Nigerian artistes, Grammy nominee Burna Boy and Mavin Records new sensation Rema have made former US President Barack Obama’s list of ‘Favourite Music of 2019’.
Sixth on the 35-song list is Burna Boy’s Anybody and 26th is Rema’s Iron Man.
In listing his favourite songs for this year, Obama is continuing an annual tradition. He had earlier released his favourite books and movies for the year and a short list of TV shows that he enjoyed.
Obama took to Twitter today to unveil his songs of the year. From the list, the former president has a diversified taste, listening to music from various genres, such as pop, R&B, hip-hop, música urbana and country music.
He defined his tastes in his post: “From hip-hop to country to The Boss, here are my songs of the year. If you’re looking for something to keep you company on a long drive or help you turn up a workout, I hope there’s a track or two in here that does the trick.”
Burna Boy’s Anybody and Rema’s Iron man were listed alongside other 33 great songs which include Playing Games by Summer Walkers, Show Me Love by Alicia Keys featuring Miguel, Mood 4 Eva by Beyonce.
The self-acclaimed pastor of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel, Ikoyi-Ile, Osun State, Segun Philips, said he was paid N210,000 to use the final year student of the Lagos State University, Favour Daley-Oladele for money rituals.
His action was after Favour’s boyfriend, Owolabi Adeeko, had smashed her head with a pestle.
The pastor confessed that he was the one, who slaughtered and removed the breasts, heart and other vital organs from Favour’s body.
Philips disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Punch Metro at the police headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, on Monday.
He stated that the organs were used to prepare a concoction for Owolabi and his mother.
He, however, said the concoction was prepared with human parts without the knowledge of Owolabi’s mother.
When asked if he slaughtered the victim, Philips said, “It is true; I slaughtered Favour with a knife. I was the one, who removed her heart, breasts and other vital organs, so that we could use them for rituals.
“But, I was not the one, who smashed her head with a pestle. Owolabi did that.”
He, however, exonerated Owolabi’s mother, saying they deceived her that they would do something different.
Philips stated, “She was not aware that we used human parts for the concoction I gave her.
“I prepared the concoction for her and her son because I was broke and I needed money. I demanded N250,000, but I was paid N210,000.
“I was called by God, but I think I have lost the calling because of what I did.”
The 23-year-old Owolabi reportedly connived with the 42-year-old self-acclaimed pastor to kill Favour.
Owolabi, who was arrested by men of the Ogun State Police Command in Ikoyi-Ile, Osun State, was said to have confessed to the police that he sought Philips’ help for money rituals.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, had said, “The deceased was reported to have left home to an unknown destination since December 8, 2019, and had not been seen since then, hence, she was reported missing by her parents at the Mowe Police Station.”
The Nigerian government has given itself a pass mark saying its effort in the fight against corruption is progressing in all sectors.
The government also said it convicted the highest number of persons for corruption in 2019 globally.
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, stated this in a statement.
The briefing highlighted some of the government’s achievements in its fight against corruption in 2019.
It also mentioned key initiatives that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration launched in its efforts to strengthen transparency in the public sectors.
Mr Mohammed explained that the fight against corruption is progressing in all fronts, including “institutional reforms, loot recovery and prosecution of allegedly corrupt persons”.
He said this has remained the cardinal promises since the coming of the administration.
He also said between January and October 2019, the EFCC secured the highest number of convictions of high profile persons in the world “with a record of 890 convictions and the recovery of stolen funds that amounts to billions”.
”The fight against corruption also gained momentum within the period, with high profile convictions. Between January and October 2019 alone, that’s a period of 10 months, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured 890 convictions.
”This is the highest anywhere in the world. Recall that in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, the EFCC was only able to secure 103, 189, 190 and 202 convictions respectively. The high rate of convictions in 2019 is in addition to the billions of naira in looted funds that have been recovered by the EFCC,” he said.
Ray J and Princess Love have welcomed their second child, after the singer revealed the happy news to fans just before the new year.
He shared a video titled ‘RAY J EXCLUSIVE FAMILY VIDEO (NEW BABY ALERT)’ full of private footage of the family, including Princess’s pregnancy and their one-year-old daughter Melody.
Ray added: ‘I love you princess love! And my babygirl melody! I don’t ever wanna lose our time together. I’m sorry for everything. 2020 will be somthing very special.’
The footage also showed Ray getting dressed up into scrubs as Princess was getting wheeled into theatre to give birth to their son.
The couple are yet to reveal the name or first photo of their son, but shared an Instagram cip of Melody getting ready for her new sibling by checking out his crib.
