Wife laments Lagos school proprietor’s whereabouts 28 days after N1.5m ransom payment (Punch)
The past four weeks have been traumatic for the family members of Femi Oluwadeko, the proprietor of First Trust School in Adamo, Ikorodu, Lagos State, unsure of whether their breadwinner is alive or dead.
Fifty-year-old Oluwadeko and a teacher in his school, Chioma Oladapo, were reportedly kidnapped during a visit to the former’s poultry at Salebo, Imota, around 7am on Thursday, June 3, 2021.
While Oladapo reportedly managed to escape from the kidnappers’ den, her boss’ whereabouts remained unknown even after the family paid N1.5m in ransom. The abductors were said to have initially demanded N100m.
City Round learnt that the abduction was reported at the Imota Police Division and the case was later transferred to the tactical squad at the state police command headquarters in Ikeja. Read more
Igboho’s men dare police over Lagos rally (Nation)
Agitators for Yoruba nation appear to be heading on a collision course with security agents in Lagos today.
The agitators vowed yesterday to press ahead with their rally in spite of police warning that they should desist.
Olayomi Koiki, spokesman for the embattled Yoruba youth activist and one of the prime movers of the agitation Sunday Igboho, said the rally would go ahead as planned.
Organisers of the Lagos rally and the umbrella body of Yoruba self-determination groups, Ilana Omo Oodua (IOO), also insisted on going ahead with the rally today.
But the Police asked the secessionists to steer clear of Lagos. Read more
Alleged killer of Super TV CEO booked apartment with fake name, Jewel (Punch)
A preliminary police report on the alleged murder of Super TV Chief Executive Officer, Usifo Ataga, has shown that the prime suspect, Chidinma Ojukwu, used the name ‘Jewel’ to book the short let apartment on Adebowale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase I, Lagos, where Ataga was killed.
The report also indicated that several calls placed to a phone number with which 21-year-old Ojukwu booked didn’t go through after Ataga’s body was discovered in the room on Wednesday, June 16.
Ojukwu, a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, had reportedly checked into the service apartment with Ataga to have fun.
What started as an amorous encounter however went awry under the influence of drugs as Ojukwu reportedly stabbed her lover multiple times with a knife. Read more
Indigent Lagos residents get funds to tackle challenges (Guardian)
Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, distributed cheques worth millions of naira to financially support 50 indigent residents of Lagos State who are suffering from chronic illnesses, varying degrees of disasters and loss of jobs and businesses.
At the third edition of his interactive programme with indigent residents, tagged “Sanwo-Olu Listens”, organised by the Office of Civic Engagement, the governor while presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries of the initiative, said the government had a duty to give special attention to the needs of people with special challenges, either as result of physical disability or difficult economic situation that have eroded their capacity to provide for their basic needs.
He said the programme was initiated as a platform to provide long-term financial assistance to vulnerable citizens, and one of several social intervention programmes being implemented by his administration to bring relief to residents with adverse socio-economic conditions. Read more
DSS manhunt: Igboho goes underground, whereabouts unknown to associates (Punch)
Weapons paraded by DSS don’t belong to Igboho, says media aide
There are indications that wanted Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has gone underground following a manhunt for him by the Department of State Services for allegedly stockpiling arms to destabilise Nigeria, Saturday PUNCH has learnt.
Findings by our correspondent showed that the whereabouts of Igboho, a lead figure in the separatist agitation for the Yoruba Nation, is also unknown to his associates.
Some of his associates, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said they had not been able to reach him since the DSS launched a manhunt for him on Thursday night.
Repeated efforts by our correspondent to reach Igboho on his known phone numbers proved abortive as his lines were perpetually switched off, a measure some of his associates said was necessary to avoid him being tracked by security agents who were on his trail. Read more
OML 150: Security reinforced as host communities sustain siege in Delta (ThisDay)
A reinforcement of security personnel has been deployed around Obodo oil field in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State yesterday as hundreds of indigenes of seven host communities to Conoil Producing Limited sustained siege on the facilities enters the fifth day insisting the oil firm should vacate their land.
The protesting indigenes had again stormed the facilities since last Saturday and vowed not to leave the area until Conoil implement the directive of the Palace of Olu of Warri and Delta State Government to open negotiation with the host communities leaders.
THISDAY observed that the seven host communities had penultimate week embarked on five days protest against the oil firm until the intervention of the Palace of Olu of Warri and Delta State Government before vacating the field. Read more
Police rescue 9 from bandits’ den (Guardian)
Police officers have rescued nine persons who were kidnapped by bandits late Thursday night at Kirjam village in Dandume Local Government Area of Katsina state.
The bandits descended on the village, abducting nine and carted away household valuables. However, the police who got wind of the attack waylaid the bandits while trying to escape into the forest with their victims and loot and engaged them in a fierce gun duel, rescuing the nine alive and unharmed.
A statement by the spokesperson for the police command in the state, SP Gambo Isah, said several of the bandits sustained gunshot wounds during the encounter. Read more
PIB: Niger Delta groups reject 3% fund for host communities (Nation)
Niger Delta leaders and prominent groups from the region have expressed mixed reactions following the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by the National Assembly.
