A chief magistrates’ court in Ikoridu, Lagos, on Friday, remanded a 31-year-old unemployed man, Lawal Rasaq, who allegedly abducted and defiled a teenager.

The defendant, whose address was not provided, faces a two-count charge of abduction and defilement.

The prosecutor, Olawunmi Osibanjo, told the court that Mr Rasaq committed the offences from July 29 to August 8 on Ireshe Road, Alagbonmeta, Ikorodu.

Ms Osibanjo said Mr Rasaq abducted the 17-year-old to his house and had canal knowledge of her, in contravention of sections 268 and 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The chief magistrate, A.B. Olagbegi-Adelabu, who did not take the defendant’s plea, ordered that he should be remanded at the Kirikiri custodial facility.

She ordered that the case file be sent to the state director of public prosecutions for advice.

Ms Olagbegi-Adelabu adjourned the case until September 7 for mention.

The Police in Jigawa have arrested a 50-year-old man for alleged murder of his four-year-old stepson in Roni Local Government Area of the state.

Police spokesman in the state, DSP Lawan Shiisu, said in Dutse on Friday that the suspect was arrested on August 8.

Mr Shiisu said the suspect was arrested at Unguwar Dinya village after the police received a report about the incident on the same date at about 9:00 p.m.

He explained that upon receipt of the report, the police rushed to the scene and took the victim to General Hospital Kazaure for medical attention, where he later died while receiving treatment.

“On Aug. 8, at about 9 p.m, an ugly information was received from Unguwar Dinya area of Roni LGA of Jigawa that on the same date at about 7:42 p.m., one Salmanu Umar aged 4 of Unguwar Dinya village was seen covered with blood and with a deep cut on his throat done by unknown person.

“On receiving the report, a team of detectives led by Divisional Police Officer, Roni Division, rushed to the scene of crime and conveyed the victim to General Hospital Kazaure for treatment who later died while receiving treatment,” he said.

The spokesman said that investigation led to the arrest of the suspect, husband of the deceased mother.

Mr Shiisu said that when interrogated, the suspect confessed to committing the crime.

He said that the suspect further revealed that he developed hatred for the deceased due to the fact that he could not afford to be feeding someone else’s child.

Mr Shiisu said the suspect also confessed that he attempted to kill the child for the first time, but the attempt was foiled by the deceased’s mother who reported him to her in-law.

He said the suspect had already been arraigned in court and would face the full wrath of the law.

Governor Seyi Makinde Oyo has approved the immediate release of car loans for primary school teachers across all zones in the state.

This is contained in a statement by the coordinating director of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Jacob Dairo.

He said the loan is coming as a palliative to the teachers.

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Salihu Abdulwaheed, expressed readiness to work with all stakeholders in the education sector.

Governor Ademola Adeleke has appointed Oyetunji Rasaki Abefe as his special assistant overseeing cars and drivers for Government House, also known as the Government House Pool.

The Government House Pool is a term referring to the transport unit of Government House.

The section deals with drivers and vehicles within the Government House.

The office, a creation of the previous governments of the All Progressive Congress(APC), has been in existence for the past twelve or so years.

Mr Abefe was appointed on August 7, according to an appointment letter that circulated on social media on Friday, sparking an online frenzy by many who thought the pool in Government House Pool was referring to a swimming pool.

Members of the public are aware that there are hundreds of drivers and vehicles (both old and new) in the Government House.

In the interest of sustainable management of those assets, an SSA is appointed to coordinate and even oversee activities and operations in that sector.

We also wish to note and clarify another misrepresentation on the appointment of an SSA for Oranmiyan town.

Again, the previous APC Government created a diaspora estate programme involving a new settlement named Oranmiyan new town.

There is actually a new town development body.

The newly appointed SSA is charged with ensuring the achievement of government goals in those areas, especially ensuring the protection of the investment of Diasporans.

The two appointments are therefore necessary and required. They were never frivolous jobs for the boys, as some partisan critics have termed it.

While those offices were inherited, it is also worthy of note to state that Governor Adeleke has demonstrated a strong will to retain what is good and jettison what is bad. In the two cases under consideration, the two offices are necessary to protect and effectively manage public and private assets.

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz’s struggles with faulty fuel pumps have continued, with Chinese regulators announcing the recall of 231,249 Mercedes-Benz vehicles on Friday.

The recall in China followed a similar major vehicle recall in the U.S. of up to 143,000 vehicles in June.

