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Tag: Nigeria News

  • Otedola’s daughter, nicest thing that happen to me – Mr Eazi

    Otedola’s daughter, nicest thing that happen to me – Mr Eazi

    Mr Eazi, Nigeria’s self-acclaimed pioneer , Banku Sounds, says his relationship with Temi, daughter of popular oil magnate Femi Otedola, is one of the nicest things that happened to him this year.

    The ‘Leg Over’ crooner, real name Oluwatosin Ajibade, described the relationship which has generated public interests as “one of the highlights of my year’’

    “It’s been one of the nicest things to happen to me this year. You know love is sweet. At least I have more inspiration for plenty songs.
    “So don’t be shocked that my new songs are going to be love-based.”

    The two love birds who are not shy about their relationship, frequently share their PDA pictures on their IG

    In a chat with HIPTV, Mr Eazi said he is still love in spite the intense trolling particularly for his claim of pioneering the infusion of Ghanaian lingo in lyrics.

    Eazi, who is also Apple Music’s Up Next artist, said “there is no real hate because if we as Nigerians saw another human being as Tanzanian or Ghanaian, we would still help; we are happy people, it is not that serious.”

    Eazi who is also a songwriter and entrepreneur is a graduate of mechanical engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology ( KNUST ), where he began booking artistes to perform at college parties.

    He parades himself as the pioneer of Banku Music, a fusion sound he describes as the mixture of “Ghanaian bounces, Ghanaian highlife, Nigerian chord progressions, and Nigerian patterns”.

    He showed interest in music after recording a guest verse on “My Life”, a song that gained traction and became a popular record at KNUST.

    Eazi released his debut mixtape, About to Blow, in July 2013.

    He gained an international audience following the release of the 2015 single “Skin Tight”.

    Mr Eazi inked a record deal with Wizkid’s Starboy Entertainment in May 2016.

  • Unemployed man jailed two years for drug trafficking

    Unemployed man jailed two years for drug trafficking

    A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Thursday  sentenced a 30- year-old man, Abubakar Nasir, to  two years imprisonment for drug trafficking.

    The unemployed convict who was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on a count charge of dealing in narcotics, had pleaded guilty.

    He begged the court to temper justice with mercy and give him another chance and promised to be a better person in life, if given the opportunity.

    In her judgment, Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, found the defendant guilty as charged and accordingly convicted him.

    Read Also: Ex-convict gets 3-year sentence for drug possession

    She, consequently, sentenced him to two years imprisonment, beginning from the date of his arrest.

    Earlier, the Prosecutor, Jeremiah Aernan, had told the court that the convict committed the offence on Sept. 20.

    Aernan said that the man was arrested at the Yadoya Market in Mile 12 Lagos.

    He said that about 300 grammes of cannabis sativa known as Indian hemp was recovered from the convict and he was arrested and subsequently charged to court.

    He said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act Cap. 30 Laws of the Federation, 2004.

  • Atiku visits Babangida in Minna

    Atiku visits Babangida in Minna

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar visited former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd), at his home in Minna, Niger State, on Thursday.

    Atiku arrived the Minna International Airport at 12:10 p.m. and arrived Babangida’s uphill residence 20 minutes later.

    Read Also: Atiku’s daughter still in PDP

    The duo later went into a close-door meeting in one of the ex-President’s rooms in the villa.

    Those at the meeting included former Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger State, Barr. Tanko Beji and other party chieftains in the state.

  • Man jailed two years for drug trafficking

    Man jailed two years for drug trafficking

    A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Thursday  sentenced a 30- year-old man, Abubakar Nasir, to  two years imprisonment for drug trafficking.

    The unemployed convict who was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA ) on a count charge of dealing in narcotics, had pleaded guilty.

    He begged the court to temper justice with mercy and give him another chance and promised to be a better person in life, if given the opportunity.

    In her judgment, Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, found the defendant guilty as charged and accordingly convicted him.

    Read also: Court docked man for N.26m fraud

    She, consequently, sentenced him to two years imprisonment, beginning from the date of his arrest.

    Earlier, the Prosecutor, Jeremiah Aernan, had told the court that the convict committed the offence on Sept. 20.

    Aernan said that the man was arrested at the Yadoya Market in Mile 12 Lagos.

    He said that about 300 grammes of cannabis sativa known as Indian hemp was recovered from the convict and he was arrested and subsequently charged to court.

    He said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act Cap. 30 Laws of the Federation, 2004.

    NAN

  • Egypt ‘s court sentences 13 terrorists to death

    Egypt ‘s court sentences 13 terrorists to death

    Egypt ’s Giza Criminal Court on Thursday ordered that 13 convicts be  executed  for launching terrorist attacks against security forces, official MENA news agency reported.

    The convicts were from a disbanded militant group that referred itself as Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt).

    They were charged with installing explosive devices.

    The explosive devices targeted various venues which included checkpoints, police stations, vital institutions and public properties as well as murdering policemen and citizens.

    On October 8, Giza Criminal Court referred the files of the 13 defendants to the country’s highest religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for his non-binding Islamic legal opinion on their execution.