Mariah Carey has broken yet another record. Earlier this month, Carey's "All I Want for Chrismas Is You" hit No. 1 on the charts for the first time since its release 25 years ago, where it has remained since -- the song's run at No. 1 will stretch at least until Jan. 4, 2020, making her the first artist ever to have a No. 1 hit in four different decades.
"All I Want" is her 19th No. 1 hit overall, earning her the most No. 1 singles for a solo artist in history.
The 49-year-old singer's first number one hit was "Vision of Love" in 1990, which was followed by 13 others before the year 2000. Three hits came in the 2000s before "All I Want" would finally hit No. 1 in 2019, stretching into 2020.
Carey beats out the likes of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Usher, who all earned No. 1 hits in three decades.
For most happy couples, your wedding day is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to profess your love and unwavering devotion to one another in front of all your friends and family.
In other words, it is most certainly not the time or place to air your dirty laundry in front of everyone you know, but in this case it was AIRED.
One daring groom used his wedding day to expose his wife's cheating to their nearest and dearest and humiliate his former friends who had slept with her.
A wedding guest named Shawn who witnessed the drama recounted the horror story on Graham Norton's big red chair segment - where guests compete to finish telling their anecdotes without being chucked off the chair by the host.
Having attended the "lovely" ceremony, Shawn and the rest of the guests went off to the ceremony to celebrate the bride and groom.
He said: "At the reception, everyone started doing their speeches and then the groom stood up and said 'we're going to play a game'."
After making all the guests to stand up, he then asked them to turn over their plates to see if there was red sticker on the bottom.
Shawn continued: "Everyone did it, it filtered out and there were eight guys left standing."
The groom then said: "Would you all please look at the eight gentlemen left standing.
"They've slept with my wife since we've been engaged and I'm now going for an annulment."
He then exited the room without saying anything else, leaving the guests in a state of total shock.
Naturally, the revenge story was a hit with the BBC host and Shawn was allowed to exit the chair unscathed.
As well as getting a round of applause from Graham, the toe-curling story even received a standing ovation from Marvel star Jeremy Renner.
Lee Rigby’s killer Michael Adebolajo is working as a de-radicalisation mentor at the jail where London Bridge attacker Usman Khan was an inmate.
The jihadi, 34, who renounced extremism last year and said sorry to the family of soldier Lee, 25, has taken on an unofficial role talking to jailed terror plotters.
Adebolajo, given life for murdering Lee, has been assisting pastoral prison workers to help extremists reform at HMP Woodhill — the jail Khan was freed from in December last year.
A source said: “Michael’s U-turn has been astonishing but he insists he is on the path of reform and has been helping to talk to other prisoners about the importance of staying on the right path.
“He tells others that he made a drastic mistake and is trying to encourage others to shun extremism and not go down the path he went down.
“He was in the prison at the same time as Usman Khan.”
Khan, who killed two reform workers last month after attending a prison rehabilitation seminar, had been jailed for 16 years in 2010 for plotting to blow up the London Stock Exchange.
But just two years later, while in Woodhill, he began saying he wanted to be free of Islamist extremism and repeatedly renounced his radical ways until he was released halfway through his sentence.
Adebolajo, like Khan, had links to Anjem Choudary’s extremist group al-Muhijaroun.
He and accomplice Michael Adebowale hacked to death dad-of-one Lee outside Woolwich Barracks in South East London in 2013.
When Adebolajo performed his U-turn last year, he expressed his newfound remorse to prison staff and a fellow inmate.
The killer, who cited the Koran moments after the 2013 atrocity, also admitted he “misinterpreted” Islam’s holy book.
In a further desperate shift from his radical ways, he has asked to be known as Michael after years of insisting he be called Mujahid Abu Hamza.
A former University of Texas at San Antonio football player has been arrested and charged in the fatal stabbing of his sister at a home north of Austin.
The Travis County sheriff´s office says 25-year-old Michael Egwuagu who is originally from Nigeria was charged with murder in the Friday killing of his sister, 30, in Pflugerville.
The sheriff´s office has not yet released the name of his sister, who authorities say was stabbed multiple times. She died at the scene.
Sheriff's office spokeswoman Kristen Dark says authorities were told the victim was pregnant but they are waiting on an autopsy to confirm that.
Neighbor Ben Nguyen told The Statesman that Egwuagu's hands and feet were covered in blood following the fatal stabbing around 5pm Friday. He was arrested at the scene.
Nguyen said: 'It's not something we expected to happen here. They were good people.'
Another neighbor Liskenia Tena added: 'This is a quiet neighborhood. She and her husband were very nice. They were very quiet.'