While commending the Ninth National Assembly for making the bill a reality after about 20 years in limbo, some of the stakeholders rejected the three per cent of oil companies’ profit allocated to host communities by the lawmakers.
A retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police(DIG), Udom Udo Ekpoudom, has slammed lawmakers from the oil-rich Niger Delta region over the Petroleum Industry Bill recently passed into law by the National Assembly. Read more
France resumes joint military operations with Mali (France24)
France announced Friday that it will resume joint military operations in Mali, after suspending them early last month following the West African country’s second coup in less than a year.
Following consultations with the Malian transitional authorities and the countries of the region France has “decided to resume joint military operations as well as national advisory missions, which had been suspended since June 3”, the armed forces minister said in a statement.
Last month’s decision to suspend the joint operations came after Mali’s military strongman Assimi Goita, who led last year’s coup, ousted the country’s civilian transitional president and prime minister.
That move sparked diplomatic uproar, prompting the United States to suspend security assistance for Malian security forces and for the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to suspend Mali. Read more
Germany: Würzburg holds memorial events week after deadly attack (DW)
Several events in the Bavarian city, including a human chain with hundreds of people, were held to remember the victims of a shocking knife attack exactly one week ago.
The Bavarian city of Würzburg is holding several memorial events Friday, one week after a man stabbed three women to death in a department store.
Police said around 600 people formed a human chain extending from the “Juliuspromenade” near the area where the attack took place, to the Würzburg city hall, some 650 meters (2,100 feet) away.
People held flowers, signs and posters in several languages reading “Würzburg”. Read more
COVID-19: New variants fuelling Africa’s surging third wave, says WHO (Guardian)
As COVID-19 case numbers in Africa climb faster than all earlier peaks, new and faster spreading variants are fuelling the continent’s surging third wave, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
The global health body noted that COVID-19 cases have increased in Africa for six weeks running and rose by 25 per cent week-on-week to almost 202, 000 in the week ending on June 27th, reaching nine tenths of the continent’s previous record of 224, 000 new cases. Deaths rose by 15 per cent across 38 African countries to nearly 3,000 in the same period.
Speaking during a virtual press conference facilitated by APO Group, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, observed that with case numbers doubling in Africa every three weeks, the Delta variant is spreading to a growing number of countries, adding that the variant has been reported in 16 countries, including nine with surging cases. Read more
Mapping the hottest temperatures around the world (AlJazeera)
June was an exceptionally hot month for several countries in the northern hemisphere. Since Friday June 25, at least 486 sudden deaths have been recorded in Canada’s British Columbia province as temperatures soared to nearly 50C (122F). In the United States, the ongoing heatwave has buckled highways and melted power lines. A so-called “heat dome”, where high pressure traps the heat, is being blamed for the excessively high temperatures.
On June 29, Lytton, a small town about 200km (124 miles) from Vancouver, hit 49.6C (121F), setting a national record for the highest temperature ever recorded across Canada. Schools, universities and vaccination centres were closed across British Columbia.
Just south of the border in the US state of Oregon, the city of Portland hit an all-time high of 46.6C (116F), breaking the previous high of 41.6C (107F), first set in 1965. Read more
Cannes film-makers celebrate musical heroes (France24)
It will be a feast for the ears as well as the eyes on the Croisette this year with a string of films celebrating musical heroes across different eras and cultures.
Wild film-maker meets legendary band in the opening film of the festival on July 6.
“Annette” by French director Leos Carax features Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver, but the real stars may prove to be the US band Sparks.
Cult favourites since the 1970s, the duo provided not just the soundtrack but the script to this otherworldly musical about a celebrity couple whose lives are turned upside down by the arrival of their first child.
“‘Annette’ is a much-anticipated gift for lovers of cinema, music and culture,” promised festival president Pierre Lescure. Read more
Remembering legendary Doors lead singer Jim Morrison (DW)
Jim Morrison, young man looks into camera, stretches out right arm
Rock legend, poet, sex symbol: 50 years after his death, people are still fascinated by Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors. But who was the man behind the legend?
Multi-talented artist, charismatic frontman, coveted lover: at the height of his career, Jim Morrison completely lived up to the image of the proverbial rock star. His style was unconventional, sent shockwaves through straight-laced America but fascinated the younger generation.
But the real man behind this success story was often depressed, withdrawn and rebellious. His excessive use of drugs and alcohol is likely one of the reasons why the singer died at the young age of only 27. To this day, numerous legends surround his death on July 3, 1971. Read more
Ex-officer pleads guilty to manslaughter as family blasts deal (AlJazeera)
The mother of a Black man fatally shot in the United States by a white former Nashville officer sobbed, screamed and knocked over a court lectern on Friday as she begged a judge not to accept a plea deal she says was struck in secret without her knowledge, a chaotic scene that briefly delayed a hearing.
Former officer Andrew Delke pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will serve a three-year prison sentence in the death of Daniel Hambrick, 25, in 2018 as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
As part of the agreement, Delke agreed not to pursue parole or appeal the case. However, Delke’s defence team said he will likely serve a year and a half in jail with standard credits.
