US govt gathers 2,700 electronic files, 6,700-page documentary evidence for Kyari’s case (Tribune)
The United States government has gathered over 2,700 electronic files as part of evidence for trial in the $1.1million fraud case involving a top Nigerian police officer, Abba Kyari, a court filing has shown.
Other sets of investigative reports and “new discoveries,” including documents obtained from foreign law enforcement agencies with over 6,700 pages, are being processed by prosecutors, the document also says.
US prosecutors along with three of the six indicted defendants in the fraud case have asked the U.S. District Court for Central California to postpone trial from October 2021 to 17 May, 2022.
Premium Times reported that the parties jointly filed the application on Friday, citing various reasons for asking for trial postponement. Read more
Court remands teenager for weilding dangerous weapon (Vanguard)
An Ikorodu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State on Monday, ordered that a teenager, Pelumi Onabanjo, who pleaded guilty to weilding dangerous weapon.
The police charged Onabanjo,18, with unlawful use of dangerous weapon.
Magistrate B.A. Shonuga adjourned the case until Oct. 28, for fact and sentencing.
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Insp Adegeshin Famuyiwa, told the court that the defendant, committed the offence on Sept 16, at Igbe road junction, Igbogbo area of Ikorodu.
She said that the defendant did go armed with a dagger/knife in public without having lawful authority. Read more
Why we engage services of over 400 health workers — LASG (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Government has announced the equipment of over 400 health workers to fill existing vacancies in the state-owned secondary health facilities between the last quarter of 2020 and the second quarter of 2021.
The Chairman, Lagos State Health Service Commission, Dr. Atinuke Onayiga disclosed this today after reviewing the report of the ongoing recruitment exercise currently being coordinated by the Health Service Commission.
She noted that the engagement of the health care workers is part of the current administration’s strategy to improve human resources for health towards the provision of qualitative healthcare delivery in Lagos State.
Onayiga said: “The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu places priority on human resources for health, human capital development, and medical infrastructural development as a means of achieving the Health and Environment mandate of the THEMES agenda. Read more
Bandits kill 34 in fresh attack, burn houses in Kaduna (Sun)
No fewer than 34 persons have been killed and several houses set blaze in the early hours of Monday in fresh attack by bandits on Madamai village in Kaura local government area of Kaduna State.
Report also added that seven persons were injured in the attack and rushed to neighbouring hospital in Plateau State for medical attention.
The bloody attack happened while the northern governors were meeting in Kaduna over insecurity and other socio-economic issues in the region.
According to a state by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, “Security agencies have reported to the Kaduna State Government, the killing of 34 citizens in an attack in Kaura local government area.
“According to the reports, unidentified gunmen attacked Madamai village in Kaura local government. Read more
Alleged Nude Photos: Court to arraign Ohakim October 21 (Leadership)
The Federal High Court, Abuja, has fixed October 21 for arraignment of former Imo Governor, Mr Ikedi Ohakim, for allegedly threatening to release nude photos of an Abuja-based woman, Mrs Chinyere Amuchienwa.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, to take over the prosecution of Ohakim from the Inspector-General of Police, at the resumed trial on Monday.
The police had filed criminal charges against Ohakim and Chinedu Okpareke over alleged threat to life and threat to release nude pictures of Amuchienwa.
However, before Ohakim arraignment, the police filed a notice of discountenance of the matter on March 15, same day the AGF informed the court that he was taking over the matter. Read more
Nigeria at 61: Osinbajo, Sanwo-Olu, Makinde, Lalong, Uzodimma call for prayers (Tribune)
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has said the vision of a united and prosperous nation espoused by the founding founders of Nigeria will be accomplished, as he assured that the current trials will soon be overcome.
He disclosed this at the interdenominational service to mark the 61st Independence anniversary of the country, where prayers were held for God’s intervention in addressing insecurity confronting the nation.
