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President Buhari is currently in his hometown in Daura, Katsina state for the Sallah holiday.
He joined other Muslims to observe the Eid prayers at the central mosque in the community. While on his way home, residents of the community filed out in their numbers to hail him.
Republican lawmaker, Marjorie Taylor Greene has been suspended by Twitter for posting “misleading” information about Coronavirus.
Greene was suspended for 12 hours after she posted messages that violated Twitter’s policy against sharing misleading information about the Coronavirus.
In two tweets on Monday July 19, she argued that vaccines should not be required, and that COVID-19 was not dangerous for people aged under 65 who are not obese. Both posts are still on display, but have been tagged by Twitter as “misleading”.
A Twitter spokesperson said;
“We took enforcement action on the account @mtgreenee for violations of the Twitter Rules, specifically the Covid-19 misleading information policy.”
The congresswoman has been an outspoken opponent of vaccines and masks as tools to curb the pandemic.
Greene’s tweet comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are once again on the rise across the U.S. as the more infectious Delta variant of the virus takes hold and the uptake of vaccines begins to stall.
Georgia, the congresswoman’s home state, is now reporting an average 1,000 new COVID-19 cases a day compared to an average of around 340 cases a day exactly one month ago.
Reacting to her suspension, Ms Greene said Silicon Valley firms were attacking free speech with support from the White House.
The statement made available to New York Times read;
“These Big Tech companies are doing the bidding of the Biden regime to restrict our voices and prevent the spread of any message that isn’t state-approved.”
Twitter took action after President Biden called on social media companies to do more to combat the spread of vaccine misinformation on their platforms.
On Friday July 16, Mr. Biden said sites like Facebook were “killing people” by allowing misinformation to flourish unchallenged, adding, “Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated, and that — and they’re killing people.”
A woman has recounted how she almost landed in a psychiatric hospital after she stumbled on her man’s wedding photos online while he was preparing to introduce her to his family.
The woman said he had told her he was taking her to see his people that week but what she saw online were photos showing the man had married someone else.
She said she was in denial for a while and wanted to assume it was a photoshoot and her husband was just modeling.
However, she discovered it was real and she said it affected her mental health, until her father and friends stepped in to help her.
She adds that the man later reached out to apologize, while saying he still wants her in his life.
A report by The UK Sun that Kanye West made disparaging remarks about estranged wife Kim Kardashian on his tenth album, titled Donda, is said to be false.
This comes after it was alleged that the 44-year-old rapper broke down in tears on stage at his album listening party in Las Vegas over the weekend, playing a track that included disparaging remarks about his marriage to the mother of his four children.
His new song Welcome to my Life was said to include lyrics about his troubled personal life including his current divorce from the KUWTK star, his meltdowns on Twitter, and his failed US Presidency bid, according to The Sun on Monday July 19.
The lyrics of his new song reportedly likens their Calabasas marital home that he shared with Kim to jail, as he raps: ‘Tell the assassins I escaped from Calabasas.’
A source who was at the listening party told The Sun: ‘It’s a very deep, sad song about Kanye, with him reflecting on his marriage with Kim.’
‘He talks about the kids and mentions her taking everything. After he played this song he paused for like, two minutes, and cried. It was really sombre.’
On Monday, a source told DailyMail.com that Kanye ‘doesn’t say anything negative’ about 40-year-old on the record, despite previous claims that he has allegedly compared their marital home to living in a prison.
Kim officially filed for divorce from Kanye in February this year after seven years of marriage, requesting joint legal and physical custody of their four children.
Nashville Predators’ Luke Prokop has become the first active NHL player signed by a club to come out as gay.
The Canadian, 19, who is yet to play for Nashville, was their third-round draft pick in 2020. He made the announcement in an Instagram post.
Prokop said: “While the past year and a half has been crazy, it has also given me the chance to find my true self. I am no longer scared to hide who I am.
“Today I am proud to publicly tell everyone that I am gay.”
The defenceman added: “It has been quite the journey to get to this point in my life, but I could not be happier with my decision to come out.
“From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams.
“I hope that in sharing who I am I can help other people see that gay people are welcome in the hockey community, as we work to make sure that hockey truly is for everyone.
“I may be new to the community but I am eager to learn about the strong and resilient people who came before me and paved the way so I could be comfortable today. This is just the beginning of my journey and I am excited to see where it takes me, both in hockey and life.”
