NDLEA uncovers 40ft container of tramadol, others in Lagos (Guardian)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered another 40ft container loaded with tramadol and other banned drugs at the Brawal terminal in Lagos.
A statement by the NDLEA Head of Public Affairs, Mr Jonah Achema, said the Chairman, Col. Muhammad Abdallah retired, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja.
Abdallah said that the seizure followed a recent one made by the police of a 40ft container loaded with cartons of brushes, cartons of tramadol and other banned drugs.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Police detectives in Apapa Area Command of Lagos State had intercepted a 40-foot container laden with drugs suspected to be tramadol and codeine on Aug. 6.
The container was intercepted offshore and taken to a bonded terminal in Apapa. Read more
3 rescued in Lagos auto crash (Vanguard)
Three occupants of a salon car were, reportedly rescued unhurt Wednesday, during an auto crash involving a truck and a Pontiac Vibe in Iyana-Isolo area of Lagos.
The incident occurred at about 1.57 pm when the truck laden with a twain 20ft containers was said to have collided with the unregistered salon car painted in Red colour when the car was trying to avoid running into some pick and drop commercial buses underneath the bridge.
However, the three male adults in the car including the driver were lucky to be rescued unhurt by bystanders although the aftermath of the auto crash led to the car bonnet being seriously damaged.
However, no casualty was recorded at the scene which has disrupted the free flow of traffic on the axis. Read more
E-hailing drivers reject reviewed Lagos ride-hailing regulation (Guardian)
A downward review of the licence fee and service tax on e-hailing operators by the Lagos State Government has been rejected by the drivers under the auspices of Professional E-Hailing Drivers & Private-Owners Association.
In a statement seen by The Guardian, Ayoade Ibrahim, the president of the National Union of Professional App-Based Workers said the government decision “is not only exploitative but also inconsiderate to the plight of app based Workers.”
Lagos State government on Friday reversed the 20 per cent service charge it planned to impose on every trip made by e-hailing platforms like Uber and Bolt.
The state commissioner for transport, Frederic Oladeinde, said the state government will now charge N20 per trip instead of 20 per cent of the charges for each trip. Read more
Lagos artiste accuses police of assault, extortion (Punch)
A Lagos-based artiste, Prince Johnson, has accused some policemen attached to the Igando Police Station of allegedly assaulting and extorting him.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Johnson was on his way to a movie set on Saturday, August 16, 2020, when he was accosted by four policemen and ordered to park his vehicle.
Johnson alleged that the policemen labelled him an Internet fraudster after searching his phone and car without finding anything incriminating.
The victim told our correspondent that the cops later took him to the station, where he was asked to pay N50,000 to secure his freedom. Read more
32 Imo communities resolve to stop female genital mutilation (Guardian)
Thirty-two communities in Imo State have reached a consensus to stop the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in their respective areas.
The consensus was reached at the end of a 2-day community dialogue forum organized by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) with the support from United Nation Children Trust Fund (UNICEF) held at Ehime Mbano council hall on Wednesday.
In attendance were the community and religious leaders, men and women of childbearing age and youths of the communities drawn from Ehime Mbano and Owerri West council areas of the state. Read more
Troops kill 20 ISWAP commanders in Borno (Punch)
The Nigerian Air Force has reportedly killed 20 suspected commanders and members of the Islamic State in West Africa Province at Bukar Meram, and Dole, in Borno State, during an airstrike.
The Defence Headquarters said troops of Operation Hail Storm, the air component of Operation Lafiya Dole carried out the operations on Monday at the fringes of the Lake Chad region where the terrorists including some of their leaders were killed.
The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.Gen. John Enenche, in a statement on Wednesday, explained that the airstrike destroyed Bukar Meram, a logistics hub of ISWAP leaders. Read more
Prophet in court for sexually abusing 15-year-old girl in Ogun (Vanguard)
A 57-year-old prophet, Ebenezer Ogunmefun, who sexually abused a 15-year-old girl, on Wednesday appeared before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Abeokuta, the Ogun State.
The police charged Ogunmefun, whose address was not provided with one count of sexual abuse.
