Okada rider crushed to death on Oshodi-Apapa highway (Guardian)
Tragedy struck yesterday at the Toyota Bus Stop on the Oshodi-Apapa expressway, when a commercial motorcycle rider was crushed to death by an articulated truck moving towards Oshodi.
The passenger on the motorcycle escaped death by the whiskers as he immediately jumped off the bike.
This was the second of such incident in two weeks after a container fell off its truck and landed on a commercial bus at Ilasa Bus Stop, killing two passengers on July 26. Read more
Lagos lists 46 guidelines for partial reopening of worship centres (Nation)
Ahead of the reopening of worship centers in Lagos State Friday and Sunday, the government on Thursday rolled out 46 several safety protocols and guidelines for worshippers to follow during services in the first phase.
The government also inaugurated a 43-man Monitoring and Compliance Committees to ensure compliance with the protocols and guidelines.
Home Affairs Commissioner Anofiu Elegushi announced this after a closed-door meeting with stakeholders comprising Muslim and Christian leaders and inauguration of the monitoring committee in Alausa, Ikeja. Read more
Businessman jailed two years for stealing N9m (Punch)
The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja, on Thursday, sentenced a businessman, Olarenwaju Gbadamosi, to two years’ imprisonment for stealing N9m.
Gbadamosi was sentenced by Justice Mojisola Dada after pleading guilty to an amended charge of a money by false pretences preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The convict, on November 19, 2010, stole the sum of N9m from one John Stevens. Read more
FG extends curfew for four weeks (Nation)
The federal government has announced the extension of the second phase of the eased lockdown for four weeks.
Part of the extended protocols is the 10pm to 4am curfew imposed on the country in June.
The extension was announced on Thursday by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic Boss Mustapha in Abuja. Read more
COVID-19: Buhari Orders Compulsory Use Of Face Masks Nationwide (Independent)
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enforce the use of face masks in public places across the country.
The Chairman, Presidential Task force on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, made this known at the daily briefing on Thursday in Abuja.
Mustapha, while reviewing the activities of the committee, said the president also approved that the current phase of the National Response to COVID-19 should be maintained for another four weeks, but with some modifications.
“President Buhari also asked the PTF to partner with states and local governments to improve community sensitisation and engagement to step up response to the COVID-19 response. Read more
Teachers’ Recruitment: Oyo fixes exam dates as 91,000 applicants jostle for 7,000 teaching jobs (Sun)
Oyo State Post Primary Schools’ Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) has fixed examinations dates for the 91,000 applicants for 7,000 available teaching appointments in secondary schools in the state.
Though the Computer-Based Test (CBT) was earlier fixed for April this year, the COVID-19 pandemic, however, prevented the test from holding as scheduled. The commission stated on Thursday that the CBT would commence on Tuesday August 11 and would run for one week from 7a.m till 6p.m., except on Sunday.
The Executive Chairman of Oyo TESCOM, Pastor Akinade Alamu, who stated this when he featured on a radio programme in Ibadan, said the dates for the CBT was fixed after the commission had informed the general public that all applicants for the teaching appointments would have to upload their credentials to the state’s website to allow for equal participation and open process. Read more
Police officer’s wife bags two-year jail term for maltreating maid in Delta (Guardian)
Mrs Precious Joseph, wife of a police officer, has been jailed for two years without an option of fine for violently abusing her nine-year-old maid, Miss Agatha Emmanuel, at the Okwe area of Asaba, Delta State.
In a ruling delivered by P.O. Obayuwana, Chief Magistrate, Court 11 in the Okwe Magisterial District, on Monday, the 31-year-old convict was jailed two years for using a hot kitchen knife to disfigure her victim’s mouth.
