A 31-year-old man, Babatunde Ishola alongside his father, Bayo, accused of stealing N75m belonging to a lotto company in Lagos State, have been remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre.

The defendants were arraigned on two counts of stealing and diversion of funds at the Yaba Magistrates’ Court in the state.

The duo allegedly took money from the company’s account and diverted it to their accounts and those of their cohorts who are now at large.

In a document signed by the police prosecutor, Mike Enejere, the first defendant, Babatunde, served as the account officer of the lotto company as the funds were diverted between 2020 and 2023.

Father who loses daughter to suicide in UK points fingers at ex-wife, daughter’s ex-boyfriend

The charge read in part, “That you, Ishola Mubarak Babatunde, Ishola Rasheed Bayo, and others now at large, between 2020 and 2023, at Lotgrand Limited, a registered lotto company in Lagos, within the Magisterial District of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit stealing. You thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

“That you, Ishola Mubarak Babatunde and others now at large, on the same date, place and within the Magisterial District of the aforementioned, did steal the sum of seventy-five million naira (N75,000,000), property of Lotgrand Limited, Lagos, while you served as the account officer, as you dishonestly and fraudulently diverted the said sum belonging to Lotgrand Limited, a registered lotto company, to your personal account and that of your cohorts.”

“You hereby committed an offence punishable under Section 287 (8) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.”

The duo were remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre pending the meeting of their bail conditions of N10m with two sureties in like sum.

The Magistrate, Mojisola Salau, adjourned the case till September 3, 2024, for further hearing.

A former Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, has said that the ex-goalkeeper Joseph Dosu ‘housed’ John Obi Mikel before he became famous.

Dosu was the only home based player to be included in Nigeria’s 1996 Olympic team, which won gold at the tournament.

However, his career was short-lived as a result of an automobile accident.

In a recent interview with Elegbete TV Sports, Oliseh said Dosu was one of the people who helped Mikel to attain glorious status.

He said: “Before Obi Mikel made it in football, Dosu Joseph housed Obi Mikel and fed him. I bet you all didn’t know this. He helped Obi Mikel become what he is today.

“In spite of all the help he gave Obi Mikel, please let’s ask ourselves: has Obi Mikel ever once gone to say hello to Dosu? And with all the millions you’ve made, help the guy (Dosu).”

Responding to the ex-Chelsea midfielder’s recent criticism of his coaching ability, Oliseh said “I think the kid needs help”.

Mikel had criticized Oliseh’s coaching ability on his podcast, calling him “the worst manager I played under.”

“He was bitter, jealous, and disrespectful to everyone, including the physio”, he added.

Speaking during the interview, Oliseh, who spent eight months as Super Eagles coach, after being appointed in 2015, said: “I think the kid needs help. You cannot achieve what you were not able to achieve on the pitch outside the pitch by talking on a podcast”.

While defending his coaching abilities, he mentioned his award for best coach in the Jupiler Pro League, voted by players and coaches.

He said: “I think the kid(Mikel) needs help, to be honest. There’s something I’ve not really shown much, I won the best coach for the first period of the Jupiler league, which is in the Dutch league.

“That was not voted by the press, that was voted by the players and the coaches of the league.

“I’m the only, and the first coloured man from Sub-Saharan Africa to ever win this title with a club like Fortuna Sittard, who had very average players who were able to qualify from the second division from last position to the first division, where they still are now.”

The Lagos State Government has reacted to outcry by residents of the state after flood took over roads and some residential areas.

The government apologised to residents and commuters over the flood that left millions stranded and many areas submerged. 

“I will start by saying to Lagosians, ‘We are sorry for the inconvenience caused due to nature’s cause yesterday morning’,” the Lagos State

Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources Tokunbo Wahab said on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. 

Motorists were in gridlock and commuters stranded as the torrential rains which lasted for hours halted economic activities in Nigeria’s commercial capital.

Many had called out the government for its lack of plan to curtail the floods especially after similar ones have happened in past years.

But the commissioner said the floods were not due to the government’s lack of planning.

“It’s not for failure to plan that we had what happened yesterday,” Tokunbo said. “No, it was nature taking its full course. And we are sorry for those whose lives were disrupted: they could not go to work, they could not go to their marketplaces, they couldn’t go to school.”

According to him, the Lagos State Government had prepared for the situation and had early in the day deployed a team to manage the floods.

“Emergency teams were on the ground since around 4 a.m. I’ve been up since around 4 a.m. yesterday,” the commissioner said.

He noted that the impacts of the floods were managed a few hours after and insisted that, “Nature will take its course. What we have to do is to mitigate the impact of nature on the environment. And that was what we did yesterday.”

Wednesday’s rainfall began early even before residents of the state woke up for the day’s work.

Many who had defied the downpour had left their homes hoping to get to work. But most of them were stuck at bus stops while trying to move around the city.

