Police raid black spots, arrest 28 suspected criminals in Lagos (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command, on Wednesday, said it arrested 28 suspected criminals after a raid on black spots in the state.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the command’s spokesman, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu.
The statement said the raid led by the Operations Department of the command was carried out around 8pm last night at Canal Axis in Ago-Ogota Area of the state.
This was in line with the directive of the state Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, to dislodge hoodlums hiding in shanties across the state. Read more
Court grants man whose wife elopes with another divorce (Nation)
An Igando Customary Court in Lagos has granted a 40-year-old transporter, Mr Muri Olashiyan, divorce on grounds that his wife absconded with another man to the UK.
The President of the court, Mr Adeniyi Koledoye, on Wednesday, dissolved the union between Muri and Monisola Olashiyan.
“The court hereby pronounces the marriage between Mr Muri Olashiyan and Mrs Monisola Olashiyan dissolved today.
“Both of you henceforth cease to be husband and wife. Read more
Lagos embarks on street campaigns to woo drop-outs back to school (Guardian)
Lagos State government has embarked on public enlightenment campaigns to educate school dropouts, especially young girls on the need to go back to school to complete their education for a better future.
Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Education, Barrister Tokunbo Wahab, speaking during a day sensitization/ public enlightenment programme by his Office in Amuwo Odofin Local Council to sensitise residents on the need to re- enroll school drop outs, implored the girl-child who may have dropped out of school system due to early pregnancy, poverty, early marriage or other factors to return to school to continue their education.
What urged young girls who missed education early in life due to early pregnancy, trafficking, poverty or other factors to take advantage of the Alternative school system of the state government to re-enroll themselves for secondary education and learn a vocation that would make them become entrepreneurs. Read more
Lagos APC suspends former council chairman for dragging party to court (Tribune)
The Lagos State All Progressives Congress, APC, Apapa Local Government chapter has suspended a former chairman of the local government, Hon Elijah Owolabi Adele for dragging the party to court, describing the act as disgraceful.
The party had accused Adele of anti-party which he had since denied.
In a letter of suspension signed by the party Vice Chairman, Comrade Oye Olumide; Secretary, Adediwura and others and dated 26th July 2021, the party said it was shocked by the move made by the former council boss, despite signing an undertaking to abide by any decisions taken by the party on the primary election.
The letter read in part, “We are shocked by your recent behaviour of taking the party, APC to court, an act which you had vehemently kicked against earlier. Read more
We’ve spent N502.3b on Covid-19 intervention –Finance Minister (Sun)
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, on Tuesday disclosed that N502.3 billion has so far been spent by the Federal Government to stabilize the economy after being hit by the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking in Abuja at the national dialogue on COVID-19 economic impact and assessment of national and states’ recovery plans and policy options, the Minister explained that Nigeria was deeply affected by the pestilence because it was recovering from recession before COVID-19 led to an all-time fall of crude oil prices being the economic pillar of the country.
She listed key interventions to include: the establishment of a N500 billion COVID-19 crisis intervention fund to finance the upgrade and improvement of healthcare facilities; creation of a Special Public Works Programme to employ 774,000 people, among others.
The Minister added that the development demanded a cocktail of stimulus packages which were administered to rescue the economy from the doldrums. Read more
Alleged Forgery: Court fixes august 31 for arraignment of 2 OGFZA officials (Independent)
A Wuse Zone II Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, has fixed August 31 for the arraignment of two staff members of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA) for alleged forgery and falsification of documents.
Magistrate Mabel Segun-Bello fixed the date through the hearing notices issued and delivered to parties in the suit by the bailiff in accordance with Order 3, Rule 7 of the court.The two staff members, who are defendants, include Mr Wasiu Sule, the Head of Legal Services and Secretary to OGFZA’s Board and Mr Alenju Ngofa, who is the Human Resource Head of the organisation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court had earlier fixed July 23 for their arraignment following the suspension of the 64-day industrial action embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) but the absence of the trial judge stalled the proceeding.The court had, on March 16, gave the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, three weeks to produce the defendants for arraignment.
