School supervisor jailed 60 years for child defilement loses appeal (Nation)
The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos on Monday affirmed the 60 year jail term imposed on Adegboyega Adenekan, a former Supervisor of the Chrisland School, VGC, Lekki, Lagos convicted of defiling a two-year and 11-month old pupil (names withheld) of the school.
Justice Sybil Nwaka of an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court had on October 24, 2019 convicted and sentenced Adenekan to 60-years imprisonment for defiling the pupil of Chrisland School.
The court had found Adenekan guilty and convicted him of a one count charge of child defilement. Read more
Third Mainland Bridge: LAGSEC to free Oyingbo axis of roadside market activities (Guardian)
Following the partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge by the Federal Ministry of Works, the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGSEC) has reiterated its readiness to ensure free flow of traffic.
The Corps Marshal of the agency, CP Gbemisola Akinpelu (retd), stated this at the Command Headquarters, Oshodi, Lagos.
She said the agency was ready to eradicate the Oyingbo axis of any impediment, which is mostly caused by the activities of food traders.
This, she said, was more important with the partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge for repairs. Read more
Ikoyi registry suspends 4,000 weddings over COVID-19 (Punch)
Over 4,000 couples who have applied to be wedded at the Ikoyi Marriage Registry in Lagos State will have to wait for some time to put a legal seal on their union.
The PUNCH learnt that the Ministry of Interior, which runs the marriage registry, had ordered the suspension of weddings since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, findings by our correspondent showed that those who could wait were being given the option of “change of venue” at an extra cost of between N30,000 and N50,000. Read more
Lagos community threatens Ikeja Electric with N100m suit over bad transformer (Vanguard)
A community in Lagos is ready to take Ikeja Electric Distribution Company, IKEDC, to court over four months of total blackout and “insensitivity to our plight after years of estimated billings.” A 22-year-old transformer is in the heart of the impending legal clash.
Meanwhile, the 500kva transformer, mounted in 1998, was the effort of landlords and tenants of Oladunmoye area of Ikotun, under Liberty Community Development Association, CDA, Alimosho LGA.
But they were just about 200 residents then. 12 years later, in 2010, load shedding began. The 13 streets of about 5,000 households now take turns getting connected to the transformer. Read more
Buhari names rail stations after Saraki, Soyinka, Tinubu, others (Guardian)
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the naming of some railway stations along the Lagos-Ibadan and Itakpe/Ajaokuta/Aladja/Warri corridors after some citizens.
Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi in a statement by his spokesman, Eric Ojiekwe, said that the deserving citizens have contributed to the progress and development of their respective communities and the nation at large.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Kwara State Governor late Olusola Saraki, former Lagos State Governor Ahmed Tinubu and Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka were among those honoured. Read more
Protesters storm NDDC, demand prosecution of alleged looters (Nation)
Aggrieved youths and women from the Niger Delta region defied heavy downpours on Monday to protest allegations of corruption at the headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The protesters, who bore placards with different inscriptions, arrived the commission’s headquarters located along Aba Road, Port Harcourt at 10 am and demanded money allegedly stolen from the commission should be returned to the region.
One of the protesters, Namond Grace, who was close to tears, lamented the poverty in the region, saying they were dying of hunger while a few individuals were busy cornering their commonwealth. Read more
Ondo: Akeredolu vows to defeat Jegede again (Vanguard)
Ahead of the October 10 Governorship election in Ondo state, candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC and incumbent governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has vowed to defeat the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Eyitayo Jegede in what he said would be a replay of what happened in the 2016 election when he first defeated the PDP candidate.
Akeredolu who spoke on Monday at the national secretariat of the APC shortly after appearing before the Ondo state Governorship Appeal Committee of the party, also declared his estranged deputy, Agboola Ajayi as a politician of no consequence, vowing to defeat him even in his own local government. Read more
Release fund for eastern rail line, South-East govs urge FG (Punch)
Governors of the South-East have asked the Federal Government to make funds available for the completion of the eastern railway corridor.
The governors also asked that the South-East be integrated into the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna gas pipeline project.
The Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, told journalists these at the end of the governors’ virtual meeting on Sunday. Read more
X Factor contestant who filmed himself raping nine women is jailed for life (Metro)
A former X Factor contestant described as ‘pure evil’ for his ‘calm and calculated’ sex attacks on nine women over a 22-year period has been jailed for life.
Serial rapist Phillip Blackwell had taped some of his victims’ eyes shut and filmed himself attacking young women after launching his first assault in 1997. Warwick Crown Court heard how the sex offender, 56, ‘carefully targeted’ five of his victims – described as young vulnerable women – when they were walking alone in Birmingham, Coventry and Nuneaton. The sentencing judge on Monday described Blackwell as ‘monstrous’ – adding: ‘Murderers aside, I can think of no more dangerous an individual that I have crossed in my 35 years in criminal law.’ Read more
Key Trump adviser tests positive for Covid-19 (BBC)
President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, has tested positive for coronavirus, the White House has confirmed.
Mr O’Brien, 54, has been self-isolating and working from home.
The aide has mild symptoms and there was no risk of exposure to Mr Trump or Vice-President Mike Pence, a statement said. Read more
UK’s Johnson urges Britons to shed weight (VOA)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is urging citizens to exercise and shed weight, saying he has done so since his recovery earlier this year from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The prime minister’s office introduced a “Better Health” campaign Monday and released a video of himself walking his dog and talking up the benefits of regular exercise.
