The family of slain Bauchi lawmaker, Hon. Musa Mante Baraza, has regained freedom after spending five days in kidnappers’ den.
Recall Mante’s wives, Rashida Musa Mante 40, Rahina Musa Mante 35 and his one- year old daughter Fausar Musa Mante were abducted by gunmen after killing him at his residence last Thursday in Dass Local Government Area of Bauchi.
Confirming their release to The Nation on telephone, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Bauchi Command, Ahmed Wakili said: ” They were rescued yesterday around 11pm by the police, no ransom was paid. Immediately they were rescued they were taken straight to teaching hospital in Bauchi.
“They were admitted there for medical attention and no suspects were arrested yet. I will give you further details later.”
The former-partner of singer George Michael has been arrested as part of a police probe into a string of hammer attacks on parked cars in London, according to reports.
Metropolitan Police officers reportedly arrested Fadi Fawaz in Bethnal Green, east London, on Friday, after a Mercedes, BMW and a Toyota were struck with a hammer.
The 47-year-old, who found the Wham! singer dead in his Oxfordshire home in 2016, was videoed wearing a tracksuit bottoms, a shellsuit and flip-flops, as he was arrested by officers, reports The Sun.
Police confirmed a man had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, possession of a knife and possession of Class A drugs, the paper reports.
The alleged arrest comes almost a year after Fawaz's family dismissed claims he is homeless and depressed in London and claim he is 'going to be OK'.
The hair-stylist was pictured pacing the street in Covent Garden in August last year amid claims he was sleeping rough after checking out of a £49-a-night Travelodge.
According to the Sun, Fawaz was seen wandering the streets of London earlier this week looking for accommodation prior to his alleged arrest.
Italy is to shut discos and clubs for three weeks again and make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in some areas at night after an increase in new Covid-19 cases.
The new rules mark the first reimposition of coronavirus restrictions as cases pick up across the country, especially among younger people.
New cases in the past week in Italy, the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus, were more than double those registered three weeks ago and the median age of people contracting the virus has dropped below 40, data showed.
The new rules will run until early September.
Masks will be required between 6pm and 6am in areas close to bars and pubs and where gatherings are more likely.
'We cannot nullify the sacrifices made in past months. Our priority must be that of opening schools in September, in full safety,' Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Facebook.
The Lagos State Government will today arraign the driver of a container-laden truck and its owner over the death of Ms Chidinma Ajoku, 27, and Chima Nnaekpe, 29, The Punch reports.
Chidinma and her colleague, Nnaekpe, who both worked in the Commercial Department, Hajj & Cargo Terminal at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria died on July 26, 2020, when a truck with number plate SGM 715 XA loaded with a 20ft container fell on a commercial bus they were on.
The two were returning from work and their danfo had stopped briefly to discharge some passengers at the Isolo area when tragedy struck. The remains of the two had since been buried.
But Chidinma’s mother, Mrs Chineze Ajoku, had vowed to get justice for her daughter and her colleague.
Mrs Ajoku, in a very touching video that went viral, decried the activities of container-laden trucks in the state while calling on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to check their operations and put in place necessary regulations to secure the lives of road users.
In continuation of Operation Sahel Sanity, the military offensive to wipe out armed bandits from North West, troops deployed at Forward Operation Base Sabon Birni LGA of Sokoto State on 15 August 2020 after a painstaking undercover operation successfully smashed a notorious illegal arms smuggling syndicate.
The syndicate specialize in massive arms supply to bandits in the North West from across the international borders.
Consequently, the trio of Alhaji Adamu Alhassan, Salisu Adamu and Abdullahi Sani (all Nigerien citizens) were intercepted by the eagle-eyed troops at Dantudu in Mailailai District of Sabon Birni LGA of Sokoto State with 6 AK 47 Rifles, 3 AK 47 Rifle magazines and 2,415 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammunition deceptively concealed in various parts of their vehicle.
A statement by Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko, Acting Director, Defence Nadia Operations said, ‘Preliminary investigation reveals that the dangerous consignment was meant for some bandits in Isah LGA of Sokoto State which could have led to loss of thousands of innocent lives but for the swift interception by the vigilant troops.
“However, one of the arrested arms supplier, Alhaji Adamu Alhassan who is diabetic and hypertensive experienced seizure and gave up the ghost while he was being rushed to the hospital.
“Nevertheless, investigation of the other 2 accomplices continues in order to track and arrest all those in the chain of the heinous activity in collaboration with other intelligence and security agencies from our neighboring countries, he said.
The Federal Government has said the ongoing evacuation of Nigerians from abroad as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic would end on Saturday, August 22, 2020.
The Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Boss Mustapha, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja.
Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said with the stoppage of evacuation, the nation’s airports would be given sufficient time to prepare for reopening.
He also disclosed that some countries, such as the United States of America, United Arab Emirates and Egypt, had expressed their readiness to repatriate convicted Nigerians, who had been pardoned and paroled.
Former first lady Michelle Obama launched a scathing attack on President Donald Trump on the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday.
The former first lady said Trump is a “wrong president” who displays an “utter lack of empathy.”
“Whenever we look to this White House for some leadership, or consolation, or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division and a total and utter lack of empathy.
“Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can: Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” the wife of former President Barack Obama said in a blunt rejection of the Trump administration.
“So if you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this: if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don’t make a change in this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it,” she added.
A 13-year-old girl has been r3ped and strangled to death in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, following which two men have been arrested.
Police said the incident took place on Friday, under the Isanagar police station limits. The post-mortem report has confirmed that the teenager was r3ped and was killed by strangulation, they said.
According to reports, the girl went to the family’s field on Friday afternoon but did not return home later that evening. Her parents and relatives started looking for her and near the sugarcane field, they noticed some marks that suggested she may have been dragged somewhere. Following these marks, the family members discovered the girl’s body, the police said.
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Dhaurahra, Abhishek Pratap along with Isanagar police officials conducted preliminary investigations, which led to the arrest of two men on Friday night.
“On the complaint by the deceased’s father, two youths identified as Sanjay and Santosh have been arrested,” DSP Pratap told news agency PTI.
An FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code besides the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the SC/ST Act, he said.
Pratap said reports that the girl was brutalised were not true. Earlier, there were reports about injuries to the girl’s eyes and tongue. However, the post-mortem conducted by a panel of doctors showed no such thing, he said.
“The post-mortem report stated the cause of the girl’s death was strangulation after r3pe,” he said.
A saucy couple were left red-faced after they were spotted having s3x during a Zoom meeting.
The shamed staff member was caught in the act after he forgot to turn his camera off after the virtual city council meeting in Rio de Janeiro.
The committee meeting, about the Rights of Children and Adolescents, was organised by the city council of the city of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil’s southeastern state of the same name.
But the other meeting attendants were not prepared for what they saw on their screens.
The staff member was seen sitting on a bed, n3ked, with a woman beside him.
The couple began to get frisky, completely unaware that colleagues were watching in horror.
The meeting was chaired by a member of the Socialism and Liberty Party, Leonel Brizola, who continued the discussion despite the extraordinary scenes being relayed through the video feed.
According to local newspaper Metropoles, the committee meeting was to discuss how to guarantee food for students in the municipal system during the pandemic.
The meeting kicked off at 10am, but one of the team had a different kind of business on his mind.
The man, who was allegedly not a councillor, began to have s3x in full view of the camera.
Unbelievably, the councillors involved noticed the scenes but decided to ignore it and continue to discuss the matter at hand.
In a statement, Brizola said the episode was an "involuntary indiscretion" and regretted that the actual topic of the meeting was not being highlighted in media reports.
Brizola said: "As soon as we noticed what was happening, we immediately asked the people controlling the audio and video of the participants to take it off the feed.
"Us councillors and other participants do not have any input in controlling or editing videos on Zoom.”
It is unclear if the person involved has been punished for the incident.
Law makers in Bolivia have approved a toxic bleach which has falsely been branded around as a miracle cure as a coronavirus treatment.
According to local media reports, the Latin American country's Legislative Assembly gave chlorine dioxide the green light despite reports of people being hospitalised and injured after taking it.
The approved bill allows the "production, commercialisation and supply of chlorine dioxide solution to prevent COVID-19 and as a treatment for sick patients".
Chlorine dioxide is usually used as a disinfectant or to whiten paper products but in recent years it has been hailed as a miracle cure which is able to treat most illness and health conditions by conspiracy theorists and alternative medicine advocates.
Calling it "Miracle Mineral Solution" or MMS the belief is claimed to be gaining influence in Latin America where countries are struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
There have been cases across Bolivia of people being hospitalised after taking chlorine dioxide, Business Insider reports.
Bolivia's own ministry of health has warned people not to take it and will prosecute anyone producing and selling it.
In June medical regulators in the country released a statement warning that chlorine dioxide "puts the health of the population that consumes or intends to do so at serious risk".
Nollywood makeup artiste, Kumbalee is dead. He died in a fatal accident just two weeks after celebrating his birthday.
With real names as Williams Anuoluwapo, Kumbalee had excitedly shared new photos of himself om instagram two weeks ago to celebrate hi birthday not knowing death was lurking around the corner.
His colleagues in the industry have taken to social media to express shock at his sudden demise.