The two-count charge brought against her in Charge No: OMC/118C/2020, read: “That you, Precious Joseph, ‘f’ on July 31, 2020 at Iyasele Street, Okwe, did unlawfully assault one Agatha Emmanuel ‘f’ by causing her harm with hot knife on her mouth and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 355 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C21 vol.1 Laws of Delta State of Nigeria 2006. Read more
Oyetola launches N100m post COVID-19 Economic Intervention Programme (Independent)
Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun on Thursday launched the N100 million Post COVID-19 Economic Intervention Pilot Programme to mitigate the effects of the raging Coronavirus pandemic on people of the state.
Oyetola said at the programme in Osogbo on Thursday that the initiative was conceptualised to reposition the state economy, which according to him, had become weak due to the pandemic.
He said that under the programme, N100 million would be disbursed to two thousand beneficiaries after undergoing Entrepreneurial Development Training. Read more
INEC introduces election result viewing portal (Vanguard)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has introduced a dedicated public election result viewing portal, known as “The INEC Result Viewing (IReV)”.
The commission said IRev would enable Nigerians to view polling unit results in real time as voting ends on election day.
The commission announced this in a statement on Thursday, issued by Mr Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, after its meeting held in Abuja.
Okoye said that the commission at the meeting, approved the introduction of a new step to further strengthen its election management process and enhance transparency of the system. Read more
Trump issues order to ban dealings with TikTok’s Chinese owner (Aljazeera)
United States President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning any transactions with ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the video-sharing app TikTok, starting in 45 days.
The app may be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the Chinese Communist Party and the US “must take aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security,” Trump said in the order.
His move came after the app came under fire from US policymakers and the Trump administration over national security concerns because China’s ByteDance owns the technology. They claim the Chinese government could access US user data as a consequence of TikTok’s ownership. TikTok has repeatedly denied the claims. Read more
No murder charge over coronavirus death of railway worker allegedly spat at (Metro)
Prosecutors have ruled out homicide charges over the death of a railway worker who was reportedly spat at by a man claiming to have coronavirus.
Belly Mujinga, 47, died with Covid-19 on April 5, a few weeks after an incident at London’s Victoria station. British Transport Police (BTP) interviewed a 57-year-old suspect at the time but decided there was not enough evidence to show a crime had taken place.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was asked to review the case amid widespread outcry that BTP had closed their investigation. Read more
Gunman seizes hostages in a bank in French port city of Le Havre (France24)
A man armed with a gun was holding three people hostage in a bank in northern France on Thursday, officials said, and two police union sources said the gunman was believed to have Islamist ties.
An elite tactical unit of the French police was on its way to the scene in the port of Le Havre, police said.
A representative of the national police told Reuters the hostage-taker had initially seized six people at the bank, but two had subsequently been released. It was unclear if a third person was released or had escaped. Read more
Trump says Biden will ‘hurt the Bible, hurt God’ (BBC)
US President Donald Trump has said Joe Biden is “against God”, ramping up attacks on his Democratic rival and foreshadowing an ugly election battle.
The remarks, during a trip to Ohio, came as Mr Trump tries to make up ground in the crucial Midwestern states that were his path to victory in 2016.
“He’s against God. He’s against guns,” said the president, a Republican.
Mr Biden, an avowed Catholic, will take on Mr Trump in November. Opinion polls suggest the Democrat currently leads. Read more
Woman changes her ‘complicated’ name – but annoys family for not telling them (DailyStar)
A woman has been slammed by her family for legally changing her name without telling them.
Her name used to be “Emma-Leigh Izobel Lastname”, but she was often called “Em” instead.
Then she made the decision to change it by deed poll to something a little simpler for “professional purposes”.
Now a year on after changing her name, she told her family – and let’s just say, they were not happy about it. Read more
Sri Lanka election: Rajapaksa brothers win ‘super-majority’ (BBC)
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared victory in the country’s parliamentary election.
His brother Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to be installed as prime minister, having held the role as caretaker since November.
The brothers’ party, Sri Lanka People’s Front, has secured a two-thirds “super majority” of seats needed to carry out its promised constitutional changes.