    The case started in July 2014 and it includes 44 defendants in total.

    The execution verdict comes about two weeks after a terrorist attack against a mosque in North Sinai killed at least 310 Muslim worshippers and wounded over 120 others.

    This is the deadliest terror operation and the first against a Muslim mosque in Egypt’s modern history.

    Egypt has been fighting against a wave of terror activities that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the military toppled former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

    This came as a response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group.

    Terror attacks in Egypt focused on targeting police and military men in North Sinai before spreading nationwide and targeting the Coptic minority as well, with most of them claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the regional Islamic State (IS) militant group.

    Ajnad Misr pledged allegiance to the IS in 2014, a year before its founder was killed as announced by the Egyptian police in April 2015.

    Meanwhile, the Egyptian military and police have killed hundreds of militants and arrested a similar number of suspects as part of the country’s anti-terror war declared by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief then, following Morsi’s removal.

    NAN

  • NGO organises professional snooker competition in Lagos

    NGO organises professional snooker competition in Lagos

    Come Alive Initiative, an NGO, says it is organising a two-day snooker competition to meaningfully engage youths and create recreation for adults, especially in the Obawole area of Ogba, Lagos, as they prepare for the Yuletide.

    The competition is being co-sponsored by Meer Essentials Ltd and Allied Amusement Nigeria Ltd, a leading snooker marketing and manufacturing firm in the country.

    The championships tagged “1st Obawole Professional Snooker Competition’’ will hold from Dec 16th and 17th at Adam’s Gate Hotels and Suites Obawole in Ogba, Ifako-Ijaye Local Council Development Area, Lagos State.

    The National Coordinator of Come Alive Initiative, Victor Enwezor, said on Wednesday in Lagos that the organisation put together the competition as its own way of giving back to the society by engaging the youths.

    “We have looked at the situation of the Nigerian youths and felt that apart from our other activities, use this competition to engage our youths meaningfully and take their minds off vices.

    “We felt so because those that will participate will be busy training to perfect their skills in readiness for the competition and therefore will have little time to think or engage in negative activities.

    “It is also a way of promoting the game of snooker in Nigeria,’’ he told NAN.

    “The competition is also designed to enrich the pockets of the participants in whatever small way and that is why the winner will take the star price of N15,000 and the first and second  runners-up N10,000 and N5000 respectively.

    “There will be lots of consolation prizes as well as other side attractions, including stand-in DJ, live band among others.’’

    The event, he said, would be an annual event and would continue to witness innovations as well continue to promote the game of snooker as a gentleman’s game.

    NAN reports that snooker is a cue sports which originated among British army officers in Etawah, India in the latter half of the 19th century.

    It is played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth or baize, with pockets at each of the four corners and in the middle of each long side.

    Using a cue and 16 colored balls, each player must strike the white ball to pot the remaining balls into the pocket, first to pot the black ball wins the game.

    NAN also reports that Come Alive Initiative is youth development and empowerment organisation which presently focuses on the rehabilitation and re-integration of drug addicts into the society as well as empowering and giving them a new lease of life.

    The organisation has currently rehabilitated over 30 youths and young adults in different parts of the country.

    It also promotes the importance of effective giving for the development and assistance of the needy in communities and assists rehabilitated drug addicts with stigma and promote their tolerance and acceptability in communities in association with other government and non-governmental institutions.

  • Court docked man for N.26m fraud

    Court docked man for N.26m fraud

    A 49-year-old man, Ademola Adelesi, who allegedly collected N260,000 under false pretences to supply  three trucks of granite to one Olaide Oduwole was on Thursday docked  in an Ota Magistrates’ Court in Ogun.

    Adelesi, who lives in Tolani Street, Iyana-Ilogbo, Ota, is facing a two-count charge of stealing and obtaining money under false pretences.

    The prosecutor, Cpl. Abdulkareem Mustapha, told the court that the defendant committed the offences on July 27 at Canaan Land, Living Faith Church, Ota.

    Mustapha said that the defendant collected N260, 000 with the pretext of supplying three trucks of granite to Oduwole.

    He said that the offences contravened Sections 383(1) and 419 of the Criminal Code Vol.1, Laws of Ogun, 2017.

    Read also: Two men appear in court for fraud in Ekiti

    The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The chief magistrate, Mrs B. B. Adebowale, granted the defendant bail of N100, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

    She said that the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and swear to an affidavit of means.

    Adebowale also ordered that the sureties should provide evidence of tax payment to Ogun State Government and submit four recent passport photographs to the court.

    She adjourned the case until January 15, 2018 for hearing.

    NAN

  • Trader arraigned for N240, 000 fraud

    Trader arraigned for N240, 000 fraud

    A 28-year-old trader, Chima Akwo, has been docked at an Apapa Magistrates’ Court for fraud after he allegedly obtained power shower worth N240,000 from a businessman under false pretences.

    The accused is facing a two-count charge of stealing and obtaining an item under false pretences, to which he pleaded not guilty.

