Woman bathes 12-year-old girl with hot water in Cross River (Guardian)
A 12 -year-old girl (name withheld) was bathed with a mixture of hot water and oil by her auntie, one Christiana Nfon Ipkebe, over missing N500 in Cross River State.
The Guardian gathered that the survivor was living with her auntie in Akamkpa Local Council when the evil act was carried out on the little girl.
A source from the neighbourhood told The Guardian that the auntie, who is now at large, poured the hot substance on her, because of missing N500 out of the N7, 550 worth of yams, she sold.
According to the source, a teacher from the little girl’s school noticed that she had not been in school for days and decided to check on her, but found her covered with burns on her upper body. Read more
FG halts N600b electricity subsidy, confirms power tariff hike (Punch)
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Wednesday declared that subsidy on power amounting to about N600bn during some period had now been stopped by the Federal Government.
It also revealed that electricity tariffs were raised in February this year, and was quick to, however, state that the tariff payable by some customers in the franchise area of one of the distribution companies was reduced.
This came as power generation companies condemned the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading company, stating that the NBET was failing in its obligations in terms of payment for power generated by the Gencos.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on the challenges in the power sector and other issues, the Chairman, NERC, Sanusi Garba, stated that subsidy on electricity was a policy issue of the Federal Government that had to be halted. Read more
Court sentences Okada rider to life imprisonment for defiling 10-year-old girl (Guardian)
A Lagos Domestic and Sexual Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, has sentenced an Okada rider, Wale Isaiah to life imprisonment for defiling a 10-year-old girl.
Trial judge, Abiola Soladoye convicted Isaiah, after he was found guilty of the charge brought against him by the state government.
In his verdict, the judge said the prosecution proved the essential ingredients of defilement beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Soladoye said the victim was consistent in her oral testimony, which was corroborated by other evidence before the court and found the defendant guilty as charged. Read more
Witness narrates how Lagos `bishop’ drugged, defiled daughter, member’s underage child (Punch)
A social worker, Mrs Rasheedat Sanusi, on Wednesday told an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court how a `bishop’, Felix Okon, allegedly defiled his 16-year-old daughter and another minor.
Sanusi testified at the commencement of Okon’s trial on a two-count of defilement.
Led in evidence by the state counsel, Mr Peter Owolabani, Sanusi said that she had served Lagos State Government for 20 years as a social worker.
According to her, she is currently serving at the state’s Education District One, Agege.
The social worker said that Okon’s daughter told her that Okon had been having sexual intercourse with her since August 2019 when she was on a long vacation from school. Read more
Police confirm killing of student in Oyo by officer (Guardian)
The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed the shooting of a student by a police officer.
Police spokesman Adewale Osifeso said the state police commissioner Ngozi Onadeko has ordered full-scale investigations into the death of the victim Samuel Akinsuyi along Eruwa-Ibadan Road on March 11.
He said the culpable officers have all been identified, apprehended, and undergoing debrief accompanied immediately with the commencement of their orderly room trials.
The Commissioner of Police appealed for calm and reassured of a thorough and diligent investigation into finding out the actions that led to the incident.
Osifeso said adequate sanctions would be meted out in accordance with relevant laws and statutes. Read more
Most port scanners are obsolete, says Customs CG (Punch)
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Hammed Ali, has said most of the scanners available at the nation’s ports are obsolete and need to be changed.
He disclosed this on Wednesday during a familiarisation tour and pre-passing out parade for cadets in Ikeja.
He added that he was committed to ensuring that the agency’s Vehicle Identification Number for valuation of imported vehicles succeeds.
According to Ali, the service has three mobile scanners in use at the nation’s ports. He added that it would soon deploy 135 scanners nationwide to boost border security. Read more
US Consulate supports young women in STEM
(Vanguard)
The United States Government has said it will support the next generation of women leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, STEM, by connecting them with networks and opportunities needed to advance their careers and dreams in tech fields.
It disclosed this recently at the just-concluded TechWomen Nigeria Mentorship Project for emerging female leaders in STEM fields organised by TechWomen Alumni Association of Nigeria in partnership with U.S. Consulate and supported by Intel.
For six weeks, 10 mentees aged 18-30 years were paired with 10 women leaders in STEM. The mentees shadowed their mentors at leading technology and STEM-related companies in Lagos, including Intel and Microsoft, and attended capacity-building workshops with their peers.
The closing event celebrated the graduation of the participants, who in turn shared their experiences and highlighted how partaking in the program helped them to refine their skills and boosted their confidence to advance in their various careers. Read more
PDP fixes N40m as cost of forms for presidential candidates, N21m for governorship
(Tribune)
The Peoples Democratic Party )PDP) has fixed N40 million as the cost for its presidential candidates to obtain form.
