Sowore’s arrest an attempt to silence dissenting voices —IYC (Punch)
The Ijaw Youth Council says the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is bent on suppressing and silencing critics of his government with the arrest of the convener of the #RevolutionNow protest group, Mr. Omoyele Sowore. IYC, while calling for Sowore’s immediate release, noted that the Sahara Reporters publisher had not done anything wrong to warrant his arrest in “commando style” by security operatives. Sowore was arrested in the early hours of Saturday by operatives of the Department of State Services and Nigeria Police Force over the protest billed to commence on Monday nationwide. Read more
Senate shouldn’t be retirement home for suspected looters —NGO (Punch)
The Global Centre for Conscious Living Against Corruption, on Monday warned that the Senate should not be turned to what it called “a retirement home for suspected looters.” The centre’s Director-General, Dr. Nwambu Gabriel, made the call in Abuja at a Press conference tagged “Before our esteemed Senate becomes a safe haven for some corrupt ex-governors.” Gabriel expressed concerns that the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, is “deteriorating to a safe haven” for former governors who he said are currently being prosecuted by the nation’s anti-corruption agencies. Read more
DSS, police stop ‘RevolutionNow’ protest in Osun (Punch)
Armed police operatives and Department of State Security on Monday stopped members of ‘Revolution Now’ group, from taking their protest to the streets of Osogbo, Osun State Capital. The protesters, led by Olawale Adebayo, had earlier addressed newsmen in Fagbewesa area of Osogbo. Read more
EFCC searches houses of ex-gov Yari, brother, one other (Punch)
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Sunday evening stormed the country home of the immediate past Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari. It was learnt that the operatives, numbering about 15, came in buses and patrol vehicles and stormed the house located at Talata Mafara. The search was said to have lasted for several hours. Read more
Senate president travels to Saudi Arabia for Hajj (Punch)
President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, on Monday departed Abuja for Saudi Arabia to join millions of Muslim faithful from around the world who are gathered in the holy land for this year’s Hajj. A Press release signed by Lawan’s Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi, states that, while in Saudi, Lawan “will seize the opportunity to pray for the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria.” Read more
El-Rufai swears in 13 new permanent secretaries (Guardian)
Gov. Nasir El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State, on Monday, directed the 13 new Permanent Secretaries for the state civil service to deliver on their mandates in line with the vision of his administration. The governor said after the swearing-in of the permanent secretaries that as technocrats, they must guide commissioners of their respective ministries to function efficiently and effectively. Read more
Flood destroys farmlands, crops in three Plateau communities (Punch)
Flood caused by persistent rainfall has destroyed farmlands and crops worth millions of Naira in three communities of Kalong, Doka and Bakin Kogi in the Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State. Mr Alhamis Yokden, Information Officer of the Local Council, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Jos. Read more
Gunmen hijack N9m from Niger Chief Accountant (Nation)
Gunmen on Monday morning attacked the Chief Accountant from the office of the Niger state Head of Service, Idris Abdullahi and carted away over N9.5 million he had with him. The Chief Accountant was said to have been returning from the bank at about 10.30 am where he went to withdraw the money. It was learnt the money was meant for the overhead expenses of the office of the Head of Service. Read more
Over 1m children out of school in Kano – UNICEF (Guardian)
Mr Peter Hawkins, the United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) representative in Kano State, says no fewer than one million children are out of school in the state. Hawkins said this on Monday in Kano during a four-day workshop organised for Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries from the 19 Northern States. The workshop was organised by the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, in collaboration with Kano State Government and UNICEF. Read more
Man molests 32 Almajiri boys in Niger (Nation)
