Sexual Assault: Appeal Court affirms 5-year conviction of Baba Ijesha (ThisDay)
The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division on Friday affirmed the judgement of a Lagos State High Court, which sentenced Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, popularly called Baba Ijesha to five years imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old.
The appellate court in its unanimous decision found the Appellant (Baba Ijesha) guilty on counts 4 and 5, where he was accused of indecently touching a minor and sexually assaulted her.
The court however set aside his conviction on indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault, of a minor which allegedly occurred between 2013 and 2014. Read more
Davido reacts to 2024 US presidential debate, says it’s ‘worst ever’ (Sun)
Afrobeats star Davido has called the 2024 US Presidential debate the “worst” in the country’s history.
US President Joe Biden and US President Donald Trump had a heated debate on Thursday night ahead of the presidential election in November.
The discussion between the Democratic Party and Republican Party candidates was dominated by personal insults. Read more
FG disburses 2nd batch of N5b Creative Fund to Nollywood (NewTelegraph)
The Federal Government has announced the disbursement of the second batch of the N5 billion Creative Fund to the Nollywood film industry.
New Telegraph gathered that the Creative Fund was established in December 2023 for Nigeria’s creative sector in collaboration with Providus Bank.
The Special Assistant to the President (Office of the Vice President) on Digital and Creative Economy, Fegho Umunubo, made the announcement in a post via Instagram on Thursday. Read more
FCT area council chairmen’s tenure ends 2026, says INEC (Punch)
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, has clarified that the tenure of the elected chairmen and councillors in the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory will come to an end in June 2026.
Yakubu made the clarification during a meeting with the leadership of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, in Abuja on Friday.
The meeting was convened to provide clarity on the tenure of the six area council chairmen and 62 councillors. Read more
Nollywood actor, Mr. Ibu, buried in Enugu (DailyTrust)
John Okafor, late comic actor popularly known as Mr Ibu, has been laid to rest.
He was buried on Friday in his hometown of Amuri, Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Videos circulating on social media earlier revealed the arrival of his body as family, friends, and colleagues gathered to bid him a final farewell. Read more
Why we want EFCC to adopt better approach in operations – Adeyanju (Vanguard)
A human rights lawyer of Deji Adeyanju and Partners Chambers, Deji Adeyanju, Friday, called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to adopt a better approach in its operations in order to avoid violation of human rights.
Adeyanju made the call in a statement he signed on behalf of the Chamber, where he expressed concern over what he described operations of EFCC as ‘commando style investigation and arrest’, on the heels of an alleged assault on a staff of a hotel in Lagos, as a result infringed on the rights of the staff.
He said: “We have observed with great concern, the increasing disregard for citizens’ human rights and the adoption of commando style investigation and arrest methods by officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the latest being the unconscionable assault of a staff of Regional Hotel, Lagos, by officers of the EFCC, in the cause of the Commission’s ‘sting operation’. Read more
JAMB releases 2024 supplementary UTME results (Channels)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has released the results of candidates who participated in the supplementary Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), conducted between Friday, 21st and Saturday, 22nd June, 2024.
The supplementary examination was conducted for 28,835 candidates, who were unable to be biometrically verified during the main 2024 UTME, and were unable to take their examination.
A statement by the Public Communication Advisor, JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, said similarly, the other categories of candidates were those suspected to have been involved in examination malpractices during the main UTME, but were given a second chance to sit the examination. Read more
Supreme court discharges army sergeant from death penalty (Tribune)
The Supreme Court on Friday discharged and acquitted a Nigerian Army Sergeant, Akawu Bala, from the death sentence imposed on him by the General Court Martial of the Nigerian Army.
Justice Helen Ogunwumiju, while delivering judgement in an appeal filed at the Supreme Court on March 16, 2017 by Bala, discharged him from the death penalty.
Respite came the way of the embattled army sergeant when the five-man panel of justices unanimously discharged him after spending 12 years in Kaduna Correctional Centre waiting for ratification of the death sentence passed on him. Read more
Guard accused of Holly Willoughby kidnap plot tells jury he attacked women to escape ‘toxic relationship’ (Independent)
A security guard accused of plotting to kidnap, rape and murder TV star Holly Willoughby told a court he attacked women to escape his “toxic relationship” in a “cry for help” before his weight ballooned to 35 stone.
Gavin Plumb, 37, revealed while giving evidence to Chelmsford Crown Court he first started struggling with his weight at age 13 which impacted his confidence.
“Especially being 13 you get all kinds…you are meant to be really active and not being to do stuff like that really affects you,” he told the jury. Read more
Experts warn that 755,000 people at risk of famine in war-torn Sudan (AfricaNews)
An open-backed truck packed with people fleeing war in Sudan pulls into a transit center in Renk, South Sudan. The temperature is 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) and not everyone has access to tents to protect them from the heat.
Malnutrition is increasing among children. Alfatih Awad Alkheder, a trader with six children, says his children have stopped growing.
According to a World Food Programme statement, the only border crossing for trucks to bring in food to the North Darfur area is from Tine in Chad, but intensified fighting is making that more difficult. Read more
Man bricked to death for making crude and sexual comments to two young girls (Metro)
Two teenagers murdered a 24-year-old man who made ‘crude’ comments to a pair of girls at a skate park.
Jack Edwards made offensive remarks to the teenage girls, ‘propositioning’ them and making ‘sexual remarks’, a court heard.