The Nashville Predators president/chief executive Sean Henry said the organisation was “proud” of Prokop and would “support him unequivocally in the days, weeks, and years to come”.
Their president of hockey operations/general manager David Poile added: “We understand his ability to be out comfortably will help him achieve his goals on and off the ice,
“We are committed to ensuring nothing stands in the way of his ability. His courage is an inspiration to us, and to the LGBTQ community in Nashville.”
A 31-year-old woman, Ate Joy Veronica, who died four days after her wedding has been buried in Benue state.
Veronica and her husband, Irabor Samuel, from Edo State, had their traditional and court weddings on June 25 and 26 respectively.
She was said to have fallen sick on June 28 and died the following day, June 29.
The remains of the Marketing graduate was laid to rest in her hometown, Mbarikyor Wadoor in Gwer Local Government Area of Benue state on July 10.
Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has been arrested in Cotonou, Benin Republic by security operatives in the West African country.
Igboho was arrested Monday night after fleeing Nigeria to evade arrest by Nigeria’s secret police.
A source privy to his departure from Nigeria said he had perfected plans to secretly escape from Nigeria through Cotonou and was heading to Germany.
He was, however, nabbed by security operatives in the neighboring country.
Speaking with SaharaReporters, a source privy to the incident, said, “Sunday Igboho has been arrested in Cotonou. He was arrested about an hour ago.
“He was supposed to travel to Germany through Cotonou this night. He wanted to leave Africa through Cotonou. He was arrested by security operatives in Cotonou.
“They are planning to bring him back to Nigeria.”
Recall that the Department of State Services had declared Igboho wanted after its operatives carried out a bloody midnight raid on his residence in the Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
A young man, who stole a bag of maize, has voluntarily turned himself over to the police due to a strange occurrence.
According to Twitter user, @AgyaThanos, the incident happened in Binduri in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
The thief was forced to solicit help in a Police station after the bag of maize he reportedly stole refused to leave his head.
The tweep shared photos of the thief and the bag glued to his head and tweeted;
”A thief at Binduri in the Upper East Region has handed himself over to the police after a bag of maize he stole refused to come down from his head…”
The octogenarian, while speaking to journalists said the community demanded to see their monarch.
An 87-year-old man, Ichie Nwachukwu, has led the people of Amanuke Community, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State in protest against the abduction of their traditional ruler, Igwe Dennis Ezebuiro.
Nwachukwu led the community in demonstration to the Federal High Court arena and Awka streets.
According to Daily Post, the protesting people totalling over 200, stated since two weeks their monarch was kidnapped in Abuja by unknown persons, he had not been seen to date.
They marched around the area carrying placards with different inscriptions, such as, ‘we need peace in Amanuke’, ‘kidnappers please release our monarch for us’, ‘Governor Obiano help us’ among others.
The octogenarian, while speaking to journalists said the community demanded to see their monarch.
Also, the spokesperson for the protesters, Moses Afum, said their monarch was elected by his people, adding that someone had been parading himself as the traditional ruler of the community
He said, “Those involved in this dastardly act should please bring our Igwe back to us. We want Governor Willie Obiano to help the people of Amanuke in securing the release of their monarch
“Our people do not know the person parading himself as the traditional ruler of the community. We are in pains over our missing king.”
The women leader of the community, Victoria Ofuora said, “We don’t know whether they have killed our monarch, even at that, they should release his corpse to us. They went to Abuja to kidnap our monarch who we suffered to install.”
A member of the family said they were forced by the police to pay for the autopsy conducted on the deceased.
The family of Jumoke Oyeleke, the teenager killed during the ‘Yoruba Nation’ rally in Lagos has narrated how men of the Lagos State Police Command demanded over N200,000 as ‘burial expenses’ from them.
On July 3, the police shot into the air and fired teargas as they dispersed ‘Yoruba Nation’ agitators at Gani Fawehinmi Park.
Amid the ensuing melee, the 14-year-old was found dead in a pool of blood after a stray bullet from police gunshots was said to have hit her.
The police however denied the culpability of its officers in the death of the girl while the state government ordered an investigation into the matter.
Speaking to SaharaReporters on Monday, a member of the family said they were forced by the police to pay for the autopsy conducted on the deceased.
He added that the police also requested for over N200,000 from them as ‘cost of burial’ after the autopsy.
“The police forced us to pay for the autopsy conducted on her body, they also asked the family to pay for the ambulance and cost of burial after the autopsy”.
