Another man has come out to claim that he too was sacked by Winners Chapel over low income generation from his branch.
InChristed Michael, who was Abubakar Zubair Michael before he became a pastor, claims he was the pastor of a Winners Chapel branch in Lagos.
He added that he was fired alongside others and the Pastor in charge of Ikorodu, Lagos, who gave them the sack letter said the church is running at a loss to cater to their needs, whereas what they are remitting as income from their branches is “not good enough”.
He added that apart from the over 40 allegedly fired in Ekiti state, 37 pastors were fired in Lagos and 92 were fired in Benue State “because our monthly income we remitted to the account is below what they expected.”
The Warri Kingdom will host the world on the 21st of August 2021 when it celebrates the coronation of a new Olu of Warri. Prince Tsola Emiko will be crowned the 21st Olu of the Warri Kingdom.
A two-storey building under construction at 77, Tapa Road, Oke-Ojo, Isawo in Ikorodu, Lagos State, collapsed and killed the owner identified as Pastor Daniel Obasi.
It was gathered that the incident occurred at about 2.30p.m on Tuesday, July 20, while people were celebrating Eid-el-Kabir.
According to a neighbour, construction work were suspended on Tuesday due to the Eid El Kabir celebration, adding that workers were at work late Monday evening.
Confirming the incident, Lagos State Acting Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye said the landlord was the only victim of the collapsed building.
Farinloye said that Obasi was earlier reported trapped, but the body was later recovered from the rubble by emergency responders and handed over to Isawo Division Police
He said Isawo police officers had taken the body to the morgue of the General Hospital, Ikorodu, adding that the collapsed building was an attachment to the main building.
“The cause of the collapse was suspected to be inadequate timeline to allow sand-filled land to compact properly before the commencement of construction and poor building materials, according to neighbours.” Farinloye stated.
He said further investigations would be conducted by relevant agencies.
Nashville Predators’ Luke Prokop has become the first active NHL player signed by a club to come out as gay.
The Canadian, 19, who is yet to play for Nashville, was their third-round draft pick in 2020. He made the announcement in an Instagram post.
Prokop said: “While the past year and a half has been crazy, it has also given me the chance to find my true self. I am no longer scared to hide who I am.
“Today I am proud to publicly tell everyone that I am gay.”
The defenceman added: “It has been quite the journey to get to this point in my life, but I could not be happier with my decision to come out.
“From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams.
“I hope that in sharing who I am I can help other people see that gay people are welcome in the hockey community, as we work to make sure that hockey truly is for everyone.
“I may be new to the community but I am eager to learn about the strong and resilient people who came before me and paved the way so I could be comfortable today. This is just the beginning of my journey and I am excited to see where it takes me, both in hockey and life.”
The Nashville Predators president/chief executive Sean Henry said the organisation was “proud” of Prokop and would “support him unequivocally in the days, weeks, and years to come”.
Their president of hockey operations/general manager David Poile added: “We understand his ability to be out comfortably will help him achieve his goals on and off the ice,
“We are committed to ensuring nothing stands in the way of his ability. His courage is an inspiration to us, and to the LGBTQ community in Nashville.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has stated it is more beneficial for Nigeria to remain united, notwithstanding the differences among her nationalities.
He made this known in Daura, Katsina State when corps members deployed to the town paid him a Sallah visit on Tuesday, July 20.
While giving the advice of unity, the President also threw his weight behind the National Youths Service Corps scheme, insisting the scheme had helped in promoting unity in Nigeria.
Buhari said; “Not only the cultural differences but also physical differences and this is what makes Nigeria. That is why I feel strongly about NYSC and I will always wish you the best of luck. And I thank you for your service to the country.
“It’s better Nigeria remains united”
“I assure you that, there is much better of a Nigeria and rather than a fallout.”
After his remarks, the President then reportedly donated two bulls, twenty bags of rice, and one million naira to the corps members.
Naomi Campbell has been spotted in public with her newborn daughter for the first time.
The supermodel, 50, stunned fans when she announced back in May that she’d welcomed a baby girl by sharing a picture on social media. But didn’t reveal details of the birth, with sources later claiming the child was born with the help of a surrogate.
On Sunday, the proud mother stepped out with her adorable child for a low-key outing in New York.
For the outing, Naomi rocked an oversized Dolce & Gabbana white shirt, loose-fitting black bottom, a baseball cap and Nike sneakers.
Three Nigerians have been arrested by the FBI over alleged fraud in the United States of America.
Security cameras attached to Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in the United States of America helped captured the Nigerian youths who allegedly fraudulently obtained more than $1.4 million (about N580 million) jobless benefits from the states of Arizona, California, North Carolina, and Maryland.
The suspects, identified in court filings as Quazeem Owolabi Adeyinka, 20, Ayodeji Jonathan Sangode, 22, and Olamide Yusuf Bakare, were nabbed last week, with U.S. authorities saying they stole over $2.6 million in bogus unemployment insurance claims.
The suspected Internet crooks used an address in Hyattsville, Maryland, to rake in about $1.4 million in unemployment benefits from California, Arizona, Maryland and North Carolina. At least $1.2 million of the theft was received from California’s Employment Development Department alone.
The trio filed about 200 unemployment claims with California’s EDD using a single address on 75th Avenue in Hyattsville, and the department was deceived into approving 97 of the claims, according to a complaint filed by John C. Collins, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Mr Collins said the ring was jointly investigated by the FBI, Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and state law enforcement authorities.
“Based on the size of the apartment, the investigation has concluded that a high number of UI applications associated with this address is unreasonable, and thus an indicator of fraudulent activity. “(Bank of America) records show that 142 UI claim profiles using the 75th Avenue apartment address issued a total of 175 prepaid cards from the states of Arizona, California, Maryland, and North Carolina,” Mr Collins said in the complaint filed in California.
There were several attempts to claim bogus unemployment insurance using the same address from Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Texas, Washington and West Virginia, court records say.
The suspects filed claims that they had lost jobs as an accountant, dance therapist, computer consultant, librarian or other occupations, and used untraceable IP addresses, the complaint said.
The funds the young men fraudulently obtained were depleted through purchases, transfers, and ATM cash withdrawals conducted in California, Florida, and Maryland, according to prosecutors. ATM withdrawals alone amounted to over $989,000.
Bank of America (BofA) records show that, on or about July 19, 2020, an individual appearing to be Adeyinka based on a comparison with his driver’s license photo, withdrew $1,000 cash using BofA-EDD debit card ending in 2312 in the name of K.K. at the Landover Hills Bank of America ATM located at 7515 Annapolis Road, Hyattsville, Maryland.
More BofA records show that, on or around July 5, 2020, an individual appearing to be Bakare based on his driver’s license photo withdrew cash using the 7990 BofA-EDD debit card at a BofA ATM located at 10200 Lake Arbor Way, Mitchellville, Maryland.
Also, footage from Bank of America shows that Sangode’s Hyundai (MD license plate 3DS7400) was surveilled at a BofA drive-through ATM located at 3413 Kenilworth Ave, Hyattsville, Maryland. The driver of the vehicle resembles Sangode based on a comparison using his MD driver’s license photo, the indictment says.
There were other such withdrawals at different dates in which all three individuals were identified.
Federal authorities said they observed that international scammers and con artists were taking advantage of the high volume of COVID-19 cheques being sent out to cushion the effect of the pandemic amongst Americans.
Angie Barnett, president of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland, said some sources estimate this type of fraud has gone up 3,000% since the coronavirus pandemic, and catching and prosecuting these criminals is tough.
“The bad people are capitalizing on the grief and the fragility of our society. We’re emotional, we’re fragile and our financial care and concern, and scammers take advantage of that,” Barnett said.
Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Igboho’s lawyer, Yomi Alliyu (SAN), has disclosed that his client and his wife, Ropo were arrested at Benin in Cotonou, Benin Republic by the International Criminal Police Organisation.
Alliyu said the Federal Government of Nigeria through INTERPOL got Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho and his wife, who is a German citizen, arrested on Monday night, July 19, at an airport in neigboring Benin Republic while trying to catch a flight to Germany.
The lawyer described the arrest of his client as shocking and urged the government of Germany, Benin Republic and the international community to curb the impunity of the Nigerian Government by refusing any application for extradition Igboho who already has application before the International Criminal Court duly acknowledged.
Stating that one of the persons killed during a raid on Igboho’s residence on July 1 was his business partner, Alliyu also alleged that Olalekan visited Igboho with two police escorts who were disarmed and their guns displayed to implicate Igboho.
The statement read;
‘It is a shocking news that Nigerian Government has gotten Chief Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a Sunday Igboho Oosa arrested by INTERPOL in Republic of Benin notwithstanding the political nature of his offene and what the DSS earlier said that they refrained from arresting him so as not to overheat the polity of Southwestern Nigeria.
