N2.5 BILLION FRAUD: SUSPENDED NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMMISSION D-G HAS CASE TO ANSWER

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the suspended director-general of the National Broadcasting Commission, Ishaq Kawu, to defend his alleged involvement in a N2.5 billion fraud.

Mr Kawu alongside the late chairman of Pinnacle Communications Limited, Lucky Omoluwa, and the chief operating officer of the same company, Dipo Onifade, were jointly charged before Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa, by the anti-corruption agency, ICPC.

The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission accuses them of “using (his) position to confer a corrupt advantage to a tune of N2.5 billion”, a seed grant released to NBC by the federal government for the digital switch-over project.

According to the commission, the offences are in contravention of Section 26 (1) (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and are punishable under Section 19 of the same law.

Mr Kawu, through his counsel, A. U. Mustapha, had submitted before the court in February 2020 that he had no case to answer, praying the court to absolve him of the charge brought against him by ICPC.

He was subsequently arraigned on May 2 and granted N100 million bail after pleading not guilty to all the charges.

Justice Ogunbanjo-Giwa had also fixed the ruling on the no-case submission by Mr Kawu on March 26, but for the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which led to closure of courts.

At a resumed hearing on Thursday, according to a statement by the ICPC, the court said that the commission had established a “prima facie against Mr Kawu, Onifade and Pinnacle Communications Limited and ruled that they had a case to answer.”

However, Mr Omoluwa was struck out from the charge after his counsel, Alex Iziyon, told the court of his death from heart failure, in February this year.

The trial judge, before adjourning the matter to July 1,2, and 3, also granted the prayers of ICPC to amend the charge by removing the name of Mr Omoluwa.

Source:Premium Times

FAILED FRIENDSHIP MEMORIES WITH MERCY AIGBE (PHOTOS)~~MIDE MARTINS

Mide Martins, took to her  Instagram with throwback pictures of her  friendship with Mercy Aigbe ,6 years ago.

Mide Martins captioned the picture; “BT Owambe Saturday 2014.. With My Mummy J Of Life.. Ore Mi Atata.. @realmercyaigbe.. Set Awon Sexy Mamas”

Mercy Aigbe on the other hand replied saying “See us! awa sexy mommas”

Recall that the two stars were best of friends until the friendship almost crashed Mide Martin’s marriage to Afeez Abiodun. According to reports, the wayward lifestyle she emulated from Mercy Aigbe led to alleged infidelity and lack of trust between herself and her husband.

Sources confirmed that Afeez told his wife that he was not comfortable with her friendship with Mercy Aigbe.

Since Mide Martins reconciled with her husband, her friendship with Mercy went sour and everyone went their separate ways.

75% OF RAPE CASES ON MY TABLE INVOLVED RELIGIOUS LEADERS~~DARAMOLA

Founder of Passion Against Rape and Abuse Africa, PARAA, Foluke Daramola-Salako has revealed that about 75% of rape cases her organization had handled were perpetrated by religious leaders.

She disclosed this during a chat on Instagram live with Funmi Iyanda on Public Eye Live on Saturday.
According to her, “75% of the cases I have on my table are from religious leaders and most times we don’t get to the end of it.
This is because when we start investigating the cases, the family would come and tell us we should leave the religious leader to God.”

She dismissed claims that indecent dressing by ladies is responsible for the increase in the number of rape cases and stressed that rape is just a sign of weakness by rapists  “Nothing attracts rape. Why do they rape minors, teenagers, and even old women. Is that also about indecent dressing?

She says most victims of rape cases in Nigeria are children, teenagers, and elderly women who do not dress indecently.
 “You hardly find rape cases against young women except for sexual assaults and abuse in workplaces, we find it mostly amongst children, teenagers, and elderly women, how come you are now telling me it is indecent dressing?


On the role of Nollywood in the activism against rape and abuse, she says, “The role of Nollywood is for us to create more awareness programs, have more movies that are preaching the negativity of rape and abuse, the reason it can happen to anybody, and the reason under no circumstances should any rapist be made to look like a good person.”

DAVIDO'S MUM "DIED OF A COCAINE OVERDOSE"~~KOO

Controversial blogger,Kemi Olunloyo is  coming  hard on  Nigerian singer, David Adeleke aka Davido .

According to her, Davido sexually harassed her and called her a “were” (Meaning: mad person).

