Suspected internet fraudster Taofiq Adebayo docked, remanded in prison (PM News)
The Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday arraigned a suspected internet fraudster, Taofiq Adebayo, before Justice Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja.
The defendant was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on possession of fraudulent documents.
The first count reads: “That you, Taofiq Hameed Adebayo, sometime in 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, had in your possession fraudulent documents, wherein you falsely represented yourself as Mitchell Bernard to unsuspected members of the public, which representation was printed from your email account, mitchellbernardo1363@gmail.com, a representation you knew or ought to have known to be fraudulent and committed an offence of possession of fraudulent document contrary to Sections 1(3) and 8 (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, No 14 of 2006.”
The second count reads: “That you, Taofiq Hameed Adebayo, sometime in 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, had in your possession fraudulent documents, wherein you falsely represented yourself as Madison George… Read more
#EndSARS: Lekki residents donate office block to police station (Vanguard)
The Lekki Estates Residents and Stakeholders Association (LERSA) has donated an office block to Ajiwe Police Station, Ajah, Lagos, to support policing of the area.
LERSA President, Chief James Emadoye, while inspecting the building on Wednesday preparatory to its inauguration and handing over to the Nigeria Police Force, said the project was 95 per cent completed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many police stations and business premises and property were destroyed during the EndSARS protests exactly a year ago.
According to Emadoye, the building, which awaits painting and completion of the restrooms, will be delivered to the Inspector General of Police through the Lagos State Commissioner of Police. Read more
Doctor confirms defilement of minor in Baba Ijesha’s Case (Channels)
After watching the video of the 14-year-old girl allegedly defiled by Nollywood Actor, James Olanrewaju, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, the Lagos State Sexual Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has heard that the child was defiled and suffered a ruptured vagina which has since healed.
The testimony was given at the proceedings on Thursday by another prosecution witness and a medical practitioner, Dr Aneikan Makanjuola.
Makanjuola, who described herself as the Clinical Director of Women At Risk International Foundation (WARIF), stated under cross-examination that further examination of the survivor also showed that prior to the incident, the child was not sexually active.
She gave evidence before Justice Toyin Taiwo in the alleged sexual assault charge brought against Baba Ijesha by the Lagos State government. Read more
At editors’ conference, Kyari blames elite for crude oil theft (Leadership)
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Malam Mele Kyari yesterday identified the elite and politicians as those behind crude oil theft in the country.
He also blamed them for the country’s continuous importation of refined petroleum products despite investment in the moribund refineries, even as he noted that all efforts to turn around the NNPC ended up in one misfortune or the other.
The NNPC GMD made the revelation at the 17th All Nigeria Editors Conference 2021 organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).
Speaking during the conference with the theme, ”Media in Times of Crises: Resolving Conflict, Achieving Consensus”, Kyari described Nigerian elites as greedy, saying they don’t do things the way they should be done. Read more
How we killed Obasanjo’s third term, says Nnamani, Buhari hails ex-Senate President (Punch)
A former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma, has hailed the book, ‘Standing Strong’, authored by a former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani, which focuses on the alleged attempts by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to extend his tenure in office.
Danjuma, who served as defence minister in Obasanjo’s cabinet in the early 2000s, was also part of the supreme military council in the late 1970s.
The former minister, who was the chairman at the book launch in Abuja on Thursday, stated that the publication was “classic history.”
While congratulating Nnamani, he said, “The book is a classic history of a country and we have the unfortunate habit of not valuing and preserving our history. The result is that the lies and the distortions that hit the headlines survive. Read more
Nigerians made 34 million emergency calls in 8 months – NCC (Punch)
The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, has disclosed that Nigerians made 30 million emergency calls from January to August 2021 using the 122 emergency number.
Danbatta disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday at a two-day All Nigerian Editors Conference with the theme: ‘Media in times of crisis: Resolving conflict, achieving consensus’.
According to the NCC boss, there are Emergency Communications Centres in 23 states and Federal Capital Territory, with ongoing plans to establish the centres in nine more states and the remaining four states by the end of 2022.
He said, “The NCC embarked on the establishment of ECCs across the states to offer a lifeline to citizens in times of distress. Read more
Wike swears in Barasua, first female LG Chairman in Bonny (Vanguard)
As part of efforts to ensure more women inclusion in politics, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has sworn in Dame Anengi Barasua, JP., as the first female Executive Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area.
Her position as described by Governor Wike is an opportunity to show her potential in service as he charged her to always work in unity with the leadership of Bonny LGA.
Barasua succeeded the late David Irimagha, former Bonny LGA Executive Chairman, who was described as a dependable chairman who remained consistent in tough times.
In her inaugural speech, Barasua appreciated the confidence that the party leadership reposed in her and the support from party members as well as the people of Bonny Local Government. Read more
FG constructing 11,000 houses nationwide, says Fashola (Punch)
About 11,000 housing units are being constructed across the country by the Federal Government, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said.
He said this on Thursday at the 10th meeting of the National Council of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in Lagos.