“It is advisable for the INTERPOL and Benin Republic to be aware of the savagery acts committed in our clients house in the wee hours of 1st July, 2021; between 1.00am and 3.00am; shooting their way through and killing 2 people in the process and maliciously damaging his properties in the course of that illegal invasion.
“Though the invading DSS officers did not state any reason for their invasion to our client before or during invasion they later paraded 13 people and ammunition which our client denied to be his as he is a peaceful campaigner for self-determination and it is on good record that the guns and ammunition displayed were the same displayed in 2013 in another instance.
“This could be seen on 2013 Facebook though DSS has dismissed this on their website. But what they cannot deny is that when they were leaving our clients house they left with two corpses and people arrested and nothing more except 2 guns belonging to the police escorts of Mr Adisa Saheed Olalekan.
“One of the people they killed was one Mr Saheed Adisa Olalekan of Oladams Motors, Osogbo, who came to Sunday Igboho’s house to discuss auto business. He came with 2 police escorts. Though the policemen were not among the people paraded to the public, their guns were among those displayed.
“The Extradition Treaty of 1984 between Togo. Nigeria, Ghana and Republic of Benin excluded political fugitives. It also states that where the fugitive will not get justice because of discrimination and/or undue delay in prosecution the host country should not release the fugitive.
“Now, Article 20 of African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights to which the four count
“This made Chief Sunday Adeyemo a POLITICAL OFFENDER who cannot be deported and/or extradited by the good people of the Republic of Benin for any reason.
“Secondly, that he cannot get Justice or even be killed is apparent in how those arrested in his house were detained for more than 21 days now without access to their lawyers. Even the wife among them could not change her undies for 21 days! Which inhuman treatment can be more this?
“Again another wife of our client Mrs Ropo Adeyemo, a German Citizen, has been arrested together with her husband in Cotonou. What offence has she committed to warrant this?
“We urge the good government of the Republic of Benin and international community, especially Germany, to rise up and curb the impunity of the Nigerian Government by refusing any application for extradition of our Client who already has application before ICC duly acknowledged.”
Two 18-year-old twin sisters have been shot dead by a gang in Brazil.
The sisters, Amália Alves and Amanda Alves, were murdered last Wednesday morning, July 14, on a horrific Instagram livestream, and the video footage has since been viewed thousands of times on social media.
The women’s lifeless bodies were found just hours after they were killed on the side of a road behind a housing complex in Pacajus, Ceará, Brazil.
Both women had a children. Amanda Alves left behind a three-year-old daughter, while her sister Amália Alves has a son who is only six months old.
A teen suspect in the case has been arrested and Mateus Abreu, only 17-years-old, is being questioned by the police.
Video footage captured the sisters’ harrowing final moments as they knelt next to each other on the dirty road.
The sisters were forced to gather their hair up in a bun before Abreu allegedly shot them on the back of their skulls.
He is then accused of blasting two more shots at one of the sisters before standing over the other victim and firing another four bullets at her limp body.
Brazilian newspaper Diario do Noreste said in a report the teen suspect had seven prior arrests.
According to local newspaper, Jornal de Brasília, the sisters were killed because they knew “too much” about incidents involving local drug dealers.
Chairman of Gwaram Local Government Area in Jigawa State, Alhaji Zaharadden Abubakar has issued a thirty-day ultimatum to all prostitutes to vacate the area.
Speaking as he received a delegation from Sara community, a popular weekly market to his office, Abubakar frowned upon the activities of commercial sex workers and also disclosed that he has a plan of tackling immorality in the local government.
He thereafter ordered all the commercial sex workers operating in the area to present names of their suitors to the local government authority before the expiration of the dateline.
Sex workers who are not from the area will be repatriated to their states, while those from the area who are ready to give up the trade will have their wedding expenses taken care of by the local government.
Abubakar directed the immediate closure of all clubs and beer parlours in the local government, and also disclosed that the council had mobilised police other security agencies to arrest violators.
School teacher, Pedro Castillo has been declared Peru’s president-elect, six weeks after elections during which the results were delayed by claims of electoral fraud from his right-wing rival, Keiko Fujimori.
Jorge Luis Salas, head of the JNE elections jury, announced his victory in a brief virtual ceremony on Monday night, July 19.
Castillo, 51 is the head of the Teacher’s trade unionist. He becomes the first non-rich president of Peru.
His victory leaves rival Fujimori facing an imminent corruption trial.
“On behalf of my family I would like to salute the electoral authorities… and also to salute the political parties that have taken part in this democratic celebration,” Castillo told supporters gathered at the headquarters of his Peru Libre (Free Peru) party in Lima.
“Dear compatriots, I bring here an open heart for each and every one of you,” he declared from the balcony after
In a gesture to Fujimori, 46, the president-elect urged her to help “take the country forward” and said he held “no resentment” despite the many attacks he had fielded in recent weeks.
The JNE validated the vote count by the ONPE elections body, which had given Castillo 50.12 percent of the ballots cast, some 44,000 more than Fujimori — most of whose objections the jury dismissed.
Fujimori had earlier claimed fraud despite observers from the Organization of American States, the United States and European Union declaring the vote free and fair, and her backers had called for fresh elections.
The US embassy in Lima congratulated Peruvians on successful elections.
“We value our deep ties and hope to strengthen them with the president-elect Pedro Castillo after his inauguration,” it said on Twitter.
Castillo has targeted creating a million jobs in a year, and said Peru’s mining and hydrocarbon riches “must be nationalized.”
Among his more controversial campaign promises, Castillo has vowed to expel illegal foreigners who commit crimes in Peru, giving them “72 hours… to leave the country.” – a warning to undocumented Venezuelan migrants who have arrived in the hundreds of thousands since 2017.
Police in Mumbai, India, have arrested Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty’s husband, Raj Kundra for allegedly producing and broadcasting pornographic films online, six years after the businessman was banned from cricket-related activities over match-fixing charges.
Mumbai Police announced Kundra’s arrest late Monday, calling the 45-year-old “the key conspirator” in a case involving the creation and publication of adult films via internet apps.
“We have sufficient evidence regarding this,” police said in a press release, adding that investigations were ongoing.
The arrest is the latest scandal to hit Kundra, who has two children with Shetty, the 2007 winner of British reality show “Celebrity Big Brother”.
In 2015, Kundra was banned for life from all cricket-related activities, following an investigation into match-fixing while he and Shetty we’re co-owners of the Rajasthan Royals, a franchise in the Indian Premier League.
India has stringent laws against publishing and transmitting “obscene material”, but watching pornography in private is legal.
According to the porn site Pornhub, india was its third largest source of traffic in 2018, behind the United States and UK..
Eid al-Adha, also known as the ‘festival of sacrifice’ or Greater Eid or Eid Qurban or Qurban Bayarami, is celebrated on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic or lunar calendar.
This year, the crescent moon for the Zul Hijjah was sighted on July 11, as per Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind. This means that Bakrid will be celebrated on July 21 in other countries. However, in Saudi Arabia, it will be celebrated a day earlier on July 20, 2021.
Here is wishing all our Muslim readers a Happy Eid Mubarak celebration! From all of us at TM team
Tyson Fury’s father, John, has sent a strong warning to his son’s next opponent, Deontay Wilder ahead of their trilogy.
The two fighters were sent to fight for the third time this July but pushed it back to October after Fury tested positive for Covid-19.
During the explosive build-up, John offered the warning to Wilder during an interview with Boxing Social, saying that Fury will devastate him and potentially leave him ‘an invalid’.
Asked for his feelings on Wilder underestimating his son, John said: ‘Like Tyson got cherry-picked with Deontay Wilder twice.
‘Because if they never saw Tyson’s eye hanging off against Otto Wallin, a terrible performance, they wouldn’t have wanted the second fight.
He can look terrible in a training camp, but when he gets in that ring, he’s a different man, different animal,’ he added. ‘And they got it wrong twice.
‘And they’ll get it wrong the third time. But the third time will cost him his career and his life, probably.
‘If he’s not dead, he’ll be an invalid, which is a silly man. But if they want to sell their soul and put their life on the line for money, which I’m sure they will, get on with it.’
The two rivals have made their distaste for each other clear over recent months, and Wilder stepped up the war of words by threatening to ‘commit a legal homicide’.
‘My mind is very violent,’ Wilder said. ‘We built a whole facility to commit a legal homicide and that’s just what it is, my mind is very violent at this time.
‘The only thing about it is, at that point in time, I have to wait until I get in the ring to really release because I can’t do it on the outside, it’d defeat the purpose.
‘The baby’s got to eat, but when I do get in the ring, this is what I love about it.
‘I’m able to release everything I’ve been feeling, everything I’ve been thinking, and get paid to do it.’
In their previous fight, Wilder suffered defeat at the hands of Fury and will look for revenge when they finally meet again in October.
Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho has been arrested in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
Igboho who will be repatriated to Nigeria on Tuesday July 20 from the neighboring country, was arrested at an airport in Cotonou three weeks after the Department of State Services declared him wanted for allegedly stockpiling arms. It was further learnt that his destination was Germany.
A source privy to this told Sahara Reporters;
“Sunday Igboho has been arrested in Cotonou. He was arrested about an hour ago.
“He was supposed to travel to Germany through Cotonou this night. He wanted to leave Africa through Cotonou. He was arrested by security operatives in Cotonou.
“They are planning to bring him back to Nigeria.”
Recall that the DSS raided Igboho’s Ibadan residence in Soka area on July 1, 2021, arrested about 12 of his aides and killed two of them in a gun duel.
Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Customs Service were subsequently placed on alert to stop Igboho from leaving the country.
Deontay Wilder’s fiancee Telli Swift has accused Tyson Fury of ‘buying time’ after their trilogy bout was pushed back until October because of his positive Covid-19 test.
Recall Fury contracted Covid-19, following an outbreak in his camp, making their anticipated showdown on July 24 was disrupted. The fight has now been pushed back to October
Wilder’s fiancee has now accused the British boxer of buying time, insisting that the fight should have gone ahead on the original date as planned.
‘You’ve trained so hard, blood, sweat, and tears. And then for someone to have Covid, and Deontay’s fight with torn biceps, broken fingers, burns on his arms, and he still fought,’ Swift told TMZ.
‘I just feel like with Covid and you have 16 days until the fight, he should still be able to fight and make it happen.
‘I don’t think that he’s ready. I think he’s buying time, and I just feel like he feels Deontay is at the best looking-wise.’
Reigning WBC heavyweight king Fury hasn’t officially commented on his positive Covid-19 diagnosis, but a statement was released by his camp confirming the test.
But Swift isn’t buying into the claims, and added: ‘Personally, I don’t believe anything that he says. So, I don’t believe anything that he says, and that’s that.’
Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri, on July 16, 2021, sentenced a serial fraudster, Alen Abel to fifteen years imprisonment for obtaining N4, 065, 000.00 (Four Million, Sixty-five Thousand Naira), under false pretence.
The offence is contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.
The convict was arraigned on July 14, 2021, by the EFCC on two separate one-count charge.
One of the charge reads: ‘‘That you Alen Abel, sometimes in May 2020 at Maiduguri, within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud did obtained One Hundred (100) bags of rice worth N900, 000.00 (Nine Hundred Thousand Naira ) only from Saaqndo Orseer Emmanuel under the pretense of executing a contract of supply of food items, purportedly awarded by Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (Federal Government School Feeding Programme), under the Special Intervention Programme (SIP), which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.’’
The other charge reads: ‘‘That you Alen Abel, sometimes in May 2020 at Maiduguri within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud did obtained 25kg of Spaghetti at N2,900 (Two Thousand, Nine Hundred Naira) only per carton and Twenty bags of rice at N16,000 (Sixteen Thousand Naira) only per bag worth N3, 165, 000.00 (Three Million, One Hundred and Sixty-five Thousand Naira) from Sontanimen Orison Nyigngo under the pretence of executing a contract of supply of food items, purportedly awarded by Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management And Social Development (Federal Government School Feeding Programme), under the Special Intervention Programme (SIP), which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.’’
The convict pleaded ‘‘guilty’’ to the separate charges preferred against him by the EFCC.
Upon his plea, the prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, through Buba Abdul, an operative of the EFCC, reviewed the facts of the case and prayed the court to convict and sentence Abel as charged.
Justice Fadawu, after listening to the prayer of the prosecution, convicted the defendant and sentenced him to eight and seven years imprisonment on the respective charge.
He however ordered that the jail term will be served consecutively.
Justice Fadawu also ordered the convict to pay N4, 065, 000.00 (Four Million, Sixty-five Thousand Naira), in restitution; and in the event of failure to obey the restitution order, the convict shall serve five years jail term on the two separate charges.
A Florida man who was seen carrying a large red “Trump 2020” flag on the floor of the U.S. Senate during the Capitol riot has been sentenced to prison for eight months in the first felony sentence from the Jan. 6 attack.
Paul Allard Hodgkins, 38, of Tampa, was arrested back in February after the FBI received a tip identifying him among the hundreds of people seen in photos and videos inside the Capitol. He pleaded guilty in June to a single felony count of obstructing an official proceeding, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
“Although you were only one member of a larger mob, you actively participated in a larger event that threatened the Capitol and democracy itself,” said U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss of Washington on Monday.
“The damage that was caused that way was way beyond a several-hour delay of the vote certification,” Moss said. “It is a damage that will persist in this country for several decades.”
Hodgkins’ lawyer, Patrick Leduc, urged the judge not to impose a prison sentence, saying in a court filing that Hodgkins is “law-abiding, hardworking, honest, caring, kind, thoughtful, generous, and the kind of person you would want for a neighbor.”
On the day of the riot, he “lost his bearings and his way … made a fateful decision to follow the crowd, and found himself for approximately 15 minutes in a place that he sincerely regrets to have been,” the court filing said.
Hodgkins told the judge that he regrets his actions and would not have entered the Capitol if he had known of the violent acts committed inside.
“I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I am truly remorseful and regretful for my actions, not because I face consequences but because of the damage that day’s incident caused and the way this country that I love has been hurt,” he said.
“I realize that my involvement did still contribute to the greater problem that took place. The company of us who remained calmer in our protests may have made others feel emboldened.”
The world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos and three other passengers are set to fly to space aboard Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin on Tuesday, July 20.
The space jet by New Shepard is expected to take flight at around 9 a.m. ET carrying Bezos, his brother Mark, aviator Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old and the company’s first paying customer.
It will be the company’s first launch with people aboard and the start of a new era for Blue Origin, which is trying to increase its customer base for earth- space flights.
Blue Origin isn’t the only company looking to capitalize on the suborbital spaceflight market. Earlier this month, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic flew Branson and other passengers to space. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is also trying to launch flight into space.
Blue Origin says a webcast showcasing the launch will begin on it’s website at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Before the flight, Blue Origin’s passengers will be loaded into the New Shepard capsule stacked atop a rocket.
During the launch, the capsule will be rocketed to about 62 miles above the Earth where the passengers will feel minutes of weightlessness and be able to see the planet against the blackness of space before descending back to the surface under parachutes.
If all goes according to plan, Blue Origin says it will look to launch two more human missions this year.
Nigerian jeweller, ObisGallery, has taken to social media to show off the bottle of cognac given to him by Obi Cubana The drink which is said to be the most expensive cognac in the world is said to cost N4.7 million, according to Gossipmill Naija According to the jeweller, the popular club owner gave the expensive drink to him after he delivered a customized neckpiece to him
The rave surrounding the burial preparations for Obi Cubana’s mother seems to have taken over the internet. Just recently, a jeweller identified as Obis Gallery, recently presented a customized neckpiece with the picture of Cubana’s mother’s face on the pendant.
Shortly after, the jeweller showed off a bottle of cognac calling it the most expensive cognac and added that it was giving to him by Cubana.
Gossipmill Naija claimed the cognac to be a Louis XIII. A brief search on the internet shows that the Louis XIII Rare Cask was the most expensive cognac valued at N4m in 2018.
However, as of 2020, the most expensive cognac was and still is a Gautier Cognac 1762 sold at auction for $144,525 (N59.4 million).
Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro has been released from hospital four days after being admitted with serious intestine problems.
Bolsonaro, 66, had been suffering persistent hiccups for 10 days and there have been concerns about the leader’s health since he was stabbed in the intestines while campaigning in 2018.
He was seriously wounded in the attack and lost 40% of his blood. He has had several operations since.
After treatment for an obstruction to the intestine, he promised to be at his office on Monday morning, and on Sunday, July 18 he released a statement saying he was back to work.
“Only God can remove me from that chair,” Mr Bolsonaro said upon leaving hospital, in reference to the presidency.
“I wanted to leave from day one, but they didn’t let me. I hope in 10 days I’ll be eating barbecued ribs, eating anything,” he added.
After two-and-a-half years of a controversial presidency, Bolsonaro is under growing pressure over his handling of the pandemic.
He has been criticised for the lack of a national response to the crisis and his scepticism toward vaccines, lockdowns and mask-wearing.
In Brazil, Covid deaths have surpassed 500,000 – the second-highest in the world after the US.
Ahead of his coronation as the 21st Olu of Warri on August 21 this year, new photos of Omoba Tsola Emiko, the Olu of Warri designate, have been released. See more of the photos below
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has warned that the floods recorded in many parts of Lagos on Friday, July 16, may be far less than what residents of the commercial city will experience in September.
In their Annual Flood Outlooks for 2021, NIHSA predicted that the year 2021 will record more flood cases than any other year, since 2012. The report was made public in May 2021 during the 2021 Annual Flood Outlook in Abuja.