The court gave the order after counsel to the nominal complainant, Nkereuwem Akpan, informed the court that the accused persons had evaded service of court processes on them despite several attempts.The magistrate then fixed April 26 for their arraignment but the JUSUN strike action hindered the sitting.NAN reports that while the complainant is Mr Olufunmilayo David Omosule, the 1st and 2nd defendants are Sule and Ngofa respectively. Read more
Nollywood actor Rich Oganiru dies (Nation)
Nollywood actor, Rich Oganiru, has died weeks after his reports of his ill health surfaced online.
The Owerri- born actor died on Tuesday, August 10, 2021 after being ill for months without funds to cater for his health.
Two weeks ago, a video of Rich Oganiru lying in his sick bed and begging for financial assistance surfaced online.
The video shared by one of his colleagues had the caption, “Please, everyone should reach out before he dies.” Read more
Drama as Zulum conducts impromptu test for teachers (DailyTrust)
Professor Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno State, conducted an impromptu test for school teachers at Baga on Monday.
According to Isa Gusau, his spokesman, the test was meant to determine the level of their qualifications and ability to teach.
Zulum reportedly told the teachers that the essence of the aptitude test was not to sack anyone, but to determine their capacity and know where to place them.
“Those that have no capacity to teach would be given a choice, either to redeploy them to administrative department or send them for further training.” Read more
Johnny Depp’s film festival awards insulting, domestic abuse charities say (BBC)
Leading domestic abuse charities have criticised two major European film festivals for deciding to honour Johnny Depp at their forthcoming events.
Depp, who lost a libel case last year over an article that called him a “wife beater”, will be feted at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival later this month.
The US actor and director is also due to receive the San Sebastian Film Festival’s Donostia award in September.
The Women’s Aid Federation said this was disrespectful to abuse survivors. Read more
French town mourns Catholic priest allegedly murdered by man he sheltered (RFI)
Parishioners in the small town of Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre in western France are paying homage to Father Olivier Maire, murdered on Monday. The main suspect, a failed asylum-seeker from Rwanda whom the priest welcomed, is in psychiatric care. While the tragedy has fuelled controversy over immigration, many Catholics are grieving and trying to understand what went wrong.
Locals gathered at the Basilica of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort on Monday evening to pray for Father Olivier Maire. The 60-year-old Roman Catholic priest was the provincial superior of the Montfortian Missionaries, a religious order founded some 305 years ago. His death has left a deep hole in the community.
“I feel empty,” says Nicolas who worked with Father Maire for 17 years. “He was the pillar of the congregation, the one you could easily turn to,” he tells RFI’s Matthieu Bonhoure.
Nicolas says he feels “lucky” to have attended Father Maire’s final Mass. “I would even say it was like receiving grace, quite overwhelming,” he adds. Read more
40-year-old slice of Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding cake sells for £1,850 (Guardian)
A slice of cake from the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana sold for £1,850 ($2,558) at auction in Britain on Wednesday — with a warning not to eat it.
The 40-year-old slab of marzipan and thick white icing decorated with the royal coat of arms fetched more than three times its asking price of £300 to £500.
“We were amazed at the numbers of people wanting to bid on this large and unique piece of royal cake icing,” said auctioneer Chris Albury, a royal memorabilia specialist at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Cirencester, western England.
“There were lots of enquiries from bidders, mostly in the UK, the USA and several countries in the Middle East,” he added in an email. Read more
Eminem’s daughter Hailie Mathers drops jaws in a bikini (PageSix)
Hailie Mathers hit the high seas in a colourful bikini.
Eminem’s daughter shared photos of herself posing on a boat in a high-waisted, upside-down chartreuse bikini and black sunglasses and quipped, “aye aye, captain” in the
In both photos, Hailie’s toned abs were on full display.
The fashion influencer has worn the bikini top before — having previously posted it on her feed while promoting her deal with Puma. Read more
Beyoncé: I had up to 50 songs before I became a teenager (DailyTrust)
One of the world’s most respected artistes, Beyoncé, has revealed that she had at least 50 recorded songs at the time she was 10 years old.
She stated this in an interview she granted ahead of her 40th birthday in September.