Fashola also continued his advocacy for the collection of monthly rents by landlords, rather than collecting rents for one, two or three years in advance.
Speaking on housing projects, the minister said, “As you know, the Federal Government is undertaking a National Housing Programme in all states (except Lagos and Rivers which has not started) aggregating to about 5,000 housing units, and trying to complete an inherited ministerial pilot housing scheme across the states which has a little over 6,000 units.” Read more
Women benefited more from FG’s N38b loan – Osinbajo (Leadership)
From the statistics rolled yesterday by Vice Yemi Osinbajo, Nigerian women have benefited more from the various intervention programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari, especially the N38 billion loan so far disbursed by the current administration.
Osinbajo said the Buhari administration since 2015 till date designed and implemented the programmes to improve the health, education and socio-economic conditions of the Nigerian people, especially women, children and youths.
The vice president stated this yesterday in Abuja at an event to mark six years of the Future Assured, an initiative of the Aisha Buhari Foundation.
Also yesterday, Osinbajo spoke at the public presentation of Senator Ken Nnamani’s book, “Standing Strong.” Read more
Gombe enrols 150,000 almajirai, decries out-of-school children’s number (Punch)
No fewer than 150,000 Almajirai have been enrolled in the 676 non-formal learning centres in the last two years in Gombe State.
Governor Muhammadu Yahaya said this at a stakeholders’ engagement organised by Better Education Delivery for All on Thursday, adding that said the number of out-of-school children in the state was alarming.
Yahaya said the establishment of non-formal learning centres through BESDA, had reduced the number of children involved in begging, stressing that the centres were aimed at introducing modern education into the Tsangaya curriculum, so that children would benefit from both educational systems.
Yahaya said, “We are here today to discuss better ways of improving the Tsangaya education system in our dear state. Many Muslim countries like Morocco, Sudan and Indonesia have done very well in upgrading the Tsangaya system and making it fit into the requirements of our time. Read more
Queen spent night in hospital after cancelling Northern Ireland visit (Metro)
The Queen spent Wednesday night in hospital for ‘preliminary investigations’, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
The 95-year-old monarch, who was ordered to rest by doctors and advised to miss a trip to Northern Ireland, returned to Windsor Castle at lunchtime on Thursday and remains in ‘good spirits’.
In a statement, the Palace said: ‘Following medical advice to rest for a few days, the Queen attended hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some preliminary investigations, returning to Windsor Castle at lunchtime today, and remains in good spirits.’
The head of state’s trip to central London’s private King Edward VII’s Hospital, which began on Wednesday afternoon, was kept a secret but the Palace issued a statement on Thursday evening after The Sun newspaper broke the news. Read more
Covid: Virus may have killed 80k-180k health workers, WHO says(BBC)
Covid has severely affected healthcare staff and may have killed between 80,000 and 180,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
Healthcare workers must be prioritised for vaccines, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, and he criticised unfairness in the distribution of jabs.
The deaths occurred between January 2020 and May of this year.
Earlier, another senior WHO official warned a lack of jabs could see the pandemic continue well into next year.Read more
“Rust” crew member dead after shooting incident involving Alec Baldwin (CNN)
A female crew member has died and another injured following an accident involving a prop firearm on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust,” according to a law enforcement statement provided to CNN.
The prop firearm was discharged by actor and producer Alec Baldwin, 68, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
The female victim was identified as director of photography Halyna Hutchins, 42, according to investigators. She was transported to the hospital via helicopter and pronounced dead by medical personnel at University of New Mexico Hospital.
The other victim, 48-year-old director Joel Souza, was transported to Christus St. Vincent’s Regional Medical Center by ambulance for care. Details on his condition were not released. Read more
Biden says US will defend Taiwan if China attacks(BBC)
President Joe Biden said the US would defend Taiwan if China attacked, in an apparent departure from a long-held policy.
“Yes, we have a commitment to do that,” he said when asked during a townhall if the US would defend Taiwan.
But a White House spokesman later told some US media outlets that his remarks did not signify a change in policy.
The US has long practised “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to the thorny issue of defending Taiwan. Read more
Adele admits leaving marriage to Simon Konecki was ‘biggest risk’ she has ever taken(Metro)
Adele described her divorce from ex-husband Simon Konecki was the biggest risk she has ever taken.
The Easy On Me singer, 33, confirmed her separation from the charity CEO, who she shares son Angelo with, in 2019.
She is now dating Rich Paul, going public with their romance recently.
Her new single touches on the breakdown of her marriage, with other tracks on upcoming album 30 also exploring her heartbreak.Read more
Gabby Petito: Fiancé Brian Laundrie’s remains found – FBI(BBC)
Human remains found in a Florida park on Wednesday have been confirmed to belong to the missing fiancé of a murdered blogger, the FBI says.
The body of Brian Laundrie, who had been missing for over a month, was identified using dental records.
Laundrie, who was a person of interest in Gabby Petito’s death, returned to Florida last month from a joint road trip without his partner.
