Sanwo-Olu suspends reopening of Mosques, Churches indefinitely (Vanguard)
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has suspended indefinitely planned reopening of religious worship centres in the state following steady increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state which has remained the epi- centre.
Sanwo-Olu, the Incident Commander, announced this on Tuesday, while giving the 15 update on COVID-19 situation report at the Lagos House, Marina.
According to the governor, the measure has become necessary to prevent the situation from getting out of hands line with the ongoing evaluation of evolving scenarios regarding the course of the infection in Lagos State.
Sanwo-Olu stated, “As at midnight yesterday, June 15, 2020, Lagos State had recorded a total of 7,319 confirmed cases of Covid-19. Of this number, 1,137 have fully recovered and been discharged, while 82 have sadly died, leaving 6,100 active cases under management in the State. Read more
Calling us useless is oppressive, Naira Marley replies Executive Jets (Vanguard)
Controversial hip-hop artist, Azeez Fashola popularly known as Naira Marley, has reacted to comments credited to the management of Executive Jet Services Limited, wherein the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dr Sam Iwuajoku in his apology to the federal government, described him and others as a “bunch of useless people.”
Dr Iwuajoku in his letter of apology addressed to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika following the trip of the musician and others to Abuja from Lagos using one of the private jets of the company, explained that it was a mix-up having thought that the flight which was originally permitted to carry a Judge to Abuja, was conveying the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola and his men, saying, “I didn’t know it was a bunch of useless people.”
Reacting to the statement by the airline, Naira Marley in a statement, yesterday on his verified twitter handle, @officialnairam1also launched the #NobodyIsUseless hashtag, while describing the statement by the company as “arrogant and silly.” Read more
Osibanjo’s economic committee recommends suspension of NYSC camps (Guardian)
The Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) led by Nigeria Vice PresidentYemi Osinbajo has recommended the suspension of orientation camp exercises of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for two years.
“The immediate focus in the Education sector is to address the disruptions caused by the pandemic and ensuing social distancing measures at all levels of education,” the report read submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari last week read in part.
“In similar context, consideration will be given to suspending the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Orientation Camp Exercises for at least 24 months while allowing deployment to places of primary assignment. Read more
We’re not aware Obaseki has left us – APC (Punch)
The All Progressives Congress has said it was yet to be notified of the reported resignation of the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki.
National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said this in response to inquiries about Obaseki’s resignation.
He said, “The party has no record of the reported defection of Governor Godwin Obaseki from the Progressive party. Read more
Teenager tells court how grandfather’s caregiver raped her (DailyTrust)
A 14-year-old girl, on Tuesday told FCT High Court in Kubwa, how her grandfather’s 21- year-old caregiver, Godwin Onuminya raped her.
The girl, a Junior Secondary School (JSS) three student, resident in Kubwa, Abuja was led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Adama Musa.
The defendant is being prosecuted by the police on a one-count charge of rape.
The girl told the court that she returned home from school at 1 pm and entered her room to change from her school uniform on Nov. 4, 2019. Read more
Teenager dies after giving birth to triplets in Adamawa (Guardian)
A 19-year-old teenager, Lilian Benedict of Bwaranji ward, Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa, died on Sunday after giving birth to triplets.
Mrs Josephine Geoffrey, Assistant Director, Nursing Services, Yola Specialists Hospital, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Yola.
Geoffrey said that the teenager died as a result of Post Partum Haemorrhage.
“She died as a result of bleeding after delivery and all the three babies are in good health condition. Read more
Missing N400m: Army demotes, dismisses General Otiki from service (DailyTrust)
The Nigerian Army Court Martial set up to try the former General Officer Commanding 8 Division, Sokoto, Major General Hakeem Oladipo Otiki found him guilty on all five charges leveled against him, Daily Trust has gathered. The Court Martial, presided by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Army, Lieutenant General Lamidi Adeosun at the Army Headquarters Mess, Abuja, passed judgment around Midnight on Monday.
Army begins trial of ex-GOC over alleged stolen N400m The Court Martial found him guilty of disobedience to service orders and theft of public property, among others; it also ordered his dismissal from service with disgrace and dishonour. The Court also ordered reduction in his rank from Major General to Brig General and severe reprimand for Otiki. Read more
Executive Jet Services apologises to FG for transporting “Naira Marley” (Guardian)
The Executive Jet Services Ltd., on Tuesday, tendered an unreserved apology to the Federal Government for transporting a popular musician, Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley.
The airline’s Chairman, Dr Sam Iwuajoku, made this known on Tuesday,l in the apology letter sent to the Minister of Aviation, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Lagos.
Iwuajoku said that the company transported Naira Marley, instead of Justice Adefope Okogie, whose name was on the approval given by Sen. Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation. Read more
JAMB announces cut-off marks for universities, others (DailyTrust)
The 20th Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria has approved 160 and above as the national minimum benchmark for admissions into public universities for the year 2020.
This was disclosed in a virtual meeting held on Tuesday. 140 was also approved as the minimum Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) score for admission into private universities. Read more
EU launches antitrust investigation into Apple (DW)
The European Union has opened investigations into Apple’s App Store, as well as its payment platform, with the company accused of stifling competition.
