Police arrest officers responsible for N30m theft (Channels)
Some officers from the Nigeria Police Force attached to the Special Tactical Squad in Abuja have been apprehended for their alleged involvement in extorting a member of the public of a significant sum, amounting to Thirty Million, Three Hundred Thousand Naira (N30,300,000).
The incident was brought to light after a report was received by the Force through the X Platform, prompting swift action from authorities.
According to reports, significant progress has been made in the investigation, leading to the arrest of the implicated officers and their accomplices. It is said that the squad members, who initially evaded capture, are now in custody, awaiting further legal proceedings. Read more
Drowned Prophet: Lagos beach management condoles family, denies kidnapping allegation (Punch)
The management of Avista Beach Resort has reacted to the circumstances leading to the death of a prophet, Oriyomi Remilekun, who allegedly drowned during a beach hangout in the facility situated in the Ajah area of Lagos State.
The deceased led some youths in his white garment church to the resort on Saturday, February 17, to celebrate this year’s Valentine’s Day.
The picnic said to have lasted through the evening had ended when the whereabouts of late Oriyomi became unknown. Read more
Tinubu appoints Gbenga Alade as AMCON MD/CEO, 3 other Executive Directors (ThisDay)
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of a new four-man management team for the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), pending their confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.
The appointees , according to a release issued on Thursday by presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, include Gbenga Alade — Managing Director/CEO; Aminu Ismail — Executive Director; Adeshola Lamidi — Executive Director and Lucky Adaghe — Executive Director.
The President expects unflagging dedication, professionalism, and dutifulness from the new appointees so as to ensure that the operations of AMCON are more efficient, transparent, and in consonance with his determination to sanitize the nation’s financial system to maximize value and enhance investor confidence in the Nigerian economy. Read more
DPO Murder: Rivers police recover corpse of prime suspect 2Baba (Leadership)
Operatives of the Tactical Units of the Rivers State Police Command have recovered the decomposing remains of Gift David Okpara, popularly known as 2Baba, the prime suspect in the murder of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ahoada Police Division in Ahoada-East local government area of the State, SP Bako Angbashim.
The corpse of 2Baba was discovered in a shallow grave at Ebrass community of Ahoada-West local government area of the state on Friday.
Recall that the prime suspect and some of his gang members had escaped with multiple bullet wounds when joint security operatives raided his camp at Idu-Ekpeye community in Ahoada-East LGA few days ago but died about four hours later after losing consciousness. Read more
IPOB lawyers to move for Nnamdi Kanu’s bail on Monday (Vanguard)
The legal representatives of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, will move to secure his release on bail next week Monday, pending the determination of his trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In a court document seen by Vanguard on Friday, the proposed release on bail will be based on “life-threatening medical conditions, namely: the heart ailment, the hypertension and the potassium deficiency.”
Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since June 2021 when he was extraordinary-renditioned from Kenya. Read more
Nigeria has 14.3m drug users – NDLEA (DailyTrust)
Zonal Commander, Zone ‘F’ of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), ACGN Sule Momodu, has said there are 14.3 million drug users in Nigeria.
According to him, the prevalence rate in Kaduna State alone is 10 percent, ranking fourth in the North-Western states of the country, adding that the North West alone has about 3 million drug users.
He stated this while addressing pharmacists and officers of the military and other paramilitary agencies during a dialogue to stop proliferation of controlled drug in Kaduna. Read more
SOAR Initiative takes campaign against sexual abuse to schools, communities (Sun)
In a bid to stamp out sexual abuse, early forced child marriage, the Sexual Offences Awareness and Response Initiative (SOAR Initiative), has taken the campaign to schools in Chafuyi and Pigba-Kasa communities in Apo District of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
SOAR Project Officer, Levi Yakubu, said the organisation also counseled victims of sexual harassment and trained on how to produce reusable sanitary pads giving the current economic hardship.
