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Bauchi traffic agency to enforce ban on commercial motorcyclists – chairman
The Bauchi State Road Traffic Agency (BAROTA), on Tuesday, reiterated that activities of commercial motorcycle riders, popularly known as ‘Okada’ or ‘Achaba’, remained banned in the state. Mr Tijjani Gamawa, Chairman of the agency, who made this known at a news conference in Bauchi, stated that the agency would ensure the enforcement of the ban. Newsmen recall that the Bauchi state government, in March 2020, banned the activities of commercial motorcyclists as one of the measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus in the state. Gamawa also explained that anybody conveying three or more people on his motorcycle and riding recklessly would be regarded as a commercial rider, and would be arrested and his motorcycle seized. Similarly, the chairman warned that any tricycle rider (Keke Napep)...
Nollywood actress: Why I changed my name
Nollywood actress, Belinda Effah, has revealed that she will now be officially addressed as Grace-Charis Bassey. The actress recently announced this development on her Instagram page. Speaking at a press conference which held on the set of “Nollywood Queens” reality show during the week, Effah disclosed that she changed her name from Belinda Effah to Grace-Charis Bassey. According to the actress, her divine encounter with God prompted the name change. Her words; “I had to change my name and the only thing that can make me change my name will be the most supreme being which is God. A lot of people will not understand that. So I don’t bother to explain to people when they ask me why. On the 15th of August last year. I had a divine encounter with God to change my name to Grace. Nobody changed...
Elon Musk says he is first SNL host with Asperger’s syndrome
Elon Musk kicked off his “Saturday Night Live” debut by declaring himself to be the first person with Asperger’s syndrome to host the US comedy sketch show. “Or at least, the first person to admit it,” he said. In his opening monologue, the eccentric tech entrepreneur behind Tesla and SpaceX offered an explanation for some of his past eyebrow-raising behavior. “Look, I know I say or post strange things but that’s just how my brain works. To anyone I’ve offended I just want to say, I reinvented electric cars and I’m sending people to Mars in a rocket ship,” he said. “Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?” Musk has previously drawn criticism for moves like publicly mocking the US Securities and Exchange Commission and calling a cave diver who rescued boys trapped in Thai...
Neymar: I am happy and proud to remain at PSG
Neymar has signed a contract extension with Paris St-Germain, keeping Brazil forward at the French giants until 30 June 2025. The 29-year-old said “happiness” was the main factor in signing a new deal. Neymar, who joined PSG in a world-record £200m deal in 2017, had been linked with a move away, including a return to Barcelona. “I have grown as a person here, as a human being and as a player, too,” he told the PSG website. Neymar was in the final year of his contract, having signed a five-year deal on his initial arrival. He has scored 85 goals and registered 51 assists in 112 games for PSG. However, he has had a difficult relationship with the club’s fans at times and was booed after expressing a desire to move back to Barcelona in 2019. Neymar said he had undergone a “very positive evolu...
AKA: I’m not a suspect in my fiancée’s murder investigation
Superstar South African rapper, Kiernan Forbes, has stated that he is not a suspect in the ongoing investigation into the death of his fiancée, Nellie Tembe, by the South African Police. Fondly referred to as Anele, it was reported that the rapper’s fiancée fell from one of the upper floors of the hotel to the intersection of Loop and Bloom streets in the Cape Town central business districts. AKA and Anele had gotten engaged in February this year. In March, he paid ‘lobola’ to her family, describing her as ‘the love of his life’ when he announced their engagement on social media. The rap artiste revealed that some people whom he and his late fiancée trusted with their deepest troubles now use them as weapons against him. He said, “It is a sad day when I find myself having to speak to the n...
Two ‘killed’, one injured as robbers attack bullion van in Ondo
Two persons were feared killed while one was injured as bank robbers attacked a bullion van at Bolorunduro area in Ondo East council area of Ondo state. An unspecified amount of money were reportedly carted away by the robbers numbering over eight. The robbery attack occurred at about 5:30pm. Eyewitness account said that the robbers who came in two vehicles including a Lexus car ambushed the bullion van at Elemoso village along Akure/ Ondo highway. It was gathered that the bullion van left Ondo town and was heading for Akure, the state capital when it was attacked by the robbers. Newsmen learnt that the driver and other police officers escorting the bullion van fled to different directions following the sophisticated weapon displayed by the robbers. The bullion van was reportedly shot seve...