The Iyana-Oworo-Olopomeji area heading to the Third Mainland Bridge was among the areas heavily flooded, causing a gridlock that extended to Alapere in the coastal city.

In response, the Lagos State Government said it had deployed teams across the city to manage the floods and mitigate its impacts.

The NDLEA in Kano has suggested making drug testing mandatory for prospective couples as a step towards curbing drug abuse in the state.

The NDLEA Commander in Kano, Mr Abubakar Idris-Ahmad, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.

“The agency has introduced the Drug Intergrity Test Initiative, which is anticipated to metamorphose into an anti-drug culture for every Nigerian,” he said.

Idris-Ahmad said the drug test will serve as a tool for the prevention of drug abuse and early detection of individuals and couples status of drug use for appropriate treatment and rehabilitation.

He said the proposed law for the test became necessary to address the high rate of marriage breakdowns and reduce drug abuse among married couples in the state.

“Investigations have shown that one spouse often introduces the other to drugs after marriage and their children, hindering efforts to combat drug abuse.”

He called on the Kano State House of Assembly to enact a law requiring drug tests before marriage.

The commander appealed to women, youths, and the general public to shun drug abuse and work together to move the state and nation forward.

“The test initiative approach seeks to tackle drug abuse at its roots, promoting a healthier and more sustainable society,” Idris-Ahmad said.

The White House has debunked reports that President Joe Biden is planning to quit the US presidential election to hold in November.

White House spokeswoman denied the report on Wednesday, according to AFP.

Panic had gripped Democrats in the wake of last week’s TV debate, and internal rumblings about finding a replacement candidate before November’s election have been amplified by polls showing Trump extending his lead.

The New York Times and CNN reported that Biden, 81, had acknowledged to a key ally that his reelection bid was on the line if he failed to quickly reassure the public that he was still up to the job.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre rejected those reports outright, insisting Biden has no intention of withdrawing.

“The president is clear-eyed and he is staying in the race,” she told reporters.

In a call with campaign and party staffers, Biden insisted he was going nowhere.

“I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win because when Democrats unite, we will always win. Just as we beat Donald Trump in 2020, we’re going to beat him again in 2024,” he said, according to a source close to the campaign.

He repeated that message in an emergency meeting at the White House with Democratic governors, who pledged their continued support, attendees said afterward.

“As the president continued to tell us, and show us, that he was all in… we said that we would stand with him,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore, seen as a rising star and potential future presidential candidate, told reporters alongside Minnesota’s Tim Walz and Kathy Hochul of New York.

Walz said Biden was “fit to serve.”

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who also attended the meeting and is seen as one of the top picks to replace Biden if he should drop out, said on X that he “is our nominee.”

“He is in it to win it and I support him,” she added.

Biden has repeatedly admitted he performed poorly in the debate, and was blunt in a radio interview recorded Wednesday with Wisconsin’s Civic Media.

“I screwed up. I made a mistake. That’s 90 minutes on stage. Look at what I’ve done in 3.5 years,” he said

Yesterday, the Naira’s value in the parallel market dropped to N1,520 per dollar, down from N1,515 per dollar on Tuesday.

Similarly, the Naira depreciated to N1,512.61 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM fell to N1,512.61 per dollar from N1,509.45 per dollar on Tuesday, indicating N3.16 depreciation for the naira.

The volume of dollars traded (turnover) in the market fell by 98.4 percent to $114.91 million from $213.31 million traded on Tuesday.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rates widened to N7.39 per dollar from N5.55 per dollar on Tuesday.

Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has reacted after Aliko Dangote slammed the federal government over its decision to hike interest rate to 30 per cent.

Dangote had said such a move will chase away investors planning to invest in the country.

Obi had argued against the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee to increase the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to 22.5% and 45%, respectively.

He insisted it would further worsen the economic situation, as the increases would push interest rates on loans to above 30%, which, according to him, would make it very difficult for manufacturers and MSMEs to borrow and repay.

In a statement on Thursday via his X handle, Obi said that Africa’s foremost entrepreneur and respected Nigerian businessman, Aliko Dangote, stating that no jobs will be created with such a high interest rate is consistent with his own position over time.

The former Anambra State governor maintained that the country must urgently reverse the ugly trend.

According to him, it is seriously resulting in further job losses, discouraging production in the nation, and has continued to hinder Nigeria’s movement from consumption to production.

Obi’s words: “Africa’s foremost entrepreneur and respected Nigerian businessman, Aliko Dangote’s recent outcry against the current interest rate of 30% underscores my earlier cry in February on the negative effects of the monetary policy of the present Federal Government.

“According to Dangote, no jobs will be created with such a high interest rate because there will be no growth in the economy. This has been my consistent position over time.