Chinese regulators said the fuel pumps of the affected vehicles could pose a safety risk in the event of a failure.

A United Kingdom nurse identified as Lucy Letby has been found guilty of murdering seven newborns and attempting to kill six more babies.

According to the police department responsible for the case, the British nurse was found guilty on Friday after various appearances before the Manchester Crown Court.

Ms Letby, 33, was first charged in 2020 after a criminal investigation by the Cheshire police that focused on the deaths of 17 babies from March 2015 to July 2016.

She was later charged with the murder of seven infants and attempt to kill 10 others while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital in the city of Chester in northwestern England between June 2015 and June 2016.

During the trial, members of the Jury heard distressing evidence that the nurse had deliberately harmed the babies in her care by poisoning them and injecting them with milk, air, and insulin.

However, during her trial, Ms Letby argued that she was innocent and denied all accusations. She claimed she was a scapegoat for the hospital’s failings.

Seventy officers and civilian staff investigated the case, which had haunted England since a string of deaths between June 2015 and June 2016 in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital, where the nurse worked.

The burial arrangement for Kosisochukwu Nkem-Owoh, the daughter of veteran Nollywood actor, Nkem Owoh, has been announced.

News surfaced in June that Kosisochukwu, 24, had passed away after battling liver cancer.

The burial arrangement for Kosisochukwu as announced by the family on Friday showed that she would be buried on August 24.

It read: “The family of Nkem Owoh (Osuofiasn) of Umunevo Owonta of Umungwu clan in Amagu village, Udi town, Udi local government, Enugu State regrets to announce the death of our daughter. The deceased will be buried on August 24.”

The Murtala Muhammed Airport Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted male donkey genitals and dried shark fins worth N1.23bn at the Lagos Airport en route to China and Hong Kong respectively.

The Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Muhammed Yusuf, disclosed this while showing some of the seized contraband to journalists at the commandon Thursday, August 17.

Yusuf explained that the male donkey genitals were harvested from Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, by a Chinese.

Donkeys are under endangered species and they came from Abakaliki and we begin to wonder why it came from that side.

We have a lot of donkeys in Abakaliki and now that they are endangered species, if these things continue to go out like this, you can imagine the roles they play in the ecosystem. As it is, the Chinese man has been arrested and the investigation is ongoing.”

On the shark fins, Yusuf said investigations were ongoing to know the source of the contrabands stressing that there are not enough sharks in Nigerian waters.

The culprits have been apprehended and investigation is ongoing to know where these things come from. I know that in Nigeria waters we don’t have enough sharks that are up to this.

President Bola Tinubu has tasked Nigerians to endure the sufferings emanating from the removal of fuel subsidy as a price that must be paid for a better tomorrow.

“These pains are the pains of birth, birth of a new nation. We know the removal of fuel subsidy has created some pains and that is why palliatives are being put in place.

“We can endure this for a moment; what we are going through today is for a better tomorrow. Nations are great because citizens have hope that tomorrow will be better than today,” he added.

The president was speaking in Abuja on Thursday at the public presentation of the book “Brutally Frank,” an autobiography of elder statesman, Edwin Clark.

Represented by George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Tinubu also called on traditional rulers and politicians to sustain the nation’s unity.

The president said all hands must be on deck to realise a great nation, and called for everyone to manage Nigeria’s diversity for the unity of the country.

“We are greater when we are introduced as Nigerians than when we are introduced on the basis of ethnicity.

“This country is structurally complex and structurally difficult but can never be difficult to manage.

“Our plurality, our diverse cultures, languages, religion, constitute the source of our strength.

“Since we came in, we have demonstrated enough for the management of this diversity through appointment of persons, citizens into key, strategic positions,” Mr Tinubu said.

The president, who noted that the country was going through a difficult phase, assured Nigerians that a new nation would soon be birthed.

The President described Mr Clark as a great man and an extraordinary citizen with a “household name throughout the country.”

He noted that “Clark is a part of the Nigerian legion, the Iroko of the South-South and the Eagle of the nation.”

Also speaking, former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, chairman of the occasion, said the presence of dignitaries at the occasion was deserving to a man such as Mr Clark.

“It is deserving that at his ripe age of 96 years, the Nigerian nation could gather in this befitting manner to honour him and pay deserving respects to his towering legacy of national service.

“My relationship with the Clark family, unknown to many, has been enduring over the years and has been expressed in deep bonds of friendship and mutual respect.