The service, held at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, coincided with the 45th anniversary of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Osinbajo said with unity and faith, the country would overcome its current challenges and become a strong force in Africa and beacon of hope for the sub-region.
In his sermon at the service, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, said all will be well with Nigeria, in spite of the challenges the nation is going through. Read more
COVID-19: Protesters shut down Edo over compulsory vaccination (Punch)
Members of civil society organisations and students on Monday took to major streets in Edo State to protest against the compulsory COVID-19 vaccination policy put in place by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration.
The protesters, who grounded vehicular movement in the metropolis, carried placards bearing inscriptions as: ‘We need security in Edo, not vaccine’; ‘We will resist any form of executive rascality’; ‘Hunger is killing us, not COVID-19’; ‘Obaseki obey court order’; ‘My body is my right’; ‘Share COVID-19 palliative’.
They also threatened to completely shut down government houses, government agencies/parastatals, corporate organisations enforcing ‘no vaccine, no entry’ policies, stressing that the protest of Monday was just a warning.
Speaking at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council, the coordinator of the Freedom Ambassador Organisation, Curtis Ogbebor, said they were out to express their displeasure over the compulsory vaccination in the state, noting that other pressing issues such as security should be the governor’s priority and not COVID-19 vaccination. Read more
Customs intercepts live cartridges concealed in cassava flour (Sun)
The Special Assignment Team of Federal Operations Unit (Zone ‘A’) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it has intercepted three Mazda Saloon cars loaded with cartridges concealed in sacks of cassava flour.
In a statement issued by the Unit Public Relations Officer, Theophilus P Duniya said the interception
occurred while officers of the NCS were on information patrol on Sunday at about 10 pm along the Igbora axis of Oyo State.
According to the statement, the drivers abandoned their vehicles on sighting the official vehicle, adding that the items discovered during physical examination in the office included 751 pieces of AAA, 70mm live Lion Cartridges, sacks of cassava flour and sacks of parboiled rice.
Duniya said the vehicles including their contents have been deposited at the Unit headquarters for further investigation. Read more
Hoodlums allegedly enforcing IPOB sit-at-home set ablaze bus carrying foodstuffs in Enugu (Punch)
Hoodlums on Monday set ablaze a bus conveying tomatoes, vegetables and other foodstuffs to Enugu for allegedly violating the suspended every Monday sit-at-home order.
This came as residents have continued to stay at home, defying even the orders of Indigenous People of Biafra leaders who had severally but unsuccessfully tried to halt the action.
It was gathered that the vehicle, Ford brand, was set ablaze by people believed to be enforcing the erstwhile sit-at-home order at Edem junction, Ibeagwa, Nike, in the Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State around 5:45 am.
The vehicle was reportedly coming from the Ugwogo end of the Opi/Enugu bypass when it was blocked and set on fire. Read more
The Weeknd and Angelina Jolie fuel dating rumours after being photographed leaving restaurant together (Complex)
Angelina Jolie and The Weeknd further fueled dating rumors after they were photographed leaving a restaurant together in Los Angeles Saturday night.
According to the Daily Mail, the two arrived separately and spent nearly three hours at the Italian restaurant Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica. They were photographed leaving the restaurant together and reportedly entered a waiting black SUV together. Jolie and Weeknd were also spotted leaving Giorgio Baldi separately in late June.
The two also reportedly attended the same Mustafa the Poet concert in July. There’s no visual proof that they were together at the event, but The Weeknd was seen with friends including Metro Boomin, while the actress brought her teen kids Shiloh and Zahara.
As expected, these first photos of the two of them together sent people into a tizzy. While some people wondered about the nature of their relationship, others chose to reference The Weeknd’s song “Party Monster” in which he sings, “Angelina, lips like Angelina.” Read more
Germany elections: Centre-left claim narrow win over Merkel’s party (BBC)
Germany’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have claimed victory in the federal election, telling the party of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel it should no longer be in power.
