Pilot breathed for two minutes after crash, says witness (Nation)
One of the witnesses of Friday’s helicopter crash at Opebi had said the pilot, Captain Ernest Chika breathed for about two minutes after he pulled out of the ill-fated chopper.
Mariam Olugbile, a resident of 2, Gafari Balogun Street, who said she was one of those who pulled all three occupants from the crashed helicopter, told The Nation that Chika stopped breathing two minutes after they brought him out.
Confirming the Bell 206B3 helicopter with registration number 5NBQW belonging to Quorum Aviation hovered for sometimes before crashing into the fence of 16A Salvation Road, Olugbile said people were initially scared to move close to it for fear of explosion.
“I was the one who called 112 immediately it happened. It happened at exactly 12pm but the LASEMA people got to the scene around 12:20pm. Before they arrived, NEMA officials and one LASTMA officer were already here. Read more
Students jubilate over reopening of schools in Lagos (Punch)
Students in Lagos State have expressed pleasure with the announcement by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu that schools would reopen in the State from September 14.
The governor had on Saturday announced that tertiary institutions will be allowed to open from September 14th, 2020, while primary and secondary schools may be reopened on September 21.
The students, under the aegis of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit, commended the state government for the reopening.
The Amir (president) of the MSSNLagos, Miftahudeen Thanni, made this known in a press statement on Sunday. Read more
Food vendors’ unsafe practices putting buyers at risk of liver, kidney diseases (Punch)
It was on a rainy day when Tobi Odukoya and her husband decided to get some groceries around Agungi, Lekki area of Lagos State when they saw a fruit seller storing some mangoes in the gutter.
The astonished woman started to shout at the fruit vendor selling the fruits.
Odukoya while filming the fruit seller said, “What are you doing? You are soaking mangoes inside gutter and you will bring it out and sell to people right? God will punish you.”
Few days after the video went viral; the mango seller who was caught in the act was arrested and forced into the car by officials. Read more
Helicopter crash: Quorum Aviation says company’s certificates, insurance valid, genuine (Vanguard)
Quorum Aviation, operators of the ill-fated helicopter that crashed on Friday at Opebi area of Ikeja, Lagos yesterday said the company has all the requisite certificates and approvals obtained through a very rigorous process from Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.
These certificates include an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), Certificate of Airworthiness (COA) and Insurance.
Quorum reaction is coming on the heels of report by an online medium that the ill-fated helicopter did not have valid papers and was not airworthy. Read more
Leadership tussle rocks NULGE as S’West leaders disown deputy national secretary (ThisDay)
Leadership of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in the six South West states, at the weekend cautioned their governors and members, not to relate with the former Deputy National Secretary of the union, Mr Razak Lawal, who they said had ceased to be employee of the union after retirement on attainment of 60 years of age.
The call of the NULGE leaders, was the highpoint of the communiqué issued by the union officers at the end of their meeting, held in Akure, Ondo State.
The communiqué, read by the National Trustee of the union, Comrade Abimbola Babalola, was signed by the six state presidents of Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Lagos and Ekiti. Read more
Passengers shun Abuja-Kaduna railway due to fare hike (Guardian)
One month after commencement of commercial operations on the Abuja-Kaduna railway, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is still battling with low passenger turnout, as many commuters have opted for commercial vehicles, despite insecurity and the deplorable state of roads. Currently, NRC is recording about 30 to 40 percent patronage of what it enjoyed before the COVID-19 lockdown.
This development is not unconnected with the over 100 percent increase in train fares. The economy cabin, which used to be N1300, now goes for N3000, while the business coach was increased from N2500 to N6000. Read more
Edo/Ondo Gov polls: IGP warns politicians to play by rules, be of good conduct (Vanguard)
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu has warned politicians and their supporters in Edo and Ondo States, where gubernatorial elections are scheduled to hold on 19th September 2020 and 10th October 2020 respectively, to conduct themselves properly, play by the rules and steer-clear of tendencies capable of undermining the electoral process in the two States.
Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba in a statement said, “The IGP gave the warning having reviewed the Election Security Threat Assessment Reports submitted by the Commissioners of Police from both States in a meeting held Tuesday, 25th August 2020. Read more
Amotekun: Southwest states insist on independent structure (Nation)
The Southwest states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo are insisting on the current independent structure of the region’s security network codenamed Amotekun, following moves by the federal government to delegate the control of the operations of the outfit to the Inspector General of Police.
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said on television last week that the IGP would determine the structure of Amotekun and similar outfits across the geo-political zones.
“Whatever name they go by, Amotekun or whatever, will be streamlined and they will be run in accordance with the structure as defined by the Inspector-General of Police,” Shehu had said while answering questions on the N13 billion released for community policing across the 36 states by President Muhammadu Buhari. Read more
FEMA, NEMA rescue 3 persons trapped in building (Guardian)
A combined team of FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigeria Police has rescued three people trapped in a building a truck crashed into at Madala, FCT.
FEMA director-general Idriss Abbas in a statement on Sunday explained that the truck, which was loaded with beverages, crashed into the residential building on Saturday.
Abbas said that the victims sustained injuries and had been taken to the Zuba General Hospital. Read more
Algeria’s lessons from The Plague in the age of coronavirus (BBC)
The Mediterranean city of Oran was the setting for a famous fictional outbreak of bubonic plague in Algeria under French colonial rule. The BBC’s Lucy Ash finds parallels between Albert Camus’ novel The Plague and how the country is coping with the coronavirus pandemic amid political upheaval.
Although it was published 73 years ago, today The Plague almost feels like a news bulletin. It has been flying off bookshop shelves around the world as readers struggle to make sense of the global spread of Covid-19.
Sitting in his office in the Mohamed-Boudiaf Hospital, where many of Oran’s coronavirus cases are treated, Professor Salah Lellou says he is exhausted. Read more
Coronavirus hits University of Alabama hard, 1,200 students now infected (NYPost)
A coronavirus tide is rolling at the University of Alabama — where 1,200 students have tested positive since the school opened this month.
The alarming stat was reported on the university’s own online “COVID-19 Dashboard.”
Classes had resumed two weeks ago at the school — home of the Crimson Tide football team — where nearly 30,000 students attend. Read more
First lady’s ex-best friend tells all in revenge book ‘Melania & Me’ (USAToday)
If anyone is capable of plumbing the shallows of the enigma that is first lady Melania Trump, it should be Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, her lovey-dovey, emoji-wielding close friend of nearly two decades who has written an “I was betrayed!” book to beat all.
“Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady” (Gallery Books, out Tuesday) joins the recent crop of Trump family take-down books as the November election nears, including “Too Much and Never Enough,” the best-selling psychological dissection of Mary Trump’s uncle, President Donald Trump.
Wolkoff’s book is no psych workup of Melania Trump, 50, although the reader may come away with somewhat better insight into the character and personality of America’s most elusive first lady since the 1940s. Read more
With record-breaking tweet, Chadwick Boseman now rules Twitter like he ruled Wakanda (NYPost)
The final post to Chadwick Boseman’s Twitter account is now the most-liked post in the history of the platform, the company announced Saturday.
The news comes just one day after the tragic death of the “Black Panther” star, 43, to stage 4 colon cancer.
The tweet, a picture of Boseman and the accompanying statement made by his family announcing his death, was retweeted by the official Twitter account, which added, “Most liked Tweet ever. A tribute fit for a King #Wakandaforever.” Read more
Belarus: Heavy security for anti-Lukashenko rally in Minsk (BBC)
Riot police have been deployed in the Belarusian capital ahead of the latest demonstration against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
They have cordoned off Minsk’s Independence Square, as columns of people join a march towards it.
Several have already been arrested.
Belarus has been gripped by mass protests, since the 9 August election widely believed to have been rigged in favour of the long-time leader, who has been in power for 26 years. Read more
Bradley Cooper films bloody scenes on new 70s set movie (Metro)
Bradley Cooper was back at work filming bloody scenes for Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film after the pandemic halted production.
