Woman collapses in church while fasting, dies in Lagos hospital

The family of a woman, Joy Owoyele, is in grief after she died during a 14-day fasting in the Isheri Olofin area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Owoyele had sought spiritual help regarding her matrimonial challenges at the Christ Apostolic Church, Ori-Oke Gbogunmi, aka Ajanpelenbe Mountain, located on Pipeline Road, Isheri Olofin.

She was said to have been placed on 14-day fasting and prayer, but on the 10th day, things took a tragic turn as she suddenly collapsed after the morning prayers inside the church |||READ MORE

Painter impersonates Oba Elegushi, defrauds Facebook lover of N51m

The Lagos State Police Command, on Thursday, paraded a painter, Moses Olaitan, and his accomplice, Segun Omoshola, for allegedly impersonating the Elegushi of Ikate land, Oba Saheed Elegushi, and using his image to defraud a woman they met on Facebook of N51m.

The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, while parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Ikeja, said after a report was made, detectives tracked down and arrested Olaitan and Segun three months after perpetrating the crime.

“She told me to send my account number, but because I didn’t have an account number, I contacted Segun, who provided the account used for collecting the money |||READ MORE

Sexual assault: Lagos lists possible charges against Baba Ijesha

The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team has waded into the sexual assault allegation against Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, also known as Baba Ijesha.

Baba Ijesha who is currently in police custody is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

 In a statement shared by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Lagos, Gboyega Akosile, the LSDSVRT revealed the possible charges Baba Ijesha could face if legal action is carried out against him.

The statement read, “This is to inform members of the public that the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Team is actively following up on the Baba ljesha’s case, we are also in direct contact with the complainant with a view to providing the necessary support |||READ MORE

BREAKING: US mission to prioritise student visa applications for Nigerians

The United States Mission in Nigeria says it will prioritise visa applications by Nigerians students who hope to resume academic studies in the States by September 2021.

This was contained in a statement on Friday signed by Temitayo Famutimi of the Public Affairs Section of the US Consulate General.

According to the statement titled, ‘US Announces Priority Appointments for Student Visa Applicants’, the Mission said it would prioritise visa interview appointments for Nigerian students well in advance of their programme start date |||READ MORE

Lagos Creates 30, 000 Jobs Through Waste Management

Lagos State Government yesterday revealed that efforts of the present administration to revamp the operations of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) provided employment to over 30,000 residents.

The state’s Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello disclosed this at the annual ministerial briefing to mark Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second year in office.

The commissioner said LAWMA has successfully increased the number of trips completed daily in evacuating waste to landfill from 357 to 850 on the average |||READ MORE

Minister Dissolves Board Of Sports Federation, Set Up Caretaker Committees

Barely three months to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the Minister of youth and sports federation, Chief Sunday Dare has dissolved all the boards of 31 National Sports Federations and set up caretaker committees to run the fairs of the federation.

This was disclosed in a press statement on Friday in Abuja.

Minister said the dissolution of boards of Federations was inline with the Olympic Charter which stipulates a four year tenure for all Sports Federations Boards |||READ MORE

Abducted agric varsity students in Benue regain freedom

The students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State who were kidnapped last Saturday have been released.

A terse statement by the Director, Information, Protocol and Public Relations of the University, Mrs. Rosemary Waku, revealed that the students were returned to campus on Tuesday.

She identified the released students as Israel Farren Kwaghgee and Solomon Salihu |||READ MORE

Iyabo Ojo, Yomi Fabiyi fight dirty over Baba Ijesha’s sexual assault case

Popular Nollywood actors, Iyabo Ojo and Yomi Fabiyi, have taken to their respective Instagram accounts to throw jabs at each other over the defilement of a teenager by their peer, Baba Ijesha.

Both actors are trending on the Nigerian Twitter space. While Iyabo is trending at the number one spot with over 7,500 tweets, Yomi Fabiyi is trending at number seven with over 2,000 tweets.

Fabiyi, who first made a comment, shared a cryptic message, urging his colleagues not to be in a hurry to crucify Baba Ijesha. He added that before they castigate their colleague, they should ensure that law enforcement officers have done their investigation |||READ MORE

Nigeria Should Carry Out More Research On Safety, Benefits Of Genetically Modified Organisms

As food scarcity looms in Nigeria, with farmers facing enormous challenges, agricultural biotechnology involving use of different scientific techniques to modify plants and animals may be the way forward. Scientists have reported that genetically modified crops have more yields, require less spraying, and enhance nutrient composition. They also are resistant to pests and disease.