“But they called in this morning that the Lagos State Government has paid N25,000 for an ambulance, N5,000 for who to bathe her and N215,000 for where to bury her,” he said.
“They also asked N25,000 for an ambulance,” the family member added.
SaharaReporters learnt that the teenager’s case which was taken up by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana SAN, is being handled by Ernest Olawale from the Femi Falana Chambers.
NBC had given a new directive to media outlets to apply caution in their reportage, saying too many details may negatively affect the efforts of security agencies fighting insurgency in the country.
A former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has condemned the directive from the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) instructing television and radio stations to stop divulging details in their reports about the activities of bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the country.
Shehu Sani while reacting to the directive, wrote on his Twitter page, ”When you see bullets on the ground, NBC wants you to say it’s groundnuts.
”When you hear gunshots, NBC wants you to say it’s fireworks. When you see blood, they want you to say it’s lipsticks. When you see bandits, they want you to say it’s masquerade.”
NBC had given a new directive to media outlets to apply caution in their reportage, saying too many details may negatively affect the efforts of security agencies fighting insurgency in the country.
“The Commission, therefore, urged broadcasters to collaborate with the government by not giving details of either the security issues or victims of these security challenges so as not to jeopardise the efforts of the Nigerian soldiers and other security agents,” the order read.
The defendants, who were arrested in connection with the Oodua republic mega rally, were further detained by an ex parte order granted for 21 days.
The Yaba Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, has granted bail to the 49 Yoruba Nation agitators.
The Lagos State Police Command on July 3rd arrested the agitators at Ojota, Lagos while protesting in support of the actualisation of the Yoruba Nation and demanding the freedom of Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho.
The defendants include Olasunkanmi Tanimola; Kabiru Lawanson; Chinemerem Emmanuel; Rasaki Musibau; Lukman Olalade; Olasanmi Oladipupo; Bashiru Shittu; Taofeek Abdusalam; Olamilekan Abata; Abdullahi Sikiru; Tosin Adeleye; Babatunde Lawal.
Others include: Abiodun Taiwo, Adagunodo Babatunde, Oluwafemi Adeleye, Oloye Taiwo, Saheed Kareem, Adebayo Waheed, Akinbode Sunday, Lawal Akeem, Samuel Ire, Ogundile Dare, Oba Tajudeen Bakare.
A motion for their bail application was filed by human rights lawyers led by Olasupo Ojo and Oladapo Kayode.
The court in a ruling on July 5 failed to grant bail to the 49 Yoruba Nation agitators arrested and detained by the Lagos State Police Command.
The defendants, who were arrested in connection with the Oodua republic mega rally, were further detained by an ex parte order granted for 21 days.
The 21-day ex parte order will expire on July 26, 2021.
A part of the order read, “I, Inspector Atagahmen Richard, Nigerian citizen/ police officer attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, under the Lagos State Police Command do hereby depose on oath and state as follows:
“That I am the above-named person and address, that I am part of the team of investigating Police officers currently investigating a case of conspiracy, murder, treason, felony, unlawful possession of firearms and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace against the defendant and every fact deposed herein came to my knowledge in the course of execution of my duty by virtue of which I am conversant with the facts of this case.
“That the Police arrested the defendants at Ojota while rampaging, protesting and causing mayhem and panic to the public peace. That the suspects are seriously indicted. That the police are by this application requesting for the remands of the defendants for the 21 days to enable the police to conclude their investigation.”
The countdown for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has already begun with the sports event kicking off this weekend.
Ahead of the event, officials have reportedly installed cardboard beds inside the Olympic village to discourage athletes from engaging in sexual activity.
According to Dezeen magazine, Olympic officials who already warned 2021 Games participants to avoid two-person push-ups because of the coronavirus, set up 18,000 of the cardboard beds in the notoriously sex-crazed athletes’ village.
“Those beds can stand up to 200 kilograms,” Takashi Kitajima, the general manager of the Athletes Village, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. Kitajima further added that a “wild celebration” such as an athlete bagging a gold could perhaps be bad news for the bed. “Of course, wood and cardboard would each break if you jumped on them,” he said.
“Beds to be installed in Tokyo Olympic Village will be made of cardboard, this is aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes,” American distance runner Paul Chelimo tweeted.
The English Football Association has commissioned an independent review into what it terms “disgraceful scenes” at Wembley Stadium during the Euro 2020 final.
The match between England – playing in front of a home crowd and in their first major final for 55 years – and Italy was marred by ticketless supporters who gained entry to the stadium, clashing with stewards, police and fellow fans in the process.
