The Nation Newspaper

Tag: blogger

  • Blogger arraigned for alleged defamation

    Blogger arraigned for alleged defamation

    Publisher of Asabe Africa TV on YouTube, Gbenga Asabe, has been arraigned at Iyaganku Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, on a three-count of alleged defamation of character of leader of One Love Family, Sat Guru Maharaji.

    Asabe was said to have conspired with others to publish with intent to injure the reputation of Maharaji in Iwe Iroyin Yoruba Tooto that the leader  is a ritualist.

    The publisher, who was arrested at a mosque in Lagos State on Saturday, was arraigned on  Tuesday.

    Read Also: Burna Boy threatens to sue bloggers over unauthorised publicity

    The magistrate, after listening to counsel for both parties, adjourned the matter till February 22 for hearing.

    Police Prosecutor, Funke Fawole, said Asabe had been on the run for two years after Zone X1 issued a warrant for his arrest.

    “He was arrested for alleged defamation of Maharaji by the State CID, Iyaganku, Ibadan.

    “Asabe, two years ago, conducted an interview on a self-acclaimed prophet, Ojo Modayibi (aka Prophet Elewuogbo), during which scandalous things were published on his platform, in which he accused Maharaji of selling human parts for rituals, drinking human blood and burying human beings at Maharaji village.”

  • Blogger distributes 100 bags, writing materials to pupils

    The Chief Executive Officer of Hustlersquare, a Business Blogger, Lily Odior-Diyemowei, has distributed writing materials and back-to-school bags to over 100 indigent pupils and students at 11 Eko Atete Street, Obalende, in Lagos.

    The bags contained reading and exercise books as well as other writing materials were given out as part of activities to enable them to resume classes and take their studies without tears.

    Speaking at the event which was attended by parents and some teachers, Odior-Diyemowei said they were moved to reach out to them because every child deserves to be educated. “Every child deserves to have the basic things they need to comfortably go to school. I decided to do my own quota to make the world a better place for them.”

    She said that Jaggy Nations members in conjunction with an NGO Just Enough were moved by the dire needs of the children and their parents in the face of current economic hardship.

    One of the parents of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Philomena Bassey commended the group for “their wonderful works,” stating that she made this statement with a great joy because the gifts were timely and met the needs of the children, who are very excited by the items.

    Last year, the group fed and clothed about 1000 children including beggars, physically and challenged people under its ‘Feed a Child Today’ programme which held at the Internally Displaced Peoples’ camp, Abeokuta Street, Ebute Meta in Lagos.

    She said “A lot of children are going through hardship. I feel bad about this because they were not asked to be born. Ironically, those in authorities pay little or no attention to our children’s future. We all can do better by helping the indigent children in our environment.”

  • UNILAG urges blogger, victim to appear before panel

    Vice Chancellor University of Lagos (UNILAG) Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe has urged Joy Nwanna, a former student, and a blogger, Linda Ikeji, to appear before its Sexual Harassment Panel.

    Ogundipe, who spoke yesterday at the Senate chamber, said the duo’s appearance would help the Prof Chioma Agonmo-led panel to unravel Nwanna’s allegations of sexual harassment against Prof. Segun Awonusi of the English department. He assured them of protection, should they come forward.

    In May, Ikeji featured a post of semi-nude photographs of Awonusi sent by Nwanna, who accused him and others in the English department of sexual harassment.

    Nwanna was a student of the university between 2012/2013 and 2015/2016 sessions.

    Prof. Ogundipe said the five-member panel dug into contacts from Nwanna’s student records and tried reaching out to her and her next of kin, but met a brick wall.

    “She gave us the name of her next of kin, Samuel Nwanna. His number is 08060971976. We called, but it did not go through. Her sponsor is Idighisai Grace. The phone number is 07033543627. We got in touch, but it was another person who responded. The number with us concerning Joy Nwanna is 07035574747. It was Yakubu Idris who picked the call. This particular individual had different personalities. If she is ready to attend to the request of the panel, we will give her cover. Even Ikeji, who is an alumna, we are appealing that as a proud alumna of this university, she should assist it to get to the bottom of this issue so that the name of the university will not be ridiculed.

    “The email address she used to get across to our university man (Awonusi), we sent a mail, but got no reply.”

    The VC said Awonusi appeared before the panel twice.