“In February this year, I argued against the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee to increase the MPR to 22.5% and the CRR to 45%, which, in my opinion, would further worsen the economic situation, as the increases would push interest rates on loans to above 30%, making it very difficult for manufacturers and MSMEs to borrow and repay.

“If Dangote, the richest person in Africa and foremost industrialist, can complain, then imagine the negative impacts of these policies on MSMEs, who are the engine of economic growth.

“To further understand the harsh economic environment that this monetary policy has exacerbated, the recent report from the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) stated: ‘In 2023, 767 companies were shut down and 335 became distressed.

“The capacity utilization in the sector has declined to 56%; the interest rate is effectively above 30%; foreign exchange to import raw materials and production machines is scarce; inventory of unsold finished products has increased to N350 billion; and the real growth rate has dropped to 2.4%.

“These harsh economic policies, both on the monetary and fiscal sides, have continued to slow down our economic growth, drive multinationals out of the country, stifle our small businesses, and discourage the inflow of foreign direct investment.

“Again, I maintain that we must urgently reverse this ugly trend which is seriously resulting in further job losses, discouraging production in our nation, and has continued to hinder our movement from consumption to production.

“We need to reverse course and only initiate policies that can lead to growth and the birth of a new Nigeria.

“A New Nigeria is Possible.”

Shanté Adams

A 17-year-old girl, Shanté Adams has been confirmed dead after she was shot at her friend’s house in Voorbrug, Delft, South Africa.
 
Advocacy group, Women For Change, confirmed the incident in a statement on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.
 
According to the group, Shanté was hanging out with a group of friends when unknown men shot through the roof of the Wendy’s house where she was sitting on June 30, 2024.
 
Shanté was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene by the medical personnel.
 
Police have opened a murder case, and no one has been arrested as yet.

Shanté’s family told the media that she was the third family member who was innocently killed after her uncles, aged 18 and 28, were also shot and killed in the same road in 2019 and 2021.
 
Those previous murders are still unsolved, which leaves Shanté’s family without hope for any justice.
 
Shanté was a grade 10 student at the Voorburg Secondary School.

The Nigeria Police Force has announced its preparedness to initiate legal proceedings against Ubani Zion Chibuike, known as ZFancy, a popular prankster, for creating and disseminating provocative content on his social media channels.

The Force released a statement on Thursday morning, signed by its spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, alleging that the detained content creator had engaged in serious offences that pose a significant threat to national security, leading to his arrest and detention.

It was learned that ZFancy was arrested on Wednesday at an apartment in Wuye, Abuja.

“This arrest follows the circulation of accusatory videos on social media, in which ZFancy was alleged to have committed heinous crimes, including rape. These videos caused significant apprehension among social media users,” the police’s statement reads.

It continued: “Furthermore, ZFancy came out and claimed the videos were scripted and part of his attempt to regain the spotlight after a break. Regardless, such actions have serious implications and cannot be taken lightly. The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to maintaining public safety and ensuring that individuals are held accountable for actions that incite fear or disturb public peace.

“The Police therefore warns pranksters and content creators to be law-abiding and be conscious of pranks and contents that could pose threats to the public and jeopardise the general security of our country. We urge the public to remain calm as we proceed with the necessary legal actions in this case.”

ZFancy is not the first prankster arrested by the Nigerian police over his content. In 2023, the police also arrested and sued an Oyo State-based skit maker and prankster, Abdullahi Maruff Adisa, popularly known as Trinity Guy, for sexualising a minor in a viral skit video.

Trinity Guy was later granted bail after spending four weeks in prison custody.

The trial court had also ordered the remand of Isiaka Ahmed, 40, and his wife Rofiat Ahmed, 29, who are the parents of the minor.

The police charged Abdullahi, alongside the parents of the victim with conspiracy, sexual abuse and exploitation.

The Prosecution Counsel, Inspector Oluwakemi Arowosaye, earlier informed the court that Trinity Guy, was arrested for sexually abusing and exploiting a 10-year-old girl in the Kuola neighbourhood of Ibadan on December 17, 2022.

Two singers have sued popular American rapper Cardi B for alleged copyright infringement.

She was sued for allegedly using their song in her track “Enough (Miami)” without permission.

Recall that Cardi B scored top 10 hits with the release of “Enough (Miami)” in March.

According to the lawsuit documents obtained by TMZ, Miguel Aguilar, known as Kemika 1956, and Joshua Fraustro, also known as Sten Joddi, alleged that Cardi B and her producers used elements of their 2021 song “Greasy Frybread” in her track.

The plaintiffs claimed that their song was also featured as a promotional piece for the FX series “Reservation Dogs.”

The lawsuit also names Atlantic Records, Warner Music Group, and producers OG Parker and DJ SwanQo as co-defendants.

“Enough (Miami)” was released on March 15, 2024, about three years after “Greasy Frybread.”