Super TV CEO’s family petitions IGP, seeks new probe into murder (Punch)
Mike Ozekhome, counsel for the family of the late Super TV Chief Executive Officer, Usifo Ataga, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali, to re-investigate the circumstances surrounding Ataga’s death at a service apartment in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
Ozekhome said investigation into Ataga’s death was not professionally handled, adding that the police, without obtaining legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, arraigned the prime suspect, Chidinma Ojukwu, and other suspected accomplices, at a chief magistrate’s court, which had no jurisdiction over murder cases.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria stated that Ataga’s family alleged that one of the arraigned suspected accomplices, Babalola Disu, carried out the murder.
“The family premised its suspicion on information it had to the effect that Disu’s short rental apartment was directly opposite the apartment where Ataga was killed. Read more
DPP indicts Chidinma, clears 4 over Super TV CEO’s murder (Guardian)
Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mrs. Olayinka Adeyemi, has cleared Babalola Disu, Abayomi Olutayo, Oluwo Ifeoluwa and other persons, interrogated in connection with the murder of Chief Executive of Super Television, Michael Usifo Ataga.
In a legal advice issued on August 20, the DPP recommended Chidinma Ojukwu (22), and her accomplice, Adedapo Quadri, for murder trial.
Also to be prosecuted is Egbuchu Chioma, who was found in possession of the deceased’s iPhone 7, and initially refused to release the phone on demand.
The DPP said a prima facie case of conspiracy to murder, murder and conspiracy to commit forgery was established against them. Read more
UNILAG students rue unusual school year (Nation)
Students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) will begin their second semester examination today. They are, however, lamenting the haphazardness of the academic session.
Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupting education worldwide – and many schools are still reeling from its effects.
The impact has especially been hard on students of UNILAG who had to vacate the hostels on July 14, mid-way through the second semester because some members of staff and students contracted pandemic.
The university resumed for the first semester of the 2019/2020 academic session on January 25, 2021 and held only online classes. The examinations were also fully online.Read more
Mentally unstable woman attacks KAI officer, passers-by in Lagos (Guardian)
A mentally unstable woman living in Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos under bridge, at the weekend, attacked passers-by with a knife and tore the uniform of a Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) officer.
The mother of two boys sleeps, bathes and cooks under the bridge.
Staff of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) working around the Awolowo way, said they have also been attacked by the woman severally and would always avoid where she and her children stay whenever they were working.
Policemen under the bridge told The Guardian that the woman always abused officers. Some persons at the scene tied her after she attacked the KAI officer. Read more
Moderna vaccination turnout impressive, says Lagos (Punch)
The Lagos State Government, on Wednesday, began the rollout of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in the state.
Some of the centres designated for vaccination witnessed a large turnout of residents, while others had few residents as of the time our correspondent visited them.
Vaccination at the Primary Health Centre in Meiran did not commence until around 1.40pm as residents had to wait for the government officials at the designated centres.
An official of the state government refused to talk to our correspondent, saying he was not authorised to speak to journalists. Read more
MultiChoice explains debt position as tribunal orders payment of N900b tax backlog (Guardian)
MultiChoice Nigeria has said the directive issued by the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) does not compel it to make payment of 50 per cent of N1.8 trillion, being half of the disputed tax assessment, which is under appeal.
Rather, MultiChoice, owners of cable television services, DStv and GOtv, explained in a statement yesterday, that the directive issued by TAT, in accordance with paragraph 15(7) of the Fifth Schedule to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Establishment Act, requires it (MultiChoice Nigeria) to deposit with FIRS an amount equal to the tax paid by MultiChoice Nigeria in the preceding year of assessment or one half of the disputed tax assessment under appeal, whichever is the lesser amount plus 10 per cent.
The South Africa-owned firm, which claimed to be a law-abiding corporate citizen and would continue to engage constructively with FIRS in an attempt to resolve this matter, said the lesser amount is the tax paid by it (MultiChoice Nigeria) in the previous assessed year, which is substantially less than the disputed assessment.
The statement reads: “MultiChoice Nigeria has noted today’s media statement on the Tax Appeal Tribunal appeal hearing held on August 24, 2021. Read more
Retired matron jailed for buying boy N50,000, selling him N200,000 (Punch)
The Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced a 47-year-old woman, Gertrude Akpan, to 10 years’ imprisonment for trafficking in children.
The convict was said to have bought a six-year-old boy in Uyo and taken him to Owerri, Imo State, where she sold the victim to one Kate Ogbonna.
The court, presided over by Justice Okon Okon, found Akpan guilty and jailed her without an option of fine.