While the Expression of Interest form is put at N5 million, the Nomination Form is put at N35 million.
The party said this was approved at the 95th National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party which held on Wednesday in Abuja
For governorship candidates, Expression of Interest is put at N1 million while Nomination Form is N20 million. Read more
Actresses Toyin Abraham, Mo Bimpe make Lagos top 100 women list (DailyTrust)
Nigerian actresses, Toyin Abraham and Adebimpe Oyebade Adedimeji, have been ranked among Lagos State’s Top 100 Women.
The thespians took to their respective Instagram pages to announce the recognition received on Wednesday.
Adebimpe Oyebade Adedimeji, popularly known as Mo Bimpe, shared several pictures of the plaque she received and other associated materials.
Taking to the caption section, she wrote, “A big thanks to the Governor of Lagos State, His excellency @jidesanwoolu for this heartwarming recognition. Nothing excites more than being recognized for what you do. The Lagos State government @lagosstategovt named me among the Eko 100 Women on International Women’s Day and I’m grateful beyond words…Read more
“Dune 2” script is almost done, says director Denis Villenueve (Metro)
Dune director and writer Denis Villenueve isn’t hanging about when it comes to the second part of the epic sci-fi, revealing that the screenplay is ‘finished mostly’.
Shortly before the Timothee Chalamet-led movie competes for best picture at the Oscars, the filmmaker teased that part two is officially on its way.
He told Collider: ‘The screenplay is finished mostly, but it’s always a work in progress.
‘It’ll be a work in progress until final cut, but I will say it’s solidified. I have a script in my hands.
‘We are in prep right now… My crew, we are in full prep for the movie. And with the awards seasons, it’s tricky. My brain is like, it’s like two parts of my brain that don’t connect together … And I’m not complaining.’ Read more
Jussie Smollett released from jail pending appeal
Published1 hour ago (BBC)
US actor Jussie Smollett has been released on bond from jail in Chicago pending an appeal against his conviction for falsely claiming he was the victim of a hate crime.
Last week the former Empire star, 39, was found guilty of lying to police and sentenced to 150 days in prison.
Following his sentencing, his lawyers launched an appeal.
Smollett has always maintained the hoax incident, which took place in Chicago in 2019, was real. Read more
Rick Ross Says Hip-Hop Embraces LGBTQ+ Rappers (HNHH)
Ross wants all gay rappers to follow their dreams.
With the recent emergence of gay hip-hop icons like Lil Nas X, the topic of the LGBTQ+ community has been a major talking point among fans are artists. For Nas X, he has never felt as accepted or respected like he should as a gay artist, but also sees himself as pioneer that will lead to there being more and more gay rappers in the future.
Included in this new crop of LGBTQ+ rappers is Saucy Santana, who sprung onto the scene in late 2021 and early 2022 with his December Keep It Playa album, including features from Rubi Rose and City Girls, as well as his early February single with Tay Money.
A few weeks ago, Saucy Santana noted that he particularly embraces his gay identity, as he hopes his advocacy can help boost artists in the gay community and empower those like him.
Olga Smirnova: Ballerina leaves Russia for Netherlands after denouncing war (BBC)
A leading Bolshoi prima ballerina, who recently denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is leaving the country to join Dutch National Ballet.
Olga Smirnova, 30, said last week she was “against this war with every fibre of my soul” and was supported by other Russian ballerinas.
The Dutch National Ballet confirmed to BBC News on Wednesday that Smirnova will start with them immediately.
Its director Ted Brandsen described her as an “exceptional dancer”.
Smirnova has a Ukrainian grandfather and has described herself as “one-quarter Ukrainian”. Read more
‘Once’ duo reunites for captivating Swell Season concert (CST)
Anyone who rewatched “Once” ahead of the Swell Season’s return to a Chicago stage Saturday night could feel life imitating art as the concert evoked the movie and its heroes.
The ebullient atmosphere inside the Cadillac Palace Theatre even went so far as to recall Marketa Irglova’s powerful words at the 2008 Academy Awards as she and Glen Hansard accepted a surprise Oscar for best original song, when she triumphantly declared, “Fair play for those who dare to dream.”
That sentiment has followed the duo since 2007, when their little movie that could (created by John Carney, former bassist in Hansard’s band the Frames) swept Sundance and international audiences, going on to become a critical darling and still regarded as one of the best modern love stories. So much so that in 2012, it was adapted into an award-winning Broadway musical.