The Prosecution Counsel, Insp. Moshood Hammed told the court that the defendant committed the offence at No 1, Prof. Ajibo Toluca Pioneer St. in Olomore area, Abeokuta. Read more
Angry youths attack Oyo police headquarters over serial killer’s escape (Punch)
Some angry youths have staged a protest at the Oyo State Police Command Headquarters located at the Eleyele area of Ibadan over the escape of Sunday Shodipe, the prime suspect in the serial killings in the Akinyele Local Government Area.
The PUNCH gathered that the youths stormed the police headquarters and the Commissioner of Police, Nwachukwu Enwonwu, attended to them.
However, some of the protesters were said to have become unruly and attacked the headquarters with stones and other missiles. Read more
Mali coup: Military promises elections after ousting president (BBC)
The soldiers who ousted Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta say they plan to set up a civilian transitional government and hold new elections.
The spokesman for the soldiers said they acted to prevent the country falling further into chaos.
President Keïta resigned on Tuesday night saying he did not want “blood to be spilled to keep me in power.”
The African Union, regional leaders, and the UN have condemned the coup. Read more
International students turning away from US colleges for lots of reasons (USAToday)
Already reeling from the coronavirus, American colleges and universities now stand to lose hundreds of thousands of international students over the country’s failure to contain the pandemic, the challenges of online learning and a more hostile U.S. government.
Also at stake: billions of dollars the international students spend annually in the country, plus the intellectual capital of having many of the world’s best and brightest minds educated in America.
Nearly 1.1 million students came to the U.S. from other countries for college or practical training programs, according to the Institute for International Education’s latest Open Doors report, which the U.S. Department of State supports. Those students spend more than $40 billion a year in the U.S., according to the latest report, which looked at the 2018-2019 school year. Read more
Vaccine must be available to the poor, Pope says (BBC)
Pope Francis has said the world’s poorest people must have access to a coronavirus vaccine if one becomes available.
“How sad it would be if access to a Covid-19 vaccine was made a priority for the richest. It would be sad if the vaccine became property of such-and-such nation and not universal for everyone,” the Pope said during his general audience.
The pandemic “has uncovered the plight of the poor and the great inequality that reigns in the world”, he said.
“On the one hand, it is imperative to find the cure for a small but terrible virus, which is bringing the whole world to its knees,” he added. Read more
Jennifer Aniston says playing celeb was cathartic (USAToday)
What is it like for a celebrity to play a celebrity on television? According to Jennifer Aniston, “cathartic.”
During an interview with the Los Angeles Times Tuesday, the actress, 51, opened up about her role as a morning news anchor on the Apple TV+ series “The Morning Show.”
“(It was) cathartic, yes, and also interesting for me to look at how I always have tried to normalize being fine and ‘everything’s great, you know, this is all normal,’ and then there are moments when you have your private breakdown,” Aniston said. “To actually look at it from an actor brain observing it and acknowledging it, I had to look at it as opposed to pretending it doesn’t exist.”
She continued, “That show was 20 years of therapy wrapped into 10 episodes. … There were times when I would read a scene and feel like a whole manhole cover was taken off my back.” Read more
Patriot Act: Fans of Hasan Minhaj’s show urge Netflix to reconsider (BBC)
Fans of Netflix’s topical comedy show Patriot Act have voiced their disappointment after it was cancelled.
On Tuesday, host Hasan Minhaj confirmed that the series would not return.
“Patriot Act has come to an end… what a run,” he wrote on Twitter, adding his thanks to “everyone who watched”.
It was the first weekly US talk show to be fronted by an Indian American. One viewer praised the “truly innovative” show, with another saying “South Asians definitely needed something like” it. Read more
WeChat ban could hurt many in the US (USAToday)
For millions of people in the U.S. who use the Chinese app WeChat, it’s a lifeline to friends, family, customers and business contacts in China.
That lifeline is now under attack by an executive order from President Donald Trump that could ban the app in the U.S. as early as mid-September, potentially severing vital relationships.
“It’s the first thing I check in the morning,” Sha Zhu, a Chinese-American in Washington, says of WeChat. It’s how she talks to her mother and old friends from China, which she left in 2008, and how she communicates with her colleagues as a public relations manager for a Chinese-owned consulting company. It’s where she stores Chinese currency in her virtual wallet.
