US actor Jussie Smollett has been arrested in Chicago after being charged with filing a false police report.
The Empire star had said he was subjected to a homophobic and racist physical attack by two men in January.
Police suspect the 36-year-old actor paid two Nigerian brothers to stage the attack. They are both co-operating with the investigation, US media report.
His lawyers have not yet commented. On Wednesday, they said they would "mount an aggressive defence".
The Federal Government has ordered the closure of land borders for Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr Muhammad Babandede, said in a statement in Abuja today, that the closure order was announced by Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd).
He said, “Further to the Presidential and National Assembly elections taking place on February 23, 2019, the minister has directed the closure of all Nigeria’s land borders with effect from Friday, February 22 to Sunday, February 24, 2019.
“This is to restrict movements across the borders during the election days. The public is to take note and ensure compliance.”
Below is what PDP’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar said during a live broadcast on his social media pages today. Atiku during the broadcast encouraged Nigerians to go out and vote. Read…
“My message to you is simple, please come out and vote as this election is about your future and the future of our great nation.
“As you know this Saturday we have the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
“The reason we have elections is to allow us to have our voices heard on how we have been governed for the last four and who will govern us for the next four years.
“On March 28, 2015, we the people of Nigeria went to the polling unit only with our PVCs, yet we were able to remove an incumbent President from office, that made me be a very proud Nigerian and a very Democrat.
“I will be voting with mine on Saturday and I call on you all to please join me irrespective of who you will be voting for.
“God bless you and God, bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
News going round the internet has suggested Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo has resigned. This came after the Vice President was not seen at the security meeting the President held with some state governors. The VP has now taking to twitter to debunk the news calling it FAKE. The VP wrote;
“Misleading/FAKE news is on the rise especially in this season when Nigerians will make a choice about who will govern them for the next four years. I have not resigned! I remain committed to the service of the Nigerian people under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is barring a US-born former Islamic State propagandist from returning home, making the highly unusual case that she is not a US citizen.
Trump's refusal to admit 24-year-old Hoda Muthana comes just as he is pressing Europeans to repatriate their own Islamic State fighters and will likely face legal challenges, with US citizenship extremely difficult to lose.
Trump said on Twitter he has "instructed" Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the country" -- a break with usual US protocol not to comment on individuals' immigration issues.
"Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a US citizen and will not be admitted into the United States," Pompeo said in a terse statement.
"She does not have any legal basis, no valid US passport, no right to a passport, nor any visa to travel to the United States," he added.
The US generally grants citizenship to everyone born on its soil and the Alabama-raised Muthana is believed to have traveled to Syria on a US passport.
Blac Chyna and Soulja Boy are breaking up after dating for only a couple weeks… ending a relationship that will go down as one of the fastest flings in hip-hop history!
Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ the relationship started to fracture after Soulja and Chyna got into a huge argument about Tyga.
During the argument, They were told SB and BC started bickering about each other's true intentions in their relationship.
The reason Soulja and Chyna started dating in the first place was revenge on Tyga. Tyga is Chyna's ex, and he just had major beef with Soulja.
There are other factors involved in the breakup anyway. TMZ is told Soulja and Chyna just weren't on the same wavelength, with Soulja looking for group hangs and Chyna preferring the Netflix and chill vibe. As a result, BC felt SB wasn't ready to commit.
Kylie Jenner had her daughter Stormi's nursery decorated with butterflies because they're 'really important symbols' to her and Travis Scott.
The 21-year-old reality star and her Sicko Mode hitmaker boyfriend have a 'personal connection' with the winged insects, and so the couple decided to adorn the walls of their one-year-old daughter's nursery with butterfly-themed artwork in order to 'bring that energy' into the room.
Interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard - who worked on Kylie's home - said: 'Butterflies are really important symbols to Kylie and Travis so she wanted to bring that energy into Stormi's room. They have a very personal connection. I think it was because when they met there were butterflies around,' he said.
"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett faces a felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false report claiming two men attacked him last month, a Chicago Police Department spokesman tweeted Wednesday night.
Anthony Guglielmi said charges were approved by the Cook County State's Attorney Office and "Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest."
Filing a false police report is disorderly conduct, according to Illinois code. A class 4 felony is punishable by one to three years, the code says.
A bail hearing is anticipated for 1:30 p.m. CT Thursday, prosecutors said.
Smollett's transformation from victim to suspect in a reported attack that captured national headlines came on the same day that a high-ranking police source said Chicago detectives were working to obtain the actor's financial records.
A Cook County grand jury met Wednesday just weeks after the young actor reported being the victim of a hate crime on January 29.
Smollett's attorneys released a statement: "Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense."
After news of Chanel fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld's death broke, thoughts soon turned to the 85-year-old's cat.
Choupette, a Birman Lagerfeld adopted after cat-sitting for French model Baptiste Giabiconi, has lived a pampered life with the fashion icon.
Famously fed from silver dishes and subject to a luxurious grooming regime, fears surrounded what would become of the feline after her owner's passing.
But Choupette won't be out on the streets, with Lagerfeld previously confirming she would receive a slice of his estate, which Vogue estimates to be worth more than $380 million.
Philip Utz, editor in chief at Numero Homme, asked the designer about rumours Choupette was to inherit his fortune.
"Among others, yes," Lagerfeld said, without confirming exactly how much he had set aside for her care.
They went their separate ways back in August following a 22 month romance. And Kourtney Kardashian and Younes Bendjima proved they were friendly exes as they enjoyed a reunion in a coffee shop in Los Angeles on Tuesday, amid claims by TMZ they were 'handsy' and 'super flirty with one another.