Following Friday’s flooding, NIHSA asked Lagos state residents to brace for severe floods in September, the peak of the rainy season, by taking all necessary measures now to mitigate the devastating impact.
“The peak of the rainy season in Lagos is projected to be in September and has always been in that month. So, what was experienced across the state on Friday might be far less severe than what will happen during the peak of the rain,” The Director-General, NIHSA, Clement Nze, told Punch.
The agency also stated that no new holding dam had been constructed across the River Niger in Nigeria and the course of the Ladgo Dam in Cameroon to mitigate the impact of flood arising from the possible opening of the dam.
Cameroon had advised Nigeria to build holding dams across River Niger and the course of the Ladgo Dam so that the annual release of water from the facility would not cause damage in Nigeria as witnessed in 2014 and 2016.
Nze said that a dam was being designed by experts for that purpose ahead of the actual budget preparation for the facility.
Nze also explained that the Oyan Dam in Abeokuta would have to be opened if the water level in it becomes high, adding that its opening to release water would be necessary to prevent it from rupturing.
He said once the Oyan Dam was opened to release water, the floods in the South-West states might worsen.
“If the Oyan Dam collapses, the flood situation in that region will be worse. So, it is better to release water from the dam once its water level gets to the point of allowing some of it to flow out,” he explained.
The NIHSA boss also spoke about the agency’s flood predictions.
He said: “Lagos and surrounding areas were included in our prediction in terms of the flooding that occurred. Also, Lagos is one of the 10 mega cities globally and there are six cities that are sinking and might sink or disappear in 50 years based on meteorology. Lagos is one of them.
“In fact, one of my cousins sent me a voice message in 2019 after reading one of my posts, telling me that they told her in school in Germany that Lagos State would disappear by sinking in the next 50 years.
Facebook feminist, Nkechi Bianze has shared highlights from her wedding which took place last weekend.
Bianze who disclosed that her husband is from Mbaise in Imo state, said no bride price was paid. She also revealed that she didn’t kneel down to give him a drink during the traditional marriage.
The Facebook feminist further disclosed that the traditional wedding was done according to the custom and traditions of her people in Agbor, Delta state, but edited to suit them.
She wrote;
Yesterday, the 17th of July 2021, all roads led to Owa (Agbor) Delta State as family and friends joined the Love of my Life and I as we got married.
*-*
He is from Mbaise, Imo State.
No bride price was paid.
And I did NOT kneel down to give him drink. We BOTH STOOD up to drink.
The Traditional Wedding was done according to the custom and traditions of my people, and we edited bits to suit us.
Official photos to come soon.
She also fired back at those calling her out for marrying an Imo man after reportedly spending years putting down Igbo men.
At least 31 people have been killed after torrential rain swept through Mumbai, India late on Sunday, July 18..
Twenty-one people died in the Mumbai suburb of Chembur, in India’s western state of Maharashtra, while 10 people were killed in the suburb of Vikhroli, according to Satya Pradhan, India’s National Disaster Response Force Director-General following the rainfall that triggered landslides that crushed cars and houses while leaving neighborhoods devastated.
According to India’s National Disaster Response Force, rescue efforts continued through the night, with workers digging through mud and debris to find survivors.
Reports also say Mumbai’s water supply was also affected after a purification complex flooded, the city’s municipal corporation said on Twitter.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families of those killed.
“Saddened by the loss of lives due to wall collapses in Chembur and Vikhroli in Mumbai,” Modi wrote on Twitter.
“In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families.”
As at Monday morning local time, Mumbai’s airport recorded more than 250 millimeters (9.8 inches) of rainfall.
This is not the first time, India is suffering from rainfall-related deaths. In July 2019, at least 43 people were killed by heavy rains in the city while in 2005, flooding in the state of Maharashtra killed more than 1,000 people — including 410 from Mumbai.
Head pastor of Glorious Wave Church International, Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi has explained why his two football prophecies failed to come to pass.
Recall that the Ghanaian cleric suffered a backlash after his prophecy about England winning Euro 2020 failed to come to pass. He had also prophesied that Brazil would win the Copa America trophy but it failed as Brazil lost to Argentina.
Preciously, Kobi had prophesied that Donald Trump and John Mahama would win their reelection campaign, but the prophecies never came to pass.
In a new sermon in his church, Kobi asserted that his football prophecies failed to come to pass because it was used for betting. He averred that all his prophecies has come to pass because he is “God’s agent” and is not perturbed by criticisms.
Kobi also disclosed that his prophecy about Accra Hearts of Oak winning the Ghana Premier League came to pass.
He said;
“When I prophesy about football and you want it to come to pass, don’t use God’s words for betting. The prophecy will fail, God’s word is not for betting. God is laughing at some people.
Don’t fight for me, all you can do it promote me because I am his agent. If God sent me and you don’t understand, face God.”
A major illicit drug kingpin in Anambra, Okeke Chijioke, 44, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA and 548,000 tablets of tramadol branded as tarkadol recovered from his warehouse at 3 Atunya street, Maryland estate, Nkwelle, Oyi local government area of the state.
Director, Media & Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, July 18, said Okeke was arrested last Saturday, 10th July, following credible intelligence and surveillance, which confirmed he stocked his warehouse with the illicit drug.
“After the search of his warehouse, 548,000 tablets of tarkadol weighing 302.500 kilograms were recovered. The suspect accepted ownership of the substance recovered,” the statement reads.
Preliminary investigation has established that tarkadol is a brand of tramadol that has just been introduced into the market to evade attention. The substance has also tested positive to amphetamine.
The drug was equally labeled 100mg pain reliever on its packs to avoid scrutiny, while laboratory tests confirmed its a 225mg drug. It was further discovered that the drug was manufactured in India and smuggled into Nigeria without NAFDAC number or certification.
During the search on the warehouse, a double barrel pump gun with 3 live cartridges, which licence expired since 2019, was also discovered and recovered. This is even as operatives of the Benue state command of the Agency on road patrol in Apir village on 14th July intercepted and seized 28,400 capsules of tramadol from one Dankawu Madaki, who hails from Misah LG, Bauchi state.
In a related development, a notorious interstate drug dealer, Godiya Linus, based in Taraba but supplies narcotics to dealers in Adamawa has been arrested in Numan area of the state. Godiya, an ex-convict, was in jail between 2012 and 2018 following his conviction on drug related charges.
A drug dealer, Mohammed Ali had earlier been arrested on 10th July with 1.150kg of diazepam in Numan. A follow up operation led to the arrest of Godiya who supplied Ali, while investigation has since revealed that hes based in Mayolope village in Lau local government area of Taraba, from where he supplies Jambutu park in Yola and other parts of Numan, using an unregistered boxer motorcycle for distribution.
Few days after Godiyas arrest, another dealer, Emmanuel Ishiwu was nabbed with different quantities of tramadol, exol-5 and diazepam, totalling 6.103kg also in Numan on 14th July, followed by the arrest of Muhammadu Garba and Shaibu Haruna with 48.500kg of cannabis in Gurin area of the state on Friday, 16th July 2021.
Commending the officers and men of the Anambra, Benue and Adamawa state Commands for sustaining the offensive action in the ongoing efforts to mop up illicit drugs from every community in all parts of Nigeria, Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) charged them to remain unrelenting in the discharge of their duties.
The Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC) of Mumbai crime branch has arrested a 44-year-old Nigerian national Umunna Ndubuisi Williams and allegedly recovered 110 grams of cocaine worth Rs 33 lakh (N18,167,990.30)
ANC officials said that a police constable with Azad Maidan unit received information of a foreign national coming to South Mumbai to make a drug deal.
Accordingly, ANC officials laid a trap and caught hold of the accused. The accused was arrested in the wee hours of Thursday, July 15, near pole number FR/ 136, near Loha bhavan bus stop, towards Wadibunder, PD Mello road, Mumbai.
The police said the arrested accused is a cloth trader and resident of sector 27, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai.
“We have seized 110 grams of cocaine worth Rs 33 lakh. He allegedly supplied the drugs to peddlers and customers in Mumbai”, said Datta Nalawade, Deputy Commissioner of Police, ANC.
Nalawade said that a case had been registered under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985. “We are checking the supply chain of Williams”, said the police officer.
The United Kingdom (UK) has called on the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to follow due process in the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Recall that Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, had claimed that there would be no trial until the issue of Kanu’s ‘illegal abduction’ was resolved.
“In my opinion, before any court can subject Kanu to trial, it has to first conduct a trial within trial on the grievous incident that forced him to leave Nigeria and the equally grievous incident that forced him back to Nigeria. No court of law with conscience and equity will overlook those two incidents and proceed to trial,” he had said in a statement on Thursday.