“The period in which Nigeria emerged from its most challenging political turmoil was one that needed great dexterity and empathy in the arduous task of reconciliation, rehabilitation, reintegration, reconstruction and rebuilding our bonds of oneness.”

While recalling the days of how Mr Clark was chosen as Federal Commissioner, Mr Gowon said that, “there was no better Nigerian for the job of Information Minister at that time.

“That was when we needed to show our warmness and empathy for one another as a people.

“The need to fill in the void created by Chief Anthony Enahoro’s exit was what gave Clark the job of Minister in the government which I headed.

“He became my confidant and the voice of the government, fearlessly defending the government and projecting its image. I found comfort in discussing government and other issues with Clark.”

Similarly, former President Goodluck Jonathan described the book as a good political-history book that most Nigerians would be desirous of reading, adding that “It will be useful to our young people.”

Mr Jonathan said that Mr Clark was a person whose vision for Nigeria was “the security of this country and for the unity of this country.

“Clark is one of those few Nigerians that his name should be written in letters of gold in our political-history book.”

Also speaking, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the author of the book was a true elder statesman and a phenomenal patriot.

“Clark has remained “Brutally Frank” in his submissions over the years. I am therefore not surprised that his autobiography is titled “Brutally Frank.”

“I have no doubt that the wisdom and perspectives shared in this great book, will offer us a chance to reflect on the journey we’ve undertaken as a society and to glean valuable lessons that can guide our future endeavours.”

In his vote of thanks, the author of the book, Mr Clark called for the restructuring of Nigeria.

The event had in attendance traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; the Amanayabo of Town-Brass, Alfred Ditte-Spiff; the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, serving and former governors and serving and non-serving senators.

Super Falcons’ Osinachi Ohale has expressed her gratitude and that of her teammates to the federal government for rewarding them with $10,000 per player, following their outing at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“We are grateful for this unexpected gesture because for several years we’ve been winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) and I can’t remember us being honoured or rewarded this way,” Ohale told BBC Sport Africa.

Following their exit from the tournament after losing to England’s Three Lionesses on penalties in the round of 16, some members of the Falcons’ contingent were hosted by Nigeria’s first lady Oluremi Tinubu, who praised their exploits.

During the visit in Abuja, Mrs Tinubu announced the reward for members of the women’s World Cup squad, which came as a shock to some of them, considering the financial difficulties they have faced in recent years.

“We appreciate the federal government for their support and encouragement. And we also thank Nigerians for the remarkable support during the tournament,” the defender added.

“Nigeria is a country where the public appreciate good things,” she noted.

“When you do something good, they will show appreciation, and when you don’t do well, they will still show it – they will forget the good things you’ve been doing, so that’s how it is.

“I’m just happy we were able to put a smile on their faces,” the 31-year-old said about the reward.

The FCT Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kabir Tsakuwa, says the agency will continue to clampdown on all sources of illicit substances in the territory.

In an interview on Friday in Abuja, Mr Tsakuwa said the command had intensified raids of drug joints in the capital and made several arrests.

Mr Tsakuwa also said that the command and other security agencies have been engaging in joint operations to get rid of shanties, including black spots notorious for drug dealing in the FCT.

He added that the raids would continue until drug merchants are pushed out of business in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Mr Tsakuwa said this was part of the strategic plan of the agency on drug supply and drug demand reduction.

According to him, a sensitisation programme targeting work places, schools, government agencies, Mosques, Churches and public places is also going on.

This, he said, was to sensitise the youths on the dangers of illicit drug consumption.

He added that the agency has inaugurated the War Against Drug Abuse in collaborating with communities and traditional rulers to reach out to more youths across the territory.

To also intensify this fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking, we will collaborate with the media, especially radio and television, for discussion programmes centered on consequences of drug abuse.

The news comes after Jackson publicly shamed Palmer, 29, in July for wearing a sexy outfit to an Usher concert.

The “Nope” star who welcomed her first child with her now-ex in February, was seen dancing in a now-viral video while the R&B singer serenaded her during his “My Way” residency in Las Vegas.

Jackson sparked outrage when he subsequently took to Twitter to offer his opinion on his then-girlfriend’s sheer black ensemble.

About 27 people have been killed and 106 wounded in clashes between rival armed factions in the capital of conflict-ridden Libya, according to a medical authority.