A Nigerian Visa Applicant, Lukman Owolabi Ogunsuada, 38, has been sentenced to jail for presenting forged letter of invitation to the officials at the United States Embassy in Lagos to secure B1 and B2 Visa categories.
The convict was jailed by Chief Magistrate N. A Layeni of Apapa Magistrates Court after he found him guilty of the two count charges of forgery preferred against him by the police at the special fraud unit, PSFU, Ikoyi, Lagos during the trial spanning about three years.
Magistrate Layeni sentenced the convict in count one of the charge to one year imprisonment or alternatively to a fine of N100, 000 and 200 hours community service or to a fine of N20, 000 in count two of the charges.
Layeni said the sentence would run concurrently.
Police prosecuting counsel, ASP Wewe Adegbayi had informed the court that the journey to jail started for the convict on 11 October, 2017 when he went to submit a letter of invitation to the officials at the American Embassy in Lagos to process B1 and B2 Visa categories.
Adegbayi said that when the Embassy officials scanned the document, they discovered that it was forged and they held the convict and sent a distress call to the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Special Fraud Unit, Lagos.
The CP dispatched his team led by DSP Lawal Audu to the Embassy to arrest the convict.
The trial of members of staff of Union Bank, Plc, Lagos, Vivian Okoro, 36 and Femi Omomeji, 36 for allegedly assaulting and inflicting serious injuries on a Nollywood actress, Chioma Toplis, will commence on 11 January, 2020 at the Igbosere Chief Magistrate Court 8, Lagos.
The Defendants were earlier arraigned before the court in February 2019 on two-count charges bothering on assault occasioning bodily harm.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges and their bail granted by Magistrate A.M Davies.
Trial of the case was delayed due to the absence of the complainant who travelled to London to treat herself from the injuries she sustained from the assault.
Okoro, who has relocated, was living in the same building with the complainant at the time of the incident at 11, Abagbon Close, Victoria Island, Lagos while Omomeji, the head of graphics at the Union Bank Headquarters, Lagos resides at Church street, Ipaja, Lagos.
Police counsel, Reuben Solomon had informed the court in charge No M/12/2019 that the defendants who claimed to be lovers and worked with Union Bank Plc committed the offence at 11, Abagbon Close, Off Olorogun Agbaje Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Solomon told the court that the complainant reported that she was at home on the fateful day watching television when the electricity supply to her apartment suddenly went off and that when she came out from her apartment to check what had happened to her light, she met the defendants by her meter removing the switch.
He said the complainant stated that when she challenged the defendants why they removed her meter switch, they suddenly pounced on her and beat her up with any objects at their disposal, dragged her on the ground which led her sustaining multiple fractures on her left leg and injuries all over her body.
Solomon further informed the court that following the serious injuries sustained, the complainant travelled to London to treat herself during which doctors performed two bone surgeries on her left leg and attached metal to the leg.
He said that the offences, the defendants committed were punishable under sections 411 and 73 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Following the announcement to the court at the last hearing day of the matter by the police counsel that the complainant have arrived from her 10 months medical trip to a London Hospital and that she was ready for the trial of her matter, Magistrate A.M Davies subsequently adjourned the case till 11 January, 2020 for definite trial
A street named after former South African leader Jacob Zuma, has been renamed in the eastern Nigerian state of Imo.
Jacob Zuma Road in the capital of Owerri will now be known as Chief Mbazuluike Amaechi, a First Republic parliamentarian and minister.
Governor Emeka Ihedioha announced the rechristening today at an occasion to mark Amaechi’s 90th birthday.
The naming of the dual carriage way after the former South African president by former Gov. Rochas Okorocha attracted public condemnation against the administration.
Ihedioha described Amaechi as an icon, whose contributions to nation building should not be ignored.
“Dr Amaechi is an icon, one of the founding fathers of the nation, whose contributions to nationhood should not be overlooked.
“Amaechi remains an inspiration, who stood and defended those principles that remain valuable to nation building,” the statement further read.
The rumours are true. TeeBillz has announced a partnership breakup between him and BBN's ex-housemate, Tacha.
Recall days ago, rumours went around that the two are no longer working together, as Tacha edited her bio on IG and removed Teebillz company name. TeeBillz also did something similar; he yanked off everything attached to Tacha on his page. Management team - Nil, her photos --Nil, all deleted from his page.
And now, the former husband of Africa's sweetheart, Tiwa Savage says it's officially over with a press statement. The partnership lasted for only three months and that dissolvement officially begins on January 16.