Also, Nnamdi Kanu’s brother, Emmanuel, had said the IPOB leader’s family will not attend his trial until certain questions relating to his capture and extradtion is answered by the Nigerian government.
Speaking to Newsmen on Saturday, the Head of Communications, British High Commission, Abuja, Dean Hurlock, said the UK takes very seriously allegations of human rights violations against British nationals.
Hurlock further said it was very important that any trial or legal proceedings regarding Nnamdi Kanu followed due process.
He said: “The UK Government is aware of the ongoing detention of Mr Kanu.
“The UK has requested consular access to Mr Kanu from the Nigerian government, and we stand ready to provide consular assistance.
“As a British national, our current priority is Mr Kanu’s health, welfare and fair treatment.
“Our consular staff will always endeavour to give appropriate and tailored support to British nationals overseas, and to their families in the UK.
“The British High Commission in Nigeria stands ready to provide such assistance to Mr Kanu and his family in the UK.
“The UK takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously and raises concerns with local authorities where appropriate.”
World football governing body, FIFA is considering bringing in a host of controversial changes to the current football system, with a prominent change being games reduced from 90 minutes to 60 minutes.
According to Mundo Deportivo, FIFA are looking for ways to improve the game and will be trying out a series of different rules in the ‘Future of Football Cup’ youth tournament that will include Under 19 sides from PSV, AZ Alkmaar, RB Leipzig and Club Brugge.
The tournament will feature five new key regulations.
Firstly, instead of 90 minutes, games will be made of two 30 minute halves – with the idea of shortened matches believed to have been taken from basketball .
In April, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez had hinted at shorter games in the European Super League before it collapsed following huge resistance.
Secondly, the referee will stop his watch whenever the ball gets out of play in attempt to crack down on persistent time-wasting and there will be kick-ins, instead of throw-ins.
Normally, teams are allowed to make three subs – that has been extended to five in recent times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Should these plans go ahead, unlimited substitutions will be permitted.
And then thirdly, yellow cards will result in a sin bin similar to what is seen in rugby. The offending player would be temporarily suspended for a five-minute period and forced to watch from the sidelines before returning to the pitch.
The report notes that this is just a trial phase at present and FIFA will assess the success of the changes and decide whether to discuss things further with International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body that determines the laws of the game of association football.
Founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has recalled how he warned Nigerians about President Muhammadu Buhari’s evil administration.
TM reports that the cleric was speaking on Sunday during a sermon at the church’s headquarters, Canaanland, Ota in Ogun State.
Speaking on the power of prophecy, Bishop Oyedepo stated that some people were angry when he cautioned Nigerians about this present administration.
He said he warned Nigerians in 2015 prior to President Buhari’s victory, adding that those that were angry are now facing reality.
“I am privileged to be among the few God shows things long before they happen,” Oydepo said.
“Some fellows were upset with me when I was talking against this evil government.
“I told this Nation, you are heading for trouble: 2015. Are they in trouble or in turbulence? Turbulence.
“I saw the wickedness of the wicked being forced on the land. Now no direction, no motion.
“When a Prophet speaks, he speaks the heart of God”.
Camille Cosby has shut down rumors that she is planning to divorce her husband, Bill Cosby.
The rumours began after Camille Cosby was spotted without her wedding ring as she left a luxury townhouse where she has been living with Bill since his release from a Philadelphia prison on June 30.
Cosby’s publicist denied that the 77-year-old was divorcing her husband.
“It’s hilarious because Mr. & Mrs. Cosby have been happily married for 57 years and counting,” Andrew Wyatt told Radar Online.
“They have not worn wedding rings in almost 30 years,” Wyatt said, before adding that “vultures” are praying for the Cosbys’ downfall.
“These are the same ‘media insurrectionist,’ who are angry that this intelligent, strong, and vibrant Black woman stood by her husband, as well as vehemently proclaimed Mr. Cosby’s innocence,” Wyatt said.
Bill, 84, was released from prison on a technicality after he appealed his three to ten year prison sentence on sexual assault charges.
The United States Air Force has announced it will be sending more than two dozen F-22 stealth fighters to an exercise in the western Pacific this month, an unusually large deployment of the powerful jets that military analysts say sends a strong warning to China.
The F-22s are the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft, incorporating stealth technologies and connecting on-board sensor systems with off-board information systems to give their pilots a detailed view of the battlespace.
The US Pacific Air Forces in Hawaii this week said approximately 25 F-22s Raptors from the Hawaii Air National Guard and from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, will deploy this month to Guam and Tinian islands for Operation Pacific Iron 2021.
“We have never had this many Raptors deployed together in the Pacific Air Forces area of operations,” Gen. Ken Wilsbach, Pacific Air Forces commander said.
At a time when relations are tense over issues like Taiwan sovereignty and the South China Sea claims, deploying a large number of F-22S (the world’s most powerful jets) will panic China who have about 20 to 24 operational fifth-generation fighters, – a no match to the US’ airforce who have around 180 F-22s in its fleet.
Because of their ability to evade radar detection, F-22s would be expected to be among the first weapons used in any conflict, tasked with taking out an adversary’s air defenses among other missions.
According to a statement from Pacific Air Forces, during Operation Pacific Iron, 10 F-15 Strike Eagle fighters from Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho and two C-130J Hercules transport planes from Yokota Air Base in Japan will join the F-22s to fill out the air fleet for what the Air Force calls an Agile Combat Employment operation, also referred to as a combat dispersal operation, .
The Nigerian Senate has prescribed a 20-year jail term for anyone caught snatching ballot materials during elections. The lawmakers gave the approval for such punishment while passing the bill establishing the Electoral Offences Commission.
The function of the commission includes investigating electoral offenses, prosecution of electoral offenders, and maintaining records of all persons investigated and prosecuted.
Amongst the prescribed punishments for any offender include
–Five years jail term or N10m fine for party officials who engage in electoral fraud
The senate in Clause 12 of the bill approved at least five years imprisonment or a fine of at least N10 million naira or both, for any officer or executives of any association or political party that engages in electoral fraud that contravenes the provisions of clauses 221, 225(1)(2)(3) and (4) and 227 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
–Ten years jail term for selling voter’s card
The senate also approved ten years imprisonment for any person who sells voter’s card, or in possession of any voter’s card bearing the name of another person, or prepares and prints a document or paper purporting to be a register of voters or a voter’s card.
–Ten years jail term for election officials who prevent voting
The senate also gave its nod to a term of at least ten years upon conviction for any election official who willfully prevents any person from voting at the polling station, willfully rejects or refuses to count any ballot paper validly cast, willfully counts any ballot paper not validly cast, gives false evidence or withholds evidence, and announces or declares a false result at an election. The upper chamber in Clause 20(2) approved at least fifteen years imprisonment for any judicial officer or officer of a court or tribunal who corruptly perverts electoral justice, during or after an election.
–Fifteen years imprisonment for influencing outcome of elections
The senate also gave at least fifteen years jail term or N30 million naira fine for any security personnel or election official engaged by the Independent National Electoral Commission or State Electoral Commission who attempts to influence the outcome of an election.
–Six months imprisonment for disturbing the peace
Any person found to disturb the public peace on Election Day by playing musical instruments, singing or holding an assembly where a polling station is located shall be guilty of breaching electoral peace and liable to six months imprisonment or a fine of at least N100,000 or both.
–Ten years jail term for defaming candidates
Any person acting for himself or on behalf of any organization or political party or candidate or his agent with the intention of prejudicing the result of an election, damage or defame, in any manner, the character of any candidate in an election or his family member by making, saying, printing, airing or publishing in the print or electronic media false accusation on any matter shall be guilty of serious corrupt practice and liable on conviction to a term of at least ten years or a fine of ten million naira or both.
–Five years jail term or N10m fine for soliciting votes
Any person soliciting or giving votes for or against any political party or candidate at an election, or found to affix campaign materials on any private house, public buildings or structures, or prints posters and banners without the name and address of the political party to which the candidate or person belongs contravenes sub-clause (1) to (5) and guilty of an offence and liable to at least five years or a fine of at least ten million naira, or both.
–Twenty years jail term for snatching ballot boxes
Any candidate or agent who damages or snatches ballot boxes, ballot papers or election materials before, during and after an election without the permission of election official in charge of the polling station attracts at least twenty years imprisonment or a fine of at least forty million naira.
–Fifteen years jail term for influencing voters’ choice
The senate approved at least fifteen years imprisonment for any person who conveys voters to and from the poll; and three years imprisonment for any employee who directly or indirectly exerts undue influence on a voter in his employ.
-Ten years or N20m fine for hate speech
The senate also approved at least ten years imprisonment or at least twenty million naira fine or both for any person who uses hate speech to stir up ethnic, religious or racial hatred, social or political insecurity or violence against anyone or group of persons
The widow of Haiti’s slain president Jovenel Moise returned home on Saturday after being treated in Florida, US for wounds she suffered in the attack, an official said.
