Sunday Igboho’s major financier is a National Assembly member – Malami (Nation)
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami said on Friday that the Federal Government has found that the major financier of the Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo aka Igboho is a member of the National Assembly.
Malami, who was silent on the identity of the federal lawmaker, said a report by a security committee constituted by the FG also revealed that Igboho allegedly received funding from a firm – Abbai Bako and Sons – allegedly being probed for terrorism financing activities.
“It might be recalled that Abbal Bako & Sons and its promoter Abdullahi Umar Usman are suspects in the on-going Joint Terrorist Financing Investigation.
“Abdullahi Umar Usman is, by way of financial transaction, connected to Surajo Abubakar Muhammad (who was sentenced to life imprisonment in UAE on charges of financing terrorism (Boko Haram),” Malami said.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Malami said the committee also made damning discovery about the activities of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and his following, noting that there were information that Kanu was receiving supports from both within and outside Nigeria.
Malami gave details of persons allegedly killed and property destroyed by Kanu’s associates his inciting comments.
“We have also established that KANU is not alone in his subversive activities.
“He has accomplices in Nigeria and abroad, individuals and groups as well as state and non-state actors who are aiding and facilitating his campaign against the people and state of Nigeria. Read more
Nigeria not a complete disaster — Wole Soyinka (Vanguard)
“Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth”. That’s the title of Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka’s new novel.
He was answering questions about the thematic preoccupations, and geographical, temporal and socio-political settings of the novel, when he said Nigeria was not a total disaster.
Soyinka spoke in an interview with CNN, monitored by Vanguard.
On why now, 48 years after his last novel, the legendary playwright said: “Only a prose form can handle things that have been bubbling up inside me. Read more
Customs seize 751 pieces of 70mm live ammunition, others in Oyo, Ogun states (Tribune)
The Federal Operations Unit, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Friday said its operatives, somewhere in Igbo-Ora, Oyo State, intercepted 751 pieces of 70mm live ammunition concealed in cassava flour.
This is even as the unit revealed that other contrabands ranging from 229 wraps of Indian hemp, 856 jerrycans of petrol at 25 litres each, 21 cartons of cutlasses at 60 pieces each, among others, were also seized in the last three weeks in both Oyo and Ogun states.
Addressing a news conference in Lagos on Friday, acting Customs Area Controller of the FOU, Zone A, Hussein Ejibunu, revealed that the massive use of motorcycles to smuggle parboiled rice at 50kg each using bush paths not accessible to vehicles is a disturbing trend being deployed by smugglers in recent days.Read more
Used clothes, aka ‘Okrika’ now beyond common man’s reach as economy bites (Vanguard)
It was usually consigned to the downtrodden and the poor and was often strewn about in cheap places, downtown markets, roadsides and on mobile advertising boards. Prices of Okrika were cheap enough for all like penny stock. But all that is history now. Just like all good things of life, which have disappeared or been priced out of the reach of the average Nigerian, ‘second hand’ clothes or ‘bend down’ clothes have become too pricey and unaffordable for the majority.
They are not even streaming in bales into Nigerian ports, markets and roadsides as they used to line every available space in the country before the economy slumped and many families lost their meal tickets and purchasing power.
Used clothes, which are discarded abroad but shipped as unwanted stuff to Nigeria and resold as ‘tokunbo’, are now the preserve of the middle class who cannot afford to raise enough cash to shop for fashion clothes abroad due to the astronomical exchange rates.Read more
We’re working on unconditional release of Kanu, others – Ohanaeze (Leadership)
Apex Igbo social-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo yesterday disclosed that it is unrelenting to ensure that the federal government concedes to its proposal of dialogue to ensure unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Ohanaeze had earlier called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that Kanu is produced in court on Thursday, October 21, 2021.
It said the call became necessary to prove to the global community that Nnamdi Kanu is not only hale and hearty but that shady judicial process is not contemplated while on trial.
