The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined the cause of the January 26, 2020, crash that killed NBA legend, Kobe Bryant.
The accident claimed the lives of others: Bryant’s daughter Gianna, Christina Mauser; Payton and Sarah Chester; John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli; and Zobayan.
The chopper took off after 9 a.m. from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, heading to Camarillo Airport for the second day of a weekend tournament at the Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks.
NTSB concluded that the helicopter pilot, Ara Zobayan, should not have flown into cloudy conditions.
Investigators found that his decision to fly resulted in his spatial disorientation and loss of control of the aircraft.
Zobayan’s “likely” self-induced pressure to get Bryant to his destination and inadequate review of safety management procedures by helicopter operator Island Express contributed to the crash, the board said.
NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said flying under visual flight rules through cloud cover was “legally prohibited”.
The board said Zobayan made a “poor decision” to fly at excessive speed in bad weather, and the helicopter was not in a controlled flight pattern when it crashed into the hillside near Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street at 9:45 a.m.
NTSB member, Michael Graham regretted that the pilot ignored his training, adding that as long as helicopters continue to fly into clouds while using visual flight rules “a certain percentage will not come out alive.”
Boko Haram terrorists on Tuesday reportedly abducted three officers of the Nigeria Customs Services during an attack on Geidam, a town in Yobe State near the Nigerian border with Niger Republic.
The insurgents had attacked the town late Tuesday evening.
Security sources told Premium Times that they took away the officers after driving into the town through the Geidam -Maine–Sorowa road.
The officers were stationed at a checkpoint on the road when the insurgents swooped on them, a source said.
The source revealed that the officers were posted from the zonal command of the Customs in Bauchi to Yobe at the border.
“What happened is very unfortunate because some of our personnel got the information of the attack and left the area but those three officers we learnt did not get the information early,”
“By the time they were trying to leave, the insurgents had closed in on them and took them away,” the source, a Customs officer, told our correspondent but asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to journalists.
The police spokesperson in the state, Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed the Tuesday attack on Geidam.
Mr Abdulkarim said no casualty was recorded in the attack but the terrorists burnt an ambulance of the General Hospital, Geidam, and looted a shop.
A new law decriminalising same-s.e.x s.e.x.ual relations in Angola has gone into effect on Wednesday.
According to reports, the new law overturned a colonial-era ban on homos.e.xual relations which described it as "vice against nature”.
Activist Jean-Luc Romero-Michel tweeted, "The law decriminalising homos.e.x.uality adopted in Angola in 2019 took effect today. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is now reprehensible and even punishable by prison."
He said it was “a great step forward” in the fight against state-sponsored discrimination against the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer and inters.e.x) community.
Reacting to this development, Nigerian novelist, Elnathan John, predicts that Nigeria would likely adopt the law decriminalising homosexuality.
He wrote on his twitter handle, "So apparently the law decriminalising homosexuality in Angola goes into effect today. For those who think Nigeria is not ready, there are African countries doing this. It is possible. No decent society should have laws punishing people for their s.e.x.u.a.l.i.t.y."
The changes were passed in January 2019 by Angola’s parliament, but was not signed into law by the country’s president until November 2020.
The new law also prohibits discrimination based upon a person’s s.e.x.u.a.l orientation.
lijah Odeh, the young barber who was arrested by the Kano State Hisbah Corps for allegedly giving his customers haircuts which allegedly offend the Islamic faith, has been released.
The senator representing Benue South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Abba Moro, confirmed his release in a statement on Wednesday.
Odeh, who hails from Adum East, in the Obi Local Government Area of Benue State, was first arrested on January 15, 2021 and rearrested on Wednesday, January 27 after two of his customers were caught with hairstyles deemed blasphemous to the Islamic religion.
According to Moro, the case was struck out on Wednesday by a magistrate at the Gyadi-Gyadi Magistrates’ Court, who had refused to grant him bail earlier.