The Metropolitan Police have issued an appeal for help identifying 10 men who they believe were involved with violence and disorder at England’s national stadium.
UEFA also opened a disciplinary investigation into events surrounding the match The FA was hit with four charges by UEFA relating to the invasion of the field by a spectator, throwing of objects by supporters, disturbances during the Italian anthem and the lighting of fireworks.
The FA has now confirmed a review will take place.
On Monday July 19, an FA spokesperson said: “We are determined to fully understand what happened outside and then inside Wembley Stadium at the UEFA EURO 2020 Final on Sunday 11 July 2021.
“We informed DCMS at the weekend that an independent review led by Baroness Casey of Blackstock has been commissioned to report on the facts and circumstances involved. It will speak to all parties concerned and include external experts.
“A key emphasis of the findings will be to ensure that lessons are learned and such disgraceful scenes are never able to be repeated. We continue to work with the relevant authorities in support of their efforts to identify those responsible and hold them to account.”
Last week, Julian Knight MP, the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, wrote to Mark Bullingham, the FA’s CEO, to demand an explanation for the “shocking” scenes at Wembley.
In a letter to Bullingham Knight wrote: “The scenes witnessed at Wembley Stadium during the Euro 2020 final were shocking.
“The sheer number of ticketless people breaching the temporary, and arguably insufficient, barriers and physically attacking stewards and police to force their way into the match was appalling.
“Reports across social media of unsafe numbers in the stalls and terrified children being intimidated by the intruders did not line up with the stadium’s statement that a small number of people had successfully entered the stadium without a ticket.
“In the FA’s statement on the matter, it stated that ‘security and stewarding numbers for the Euro 2020 final exceeded the requirements for the match and were greater than any other previous event’ at the venue. Clearly the numbers were still insufficient.”
Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed 13 mobile policemen and two residents of Kurar Mota village in the Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara state.
A source told SaharaReporters that the police officers were ambushed by the gunmen, when they went to the village in their patrol vehicles.
The gunmen were said to have opened fire on the officers, killing 13 of the them while injuring others.
“Bandits killed 13 visiting mobile police who were on special duty, in Kurar Mota village, Magami district, Gusau Local Government Area. Two villagers were also killed.
“There corpses have been taken to a mortuary in Yariman Bakura Special Hospital, Gusau,” the source told SaharaReporters.
Deadly attacks have raged across Zamfara state where bandits have thrived.
Farming and herding communities in the state have long been terrorised by gangs who raid villages, stealing cattle and kidnap residents for ransom.
In 2019, the state government entered a peace agreement with the gunmen.
About 15 brand new Hilux vehicles and cash gifts were also given to leaders of different ‘repentant’ gangs of bandits by the governor in 2020.
Despite all these, communities in the state are still being attacked and residents kidnapped and/or killed.
Godwin in a trending video seen by SaharaReporters said he was employed on the 28th of August, 2020.
A man who identified himself as a former pastor of the Living Faith Church International, popularly known as Winners Chapel, Peter Godwin, says he was sacked by the church for not generating enough money in his branch.
Godwin in a trending video seen by SaharaReporters said he was employed on the 28th of August, 2020.
He claimed he was invited with about forty of his colleagues by the state pastor on July 1, 2021, and were all sacked over low income in their branches.
Godwin, however, failed to mention the name of the state.
He said, “Actually, by the special grace of God, our father in this great assembly, Living Faith Church received a mandate from the Lord to plant 10,000 churches in Nigeria and by the special grace of God, I was privileged to be one of the pastors that were employed on the 28th of August, 2020, that was last year.
“So after that, I started working, engaging myself in the work of the Lord. I tried my possible best to make sure I win souls for Christ but unfortunately, on the 1st of July, I received a call that the state pastor wants to see me, so I thought I was the only one. I was surprised, so I went to his office.
“When I got there, I saw other pastors too, over 40 of them, so I joined them. A few minutes later, we were issued a letter. I opened the content of the letter to see what was there and I saw that it was a sack letter.
“The content of the letter says ‘Consequent upon the recent performance review which revealed that your church growth index falls below expectation. Please be informed that your service as the pastor in charge is no longer required in this commission with immediate effect. You are to vacate your official accommodation and hand over all properties including the official ID card to the area pastor before departure.