“Once” and the band that rose from it, the Swell Season, are the epitome of the ultimate underdogs, catapulting to cult classic status in a way that’s been as folkloric as the folk music that spawned emerged from it. Read more
Benefit screenings planned in Japan to support Ukrainian filmmakers (THR)
A pair of films by esteemed Ukrainian director Valentyn Vasyanovych will be getting theatrical screenings in Japan later this month as part of a benefit effort launched by Tokyo film industry insiders to support Ukraine.
Vasyanovych’s features Atlantis (2018) and Reflection (2021) — both of which premiered to critical acclaim at the Venice Film Festival and tell stories that engage directly with Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine — will be screened in Tokyo’s Shibuya district over several nights at the end of March. All of the profit from the screenings will go to the Ukrainian producers of the films and organizations that support Ukrainian filmmakers. The films will be subtitled in both Japanese and English.
Yoshi Yatabe, the former programming director of the Tokyo International Film Festival, initiated the project shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yatabe says he has counted Vasyanovych as a personal friend ever since the director traveled to Japan for a screening of Atlantis at the 2019 Tokyo International Film Festival, where it won the special jury prize. In the days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Yatabe has been recruiting industry friends to help him stage the benefit screenings.
Vasyanovych’s film Atlantis, which won best film in Venice’s horizons section in 2018, is set in an imagined 2025 after patriotic forces in eastern Ukraine have finally brought the long war with Russia to a successful end. But despite the victorious ending for Ukraine, all is not well in this anguished, time-shifting story, told through the eyes of a soldier suffering from PTSD who has lost his family, home and the very meaning of life in the war. Involving suicide, the processing of mass graves and ecological devastation, the film is a potent meditation on the enduring trauma of war even in imagined victory, as well as a “dark yet humanly luminous story,” as THR‘s critic put it. Read more
Fearless Vampire Killers announce first new music in six years, ‘Something Terminal’ (NME)
Fearless Vampire Killers have announced a new double A-side, ‘Something Terminal’, after making their long-awaited live return last week.
The band played their first show in five years on Friday (March 12) at the Black Heart in Camden Town, London under the pseudonym ‘After The Flames’. Sharing a video from the secret gig on Twitter, the group said “the reaction was beyond our expectations”.
Today (March 14) it’s been confirmed that Fearless Vampire Killers will release ‘Something Terminal’ on April 1 via Cult Records.
“’Something Terminal’ is a love letter to the band we were, a final acknowledgement of all our quirks and contradictions,” explained co-vocalist Laurence Beveridge in an official statement.
“We want to take our listeners on a journey, both lyrically and musically, through our history, and eventually our hopes for the future. The title track is expansive, perhaps a little indulgent, but truly in the spirit of what makes Fearless Vampire Killers so special.” Read more
Rebel Wilson sparks outrage with JK Rowling transgender jibe at 2022 BAFTAs (GBNews)
Rebel Wilson sparked outrage at last night’s BAFTAs as she took her opportunity as award’s host to lash out at JK Rowling.
As the Australian actress opened the awards ceremony, she addressed the fact she was looking different and that she’d had a “transformation” after losing weight.
Referring to the controversy over the Harry Potter author’s views on transgender people, she quipped: “I hope JK Rowling still approves.”
Many viewers went to social media to respond to the comments.
Clare Inges criticised the comedian for taking aim at Rowling on Twitter and said: “Crude, boring and predictable jokes. And of course she had to get ANOTHER dig in at JK Rowling. This is going to be a long night! I’m not sure I’ll bother.”
Jennifer Chapel likewise said that the jibe was a “cheap dig” and “utterly unfunny”.
Others supported the comments. “Good on her,” Fiona Bosanquet said on Twitter.
Ms Wilson went on to savage many other famous faces including Vladimir Putin and members of the Royal Family, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Prince Andrew.Read more
Nwakaeme, Nigeria’s second top scorer in Turkish Lig (Punch)
One-cap Super Eagles forward, Anthony Nwakaeme, is Nigeria’s second highest goal scorer in the Turkish Super Lig and 135th on the list of all-time top scorers after almost four years at title-chasing Trabzonspor.
Nwakaeme has scored 39 league goals in 113 games since joining from Israeli side Hapoel Be’ér Sheva in the summer of 2018 for €1.1m.
The current season has been his best, having scored 11 goals and 10 assists in 23 league games.
In the 2018/19 season he scored 10 goals providing 10 assists. He grabbed 11 goals and nine assists in the 2019/20 season as Trabzonspor staged a strong fight for the league title.