Martine Moise, 47, with her right arm in a sling and wearing a bulletproof vest, was received at Port-au-Prince airport by interim prime minister Claude Joseph, secretary of state for communications Frantz Exantus wrote on Twitter.
‘The first lady… has just arrived in Haiti to take part in preparations for the state funeral’ of her late husband, Exantus wrote, posting pictures of Martine Moise disembarking from a private plane accompanied by multiple security agents.
She spent 10 days in hospital in Miami, Florida, where she had been airlifted after her husband was gunned down in their home in the early hours of July 7.
The state funeral services are set to take place on July 23 in Cap-Haitien, a historic city in the north of Haiti.
The day before Moise’s widow’s return, Joseph had pledged justice would be served for the president’s assassination.
Police chief Leon Charles told a press conference Friday that Haitian authorities were ‘working with international agencies specialized in judicial investigations, such as the FBI (US Federal Bureau of Investigations), Interpol and other bodies that are on the ground to analyze all the evidence… to trace the masterminds of the assassination.’
Moise, 53, was assassinated by a hit squad made up mostly of Colombian mercenaries, but many of the details surrounding the brazen attack remain a mystery.
Colombia’s police chief Jorge Vargas has said that a former Haitian justice ministry official, Joseph Felix Badio, gave two of the Colombian mercenaries the order to kill the president. But it is not clear if Badio in turn was following orders from someone else.
Badio, a former official in an anti-corruption unit within the justice ministry, is one of several people wanted by Haitian police, alongside former opposition senator Joel John Joseph.
Both are described on their wanted posters as ‘armed and dangerous.’
So far, a unit of assassins comprised of 26 Colombians and two Haitian-Americans have been arrested in connection with the killing. A Florida doctor, Christian Emmanuel Sanon was also arrested last week for his role in the assassination of Haiti president after he had campaigned to replace him in a letter to U.S. State Department
Haitian police have accused a 63-year-old Haitian doctor with strong ties to Florida, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, of being a mastermind of the plot and having ‘political objectives.’
Joseph said 24 police officers attached to Moise’s security detail were ordered to report for questioning.
On Thursday, the first lady thanked ‘the team of guardian angels who helped me through this terrible time.
‘With your gentle touch, kindness, and care, I was able to hold on. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!’
The Synagogue Church of All Nations has dismissed claims of a leadership crisis in the church following the demise and internment of its founder, Prophet T.B Joshua.
Some reports on social media had claimed that the church leaders have been in crisis over who oversees the affairs of the church now.
In a statement released, the leadership of the church says until the elders of the church have their meeting, Evelyn Joshua who is wife of the late Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua will be in charge of coordinating the affairs of the church.
The statement in part reads
”The sequence of events clearly points to an attempt by some mischief makers to draw the ministry into unnecessary controversies.”
Mrs Evelyn Joshua is in a mourning mood, following the burial of her late husband on Friday 9 July, 2021, and as a responsible wife and mother, the least favour she deserves from well-meaning Nigerians is for them to respect the family’s privacy at these trying times. Rather than fan the embers of strife and animosity, she has remained focused on preserving the legacies of her late husband.
Be informed that at the appropriate time, the new leader of the ministry shall be made known, according to the move of the Holy Spirit. For now, Mrs. Evelyn Joshua is in charge of coordinating the affairs of the church”
Senator Rufai Hanga, founder and pioneer national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) which President Muhammadu Buhari once contested for a presidential election on, has revealed that there was an agreement that power will be handed over to the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu in 2023.
Hanga who chaired one of the parties which collapsed to form the APC in 2014, disclosed that Tinubu remained in the APC after Buhari’s first term because of this agreement.
He told Daily Trust;
“This is an open secret. There was an implied agreement. Even in law, there is implied and expressed act. If something is expressed, there are no two ways about it. There was an implied agreement that he would take over. That is why he didn’t back out after the first tenure. If Tinubu knew that he would not benefit, he would have backed out during Buhari’s first tenure. But he knows there was an agreement.”
The former CPC Chairman however added that he doubts Tinubu will be given APC’s presidential ticket in 2023, as there might be a fight with power blocs among governors and some forces in the Presidency.
The virus is a form of herpes which normally only occurs in primates but can cause nausea, vomiting, fever, headache, fatigue, muscle pains, and blistering in humans.
The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) said the 53-year-old vet died in May after dissecting two dead primates, believed to be macaques, as part of his experimental research.
The man reportedly experienced symptoms of the virus after working on the animals and eventually died in hospital.
The CCDC warned anyone working on primates they could be potentially harmed by the infection, which rarely jumps from monkeys to humans, according to RT.
The virus is causing concern among the scientific community.
According to the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) it is “extremely rare” for humans to be infected with the virus, which it says can cause “severe brain damage or death if you do not get treatment immediately”.
Several cases of rare or largely unknown diseases have caused alarm in recent months, including the news a Texas resident returning from Nigeria was hospitalised with monkeypox, which has a 1% chance of being fatal.
Chinese authorities have confirmed their first human death from the horrific monkey B virus.
The virus is a form of herpes which normally only occurs in primates but can cause nausea, vomiting, fever, headache, fatigue, muscle pains, and blistering in humans.
The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) said the 53-year-old vet died in May after dissecting two dead primates, believed to be macaques, as part of his experimental research.
The man reportedly experienced symptoms of the virus after working on the animals and eventually died in hospital.
The CCDC warned anyone working on primates they could be potentially harmed by the infection, which rarely jumps from monkeys to humans, according to RT.
The virus is causing concern among the scientific community.
According to the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) it is “extremely rare” for humans to be infected with the virus, which it says can cause “severe brain damage or death if you do not get treatment immediately”.
Several cases of rare or largely unknown diseases have caused alarm in recent months, including the news a Texas resident returning from Nigeria was hospitalised with monkeypox, which has a 1% chance of being fatal.
Germany’s Olympic soccer team walked off the pitch during a friendly match against Honduras after one of the German players was racially abused, according to the German Football Association (DFB).
“The game has ended 5 minutes early with the score at 1-1. The Germany players left the pitch after Jordan Torunarigha was racially abused,” tweeted the DFB.
Torunarigha, who is Black, plays as a defender for Germany.
The Honduran Football Federation did not respond to CNN’s request for comment via email and phone, but the organization said in a tweet that the “alleged racial insult” had been a “misunderstanding” on the pitch.
The match against Honduras took place in Wakayama, Japan, and was the final practice for the German side before their first Olympic match on July 22, according to the DFB.
“When of our players is racially abused, playing on is not an option,” Germany coach Stefan Kuntz said in a statement
“When one of our players is racially abused, playing on is not an option.”
“It was hard to get him in, he was terribly upset because he said he was repeatedly racially abused. For us it’s clear, this violates our values, we cannot tolerate it. We’ll take our player completely under our protection.”
“After the situation calmed down a bit, the whole Honduras team came over to us on the bench and apologised,” Kuntz said. “That was the end of the matter for us.”
Torunarigha’s club, Hertha Berlin, responded by saying “that’s the only correct decision!”
Germany captain Maximilian Arnold said the team discussed taking the matter further but decided against it.
“We made a correct statement, we made the right decisions and acted correctly. It was also Jordan’s wish. He said that we should leave it at that,” Arnold said.
The behind-closed-doors warm-up game was arranged to prepare for the Olympic Games and took place in Wakayama, Japan.
The German football association confirmed the game was played in thirds of 30 minutes with Douglas Martinez scoring for Honduras in the 21st minute.
Felix Uduokhai equalised for Germany in the 84th minute, but Germany left the pitch soon after.
In February 2020, Hertha BSC player Torunarigha was racially abused by fans of an opposing team in a German Cup match. The DFB fined Bundesliga club Schalke roughly $59,000 over the incident.
A man who identified himself as a former pastor of the Living Faith Church International, popularly known as Winners Chapel, has claimed he and other pastors were sacked by the church for not generating enough money in their respective branches.
Peter Godwin said in a video that he was employed as a pastor on the 28th of August, 2020, but on July 1, 2021, he and over 40 other pastors were invited and given sack letters.
He said in the video: “Actually, by the special grace of God, our father in this great assembly, Living Faith Church received a mandate from the Lord to plant 10,000 churches in Nigeria and by the special grace of God, I was privileged to be one of the pastors that were employed on the 28th of August, 2020, that was last year.
“So after that, I started working, engaging myself in the work of the Lord. I tried my possible best to make sure I win souls for Christ but unfortunately, on the 1st of July, I received a call that the state pastor wants to see me, so I thought I was the only one. I was surprised, so I went to his office.
“When I got there, I saw other pastors too, over 40 of them, so I joined them. A few minutes later, we were issued a letter. I opened the content of the letter to see what was there and I saw that it was a sack letter.