“So I called the management the next day to know what happened since I wasn’t involved in any dubious activity or evil act. I was told by the management was that the church doesn’t operate at a loss, they also told me the total income that is being generated from my station should be able to cater for my welfare and accommodation, so as a result of low income, I’m hereby dismissed.”
Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born in Hayward, California on May 2, 1972, the son of Ata Johnson (née Maivia; born 1948) and former professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; 1944–2020). Growing up, Johnson lived briefly in Grey Lynn in New Zealand with his mother’s family, where he played rugby and attended Richmond Road Primary School before returning to the U.S.
He attended Montclaire Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina, before moving to Hamden, Connecticut, where he spent a couple of years at Shepherd Glen Elementary School and Hamden Middle School. He attended President William McKinley High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, then Glencliff High School and McGavock High School in Nashville, Tennessee, and finally Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Before the age of 17, he struggled, being arrested multiple times for fighting, theft, and check fraud. A gifted athlete, he was on his high schools’ gridiron football, track and field, and wrestling teams.
Johnson’s father was a Black Nova Scotian, with a small amount of Irish ancestry. His mother is Samoan. His father was part of the first black tag team champions in WWE history, along with Tony Atlas. His mother is the adopted daughter of Peter Maivia, who was also a pro wrestler, and his wife. Maivia’s wife, Lia, was the first female pro wrestling promoter, taking over Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling after her husband’s death in 1982, and managing it until 1988. Through his grandfather Maivia, Johnson is considered a non-blood relative to the Anoa’i wrestling family. In 2008, Johnson inducted his father and grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Johnson was a college football player at the University of Miami, with whom he won a national championship in 1991. He aspired to have a professional career in football and entered the 1995 NFL Draft, but went undrafted. He signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), but was cut from the team in his first season. Shortly after, he began training as a professional wrestler.
An honorary member of the Anoa’i family, and the son of wrestler Rocky Johnson and grandson of Peter Maivia, Johnson secured a contract with the WWF in 1996. He rose to prominence after developing the gimmick of a charismatic, boastful, trash-talker. He won his first WWF Championship in 1998, becoming the promotion’s first world champion of African-American descent. Johnson helped usher in the Attitude Era, an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In 2004, he left the WWE to pursue an acting career. He returned in 2011 as a part-time performer until 2013, and made sporadic appearances until retiring in 2019. Johnson headlined the most-bought professional wrestling pay-per-view (WrestleMania XXVIII) and was featured among the most watched episodes of WWE’s two flagship television shows (Raw and SmackDown). He is a 10-time world champion, a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Tag Team Champion, the 2000 Royal Rumble winner, and WWE’s sixth Triple Crown champion.
Johnson’s first leading film role was as the titular character in The Scorpion King (2002), having previously briefly portrayed the character in The Mummy Returns (2001). He has since starred in many successful films, including The Game Plan (2007), Tooth Fairy (2010), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), San Andreas (2015), Central Intelligence (2016), Moana (2016), Rampage and Skyscraper (both 2018). His role as Luke Hobbs in the Fast & Furious films, beginning with Fast Five (2011), helped it become one of the highest-grossing film franchises. Johnson also stars in the Jumanji films, appearing in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019).
Johnson produced and starred in the HBO series Ballers (2015–2019), which ran for five seasons and was ranked as HBO’s most-watched comedy in six years. He also stars and produces the autobiographical series Young Rock (2021). In 2000, Johnson released the autobiography The Rock Says, a New York Times bestseller. In 2012, he founded the entertainment production company Seven Bucks Productions.
In 2016 and 2019, Johnson made the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list. He is the co-owner of the American football league, the XFL.
Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997. She is a businesswoman, IFBB professional bodybuilder, and producer. Their daughter, Simone, was born on August 14, 2001. They announced they were separating amicably on June 1, 2007, and their divorce was finalized in May 2008.
Johnson subsequently began dating Lauren Hashian, the daughter of Boston drummer Sib Hashian. They first met in 2006 while Johnson was filming The Game Plan. They were married on August 18, 2019, in Hawaii. The couple have two daughters: Jasmine (born December 17, 2015) and Tiana (born April 17, 2018). The family reside in Los Angeles, having also a farm in Virginia and a second home in Southwest Ranches, Florida.
In recognition of his service to the Samoan people, and because he is a descendant of Samoan chiefs, Johnson was given the noble title of Seiuli by Malietoa Tanumafili II during his visit there in July 2004. In 2009, he gained Canadian citizenship through his father’s birth and citizenship there.
