Author: Abimbola Daniels

A TWO-MONTH-OLD baby (name withheld) has been reportedly stolen from the mother during a school graduation ceremony in Ilọrin, Kwara State capital. Sources told our correspondent that the incident occurred around 3:00 pm on Saturday during the event held at the school premises located at Deeper Life area, Sawmill, Ilọrin. The mother of the missing child identified as Sekina but popularly known as Iya Mujidat said that her baby was stolen by a lady who accompanied her to the graduation ceremony of one of her children. She described the suspect as a ‘tall fair complexion woman dressed in a purple…

GOVERNOR Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has sent his list of cabinet nominees to the Lagos State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation. A statement by the Lagos State Government said the list, which contains 39 names, is a mixture of politicians and technocrats. Some members of the immediate past cabinet such as the ex-Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso; his Budget and Economic Planning counterpart, Mr. Sam Egube; ex-Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi; ex-Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Aramide Adeyooye and his Education counterpart, Tokunbo Wahab among others made the…

THE Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has instituted an annual memorial lecture in honour of its pioneer President and former Governor of Lagos State, late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, with the maiden edition taking place in Lagos on August 7, 2023. In a press statement issued in Lagos on Thursday, and signed by its President, Eze Anaba and the General Secretary, Dr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the professional body of editors in Nigeria, said that its decision was informed by a deliberate programme to nurture a culture of appreciation. ‘’As part of nurturing a culture of appreciation, the NGE is instituting an Annual…

OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have allegedly shot dead two innocent residents including one Gafar Yusuf, in the Idioro area of Mushin, Lagos State. This newspaper gathered that the NDLEA operatives stormed the community around 10pm on Wednesday to raid a drug den when they started shooting sporadically in a bid to achieve their aim. While engaging in the act, it was learnt that stray bullets from the operatives, shooting sporadically to scare hoodlums attempting to scuttle their plan in the community, killed the victims. A resident, who gave his name simply as Olasunkanmi, while lamenting over…

THE Lagos State Government has responded to a leaked memo revealing its approval of N61,285,000 for the mass burial of 103 persons identified as 2020 EndSARS victims, maintaining that the victims to be buried are not from the controversial Lekki Tollgate shooting. The memo, dated July 19, 2023, capturing steps for the processing of funds after approval by the governor, surfaced on social media Sunday morning, sparking outrage. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Olusegun Ogboye, confirmed the letter in a statement on Sunday evening, but insisted that details were being misconstrued and mischief makers were at work. The…

A LEAKED memo addressed to the Lagos State Ministry of Health indicating that the State Government approved N61,285,000 for the mass burial of 103 persons identified as 2020 EndSARS victims has gone viral on social media, sparking outrage. The memo dated July 19, 2023, captures steps for the processing of funds after approval by the governor. Earlier, a Ministerial Tenders’ Board Meeting reportedly sat over the recommendations of the Procurement Planning Committee, after which no objections were raised to the award of the mass burial contract to a funeral service provider. The five-paragraph leaked memo also directs that relevant taxes…

TWO children lost their lives when a building collapsed on Ajao Street in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State. The incident happened on Saturday morning, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said. “The children aged nine and seven were trapped when the fence from the neighbouring house fell on their building during the day’s heavy downpour,” NEMA Coordinator in the South-West, Ibrahim Farinloye, said in a statement. The Agency said distressed calls weren’t properly channeled to save the lives of the children. NEMA sympathised with the parents of the deceased and prayed God to give them the fortitude to bear…

THE National Association of Nigerian Students has condemned the planned increment of school fees by tertiary institutions in the country. In a statement signed by the National PRO, Giwa Temitope and released on Saturday, NANS declared that the government’s action is “insensitive” and “embarrassing”. The association also stressed that the government has what it takes to fund education and make it accessible, noting that the introduction of the student loan scheme is a sham and a bait to make Nigerians accept fee increments. The association stated that there is no justification for an increase in school fees across tertiary institutions…

AVANTI Communications (“Avanti”) has been named the market-leading high-throughput satellite capacity partner in sub-Saharan Africa for the second year running. The results, from the 20th edition of the NSR Satellite Capacity Supply & Demand Analysis reports that Avanti’s market share is now more than two times that of its nearest competitor. NSR’s annual report is one of the satellite industry’s most trusted and comprehensive sources for satellite capacity analysis, offering insight into key market developments and dynamics. Avanti has made a significant commitment to Africa. The company has ambitions to accelerate growth across the region through local partnerships and the…

SEVEN children were rescued from an orphanage home engulfed by a domestic fire on Sunday afternoon. The children, all male, were rescued from a one-storey building housing their orphanage located on Wole Madariola Street in the Aguda area of Lagos State. The fire reportedly started when an air conditioning unit in the house experienced power surge. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said the seven male children with age range between one and seven were successfully rescued. No injuries or casualties were recorded in the incident, the emergency response agency said in a statement by its spokesperson, Nosa Okunbor.…