The actor had fake blood running down his face and neck which dripped onto his clothes as he shot scenes in California on Saturday. Wearing a shoulder-length wig, low cut white shirt and white flared trousers, his outfit fit right in with the 70s era. The new film’s title is not yet known but it is believed to be about a child actor in the 1970s. Read more
Denzel Washington honours ‘brilliant’ Chadwick Boseman years after secretly paying for his acting classes (People)
Denzel Washington is remembering Chadwick Boseman as a “gentle soul,” years after paying for the late actor’s tuition in a prestigious theater program.
“He was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist, who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short yet illustrious career,” Washington, 65, said in a statement following Boseman’s death on Friday. “God bless Chadwick Boseman.”
Boseman died at the age of 43 following a years-long battle with colon cancer, his family said in a statement on social media.
Washington served as a producer on one of the last films Boseman worked on before his death, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. But his connection to the Black Panther star goes much deeper — he once quietly paid for Boseman, and several of his Howard University classmates, to attend an acting program at England’s Oxford University. Read more
Bamba gives Lille victory over Reims (Guardian)
Jonathan Bamba continued to rediscover his scoring touch as he gave Lille a 1-0 victory at Reims on Sunday.
The winger, who scored only one goal in 26 league appearances last season, hit his second in two games of the new campaign in the 32nd minute of a dour game.
He cut in from the left and hit a low snapshot from just outside the area that skipped past Predrag Rajkovic and inside the near post. It was one of only three shots on target on the whole match, all for Lille and two of them from Bamba.
Bamba crossed his arms across his chest after scoring, dedicating his goal to actor Chadwick Boseman, who played the superhero from “Black Panther” and died on Friday at the age of 43. Read more
La Liga make official statement over Lionel Messi’s release clause at Barcelona (Metro)
La Liga have confirmed in an official statement that Lionel Messi’s eye-watering release clause at Barcelona remains active and that any club wishing to sign the forward will have to cough up €700million (£632m).
The iconic 33-year-old sent shockwaves around the world of football last week by informing Barcelona of his desire to leave after nearly two decades of incredible service at the Camp Nou.
Messi’s team told Barca about their plans to exercise a clause in his contract which allowed the attacker to leave for free at the end of every season. Read more
Olympic icon John Carlos: NBA players’ boycott made them heroes (NYPost)
John Carlos — who authored the most famous protest in sports history — became a hero for human rights. Now, almost 52 years after his transformative moment, Carlos has new heroes of his own: NBA players boycotting playoff games over racial injustice.
“I commend what they did. They moved up in my mind to hero status,” Carlos told The Post. “I mean all the [athletes] that have stepped backwards from their games to set a precedent and make statement, to let ownership know there’s been plenty of time relevant to black lives being taken by the hands of law enforcement, and the fact is the ownerships have never shown respect or concern for those black lives. Read more
Novak Djokovic resigns as ATP player council president (BBC)
World number one Novak Djokovic has resigned as president of the ATP player council to front a new association aiming to increase the power of the players.
But he faces opposition from Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who remain members of the council.
Britain’s Andy Murray has not yet joined the male-only association and has called for the WTA to be involved.
The first players to sign up for the Professional Tennis Players’ Association met on Saturday at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in New York, where the US Open begins on Monday. Read more
Matt Doherty: Tottenham sign defender from Wolves (BBC)
Tottenham Hotspur have signed defender Matt Doherty from Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee.
The Republic of Ireland right-back, 28, has signed a four-year deal with Spurs.
Doherty made over 300 appearances for Wolves after joining from League of Ireland side Bohemians in 2010.
He becomes Spurs’ third signing of the summer following the arrivals of midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and goalkeeper Joe Hart. Read more
Rory McIlroy prepared to leave BMW Championship for birth of child (BBC)
Rory McIlroy says he is “just waiting for a phone call” as he awaits the birth of his first child with wife Erica Stoll.
McIlroy slipped three shots behind the leaders at the BMW Championship on Saturday, and revealed he is ready to leave if Erica goes into labour.
“I’m going to play in many more Tour Championships, and it’s only going to be the birth of your first child once,” said the Northern Irishman, 31.
“That trumps anything else.” Read more