The party won 145 of the 225 seats, plus five more seats from its allies. Read more
‘Knight Rider’ movie with a ‘present-day take’ in the works (NYPost)
Spyglass Media Group has teamed with Atomic Monster’s James Wan and Michael Clear to develop a film based on the 1980s classic action series “Knight Rider.” TJ Fixman, a former video game writer, is adapting the screenplay.
Created by Glen A. Larson, “Knight Rider” first aired on NBC from 1982 to 1986 and is credited for launching David Hasselhoff’s career. It’s about a smart car named KITT that assists its mysterious crime-fighting driver, Michael Knight (Hasselhoff).
The series amassed a significant cult following and created more TV spinoffs, films, video games, books, and a “Knight Rider” convention known as KnightCon. Read more
Arsenal board overrule Mikel Arteta after disagreement over Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Metro)
Ainsley Maitland-Niles is set to leave Arsenal this summer after the Gunners’ board overruled Mikel Arteta’s plea to keep the versatile youngster.
The 22-year-old is a product of the club’s Hale End academy and is keen to continue his development with the Gunners, despite falling out of favour under Arteta.
The Spaniard had appeared to deem Maitland-Niles surplus to requirements but the defender’s end-of-season form, where he starred in the FA Cup semi-final win against Manchester City, convinced Arteta that he had a future at the Emirates. Read more
Jimenez sends Wolves into first European quarter-final in 48 years (BBC)
Wolves survived a nervous night at Molineux to reach their first European quarter-final in 48 years as Raul Jimenez’s early penalty earned them a 2-1 aggregate win against Olympiakos in the Europa League.
The Mexican’s precise eighth-minute effort, after Daniel Podence had been fouled by Olympiakos’ stand-in keeper Bobby Allain, was his 27th goal of the season and the earliest Wolves had scored in any game during a marathon season that began on 25 July last year and will now extend to a 59th game.
However, Wolves’ rhythm was wrecked eight minutes later when wing-back Jonny suffered a knee injury which allowed Olympiakos to take control. Read more
Man City inform Barcelona of Eric Garcia’s transfer value after defender rejects contract (DailyStar)
Manchester City have told Barcelona to stump up £30 million if they want to sign Eric Garcia.
The Spanish star wants to leave the Etihad after rejecting the chance to sign a new and improved contract.
Barca have targeted the 19-year-old and view him as someone capable of becoming the long-term replacement for Gerard Pique at the Nou Camp.
But Guardiola is keen to keep the centre back and will not force him out of City in the summer transfer window. Read more
US PGA Championship: Tiger Woods hits lowest opening round in major since 2012 (BBC)
Tiger Woods shot his lowest opening round in a major since 2012 with a two-under-par 68 at the US PGA Championship in San Francisco.
The 15-time major winner played alongside Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who finished level par at the year’s first major at TPC Harding Park.
England’s Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka, going for a third straight US PGA win, both carded four-under 66s.
They sit one behind joint leaders Jason Day and Brendon Todd. Read more
Bale did not want to play against Man City, says Zidane (Vanguard)
Zinedine Zidane has said Gareth Bale told him he did not want to play for Real Madrid against Manchester City in the Champions League last 16 on Friday.
But Zidane said Eden Hazard is fit to face City, despite concerns regarding the Belgian’s right ankle.
Bale was left out of the squad and has not travelled to Manchester, where Madrid are aiming to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg in February to reach the quarter-finals.
Sources close to Bale claim he told Zidane he did not want to travel, after finding out he was not included in the squad, but was ready to play. Read more
WWE legend Marty Jannetty claims self-defense from ‘rape’ amid police probe (NYPost)
WWE legend’s apparent murder confession sparks police probe
After an apparent murder confession in a since-deleted Facebook post sparked a police investigation in Georgia, former WWE star Marty Jannetty claimed he was defending himself from someone who was trying to sexually assault him.
“I almost got raped. If I couldn’t have handled myself, that dude would’ve raped me,” the 60-year-old Jannetty said in an interview on the Boston Wrestling MWF YouTube channel. “I didn’t say I killed him. I said he disappeared.” Read more