Police rescue suspected child trafficker from Lagos mob (Leadership)
The timely intervention of men of the Lagos State Police Command has saved a 22-year-old man, Ayomide Fawehinmi, from a mob action.
He was alleged to have stolen a child at the Empire Area of Surulere in the state.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the suspect lured a 15-year-old boy from his mother’s shop and was taking him to an unknown destination before he was accosted by a neighbour who raised the alarm.
The police public relations officer, Ben Hundeyin, who confirmed the incident said, “The suspect was rescued and thereafter arrested after a distress call was received from members of the community about the mob action. Read more
Court remands ‘prophet’ for allegedly raping, impregnating 2 sisters (Vanguard)
A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, has ordered that a self-acclaimed prophet, Enoch Sule, be remanded in a correctional facility for allegedly raping and getting two sisters pregnant.
Sule, who is the General Overseer of Prayer Tabernacle Ministry, Kamurum Bajju, is charged by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) with rape.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the offence is contrary to section 258 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law.
The presiding judge, Samson Kwasu, however, did not take the plea of the accused person for lack of jurisdiction to hear the matter. Read more
Lagos sensitises orphanage operators on nutrition policy (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has sensitised operators of private homes and orphanages in the state to the need to comply with the state’s food and nutrition policy.
According to a statement made available to journalists on Monday, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Dr Olugbenga Aina, made this call during a two-day capacity-building programme for operators of private homes/orphanages in Ikeja.
He said, “The workshop was designed to enhance the knowledge of the private owners of orphanages while incorporating nutrition education into formal and informal training because it is important that participants embrace international best practices in the discharge of their duties to meet the standards laid down by the state government.
“The initiative will also make the lives of vulnerable children under their care meaningful and productive. The Lagos State Government had committed to the reduction of hunger and malnutrition in the state by the domestication of the state policy on food and nutrition in 2019, which cascaded through a robust plan of action geared towards actualising the vision of making the state Africa’s model smart city. Read more
LAMATA begins pilot deployment of gas-powered buses for operations (Nation)
Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has announced the beginning of the pilot phase of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses for passenger operations.
The initiative was to reduce toxic gas emission into the atmosphere by public transport buses.
Under the pilot phase, 10 high capacity vehicles (HCV) will be deployed to shuttle the Marina/CMS to Lekki and Ajah-Epe bus routes.
The operation, which was franchised to a bus operating company named Femadec, will progressively increase the number of buses to 100, after data had proved the sustainability of the use of CNG. Read more
Nigerian singer Flavour features in new creative documentary, Loud in Africa (Vanguard)
Ace Nigerian singer, songwriter Chinedu Okoli known professionally by his stage name Flavour has been featured in new entertainment documentary, Loud in Africa.
The fact-based series takes an intimate and behind-the-scenes look into the career journey and dynamic processes that drive experts in diverse creative industries to exploit their skillset.
According to the founder, Abass Akeju, a US-based multimedia executive, he described “Loud in Africa” as a “series exploring the background stories of some of Africa’s music cultures, creative experts, challenges and inspiration behind some of their dominant projects”.
In the first episode, Flavour explains his foray into the music industry, role model, motivation amongst others. Read more
Nobody can hijack PDP, Ayu declares (Sun)
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyorchia Ayu, has vowed that no individual leader can hijack the party.
According to him, the party was built by leaders collectively.
“There will never be individual leader in the party.’’
Ayu, who spoke on Monday at the reception ceremony organised in honour of former governor of Kano State and Senator representing Kano Central, IIbrahim Shekarau, in Kano, said nobody can destroy nor distract the party from achieving victory in 2023. Read more
Trapped forex: Expert canvasses ticket sales in dollars (Punch)
A former Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren, has urged the Federal Government to allow first-class and business-class passengers to buy tickets in dollars, while passengers in economy class can pay in naira.
Demuren proposed this as a way of solving the squabble between Nigeria and foreign airlines over the carriers’ $464m trapped funds.
He said this during the Aviation Round Table second quarter 2022 Breakfast Business Meeting which had as its theme, “Perspective in Multi-Layer Aviation Security System and Passenger Facilitation,” held in Lagos on Thursday.