In photos taken inside the shop, the reality star, 39, and her model ex, 25, were seen standing at the counter, looking relaxed in one another's company.
Kourtney flaunted her toned posterior in skinny jeans, paired with heels and a yellow jumper.
While Younes looked hunky in a slate t-shirt, tartan shirt and baggy chinos, teamed with trainers as he looked at his phone and stood next to the beauty.
The police in Ogun have arrested two suspected armed robbers said to be dispossessing two policewomen on their way to work.
The suspects Hafiz Omidokun, 29, and Peter Babalola, 27, were apprehended on Wednesday at Iyana-Ilogbo where they allegedly double-crossed the policewomen’s vehicle and held them hostage with a locally made pistol, said spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi in a statement on Wednesday evening.
According to Oyeyemi, the victims were in a vehicle belonging to one of them enroute Sango Ota from Ifo when the incident occurred.
“After collecting their bags and phones, the suspects were about to climb back their motorcycle when the two women officers engaged them in fighting and raised alarm.
“Sensing danger, the suspects fled but were chased by the policewomen assisted by passersby.
The suspects attempted to snatch another motorcycle when they realised they were about to be caught but were arrested there.
“A mob soon made to lynch them but the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Sango Oyedele Nasirudeen, a Chief Superintendent (CSP) who was earlier contacted, arrived the scene with a patrol team and rescued the suspects.
“A locally made pistol, an expended cartridge and a motorcycle were recovered from them. Police Commissioner Ahmed Illiyasu has ordered the transfer of the case to the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) for discreet investigation.“
The popular Owerri 'mad man' turned a political commentator, who is known for speaking on the political situation in Imo state, is a graduate.
According to media personnel, IfeanyiCy Njoku, the man who has mental challenge and speaks English fluently, graduated from a prestigious University in the United States of America. For real?
It was learnt that Dr Linus Okorie, a Leadership development coach, motivational speaker and candidate of the Young Progressive Party, YPP ran into him during his Imo gubernatorial campaign in Imo State.
It was through an interaction that Dr. Okorie discovered that the young man graduated from a reputable University in USA, whose family couldn't manage his mental challenges resulting to his unfortunate current state of health.
Dr. Okorie voluntarily offered to take necessary measures to rehabilitate him back to the saner clime.
A septuagenarian cleric, Rev. Isaac Newton-Wusu, has been arraigned before an Ogun State High Court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, for allegedly r-ping some female pupils of the Stephen Centre International School in Abeokuta.
Newton-Wusu, who is also the Director of Home School, was accused of assaulting and r-ping some pupils of the school between the ages of 12 and 16 years.
The Abeokuta centre of the school was established some decades ago to serve as a shelter and educational facility for children, who were either orphaned or had lost either of their parents to violence in Kaduna, Jos and insurgency in different parts of the North-East.
The cleric was arraigned on Thursday on five counts bordering on rape and indecent assault contrary to and punishable under sections 358, 359 and 360 of the Criminal Code, Vol. 1, Revised Law of Ogun State, 2016.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In the charge sheet obtained by a Punch correspondent, Newton-Wusu was alleged to have r-ped one of the victims on four different occasions sometime in 2010 at his office in Abeokuta.
The septuagenarian was also accused of assaulting some of the female pupils of the school by allegedly ripping off their underwear and forcefully having carnal knowledge of them.
However, when the case was mentioned at the High Court 6 in Abeokuta, the defence counsel, Samuel Nwaji, appealed to the court to grant the accused bail.
Nwaji pleaded that Newton-Wusu should be granted bail on his recognisance, promising that the accused would not flee but would face the trial.
He prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail on liberal terms.
In his counter argument, the state counsel, Solomon Mareh, insisted that the cleric was not who the defence counsel described him to be.
Mareh claimed that Newton-Wusu had a penchant for tampering with witnesses.
Justice Solomon Olugbemi, however, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N5m with two sureties in like sum, who must show evidence of three years’ tax payment.
She added that the sureties must be blood relations of the defendants and reside within the court’s jurisdiction.
Justice Olugbemi adjourned the case till April 4 for hearing of the preliminary objection to the suit.
Jordyn Woods has moved out of Kylie Jenner's house. The 21-year-old model has agreed to give her best friend some "space" following rumours she had an affair with Tristan Thompson, who has been dating her sister Khloe Kardashian for two years. Woods will be moving back in to her family home after living in her friend's guest house in recent years.
"Kylie is extremely upset about everything that is going on with Khloe and her best friend Jordyn. Jordyn is a sister to Kylie, and she's extremely shocked this could happen, as is the whole family," a source told Entertainment Tonight.
"Kylie is trying to get all the facts before she makes up her mind, but for now Jordyn isn't staying at Kylie's. Kylie needs her space and also wants to respect her sister Khloe. The future of their friendship hangs on the facts."
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar yesterday in Kaduna reiterated his resolve to privatise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), if elected President in Saturday’s polls.
Atiku, who spoke while interacting with stakeholders from the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State at the Trade Fair Complex, said his resolve to sell the national asset was informed by the fact that NNPC has since inception in 1963 failed to meet its expectation of refining crude oil for the country’s consumption.
He insisted that he would sell off the NNPC to provide more development.
His decision, Atiku added, was based on the fact that only very few were benefiting from the operations of the national asset at the expense of the Nigerian people.