He scored seven goals and seven assists in 34 games in the 2020/21 season from 34 appearances. Read more
At last, CAF approves Asante Kotoko Stadium for Black Stars, Eagles World Cup match (Guardian)
As published by The Guardian yesterday, African football governing body, Confederation of African Football (CAF), has approved the Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, home of Asante Kotoko, as the venue for the Black Stars’ last World Cup qualifier against Super Eagles of Nigeria.
The Guardian had reported that CAF officials inspected Cape Coast Stadium, which was formally earmarked for the match, and Baba Yara Stadium, and indicated that the game would hold in Kumasi if Ghana Football Association failed to get the Cape Coast arena ready for the clash on March 25.
Cape Coast Stadium hosted all of Ghana’s Cameroun 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and their previous World Cup elimination matches. But the stadium, which was rated as Ghana’s current best venue by CAF, suffered a huge blow when government hosted its March 6 Independence parade there, with students, workers and security horses trampling on the pitch.
Pictures of the damage to the pitch went viral shortly after the Independence celebrations, prompting CAF to raise concerns over its ability to host the game. Read more
Chelsea: Chicago Cubs owners and consortium featuring Lord Coe intend to bid for club (BBC)
The Ricketts family, who own Major League Baseball team the Chicago Cubs, and a consortium featuring Lord Coe, both intend to make a bid for Chelsea by Friday’s deadline.
The Ricketts said they are leading a bid from a group of investors.
London Olympics chief Coe has joined ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton’s bid.
Roman Abramovich’s attempt to sell the club has been halted after he was sanctioned by the UK government.
That move came in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Abramovich understood to have strong ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Read more
UFC: Yusuff eyes Top 10 ranking (Punch)
Nigerian UFC featherweight fighter, Sodiq Yusuff, is eying a Top 10 place in his category after moving one step to 11th in the recently released list by the Mixed Martial Arts franchise.
Yusuff returned to winning ways with a unanimous decision win over veteran Alex Caceres at UFC Fight Night: Santos versus Ankalaev in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Before the fight, he was ranked No.12 but has moved up one step to 11th in the latest rankings released by the UFC after the fight.
Yusuff has won six of his seven fights in the UFC with his only loss against British fighter Arnold Allen in April 2021 in Las Vegas. Read more
ATP Indian Wells: Rafael Nadal edges Reilly Opelka and sets Nick Kyrgios clash
(TennisWorld)
Rafael Nadal, three-time Indian Wells champion is through to his 12th quarter-final in the desert following a tight 7-6, 7-6 win over Reilly Opelka. Nadal needed two hours and 11 minutes to beat the American on Stadium 1, trailing in set number two before erasing the deficit and sealing the deal to avoid spending more time on the court.
Thus, Nadal remains perfect in 2022, becoming the second player since 1990 with an 18-0 score after Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard is through to his 98th Masters 1000 quarter-final, reaching at least one in 18 consecutive seasons!
Opelka gave his best to follow the rival’s pace, serving at 76% and fending off four out of five breakpoints. The American led 4-2 in the second set before the Spaniard pulled the break back and claimed a single mini-break in the tie break to emerge at the top and set the quarter-final clash against Nick Kyrgios.
Rafa had 20 winners and 15 unforced errors, taming his strokes nicely and outplaying Reilly in the more extended exchanges to cross the finish line first. Read more
Liverpool sink Arsenal to boost title bid, record-breaker Kane lifts Spurs (Guardian)
Jurgen Klopp urged Liverpool to finish the job as they moved within one point of Premier League leaders Manchester City after Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino inspired a crucial 2-0 win against Arsenal on Wednesday.
Klopp’s side took advantage of City’s goalless draw against Crystal Palace on Monday thanks to their smash-and-grab raid at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal enjoyed a sustained period of pressure that could easily have yielded the opening goal, but Alisson Becker made a superb save to deny Martin Odegaard and Liverpool capitalised to steal the points.
Liverpool, chasing an unprecedented quadruple, have won nine successive league games, scoring 23 goals and only conceding twice. Read more
Villarreal eliminate Juventus in Turin (BBC)
Villarreal scored three late goals to move into the Champions League quarter-finals as Juventus went out in the last 16 for a third successive year.
The Spanish side did not have a shot on target before substitute Gerard Moreno converted a 78th-minute penalty after Daniele Rugani fouled Francis Coquelin.
Defender Pau Torres added a second when he finished from six yards as Juventus failed to deal with a corner.
Arnaud Danjuma made it 3-0 with another penalty after Matthijs De Ligt handled. Read more