A defence witness (DW4), Rep. Bamidele Salam in the anti-graft case against Dr Doyin Okupe, former Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Public Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has told the court that Okupe does not have a personal house in Abuja. Salam told Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, while testifying in the ongoing money laundering trial filed against Okupe and two others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The witness, who is currently a lawmaker representing Ede North, South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency of Osun, was the head of the media to Okupe. Salam, who said…
Author: Editor
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday said its panel had commenced sittings on 119 sexual and gender-based violence in seven states and Abuja. The NHRC Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu, made this known at the opening session of the Special Investigation Panel on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) organised by the commission in Ikeja, Lagos for South-West zone. Ojukwu said that the second round of sitting on SGBV in the wake of a resurging pandemic was unique, because of the astronomical rise in the case of SGBV. Acording to him, it has been described as a shadow pandemic by…
At least 14 people have died as a result of the breaking of the Nanda Devi glacier in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand, Chamoli district, police said on Monday. “The operation to rescue those trapped in the tunnel continues. “Attempts are being made to get into the tunnel with the help of construction equipment. So far, 15 people have been rescued and 14 bodies have been recovered from various locations,’’ police twitted. According to the Indian Ministry of Internal Affairs, a glacier descended on Sunday morning triggering to a rise in the water level in the Rishiganga River that washed away…
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected later on Monday to announce Washington’s return to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as an observer state. After the former U.S. President, Donald Trump withdrew the country for almost three years from the organisation, the Associated Press reported, citing anonymous sources. In 2018, the U.S. mission to the United Nations sent an official notification to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres of its pulling out from the UNHRC. Then U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that the organisation was hypocritical, biased against Israel and protected countries that abused human rights,…
Serena Williams dismissed Germany’s Laura Siegemund 6-1 6-1 on Monday in Melbourne at the Australian Open as she kicked off her chase of a record-equalling 24th grand slam win. Also, world number three seed Naomi Osaka cruised past Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 6-2. Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, who in 2019 defeated Williams in the US Open final, was back to her winning ways against Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu. She recorded a 6-2 4-6 6-3 victory, her eighth consecutive at a slam. The 20-year-old picked up where she left off, winning her first match in 15 months —- since the New York final.…
As a second historic impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump draws near, Senators are looking forward to get it over within one week, media reports said. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are still trying to get a deal on the organisation of the trial, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday, The Hill reported. “I just can’t imagine that it’s going to go beyond a week… I don’t think there’s a lot of enthusiasm for this thing from anybody,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer. “What we’re hearing is that the Dems, at least the rank-and-file…
A mother in Germany got a nasty surprise after letting her 7-year-old son play a game on her mobile phone. The boy splurged €2,753.91 ($3,314) on in-app purchases, according to a statement from the consumer advice centre in the state of Lower Saxony, released to mark ‘Safer Internet Day’. The child had been given permission to play the colourful online game and his mother had given him access to a voucher with a small amount of credit to spend. What she forgot was that her credit card was attached to the account. The statement said her son had continued to…
The Nigeria Police Command in Zamfara said it rescued five kidnapped victims, recovered 11 rustled cows and stolen vehicle in Kaura Namoda, Birnin-Magaji and Gusau local government areas of the state. This is contained in a statement issued in Gusau on Sunday by the Public Relations Officer of the command, SP Muhammad Shehu. “In its determination and commitment to rid the state of dwindling security challenges, the police command in Zamfara has made another breakthrough in three local government areas of Kaura Namoda, Birnin Magaji and Gusau. “On February 4, police operatives attached to Operation Puff Adder, led by Divisional…
Four lucky Nigerians are set to win N2 million each in the Stanel Youth Empowerment Masterclass organised by Stanel Group and set to hold in Awka on Friday. The lucky participants that include youths will be part of the empowerment programme initiated by Dr Stanley Uzochukwu, the Chairman of the group. A statement issued in Abuja on Monday by Mr David Abakpa, Media Aide to Uzochukwu, said that the empowerment programme tagged ‘Access More with Stanel’ is being co-sponsored by Access Bank and the Anambra State Government. The event which will hold at the Stanel Dome in Awka, Anambra will…
Researchers at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, have developed a new breed of maize, named ILOMAZ-1. Prof. Gbolagade Adesiji, a former Ag. Dean of the Faculty, announced the new development to newsmen in Ilorin on Monday. Adesiji told reporters that the research effort that produced the innovation was done in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan. The don said the grain has been approved for release and cultivation by farmers in the southern Guinea Savannah and rain forest ecologies of the South-Western part of Nigeria. Also speaking, the immediate past Dean of the Faculty,…