Actress, Jumoke Odetola, in a tribute posted on her Instagram page, said she was shocked at the news of his demise. She wrote;
''DEATH IS WICKED!!!
Just yesterday, you told me how much you missed me
Just yesterday, we were together
Today, you are no more. What is the meaning of life after all? Vanity upon vanity.
The memories of you I have is all the positive vibes you exhume. You just know how to bring out the sweet part in me, heartbreaking I will never see that again.''
Ace rapper, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, has called on the Federal Government to reopen the entertainment industry.
The son of human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, made this known in a string of tweets on Monday shortly after the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, announced August 29 as the reopening date for international flights.
Like most public places, cinemas and other recreational outlets were shut in March to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
But while some public places like markets, banks, airports, amongst others have been allowed to reopen, cinemas, beaches and other places of relaxation remain closed.
Reacting, Falz wrote, “Restaurants have reopened, airlines have been operating, places of worship have also been permitted to reopen. Let’s not even start to talk about all the videos that have surfaced of political rallies happening, clearly neglecting all safety precautions.
“Right now, we don’t see anything but a government that contributes little or nothing to its creative sector and continues to attempt to stifle the sector in every way. Thousands of people have been left without any way to earn for several months.
“The entertainment industry must be allowed to gradually get back in business. Let’s start with cinemas reopening with all safety precautions in place.”
Also, a lawmaker representing Egbeda/Ona-Ara Federal Constituency in the House of Assembly, Akin Alabi, tweeted, “It’s no longer making sense that cinemas are still closed. They have assured the government and the public that they are ready to open at less than half capacity. Planes are flying full capacity. Parties are going on. Don’t let me mention rallies.”
A tweep, @Gregzetta, wrote, “Cinemas have demonstrated their ability to properly conduct business in a safe manner. It makes little sense keeping cinemas shut while local flights operate, restaurants are open for in-dinning and places of worship open. Open cinemas now.”
@martinskachi1 argued, “If you allow domestic flights to resume, there is absolutely no reason why cinemas shouldn’t. The operations are exact. Same queueing process, same boarding and ticketing process, same seating process, everything!”
Nigeria on Monday confirmed 417 fresh COVID-19 cases as the country announced the date for the resumption of international flights.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed the new infections in a tweet on its official handle.
The new infections were reported in 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, taking Nigeria’s total COVID-19 pandemic figure to 49,485.
The NCDC data showed that Lagos state, the COVID-19 hotbed in the West African country had 207 new cases – the highest for the day; Kaduna – 44; Ondo – 38; Abia-28; Anambra – 21 and Plateau – 20.
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, says his administration is installing closed-circuit televisions in the southern part of the state as part of efforts to strengthen security forces and restore calm in the crisis-torn communities.
The governor made this known in a statement after meeting with the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Revd. Supo Ayokunle, and other CAN leaders in Kaduna yesterday.
The statement titled, ‘Let Us Unite to Build a Constituency for Peace in Kaduna State’ partly read, “Since last month, the state government and security agencies have been working to contain an upsurge in violence and needless killings in parts of the state. We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives in a totally unnecessary frenzy of communal attacks, reprisals and revenge.
“While we mourn the dead, our immediate focus remains to stop the cycle of attacks and reprisals. We remain committed to ending the legacy of violence that has blighted the state for 40 years, needlessly taken many lives and curtailed the life chances of others.
“We will continue to support the security agencies to restore calm in the affected communities. Over the last five years, we have invested heavily in the security sector. We have consistently provided vehicles and other logistics support to the security agencies that are deployed in the state.
“We are also addressing the technology side of security, through the procurement of drones, the award of contracts to install CCTVs in phases in Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria metropolitan areas, build a command and control centre and establish a forensic laboratory.”
Canada’s finance minister Bill Morneau has resigned.
He announced his resignation Monday, on the heels of an ethics scandal and amid a reported split with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over pandemic spending.
Morneau, who has held the post since 2015, told a news conference that he met with Trudeau to inform him that he would not run in the next election, and that a new finance minister with a long-term outlook was needed.
“As we move to the next phase of our fight against the pandemic and pave the road towards economic recovery, we must recognize that this process will take many years, it’s the right time for a new finance minister to deliver on that plan for the long and challenging road ahead,” Morneau said.
“That’s why I’ll be stepping down as finance minister, and as member of Parliament,” he stated.
Morneau said he would now run for the job of secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
For the past week, Canadian media have reported on a purported rift emerging between Morneau and Trudeau on how to reboot the Canadian economy weakened by the new coronavirus pandemic, as the government budget deficit soared to more than Can$340 billion (US$257 billion).