“The content of the letter says ‘Consequent upon the recent performance review which revealed that your church growth index falls below expectation. Please be informed that your service as the pastor in charge is no longer required in this commission with immediate effect. You are to vacate your official accommodation and hand over all properties including the official ID card to the area pastor before departure’.
“So I called the management the next day to know what happened since I wasn’t involved in any dubious activity or evil act. I was told by the management was that the church doesn’t operate at a loss, they also told me the total income that is being generated from my station should be able to cater for my welfare and accommodation, so as a result of low income, I’m hereby dismissed.”
See a copy of the sack letter below.
“The content of the letter says ‘Consequent upon the recent performance review which revealed that your church growth index falls below expectation. Please be informed that your service as the pastor in charge is no longer required in this commission with immediate effect. You are to vacate your official accommodation and hand over all properties including the official ID card to the area pastor before departure.
“So I called the management the next day to know what happened since I wasn’t involved in any dubious activity or evil act. I was told by the management was that the church doesn’t operate at a loss, they also told me the total income that is being generated from my station should be able to cater for my welfare and accommodation, so as a result of low income, I’m hereby dismiss“
A man identified as Obum has allegedly stabbed a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Thompson Thomas Ugochukwu Onyekuru, to death in Imo State.
The tragic incident happened at Umuokoto town in Umudibia Autonomous community in Owerri West Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that Obum, who hailed from Obowo in Imo State, stabbed his wife, Ogechi, with a knife during a bitter argument.
Obum, who is suspected to be mentally unstable, had allegedly locked his wife and her baby in their room where he stabbed her several times.
According to Daily Trust, he accused the wife of trying to kill their only surviving son out of the three children they had since they got married in 2016, claiming she was also responsible for the hardship he was facing.
An eyewitness said the incident started around 4 pm when Obum’s wife, Ogechi, and her one-year-old son were heard screaming for help. The late pastor and other neighbours waded in to prevent Obum from killing his wife.
“As the crowd intensified effort to rescue the woman, Obum with a knife, threatened to kill anyone who tried to stop his action,” one of the eyewitnesses told the publication.
After successfully rescuing the woman from her husband’s grip, Obum became enraged and started chasing everybody with the blood-stained knife. As Onyekuru made to go, Obum stabbed him at the back.
A passing police patrol team was called to the scene, but he attacked the policemen who were attempting to arrest him. The police then shot him in the leg in order to subdue him.
Obum and Onyekuru were subsequently taken to the hospital where two of them died. Unconfirmed report said Obum’s wife also later died.
The President-General of Umuokoto Community Council (UCC), Hon. Charles Anozie, who confirmed the incident, said Obum and the pastor were taken to the hospital where they later died.
American Adult film star, Dahlia Sky has died at the age of 31 in a ‘potential suicide’.
The body of Sky was found inside a car in the San Fernando Valley, LA, around 8 pm on June 30, with authorities currently treating it as a suspected suicide.
The 31-year-old was believed to have been battling stage four breast cancer for several years.
LAPD detective, Dave Peteque, told Adult Video News (AVN) that Sky was discovered with a fatal gunshot wound, and that police officials are awaiting autopsy results from the LA County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office.”
The case is being investigated as a potential suicide, with Peteque saying that a cause of suicide is ‘what the investigation is leaning towards, and there’s no evidence at this time that there’s any foul play’.
The owner of JHP Films, Hans, told the adult industry publication how he was devastated by the news: “During her last year, I spoke to her several times about life. It was not an easy ride for her.”
He went on to add: “This will take a long time to get over, if it’s even possible. Dahlia Sky, you beautiful soul, you funny, complicated, and warm-hearted friend! I am going to miss you so much.”
Mary Daniel, the sachet water hawker who went viral because she’s an amputee, has acquired a 17.5 million Naira apartment in Lagos.
The 27-year-old Kogi indigene bought the house located in Igando, Lagos.
She is also constructing a pure-water factory inside the compound, which is near completion
Recall that Mary Daniel received donations of about N25 million after she was pictured hawking sachet water in traffic in Oshodi and her story went viral.
American Reality TV star and singer, Safaree Samuels has accused Erica Mena of destroying his property as their divorce proceedings continue to get messier.
In May, Mena filed for divorce from her husband. The “Love & Hip Hop” stars, who got married in October 2019, share two children—daughter Safire, 1, and a son, who was born a month after the divorce filing.
According to TMZ, in a new court filing this week, Safaree has accused Erica of pouring bleach on his expensive sneakers and trashing his motorcycles, totaling $50,000 in damage.
Safaree is also accusing Erica of violating their domestic relations standing order, which limits the couple from harassing each other or damaging one another’s property during the divorce.
Safaree says that two days after their divorce filing on May 23, Erica poured bleach and cut the shoelaces off of his expensive sneakers, which totaled $30,000 in damages. She also allegedly poured paint on two motorcycles, damaging the bikes and put paint in the exhaust pipes and gas tanks. He claims that security cameras picked up the entire thing, which happened while Erica was eight months pregnant.
Samuels asked the judge to hold Mena in contempt for violating their domestic relations standing order. He adds that Mena “has ample time to engage in disruptive and intentional acts to vilify and disparage” him.
He wants the judge to force Erica to reimburse him around $50,000 for the damaged property. He is also considering pursuing felony charges for criminal destruction.
Nigeria’s senior women’s football team, the Super Falcons, will camp in Austria without their star player and captain, Asisat Oshoala.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has released a 26-woman list for camping in Austria ahead of a tournament in Lagos, Nigeria and the Barcelona star Oshoala was exempted from the list.
Ghana’s Black Queens, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses, Banyana Banyana of South Africa, Morocco and Mali will compete against Nigeria in the tournament.
The camp in Austria is the third gathering that the NFF has arranged for the Super Falcons this year, following an interesting three-wins-out-three account at the Turkish Women’s Cup in Antalya in February and the Summer Series in the USA last month.
The 26-year-old Oshoala won a historic treble with Barcelona’s women’s side and also played for Nigeria in an invitational tournament in the United States in June. It is reported that she is nursing an injury.
Meanwhile former captain, Desire Oparanozie has been invited back to the team. Oparanozie was initially leftout of the Super Falcons for the role she played in the team’s sit-in protest over unpaid allowances at the 2019 World Cup.
Veteran American rapper, Biz Markie, known for classic rap song ‘Just a Friend,’ has died at age 57.
Markie’s representative, Jenni Izumi, said the New York rapper, beatboxer, and producer died peacefully Friday evening, July 16, with his wife by his side.
“We are grateful for the many calls and prayers of support that we have received during this difficult time,” Izumi said in a statement. “Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years. He leaves behind a wife, many family members and close friends who will miss his vibrant personality, constant jokes and frequent banter.”
“Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years,” Izumi added. “He leaves behind a wife, many family members and close friends who will miss his vibrant personality, constant jokes and frequent banter. We respectfully request privacy for his family as they mourn their loved one.”
While a cause of death was not revealed, the rapper had struggled in recent years with health issues related to his decade-long battle with Type 2 diabetes.
In April 2020, he was hospitalized due to complications related to the disease, and later that year suffered a stroke after going into a diabetic coma. There were reports he was rehabilitating, but his condition continued to decline, leading to premature reports of Markie’s death in late June.
“Biz is still under medical care, surrounded by professionals who are working hard to provide the best health care possible,” Izumi wrote in a statement to Rolling Stone at the time.
Born Marcel Hall in 1964, Biz Markie cut his teeth on New York’s hip-hop club circuit, and became noted for his freestyling and beatboxing talent. DJ-producer Marley Marl hired him to beatbox on tracks he was making for artists including Roxanne Shanté, and that skill was blended with lyricism on his breakthrough solo track, Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz.
It was included on 1988 debut album Goin’ Off alongside tracks such as Pickin’ Boogers – an ode to nasal mucus that showcased his goofy humour – and Vapors, which was later covered by Snoop Dogg.
The following year he released second album The Biz Never Sleeps. Buoyed by the single Just a Friend and its glorious, occasionally-in-tune chorus sung to a hesitant would-be lover, the album became his biggest success and was certified gold in 1990.
Follow-up I Need a Haircut was less successful and didn’t reach the US Top 100. Markie was sued by Gilbert O’Sullivan following its release over the track Alone Again, which sampled the chorus and piano backing of O’Sullivan’s song Alone Again (Naturally). A court ruled against Markie, who wryly titled his next album All Samples Cleared!; the decision changed the way samples were used in hip-hop, requiring them to be cleared prior to release.
Markie released only one further album, 2003’s Weekend Warriors, but continued touring (including as a DJ), made appearances in film and television, and performed guest raps with other artists.
