Police quiz three cops over brutalised Lagos woman (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command is investigating three of its men–a corporal and two constables–over a video showing residents in the Ajegunle area protesting after a woman was allegedly hit in the mouth by the cops.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP, Bala Elkana, confirmed to our correspondent that the Area B Command, Apapa, had been asked to investigate and submit a report to the state command over the incident.
The video obtained by our correspondent on Thursday showed about five residents dragging with the policemen, attached to the Tolu Police Division, for carrying out “arbitrary arrest,” of an Egypt-based footballer in the area. Read more
N73b Apapa-Oworonsoki Expressway project ready Nov (Nation)
THE Federal Controller of Work in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, has restated the Federal Government’s resolve to deliver the Apapa/Oshodi/Ojota/Oworonshoki Expressway project on schedule.
The Nation recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the N73 billion project in November 2018 to address gridlock on the axis, promising to deliver it in two years.
During inspection of the highway on Friday in Lagos, Popoola said that the road had achieved varied proportions of completion levels on different sections.
He explained that the progress was better to be presented in segments, but that a merger brought the entire projects to about 40 per cent completion level. Read more
Labourers arrested for allegedly poisoning co-worker’s drink (Punch)
The police in Lagos have arrested four labourers in connection with the death of their co-worker, Godwin Udoh, who died of poison.
The suspects, identified simply as Moses, Lekan, Clement and Kehinde, allegedly replaced the content of a bitter drink Udoh was taking with a chemical which he unknowingly drank.
Until his death, Udoh lived on Taiye Olorunfunmi Street, along Idimu-Ejigbo Road, Lagos.
City Round learnt that they invited the 25-year-old Udoh to do a clean-up work at a newly rented apartment on a neighbouring street. Read more
COVID-19: Rotary Club of Eko Atlantic donates water tanks to Lagos (Guardian)
Concerned about the rising cases of coronavirus in Nigeria, Rotary Club of Eko Atlantic in Lagos has commissioned and handed over water tanks to the Lagos State Government to promote hand washing across the councils to curb the spread of the pandemic.
The club, through its COVID-19 Water Tank Project, led by Gboyega Bada, donated several 500-litre and 1000-litre water tanks to various departments of the state and local governments to promote hand washing habits and promote personal hygiene culture in communities. Read more
For preaching peace, 4 Kajuru youths paid the ultimate price (DailyTrust)
Less than three weeks ago, David Kampani spoke before a group of security agents, government officials and his Adara kinsmen on the need to stop the tit-for-tat killings between Adara and Fulani natives in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Sources at the meeting told Daily Trust Saturday that Kampani’s peace sermon did not go down well with some of his kinsmen as many of them began to make angry faces and soon began a subtle protest, saying their son was selling them out before the government and security operatives. Read more
Yoruba, Ndigbo, Arewa call for re-awakening of June 12 spirit (Guardian)
Opinion leaders, traditional rulers and notable leaders of thought in South West, South East and northern Nigeria have called for re-awakening of the June 12 spirit for the country to attain development beyond religious and ethnic leanings.
The Ekefa Olubadan of Ibadanland, Lekan Alabi; Eze Ndigbo of Oyo State, Dr. Alex Anozie; Head of Nupe Community in Ibadan, Alhaji Shehu Ibrahim; the Seriki Ebira of Ibadan, Lamidi Balogun; and Chairman of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, Mr. Ademola Babalola, made the call in Ibadan yesterday during the celebration of June 12 as Democracy Day in Nigeria. Read more
Aisha Buhari cries out over detained aides (Tribune)
Wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha on Friday cried out that her staff members were being detained by the police.
She did not state the reason for the detention of the aides nor the identities of the detainees.
The development came amidst online reports that some of the First Lady’s aides had been arrested on the orders of a Personal Assistant to the President.
The Personal Assistant, according to SaharaReporters, was said to have travelled to Lagos in violation of President Buhari’s subsisting order stopping inter-state movements because of COVID-19. Read more
Nigeria’s Pete Edochie receives African Film Legend award at TAFF (Guardian)
For his role in the development of the film industry in Africa, legendary actor Pete Edochie, who turned 73 few months back, was recently honoured with the African Film Legend award at the just concluded African Film Festival (TAFF).
The festival, which ran from June 2, through June 6, 2020, in Dallas, United States of America, was screened live online, making it the first ever virtual award.
Due to ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, Edochie was unable to attend the four-day festival. However, he didn’t miss anything as back home, as he followed proceedings online from his Enugu residence, and was presented with TAFF 2020 Living Legends Award Certificate by actress Patience Ozokwor popularly known as Mama G. Read more
First black man cast in hit US reality dating show (BBC)
For the first time in its history, The Bachelor, ABC’s hugely popular reality series, will feature a black lead.
Matt James, a 28-year-old real estate broker, will star in the next season, ABC announced on Friday, after mounting criticism over a lack of diversity.
The show’s nearly two decade history has seen overwhelmingly white casts, with just one black star in its sister spinoff, The Bachelorette, in 2017.
Mr James called his casting “a step in the right direction”.
“I don’t think it’s ever the wrong time to do the right thing,” Mr James said in an interview with Good Morning America on Friday. Read more
No new evidence found in search for Jennifer Dulos at Connecticut mansion (NYPost)
Connecticut State Police came up empty in their renewed search for the remains of missing mum Jennifer Dulos at an Avon mansion where she once lived with her estranged husband, cops said Friday.