SPD leader Olaf Scholz said he had a clear mandate to form a government, while his conservative rival Armin Laschet remains determined to fight on.
The two parties have governed together for years.
But Mr Scholz says it is time for a new coalition with the Greens and liberals. Read more
“Free Guy” breaks free at box office, banking over $300M worldwide (Movieweb)
The movie Free Guy has been the surprise of the summer and continues to exceed expectations. On Monday, the Disney/20th Century Studios film passed $300 million at the worldwide box office, becoming just the fifth Hollywood title to cross this threshold in 2021. So far, the Ryan Reynolds film has grossed $114.1 million domestically and $203.3 million at the international box office for a total of $317.4 million.
This is not just a box office win for Disney, but this is also a win for original IP as this is the only original IP film to hit $300 million in 2021 and only the second, besides Tenet, to do so since the pandemic began. The video game-inspired film directed by Shawn Levy is a hit with both audiences and critics as it holds an 80% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A grade on Cinema Score.
While hitting $300 million seems tame compared to most blockbusters, considering Free Guy debuted in August, right as the Delta variant began to spread, it’s a relatively impressive showing at the box office. It was also the first release by Disney to be exclusive to theaters after both Jungle Cruise and Black Widow had hybrid releases in theaters and on Disney+. That was a decision that’s come back to haunt Disney, based on Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit filed against them. Read more
“Shang-Chi” leads N. America box office for 4th week (Barron’s)
Disney blockbuster Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, featuring Marvel’s first leading Asian superhero, dominated the North American box office for its fourth weekend, taking in $13.2 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.
That estimated figure, for the Friday-through-Sunday period, kept the film — which stars Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu as a former assassin in the shadow of an evil father (Hong Kong legend Tony Leung) — well ahead of its closest rival, newcomer “Dear Evan Hansen.”
The musical teen drama starring Ben Platt, distributed by Universal Pictures, was set to take $7.5 million, knocking 20th Century’s sci-fi comedy “Free Guy” to third with $4.1 million. It stars Ryan Reynolds as an everyman bank teller who discovers he’s actually a non-player character in a huge video game.
Fourth went to Universal’s slasher film “Candyman,” a reimagining of the 1992 classic, which took in $2.5 million. Read more
Brad Pitt and George Clooney are starring in a thriller that’s launched an all-out bidding war in Hollywood (Brobible)
While our pop culture landscape is largely dominated by franchises, spin-offs, sequels, and reboots these days, every so often, a film comes along that recaptures what used to make Hollywood so special: movie star quality.
Just look at Free Guy, for example: granted, while the conclusive third act included tons of the franchise-ification that we’ve come to expect, the film largely got by on two things: a cool concept and a movie-star performance from its A-lister. That *used* to be how Hollywood did things and it’s becoming increasingly rare these days.
When a film does embrace the way things were and the way things used to be, though, it makes movie nerds like me all the more excited, as it reminds us that the days of original blockbuster filmmaking aren’t entirely dead and gone. And this project with Brad Pitt and George Clooney certainly counts as one of those movies.
According to reports, the Academy Award-winning duo are set to star together in a thriller from Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts that’s launched a bidding war in Hollywood, with studios such as Sony, Lionsgate, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Annapurna, Universal, MGM, and Warner Bros. all circling the project. While plot details are being kept under wraps, THR describes the story as “two lone wolf fixers assigned to the same job.”
At this time, it’s unclear when production on the project will begin as Watts is not only wrapped up in Spider-Man: No Way Home post-production and press, but he’s been tapped by Marvel Studios to helm their highly-anticipated Fantastic Four film, as well. Read more
Movie about Michael Jackson’s glove to go ahead (Metro)
Bob Mortimer has announced that cameras will finally start rolling on his and Vic Reeves’ British comedy film about Michael Jackson’s ‘training glove’ in the spring.
The film, simply entitled The Glove, has been stalled in development for years, with the former Shooting Stars hosts writing the screenplay over a decade ago.
