Nigeria’s Deadly Marriages: How 49 husbands, wives were killed in 15 months (DailyTrust)
At least 49 spouses reportedly died between January 2021 and March 2022, data compiled by Daily Trust Saturday have revealed.
The data showed that 35 women were killed by their husbands while wives killed their husbands on 14 different occasions.
My daughter went through hell in the hands of her husband – Osinachi’s mum
2023 elections: Again, Buhari warns global community against interference
From the cases compiled by Daily Trust Saturday, 39 deaths were related to domestic violence while six killed their spouses over allegations of infidelity.
Other causes of homicide according to experts are mental disorders, ritual killing and forced marriages.
The latest incident that was greeted by uproar was the death of an Abuja-based gospel artiste, Osinachi Nwachukwu. Read more
Husband protests wife’s claim of causing her eye injury (Punch)
A 50-year-old woman identified only as Motunrayo has raised the alarm over an alleged physical assault by her husband which she claimed left her partially blind.
Motunrayo, a trader, alleged that her husband, one Olusanjo Akingbade, acted violently often after smoking and drinking alcohol, and turned her into a punching bag when they had a misunderstanding.
She told City Round that the situation got worse when he returned to their residence in the Adealu, Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos at about 3am on June 14, 2020, and woke her up to give him a matchbox to light a cigarette.
She said soon after she told him she didn’t have a lighter, he got angry and descended on her. Read more
Attempted murder: Police accuse Fani-Kayode’s ex-wife, others of attacking witnesses (Guardian)
The Police authorities, on Friday, accused Ms Precious Chikwendu, the estranged wife of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode of threatening the lives of witnesses lined up in the alleged attempted murder charge against her.
The offence listed as count 14 in the new amended charge, was alleged to have been committed by Chikwendu and Emmanuel Anakan, a co-defendant, on Wednesday within the premises of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
They were alleged to have criminally threatened the lives of Bako Maina, Isah Kudaru and other witnesses in the case to eliminate them by death if they insist on testifying in the case.
The offence was said to be punishable under Section 397 of the Penal Code.
Chikwendu (2nd defendant) and three others were to be re-arraigned before Justice Inyang Ekwo on a 14-count charge. Read more
7 die, 5 injured in Lagos-Ibadan Expressway accident (Vanguard)
Seven persons died while five others sustained injuries on Friday in an accident involving a Mazda bus and a truck at Ogunmakin on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
FRSC’s Sector Commander in Ogun, Mr Ahmed Umar, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta.
Umar said the Mazda bus has LSR 696 XS as its registration number, while the truck’s registration number is T-4889 LA.
He blamed the accident on excessive speeding and loss of control by the bus driver which made him to ram into the moving truck ahead of him. Read more
PDP disqualifies 2 presidential aspirants, clears 15 (Punch)
The Peoples Democratic Party, on Friday in Abuja, disqualified two of its 17 presidential aspirants.
The Chairman of the Screening Committee, Senator David Mark, disclosed this to journalists shortly after the conclusion of the exercise at the Legacy House, Abuja, the presidential campaign headquarters of the main opposition.
The screening, which began around 11 am, lasted till 7 pm and involved all the aspirants.
Mark, however, declined to reveal the identities of the disqualified aspirants or the reasons for their disqualification. Read more
2023: Sanwo-Olu picks APC governorship forms (Guardian)
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Friday picked the All Progressives Congress (APC) Gubernatorial Nomination and Expression of Interest forms ahead of the primaries for the 2023 elections.
The forms were picked at the APC’s national secretariat in Abuja by a member of the House of Representatives, representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, Mr James Faleke.
Faleke, who also picked presidential Expression of Interest and Nominations forms for APC Leader, Sen. Bola Tinubu, was accompanied by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal and members of the Tinubu Support Groups (TSG) to the party’s secretariat. Read more
Kano man dies trying to recover phone from soakaway (Punch)
A 40-year-old-man identified as Muazu Garba, on Thursday lost his life in a failed attempt to recover his mobile phone, which fell into a pit toilet at Jirgiya Quarters, Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State.
The spokesman for the state Fire Service, Saminu Abdullahi, who confirmed the sad incident to our correspondent, said, “On Thursday, April 28, 2022, our formation received an emergency call from one Abbas Abubakar, who reported the incident at Jigirya Nassarawa Local Government Area.
“When our men arrived at the scene, they found that a man of about 40 years of age, Mu’azu Garba, from Katsina State, entered inside a soakaway with the intention to retrieve his cell phone. In the process, the victim was reportedly trapped, and subsequently rescued unconscious and later confirmed dead.
“We have handed over the remains of the victim to the ward head of Jigirya, Nuhu Adamu, while the cause of death was attributed to a failed attempt to retrieve his cell phone from a soakaway.” Read more
5-year-old Akachukwu solicits N5m for heart surgery (Guardian)
The family of five-year-old Akachukwu Nwanye, who is suffering from Tetralogy Of Fallout (TOF), a heart-related condition, which occurs when a baby’s heart does not form properly in the mother’s womb.