Nigeria approved its first biotechnology crop in 2018 and presently, two crops; Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt.) cotton and cow pea has been approved for commercial use. This development, though welcomed by some Nigerians especially scientists, also raised safety concerns. Countries such as France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Poland, Denmark, Malta, Slovenia, Italy and Croatia are reported to have chosen a total ban on GMOs.

The national vice president, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Chief Daniel Okafor, told me that from what he had seen, scientifically modified crops do better in terms of yields but urged the institutions to carry out more research while the regulatory agencies do their work as well |||READ MORE

Secession, Restructuring Clamours Won’t Create Better Life For Nigerians – Sowore

The African Action Congress (AAC) has said the clamour for restructuring, power rotation and secession by various groups in the country would not meet the long-term aspirations of Nigerians.

This is even as the opposition political party also said it was unfair for the federal government to defend the minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, in the wake of allegations that he had openly supported some extremist groups in the past.

Factional national chairman of AAC, Omoyele Sowore, who stated this during the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, however, warned that a mass revolution was inevitable if the legitimate concerns being raised by Nigerians about the future of the country were treated with levity |||READ MORE

How Baba Ijesa Defiled My Foster Daughter – Comedienne, Princess

Popular comedienne, Oluwadamilola Adekoya, popularly known as Princess, has narrated how fellow practitioner in the Nollywood, Olarenwaju Omiyinka, a.k.a. Baba Ijesha, was caught sexually molesting her 14-year-old adopted daughter.

The comedienne cum actress narrated the incident in a video from an Instagram live broadcast obtained by LEADERSHIP.

Princess explained that she was rendering help to Baba Ijesha, and that it was during one of his visits to her house that the actor molested one of five children living with her |||READ MORE

Boko Haram Two Hours Drive From Abuja, Hoists Flag In Niger

NIGER State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, confirmed on Monday that Boko Haram insurgents have hoisted their flag in Kaure village, in Erena township axis of Shiroro Local Government Area of the state, two hours drive from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The governor also said that the Boko Haram fighters forcefully snatched wives of some of the villagers and married them. There had been attacks on Niger communities of recent, which were attributed to bandits.

Governor Sani Bello made the revelation in Minna, when he paid an on-thespot assessment visit to the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Primary School, near the palace of the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Bahago, in Chanchaga Local Government Area of the state |||READ MORE

William and Kate take their children for special family outing in Sandringham

After a difficult few weeks following Prince Philip's death, the Cambridges found the perfect way to enjoy some family time at the weekend.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children - Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and three-year-old Prince Louis - were spotted happily playing in the new Sandringham play park on the Queen’s Norfolk estate as they made the most of the sunshine on Sunday.

Of course, 39-year-old Kate has a special connection to the park. It recently underwent a major revamp, inspired by her Back to Nature Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019 |||READ MORE

COVID-19: Nigeria to impose travel ban on India, Brazil Turkey, says PSC

The Federal Government plans to issue a travel advisory within the next two days on inbound flights from India, Brazil and Turkey.

This followed the escalation of new variants of COVID-19 virus in those countries, Head, Technical Secretariat of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Dr, Mukhtar Muhammad, said at a news conference in Abuja yesterday.

He expressed concern over the situation in India, which is a popular destination for medical tourists from Nigeria.

The PSC also urged Nigerians to keep observing all the regulations and instructions already provided to keep safe from the infection of COVID-19, warning that the third wave of the pandemic, going by how it has been sweeping through other parts of the world, is lurking around to enter Nigeria, especially as the nation has already reopened its economy to the world |||READ MORE

India nears 200,000 COVID deaths, daily cases fall, army steps in

India’s coronavirus death toll is nearing the bleak milestone of 200,000 with another 2,771 fatalities reported while its armed forces have pledged urgent medical aid to help battle the staggering spike in infections.

Over the past 24 hours, India recorded 323,144 new cases on Tuesday, slightly below a worldwide peak of 352,991 reached on Monday, with overrun hospitals turning away patients due to a shortage of beds and oxygen supplies.