Yakubu, during a campaign and to celebrate with the graduating class that participated in the training in Abuja on Friday, said the project, which is targeted at empowering about 240 vulnerable girls aged 10 to 16 years, was funded by Mundo Cooparente, for 9 months.
According to him, the SOAR Initiative also, set up a community child protection committee, to fish out victims, and report them to the relevant authorities, adding that the aforementioned social vices, if allowed to fester, would steal the joy, careers and fulfilment of young girls. Read more
Harvarde College of Science not running illegal nursing school programme – Management (Tribune)
The Management of Harvarde College of Science, Business, and Management has declared that the institution is not running an illegal nursing program, as widely reported in some sections of the media.
Recall that Tribune Online reported that the State Government, through the Ministry of Health, shut down the nursing science department of the privately-owned school last Tuesday.
The institution equally denies that the accreditation status of the program had anything to do with the death of a 300-level former student of the school, reported to have committed suicide. Read more
Porsha Williams files for divorce from Simon Guobadia after 15 months of marriage (People)
Porsha Williams and Simon Guobadia’s marriage is coming to an end over a year after they tied the knot.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum filed for divorce from Guobadia on Thursday in Atlanta, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
News of their split comes as rumours fly online about Guobadia’s citizen status. However, a source tells PEOPLE the divorce is “unrelated to recent allegations involving Simon’s past.” Read more
Biden sanctions 500 Russian targets after death of Alexei Navalny, 2 years into war (USAToday)
The Biden administration is imposing sanctions on 500 Russian targets to mark the two-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine and in response to the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.
It is the largest round of financial penalties on Russia since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The sanctions, announced Friday, are intended to disrupt Putin’s war efforts. Targets include Russia’s financial sector, military-industrial complex, procurement networks and sanctions evaders across multiple continents. The U.S. also imposed sanctions on three Russian government officials connected to Navalny’s imprisonment. Read more
Les Moonves’ settlement with L.A. for alleged interference in LAPD investigation rejected by Ethics Commission (THR)
The Los Angeles Ethics Commission has unanimously voted to reject the proposed settlement by the city with Les Moonves, the former president and CEO of CBS.
The settlement, made public last week, stated that Moonves tried to influence now-retired LAPD Captain Cory Palka amid a sexual assault investigation against the executive. The legal documents noted that Moonves agreed to pay an $11,250 fine on Feb. 5 for violating the city’s ethics code.
Moonves “admits that he violated City law by aiding and abetting the disclosure and misuse of confidential information and by inducing a City official to misuse his position to attempt to create a private advantage for Moonves,” the settlement read, which is why they recommend “settling this case by approving the stipulated order.” Read more
Offset laughs off man’s claim that he checked him via DM over an IG comment (HipHopDx)
Offset has reacted to a claim by an up-and-coming rapper in Atlanta that the Migos rapper checked him over a comment about his newly announced tour.
According to artist Soheem Perry, Offset DM’d him on Instagram after Perry commented on a previous post that he didn’t think the rapper was big enough to headline a solo tour.
In a series of screenshots of their alleged interaction, Offset apparently messaged Perry “U hating fr,” later adding, “I seen that comment u hatin ass n-gga.” Read more
‘‘Ballerina’’ dances into summer 2025 as ‘‘The Crow’’ swoops into John Wick spinoff’s June 2024 date (Deadline)
Lionsgate‘s John Wick spinoff ‘‘Ballerina’’ starring Ana de Armas will be delayed a year from June 7, 2024 to June 6, 2025. The move comes as John Wick architect Chad Stahelski has inked a new deal with Lionsgate to oversee the franchise. He’s working with ‘‘Ballerina’’ director Len Wiseman on additional action sequences for the movie, to amp it up even more than it is.