    The prosecutor, Sgt. Olusegun Kokoye told the court that the accused, who resides in Apapa area of Lagos, committed the offences on Sept.15 at the Satellite town in Lagos.

    Read also: Court docks dispatch riders for stealing N643,388

    Kokoye claimed that the accused obtained power shower worth N240,000 from one Obinna Akanazu with a promise to pay him the following day.
    He said that the accused started using the power shower but refused to pay Akanazu as promised.

    Kokoye said that the complainant reported the case to the police and the accused was arrested for questioning.

    The offence contravened Sections 287 and 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

    Section 314 of the law prescribes a 15-year jail term for offence of obtaining items under false pretences.

    The senior magistrate, Mr M. A. Etti granted the accused bail in the sum of N100, 000, with one surety in like sum.

    Etti said the surety must be gainfully employed and must also show evidence of two years’ tax payment to the

    He adjourned the case until Dec.29 for mention.

    NAN

  • Lagos shuts hotels over N354.75m tax evasion

    Lagos shuts hotels over N354.75m tax evasion

    The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service ( LIRS ) on Thursday shut 11 hotels, restaurants and event centres over alleged failures to remit their taxes under the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Laws of Lagos State 2009.

    Mr Seyi Alade, Director, Legal Services of the LIRS, said this after a state-wide tax law enforcement exercise in Lagos, adding that the firms owed the state government N354.75 million in unpaid taxes.

    Alade said that the government had started full enforcement of all aspects of tax laws on defaulting taxpayers.

    He further warned that failure to file Annual Tax Returns, false declarations in returns filed and evasion of taxes were criminal offences punishable by severe fines and jail terms upon conviction by a court.

    “Any failure to deduct and remit taxes as and when due in Lagos State will now attract very serious monetary penalties.

    “These penalties include sealing of the company, seizure of the goods and chattels and criminal prosecution of principal officers of recalcitrant entities.

    “We are presently prosecuting 52 high net-worth personalities and 20 entertainment celebrities before the State High Court for offences ranging from failure to file Annual Tax Returns, false declaration in Returns and tax evasion,”he said.

    He added that over 200 corporate bodies were currently being prosecuted before the High Courts for failure to file returns and remit their taxes to the government.

    Alade advised that taxpayers should take advantage of the window of opportunity created by the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), to regularise their tax status relating to previous tax periods.

    Read also: Ambode orders census of worship centres in Lagos

    “In exchange for full and honest disclosure of assets and income, such taxpayer will benefit from the forgiveness of overdue interests and penalties till the 31st December 2017.

    “Declarations made from 1st January 2018 will attract interest but no penalties up to the end of the scheme on March 31, 2018,” he said.

    He appealed to all taxable individuals and business entities operating in the state to ensure prompt remittance of their taxes to avoid the additional payments of interests.

    Alade added that business entities and taxable individuals who failed to remit their taxes promptly would also suffer penalties and disruptions to their businesses as a result of tax evasion.

    He listed Regia Luxuria hotel, Golden Hope hotel, Westown hotel, Liberty Hall, Seven Eagles Spur and El Shaddai Margvee hotel among others as some of the affected companies.

    NAN

  • NYSC DG tasks corps members to adopt entrepreneurship mentality

    NYSC DG tasks corps members to adopt entrepreneurship mentality

    Brig.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, Director-General, National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ) has urged corps members to adopt entrepreneurship mentality to be self reliant after service and to attain financial independence.

    Kazaure made the call while addressing the 2017 Batch ‘B’ Stream 1 corps members deployed to Ogun at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Sagamu on Thursday.

    The director-general, who was represented by Mrs Adetokunbo Idowu, a director in the NYSC, said the scheme had adopted some innovations to ensure that corps members were better engaged after their service.

    Kazaure also advised corps members to develop their potential for entrepreneurship excellence rather than seeking for scarce white-collar jobs.

    Kazaure also called on them to utilise the opportunity provided by the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development ( SAED ) programme to acquire additional skills for self-employment.

    Read also: Corps members urged to embrace entrepreneurial skills

    “The NYSC has provided all the tools and support you need to develop your capacity to the fullest, it depends on you, there is no short cut to success but hard work.

    “Of all the programmes outlined for you during the orientation, there is none more important that you must fully participate in than the SAED programme.

    “I want you to create your own jobs by being creative and innovative, you must strive to be labour employers rather than labour seekers.

    “Please don’t look for white-collar jobs, your skills and potential can serve you better in the way of realising your dreams,” he said.

    Kazaure said that SAED programme was packaged through a partnership with public and private sector organisations toward building an entrepreneurial capacity.

    He also urged corps members to remain in their states of deployment and contribute toward the promotion of national unity rather than seeking redeployment back home.

    Also speaking, Mr John Okpo, the Ogun NYSC Coordinator, thanked Kazaure for the visit.

    “We will continue to deploy corps members to all identified areas of needs, especially the rural communities where we shall implement advocacy programmes of interest,” Okpo said.

    About 2,442 corps members, comprising 1,270 males and 1,172 females, are participating in the orientation programme in the state.

    NAN