He appeared on the Beastie Boys tracks Do It, The Biz vs The Nuge, and Intergalactic, and sang on Benny and the Jets, their cover version of Elton John’s song. He guested alongside Slick Rick on the Will Smith track So Fresh, later acting opposite Smith in a cameo in Men in Black II. He was sampled by the Rolling Stones for their 1997 song Anybody Seen My Baby?, and guested on the Avalanches’ 2016 album Wildflower. In 2020, he became a host on US radio station Sirius XM.
A Russian Antonov An-28 passenger plane carrying up to 17 people has gone missing in Siberia outside the city of Tomsk.
The plane disappeared from radars on Friday while flying over the Siberian region of Tomsk, local officials said, the second such incident this month.
The region’s governor said two helicopters had been dispatched to search for the plane, which was flying from the town of Kedrovy in the region to the city of Tomsk.
The aircraft, operated by SiLA, a small airline operating regional flights in Siberia on turboprop aircraft, was thought to have been carrying 17 people, including three crew members, governor Sergei Zhvachkin said.
The incident comes less than two weeks after a similar aircraft, an Antonov An-26, crashed into a cliff in poor visibility conditions on the remote Kamchatka peninsula in Russia’s far east, killing all 28 people on board.
An Antonov-28, the same type of plane that has gone missing over Tomsk, crashed in a Kamchatka forest in 2012, killing 10 people. Investigators said both pilots were drunk at the time of the crash.
The Nigeria Customs Service has finally released the seized basketball kits and equipment meant for the country’s men’s and women’s basketball teams at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Recall the kit was impounded at the seaport in Apapa, Lagos for over three months, with the Nigeria Basketball Federation reportedly asked by the NCS to pay N35m to clear the goods.
On Thursday, July 15, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, was able to secure the release of the kits ahead of the global sport’s showpiece starting in eight days’ time.
According to a message from the media office of the sports minister signed by John Joshua Akanji, Dare secured the release of the goods through the help of the finance ministry and the NCS.
“As promised, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare’s intervention has secured the release of basketball kits of the Nigerian Basketball Federation from Apapa Warf,” the statement reads.
“The Caretaker Chairman of the Nigerian Basketball Federation, Musa Ahmadu-Kida, confirmed the release of the items late Thursday.
“The minister expressed appreciation to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali, for making the release of the kits possible.”
The WHO has warned there is a ‘strong likelihood’ of dangerous Covid variants spreading around the world as they declared the pandemic is ‘nowhere near finished.
An emergency committee of the global health body said the mutant strains will make it even harder for the pandemic to come to an end.
In a statement, the committee said: ‘Despite national, regional, and global efforts, the pandemic is nowhere near finished.
‘The pandemic continues to evolve with four variants of concern dominating global epidemiology.
‘The Committee recognised the strong likelihood for the emergence and global spread of new and possibly more dangerous variants of concern that may be even more challenging to control.’
Committee chairman Didier Houssin told reporters that ‘recent trends are worrying’.
He said a year-and-a-half after the WHO first declared a so-called Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) – its highest alert level – ‘we are still running after this virus and the virus is still running after us’.
For now, four concerning variants of Covid-19 are dominating the global pandemic picture, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and especially the rapidly-spreading Delta variant first detected in India.
But the committee warned that worse could lie ahead, pointing to ‘the strong likelihood for the emergence and global spread of new and possibly more dangerous variants of concern that may be even more challenging to control’.
The body of the Kenyan policewoman, Caroline Kangogo, who had been on the run after two gruesome murders was found at her parents’ home in Anin, Elgeyo Marakwet.
Rift Valley Regional Police Commissioner George Natembeya on Friday, July 16, confirmed the shocking conclusion to the story of a killer policewoman who made headlines after killing two men and eluding police dragnets.
Kangogo shot dead her lover colleague, Constable John Ogweno in Nakuru on Monday, July 5 and fled to Juja the following day where she allegedly murdered the other victim, Peter Ndwiga.
According to Natembeya, Corporal Kangogo shot herself in the head inside her mother’s bathroom.
Police officers alerted to the matter rushed to her home where a gun believed to have been used in the murder of two men in Nakuru and Kiambu counties was recovered.
According to reports, she was seen getting into her parent’s home early Friday and was later discovered dead inside a bathroom that was open.
It is not clear whether she managed to speak to any of her family members before killing hersel
Sources close to the investigations said the mother of two shared a troubled love life with the deceased.
The Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti had cautioned members of the public that the cop was armed and dangerous.
“We are cautioning members of the public especially men to be on the lookout for the rogue officer who is luring men to her trap before executing them in cold blood. Let nobody trust her since she is armed and dangerous,” DCI Tweeted.
WhatsApp has now released a new feature that has been the talk of the tech community for a long time.
According to Facebook engineers, the new feature would allow for the hugely popular service be used on multiple “non-phone” devices without needing to connect to the smartphone app.
The makers have confirmed that this feature will be released as a beta version and it will be circulated only to a small group of users. This is because the makers want to identify and fix all the minor bugs and issues that could show up while using this new feature. WhatsApp’s main feature, end-to-end encryption will also be available while using this feature.
Facebook engineers suggested that the software design of WhatsApp needs a complete change. They say this because the app is currently using a smartphone app as the primary device. This makes the phone the source of truth for all user data and the only device capable of end-to-end encrypting messages for another user or initiating calls. And the content shown on WhatsApp Web is basically a mirror image of the phone app.
A blog post shared by Facebook engineers on Wednesday July 14, read;
“With this new capability, you can now use WhatsApp on your phone and up to four other non-phone devices simultaneously – even if your phone battery is dead.”
WhatsApp can already be used on “companion devices,” such as computers, but exchanges are routed in such a way that if a person’s smartphone is offline or has zero battery, it won’t work.
“The new WhatsApp multi-device architecture removes these hurdles” by no longer requiring a smartphone to perform every operation, the company said.
Whatsapp Engineers also made assurances that WhatsApp’s security measures will still work under the new system.
It added;
“Each companion device will connect to your WhatsApp independently while maintaining the same level of privacy and security through end-to-end encryption that people who use WhatsApp have come to expect.”
Billionaire business woman, Folorunsho Alakija has revealed how she rose to her status with the help of Mariam Babangida, the late wife of Nigeria’s Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida.
Mrs Alakija made the disclosure during an interview with Arise TV on Good Morning Nigeria show to mark her 70th birthday.
The introduction to the Arise TV interview reads:
“The Nigerian oil and gas industry has been dominated by men, and it is “seldom” that you find a woman occupying a position as powerful as the one occupied by Apostle “Folorunsho Alakija”. Related Posts
“She is one of Nigeria’s most successful businesswomen who wears many hats: she is an author, a philanthropist, a real estate mogul, and secured one of the most lucrative ventures from the Nigerian government…an oil block.
“In celebration of her 70th Birthday, Apostle Alakija shared the secret to her success and much more in this special ARISE News feature.
The Media and Publicity Secretary of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Comrade Emma Powerful has indicted Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, billionaire businessman, Chief Emeka Offor, and the Labour and Employment Minister, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige, as masterminds of the abduction and repatriation of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya.
Comrade Powerful disclosed this in an IPOB press release titled “How Wike, Obiano, Emeka Offor betrayed our leader — IPOB” issued on Thursday and made available to ElombahNews.
Powerful stated: “IPOB… has finally uncovered those behind the betrayal of our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to the evil hands of Fulani-controlled Government of Nigeria through the collaboration of the Kenyan Government and its secret services.
“Our crack intelligence unit has uncovered how the treacherous Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra State, greedy Igbo business man, Chief Emeka Offor, and Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige conspired to sabotage our leader to safeguard their selfish political and business interests.
“Our intelligence unit, the M. Branch discovered how Emeka Offor of Oraifte coordinated and financed the evil plot.
“We equally gathered that the Nigerian Government initially refused to commit the extraordinary rendition until Emeka Offor, Nyesom Wike, and Willie Obiano, agreed to bankroll the plot.”
According to IPOB investigations, “the Nigeria government refused to sponsor the project but these treacherous Igbo criminals volunteered to fund the evil mission”. Related Posts
Comrade Powerful also stated that Emeka Offor told some people that he was ready to provide N250 million to open another Radio Biafra to counter our Leader’s broadcasts on the official Radio Biafra.
He warned that IPOB will go after the indicted persons if anything happens to Nnamdi Kanu.
He said: “Should anything happen to our Leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the fate of Judas will be more honourable than what will befall these traitors.
“Anybody close to these saboturers should advise them to quickly go for the release of our Leader the way they trapped him into the net of the wicked Nigeria Government.
“We therefore want to place it on record that these traitors — Nyesom Wike, Willie Obiano, Emeka Offor, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige and their collaborators — are to be held accountable to whatever happens to Nnamdi Kanu.
“They shall surely pay for their satanic role in the abduction and rendition of our Leader.
“Investigation is still ongoing to determine the level of each persons involvement,” he concluded.