The statement read, “I'm pleased to announce the release of Elijah Odeh, a young barber from Obi LGA arrested and detained in Kano State over hairstyle he designed on two of his customers. The case was struck out today," the statement reads.
"Like I said the other day, I won't allow any of my constituents, anywhere in the country, suffer unjustly as long as I remain their senator.
"Elijah was unjustly arrested and even denied bail but thank God he's now free.
"Many thanks to Governor Samuel Ortom and all those who, in one way or the other, lent their voices in the struggle to get the young man released. It's victory for all of us!”
Davido has set a record as he tops the most artist in Africa with over 19 million followers on Instagram.
While Wizkid and Burna Boy we’re flouting around 11 million and 6 million followers respectively, the “FEM” hitmaker is currently flouting around 19 million followers on Instagram.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed says it is unfair to criticise the Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, for granting amnesty to bandits who once terrorised the North-West state.
The minister, who spoke on AIT’s ‘Kakaaki’ show also said the Federal Government won’t stop governors from addressing the security challenges in ways peculiar to their respective states.
According to Mohammed, the nature of the problem differs from state to state and the governors as chief security officers of their various states were in the best position to deploy the best solutions to tackle the issues.
The Zamfara State governor granted amnesty to Auwalun Daudawa, a notorious bandit who led scores of his gang members to abduct over 300 schoolboys from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, last year.
The amnesty programme which involves deradicalisation of criminals and their reintegration into the society has been embraced by the Federal Government and some state governments.
For instance, the Federal Government granted amnesty to 600 repentant Boko Haram terrorists last year, a development that attracted nationwide outrage with civil society organisations censuring the government for pampering ruthless and bloodthirsty marauders who were supposed to be punished after committing unprintable crimes in Nigeria’s North-East States, especially in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, also of late, faulted the proposition of renowned Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi, who after meeting with some bandits in Zamfara, asked the government to grant them amnesty like was done for militants in the Niger Delta region.
But speaking on Wednesday, the minister said there was nothing wrong with granting amnesty to criminals if the purpose was to restore desired peace in affected areas.
Mohammed said, “When you are fighting insurgency, you use both kinetic and non-kinetic (means). Granting amnesty to notorious drug barons, notorious militants is not a new thing, it is not unique to Nigeria.
“You need to be in the shoes of the Zamfara State government or governor to appreciate what are the issues at stake (and) why he has done that. Don’t also forget that the state governors are their own chief security officers.
“When you are dealing with insurgency, kidnapping, banditry, you are interested in the bigger picture; how do we restore peace? If granting amnesty to one notorious kidnapper is going to give me peace in my state, I might take that decision. If granting amnesty to one repentant warlord would help me capture a thousand bandits, I might take that decision. Don’t just look at what is in the public place, understand the very high complexity of managing insurgency and banditry.”
The minister further said there were conditions attached to granting amnesty to criminals, adding that the state governors were in the best position to determine who meets these conditions and who should be granted amnesty.
“The governor of a state understands the dynamics of the state and takes decision but it will be unfair of us to criticise him (Matawalle) without knowing what he did and I want to believe the governors work together with the security forces in their own state, so, it is not as we think,” he added.
Former Wales goalkeeper Dai Davies has died at the age of 72.
He had been in a hospice after being diagnosed with cancer.
Davies was at one stage Wales' most-capped keeper, making 52 appearances for his country over a seven-year period.
His career spanned 17 years, starting at Swansea City, before moving on to Everton, Tranmere Rovers, Bangor City and Wrexham, where he ended his career in his second spell with the club.
"Dai was a great goalkeeper but also a wonderful human being with a beautiful soul," his wife Judy said in a family statement.
"Ever the gentleman Dai had time for everyone and was hugely respected and much loved by so many."
The statement, issued by Davies' former club Everton also said:
"It is with great sadness that we announce the death of William David Davies (better known as Dai) today, Wednesday 10 February 2021. He died peacefully at home.