The mother of the little boy is passionately appealing to the public to assist her in saving the life of her son, who would be going to India for heart surgery.
Baby Akachukwu is currently undergoing treatment at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
According to the mother, the surgery, which is estimated at N5 million, is far to be conducted due to her family’s financial incapacitation.
She said, “The heart condition was first discovered at X-Serve Children Heart Clinic after which he was transferred to Lagos LUTH for further treatment, where he is still being managed till today.” Read more
Marrying a second wife my best decision in life — Yul Edochie (Vanguard)
The last may not have been heard of Yul Edochie’s decision to marry a second wife, as members of his family have distanced themselves from the new development. The actor, on his part, has maintained that marrying a second wife was one of the best decisions he has ever made in life.
Recall that the actor during the week set tongues wagging on social media after he unveiled the birth of his son by his second wife, Judy Austin Muoghalu to the world.
His post on Instagram instantly went viral and since then, the actor has been receiving backlashes from different quarters, with many declaring him unfit to contest for any elective position in 2023, as he’s presently preparing ahead of the general elections.
Disappointed by Yul’s post, his first wife, Mary said “May God judge you both.” Read more
Dolly Parton does U-turn on rejection of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination (Metro)
Dolly Parton has seemingly backtracked on turning down a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, explaining that she thought the honour was just for ‘people in rock music’.
Last month, the Jolene singer took her fans by surprise when she rejected the chance to receive the prestigious recognition after receiving a nomination.
At the time, the 76-year-old explained that she didn’t feel that she’d ‘earned’ the place, writing in a statement: ‘I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out.’
However, after learning that it isn’t just rock musicians who can be inducted into the Hall of Fame – with previous inductees including Madonna, Janet Jackson and Jay-Z – she admitted that she had changed her tune. Read more
Bolsonaro hits out at DiCaprio after election plea (BBC)
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has hit back at Leonardo DiCaprio after the Hollywood actor and environmentalist encouraged the country’s youth to vote in the elections later this year.
“Brazil is home to the Amazon and other ecosystems critical to climate change,” DiCaprio posted on Twitter on Thursday.
“What happens there matters to us all and youth voting is key in driving change for a healthy planet,” he added.
Mr Bolsonaro, who has cut environmental protections, responded with sarcasm.
“Thanks for your support, Leo! It’s really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections,” the far-right leader, who took office in 2019, tweeted. Read more
UN pushes to see civilians evacuated from pummelled port city of Mariupol
Social Sharing (CBC)
The United Nations doggedly sought to broker an evacuation of civilians from the increasingly hellish ruins of Mariupol on Friday, while Ukraine accused Russia of showing its contempt for the world organization by bombing Kyiv while the UN leader was visiting the capital.
The mayor of Mariupol said the situation inside the steel plant that has become the southern port city’s last stronghold is dire, and citizens are “begging to get saved.” Mayor Vadym Boichenko added: “There, it’s not a matter of days. It’s a matter of hours.”
Ukraine’s forces, meanwhile, fought to hold off Russian attempts to advance in the south and east, where the Kremlin is seeking to capture the country’s industrial Donbas region. Read more
Guinea forum proposes transition period of up to 52 months (Guardian)
Guinea’s army-dominated government announced Friday that a political forum had proposed a transition period of between 18 and 52 months before staging elections.
In April, the government launched an “inclusive consultation framework” designed to discuss restoring civilian rule after last year’s military coup in the West African state.
Regional bloc ECOWAS had set Monday as a deadline for putting forward an “acceptable” transition timetable or risk economic and financial sanctions.
Guinea’s ruling military junta had let the deadline pass, however, asking the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for more time for consultations to continue. Read more
Venus and Jupiter Conjunction: Planets to almost touch in night sky (BBC)
Look up in the sky at the right moment on Saturday and you could see two of the solar system’s brightest planets almost touching.
Venus and Jupiter will be millions of miles apart, but from Earth they will appear close to colliding.
This planetary conjunction happens annually but this year they will appear much closer than usual.
The same spectacle won’t occur again like this until 2039.
Just the naked eye or binoculars should be enough to see it in a clear sky. Read more
US court sentences member of IS group cell known as the ‘Beatles’ to life in jail (France24)
Alexanda Kotey, part of the Islamic State kidnap-and-murder cell known as the “Beatles,” was sentenced to life in jail by a United States court on Friday.
Kotey, a 38-year-old former British national, pleaded guilty in September, admitting his responsibility for the deaths of four American hostages in Syria as well as the kidnapping and torture of some 20 other journalists and relief workers.
He was captured along with another former “Beatle,” El Shafee Elsheikh, by a Kurdish militia in Syria in January 2018 and handed over to US forces in Iraq before being flown to the United States in 2020 to face trial.