However, in an appearance on RHLSTP podcast with Richard Herring, Mortimer confirmed that filming will begin in 2022.
‘We’re filming it in March,’ he shared. ‘He [Jackson] had a training glove and few people knew of it but it was what gave him his special powers to entrance the globe, and a collector’s got it and we’re hoping to have a big star in it.’ Read more
Eagles strikers’ form thrills Rohr (Punch)
Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr is relishing the attacking riches at his disposal as his team heads in to next month’s Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers double header against Central African Republic, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Nigeria will face CAR in Lagos on matchday three on October 6 before traveling for the reverse fixture four days later in Doula, Cameroon.
Africa’s football governing body, CAF has not approved any stadia facility in Central African Republic as being good enough to host an international match – this has forced The Wild Beasts to adopt other nations as ‘home ground’.
Eagles’ first choice striker Victor Osimhen has scored six goals in five games for Napoli while Paul Onuachu has also scored 11 times in his opening 12 games for Genk so far this term. Read more
PSG v Man City: Will Lionel Messi break goal drought against Pep Guardiola’s side? (BBC)
It was one of the most successful player-manager relationships of the modern era.
Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi won 14 trophies together at Barcelona during a four-year period and the pair have been dominant forces in European football for more than a decade.
Since parting ways when Guardiola left the Catalan club in 2012, no player has scored more goals against his teams in the Champions League than Messi.
Their longstanding relationship and Messi’s enduring brilliance helps explain why Guardiola tried to sign Messi in the summer. The Argentine instead ended up at Paris St-Germain and will face his former manager in the Champions League on Tuesday. Read more
D’Tigress beat Mali to win 2021 Women Afrobasket title (DailyTrust)
Nigeria’s national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, have defeated Mali in the final of the 2021 Women Afrobasket to retain their title.
D’Tigress ran riot on their opponents to end the match 59-70 in the final match played on Sunday night.
With the win, D’Tigress have now lifted the Women’s Afrobasket title for the third consecutive time.
Nigeria won the first quarter 22-11 before going on to fall 13-9 in the second quarter.
The girls however came out smoking in the third quarter with a 28-14 win. Read more
Broos names final 23-man Bafana squad for Ethiopia (Fourfourtwo)
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has named his final 23-man squad for their upcoming Fifa Qatar 2022 World Cup against Ethiopia next month.
South Africa are set to face the East African side in back to back clashes with the first game scheduled for 9 October in Ethiopia before playing host to them at the FNB Stadium for the return leg on 12 October.
The Belgian coach made a few changes to his side but relatively kept the same squad that featured against Zimbabwe and Ghana in their first to World Cup qualifying matches, with Percy Tau the only player left out after picking up an injury.
Bafana current lead the Group G standings with four points from two games and their two fixtures against Ethiopia could play a crucial role in helping them qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Read more
Naomi Osaka says she has ‘itch’ to play tennis again and likely to return ‘soon’ (BBC)
Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka says she will return to tennis soon after getting the “itch” to play again.
Osaka took a break from tennis earlier this month after her US Open title defence was ended by eventual runner-up Leylah Fernandez in round three.
The 23-year-old Japanese player previously withdrew from this year’s French Open and missed Wimbledon to focus on her mental health.
“I know I’m going to play again,” Osaka told HBO show The Shop.
Adding that her return would be “probably soon”, Osaka said: “I kind of have that itch again. Read more
Marcus Rashford issues positive injury update as he closes in on Manchester United return (Metro)
Marcus Rashford could return to full contact training with Manchester United this weekend as he closes in on a long-awaited return following his shoulder surgery over the summer.
The 23-year-old had been struggling with the problem throughout last season but had held off on going under the knife so he could be involved in Euro 2020, though only played a peripheral role for Gareth Southgate’s side.
After a long lay-off, he has been ramping up his progress in recent weeks and is now on the verge of being given medical clearance to resume full training with the rest of the squad. Read more