"He was much loved by Judy, Bethan, Gareth, Rhian, Emma, Sally, Kate and his 12 grandchildren. He will live on in the memories we, and many others, hold dear.
"In his last few months, the kindness and support he, and us, have received from our friends and the staff at Nightingale House Hospice has been wonderful, and we thank them all.
"As we do the staff who cared for him at both The Maelor Hospital Wrexham and The Royal Hospital in Liverpool."
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested one Ms Tina Essi for the alleged murder of 49 years old Christian Akparie.
Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement said preliminary investigation revealed that on January 31, Essi, the landlady’s daughter and Akparie, the tenant, had a disagreement.
The conflict over electricity bill occurred at No 26, Orijamogun Street, Oreyo, Ikorodu, Lagos.
The face-off led to a fight with the Akparie suffering severe pains.
“Unfortunately, on Saturday 6th February 2021 at about 7 am, while the deceased was being rushed to the General Hospital, Ikorodu, he gave up the ghost”, Adejobu noted.
Police operatives attached to Ikorodu Division arrested the suspect.
Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu has ordered Issi’s transfer to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Panti.
Odumosu appealed to relatives of the deceased to remain calm and assured that justice will be done.
The Police boss advised residents to always manage their differences with maturity and seek police intervention where necessary.
MC Oluomo's son has carpet Lekki boys implying they are broke.
He says when a Lekki boy has N3m in his account, he says he is rich, but mean while an European boy like him will have N20m and would be scared he is broke.
Gunmen on Tuesday kidnapped Chidiebere Onyia, a journalist with the Nigerian Television Authority in Port Harcourt.
It was learnt that Ms. Onyia was abducted around the Woji railway area at about 8:00 pm local time after the reporter and one of her colleagues in programmes department were returning home from work.
A source at the NTA told People Gazette that “they were two in their private vehicle before the kidnappers overtook them and kidnapped only the reporter covering education and general beats, but left her colleague in the car.”
The reason for her kidnap could not be immediately confirmed.
The Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, has said a former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress
Mr Bello, who met with Mr Fani-Kayode on Tuesday, took credit for the ‘defection.’
Mr Fani-Kayode has not confirmed that he has joined the APC but admitted to meeting with Mr Bello and other APC leaders.
In a video shot during an APC event in Kogi and shared on Wednesday, Mr Bello said the defection is one of his achievements as the head of the youth mobilisation committee for the party’s membership registration and revalidation.
“Our brother and friend, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has joined our party in good faith. He is joining our party to come and add his own positive energy and make contributions to ensuring that APC is a party to beat.
“Remember, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is a foundation member of the All Progressives Congress,” the governor said.
Mr Bello could not be reached for further comment, especially the opposition to Mr Fani-Kayode’s defection from some APC leaders including the head of the party’s governors’ forum, Salihu Lukman.
However, the governor’s media aide, Mohammed Onogwu, said he was not aware of the video and requested that it should be sent to him; which was done. He has yet to respond at the time of this report.
While the ex-aviation minister in his statement did not specifically say he was planning to defect, many Nigerians had envisaged such a move.
A police inspector attached to the Owerri Area command police headquarters, simply identified as Umoh, has shot and killed himself.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at the heart of the state capital, Owerri.
A source at the Area Command headquarters told The Nation the officer shot himself after locking himself up in one of the rooms in the quarters. The development caused panic in the area.
According to the source, the inspector was a visiting cop who was at the area command on special duty.
The source said though the mobile officer complained of being sick nobody envisaged he was going to take his life.
The source said: “Mobile officers came back and one of them went to one of the rooms and locked it. The next minute, we heard a gunshot.
“When we approached the quarters, it was discovered that the door was locked. It was forced opened and the mobile policeman was found dead in the pool of his blood. He shot himself on his stomach.”
When contacted, a spokesperson for the police command, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the incident.
He however said Commissioner of Police, Nasiru Muhammed, had ordered an investigation into the incident.