Reacting to the presence of Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in court, yesterday, to face his trials, the national publicity secretary of Ohanaeze, Alex Ogbonnia said the diplomatic engagements by Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide under the leadership of Professor George Obiozor has apparently yielded a positive result as the federal government has through the Department of State Service (DSS) bowed to the overwhelming demands of Ndigbo by producing Kanu in court. Read more
Fans hail Ladipoe for new song, “Running”, featuring Fireboy (Punch)
Fast-rising Nigerian rapper, Ladipo Eso, simply known as Ladipoe, has received praises from fans for his new song ‘Running’ featuring Fireboy.
The song, which was released on Thursday night, was produced by Andre Vibes.
While announcing the release, the Mavin Records artist revealed that the song is his first single on his incoming Extended Play titled Providence.
Taking to Instagram page on Thursday, the 29-year-old rapper wrote, “RUNNING ft. @fireboydml OUT NOW! Prod @andrevibez / Mix @ikonekwuyasi This is my second single of the year and first single off Providence EP. Get ready!” (sic)
Gunmen bomb police station in Imo (Nation)
Suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) on Thursday bombed a police station in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State.
The bandits, who stormed the police station around 6.44 pm in a convoy of five vehicles and three motorcycles, reportedly threw petrol bombs on the roof of the police station, shooting sporadically.
However, the police operatives attached to the station engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel.
One police officer was said to have been badly injured while properties were damaged. Read more
NAPTIP rescue Nasarawa children sold in Anambra, given Igbo names (Punch)
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons says it has reunited two children kidnapped in Lafia, Nasarawa State, with their parents after being abducted and sold for adoption in a South-East state and given Igbo names.
Sheriff Umar and Abdullahi Adamu, three-year-olds, lived with their parents in Lafia when a neighbour kidnapped them in May, said the anti-trafficking agency.
Speaking at the handover ceremony of the children, NAPTIP Director-General, Fatimah Waziri-Azi, noted that the two children were among 47 children reported to have been kidnapped in Nasarawa.
“We got information from the Civil Defence, and we swing into action, and officials from our department of operations and investigations were able to track some suspects and arrest them,” stated Ms Waziri-Azi. “The arrest of the suspects led to the rescue of Sheriff and Abdullahi. They are young kids, Sheriff and Abdullahi are their birth names, but when they were trafficked across state lines, they were given Igbo names.” Read more
Igboho: DSS releases female blogger Lady K, one other detainee after 114 days (Punch)
After 114 gruelling days in the custody of the Department of State Services, two remaining aides of the 12 associates of Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, have regained their freedom, The PUNCH has learnt.
They are Amudat Babatunde (female) and Jamiu Oyetunji.
The detainees’ lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, confirmed their release to The PUNCH on Friday.
The DSS had, on July 1, 2021, during a midnight invasion of Igboho’s Soka house in Ibadan, Oyo State, arrested 12 of the activist’s allies and whisked them away to Abuja, where they had been kept in detention. Read more
Marvel’s “Spider-Man 2” may have a suit scrapped from Sam Raimi’s movie (ScreenRant)
Insomniac Games is sure to add a bevy of new costumes to Peter Parker and Miles Morales’ wardrobes in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and the suit Alex Ross designed for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films has to be one of them. While developing the costume that Tobey Maguire would wear for the first Spider-Man film in 2002, Marvel artist Alex Ross came up with a design that departed from the wall-crawler’s conventional aesthetic. Ross’ design swapped out the blue of Spidey’s outfit for black, added external web-shooters and a more pronounced black emblem on the chest, making for a suit that was both striking and unique.
While Spider-Man’s crew opted for a more traditional look in the end, Ross’ concept was still able to see the light of day courtesy of Treyarch’s 2002 Spider-Man movie tie-in game, where it featured as an unlockable extra suit that could be used in the game’s story mode. (Equipping the suit would also transform Green Goblin into the design Ross developed for the character, which didn’t make it past the conceptual
stage of the film’s development either.) This, together with the fact Ross’ design was developed into a physical costume that made it onto the set of Spider-Man may illustrate just how strongly his look was considered before shooting commenced, and it would be great to see it get its due in video game form yet again in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.Read more
Eswatini protests: Nurses refuse to treat police after colleagues shot (BBC)
Nurses in Eswatini are refusing to treat police officers as they accuse them of shooting colleagues during a pro-democracy rally on Wednesday.
Pro-democracy protests in Africa’s last absolute monarchy, formerly known as Swaziland, have swept the country since June.