Both men on Friday appeared in the court in Alexandria, near Washington, where the relatives of their victims were given an opportunity to speak. Read more
NASA’s Mars Helicopter snaps pictures of space debris on the Red Planet (Metro)
Is there life on Mars? No, but there is space debris.
Nasa’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter recently snapped several pictures showing the parachute that helped the agency’s Perseverance rover land on Mars and the cone-shaped backshell that protected the rover in deep space and during its fiery descent toward the Martian surface in February last year.
In the images of the upright backshell and the debris field that resulted from it impacting the surface at about 78 mph (126 kph), the backshell’s protective coating appears to have remained intact during Mars atmospheric entry.
Many of the 80 high-strength suspension lines connecting the backshell to the parachute are visible and also appear intact. Read more
Oshoala eyes second Champions League goal (Punch)
Asisat Oshoala will be hoping to get her second Champions League goal of the season when Barcelona Femini visit Wolfsburg in the second leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League match on Saturday (today).
Oshoala returned from a two-month injury lay-off to feature for 17 minutes in her side’s 5-1 thrashing of the German side at Camp Nou last Friday. She came on for Jennifer Hermoso in the 73rd minute of the win.
The champions will be hoping to round off their semi-final game in Germany and Oshoala, whose only goal in the competition came in the 4-1 win against her former team Arsenal on October 5, has only been able to make four appearances in this season’s campaign.
She’ll be hoping to return to the starting line-up for her fifth appearance in the competition. Read more
Why our football is at lowest level – Akpoborie (Vanguard)
One of the iconic figures of Nigerian football is Jonathan Akpoborie. He was one of the lads that won the FIFA/JVC U-17 World Cup in China in 1985. In fact he scored one of the goals against the then Western Germany in the finals.
That set of the Golden Eaglets became the first team from Africa to win a FIFA organised tournament. Jonathan graduated to play for both the U20 and the senior national teams, the Flying and Super Eagles respectively.
Till date, he believes he was denied the opportunity to go to the World Cup due to ‘official conspiracy’ as according to him, “some people believed only their preferred choices should go.”
He played for the defunct Julius Berger FC of Lagos before traveling abroad, where he spent all his professional years in Germany. He has since returned home and is living a quiet private life as a businessman. Read more
Okere retains Alukimba Table Tennis tournament title (Guardian)
Uchechi Okere has successfully defended his title at the 11th yearly Alukimba Table Tennis tournament organised by Elmarino Sports Club, Lagos.
Okere defeated Hilton Enearu in the final to win a record seventh title at the one-day championship held at the Alfred Garden Estate Sports Centre, Oregun, Lagos, while Martins Isoje outclassed Sunny Iwohbo to win the third-place match.
Last year’s edition of the tourney was without a sponsor owing to the death of its former sponsor, Toyin Odunowo in 2020. But this year’s event saw the return of a new sponsor in Chris Anazia, a member of the club in the Diaspora.
In a telephone interview, Anazia said he was happy to identify with the competition and also was satisfied with the outcome of the just-concluded tourney because of the addition of a new event for amateur players. He congratulated all the participants and various winners. Read more
Rivers United looking unstoppable for 2022 NPFL title (DailyTrust)
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, table topping Rivers United are the firm favourites to win the 2022 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) title when the season ends in July as scheduled by the League Management Company (LMC).
Established in 2015 after the merger of Sharks and Dolphins, the ‘Pride of Rivers’ as Rivers United are called, have remained a formidable side in the Nigerian topflight but are yet to win the coveted NPFL title.
It will, however, be noted that prior to the merger, Dolphins had won the league in 2004 and 2012 with Coaches Musa Abdullahi (Late) and Stanley Eguma (incumbent) respectively.
In 2014, the defunct Dolphins finished the league in the 16th position but when Rivers United came on board in the 2015/16 season, they placed second behind former African champions Enyimba.
And in the following season, Rivers United who hovered around the relegation zone finished the season in a distant 15th position but improved marginally as they came 9th at the end of the 2018 season. Read more
Wimbledon champion Becker jailed over bankruptcy (Punch)
Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for hiding 2.5 million pounds (3.14 million dollars) worth of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.
The 54-year-old former world number one was declared bankrupt on June 21 in 2017.
He was owing creditors almost 50 million pounds, over an unpaid loan of more than three million dollars on his estate in Mallorca, Spain.
Becker transferred almost 427,000 euro (450,400 dollars) from his business account to others, including those of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely “Lilly” Becker. Read more
Manchester United’s chief transfer negotiator Matt Judge resigns from role at Old Trafford (Metro)
Matt Judge has reportedly resigned from his role at Manchester United.
Judge has been responsible for negotiating contracts and transfers at Old Trafford since 2014 but is now set to leave the club, according to The Athletic.
He is now said to be working through a notice period in his contract with the club before departing later in the year and he will not play an active part in transfers this summer.
Judge departs on good terms with the club but has been considering his future in recent weeks amid a host of backroom staff changes at the club. Read more