Beyoncé, who is married to America’s famous rapper, Jay Z, with whom she has three children, also stated that she was already competing and singing at age 7.
“I started taking voice lessons from an opera singer at nine. By 10, I had already recorded at least 50 or 60 songs in the recording studio,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. Read more
Namibia sells just a third of the elephants put on auction (RFI)
Namibia said Wednesday it had sold just a third of the 170 live elephants it put up for auction in a bid to reduce tusker populations under pressure from drought and territorial conflict with humans.
In a statement, the environment ministry said it has “successfully sold 57 of the 170 elephants which were put on tender in December 2020”.
It raised 5.9 million Namibian dollars ($400,000) from the sale.
Forty-two of those pachyderms will be exported to destinations that government did not disclose.
The other 15 will remain in Namibia but under private ownership. Read more
Paul Pogba set to leave Manchester United on a free transfer for a second time (Metro)
Paul Pogba has rejected a new contract to stay at Manchester United and will walk away from Old Trafford on a free next summer, according to reports.
The Frenchman is entering the sixth and final year of his deal at the Theatre of Dreams, which he signed in 2016 when United made him the then-most expensive player in the world.
United are keen to keep Pogba but negotiations over a new deal have been slow and the Frenchman rejected the club’s latest offer.
While discussions will continue, United are now resigned to losing Pogba on a free transfer in 2022 and they see little value in cashing in during the January transfer window. Read more
Ex-FIFA chief Blatter ‘optimistic’ in grilling by Swiss prosecutor (Guardian)
Former world football chief Sepp Blatter remains “optimistic” Wednesday, his spokesman said, as he faces a fourth day of questioning by a Swiss prosecutor investigating a suspect FIFA payment to Michel Platini.
FIFA’s ex-president Blatter is being investigated over a two million Swiss franc ($2.2 million, 1.85 million euro) payment in 2011 to Platini, who was then in charge of European football’s governing body UEFA.
In final hearings in the investigation, Blatter has met with a federal prosecutor from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Switzerland for three consecutive days in Zurich, where FIFA has its headquarters. Read more
Premier League still the ‘most competitive league in Europe’ – Masters (BBC)
The Premier League remains the “most competitive league in Europe”, its chief executive Richard Masters says.
Masters has dismissed the idea that England’s top clubs are pulling away from the rest of the division.
Champions Manchester City finished 20 points clear of fifth place last season – with Liverpool 37 points above fifth spot when they were top in 2019-20.
“I don’t think that is the case,” said Masters, asked if the gap was widening between the top clubs and the rest. Read more
My biggest challenge at PSG -Lionel Messi (Punch)
Paris Saint Germain’s new attacker, Lionel Messi, has identified culture as his biggest challenge in the Paris-based club.
He said He said this at a press conference held to officially unveil him by the club, monitored by The PUNCH on Wednesday.
When asked ‘Is your biggest challenge the change in culture’, Messi replied, “Yes that’s true, I told Leonardo [PSG’s sporting director] that I really hope my family will be at ease in Paris and in France.
“Of course for me, it is a new experience but I am really ready for that. Read more
Man City’s Phil Foden out for “around four weeks” through injury (BBC)
England midfielder Phil Foden will miss the start of Manchester City’s Premier League title defence with the foot injury he picked up during Euro 2020.
Foden, 21, is likely to miss City’s first three league games – against Tottenham, Norwich City and Arsenal.
The midfielder is also a doubt for England’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against Hungary in September.
“It has been really difficult for me personally – I want to get back on the pitch as soon as possible,” said Foden.
“Picking up a foot injury just before the final, it was a strange one. I was just training and it happened. I just twisted my foot. It was unfortunate.” Read more
Former Olympic cyclist, 24, dies suddenly after Instagram post about pressures of competing (Metro)
Former Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore has died suddenly at the age of 24.
The New Zealand star, who was not selected for the Tokyo Olympics, had recently posted a message on social media about the pressures of elite competition.
Her cause of death was not confirmed but friends and sports officials said her passing had raised concerns about her mental health.In a since deleted Instagram post, she wrote: ‘Sport is an amazing outlet for so many people, it’s a struggle, it’s a fight but it’s so joyous. Read more