He received a partial Samoan pe’a tattoo on his left side in 2003. In 2017, he had the small “Brahma bull” tattoo on his right arm covered with a larger half-sleeve tattoo of a bull’s skull.
In February 2020, the WWE announced that Johnson’s daughter Simone began training at the WWE Performance Center, making her the first fourth-generation WWE wrestler. On May 16, Johnson announced she had signed a contract with WWE.
In September 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson revealed that he, his wife, and their two young daughters had all tested positive for (and since recovered from) COVID-19. He said they contracted the disease after contact with family friends.
Nigerian socialite and nightlife aficionado, Obi Cubana laid his mother to rest in Oba, Anambra State on Friday, July 16.
A-list Nigerian celebrities, such as D’Banj, Davido, Kcee and other noblemen of the nation attended the much-publicized funeral ceremony.
The well-attended funeral ceremony was dubbed the ‘burial ceremony of the year’ as it was attended by toasts of the society. Also, the funeral ceremony turned into a mini concert when Nigerian music superstars, Davido, Phyno, D’Banj and Kcee took to the stage to entertain the mammoth crowd.
Aside from the entertainers who enthralled the fans with jams and classic hits, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari was one of the dignitaries who attended the funeral ceremony.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police was seen posing with Obi Iyiegbu, better known as Obi Cubana, and others at the venue of the funeral.
Equally, an impressive echelon of dignitaries and affluent Nigerians were also present at the burial ceremony to honour Cubana’s late mother.
Paul Usoro, former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has been acquitted of the money laundering charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Usoro who was accused of laundering N1.4bn belonging to his home state Akwa Ibom, was initially arraigned on a 10-count charge before a court of appeal struck out four of the counts in which Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom was mentioned.
While the EFCC called two witnesses and tendered some documents to prove the charges which Usoro pleaded “not guilty” to, Usoro’s legal team which is headed by Effiong Effiong filed a no-case submission, contending that the EFCC failed to establish a prima facie case against him to warrant him to put in any defence.
Justice Rilwan Aikawa of the federal high court in Lagos who ruled on the case, agreed with the defendant’s argument and discharged him.
Nigeria’s senior women’s football team, the Super Falcons, will camp in Austria without their star player and captain, Asisat Oshoala.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has released a 26-woman list for camping in Austria ahead of a tournament in Lagos, Nigeria and the Barcelona star Oshoala was exempted from the list.
Ghana’s Black Queens, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses, Banyana Banyana of South Africa, Morocco and Mali will compete against Nigeria in the tournament.
The camp in Austria is the third gathering that the NFF has arranged for the Super Falcons this year, following an interesting three-wins-out-three account at the Turkish Women’s Cup in Antalya in February and the Summer Series in the USA last month.
The 26-year-old Oshoala won a historic treble with Barcelona’s women’s side and also played for Nigeria in an invitational tournament in the United States in June. It is reported that she is nursing an injury.
Meanwhile former captain, Desire Oparanozie has been invited back to the team.
Oparanozie was initially leftout of the Super Falcons for the role she played in the team’s sit-in protest over unpaid allowances at the 2019 World Cup.
See the Camp Full Squad list below
Goalkeepers: Tochukwu Oluehi (CD Pozoalbense, Spain); Chiamaka, Nnadozie (Paris FC, France); Patience Okeke (Bayelsa Queens); Yewande; Balogun (California Storm, USA)
Defenders: Glory Ogbonna (Edo Queens); Osinachi Ohale (Madrid CFF,Spain); Esther Ogbonna (Edo Queens); Chidinma Okeke (Madrid CFF,Spain); Onyinyechi Zogg (FC Zurich, Switzerland); Nicole Payne (WestVirginia University, USA); Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash Reserves, USA); Megan Ashleigh (Leicester City, England); Josephine Ijeh (BK Hacken, Sweden)
Midfielders: Rita Chikwelu (Madrid CFF, Spain); Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene (Eskilstuna United, Sweden); Toni Payne (Sevilla FC, Spain); Mowaninuola Dada (Watford FC, England)
Forwards: Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico Madrid, Spain); Francisca Ordega (Levante UD, Spain); Gift Monday (FC Robo Queens); Joy Bokiri (Bayelsa Queens); Uchenna Kanu (Linkopings FC, Sweden); Ebere Orji (Sundsvall DFF, Sweden); Ini-Abasi Umotong (Lewes FC, England); Evelyn Ijeh (BK Hacken, Sweden); Desire Oparanozie (FC Dijon, France)