    “Awonusi submitted a written report; the committee looked at the report. He submitted the email she sent to him and appeared before the panel twice,” he said.

    Ogundipe said the panel got no response from any other student regarding the sexual harassment case.

    “The panel called on other students, who had information about the case or others to come forward, but nobody responded,” he said.

    The VC said the university would not rule out using law enforcement agencies to trace Nwanna. He urged people with information about the victim to help the university in its investigation.

    Ogundipe said: “The suspected victim was identified as Miss Joy Nwanna by Prof. Awonusi in his interactions with the panel. Records of Miss Nwanna showed that she was admitted into the Department of English as a direct entry student in 2012/2013 session.

    “She graduated from the university in 2015/2016 session.

    “Attempts by the panel to contact Miss Nwanna through the phone numbers in her records and by e-mail proved abortive. The panel also attempted to contact Linda Ikeji to convince the suspected victim to come forward, but she was not forthcoming.

    “The preliminary investigations have raised certain questions and issues that need to be investigated. Investigations are on. The university is making efforts to confirm the authenticity or otherwise of the pictures released. It requires Miss Nwanna to come forward to substantiate the allegations.

    “The press and the public are urged to assist the university by impressing it on Miss Nwanna to come forward to substantiate her claim. An appeal is also made to Ikeji to convince the victim to appear before the panel and state her story.

    “The university assures Nwanna and Ikeji of protection, should they come forward.”

  • Robbers chase blogger to death in Lagos

    A Woman described as a blogger was crushed by a vehicle early yesterday while trying to escape from two suspected robbers at Anthony bus stop.

    One of the hoodlums was wounded in the accident, which happened at midnight.

    The late Oluwafeyidara Adekoya was returning from church when the motorcycle riding hoodlums pounced on her.

    The Nation gathered that they attempted to dispossess her of her bag and phones but she raised the alarm and took to her heels.

    The hoodlums chased her before an oncoming vehicle ran them over.

    The rider escaped, but the hit-and-run driver ran over  his accomplice and Adekoya.

    A witness, who gave his name as Uche,  said: “She died on the spot. The other robber was unconscious but he was stabilised by the Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS), that came to the scene with officials from LASEMA.

    “She was waiting to take a bus and a bike with a passenger appeared. They struggled to rob her and she raised the alarm. A vehicle later came and ran into them. While the rider rode away, the lady and one of the robbers were hit. The lady died while the guy was critically injured.

    “The suspect was moved to the hospital. I did not get his name but the lady was said to be a journalist with In-Situ Media.”

    LASEMA General Manager Adesina Tiamiyu said the injured suspect had been handed over to the police.

    He said: “Yes there was an accident involving a young woman and a man. They were knocked down by a vehicle. The woman died on the spot. We found the man unconscious and resuscitated him. He was taken to Gbagada General Hospital.

    “We were told the man was a robbery suspect and that he and his accomplice had attempted to rob the lady before they were knocked down by a vehicle. So, we handed over the man to the police for further action.”

    But police spokesman Chike Oti, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said the police were investigating a hit-and-run case and not robbery.

    Oti said: “I confirm there was an accident. A woman was killed and a young man sustained injury. There was no robbery. We are investigating a case of hit-and-run because the driver fled.”

  • Could Kevin be next emerging top online entrepreneur in Nigeria?

    Could Kevin be next emerging top online entrepreneur in Nigeria?

    Kevin Eze is an ex-celebrity blogger with the now defunct popular news & entertainment website “NaijaXclusive”, he is currently a digital marketer and a brand strategist.

    A graduate of project management from the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria; he has been a freelance web designer since 2007 and won his 1st award when he was aged 16 for his immense contribution to the tech forums in Nigeria back then.

    He has been an intense lover of computers and internet right from a tender age and has successfully built and contributed to the growth of so many businesses within the continent and beyond, offering web design, social media and SEO services for years through his web agency “Iconplus Africa”. He is also affiliated to a couple of other online businesses as he is seen to support many of his folks.