According to the former NCAA boss, doing this would help the carriers to repatriate their funds with ease and put a stop to the issue of trapped funds or, at best, help to significantly eliminate the problem. Read more
Tension in APC as Adamu’s supporters allege exclusion from presidential campaign committee (Sun)
Three weeks after the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, named Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, as Director General and Minister of State for Labour and Employment Festus Keyamo as the interim spokesperson for the Presidential Candidate’s Campaign Organisation, there are indications that crisis is brewing in the party over composition of the committee.
The development is coming few weeks to the commencement of nationwide campaigns by the political parties. At the time Adamu made the announcement to State House correspondents on August 5, he was accompanied by the presidential flag bearer and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
But a dependable source said major stakeholders in the camp of Adamu were kicking against their exclusion from the campaign committee as they alleged that it was dominated by loyalists of Tinubu who backed him during the presidential primary.
The allegation came just after rumour that there were plots to oust Adamu as national chairman before the general elections.
The source close to the party’s national chairman told Daily Sun that his loyalists are miffed by their non-inclusion as members of the campaign organisation. Read more
74-year-old Kogi man marries for the 1st time (DailyTrust)
A resident of Up garage area of Lokoja, Kogi State, Malam Muhammad Awal, fulfilled a long time dream last Sunday as he got married for the first time in his life at 74 years.
Awal who is the only male out of five children of his parents married a 45-year-old woman, Malama Rahmat Muhammad, who divorced her husband about six months ago.
Reports from his family stated that Awal appeared to have been bedevilled with a misfortune in his quest to get married all these years.
“Anytime he made a move to get married, just as it was about to get through, it collapsed. He has been battling with this misfortune all these years until God answered his prayers this time,” said a family member who craved anonymity. Read more
Gunmen kill hotelier, 2 others In Ebonyi Community (Leadership)
Suspected gunmen have invaded an hotel, popularly known as ‘Galaxy’, in Isu community of Onicha local government area of Ebonyi State, killing the hotel owner and other two persons.
A resident of the area, Mr. Igwe
Nwaokorie, who spoke to LEADERSHIP, revealed that the incident, which occured on Thursday night, created tension and panic in the community.
Nwaokorie told LEADERSHIP that among the three persons killed include the owner of the hotel, Chief Ogbonnaya Nwadibia, also known as ‘Galaxy’ and two others.
“The incident occurred on the night of Thursday, August 25. The suspects came on motorcycles with arms, about three of them and entered the hotel.
“Before we could know what was happening, we started hearing gunshots that lasted for some minutes. After Which they left and three persons were found dead, including the owner of the hotel,” he explained. Read more
Sky Ferreira discusses sexism in the music industry (NME)
Sky Ferreira has opened up about her experiences with sexism in the music industry and how she’s resisted attempts to pigeonhole or control her image throughout her career – particularly in its earliest days.
In a new conversation with Nancy Sinatra for Interview, Ferreira – whose first singles arrived around 2010, when she was 18 – described feeling “trapped” when she was trying to break out as a young artist.
“In the music industry, everyone’s trying to mold you. They have an idea of what you should be,” Ferreira said. “People get greedy. When I was younger, I got cornered in situations where it was like, ‘You have to do this,’ and I didn’t know better. It was just different back then.”
“The internet was there, but it wasn’t this thing that people had figured out. I used it to my advantage – that really helped me get my stuff out. But I’ve been shelved so many times. You know, I first came out when I was 15 and it wasn’t a fair representation of me. And then, I wasn’t even that much older, but I started meeting people to collaborate with, and it started falling into place.” Read more
Babyface says Teddy Riley Verzuz gained him 700k Instagram followers (HipHopDX)
Babyface is thankful for participating in one of the many viral Verzuz battles during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic against Teddy Riley.
The R&B savant joined the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast on Sunday (August 28) where he admitted that the Verzuz battle opened up his illustrious discography to a younger generation.
Babyface explained how his Instagram account skyrocketed with followers as his count ballooned from about 300,000 to over one million following the pair of Verzuz battles with Riley.
“Verzuz was just so powerful I went from 300,000 followers on Instagram to over a million overnight,” he said. “I remember I went to Walgreens and there was a young girl that said she didn’t know my stuff but she was [now] a fan.” Read more
Ralph Eggleston dies: Longtime Disney & Pixar animator, ‘For The Birds’ Oscar winner was 56 (Deadline)
Ralph Eggleston, a longtime animator and art director who worked on several Pixar films starting with Toy Story and won an Oscar for directing the animated short For the Birds, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer in Lake Charles, LA, Pixar announced. He was 56.