Prosecuting police officers in the US is difficult because courts and juries tend to side with police. That may be changing. Prompted by widespread Black Lives Matter protests after the death of George Floyd in 2020, the US Congress is debating police reform proposals. Read more
It’s your chance to shine, Adelabu tells home-based Eagles (Guardian)
As the Super Eagles of Nigeria confront their Mexican counterparts in a friendly match in Los Angeles, U.S., former Green Eagles winger, Adegoke Adelabu has urged the home-based players to capitalise on the opportunity to launch themselves to limelight.
The match, which will hold at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, simply known as LA Coliseum, will see the Super Eagles parade players who feature for clubs in the domestic league. It will kick off at 8.00 p.m. Los Angeles time today (4am in Nigeria on Sunday).
This will be the sixth confrontation between Nigeria and Mexico at the senior level. Four of their previous matches have ended in draws. The only win in the series, 2-1 has gone to Mexico at a US Gold Cup encounter in Dallas on June 24 1995.
Nigerian delegation of 22 home-based players and a number of officials, including NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday. President of the NFF and FIFA Council Member, Amaju Pinnick, who honoured an invite by the Government of the State of Maryland in Baltimore on Wednesday, was expected to join up with the contingent in Los Angeles yesterday. Read more
Spain beat Switzerland on penalties to reach Euros semis (BBC)
Three-time champions Spain survived another scare to beat 10-man Switzerland in a dramatic penalty shootout to reach the semi-finals of the European Championship.
Swiss substitute Ruben Vargas was in tears at full-time after he blasted his penalty over the bar, allowing Mikel Oyarzabal to score the decider for Spain.
Spain, ranked sixth in the world, also needed extra time to defeat Croatia in the last 16 despite leading 3-1 with five minutes of normal time to play.
They were in front in St Petersburg against Switzerland too – midfielder Denis Zakaria deflected Jordi Alba’s shot into his own net to give Spain an early lead. Read more
Tokyo 2020 organisers warn of no-fan Olympics as COVID cases rise (AlJazeera)
Tokyo Olympics organisers have warned that they are prepared to hold the Games behind closed doors as virus cases rise, leaving ticket-holders in limbo just three weeks before the opening ceremony.
Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, said on Friday that banning all fans from the Olympics is still an option with the Games opening during a pandemic.
Friday’s announcement would be a reversal of a decision spelled out 10 days ago by the organisers to allow up to 10,000 fans to attend.
Overseas travelling fans were banned months ago as too great a risk. Read more
Azzurri set up Euro 2020 semi-final with Spain (BBC)
Italy set up a Euro 2020 semi-final match with Spain after edging an exhilarating tie with Belgium in Munich.
The game may not have been a goal feast like some of the last-16 ties but it was an intense battle between two excellent teams playing fantastic football.
Italy have been arguably the best team at the tournament so far, while Belgium are the world’s top-ranked team.
The Azzurri’s two goals – which took the team up to 13 consecutive wins and 32 games without defeat – were of the highest quality. Read more
Rublev, Khachanov, Swiatek, Sabalenka, Pliskova hit fourth round (Guardian)
Andrey Rublev of Russia and compatriot, Karen Khachanov advanced to the fourth round in early matches on Friday. Rublev defeated Italy’s Fabio Fognini, 6/3; 5/7; 6/4; 6/2 while Khachanov outlasted American Frances Tiafoe 6/3; 6/4; 6/4
Rublev won the 43-minute first set 6/3 with a single break of Fognini’s serve.
In the second set, the eighth game was crucial after Rublev broke Fognini to lead 4-3. Serving to extend the lead, the score was 30-30 when Fognini hit a drop shot which Rublev scrambled to lift and Fabio hit a lob volley for the break point.
After a long exchange, Rublev had a short ball that he hammered out for the break. Fognini took the ninth game and Rublev saved a set point in the tenth game. The Italian battled to hold the eleventh game. Serving to save the set, Rublev conceded the twelfth game for the set 7/5 in 57mins.
Rublev broke Fognini’s serve to lead 3-2 and held the sixth game. Fognini won the seventh game on the third opportunity while Rublev promptly won his serve for 5-3. After Fognini held serve for 5-4, the tenth game was long drawn out but Rublev prevailed for 6/4. The Russian sealed the victory with a quick 6/3 fourth set. Read more
Finland’s Castren takes lead at suspended Texas LPGA event (France24)
Finland’s Matilda Castren fired her second straight five-under 66 to grab the clubhouse lead in the suspended second round of the LPGA Volunteers of America Classic tournament in The Colony, Texas.
Castren sits at 10-under overall for a two-shot lead over a pair of South Koreans, Lee6 Jeong-eun and former world number one Ko Jin-young at the Old American Golf Course.
Lee6 carded a second-round 70 while first-round leader Ko remained at eight-under for the tournament through just four holes of her second round.
“My irons have been really good,” Castren said. “I hit some good shots, especially with my seven, nine, and pitching wedge, so that really helped. I made some good putts from six to 15 feet.” Read more