Advance tracking is already hot on ‘‘Ballerina’’, Lionsgate just wants to make the feature, produced by Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee’s Thunder Road, even better. Currently, the Ballerina stands alone on her new summer 2025 date. Read more
German lawyers sue Scholz, alleging complicity in Gaza ‘genocide’ (AlJazeera)
A group of lawyers is filing a criminal complaint with the German federal prosecutor against senior German politicians, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, accusing them of “aiding and abetting” the genocide they say is being committed by Israel in Gaza.
The case against several members of the country’s Federal Security Council, which directs national security policy and authorises weapons exports, was announced on Friday.
In addition to Scholz, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Economics Minister Robert Habeck, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and others stand accused. Read more
Australian police officer charged with murdering 2 missing men (NBC)
A police officer in Australia was charged with murder Friday in the deaths of his former boyfriend and his new partner, who have been missing for days and whose bodies have yet to be found.
The New South Wales Police Force said in a statement that a 28-year-old senior constable was arrested after he presented himself at a police station in the Sydney suburb of Bondi.
As is customary, the force did not name the officer, but he was identified by local media as Beau Lamarre. A first-appearance hearing was scheduled at the Waverley Local Court Friday for a Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, according to online records. Read more
‘The girls are ready’ — Nnadozie claims Super Falcons eager to end Olympics absence (CompleteSports)
Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie says the Super Falcons are desperate to return to the Olympics after a 16-year absence.
The Super Falcons last appearance at the Olympics was at the 2008 edition hosted by Beijing, China.
Randy Waldrum’s side will battle the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon for a place in the final round. Read more
Football: Argentina-Nigeria match confirmed for March 26 (AfricaNews)
Argentina has scheduled matches against El Salvador and Nigeria in the United States next month as part of preparations for the Copa América, replacing a tour to China cancelled after Lionel Messi’s absence from the match. Inter Miami pre-season in Hong Kong.
Argentina will face El Salvador on March 22 at Lincoln Field in Philadelphia and Nigeria four days later at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Argentine Football Federation announced Thursday. Read more
LeBron James out for LA Lakers game against Golden State Warriors (StraitsTimes)
Two of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) hottest teams entering the All-Star break hope the week off has not stalled their momentum, as they go head-to-head on Feb 22 (Feb 23 Singapore time) when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers, though, will be missing LeBron James due to an ankle injury.
The California rivals begin the second half clinging to the ninth and 10th positions in the NBA play-off race, spots that would grant entry into the play-in event. Read more
QPR respond to claims Ilias Chair has been jailed for alleged rock attack on truck driver (Mirror)
Ilias Chair, who plays for Championship side QPR, is on trial in Belgium after being accused of assaulting a truck driver, with the club now responding to reports he had been jailed
Queens Park Rangers have responded to claims that forward Ilias Chair has been sent to prison after he was allegedly found guilty of breaking a truck driver’s skull with a rock.
Chair, 26, was reportedly sentenced him to a year in jail, with a further 12 months suspended, on Friday morning at a court in his hometown of Antwerp. The Belgian-born Morocco international is also said to have been ordered to pay his alleged victim £13,400 compensation for their injuries. Read more
End of Osimhen pursuit? Chelsea shift focus to Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface (Soccernet)
Victor Osimhen has piqued the interest of Chelsea, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and a host of other top European clubs for his impressive performance with Napoli
Chelsea is expressing strong interest in securing the services of 23-year-old Nigerian striker Victor Boniface from Bayer Leverkusen for the upcoming season, Soccernet.ng reports.
Earlier, the London side was linked with pursuing Victor Osimhen from Napoli, who aspired to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Didier Drogba. Read more
Rasmus Hojlund: Manchester United striker to miss 2 to 3 weeks with injury (BBC)
Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund is expected to miss two to three weeks with a muscle injury.
United’s £72m summer signing scored for the sixth successive Premier League game in Sunday’s 2-1 win at Luton Town.
The Danish 21-year-old will miss the home league game against Fulham on Saturday and FA Cup fifth-round tie at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday. Read more