    Many say “Naijaxclusive” gave Kevin Eze the recognition most bloggers seek today, it was one of the leading news and entertainment online platform back then and as the Co-founder he gave it some kind of boost that made it the fastest growing entertainment platform in the year 2013 with over a 100,000 fans gathered within the span of 5 months, he got quite a number of awards nominations which included being on the U-30 Achievers Awards list, such recognition gave him access to top brands and celebrities because he was their go-to blogger to drop their exclusives, no wonder he was tagged “xclusive_pikin” as his sobriquet name, he still keeps the name up till today as his handle on his social media pages. But for some unknown reasons the brand was shut down in 2015 while many fans were quite sad because they believed it was short-lived, some said it was because they had to diversify and look into the tech industry. He currently has a large social media followings with over 100,000 followers on Instagram and up to 60,000 on twitter.

    He is also the founder of a fast rising food recipe hub African Food Network which is a Recipe directory for food lovers all over Africa and beyond, Recipes sourced from the combinations of different authors, and Chef’s globally to the traditional cooks in the rural areas in Africa. It currently has a large social media fan base, spanning over 200 thousand followers on all social networks and also boast of over 500 recipes on the website being the biggest food database in the whole of Africa.

    No doubt, it’s been tagged as the fastest growing food website by most news platform and poised to extend the food database to over 5000 recipes in a few years.  Here’s his quote as regarding African Food Network

    “Africa is a great continent, but unfortunately due to the “colonial brainwashing” we got during the slave trade era, we believe everything the white brings to us is intrinsically superior to our native customs and cuisine, it’s time we change that mind-set by becoming proud of our local delicacies and showcase them properly to the world. You never can tell that could be one of our biggest export, that’s why African Food Network was created to redefine the world’s view about African Cuisine, Chefs and Traditional Cooks”

    Although his is directly involved with a couple of brands, post regularly on his website and also run a web agency as the director and brand strategist, close sources believe African Food Network is his main project, who knows…. ?

  • Exploding whipped cream dispenser kills fitness blogger

    REBECCA Burger, who had a large following on Instagram, where she posted regular pictures of herself promoting fitness products, was killed in eastern France in what the family said was a domestic incident

    An Instagram star and well-known fitness blogger has died in a freak accident after a pressurised cannister used for dispensing whipped cream exploded, hitting her in the chest, her family has said. Another post included a photograph of a dispenser, which has a small pressurised cannister, alongside a warning not to use similar devices.

    “Do not use this kind of utensil in your home! Tens of thousands of defective devices are still in circulation,” warned a France official. Her death comes after two similar accidents in France in 2014 but neither resulted in death.

    France’s National Consumer Institute (INC) had already issued a warning over the same type of cannister, saying the plastic lid may not be able to withstand pressure from carbon dioxide inside.

  • Double registration: INEC under pressure to swap data, says blogger

    •Govt: allegations baseless and unfounded

    Renowned blogger, Comrade Austin Okai, has accused Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello of attempting to swap the computer used in his double voter registration saga.

    Okai, who spoke during Eid in Lokoja, called for an overhaul of INEC workers in Kogi to stem further manipulations.

    He maintained that the governor is running around to repair his image, following global condemnation of his double registration.

    His words: “The current impasse on Governor Yahaya Bello’s double registration is a pointer to the lack of confidence in INEC, both in Kogi and the headquarters, in future elections. I urge INEC to replace all card readers meant for kogi elections in the future.”

    Okai added that the investigative panel compounded the scenario with their plans to swap the laptop used for the registration.

    According to him, the data on the laptop was deleted and the Electoral Officer, Mr. Ajani, brought another for scrutiny.

    Okai challenged INEC to request for the laptops in Lokoja council and recall the HOD ICT and VOTER Registry, the accountant and Administrative Secretary, whose complicity is obvious through inducement from the government, for investigation.

    But Governor Bello, through his Director General on Media and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo, described the allegation as characteristic of the author and his sponsors. “It is baseless and unfounded”, he said.

    His words: “If Governor Yahaya Bello is not popular, why are they jittery? The governor is not prepared for the 2019 politics yet. He has a mandate to discharge and he will work for the people until his last day in office.

    “It is unfortunate that the social media has provided a platform for such an unintelligent allegation. We do not have to react to such. Governor Yahaya Bello does not work in INEC and clear statements have been made that the governor was in Dubai on the said day.

    “INEC has not started registering people offshore and it is free to investigate any issue that affects it.

    “The governor is committed to fulfilling his obligations to the people. He is busy building roads, schools, hospitals and making agriculture the epicentre of our economic prosperity. These are the issues that can attract the attention of the governor.