Most important, it’s where she keeps videos and audio clips of her father, who died four years ago. Read more
Game Of Thrones star warns ‘lockdown is coming’ as he implores public to follow coronavirus rules (Metro)
Game Of Thrones star James Cosmo has warned residents in Oldham, Greater Manchester, that ‘lockdown is coming’ unless they abide by coronavirus guidelines. The actor, who played Jeor Mormont, Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, in the acclaimed HBO fantasy, implored the public to ‘stay safe’ in a video message shared by Oldham Council. ‘Houses of Oldham, it’s your Lord Commander,’ James began in the clip. ‘Lockdown is coming if you don’t act now and follow the coronavirus guidelines, so stay safe and follow the guidance … everyone stay safe, and God bless you.’ Read more
My parents didn’t support me playing football – Oshoala (Punch)
Four-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year, Asisat Oshola, says she never had the support of her parents playing football while growing up in Lagos.
Oshoala is part of UEFA’s Together #WePlayStrong women’s football campaign, which kicked off on Tuesday.
In a video documentary posted on the campaign’s Instagram page, the 25-year-old talked about her road to stardom and the lack of support from her parents.
She said, “Talking about my journey of football right from the beginning, I started with my friends in school and I was just doing it for fun. Read more
Jose Clayton: The Brazilian footballer who is more at home in Tunisia (BBC)
Brazil-born Jose Clayton played for Tunisia at two World Cups and helped them win the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.
Back home in Brazil he was known as Jose Clayton Menezes Ribeiro but is better known to African football fans as Jose Clayton.
He was born in Sao Luis a city on the coast of northern Brazil on 21 March 1974 and lived there for 20 years when he ended up in Tunisia.
Clayton started his football career at his hometown club in Brazil before making his way to play for Etoile du Sahel.
The move not only launched Clayton’s career but it also provided him with a gateway to play international football for Tunisia. Read more
New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman plans to hold crunch Lionel Messi talks (Metro)
Barcelona have officially confirmed Ronald Koeman as their new head coach following the sacking of Quique Setien.
Koeman takes charge just days after Setien was dismissed and the Dutchman’s first priority is to secure the future of Lionel Messi, who has threatened to leave the club unless sweeping changes are made.
The 8-2 humiliating defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League has sparked chaos at the club with the sacking of Setien and sporting director Eric Abidal. Read more
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams top as tennis dominates rich list (BBC)
The world’s nine highest-earning sportswomen over the past year are all tennis players, according to research by US business magazine Forbes.
Japan’s Naomi Osaka tops the list with earnings of $37.4m (£26.3m), ahead of Serena Williams with $36m (£27.2m).
World number one Ashleigh Barty is third with income of $13.1m (£9.9m).
United States international footballer Alex Morgan is the only athlete from outside tennis in the top 10, earning $4.6m (£3.5m).
Morgan, who gave birth to her first child in May, earned $4.2m (£3.2m) of her income through endorsements during the span of Forbes analysis – between 1 June 2019 and 1 June 2020. Read more
Roy Jones Jr insists Mike Tyson fight is off until he’s compensated for delay (Metro)
Roy Jones Jr has threatened to pull out of his exhibition fight with Mike Tyson after it was delayed. The bout was pencilled in for 12 September, but Tyson and organisers then decided it was better to push the date back in a bid to bring in more revenue.
Jones Jr, 51, revealed he was furious with the decision and insisted the fight – rescheduled for 28 November – would not happen unless he was compensated for the delay.
‘I’ve had to cancel other stuff to be out here, it’s upset my calendar, I’ve got to change things. That’s why we have to table bullsh*t now. Read more
Dortmund sign Reinier on two-year loan from Real (BBC)
Borussia Dortmund have signed Brazil Under-23 forward Reinier on a two-season loan from Real Madrid.
The 18-year-old, who joined Real from Flamengo in January, said: “Borussia Dortmund is known for betting on young players and making them better.
“I want to learn a lot here, play a lot and help the team to be successful. I hope we have many happy moments.” Read more