The government, which denies that security forces used live ammunition, has now banned all demonstrations.
But on Friday nurses were protesting at three hospitals, reports say. Read more
Marvel Comics teams up with NY Giants for Unique ‘G-Men’ Merch & Comic (ScreenRant)
On October 24, 2021, Marvel Comics and the NFL’s New York Giants will debut a unique collaboration that brings together two of the nation’s most popular pastimes, reading comics and watching football. The collaboration, which was announced last July, includes a number of exclusive Marvel + Giants promotions and events over the remaining weeks of the football season. These events will be focused on entertaining fans, as well as deepening and expanding fan engagement from both a comics and football perspective. Of course, Marvel and the Giant also hope that the collaboration will help persuade comic book fans to watch more Giants football, and Giants fans to read more Marvel comics.
Events will kick off this Sunday, which Marvel has branded “Marvel Super Hero Day” at MetLife Stadium, where the Giants will be facing the Carolina Panthers. The first 30,000 fans in the gates will receive an exclusive copy of the G-Men comic book, a limited series, which will feature “Earth’s Mightiest Super-Heroes,” the Avengers, teaming up with the members of the Giants football team fighting to protect the world from evil. Read more
US targets graft in Venezuela’s flagship food box programme (NBC)
Federal prosecutors have unveiled criminal charges against an alleged corruption ring accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to a top ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to profit from lucrative contracts to import food and medicine at a time of widespread hardship in the South American country.
The five individuals charged in an indictment unsealed Thursday include former Gov. Jose Gregorio Vielma Mora and associates of Alex Saab, a businessman extradited this month to face criminal charges in Miami in a separate corruption scheme.
Saab is not named in the latest indictment although his longtime business partner and fugitive co-defendant in the earlier case, fellow Colombian Alvaro Pulido, is among those charged.
Also indicted was Pulido’s son and two individuals — Carlos Lizcano and Ana Guillermo — who allegedly helped establish a network of shell companies and bank accounts spanning offshore financial havens like Hong Kong, Antigua, Panama and the United Arab Emirates that between 2016 and 2018 received more than $1 billion from Venezuelan state coffers for the purchase of food and medicine. Read more
Biden appoints Nigerian-born Enoh Ebong US Director of Trade (Punch)
US President Joe Biden has appointed Nigerian-born Enoh Titilayo Ebong to the post of Director, United States Trade and Development Agency.
This was contained in a brief with names of nominees for different positions in the president’s cabinet sent to the US Congress.
Ebong had served in different roles in the USTDA between 2004 and 2019, including serving as the agency’s General Counsel, and Deputy Director.
Before joining the USTDA Ebong worked as a lawyer in Boston, representing public and private companies.
According to the brief, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. appointed Ebong to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of the USTDA and she has been serving as the Acting Director of the agency since then.
Ebong earned her JD from the University of Michigan Law School, a Master of Arts in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Arts in History, with honours, from The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Read more
ABBA release Just a Notion, the third track from their upcoming comeback album Voyage (Daily Mail)
ABBA have released Just a Notion – the third track from their upcoming November 5 comeback album, Voyage.
The iconic Swedish pop group – comprising Agnetha Faltskog, 71, Bjorn Ulvaeus, 76, Benny Andersson, 74, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 75 – have followed up their September dual release of I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down, their first new music in almost 40 years with the new track.
The track was originally recorded in September 1978 but didn’t make the final cut of their 1979 album Voulez-Vous, with Bjorn admitting it’s still a ‘mystery’ as to why the upbeat tune wasn’t included in the final listing.
The songwriter explained: ‘Wikipedia says this track was recorded in September 1978, which sounds about right. That puts it in between ABBA the Album and Voulez-Vous, and it would have been included in the latter had we not decided against it. Why did we decide against it? In hindsight, I don’t have a clue… Read more
Chinese president Xi writes Buhari, seeks to bolster relations (Punch)
The President of China, Xi Jinping, has said his country will use the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Nigeria to promote strategic partnership to new heights.