The tech giant says the case rests on “baseless” claims.
European Union authorities on Tuesday said they had opened antitrust investigations into Apple’s App Store and Apple Pay over concerns that the company was guilty of stifling competition.
The European Commission said it launched an official investigation of Apple Pay after allegations that the tech giant had, in some cases, refused to allow access to the payment system. Apple was also accused of limiting access for some firms to the “tap and go” function on iPhones. Read more
Coronavirus: Dexamethasone proves first life-saving drug (BBC)
A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus.
The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, UK experts say.
The drug is part of the world’s biggest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus. Read more
Burundians in two minds about Nkurunziza’s legacy (DW)
Although he was due to step down at the end of his third term at the end of August, President Pierre Nkurunziza was widely expected to remain politically influential behind the scenes.
His sudden death at 55, plunged the country’s leadership into some disarray. The Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that the late president’s elected successor, Evariste Ndayishimiye, was to be sworn in quickly.
The constitution calls for the speaker of the national assembly to step in if the president dies, but the court deemed this “not necessary” since a replacement had already been elected. Read more
2 Indian soldiers and 1 officer killed in clashes on Chinese border – New Delhi (RT)
Three Indian soldiers have died in a skirmish along the border with China, New Delhi has said. Beijing claims that the incident occurred after Indian forces crossed the border and attacked Chinese troops.
An Indian Army officer and two soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops on Monday night in the Galwan Valley in Kashmir, local media reported.
Senior military officials from both countries are currently meeting to de-escalate the situation, according to a military statement cited by Indian outlets. Read more
North Korea blows up joint liaison office with South in Kaesong (BBC)
North Korea has blown up a joint liaison office with the South near the North’s border town of Kaesong.
The move comes just hours after the North renewed threats of military action at the Korean border.
The site was opened in 2018 to help the Koreas – officially in a state of war – to communicate. It had been empty since January due to Covid-19 restrictions.
In a statement, South Korea warned it would “respond strongly” if the North “continues to worsen the situation”. Read more
NASA’s Curiosity rover beams back stunning view of Earth and Venus from Mars (RT)
NASA’s Curiosity rover has beamed back incredible images showing the Earth and Venus as two tiny specks of distant light in a stunning view that serves as yet another reminder of the beauty of our solar system.
Curiosity has survived six more years of tumultuous storms and inescapable dust and radiation than its original two-year mandate. Its team took a brief moment to look skywards and see just how far they’d come, both figuratively and literally, by pointing the machine’s Mastcam upwards an hour after sunset on the Red Planet.
This composite image combines two different shots in one, and includes the silhouette of the top of Tower Butte, which juts out of the Martian landscape. It throws into sharp relief just how far the rover is from Earth. Read more
NFF yet to fulfil N30k monthly stipend promised late Yekini’s mother (Guardian)
The family of late Rashidi Yekini on Tuesday said they were yet to receive the N30,000 monthly stipend promised by the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The NFF board led by Amaju Pinnick had pledged to support the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare’s pronouncement to place late Rashidi Yekini’s mother and that of late Samuel Okwaraji, with monthly stipends of N10,000 each.
The sister to late Rashidi Yekini, Simiat, on June 16 confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the minister had redeemed his promise and the family had received the stipend for May. Read more
Marcus Rashford: Food voucher U-turn after footballer’s campaign (BBC)
About 1.3 million children in England will be able to claim free school meal vouchers during the holidays, after a campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford.
The Manchester United forward, 22, welcomed the six-week voucher for eligible children, saying: “Look at what we can do when we come together.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the move was a “welcome U-turn”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised Mr Rashford’s “contribution to the debate around poverty”. Read more
Why I visited Synagogue church – Man United player, Gomez (Punch)
A Manchester United Football Club player, Angel Gomez, has reacted to a viral video on the social media showing his visit to the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Lagos State.
The video, released by the church, shows the Briton telling the SCOAN’s founder, Prophet TB Joshua, that he is 16 and has injuries in his hips and groins.
He also says the injuries have affected his career. Read more
NFL boss Roger Goodell ‘encourages’ teams to sign outcast Kaepernick (RT)
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has given his blessing to any team who wishes to sign firebrand quarterback Colin Kaepernick amid the ongoing ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests.
Kaepernick hasn’t appeared in the league since 2016 when he courted international controversy by kneeling in protest of police brutality during the national anthem while he was starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.
His method of protest took hold, with dozens of fellow NFL players following his lead. However, several figures within the league, as well as sections of supporters, railed against the act for what they saw as disrespect to the flag and the United States armed forces who fought to defend it. Read more
Premier League restart: Talks have started about fans returning to top-flight stadiums (BBC)
Discussions have started about fans attending Premier League matches again, says chief executive Richard Masters.
The English top flight restarts on Wednesday after a 100-day break because of the coronavirus pandemic with fixtures played behind closed doors.
Masters did not put a timeframe on a return of fans to stadiums but said talks had begun with the government. Read more