A 32-year-old man, Abdullahi Abubakar has been apprehended by the Niger State Police for allegedly defiling 32 students of an Almajiri school in Kontagora local government area of the state. Abubakar, who is one of the Guardian of the Almajiris, confessed to have sneaked into the boys rooms at night to sleep with them without their knowledge. The incident was reported to the police by the Commander Hisba in Kontagora, Murtala Abdullahi who suspected something wrong when the Almajiris complained of having pains in their anus without them knowing the cause. Read more
Suicide: Student took sniper twice, says OAU (Punch)
The Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in Osun State on Monday provided a detailed insight on how a student of the Department of English, Opeyemi Grace Dara, committed suicide after the consumption of a lethal substance popularly known as sniper. The institution said she took the substance twice, but however, clarified that the suicide was not caused by poor academic performance. Read more
Labourer escapes herdsmen lynching in Anambra (Nation)
A 35-year -old labourer in Awka, Anambra state has narrowly escaped lynching by suspected herdsmen in one of the secondary schools. The victim, Patrick Nnabuchi, a native of Eha Amufu, Enugu state resident in Awka, was said to be working in the school premises when he was allegedly attacked. Narrating his ordeals to reporters in Awka, Nnabuchi, said he was attacked for challenging the herdsmen against their cattle’s grazing on the vegetable farm in the school. Read more
Libya airliner narrowly avoids airport bombing (Guardian)
A Libyan airliner has narrowly escaped being hit by incoming fire as it landed at war-torn capital Tripoli’s sole functioning airport, aviation officials said. “The crew on the flight from Benghazi, which was carrying 124 passengers, avoided being hit by bombing on Mitiga International Airport” on Sunday evening, the airport’s management wrote on Facebook. The incident forced the airport to close to air traffic and re-route flights to Misrata, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) further east, until late Sunday night. Read more
Politician says drag queens and gay marriage are to blame for US mass shootings (Metro)
A right-wing politician has sparked derision after claiming ‘drag queen advocates’ and ‘homosexual marriage’ are to blame for America’s gun violence epidemic. Candice Keller, a Republican Representative for Butler County in the Ohio Senate wrote a lengthy Facebook post after Saturday’s massacres in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that killed a total of 29 people. Read more
Trump: US must condemn white supremacy (BBC)
President Donald Trump has condemned “racism, hatred and white supremacy” in an address following mass shootings that left 29 dead in Texas and Ohio. He called for mental health gun control reforms, the death penalty for those who commit mass murder and more bi-partisan co-operation over gun laws. “Mental health and hate pull the trigger, not the gun,” Mr Trump said, speaking at the White House on Monday. Read more
Man, 37, charged after 60 guns found hidden in car (Metro)
A man has been charged with illegally importing firearms after 60 guns were found hidden in a car. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the haul is believed to be the largest seizure of lethal purpose weapons at a port in the UK. The guns were found by Border Force officers who stopped a Volkswagen Passat arriving at the Port of Dover from Calais on Friday. Read more
Walmart to keep selling guns despite recent shootings at its stores (Guardian)
Despite two deadly shootings at its stores in less than a week, American retail giant Walmart has no plans to stop selling guns and ammunition, a spokesman said Sunday. A man opened fire with an assault rifle at a Walmart in Texas on Saturday, killing 20 people, just four days after a disgruntled employee shot dead two coworkers and wounded a responding police officer at one of the massive chain’s stores in Mississippi. “We are focused on supporting our associates, our customers and the entire El Paso community,” spokesman Randy Hargrove said. Read more
Man fighting for life after being shot and then left at hospital (Metro)
A man in his 20s is in a critical condition after being shot and then dumped at a hospital in south London. The unidentified victim was reported to have been stabbed on Wellfield Road, in Streatham, in the early hours of the morning, The Sun claims. However when police raced to the scene at 2.10am, they found evidence that a gun had been fired. Read more
Art stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of Jewish couple (Nation)
Nine works of art, stolen from a Jewish couple before they were sent to their deaths in a Nazi concentration camp, were returned to the representatives of their heirs in Munich on Monday. “This is an important contribution to confronting Nazi history,’’ Bavarian Arts Minister, Bernd Sibler said as five paintings, three colour engravings and a wooden table with ivory relief, which once belonged to Julius/Semaya Davidsohn, were handed over. Read more