Wife of Kaduna State Governor, Hajiya Ummi El-rufai, yesterday appealed to the Kaduna State House of Assembly, KSHA, to establish a law that would ensure the castration of r.a.p.i.sts in the state.
She raised alarm that there were three to five cases of r.a.p.e from all parts of Kaduna on a daily basis.
Hajiya Ummi said an average of five r.a.p.e cases, especially of minors were reported daily in Kaduna, saying severe penalty for rapists in the state penal code would serve as deterrent to others.
She visited the KSHA ahead of the public hearing on bill for a law to amend the Kaduna state Penal Code 2017 after the bill scaled through the second reading.
The bill which sought to amend section 258 of the principal law was to be amended so as to make it more effective in protecting the citizens of the state particularly women and children against rape and other s.e.x.ual violence.
“I am here to see how our respected lawmakers can expedite speedy passage of the amended bill on sexual violence. It is happening to our children and women every day. Our children and women need to be protected and that is why I’m seeking for the speedy passage of the bill,” she said.
“Already, the Governor is doing a lot to make Kaduna a save place for all citizens irrespective of their gender and with all hands on deck, that is possible.
“We have three to five cases of r.a.p.e from all parts of Kaduna on a daily basis. I am saying this because I am directly involved having been working closely with groups of individuals working on s.e.xual violence here in Kaduna.
“So, I believe, if we have this bill passed into law, our children and women in Kaduna will be safer than what we are seeing now. This is why we are calling on our lawmakers if possible, to ensure hash penalties include castration and death sentence to serve as deterrent to intending and existing r.a.p.ists,” she said.
Speaker of the KSHA, Hon. Yusuf Zailani said the increase in reported cases of violence against children and women, was alarming.
He promised to give the bill a speedy passage into law by next week after the public hearing.
He said this was the first time a wife of a sitting governor would be interested in such an important bill.
“This is the first time we will be receiving a sitting governor’s wife coming to the Assembly to make a case of this magnitude. A case on rape for that matter.
“With evidence, you have shown to us in the presence of my honourable members, my body is weak. This is sad. This is terrible. We talk about our state first before Nigeria as a whole. We are in trouble. We need to move forward.
“I know the committee in charge are very serious people and will not compromise. I will not tell you what we are going to input into the bill but in the end, everybody will be happy and smile. By next week, we are going to pass the bill into law,” he said.
Singer and songwriter, Simi has questioned while formal education is still important as many who go to school come out, forget what they were taught and “end up doing something else with their lives.”
According to her, the “educational system is so sh**.” She added that people have “potential and talent” but do not tap them because they spend many years in school learning something they don’t care about.
”What’s the point then? Who did this to us?” she added.
Nigerian music star, Wizkid, has ‘smiled’ his way into the ears of Barack Obama, making the former U.S. president’s 2020 summer playlist.
Wizkid, whose real name is Ayodeji Balogun, is at No. 15 with his new single “Smile”, featuring American Grammy winner, H.E.R.
Obama shared the selection with his followers on Twitter on Monday evening, in continuation of an annual tradition.
“Over the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time listening to music with my family.
“I wanted to share some of my favorites from the summer, including songs from some of the artistes at this week’s @DemConvention. Hope you enjoy it,” he wrote.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that upcoming Nigerian-American rapper, Chika, also featured in the list with her uplifting single, “Crown”.
The list features 53 songs from a range of genres, including reggae, hip-hop, country, pop and rock.
American RnB superstar, Beyoncé, also made the list with “Already” from her new visual album, “Black is King.”
Others in the collection are Rihanna, Bob Marley, OutKast, Nas, J. Cole, Nina Simone and Frank Ocean among others.
Eilish, Leon Bridges, The Chicks, Common and Jennifer Hudson, who also made the list, were scheduled to perform at the ongoing National Convention of the Democratic Party.
Malam Wada Maida, Chairman, Board of Directors of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), is dead.
A member of his family, Lawal Sale Maida, said Maida died in Abuja on Monday. He was aged 70.
He was not ill when he died Monday night. He went to the office as usual in Abuja after returning from Katsina. He signed checks for his newspaper People’s Daily and didn’t betray any sign of illness.
He just slumped on his chair, while at home at about 8pm.
His family thought he was sleeping. By the time they found out otherwise, it was already too late. He was rushed to the hospital, but doctors certified him dead on arrival.
On Sunday, he travelled to Katsina to see his family and returned to Abuja early on Monday.
Maida, former Editor-in-Chief and later Managing Director of NAN, was one of the pioneer editors of the agency and served as various times as its Regional Editor in Kaduna, Political Editor and London Correspondent.
He was Chief Press Secretary to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari when he became military Head of State on 1 January 1984.