State police scoured the grounds of Dulos’ former home with cadaver dogs and inspected inside the septic tank on Thursday, according to police.
The search was sparked by “media-generated theory” that Jennifer’s estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, disposed of her body at the Sky View Drive home where the two briefly lived in 2010. Read more
Finland renames ‘Negro Island’ amid global anti-racism protests (RT)
Despite lacking a history of colonialism or slavery, Finland has nonetheless decided to do its bit in the anti-racism drive gripping the Western world, by changing the “racist” name of a small island.
The landmass in the Pyhaselka Lake in eastern Finland bore the name Neekerisaari – which translates as “Negro Island.” It has been designated an “exceptional case” by the state-run Institute for the Language of Finland (Kotus) due to its “absolutely derogatory” name, as official maps must not contain “racist expressions.” Read more
Oscars announce new diversity and inclusion plans (NYPost)
The academy is still trying to get past its #OscarsSoWhite problem. On Friday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscar statues, unveiled the “next phase” of its program to boost the representation of women and people of color in the entertainment industry and the annual awards.
The plan, titled Academy Aperture 2025, will “encourage equitable hiring practices and representation on- and off-screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the film community,” the academy said via Twitter. The move comes in the wake of a long-simmering controversy about a lack of diversity in Hollywood. Read more
Bolton sparks rage with promo press release for new book (RT)
Ex-national security advisor John Bolton has released a juicy teaser for his new book, claiming to have evidence of Donald Trump’s foreign policy “transgressions” prompting many to ask why he kept the information from Congress.
In a press release advertising his new book on Friday, Bolton, who was fired by Trump in September 2019, accuses his former boss of more “Ukraine-like transgressions” which allegedly spanned “the full range of his foreign policy.”
Trump was impeached by the US House of Representatives last year for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress.” Read more
John Nzenze: The founder of ‘Africa’s best band’ (BBC)
John Nzenze, the veteran Kenyan musician who is being buried on Saturday, was belting out popular songs before the country gained independence more than 50 years ago.
The singer, guitarist and dancer was among the last of the pioneer artistes who popularised the Kenyan Twist genre of music, and was part of a band that produced East Africa’s finest funk in the 1960s and early 1970s.
“When you become a celebrity, you become a bit arrogant, and in my arrogance I built my own band, the Air Fiesta Matata Band,” he said in an interview in Swahili in January.
The band – which included refugees from Congo, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo – found international fame a few years after it was formed. Read more
It’s wrong to shut doors against sports, Ex-Eagles star, Adelabu, tells COVID-19 PTF (Guardian)
Former Green Eagles winger, Adegoke Adelabu, is not comfortable with a declaration by the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Boss Mustapha, who has ruled out the return of sporting activities in the country, especially football, for now.
Mustapha, who spoke at Thursday’s briefing in Abuja, said PTF was not excited about giving the green light for sports to return in the country, since sporting activities attract large crowd.
However, Adelabu, a sports scientist, raised an alarm yesterday saying that there was a great disconnection between the government and sport management in the country.
“While other countries are counting their loses and how to get back to sport business, we are refusing to start sport participation in Nigeria. Read more
I want to play in EPL – Simon (Punch)
Nantes’ winger, Moses Simon, says he won’t give up on his dream to play in the English Premier League despite coming close to joining Brighton two years ago.
The Nigeria international has just finished an excellent season with the French Ligue 1 side, where he is on loan from La Liga side Levante.
Simon was voted the club’s player-of-the-season by supporters following an impressive season where he scored nine goals and eight assists from 30 appearances. Read more
Rory McIlroy shines as Harold Varner III leads PGA Tour’s comeback event in Texas (BBC)
World number one Rory McIlroy hit a superb seven-under 63 to move within two shots of American leader Harold Varner III at the halfway stage of the PGA Tour’s return event in Texas.
McIlroy holed an eagle and six birdies, with his only bogey coming at the last as he improved to nine under.
Varner III began with a triple bogey but had five birdies in his final six holes in a 66 as he reached 11 under.
Americans Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau are at 10 under after 65s. Read more
Ronaldo nears another trophy as Juventus edge out AC Milan to reach Coppa Italia final (RT)
A burst of early action that included a VAR check, the rare sight of a missed penalty by Cristiano Ronaldo and the dismissal of Ante Rebic for a wild challenge proved the highlight as Juventus reached the Coppa Italia final.
The much-anticipated return of elite football in Italy failed to deliver the drama it had promised when it momentarily burst into life with 15 minutes gone.
A lengthy VAR check – an element of the sport that many fans may not have missed during the pandemic – ended with a penalty being awarded to Juventus for hand ball, which Ronaldo strode forward with typical confidence to take as the hosts looked to build on their 1-1 draw in the first leg at the San Siro. Read more
Gerald Wilkins, ex-Knick, arrested three times in 10 days (NYPost)
Former Knick Gerald Wilkins, the brother of NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, has found trouble with the law, facing several charges related to three separate incidents on three different dates.
He was most recently arrested and charged with simple battery, theft by taking and aggravated assault, according to CBS46 in Georgia. The incident took place at his job on June 9, according to the report, in which Wilkins allegedly threw an object at a colleague and chased the person with a screwdriver. Read more
Premier League players to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ on back of shirts (BBC)
Premier League players’ names will be replaced on the back of their shirts with ‘Black Lives Matter’ for the first 12 matches of the restarted season.
The Premier League will also support any player who chooses to ‘take a knee’ before or during matches.
Players in Germany have made gestures of solidarity with people protesting about the death of George Floyd. Read more