‘Snow White’ gravestone on show in German museum (BBC)
Once upon a time a museum in a charming old German town was given a very important, long-lost gravestone. It was that of Maria Sophia von Erthal, a baroness who is believed to have inspired the Brothers Grimm to write Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Her restored gravestone has just gone on display at the Diocesan Museum in Bamberg, southern Germany. It was donated by a family who had rescued it. Read more
Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road is now being played at people’s funerals after smashing Billboard record (Metro)
Pretty much everyone has been captivated by the meme and tune that is Lil Nas X’s Old Town Town – so much so it’s being played at funerals. The tune that is like an earworm to end all earworms broke records when it became Billboard’s longest number one song, hanging around on the charts longer than any. Now the 20-year-old performer has revealed he’s had the tune played at funerals, with the dearly departed still keen to ride ‘one last time’. Read more
Adrian sends message to Alisson as he completes Liverpool transfer (Metro)
Liverpool new boy Adrian has promised to push Alisson ‘from the first minute’ after completing a move to Anfield. The 32-year-old goalkeeper rejected a new contract at West Ham last season and joins the Reds on a free transfer following Simon Mignolet’s departure. Adrian brings a wealth of Premier League experience to Jurgen Klopp’s squad, making 125 appearances for the Hammers in the English top flight before losing his place to Lukasz Fabianski last season. Read more
Man City in talks with Juventus over Joao Cancelo swap for Danilo (BBC)
Manchester City are in talks with Juventus over a deal to sign Portugal right-back Joao Cancelo with Brazil full-back Danilo moving the other way. There is no agreement yet but City manager Pep Guardiola is keen to strengthen his options on the right. City, who also have £45m England right-back Kyle Walker in their squad, are expected to pay a fee in addition to 28-year-old Danilo joining Juve. Read more
Virgil van Dijk reveals Jordan Henderson was an ‘important factor’ in him joining Liverpool (Metro)
Virgil van Dijk has revealed that Jordan Henderson played a big part in convincing him to join the club from Southampton last year. The Dutch defender moved to Anfield from the Saints in January 2018 for a then world record fee of £75m. Van Dijk had never joined a club midway through a season before and was thrust into a team that had obvious flaws defensively, flaws that he was tasked with fixing. Read more
Messi out with injury ahead of La Liga restart (Guardian)
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi is out of action less than two weeks ahead of the opening of La Liga season after injuring his right calf in training on Monday. “I wanted to get started and unfortunately I had a mishap during the first training session which will keep me out of action for a while,” the five-time Ballon d’Or winner posted on Instagram. The Argentina star has already been ruled out of the team’s trip to Florida for a one-off friendly against Napoli in Miami on Wednesday. Read more
Arsenal submit £55m bid to sign Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig (Metro)
Arsenal have submitted a bid in excess of €60 million (£55m) for RB Leipzig centre-back Dayot Upamecano, according to reports in Germany. The Gunners are pushing to bolster their defence before the transfer window closes on August 8. Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney is one of Arsenal’s priority targets but Unai Emery is also keen to recruit a new central defender. Read more
Europa League draw: Wolves could face Torino trip (BBC)
Wolves could face a Europa League trip to Torino in the final qualifying round before this season’s group stage. The Premier League side are in Europe for the first time in 39 years and face Armenian side Pyunik on Thursday. If they come through that two-legged tie they will play Italian side Torino or Shakhtyor Soligors of Belarus in the play-off round on 22 and 29 August. Read more
Footballer uses goal celebration to demand tougher gun laws in US (Metro)
The captain of a US soccer team used a goal celebration to make a statement about the country’s gun violence epidemic. After scoring an opening goal, Philadelphia Union winger Alejandro Bedoya ran to an on-field microphone and shouted: ‘Hey Congress, do something now! End gun violence! Let’s go!’ It comes as 29 people were killed in two back-to-back mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Read more