Police dismantle fraud syndicate, foil multi-million looting (Nation)
Attempts by a fraud syndicate to steal N25million from a local bank and $220,000 from a foreign bank have been foiled by operatives of the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad (RRS) following arrest of seven suspects.
The seven suspects identified as Osita Nwafor, 45, alias Ossy; Joseph Nwogu 36; Anthony Odama 43; Ikechukwu Nkem 32; James Okonkwo 51; Paulinus Adedio 29 and Olufemi Ogundepo 51 were arrested last week by undercover detectives acting on information received on activities of the syndicate.
According to the police, Nwafor, the leader, was first apprehended at their hideout after days of tailing and under studying the operations of the syndicate.
He was said to have provided useful information that led to the arrest of the others in different parts of Lagos, putting a stop to their plans of swindling unsuspecting victims. Read more
N1m damages: EKEDC appeals court judgment (Guardian)
The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) says it has filed an appeal against the judgement of an Igbosere High Court in Lagos which awarded N1 million damages against it in a suit filed by one Mr Sunday Babalola.
Mr Godwin Idemudia, the General Manager, Corporate Communications in EKEDC, said this in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday.
Idemudia said the court had awarded the damages against the company for refusing to connect the claimant’s property over unpaid outstanding electricity bill.
He said that the EKEDC had appealed the judgment on the grounds that it was inconsistent with industry regulation. Read more
Churches reopen in Ogun, comply with COVID-19 protocols (Nation)
Churches in Abeokuta, the Ogun capital, reopened on Sunday with most complying with protocols to check the spread of coronavirus.
Automated hand washing units, hand sanitisers and infrared thermometers were deployed by the churches.
Many churches also displayed the bold inscription” No Mask No Entry, ” at entrances with officials taking the temperature of worshipers wearing facemasks.
Social distancing was observed by worshipers with stickers to show distance spacing. Read more
Police declare suspect wanted after escape from custody (Punch)
The Oyo State Police Command has declared a suspected serial killer wanted after he reportedly escaped from custody on August 11.
Sunday Shodipe, 19, was arrested and paraded alongside two others at the Oyo State Police Command on July 17 and later charged to court.
The suspect was said to have, however, escaped from police custody while still undergoing trial. Read more
Kidnapped Chinese workers regain freedom (Guardian)
Four Chinese Nationals who were kidnapped in Akamkpa local government area of Cross River State have regained freedom after being in captivity for 22 days.
The victims were kidnapped at gun point by unknown gunmen at Danatrite Construction Company where they work in Oban community.
It was gathered that a Police Sergeant, Ifere Sampson who was securing the company was shot dead before Kan Jinxi, Hujinchang, Jiang Jijun and Cheng Qing, were whisked away by their abductors in the early hours of Wednesday, July, 29th, 2020. Read more
CCTV exposes man who allegedly raped 11-year-old girl in Delta (Vanguard)
The Delta State Police Command arrested a 30 years old man simply called Jomaph, who raped an 11 years old girl after a CCTV camera exposed him in Sapele, Delta State.
The incident happened along Oleh Road in the timber town at about 7 am on Wednesday morning.
Vanguard learnt that the victim, (name withheld) had gone to the toilet that morning to ease herself and had returned minutes later crying that she had been raped by Jomaph, who happens to be their neighbour. Read more
Businessman commits suicide (Punch)
A businessman, Festus Olawale, has reportedly committed suicide in his cocoa store in Gbongan, Osun State.
The deceased, a businessman dealing in cocoa, it was gathered, died after hanging himself in one of the rooms in his cocoa store located at Oke Ola, Gbongan on Friday.
The incident, which happened around 8 pm, led to panic in the area when the corpse was discovered hanging in the room.
The father of four kids, it was also learnt, neither left a suicide note nor acted strangely before the incident. Read more
Storm in Niger Delta over alleged plan to halt Amnesty Programme (Vanguard)
There was outrage in Niger-Delta, weekend, over leaked information that the Committee set up by the Federal Government to appraise the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, for ex-agitators in the region had supposedly recommended that the programme be terminated this year.
Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, the mouthpiece of the people of the coastal states of Niger-Delta region, other stakeholders, including agitators, across the region, kicked against the plot, warning that ending the programme abruptly was like declaring mayhem in the oil region.
National Coordinator of South-South Elders, and Board Member of the Pan-Niger Delta Elders Forum, PANDEF, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, said the purported recommendation was not in the interest of the nation. Read more
Police confirm abduction of district head in Yobe (Guardian)
The Police Command in Yobe has confirmed the abduction of Alhaji Isa Mai-Buba, the District Head of Jajere in Fune Local Government Area of the state.
The Command’s Spokesman, ASP Dungus Abdulkarim, stated this in a statement released in Damaturu on Sunday.
He said Mai-Buba was abducted at his residence in Jajere on Saturday, Aug 15. Read more
Thai protests: Thousands gather in Bangkok to demand reforms (BBC)
Thousands of protesters staged another anti-government rally in the Thai capital, Bangkok, on Sunday to demand political reforms.
Demonstrators want a revised constitution and are also calling for reform of the monarchy – a sensitive subject in Thailand.
Under Thai law, anyone criticising the royal family faces long prison sentences.
There have been almost daily student-led demonstrations in recent weeks. Read more
Doctor who fled China to reveal virus truth (news.com.au)
A Chinese doctor who fled her home country under threat has claimed COVID-19 originated in a military lab and China and the World Health Organisation covered up facts about its human contagion early on.
Li-Meng Yan, whose family and friends have been interrogated and threatened by communist party officials since she left China in April, has become a coronavirus whistleblower in the US.
She was working as a virologist last December at Hong Kong University’s public health laboratory sciences division, a World Health Organisation infectious diseases research centre. Read more
Joe Biden offers condolences on death of president’s brother, Robert Trump (NYPost)
Former Vice President Joe Biden offered his and his wife’s condolences to President Trump on Sunday on the death of his younger brother Robert.
“Mr. President, Jill and I are sad to learn of your younger brother Robert’s passing. I know the tremendous pain of losing a loved one — and I know how important family is in moments like these. I hope you know that our prayers are with you all,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee posted on Twitter.
Robert Trump, 71, a top executive at the Trump Organization, died on Saturday.
The president traveled to New York on Friday to visit his brother in the hospital. Read more
Two held in India for teen’s rape and murder (BBC)
A 13-year-old girl has been raped and murdered in India.
Her body was found in a sugarcane field in northern Uttar Pradesh state, police said on Saturday. Two neighbours in the village have been arrested.
Police have denied the father’s account that his daughter had had her eyes gouged out and her tongue cut.
Rape and sexual violence have been under the spotlight in India since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in the capital, Delhi. Read more
Ash Christian, Emmy-winning producer and actor, dead at 35 (PageSix)
Ash Christian, an Emmy award-winning producer, actor, filmmaker and founder of Cranium Entertainment, died in his sleep on Thursday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He was 35.
Born on Jan. 16, 1985, in Paris, Tex., Christian began writing and directing short films at the age of 14, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams just two years later. He wrote, directed and starred in his first feature film, “Fat Girls,” in 2006 at just 19 years old. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won an award for outstanding emerging talent at L.A. Outfest.
Mahershala Ali to Star in, Executive Produce Crime Thriller ‘Burn’
In 2014, Christian won a Daytime Emmy for outstanding special-class short-format daytime program for “mI Promise.” He shared the award with his producing partner Anne Clements and executive producers Lauralee Bell and Scott Martin. Read more
COVID survivor can still taste the virus (news.com.au)
A young coronavirus survivor in Melbourne has been testing positive for the coronavirus for a month, and it’s brought with it some bizarre and gross symptoms.
Tina Dinh got sick on Sunday, July 26, but three days later her condition had deteriorated so badly that an ambulance rushed her to hospital.
The 26-year-old was in the Intensive Care Unit for a week. After a struggle, she came through and was released from hospital last week.
