa’s reelection (Nation)
The Court of Appeal Kano Division on Friday upheld the reelection of Alhassan Ado Doguwa as House of Representatives member representing Doguwa/Tudun-Wada Federal Constituency.
The appellate court struck out the appeal filed by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and its candidate Air Commodore Salisu Yusha’u (retired), saying the appeal lacks merit.
The court described the petition by the NNPP and its candidate as “frivolous” and asked the opposition party to pay to APC and its candidate the sum of N200,000 as damages. Read more
Alex Scott squirms over romance rumours with One Direction member (Metro)
Alex Scott kept her cards close to her chest while being quizzed about a rumoured romantic fling with a member of One Direction.
The TV presenter and former England footballer, 38, was a special guest on Friday night’s The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan, alongside Harry Hill.
Alex, who revealed she had ‘personal reasons’ for supporting her colleague Gary Lineker during his stand-off with the BBC, was put under the spotlight by Mo. Read more
Ed Sheeran’s new album Subtract features touching song about daughter, Lyra Antarctica, 2 (People)
Ed Sheeran’s new album Subtract is finally here — and it includes a touching song about his older daughter, Lyra Antarctica, 2½.
Ahead of the album’s release, Sheeran played the song for a crowd at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre, explaining the significance of the fifth track, as it relates to his family life.
He introduced the song, “Dusty,” sharing, “Being a parent is obviously wild and wonderful. Being a parent in times of real sadness … has a massive juxtaposition to it.” Read more
MTV Movie & TV Awards will no longer be live amid writers’ strike (ET)
The MTV Movie & TV Awards will no longer be held live amid the ongoing writers’ strike, instead pivoting to a pre taped ceremony that will air Sunday. The network announced the news Friday as the writers’ strike, which officially began Tuesday, continues in Los Angeles and New York City, after a breakdown in talks with studios and streaming services.
“As we carefully navigate how best to deliver the fan first awards’ show we envisioned that our team has worked so hard to create, we’re pivoting away from a live event that still enables us to produce a memorable night full of exclusive sneak peaks, irreverent categories our audience has come to expect, and countless moments that will both surprise and delight as we honor the best of film and TV over the past year,” Bruce Gillmer, president of music, music talent, programming and events at Paramount Global, and executive producer of the MTV Movie & TV Awards, said in a new statement. Read more
Call Me Kat canceled after 3 seasons (PopCulture)
After three seasons, the café is closing on Call Me Kat. Variety reports that Fox has canceled the sitcom, which premiered in 2021. The reasoning, according to a Fox spokesperson, is that ratings weren’t as strong as they had hoped. It’s a surprising call for the network, as the series has been a fan-favorite among viewers, paired with the continuing working relationship between Big Bang Theory co-stars Mayim Bialik and Jim Parsons, as well as the cast including the late Leslie Jordan.
Based on the British series Miranda, Call Me Kat’s ratings have decreased over the seasons, averaging only 2.2 million viewers and a 0.4 rating in adults 18-49 for Season 3. The series marks the second cancellation Fox has made this week, following the surprise cancellation of its top-rated series 9-1-1, which ended up getting saved by ABC for a seventh season. Read more
Will.i.am wants to protect his ‘‘facial math’’ from AI (HipHopDX)
Will.i.am has become the latest Hip Hop celebrity to speak out against the rise of artificial intelligence, claiming he wants to protect his face from the new technology.
The Black Eyed Peas founder stopped by Sirius XM on Friday (May 5), where he spoke extensively to DJ Whoo Kid and his co-hosts, Mack and Jen, about the growing influence of A.I. The co-hosts asked him whether he believes that artists should be concerned about this new technology — and the “Let’s Get It Started” rapper didn’t hold back on his thoughts.