Akpan, a mother of three, hails from Ikot Eyo in the Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Read more
BBNaija: Cross, Saskay win N2m Each (DailyTrust)
Big Brother Naija Shine Ya Eye housemates, Cross and Saskay, have won the Superkomando task, clinching N2 million each.
According to Biggie, the task is aimed at determining th strength, agility, and speed of the housemates.
While Emmanuel and Tega sustained injuries during the task, Cross, Queen, Saskay, and Yousef made it to the final part of the tasks.
Aside getting N2 million naira each, the winners will receive one year supply of the Superkomando drink, in addition to getting one year contract as brand ambassadors.Read more
Drugs War: Marwa, families of slain 188 NDLEA personnel hail Buhari over payments of entitlements (Vanguard)
Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) on Wednesday 25th August joined widows of deceased officers of the Agency to appreciate and pray for President Muhammadu Buhari for granting intervention funds to pay the burial entitlements of at least 188 personnel who died in active service.
Marwa and the widows spoke at a brief ceremony at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja for the payment of burial entitlements that had been pending since 2014 to the widows and families of the deceased officers.
The NDLEA chairman recalled how President Buhari had equally stepped in to provide bailout funds for states twice to be able to pay workers salaries, among other pro-masses interventions by his administration.
In the course of his speech, he asked the gathering to offer both Islamic and Christian prayers for the President and his government.Read more
Nirvana sued by the baby from Nevermind’s album cover (BBC) Spencer Elden, the man who was photographed as a baby on the album cover for Nirvana’s Nevermind, is suing the band alleging sexual exploitation.
The cover depicts Elden as a four-month-old in a swimming pool, grasping for a dollar bill that’s being dangled in front of him on a fishing line.
Now 30, Elden says his parents never signed a release authorising the use of his image on the album.
He also alleges the nude image constitutes child pornography. Read more
Man dies after having sex using epoxy adhesive instead of a condom (NYPost)
His faux-phylactic resulted in fatal organ failure.
Police are probing the bizarre case of a 25-year-old Indian man who suddenly died after using a high-powered epoxy resin — instead of a condom — before having sex.
“They used the adhesive to avoid pregnancy,” a local investigator told the Times of India of the prophylactic fiasco, which occurred June 22 at a hotel in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
According to a senior Ahmedabad city police officer, Salman Mirza, of Fatehwadi, and his unnamed ex-fiancée were captured on closed-circuit television security footage entering the fatal flophouse in the Juhapura neighborhood of Ahmedabad. Read more
Tsitsi Dangarembga’s next work won’t be read by anyone until 2114 (Guardian)
Tsitsi Dangarembga made the Booker shortlist for her most recent novel, This Mournable Body, the story of a girl trying to make a life in post-colonial Zimbabwe which was praised as “magnificent” and “sublime”. Her next work, however, is likely to receive fewer accolades: it will not be revealed to the world until 2114.
The Zimbabwean writer is the eighth author selected for the Future Library project, an organic artwork dreamed up by the Scottish artist Katie Paterson. It began in 2014 with the planting of 1,000 Norwegian spruces in a patch of forest outside Oslo. Paterson is asking one writer a year to contribute a manuscript to the project – “the length of the piece is entirely for the author to decide” – with Margaret Atwood, Ocean Vuong and Karl Ove Knausgård already signed up. The works, unseen by anyone but the writers themselves, will be kept in a room lined with wood from the forest in the Deichman library in Oslo. One hundred years after Future Library was launched, in 2114, the trees will be felled, and the manuscripts printed for the first time. Read more
Leopard attacks model in German photoshoot (BBC)
A 36-year-old model has been mauled by a leopard during a photoshoot that went wrong at a retirement home for show animals in eastern Germany.
The woman, described as an animal lover as well as a photo model, suffered serious head injuries inside an enclosure that is home to two leopards, Troy and Paris.
Police said she was taken to hospital on Tuesday with serious injuries.
A mobile alert that the leopard had then run away turned out to be false. Read more
Michael Nader, star of “Dynasty” and “All My Children,” dead at 76 (NYPost)
Michael Nader, star of the original 1980s soap opera “Dynasty” and “All My Children,” passed away on August 23, his wife said. He was 76.
Nader was best known for playing Dex Dexter on “Dynasty” and Dimitri Marick on “All My Children.”
“We had 18 wonderful years together with the many dogs we fostered and adopted,” said Lister. “Recently, Michael was so thrilled to reconnect with his friends from the cast of ‘Dynasty’ during Emma Samms’ virtual event to help raise funds for long-COVID research. He was a beautiful and fascinating man with many talents and skills. I will miss him forever.” Read more
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” star Letitia Wright hospitalised after stunt accident on set (InsideExpress)
“Black Panther 2” star Letitia Wright was hospitalized after a stunt accident on the film’s set.
