‘It just makes me laugh,’ Obasanjo reacts to claim his father is Igbo (Punch)
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the first time reacted to the claim of his Igbo paternity, declaring that such insinuation makes him laugh.
This is just as the former President said he doesn’t believe anybody in Nigeria should be driven away from any part of the country declaring that, “we own this country together.”
Obasanjo, according to a statement on Friday issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, said this when he received on Thursday the leadership of Ndigbo Amaka Progressive Market Association, an umbrella body of major markets in Lagos State at the boardroom of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State. Read more
Okada riders responsible for attack on BRT bus — Lagos police (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has stated that suspected motorcyclists, commonly known as Okada riders, whose motorcycles were seized, are believed to be responsible for the alleged attack on a BRT bus on Wednesday in the Orile area of the state.
The Command’s Spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, made this known during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Friday.
Hundeyin clarified that the incident was not a case of armed robbery but rather a reaction by the suspected motorcyclists to the seizure of their motorcycles. Read more
Lagos announces traffic diversion at Ikeja Along (Channels)
The Lagos State Government says traffic will be diverted at Ikeja Along Bus Stop, between Ile Zik and Conoil Petrol Station on the Oshodi bound lane from Saturday, 17th to Sunday, 18th August 2024, between 12 midnight and 4 am daily.
Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, in a statement on Thursday, said the diversion is to carry out the demolition of the old pedestrian bridge.
“Consequently, from Ile Zik Bus Stop up to Conoil Petrol Filling Station on the Oshodi bound side of the road, only one lane will be available to Motorists to ensure safety,” he said. Read more
Chinese firm releases presidential jet for Tinubu’s scheduled meeting with Macron (Tribune)
Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd has announced the release of one of the three Nigerian Airbus A330 aircraft detained in France, following a court order obtained from a Paris judicial court.
In a statement issued on Friday, a company spokesperson said the release was a gesture of goodwill, acknowledging that Nigerian President Ahmed Bola Tinubu requires the aircraft for a scheduled meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The statement read: “Zhongshan has consistently acted reasonably and fairly in a legal dispute with Nigeria, which it did not initiate. Read more
UNIMAID, UNIJOS students abducted in Benue (DailyTrust)
At least 20 medical students of the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, and University of Jos, Plateau State, have been abducted.
The Police in Benue State on Friday confirmed the abduction, saying it took place along Otukpo-Enugu road.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Catherine Anene Anene, confirmed the incident to journalists in Makurdi without any details of how it occurred. Read more
Lagos women compete for N20m in nationwide farming contest (Punch)
The Office of the First Lady of Lagos State has finalised the selection of 200 participants to partake in the nationwide farming competition for female first-time farmers.
The scheme, tagged “Every Home A Garden” competition under the Renewed Hope Initiative of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is set to have the winner bagging a N20 million prize.
The First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, at the press conference and seminar organised for the selected Lagos participants at the State House, Ikeja, on Thursday, said the state would deploy all resources to ensure the winner emerges from Lagos. Read more
UCH resident doctors protest, demand release of abducted colleague (Vanguard)
Resident doctors at University College Hospital, Ibadan, on Friday, staged a peaceful protest to demand for the immediate release of their colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola and her nephew, Abdul-Mugniy Folaranmi.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Popoola, a Senior Registrar in the Department of Opthalmology, National Eye Centre, Kaduna, was abducted on Dec. 27, 2023 alongside her husband and nephew.
While her husband was released in March, Ganiyat and her nephew have since remained in captivity. Read more
Bandits kidnap 20 medical students in Benue (Channels)
About 20 medical students have been kidnapped in Benue State, the police authorities said on Friday.
The victims were on their way to Enugu state, passing through Otukpo Local Government area in Benue before they encountered bandits.
Confirming the incident to journalists, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Sewuese Anene, said that the victims were en route to Enugu for a programme when they ran into the kidnappers around Otukpo. Read more
Blackpink’s Lisa, Rosalia release “New Woman” single, music video (UPI)
Thai singer and rapper Lisa is back with new music.
On Friday, Lisa, a member of the K-pop girl group Blackpink, released a single and music video for the solo song “New Woman” featuring Spanish music star Rosalía.
The “New Woman” video shows Lisa and Rosalía give off confident vibes as they wait at an audition. The pair also create a visual contrast in scenes where Lisa is dressed in all white and Rosalía in all black. Read more
Molly-Mae Hague felt “stressed, anxious and frustrated” before Tommy Fury split (OK)
Molly-Mae Hague has opened up about her struggles with stress and anxiety just before she and Tommy Fury decided to go their separate ways.
The 25-year-old fashion icon took to Instagram to reveal the end of her relationship with Tommy. The couple, who found love on Love Island in 2019, are parents to their one-year-old daughter Bambi.
It was only a year ago that Tommy, the professional boxer, swept Molly-Mae off her feet with a dreamy proposal in Ibiza. However, more recently, eagle-eyed fans noticed Molly-Mae without her dazzling £600,000 engagement ring. Read more
“No crime” found by police at Reginald D Hunter comedy gig amid Israel row (RTE)
Police found “no crime” took place at a Reginald D Hunter comedy gig following a report of a hate incident at his Edinburgh Fringe show.