“We all have voices, and everyone’s compromised because there are no rights or ownership to your facial math or your voice frequency,” he said. “So, forget songs. Banks. People calling up your bank pretending to be you. Forget songs. Just family matters and wiring money. You’re getting a FaceTime or a Zoom call and because there’s no intelligence on the call, there’s nothing to authenticate A.I. call or a person call.” Read more
Donald Trump deposition: New York court releases video in civil rape trial (BBC)
A video of a deposition given by former US president Donald Trump as part of his civil rape trial has been released by the court.
The roughly 48-minute video shows Mr Trump, 76, mistaking his accuser E Jean Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples in a photo.
It also shows him repeating his denial of Ms Carroll’s allegations by claiming she is “not my type”.
Lawyers for both sides rested their case on Thursday. Read more
COVID no longer a global health emergency, WHO says (AlJazeera)
COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a “global health emergency”, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
The announcement on Friday came more than three years after the United Nations health agency declared its highest level of alert over the devastating virus, which triggered lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions of people worldwide.
“Yesterday, the Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “I’ve accepted that advice. It’s, therefore, with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency.” Read more
Jubilation as victorious athletes return from Zambia (Guardian)
Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, will today in Lagos, receive the athletes, who did the nation proud at the just concluded African U18 and U20 Athletics Championship in Ndola, Zambia.
The first batch of Nigerian contingent to the championship arrived in Lagos yesterday afternoon. Team Nigeria, with a small contingent of 41 athletes, finished second on the final medals table behind South Africa with 17 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze. South Africa paraded a large squad of 120 people, including 105 athletes at the battle of Ndola.
Speaking with The Guardian yesterday on arrival in Lagos, female hurdler, Osamuyi Faith, who won a gold and silver in the relay and 100m hurdles respectively, said that she was excited to be part of the trip to Zambia. Read more
Osimhen mum on transfer after title win (Punch)
Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen refused to entertain talk surrounding a potential summer move when he spoke to the media following Napoli’s Serie A title triumph, Saturday PUNCH reports.
The Nigeria international’s 27th club goal of the season earned his side a point at Udinese, which proved to be enough for Luciano Spalletti’s team to win the title with five games to spare.
Napoli’s Serie A success was their first in 33 years, and they are now 16 points ahead of second-placed Lazio and therefore cannot be caught in the latter stages of the campaign.
Messi sorry for unannounced Saudi visit (RNZ)
Lionel Messi apologised to Paris St Germain and his team-mates on Saturday after being suspended for making a trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this week and missing a training session as a result.
French media reported that Messi was suspended for two weeks after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia when he was supposed to train with the squad the day after the Ligue 1 leaders’ 3-1 defeat at home to Lorient on Sunday.
“I sincerely believed that I would have the day off after the game as had been happening in previous weeks. I had this trip organised and I couldn’t cancel it, I had already cancelled it before,” Messi said in a video on Instagram. Read more
Arsenal confident of tying William Saliba to new deal despite growing concern over future (Mirror)
Mikel Arteta has insisted Arsenal are determined to keep France defender William Saliba despite growing concern over his long term future.
Arsenal have activated a 12 month extension option on Saliba’s current deal securing him until 2024 but there has so far been a stalemate on the 22-year-old’s contract talks.
The Gunners will not want to risk Saliba running his deal down and walking away for free so the pressure will be on him to sign. Read more
Alcaraz into Madrid final on 20th birthday, faces lucky loser Struff (France24)
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his 20th birthday on Friday by reaching the Madrid Open final, likening himself to “a bull” in his straight sets win over Borna Coric.
The world number two was at his best to defeat the Croatian 6-4, 6-3.
He will face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, the world number 65, who had originally been knocked out in qualifying before winning a reprieve, in Sunday’s final. Read more
Kentucky Derby: Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr suspended by Churchill Downs after horse deaths (BBC)
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr has been suspended after two of his horses died in the lead-up to Saturday’s 149th Kentucky Derby.
Parents Pride and Chasing Artie collapsed and died at the Churchill Downs track, with the cause of death still unknown.
Another of Joseph Jr’s horses, Lord Miles, has been scratched from the race following his suspension.
Four horses have now died in the build-up to America’s most celebrated race. Read more