    “The media should concentrate on development rather than promoting irrelevant issues. We want the media to partner us to take Kogi to new heights.”

  • Blogger Olunloyo gets N1m bail

    Blogger Olunloyo gets N1m bail

    An online blogger, Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo, was yesterday granted N1 million bail by the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.
    The blogger was remanded in Maximum Prison in the Garden City last month for alleged cybercrime.
    This followed a bail application brought by her counsel, Fatai O. Lawal.
    Justice H. I. O. Shamah, who delivered ruling at 3.10 p.m, said the court exercised discretionary power to arrive at the decision because the blogger’s offence was “bailable”.
    Justice Shamah said the accused must produce a surety in like sum, adding that the surety must be resident in Port Harcourt with a verifiable address.
    The judge also said the surety, if a civil servant, should not be below Level 12 and must submit a letter of employment as well an identification card.
    He said surety would also sign an undertaking to ensure the accused does not jump bail and promise to bring her to court on adjourned dates.
    Justice Shamah said Omololu-Olunloyo must submit her international passport to the court, sign an undertaking not to influence the court proceedings and promise to appear in court any day the matter is adjourned.

    He said the court took into cognisance the arguments of the prosecution and defence lawyer before arriving at the verdict.
    Speaking after proceedings, the blogger’s lawyer Fatai Lawal said: “We brought an application for the bail of my client and it was argued yesterday (Monday) and the ruling was just delivered. I think the bail condition is set.
    “The court has ruled and I think we must abide by that. The bail conditions are a bit long: one surety, either a civil servant of not below Level 12. If the person is a civil servant, the conditions are there; if the person is not, the conditions are also there.
    “It depends on our ability to meet the bail conditions. The court has already given its ruling.”

  • Website designer arrested for ‘duping’ blogger of N1.7m

    Website designer arrested for ‘duping’ blogger of N1.7m

    The police have arrested a suspected fraudster, Ikechukwu Iwezor, for allegedly obtaining N1.7 million from a blogger he met on social media site www.nairaland.com under the guise of designing a website for him.

    The police said Iwezor, 28, worked with a syndicate who specialised in presenting themselves as website designers to customers in order to obtain money from them.

    It was alleged that Iwezor advertised himself last September as a web designer on www.nairaland.com and persuaded a user of the social media site, one Akinlayo Ola, that he could build, maintain and provide support services for a website.

    Iwezor, the police added, charged Ola N1.7m but after obtaining the money in tranches, fled without designing anything.

    The suspect was arrested early this month at a house in Sauka, Garki opposite the Nigerian Immigration Service office in Abuja.

    He was docked yesterday before Mrs F. F. George of an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence and stealing.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Innocent Odugbo told the court that the defendant and others who are still at large conspired to commit the alleged offences sometime between September 2015 and April 8, 2016, in Lagos.

    The offences, he added, were punishable under Sections 409, 312 (2) and 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The defendant denied the charge.

    Defence counsel Daniel Abbey urged the court to grant him bail in the most liberal terms as the offence he committed was a bailable one.

    In a bench ruling Magistrate George granted ‎the defendant N300, 000 bail with two sureties in the like sum, who must show evidence of three years’ tax clearance and have verifiable addresses.

    She adjourned the case till September 14, for mention.

  • Police wade into Linda Ikeji, Wizkid’s feud

    Police wade into Linda Ikeji, Wizkid’s feud

    The police in Lagos has waded into the feud between celebrity blogger, Linda Ikeji and music star, Ayo Balogun alias Wizkid.
    Ms. Ikeji had filed a threat to life compliant against the singer after he publicly threatened  to send his teenage cousin to beat her up.
    Confirming that the blogger lodged a complain, the police command’s spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent  (SP) said the Commissioner,  Fatai Owoseni has brokered peace between them.
    She said: “Yes, the command received a petition of threat to life from Linda Ikeji against Ayo Balogun. The CP has waded into the issue between Wizkid and Linda Ikeji.  Alternative dispute resolution was used and the parties left in peace.”
    The social media war between the duo climaxed after the blogger published a report that Wizkid was facing eviction problems from his supposed Lekki home.
    Angered by the report, the singer wrote a stinker about Ms. Ikeji, where he threatened to send his 16-year-old cousin to “beat the shit” out of her.
    The post which went viral on social media generated mix reactions from fans and supporters of the duo.