Wright’s injuries were minor and not expected to interfere with the filming schedule, a source told Deadline.
Wright will return as Shuri in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” out next year.
Actress Letitia Wright was taken to a Boston hospital after a stunt accident on the set of the upcoming Marvel film, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Insider confirmed.
“Letitia Wright sustained minor injuries today while filming a stunt for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’ She is currently receiving care in a local hospital and is expected to be released soon,” a Marvel spokesperson told Deadline on Wednesday.
The injuries, which occurred while filming in Boston, were minor and were not expected to interfere with the filming schedule, sources told Deadline. The injury occurred during the use of a stunt rig.
Wright is reprising her role as Shuri in the Marvel blockbuster, which is currently set for release on July 8, 2022. Ryan Coogler will return as the writer and director, after helming the first “BP” movie that was released in 2018. Read more
D’Tigers outclass Mali in 2021 Afrobasket opening match (DailyTrust)
2017 African champions, D’Tigers of Nigeria started their 2021 Afrobasket championship on a winning note with a dominant 81-73 points win against a determined Malian team.
Captained by Stephen Domingo, D’Tigers dominated the Malians for the first win after their last win against Argentina in the run up to the 2020 Olympics.
After running to a 28-12pts lead in the first quarter, fatigue induced turnovers and wayward shooting saw the Malians coming back within a touching distance.
D’Tigers were able to cling to a 44-43points lead heading into halftime. Read more
Udodi Onwuzurike will be Nigeria’s star at 2024 Olympics, says Porbeni (Guardian)
The head coach of Team Nigeria to the just concluded U20 World Athletics Championship in Nairobi, Kenya, Seigha Porbeni, says U.S.-based junior sprinter, Udodi Onwuzurike is a replica of Jamaica’s speed star, Usain Bolt.
Onwuzurike was one of the biggest stars in Nairobi, as he won the 200m title, dropping a wind-legal, meet-winning time of 20.21 (+05) seconds. His winning time was part of three performances under 21 seconds at Nairobi 2021 championship. Also, it was both a Personal Best for the young lad and a National U20 record. It effectively broke the 25-year jinx that has seen no other Nigeria win gold in the 200m event since Francis Obikwelu grabbed the junior title in 1996 in Sydney.
Speaking with The Guardian, Porbeni, a former Nigerian jumper, hurdler and sprinter, stated that Udodi Onwuzurike would be one of Nigeria’s stars to watch out for at Paris 2024 Olympics. Read more
Qatar 2022 Qualifier: CAR appoint new Coach for Super Eagles (Vanguard)
Few weeks to the kick-off of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Central African Republic (CAR) has announced a new head coach.
The Central African senior national team has been without a gaffer for quite some time but the country football governing body yesterday announced Switzerland-born Raoul Savoy as the new handler of the team.
Savoy is not new to the team as he has been with them twice in the past: 2014 and 2017 and he is expected to commence work immediately.
His first assignment is to release the list of players that will prosecute the double-header qualifying matches slated for September. Read more
Vuelta a Espana: Defending champion Primoz Roglic wins stage 11 (BBC)
Defending Vuelta a Espana champion Primoz Roglic won stage 11 to reduce the gap to leader Odd Christian Eiking.
Norwegian Eiking took the red jersey from Roglic on Wednesday when the Slovenian crashed during stage 10.
Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux’s Eiking holds a 58-second lead over second place Cofidis rider Guillaume Martin, with Jumbo-Visma’s Roglic 58 seconds further back.
Roglic claimed victory with a stunning attack on the final short, sharp climb. Read more
Venus Williams follows sister Serena out of US Open (Punch)
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams withdrew from the US Open on Wednesday with a leg injury only hours after her sister Serena pulled out of the Grand Slam event.
Venus Williams, 41, posted a video and message on social media saying she was disappointed to miss the New York hardcourt tournament for the first time since 2006.
“Not the best news from Serena and I today,” Venus said. “I too am unable to play the US Open. It’s super, super, super disappointing. Read more
LeBron James gets cryptic over Jared Dudley’s Lakers exit (NYPost)
LeBron James apparently is sad to see his Lakers teammate Jared Dudley join the Mavericks as an assistant coach.
“Congrats to my guy if this true, which is probably is! But man!! F–K,” James tweeted Tuesday — the same day Dudley, a 14-year NBA veteran, tweeted his excitement to join the Dallas staff led by Jason Kidd.
Kidd was an assistant for the Lakers and won a championship in the 2020 NBA Bubble with Dudley and James.“Excuse my language but [this] one hurt!! For many reasons that you wouldn’t understand,” James wrote in a second tweet. Read more