India, home to approximately 1.3 billion people, has so far reported 17.64 million COVID-19 infections and 197,894 deaths but experts believe the tally runs significantly higher |||READ MORE

Ezekwesili: I Have Been Rejecting Ministerial Appointments Since 2007

A former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, said she was determined since 2007 that she would never accept a ministerial appointment again.

Ezekwesili said this in a series of tweets yesterday, adding that she had rejected past ministerial appointments.

The former minister’s tweet came barely two weeks after her former protégé, Japheth Omojuwa, said in an open letter that Ezekwesili was expected to be appointed a minister by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 |||READ MORE

Can Nigeria develop without discipline?

MANIFESTATIONS abound testifying  the afflictions of Nigeria by indiscipline: In 1966, there was the phrase “ten percenters”; in 1975, we were told Nigeria had so much money that she didn’t know what to do with it and by that time, Nigeria was 158 out of 159 in the UNDP HDI; in 1975-79 during a military government, $2.8billion was found missing; in 1980-83, Nigeria imported shiploads of sand and paid fully for them; in 1991, Nigeria lost $12.4billion oil wind sales; between 2003 and 2007, $16billion for building of power plants was missing; in 2013, Nigeria lost over N3trillion to fuel subsidy within three years; in 2014, a top government official was allegedly given $2.1billion to share among some political elite so that the coming 2015 election will favour the ruling political party.

In that same year, the then Central Bank governor declared that $20billion was missing from the NNPC’s account at the Central Bank; in 2016, a Canadian professor declared that Nigeria spent $1.5trillion on foreign education; in March 2021, the FEC approved $1.5billion for turnaround maintenance of the Port Harcourt refinery that has not refined one barrel of crude oil in the past five years.

Over 70 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line, yet a federal legislator is paid over N29m monthly; over the past 20 years, SPDC has reported that about 100,000 barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil is stolen daily and at an average price of $50 per barrel, this equals $1.75billion or N665billion per annum. Till date these stolen, lost and wasted resources have not been investigated and culprits punished accordingly |||READ MORE

2 more Greenfield varsity students killed; bandits insist on N800m ransom

Two more students of Greenfield University, Kaduna, kidnapped over a week ago by bandits have been killed by their abductors who are insisting on payment of N800 million ransom.

Remains of three of the students, a male and two females, had earlier been found in a village close to the university.

Mr.Samuel Aruwan ,Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs in Kaduna State, who confirmed the killing of the two students yesterday, said the state government would update the citizenry on further developments |||READ MORE

Sanwo-Olu, dismantle this altar of impunity

It is not difficult to see the depressing spectacle as you worm your way into the womb of the state with an estimated 22 million people, from the Berger end of the endlessly rehabilitated Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and traverse its aquatic landscape, The expressway, as important as it is to the nation’s economy, has taken the whole of the last 22 years, involving all the administrations that have ruled the country since then, to fix. Every New Sheriff in Town comes with a new completion date that never happens. Agony subsists. Incidentally, the Abeokuta end of its entry point isn’t exciting either.

As you descend from the scary Long Bridge that has now turned into a haven for herdsmen killers and night marauders, then to Kara Bridge, and face what ordinarily should be the allure of Lagos, pockets of cudgel-wielding fierce-looking youths, menacingly commandeering buses and trucks bearing farm produce and sundry products meant for the millions of residents, welcome you instead. The brazenness is unimaginable. What a contradiction it is, the centre of excellence introduced by a less than excellent visage.

If it is at dusk, it is even scarier and messier. The traffic on the road is obstructed, so the wearied drivers could compellingly pay unreceipted levies. But, at all times, it is a spectacle that tells the tale of a state whose government, as an institution for law enforcement, fights a losing battle for space with unaccountable non-state actors, and most times and in many places, surrendering the space to them |||READ MORE

One million cases in 4 days, record deaths: India's Covid 'storm' in 10 charts

NEW DELHI: India's coronavirus situation is worsening by the day with the country reporting a record surge of nearly 3 lakh new infections and over 2,000 deaths on Wednesday morning.

The massive spike in infections comes as the country battles a severe second wave of the pandemic, which has crippled the healthcare system and prompted the Centre to expedite the nationwide vaccination programme.

"This second corona wave came like a storm," Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged in his address to the nation on Tuesday |||READ MORE