Although the worst is behind Ms Dinh, she has revealed some persistent symptoms that she can’t seem to shake, almost a month later. Read more
Idris Elba to star in spy romance thriller for Apple (NYPost)
Apple has asserted itself once again on the film side, winning an auction for an untitled Africa-set thriller that Idris Elba will star in. He will produce the film with Genre Films’ Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon producing. Script was written by Travon Free (“The Daily Show”), and is set in the action spy/romance arena that launched Kinberg’s star with “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”
Elba stars and produced “Concrete Cowboy,” set to premiere at TIFF. He also stars in “The Suicide Squad” coming summer 2021 and is about to begin production on “The Harder They Fall.”
Elba is repped by WME, The Artists Partnership and Ziffren Brittenham.
Kinberg/Chon and Genre Films are producing “Here Comes The Flood,” a heist script that Netflix won in another big auction in May. Pic just got Ozark’s Jason Bateman as its director. Read more
Senderos appointed Servette boss (Guardian)
Former Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos was named on Sunday as the new sporting director of his Swiss boyhood club Servette.
The former Switzerland captain came through the youth ranks at his Geneva hometown side before going on to play for the Gunners, AC Milan, Fulham, Valencia and Houston Dynamos.
Senderos, 35, retired in December after playing with Swiss second-tier side Chiasso. Read more
Rafael Benitez hits rock-bottom in China as search for first win drags on (Vanguard)
Rafael Benitez hit rock-bottom in the Chinese Super League Sunday after Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Guangzhou R&F extended Dalian Pro’s winless start to the season.
Israeli international striker Eran Zahavi scored a first-half penalty to give R&F a badly needed 1-0 victory, van Bronckhorst’s first win as a coach in Chinese football.
However, defeat for Champions League winner Benitez — Dalian’s third in five matches this season — means his young side drop to bottom of their group with two points. Read more
Jessica McCaskill beats Cecilia Braekhus to become undisputed world welterweight champion (BBC)
Jessica McCaskill handed Cecilia Braekhus her first professional defeat in a huge upset to become the undisputed world welterweight champion.
American McCaskill, 35, won by majority decision in Tulsa to take Braekhus’ WBA, WBC, IBF, IBO and WBO belts.
Victory would have seen Norway’s Braekhus, 38, beat Joe Louis’ streak of 25 straight title defences in an 11-year reign. Read more
Boxing: Referee under fire after Israil Madrimov’s victory over Eric Walker (news.com.au)
Boxing referee Gary Ritter has come under fire after Uzbekistan boxer Israil Madrimov secured a comprehensive victory over super welterweight rival Eric Walker.
In the ninth round of Sunday’s bout in Oklahoma, Madrimov delivered a powerful left hook which sent his American opponent to the floor.
As the 25-year-old started celebrating, Ritter opted not to call a knockdown, arguing Walker had been pushed to the ground by Madrimov’s body momentum.
A dazed Walker was given a few minutes to recover before the fight continued — the 37-year-old copped a beating for the remaining three rounds, and Madrimov was inevitably named the victor via unanimous decision (116-110 x 2, 116-111).
Sports Illustrated reporter Chris Mannix was one of the most outspoken critics of the referee, condemning the “dangerous” decisions on Twitter. Read more
Prague Open: Simona Halep beats Elise Mertens in final (BBC)
Simona Halep won her first title since before the coronavirus lockdown at the Prague Open with a straight-set victory over Elise Mertens.
The Romanian world number two beat Belgium’s Mertens 6-2 7-5 for her first title on clay since the 2018 French Open.
Halep, 28, becomes only the second top seed to win the Prague Open, after Karolina Pliskova did so in 2015.
Victory in the Czech capital gives Halep her second title of 2020.
In February, she won the Dubai Tennis Championships – her last tournament before the WTA Tour was suspended because of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Read more
De Bruyne wins Premier League Player of the Season (Punch)
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has been named Premier League Player of the Season for the 2019/20 campaign.
The Belgian playmaker beat Liverpool trio Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Southampton striker Danny Ings, Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope and Leicester’s Golden Boot winner Jamie Vardy to the award. Read more