We guess Tebillz doesn't want to start his new year on a 'bad note', hence the announcement was made today and not tomorrow. The press statement below.... Who will be the next on Teebillz's list?
The Yoruba movie world is about to stand still today as their most successful actors turn a year older today. There has always been a big competition about who acts better, who is the most loved and who is the most handsome out of the two. In all of these, in all of the polls, movie lovers have not been able to say one out shines one, because it has always been a battle among their large fan base.
Another thing they have in common aside from being powerful actors, is that they were born on the same day -- 31st of December, many years ago...
Thanking God for a beautiful life, Femi wrote;
''Femi wrote; Mo young , Mo Smart , And I'm Sexy.... I lie? All Praises And Adoration To God Almighty As I Add Another Year! 😁.''
While Odunlade wrote;
''Happy birthday to you @odunomoadekola
Omo wa ni eee😁😁😁❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
Thank you all 🙌
In #THEVENDOR omoologo Voice on #Netflix I say thank you so much 🙏''
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, hosted the Serving Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, at the State House, Abuja.
Bakare, 64, from Ogun State, was Buhari’s running mate in the 2011 general election. On September 22, 2019, he declared that he would succeed Buhari as Nigeria’s next president.
Bakare had said: “Take it to the mountain top, if you have never heard it before, I am saying it to you this morning in the scheme of things, as far as politics of Nigeria is concerned, President Muhammadu Buhari is number 15, and I am number 16.”
However, no official reason was given for the meeting with the president today, and the cleric also did not speak to newsmen.
A 13-year-old girl sexually abused by her father from the age of nine died while giving birth to his child just before Christmas, according to police.
Luana Ketlan was rushed to hospital suffering from severe abdominal pains before doctors realised she was seven months pregnant, police in Brazil have said.
She was also diagnosed with acute anaemia and delivered a premature baby boy, who survived, after her labour was induced.
However the teenager's health deteriorated after the birth and tests revealed she had a number of complications including low blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver and water on the lungs.
Luana was being airlifted to a specialist hospital in Manaus 225 miles away (363km) when she died en route.
Police say her dad Tome Faba, 36, had been sexually abusing her for four years and issued a warrant for his arrest after he went on the run.
He was arrested in Coari a week later and has appeared in court charged with child abuse and manslaughter.
Faba's horrified family, who live on the outskirts of Coari, have claimed they were unaware of the abuse.
Coari police chief José Barradas said at a press conference: "The teenager lived with her parents in a rural area outside the city.
'"She did not realise, until two months ago when she began to feel pains in her abdomen, that she was five months pregnant.
"Luana claimed she was ordered to go fishing with her father and was allegedly raped by him while there."
A relative of Luana, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was an innocent and immature schoolgirl who kept the abuse a secret because she was traumatised.
It was only when the slightly-built girl's body started to change that relatives became suspicious that she could be pregnant and uncovered the truth.
When Luana was persuaded by an aunt to reveal who the dad of her baby was her own mum refused to believe her.
Chief Barradas said Faba threatened to kill Luana if she told anyone about the abuse.
He added: "Members of the family tried to step in and protect the child by alerting social services.
"They reported the abuse to police and a warrant was issued for Tome's arrest but before it could be executed Luana's health deteriorated and she died shortly after childbirth."
Anthony Joshua showed off his chiselled chest and very athletic physique on a Barbados beach during his post-Christmas break.
The boxer, 30, recently revealed his dream is to go for the fifth belt in 2020 after he won his rematch with Andy Ruiz earlier this month.
Now he's taken some time off from his tiring routine for a well-needed festive holiday on the Caribbean island.
Anthony, who is now determined to unify the heavyweight division, showed off his incredible abs during a game of catch with his pals in the sea. His bulging biceps were on full display and he looked in high spirits while enjoying his lavish break.
Twin brothers who starred in My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding have died in a suspected suicide pact amid battles with cancer and depression, family have revealed.
The bodies of Bill and Joe Smith were found together in a tree off an isolated country lane in Sevenoaks, Kent, at about 11.30am on Saturday.
It has emerged Joe, a dad-of-two, had recently been diagnosed with cancer, which had come as a devastating blow for his brother Bill, who had told him: "I’d never be able to live without you."
The 32-year-old twins' uncle found their bodies in a woodland, where they had played as youngsters, after they disappeared and worried family members found a note.
Katie Price has reportedly been banned from taking her children on a New Year's holiday by their dads.
The former glamour model, 41, wanted to take Bunny, Jett and Princess away on holiday to Thailand, but dads Kieran and Pete were not keen on the kids missing school for so long.