Two Israelis were reportedly heckled out of his Sunday performance by the audience following their objection to the 55-year-old US comedian’s joke.
Eastwood Theatre in Giffnock, which was not the venue where the incident took place, announced on Friday that it would not go ahead with Hunter’s September show. Read more
Nicolas Cage to play NFL legend John Madden in new biopic from David O. Russell (NME)
Nicolas Cage is set to play NFL legend John Madden in David O. Russell’s upcoming biographical drama “Madden”.
Madden, who died in 2021 at the age of 85, was the iconic head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s, leading the team to numerous championship games and its first Super Bowl victory.
He went on become a mainstay of television football coverage, spending three decades as a commentator after retiring from coaching in 1979. He’s also the namesake of the popular video game franchise, “Madden NFL”, and continued to provide creative input for the series after his retirement as a broadcaster in 2009. Read more
Deadly civilian rampage in West Bank sparks rare condemnation from Israeli leaders (PBS)
Israeli leaders on Friday roundly condemned a deadly settler rampage in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a rare Israeli denunciation of the settler violence growing more common since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
The settler riot in the village of Jit, near the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, killed one Palestinian and badly injured others late Thursday, Palestinian health officials said.
Residents interviewed by The Associated Press said at least a hundred masked settlers entered the village, shot live ammunition at Palestinians, burned homes and cars and damaged water tankers. Video showed flames engulfing the small village, which residents said was left to defend itself without military help for two hours. Read more
WHO reports 300 cholera deaths in Sudan, warns dengue and meningitis rising (AlJazeera)
The humanitarian crisis caused by the civil war in Sudan has exacerbated infections, including cholera, which has killed more than 300 people, a World Health Organization (WHO) official says.
Margaret Harris said on Friday that 11,327 cholera cases and 316 deaths had been reported and dengue fever and meningitis infections were also on the rise.
“We expect to have more than has been reported,” she added. Read more
Gaza cease-fire negotiations extend to another day as death toll exceeds 40,000 (VOA)
Negotiators were to meet in the Qatari capital of Doha again Friday in an effort to hammer out a Gaza cease-fire agreement as Israel continued to slam targets in the Palestinian enclave.
Gaza health officials reported separately Thursday that the death toll there had surpassed 40,000 people after more than 10 months of fighting.
This round of negotiations opened Thursday, and the talks would resume Friday for a second day, Qatari and U.S. officials said. Read more
I paid for U-23 Eagles flight to 2016 Olympics — Mikel (Leadership)
Nigerian international, John Mikel Obi has revealed how he paid for the U-23 Eagles team’s flight to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
Mikel was one of the three overage players named in the squad by then handler of the team, Samson Siasia.
The former Chelsea midfielder was also handed the captain’s armband, leading the team to third position in the men’s football event. Read more
Lewis Hamilton outlines true feelings ahead of battle against his Mercedes replacement (Mirror)
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes replacement could well be teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli from their junior team, and the Brit discussed his lack of emotional attachment to beating his younger rivals
Lewis Hamilton has confessed that he doesn’t derive any extra satisfaction from outperforming his younger rivals.
His admission comes while 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli is being tipped to potentially replace the Brit at Mercedes. Seven-time Formula One champion Hamilton, who is the second-oldest driver on the grid after Fernando Alonso, continues to be a strong contender for podiums and victories, as shown by his recent form with two wins in the last three Grand Prixs. Read more
Super Falcons maintain 36th position in latest FIFA Women’s World ranking (CompleteSports)
Super Falcons of Nigeria maintained 36th position in the latest FIFA World ranking.
The latest ranking was released on the world football governing body’s website on Friday, August 16, 2024.
In Africa, the Falcons are still at number position and are followed by South Africa’s Banyana Banyana. Read more
Bissouma suspended for inhaling laughing gas (AfricaNews)
Tottenham’s Malian midfielder Yves Bissouma will miss the start of the Premier League season after being suspended by the club following an investigation into footage showing him appearing to inhale nitrous oxide, or laughing gas.
Last weekend, Bissouma uploaded clips to social media site Snapchat in which he showed himself using nitrous oxide, which is now a Class C drug under UK law.
The Malian international apologized and acknowledged his “serious lack of judgment” in a statement. Read more
GB’s Georgi fractured neck and broke hand in crash (BBC)
British cyclist Pfeiffer Georgi suffered neck fractures and a broken hand when she crashed on stage five of the Tour de France Femmes.
Georgi, 23, went down in a mass pile-up with 6.3km to go on Thursday and was forced to abandon the Tour.
Her team, DSM-Firmenich PostNL, confirmed on Friday she was likely to be sidelined for “at least the next four weeks”, but would not require surgery. Read more
Jersey cricketer selected to play in an inaugural Cayman Islands competition (ITV)
A Jersey batsman will play in a new cricket competition in the Cayman Islands.
Jonty Jenner will play under the Boca Raton Trailblazers against world stars in the inaugural Max 60 Caribbean League.
Former Australian international David Warner will captain the team, with Jenner competing against several World Cup winners including England’s Alex Hales and Dwayne Bravo of the West Indies. Read more