Some 230 families were evacuated from the area where the clashes occurred, mainly in the eastern and south-eastern neighbourhoods of Tripoli, Libya’s Emergency Medicine and Support Centre said.

The authority did not specify how many civilians were among the killed.

The clashes erupted on a Monday night between the 444th Brigade, backed by the Interior Ministry in Tripoli, and the rival Deterrence Force after the latter arrested the 444th Brigade’s chief commander Mahmoud Hamzah.

According to sources in the Libyan capital, calm prevailed on Wednesday after Hamza was reportedly handed over to a neutral party.

Flights to and from nearby Mitiga airport were suspended on Tuesday amid the violence, and classes at the University of Tripoli were suspended.

They are to resume again on Saturday, the university announced.

Libya has been in turmoil since the overthrow of dictator Moamer Gaddafi in 2011.

Two governments are currently vying for power.

The Enugu State Police Command confirmed on Tuesday the arrest of three people involved in the viral video of a young lady being beaten, stripped, and having her hair forcefully shaved.

This was made known in a statement signed by the State Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, and shared on the command’s X (formerly Twitter) handle.

The statement said,

The Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmed Ammani, has ordered the State CID Enugu to thoroughly investigate and prosecute those found culpable, to serve as a deterrent to anyone who may want to perpetrate such an act under the guise of a prank.

The Enugu State Police Command said it has arrested four people involved in different offenses of conspiracy, housebreaking, vandalism, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

This was made known in a statement signed by the State Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe and shared on the command’s X (formerly Twitter) handle.

The statement said,

“Police Operatives of Enugu State have arrested a total of four (4) male victims involved in different offenses of conspiracy, housebreaking, vandalism, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

“The arrest and other credible information-guided operations led to the rescue of five (5) abducted individuals and the recovery of three (3) firearms with two (2) live cartridges, one mini truck, a laptop, assorted phones, household items and goods, among other incriminating exhibits.

“Accordingly, Police Special Forces and Operatives serving in Igbo-Eze North Police Division of the Command, in synergy with Neighbourhood Watch Group personnel, raided suspected IPOB/ESN subversive criminal hideouts, at Nkpamte community in Igbo-Eze North LGA.

One (1) locally fabricated double-barreled pistol loaded with one (1) live cartridge, components of a pump-action gun, one (1) Medion laptop, eleven (11) assorted mobile phones, and several phone charges.

“Similarly, Police officers serving in the Udenu Area Command of the State Command, working with security personnel (names withheld), on August 8, 2023, at about 3.30 pm, arrested one Chinemerem Ugwueze (male), aged 23, of Imilike-Enu in Udenu Local Government Area, and recovered in his unlawful possession, one (1) locally made double-barreled pistol. The case is undergoing discreet investigation at the Firearm Section of the State CID, Enugu.

“Also, acting on a distress call, Police Operatives serving in the 9th Mile Police Division of the Command, together with Troops of the Nigerian Army, on August 7, 2023, at about 5 pm, rescued five (5) male victims in a forest at Umulumgbe in Udi LGA, who were alleged to have been kidnapped on their way back from a traditional marriage at Ukehe community in Igbo-Etiti LGA.

The victims have reunited with their families, while an intense manhunt operation is ongoing to fish out the fleeing suspects.

Police Operatives also recovered a locally fabricated pistol loaded with a live cartridge, from fleeing suspects that attempted to abduct their male victim to an unknown destination while three others Igwe Solomon, aged 25, Ikenna Aniekwe, aged 34, and Obasi Onyedika, aged 32, were arrested for conspiracy, vandalism, and housebreaking, following the receipt of complaints and credible information.

The Police disclosed that the suspects will be arraigned in court upon completion of the investigations.

One person has been confirmed dead while three others are missing as Seplat Energy Oil rig collapses on Tuesday near Ovhor in Delta.

The oil company confirmed the incident in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brown shared on their X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday.

Seplat noted that 92 of the 96-member crew were accounted for and safe.

The statement said, “Seplat Energy regrets to announce a serious incident on the Depthwise swamp drilling rig ‘Majestic’ in the early hours of this morning. Seplat as the operator of the SEPLAT/NNPCL joint venture contracted the rig. It was in-transit to its planned drilling location at Ovhor in Delta State when it capsized.

Our emergency response and rescue efforts working alongside the rig owner and the authorities have been activated and are onsite. Our utmost priority will continue to be the safety and wellbeing of all the affected personnel and their families.