Her body was later found in Wyoming, where the couple had been travelling. Read more
India achieves major milestone of one billion vaccinations (Leadership)
India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive has achieved a historic milestone of administering 1 billion vaccine doses. Around 75% of the eligible population (18+) has been given the first dose, while around 30% has been given both doses.
This was disclosed yesterday by the Indian High Commission in Abuja yesterday, stressing that the country achieved this mark of 1 billion vaccine doses in less than 40 weeks, which exemplified India’s prowess in various elements in the vaccination journey – development of new vaccines, production of vaccines, deployment, and technology.
India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on 16 January 2021. But preparations had begun way back in April 2020 with the establishment of the National Task Force for Focused Research on Corona Vaccine. Indeed, a hallmark of India’s vaccination drive has been the high-level oversight and coordination, particularly by the Prime Minister Neranda Modi.Read more
Jose Mourinho speaks out after Roma’s humiliating 6-1 defeat to Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt(Metro)
Jose Mourinho took full responsibility for Roma’s humiliating 6-1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt but pointed at the ‘limitations’ in his squad after the Europa Conference League humbling, suggesting he only had 13 players of real quality.
Roma had a 100 per cent record in the competition ahead of this evening’s Group C clash and the Special One decided to ring the changes, with the match being played on an artificial pitch in Norway.
The Serie A giants, heavy favourites at the Aspmyra Stadion, fell behind to an early Erik Botheim goal and Patrick Berg doubled the hosts’ lead with a wonder strike in the 20th minute.
Carles Perez pulled a goal back just eight minutes, but Botheim completed his brace to put the Norwegian minnows in the driving seat just after half-time.Read more
Newcastle United: Owners hold talks with former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca(BBC)
Newcastle United’s new owners have held talks with former Roma manager Paulo Fonseca as they continue their search for Steve Bruce’s replacement.
Several candidates are being considered by the Saudi-backed consortium.
Former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, ex-Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre and Belgium boss Roberto Martinez have all been linked with the job.
Assistant coach Graeme Jones will lead Newcastle in an interim capacity for Saturday’s game at Crystal Palace.
Bruce left the club on Wednesday, with the new consortium, who took over the club two weeks ago, wanting to take their time to make the right appointment.Read more
Arsenal never considered selling Emile Smith Rowe to Aston Villa, says Mikel Arteta (Metro)
Mikel Arteta says there was never any chance of Emile Smith Rowe joining Aston Villa in the summer as Arsenal made it clear the midfielder was not for sale.
Villa identified Smith Rowe, 21, as one of their top targets at the summer transfer window and failed with two separate offers for the Englishman, who joined Arsenal’s academy at the age of just 10.
The club’s second unsuccessful bid of £30million came after they had already splashed out £38m to beat the Gunners to the signing of Emiliano Buendia, with Dean Smith looking to fill the void left by Jack Grealish’s departure.
Smith Rowe went on to put pen to paper on a bumper five-year contract with his boyhood team and took over the iconic No.10 shirt, previously worn by the likes of Mesut Ozil, Robin van Persie and Dennis Bergkamp. Read more
Waldrum attributes Falcons win to presence of top players (Punch)
Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum says the presence of his top players against the Black Queens was instrumental to the 2-0 win against the Ghanaians in the first leg of their 2022 African Women’s Cup of Nations qualifiers in Lagos on Wednesday.
The Falcons went into the game following a 4-2 loss to South Africa at the Aisha Buhari Cup in September.
But the impressive Uchenna Kanu, who plays for Swedish club Linköpings FC, scored a brace to help the Falcons inch closer to qualification for the continent’s number one women’s football showpiece.
“Going into the first half, we came out with a good mentality. In the second half, we had some tired legs, but the players fought to the end and Chiamaka Nnadozie came up with a big save to keep a clean sheet, which is very important for us. We all understand that this is just half of the job,” Waldrum said ahead of the second leg in Accra on Sunday. Read more
Under-strength Spurs lose at Vitesse(BBC)
Tottenham paid the price for leaving their star players at home as Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem earned a deserved win in the Europa Conference League.
Vitesse left-sided midfielder Maximilian Wittek crisply converted a volley from the edge of the area, dealing a blow to the visitors’ hopes of progressing comfortably from Group G.
With key players including Harry Kane and Son Heung-min rested, Spurs fielded a different starting XI to the one who beat Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday and they lacked rhythm in a poor performance.
The Dutch side, who finished fourth in the Eredivisie last season, created the better opportunities and delighted a sell-out crowd when Wittek finally made their dominance count. Read more
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to be more like Jose Mourinho, claims Glen Johnson(Metro)
Glenn Johnson wants Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be more like Jose Mourinho and not be afraid of dropping some of his better players for the good of the team.
United have won just three of their last eight matches in all competitions, with many of the club’s top players, including Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes, being criticised for their poor performances of late.
Pressure is also growing on Solskjaer, who has been slammed for not establishing an identity during his almost three years in charge of the club so far, while also being accused of being too nice to make tough decisions.
The tension towards the Norwegian boss was eased slightly by a dramatic 3-2 win over Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with second-half goals from Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo enough to overturn a 2-0 deficit. Read more