Friends of the dads have claimed they were worried they wouldn't be back in time for the 2020 school term, which is set to begin next week.
A source told The Sun : "Katie is desperate for a holiday and has given herself the first two weeks off work to go away and get a tan."
The trip comes days after the kids have been living it up at their dad's house over the Christmas holidays in a break away from their mum.
Katie admitted it was difficult not being able to have all of her children surrounding her at Xmas.
This year the mother-of-five only had one of her children - Harvey Price, 18 - at home while the other four stayed with their dads.
No less than 70 people suspected to have ties to Islamic State in nationwide raids have been arrested by the Turkish police early on Monday ahead of New Year celebrations, state media reports.
The arrest happened two months after the killing of the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Donald Trump of the United States of America announced on Oct. 27 that Islamic State leader Baghdadi had been killed in a raid by U.S. Special Forces in northwest Syria, near the Turkish border.
Two days later, Turkish police detained dozens of Islamic State suspects believed to have been plotting attacks targeting celebrations of Turkey’s Republic Day celebrations. The government has said it will have repatriated most of its Islamic State detainees to their home countries by the end of the year.
Nollywood actor and filmmaker, Olusola Michael has revealed that actors are also victims of sex for movie roles pressure.
Olusola in an interview with Sunday Tribune revealed that most actors have been hiding the abuses they’ve been subjected to by female producers.
According to him, this might be because people hardly believe that male actors also face sexual harassment from female actors and female producers. He also alleged that the new crop of actresses in the movie industry are only seeking fame and hookups.
“Most people hardly believe that male actors also face sexual harassment from female actors and female producers. That’s the reality most male actors have been hiding,” he said.
“There are cases of female producers insisting to go down with a male actor before involving such an actor in their projects. In the same vein, we have actresses who are always here and there as far as men matter is concerned,” he added.
A scientist in China who said he had created the world's first gene-edited babies has been jailed for three years.
He Jiankui was convicted of violating a government ban by carrying out his own experiments on human embryos, to try to give them protection against HIV.
He was globally condemned when he announced his experiments, and the birth of twin babies, last November.
Xinhua news agency said a third baby was also born at the same time, which had not previously been confirmed.
The local government in Guangdong province said it was keeping the babies under medical observation.
As well as the prison sentence, He was fined three million yuan ($430,000; £328,000).
The court also handed lower sentences to two men, Zhang Renli and Qin Jinzhou, for conspiring with He to carry out the experiments.
A court in Shenzhen said the men had acted "in the pursuit of personal fame and gain", and had seriously "disrupted medical order", Xinhua news agency reported.
"They've crossed the bottom line of ethics in scientific research and medical ethics," the court added.
Princess Beatrice looked happy and festive as she waved to well-wishers outside church on Christmas morning, joining the rest of the Royal Family for the annual service.
The Queen's grandaughter walked into St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge , George, Charlotte, Louis, Prince Charles , Princess Anne and other relatives - but she broke a big royal tradition in doing so.
She was accompanied by her millionaire property developer fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi - even though he's not officially a Royal yet.
Invites to the Royal Family's private Sandringham celebrations are reserved for members of The Firm, and partners normally have to wait until they are married to join in.
However Prince Harry broke this tradition in 2017 by inviting his bride-to-be Meghan Markle ahead of their wedding, paving the way for Beatrice to do the same with Edo.
Beatrice wore a smart tan coat with a green headband and black boots and gloves for the Christmas service, while Edo looked smart in a black suit with a grey tie.
Meghan joined the Royals for the 2017 three-day Norfolk celebration as her own family were miles away in America.
Although breaking traditional protocol, PR advisors insisted it was a necessary gesture to avoid ill feeling or, worse, a PR storm.
Kate Middleton and Mike Tindall on the other hand had to wait until they had their Welsh gold rings firmly on their fingers before being allowed to tuck into that royal turkey.
Speaking at the time, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk : "In 2010 Kate was not invited to do so after her engagement to William nor was Mike Tindall after his to the Princess Royal's daughter Zara Phillips and only spouses and close family are usually invited.
"However Harry and Meghan will be living together at Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace and her family are in the United States. The monarchy relies heavily on precedent and tradition but it also makes its own."
Nollywood actor, Richard Mofe-Damijo and his wife Jumobi are celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary. RMD took to his ig page to celebrate their special day.
He wrote;
"19 years and counting.... and you still have me laughing and loving every moment we share. My Abike. Thank you sweetie!"
In another post: "19 years nor be beans o.
Love you Abk for loving me through it all and making me a better man."