Xi said this in a letter to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
This was disclosed in a statement titled, ‘Chinese President Xi Writes Buhari, Seeks To Bolster Relations,’ issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
‘‘Nigeria is an important strategic partner of China in Africa. China-Nigeria cooperation has been the pacesetter of China-Africa cooperation,’’ Adesina quoted Xi as saying in the letter. Read more
Thomas Tuchel says Hakim Ziyech needs ‘patience and time’ at Chelsea(Metro)
Thomas Tuchel feels Hakim Ziyech needs ‘patience and time’ at Chelsea and believes the midfielder is still hampered by the shoulder injury he suffered in August.
The 28-year-old, who joined Chelsea in a £33 million deal from Ajax last year, has started just one game in the Premier League this season.
The Morocco international’s start to the new campaign was disrupted after he injured his shoulder in Chelsea’s victory over Villarreal over two months ago.
And Tuchel claims the midfielder is still ‘limited’ in his movement due to his shoulder problem. Read more
Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland ruled out for ‘a few weeks’ after suffering hip injury (EuroSport)
Erling Haaland is set to miss the next few weeks after suffering a hip flexor injury.
Borussia Dortmund manager Marco Rose confirmed that he will be without the Norwegian striker for several games.
Haaland played the full 90 minutes of Dortmund’s Champions League defeat to Ajax but could now be absent for the reverse fixture, which takes place on November 3.
The 21-year-old tweeted: “Time to focus on my recovery. I’ll be back stronger.”
Haaland had only recently returned from a muscular problem that had left him unable to walk at the start of the month and caused him to miss Norway’s October internationals.Read more
Manchester United ‘striving’ to emulate Liverpool’s recent success, says Solskjaer (BBC)
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says his side are “striving” to emulate Liverpool’s success over the past four years as the rivals prepare to meet at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Liverpool have won the Champions League and Premier League since United’s last trophy, the Europa League in 2017.
Solskjaer is yet to beat the Reds in the league as United boss.
“It’s going to take everything to get a result against one of the best teams in Europe and the world,” he said.
“And Liverpool are one of those. They are one of the teams we are trying to chase because what they have done in the last four years is something we are striving towards and go past them.
“We did end up above them last season, but they had a very bad spell of injuries and now they are back to their best.” Read more
Jorginho claims he knew Saka would MISS England’s fifth penalty in the Euro 2020 final shoot-out (DailyMail)
Jorginho has claimed he knew Bukayo Saka would miss his decisive fifth penalty in England’s Euro 2020 final shoot-out with Italy as soon as he saw the teenager was taking it.
The Chelsea midfielder had just had his own penalty saved by Jordan Pickford, handing England a chance to salvage their hopes of winning the tournament at Wembley.
But as Jorginho saw the then 19-year-old making the walk to the penalty spot for England, he knew Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was going to save it.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Jorginho explained: ‘I walked back (after missing his penalty) and it was a long, long walk. I looked and saw it was Saka and Gigio [Donnarumma] and I was pretty sure he was going to save it. I was like “it’s ok, it’s done”‘ Read more
Emma Raducanu Tennis Schedule: WTA tournaments entered before 2022 Australian Open (EuroSport)
Which events is Emma Raducanu going to be targeting in the run up to the 2022 Australian Open in January?
It looks set to be a very busy time for the 18-year-old as she racks up the tournaments, along with exhibition appearances, ahead of the first Grand Slam of the new season at Melbourne Park following her remarkable US Open triumph.
Raducanu has only played one match since her stunning crown at Flushing Meadows last month as she lost out to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round at Indian Wells.
After the defeat she spoke of the need to manage expectations and ‘cut herself some slack’ looking ahead to ease some of the weight of the pressure. Read more
Ex-Manchester United defender Patrice Evra reveals he was sexually abused aged 13 by his headteacher(Metro)
Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has revealed he was sexually abused at the age of 13 by his headteacher in France.
Evra, who is widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s best-ever full-backs following his eight-year spell at United, has revealed that he was abused as a child in his new autobiography ‘I Love This Game’.
The 40-year-old also claimed that during his time at Monaco he was approached by police about the headteacher following complaints from other children but denied that he had been sexually abused – a decision which Evra says is one of his ‘biggest regrets’.
In an interview with The Times, Evra revealed that he only told his mother about the abuse two weeks ago.Read more