One of them called a 13-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and he returned to the park with two other males in Nottingham. Read more
Mia Goth and Ti West are on a mission to convert horror skeptics with ‘MaXXXine’ (ABC)
As Mia Goth and filmmaker Ti West walked the red carpet this week for the premiere of “MaXXXine,” the final installment of the pair’s buzzy horror trilogy, a group of hired “protesters” stood outside the TCL Chinese Theatre chanting and holding signs with messages like “Horror is not art” and “Hollywood is Satan’s playground.”
The marketing stunt was an homage to the movie’s backdrop against the satanic panic and censorship wars of the 1980s. But, like the movie, it was also a commentary on what society considers trashy or tasteless and an airing of grievances about sustained sentiments toward one of the most polarizing genres of film.
“‘MaXXXine,’ more than any of the other two, is quite meta. And there were tons of instances in this movie where it definitely felt like there was a parallel between what was going on in the script and what was going on when we filmed it,” said Goth, who also worked as a producer, ahead of the movie’s highly anticipated theatrical release by A24 on July 5. Read more
Pizza-making mum left with mullet after getting her hair caught in an electric whisk (DailyStar)
A mum got an unexpected new hair do after she became “distracted” whilst cooking.
Natalie Walker found herself sporting a mullet after her long locks wrapped around an electric whisk as she tried to make pizza dough. The 38-year-old from Preston, Lancashire, had to cut her elbow-length mane from the whisk blades, leaving her with tufts.
The full-time mum-of-two recalled: “I had my phone propped up making pizza dough, I was kneading it by hand but I wasn’t kneading properly with my hands so I got the whisk. Read more
Baby with ‘Scouse accent’ takes internet by storm as ‘best thing you’ll see this month’ (Mirror)
The woman who was looking after baby Orla at the time said neither she nor the child’s mum had ever realised she sounded scouse, despite them all having the same accent
A baby with a “scouse” accent has taken the internet by storm after one of its parents posted a clip of the tot on social media, with the now-viral video attracting millions of likes and views.
The youngster’s intelligible babbling was on camera by a friend of its mum, who recorded the child unknowingly picking up the Liverpool twang, but without speaking a word of English. The developing accent can be heard in the video, with its babysitter unaware of how her child sounded to others watching. Read more
North Korea cracking down on wedding dresses and slang – report (BBC)
North Korea is carrying out a widespread crackdown on everything from wedding dresses to slang as it seeks to counter the South’s influence, a new report has revealed.
The report – released by South Korea’s Unification Ministry – is based on the testimony of hundreds of defectors.
It includes the case of a 22-year-old who was executed after admitting listening to South Korean music and distributing films, first reported by the BBC last year. Read more
Ighalo hints on retirement from football (CompleteSports)
Former Super Eagles forward Odion Ighalo has revealed he is already thinking about retirement from football.
Ighalo started his career with local club Prime in 2005 and also played for the defunct Julius Berger before moving to Europe in 2007 where he pitched tent with Norwegian club, Lyn Oslo.
The 35-year-old also had stints in Italy, Spain, England, China and is currently plying his trade in Saudi Arabia. Read more
Austrian GP: Max Verstappen tops practice despite causing red flag ahead of Sprint Qualifying at Red Bull Ring (SkySports)
Max Verstappen was quickest in the only practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix despite causing a red flag.
Championship leader Verstappen stopped on track halfway through the session due to a sensor issue with his engine but rolled back down the hill on the main straight and was pushed back to the garage.
He came back onto the track just a few minutes later and went on to top the timing sheets by 0.276s from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Read more
Coach says Caitlin Clark needs to shoot more after Fever’s 12th loss (UPI)
Coach Christie Sides called on rookie guard Caitlin Clark to attempt more shots per game after the Indiana Fever lost for the 12th time in 19 games to start their 2024 season.
“Caitlin Clark needs to shoot a minimum of 15 shots a game for us,” Sides told reporters after the 89-77 loss to the Seattle Storm on Thursday in Seattle.
“She’s gotta get shots. We’ve gotta do a better job of setting her up and setting some really good screens to get her open.” Read more
Raducanu faces seed with Murray drawn against Machac (BBC)
Emma Raducanu has been drawn against Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of Wimbledon, while Andy Murray – if he is fit – will face Czech Tomas Machac.
Murray, 37, had an operation on a back cyst at the weekend and says he will wait until the last minute to decide whether he can compete on Tuesday.
Seven-time men’s champion Novak Djokovic, who is also in a race to be fit, has been drawn against Czech debutant Vit Kopriva. Read more
NPFL refs to use gadgets next season – Elegbeleye (Punch)
The Chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Gbenga Elegbeleye, has said referees in the Nigerian topflight will begin to use gadgets to aid their officiating next season as part of efforts by the league board to improve the NPFL.
The 2023/24 season ended on Sunday, with Enugu Rangers winning their eighth title with a five-point gap.
The season didn’t go down without controversial decisions by referees, some of which led to the suspension and expulsion of some of the officials. Read more
NOC trains female coaches, administrators (Leadership)
Female sports coaches and administrators have been urged to encourage more sportswomen to attain the peak of their careers.
Prof. Florence Adeyanju, Chairperson, Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) Women’ Commission, made the call in Akwa at a one-day capacity seminar for female coaches and administrators in the South-east on Wednesday.
Adeyanju said the two groups should work harmoniously considering the importance of their work. Read more