DEPUTY Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Benjamin Kalu has disclosed that the South East region lost over N4trn to insecurity in the last two years. Mr Kalu said this in his address at the annual all markets conference in Lagos. His words: “This rising development has caused us a lot as we keep losing business investment to the constant sit-at-home. Insecurity remains a major problem in the east, the Yoruba are not our problem, we are our own problem in the east. When you build 100 houses in Lagos, build at least 50 in your home. Migration can…

UNKNOWN persons have allegedly carted away the recently reinstalled airfield lighting systems at the domestic runway 18/36L of Murtala Muhammad Airport. This newspaper gathered that the disappearance of the approach lighting systems had raised security concerns in Nigeria’s busiest airports. According to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity, those who carted away the lighting systems took advantage of the closure of the runway for over three months. The source alleged that some FAAN workers connived with outsiders to steal the airport lighting equipment. “The criminal took advantage of the closure to commit the crime. I cannot give the…

TONY O. Elumelu, CFR, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, will join King Charles III of the United Kingdom and U.S. President Biden at the Climate Finance Mobilisation Forum in London today to help attract a new generation of capital to combat climate change. Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires unlocking private investment at unprecedented speed and scale. Mr. Elumelu is one of Africa’s most prominent advocates for equitable climate finance and is a leading funder of young African entrepreneurs – through the Tony Elumelu Foundation – working to create sustainable climate solutions. “Africa needs a just, fair, equal and…

IT was a Black Sunday in the Badagry area of Lagos State as an 18-seater commercial bus filled with partygoers crashed, killing all passengers onboard. The driver of the bus and his motor boy also died in the tragic accident. It was gathered that the deceased passengers had chartered the bus from the Yaba area of Lagos to attend a group party in the Republic of Benin. The accident happened about 9am at Age-Mowo close to Mowo along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, said a spokesman for the state’s traffic management body, Taofiq Adebayo. “It involved a Mazda commercial bus with passengers…

Dr SAMUEL Ibiyemi, the publisher of NewsDirect newspaper, is dead. Ibiyemi reportedly died on Tuesday afternoon at the Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State. Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, described the death as shocking. In a condolence message to his family and media colleagues, Abiodun described Dr. Ibiyemi as a brilliant and versatile journalist, who deployed his wealth of experience in the profession to better the society. He said the late publisher was a stickler for the truth, noting that through his medium, he contributed his own quota to the economic and political development of Nigeria. “He was…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Sunday left Lagos where he has been on Sallah holidays for Abuja. Before departing the presidential wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Tinubu in the company of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu took the salute Nigeria Army parade. During his five days stay in Lagos, the president paid a courtesy visit to the paramount rulers of Ijebu, Egba, and Eko. He also played host to the President of Guinea Bissau and Chairman, Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, Umaro Sissoco Embalo in his Lagos residence on Saturday.

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Saturday paid homage to the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Aremu Akiolu, at his palace. This followed a state visit by Guinea Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló to Tinubu at his Ikoyi, Lagos residence. The Special Adviser to the President, Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, Dele Alake, told State House Correspondents that though Embaló was on a private visit, he had come to pay his solidarity to the Nigerian president. Tinubu’s visit to the Oba of Lagos may not be unexpected, given both men’s long-standing close relationship.

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has received the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo in Lagos. Embalo, who is also the Chairman, ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, paid a private visit to his Nigerian counterpart on Saturday. Tinubu has been spending the Sallah holiday in Lagos since his return from London on Tuesday. Embalo is the first African President and world leader to visit Tinubu since his inauguration as the 16th President of Nigeria on May 29.

THE Federal Government has suspended construction on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to aid the flow of traffic in light of the forthcoming Eid el-Kabir festivities this week. The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (Works Sector), in a statement by the Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Mrs Olukorede Kesha on Monday, noted that construction work on the busy highway would be suspended from Tuesday, June 27 to Sunday, July 2. According to her, the action was prompted by a recent heavy traffic flow on the Lagos-Shagamu route “in the last couple of days”, inclement weather conditions, the forthcoming Eid Kabir and…

THERE is tension around Ajegunle in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos following the killing of a naval officer. Some gunmen had allegedly opened fire on the naval rating who was on his own. The killing came barely one week after a female officer was also reportedly murdered in the area. Residents reportedly got worried when colleagues of the deceased officer allegedly threatened to avenge his death. A resident, Anthony Kojo, said, “We are living in fear. We heard that his colleagues wanted to avenge his death. “The naval officer was walking around Olowojeunjeje area of Ajegunle ,when he was…