Eggleston served as an art director on the smash Pixar films Cars, The Incredibles, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story and Toy Story 2, as well as on the Disney toons Pocahontas, The Lion King and Aladdin. His other Pixar credits include Soul, Up, Monsters Inc., The Incredibles 2, Ratatouille and Finding Nemo.
Pixar’s official Twitter account confirmed the news of his death by sharing a photo of Eggleston as he was working on Inside Out.
“In memory of Ralph Eggleston—animator, director, art director, storyboard artist, writer, production designer, and our dear friend. Pixar and the world will be forever grateful,” read the tweet. Read more
Chris Rock ‘turned down’ hosting the Oscars next year after Will Smith slap (Mirror)
Chris Rock has alleged he was offered the hosting role at next year’s Oscars ceremony but has turned the opportunity down.
The comedian made the claim five months after he was slapped at this year’s event by Will Smith in scenes which shocked the world of showbiz. Actor Will stormed the stage and smacked the comedian in the face on stage after he made a joke at the actor’s wife’s expense.
According to Arizona Republic, Chris told fans at his Phoenix stand-up gig of the show’s approach. He is said to have told the audience that returning to the award ceremony would be like returning to a crime scene.
He jibed how going back to the biggest night in Hollywood would be like asking Nicole Brown Simpson “to go back to the restaurant,” referencing the events that led to her death and the subsequent OJ Simpson murder trial. Read more
Miley Cyrus to join godmother Dolly Parton in upcoming NBC holiday movie Mountain Magic Christmas (DailyMail)
Miley Cyrus has been cast in Dolly Parton’s upcoming movie Mountain Magic Christmas.
On Monday NBC revealed that the 29-year-old pop star will be joining her godmother, 76, on the small screen this holiday season.
Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas was first announced in May, and now has a full ensemble.
Also set to appear in the project are Miley’s dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, and country music icon Willy Nelson. Read more
Eddie Murphy joined by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige for ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ sequel (People)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige are headed to Beverly Hills.
Netflix announced Monday that their upcoming Beverly Hills Cop film, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley will star Gordon-Levitt, 41, and Zola actress Paige, 31, alongside Eddie Murphy, who will return to reprise the role as Axel Foley from the first three films.
The film is still in production, the streamer said, and most details remain under wraps.
Deadline was the first to confirm the new casting.
US assesses Russia now in possession of Iranian drones, sources say (CNN)
The US assesses Russia is now in possession of weapons-capable Iranian drones that they will likely deploy on the battlefield in Ukraine, Biden administration officials tell CNN. The Russians picked up the drones from an Iranian airfield earlier this month and transported them back to Russia in cargo planes in mid-August, the officials said.
Russian officials began training on the drones in Iran late last month, CNN previously reported, and the US now believes that Russia has officially purchased and transferred the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series drones — the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 — back to Russia, likely for use in the war in Ukraine.
Both types of UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are capable of carrying precision guided munitions and can be used for surveillance. Russian operators are still training on the drones inside Iran, the officials said, and the US believes that Russia intends to import hundreds of them to use for air-to-surface attacks, electronic warfare and targeting inside Ukraine. Read more
LMC moves to resolve players/clubs contract issues (Sun)
A rash of unilateral and illegal termination of players contracts by Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) has drawn the ire of the League Management Company (LMC) which in a circular last week, moved to resolve all outstanding cases brought to its attention.
The circular to clubs and signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Davidson Owumi warned that unilaterally and illegally terminating players’ contracts without compensation constitutes a violation of the provisions of the rules governing the NPFL and football in general.
It drew the attention of the clubs to Articles 16 and 17 of the FIFA Regulation on the Status and Transfer of Players which places restriction on the unilateral termination of players’ contracts during the course of a season, and also provides for the consequential effect of terminating such contracts without just cause.
“It is also trite that where a player’s contract is wrongly terminated, the player becomes a ‘free agent’ and the player is entitled to compensation in the form of the outstanding sum that would have been earned under the contract if it had not been so wrongfully terminated. Article 17(1) of FIFA RSTP,” the circular observed. Read more
Paul Pogba dismisses his brother’s claims amid French police extortion probe (IrishIndependent)
Paul Pogba’s brother, Mathias, has claimed he almost died as a consequence of his brother’s actions, in a series of social media posts in which he has ramped up the threats to make revelations about the France international’s private life.