A 27-year-old fisherman, Fatai Yussuf, has been remanded in prison custody for killing his six-week-old daughter.
Mr. Yussuf was accused of killing the baby by throwing her into a lagoon because she was sick.
The Chief Magistrate, P.E. Nwaka, gave the remand order at a Magistrates’ Court in Yaba, Lagos on Wednesday.
The accused is facing a count charge of murder, but the court did not take his plea.
The judge ordered that the defendant be kept at the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, pending legal advice from the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP).
He adjourned the case until February 23.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, ASP Thomas Nurudeen, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on December 27, 2020, at Ajanaku lagoon in Badagry, near Lagos.
According to him, the defendant’s wife had dropped their ailing six weeks old baby with him to look after, so that she could do her business.
He said the defendant had taken the baby and his first son to Ajanaku lagoon and threw her there in the presence of the boy who tried to stop him.
Mr. Nurudeen told the court that when his wife returned home, he lied to her and his brother that he had taken the deceased to hospital.
After discovering the defendant had thrown the baby into the lagoon, his elder brother reported the case to the police.
No fewer than 9,800 refugees from Borno, taking refuge in Cameroon’s Minawao camp, are to be repatriated to Nigeria.
Malam Isa Gusau, the Special Adviser on Public Relations and Strategy to Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno, made this known in a statement in Maiduguri today.
Gusau said that Mr. Zulum and officials of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development were already in Cameroon to facilitate the repatriation.
“Governor Zulum and officials of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development arrived in Marwa, Cameroon, to facilitate the repatriation of the refugees.
“The 9,800 Nigerians constitute the first batch of citizens who have shown willingness to be evacuated and resettled in Bama and Banki towns,” Gusau said.
Gusau said that a meeting on the tripartite (repatriation) agreement signed between Nigeria, Cameroon, and the UN High Commission for Refugees, would hold in Marwa in far north Cameroon.
Michelle Obama is heading to the supermarket in her latest Netflix project.
The former first lady, 57, has announced she is teaming up with the streaming service on a new children's cooking show titled Waffles + Mochi. Mrs. Obama will both star in and executive produce the show, which premieres on March 16.
According to Netflix, the series will follow two puppets named Waffles and Mochi who "blast off on global ingredient missions, traveling to kitchens, restaurants, farms and homes all over the world, cooking up recipes with everyday ingredients alongside renowned chefs, home cooks, kids and celebrities."
Mrs. Obama will play a supermarket owner who helps the pair on their journey, the streaming service said.
Announcing the new series on social media, Mrs. Obama wrote, "I'm excited for families and children everywhere to join us on our adventures as we discover, cook, and eat delicious food from all over the world."
In a second tweet, she wrote, "I'm also excited to work with @PHAnews to help kids build healthy habits and help families in need cook with fresh igenriedents together at home. I hope you'll join us by watching on March 16! #WafflesandMochi."
Fuji musician Pasuma has remembered late musician, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister 10 years after his death.
Taking to his Instagram page, he wrote;
''10years like yesterday but you left for good, The legacy you lay is what we are [Fuman] Still following Baba Baba Babaaaaa🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌Continue resting Baami Agbajelola Barrusatti. Happy posthumous birthday to Alhaji Doctor Chief Sikiru Ayinde Balogun Barrister, Today 9th of February 2021 Could’ve been your 73rd birthday today if you are still alive, but you still live in our heart forever (R.I.P)
A Federal High Court in Abuja has set aside the order it made on November 4, 2020 freezing accounts linked with some promoters of the #EndSARS protest that took place across the country last year.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in a ruling on Wednesday, also ordered all affected banks to “immediately defreeze the affected accounts.’
Justice Mohammed proceeded to strike out the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1384/2020 filed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and in respect of which the ex-parte order freezing the accounts for 180 days was made on November 4, 2020.
The court’s decision was informed by the withdrawal of all processes filed in relation to the suit by lawyers to all parties.