UNICAL security apprehends suspected cultists with hard drugs on campus
Security operatives in the University of Calabar, UNICAL, have arrested two suspected cultists for being in possession of packs of 100mg of tramadol on campus. The suspect, Abarakwe Darlington, 23, and Asuquo Effiong, 25, were arrested following an interrogation from the security operatives after he allegedly beat up an ice cream vendor, George Emmanuel, who had raised an alarm that he sold the suspects ice cream and they refused to pay him. The Acting Chief Security Officer of the University, So Usani Okon-Etim(rted), told some Journalists on Wednesday on campus that the suspects were arrested close to the moot court on campus. He said: “These two suspects bought ice cream from the seller and they refused to pay him, rather they started flogging him. The boy however raised alarm and some ...
Nigerian journalist: Why I returned missing $3,000 to owner
Mr Abdulkadir Shehu, a journalist with Progress FM, a private radio station in Gombe, said he returned the $3,000 dollars he found along the road to its owner, because it would be wrong for him to claim it. Shehu told newsmen in Gombe on Monday, that as at the time he returned the money, he had less than N2000 on him. “I was really in dire need of money at the time because I had received a call from Kano that my son was sick and needed to be tested for kidney and liver diseases at the hospital. “They couldn’t go ahead with the test because there was no money. “My son is still under medical supervision, but I will try to get the N35,000 for the test on Tuesday,’’ he said. Shehu stressed that poverty should not be an excuse for anyone to do what is wrong, adding that a person’s honesty is be...
Bayelsa government wades into communal crisis, warns against gunrunning
The Bayelsa State Government has read the riot act to those engaged in gunrunning in the state and warned such persons to desist from the unwholesome activity or they would face the full wrath of the law. Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo gave the warning while addressing the chiefs and people of Peretoru community in the Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state during a resumed meeting in the Government House, Yenagoa, on Saturday. Among those also present at the meeting were the representatives of the state Command of Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and Joint Task Force (JTF). A statement on Sunday by the deputy governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Doubara Atasi, said the meeting was part of ongoing efforts by the state government to resolve the leade...
Princess denies authorizing release of CCTV footage showing Baba Ijesha molesting foster child
Nigerian Comedienne Damilola Adekoya, better known as Princess, has denied authorising the release of the CCTV footage showing actor Olanrewaju Omiyinka, alias Baba Ijesha, sexually molesting her foster child. The disturbing clip, which was uploaded by an online media platform Sunday morning, has since gone viral on social media. It shows 48-year-old Baba Ijesha hugging, kissing and fondling his 14-year-old victim. Reacting through a letter signed by her lawyer Ibilola Subair on Sunday, Princess said she had nothing to do with the video’s release. The letter titled “DISLAIMER” and shared on the troubled entertainer’s Instagram page says: “We act as solicitors to PRINCESS DAMILOLA ADEKOYA (COMEDIAN) hereinafter referred to as our client and on whose behalf we issue this notice to the genera...
Segun Adeniyi: Devolution of power alone can’t solve Nigeria’s problems
Nigerian Monitor The chairman of THISDAY editorial board, Olusegun Adeniyi, says devolution of power is not the only solution to Nigeria’s problems. Adeniyi said for it to be effective, devolution of power must come with accountability at all levels especially at the local government where administration “has been castrated”. He was speaking at ‘The Platform’, an annual programme organised by Covenant Christian Centre, which was held in Lagos on Saturday. The seasoned journalist added that from past experience, closer government does not necessarily translate to better governance. “Today, there is hardly anybody in our country who is not angry about the situation in which we find ourselves. But nobody is accepting responsibility because the other person or the other ethnic group is to blam...
Presidency: Benue governor politicising insecurity
The presidency has said President Muhammadu Buhari expressed his condolences to the families of citizens who lost their loved ones in the recent spate of killings in Benue State. Also, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Thursday night, said the president stated that the rising level of incidents, especially the killings and violence in various parts of the country calls for further collaboration with security agencies to curb its recurrence. He also stated his disappointment and sadness to hear the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom’s litany of accusations against his person and his government, following the recent unfortunate incidents in the state. Shehu said no responsible government takes pleasure in such events as the killing of the military and that of innocent...