In the meantime, Paul’s allegations that he was effectively taken hostage and threatened in an attempted extortion in Paris in March are being investigated by the French police’s counter-organised crime agency.
French media reported that during a visit to his old neighbourhood in eastern Paris in March, Paul (29) was taken hostage by a gang that included his childhood friends and told to pay €13m. Mathias (32) followed up the original threats he made in a video posted on Saturday night with a series of tweets late on Sunday in which he made serious unsubstantiated allegations about the conduct of his famous brother.
The pair grew up together, along with Mathias’s twin Florentin, in the suburb of Roissy-en-Brie, near to where the alleged kidnap and extortion attempt took place when Paul was back in the city on international duty. Read more
Chelsea have ‘made enquiry’ for £130k-a-week ‘fighter’ at Stamford Bridge (GMS)
Chelsea have ‘made an enquiry’ for Wilfried Zaha and Crystal Palace have refused to rule out the possibility of a late move to Stamford Bridge, according to journalist Simon Phillips.
The west Londoners registered their second win of the season when they overcame Leicester City on Saturday, but head coach Thomas Tuchel could freshen up his squad ahead of Thursday’s 11pm transfer deadline.
According to MailOnline, Chelsea are weighing up whether to make a move for Zaha during the closing stages of the summer window.
The report suggests the Blues are long-term suitors of the 24-cap Ivory Coast international and questioned Palace over the possibility of a switch last summer as well as a matter of months ago.
US Open 2022: Serena Williams’ 1st round win brings out the stars (ESPN)
The 2022 US Open has a little bit of everything, but Serena Williams’ first round of the US Open tournament was certainly the marquee event.
On Aug. 9, in a first-person essay for Vogue, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion announced her plan to “evolve” away from tennis after the US Open.
“It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine,” Williams said. “I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”
Now the potential final stop on her farewell tour is filled to the brim with noteworthy fans. For nearly all of her storied career, Serena has been the biggest draw in tennis, and as that career evolves, she remains the hottest ticket in the sport. Read more
Canada remains undefeated in FIBA men’s World Cup qualifying with rout of Panama (Globe&Mail)
Canada’s men’s basketball team remains undefeated in World Cup qualifying with a 106-50 rout of Panama on Monday.
Detroit Pistons forward Kelly Olynyk scored 18 points, while Kevin Pangos added 17 and the Canadians, the only unbeaten team in the Americas zone, improved to 8-0, and all but locked down their spot in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Melvin Ejim added 15 points, Zach Edey chipped in with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Kassius Robertson finished with 11.
Jhivvan Jameel Jackson Melendez had 16 points to top the Panamians. Read more
Napoli sets fresh £102m price tag on Osimhen (Sun)
Napoli has reportedly pinned a stratospheric £102millon price tag on in-demand striker Victor Osimhen, heavily linked with Manchester United.
As per The Sun, the Partenopei have to sell the Nigerian star to facilitate Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival from Old Trafford.
Osimhen has enjoyed a stellar start to the season, scoring in both opening Serie A matches as Napoli wallopped Hellas Verona and Monza via an aggregate score of 9-2. Brought in from Lille in a club-record deal worth €70m in 2020, the 23-year-old has experienced mixed fortunes in southern Italy.
Recurring injury issues have curtailed Osimhen’s progress at Napoli. But when fit and firing, he has been Luciano Spalletti’s most lethal weapon in the front third. With Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne waving goodbye to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the summer, he looked destined to lead the Partenopei attack for years to come. Read more
Hard to stomach seeing LIV Golf rebels at Wentworth – Rory McIlroy (IrishNews)
Rory McIlroy admits it will be “hard to stomach” seeing 18 LIV Golf players competing in the BMW PGA Championship next week.
The PGA Tour has suspended any of its members who have joined the Saudi-backed breakaway, with a federal judge ruling against three players who sought a temporary restraining order to lift the ban and allow them to contest the FedEx Cup play-offs.
However, three DP World Tour members – including Ian Poulter – successfully gained a temporary stay of their suspensions from July’s Scottish Open, pending determination of their substantive appeals.
That means the likes of Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Patrick Reed will be among the LIV Golf players in the field at Wentworth, headquarters of the DP World Tour. Read more