Johnson said at the peak of his illness, when he was taken into the intensive care unit to be treated for COVID-19, he was way overweight. Since he returned from the hospital, Johnson said he started running, which has become easier for him and that he has lost more than six kilograms. Read more
Coronavirus vaccine put to final test in US in thousands of volunteers (France24)
The world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine study got underway Monday with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the U.S. government—one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race.
There’s still no guarantee that the experimental vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., will really protect.
The needed proof: Volunteers won’t know if they’re getting the real shot or a dummy version. After two doses, scientists will closely track which group experiences more infections as they go about their daily routines, especially in areas where the virus still is spreading unchecked. Read more
Spain races to save tourism as cases surge (BBC)
Related TopicsCoronavirus pandemic
Media captionPassengers about to return to the UK from Madrid Airport spoke of their frustration
Spain is fighting to save its embattled tourism industry after the UK government imposed a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from the country.
Government officials insist the virus is under control and want certain areas to be exempt from the UK self-isolation order, including the Balearic Islands.
About 18 million Britons travelled to Spain in 2019 – almost a quarter of all arrivals in the country. Read more
Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire across volatile Lebanese border (France24)
Israeli forces on Monday exchanged fire with Hezbollah militants along the volatile Israeli-Lebanese frontier, as Israeli civilians living in the area were ordered to remain indoors amid the heaviest fighting between the bitter enemies in nearly a year.
The fighting occurred in an area known as Chebaa Farms, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and is claimed by Lebanon. Residents of southern Lebanon near the border reported Israeli shelling was continuing for more than an hour. Read more
David Harewood says black actors leave the UK as there ‘isn’t the industry to support us’ (Metro)
Homeland star David Harewood has suggested that black actors leave the UK as ‘there just isn’t the industry to support us’.
The 54-year-old star left for America and found fame playing CIA’s counter-terrorism chief David Estes in the hit US drama series.
Speaking on The Joe Wicks Podcast, he said his agent told him he needed ‘to get to America’. ‘That’s why the major black actors in the UK leave, there just isn’t the industry to support us,’ David explained. Read more
De Bruyne wants Champions League win for Silva’s Man City send-off (Vanguard)
Kevin De Bruyne is hoping to crown David Silva’s glorious 10 years at Manchester City by completing the Spaniard’s set of medals with a Champions League win next month.
Silva has won four Premier League titles among 11 major trophies since joining City in 2010, as well as the World Cup and two European Championships at international level with Spain.
The 34-year-old midfielder has never tasted Champions League glory but he has one last chance with Pep Guardiola’s men, with his contract ending at the end of the season.
City resume their Champions League campaign at home to Real Madrid on August 7, holding a 2-1 lead from the first leg of their last-16 tie, with the winners progressing to the quarter-finals, which will be held on a neutral site in Lisbon. Read more
F1 watching Spain coronavirus developments following spike in cases (BBC)
Formula 1 is monitoring Spain’s coronavirus situation following a spike in cases, amid concerns about the country’s grand prix.
F1, along with other elite sports, has an exemption from the UK government’s newly imposed 14-day quarantine on all travellers returning from Spain.
That means the race can still go ahead on 14 August in current circumstances Read more
Belgian coach Luc Eymael is sacked in Tanzania after rant (BBC)
Tanzanian giants Young Africans FC (Yanga) have sacked their Belgian manager Luc Eymael for derogatory remarks he made in an extraordinary rant last week.
In a widely circulated recording, the 60-year-old is heard calling Tanzanian fans dogs and comparing them to chanting monkeys.
He was talking after some supporters in the stadium showed displeasure to changes he made during last Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against Mtibwa Sugar.
The club announced his sacking on Monday as Eymael denied his comments were aimed at Yanga supporters. Read more
Jan Vertonghen confirms Spurs exit (Punch)
Jan Vertonghen announced his departure from Tottenham after eight years at the Premier League club on Monday.
The Belgium defender, whose contract was extended in June until the end of the current season, made more than 300 appearances for Spurs after joining the club from Ajax in 2012.
Vertonghen tweeted: “So my time at the club comes to an end. A sad day for many reasons. Read more
Covid-19 delays renovation of iconic French Open tennis stadium (France24)
Organisers of this year’s French Open are in a race against time to get the revered clay courts ready ahead of the tournament’s start in September. Massive renovations to the Roland Garros stadium have been delayed by Covid-19 and the tennis courts are currently little more than a construction site. FRANCE 24 reports.
The red clay courts at Paris’s Roland Garros stadium are currently little more than a construction site. The complex of tennis courts that houses the French Open is coming to the end of a massive ten-year modernisation project. Read more
Footballer spared jail over attack on teen stabbed at a carnival (Metro)
A footballer has been spared jail over his part in an attack on a teenager who was stabbed at a carnival.
Hull City’s Mallik Wilks, 21, was given a suspended sentence at Leed Crown Court today, after pleading guilty to affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing.
Wilks was handed and 18-month prison term, suspended for 18 months, and told by a judge that the fact that his contract would have been terminated if he had been jailed helped him avoid custody. Read more