Read her tweets below…

“Sexual violence in Nigeria starts with sexual harassment. @davido fans don’t know how he sexually harassed me October 20th 2018. His fans and associates endorse this reckless behavior and it spirals. He has found it hard to say “Sorry”, an easy word that goes a long way.”


“Let’s name this thread #FightSexualViolence. A 55yo Journalist doing her job writes about you. You don’t like it. What warrants you to go on Twitter telling her to “oil her pussy because she’s lacking sex”? It is absolutely Disrespectful @davido. A can of worms now haunting u”

“What warrants you to call me “cheap drug user?” and “Werey” in three tweets? Did your mother teach you manners? No! Vero died of a cocaine overdose. I lived on your street in 1993 and even babysat you occasionally. You told DJ Abass you don’t know me. True!”

“#FightSexualViolence @TiwaSavage your mgt mate plead to me several times to end this fight with you and I repeated to her it’s NOT going to happen till you apologise for those tweets. She said u were upset because I mentioned your late mother. Do u know how @Richkjtmusic feels?”

“@SAMKLEF plead to me to let things go. I said NO! Nobody forgives and forgets. You cannot do both. I am NOT forgiving you as I told @SaharaReporters and will never forget. I HATE U @davido with passion. You sexually harassed me! You apologise! It was WRONG”

AJIMOBI AND HIS WIFE DIAGNOSED FOR COVID-19 IN LAGOS

Ex- governor of Oyo State,Senator Abiola Ajimobi, is currently receiving “serious medical attention” at a cardiology hospital in Lagos State, over what has been diagnosed to be Coronavirus infection.

Exclusive Press gathered that Ajimobi was rushed to the hospital in the early hours of last week Tuesday after his health condition deteriorated in the middle of the night, causing panic in the family.

His wife, Florence Ajimobi, who was with him, was said to have quickly called on the security details in the house for help.

A security source told Exclusive Press that the security details attached to the former governor, on seeing his condition, rushed him from his room to the car on the ground floor and ferried him to the hospital.

Exclusive Press scooped from hospital sources that the tests so far carried out on the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) showed a problem with his lungs.

It was learnt that Ajimobi had been complaining of fatigue for a couple of weeks, prompting his physicians to advise him to rest.

It was further gathered his wife, Florence, is also ill and was being diagnosed for possible Coronavirus infection, as of the time of this report.

The news of Ajimobi’s hospitalisation is generating huge sympathy from the political circle, as some top notch APC leaders, Senator, Representatives from the state and outside are meeting and praying for the recovery of their leader.

Source: Exclusive Press

ONIRU KINGSHIP: PRINCE GBOLAHAN LAWAL EMERGES ONIRU ELECT

Lagos State  Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has approved the nomination and appointment of Prince Gbolahan Lawal as the new Oba-Elect of Iruland (the Oniru-Elect of Iruland).

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, on Friday stated that the appointment of Prince Lawal as the Oniru-Elect, which takes immediate effect was made on Friday afternoon, during the State’s Executive Council meeting, where final ratification was made on his nomination.

Prince Gbolahan Lawal, succeeds late Oba Idowu Abiodun, former Oniru of Iruland, who passed on in year 2019 at the age of 82.

Gbolahan Wasiu Lawal born on July 24th 1970 to late Chief T. A. Lawal- Akapo, the Ojora of Lagos (1977-1993) and Olori M. A. Lawal-Akapo. Gbolahan is a Lagos Prince from the Ojora, Aromire, Shokun and Abisogun branch of Oniru Royal families of Lagos State.

He is a seasoned administrator with over 25 years postgraduate experience with an in-depth knowledge of the workings of the Public Sector. He is driven, focused, steadfast and passionate. Prince Lawal’s excellent leadership, communication, collaborative and organizational skills have over the years sharpened his ability to identify, analyse and proffer strategic transformational change.

Prince Lawal holds an Executive MSc in CITIES (LSE, Cities) from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also obtained an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies [SOAS], University of London in 2008; a BSc Hons. in Botany from the University of Port-Harcourt in 1992 and a product of the famous St. Gregory’s College, Lagos.

In addition, he has completed several courses and programmes amongst which are the International Housing Finance Program (IHFP) in 2018 and Advanced Management Programme (AMP) from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA in 2015. He is also a product of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the World Bank Institute, Washington D.C. In the last 8years, he has been on the board of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund.

Prince Lawal started his career as a Scientific Officer with the Raw Materials Research and Development Council at the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in 1994. He later joined The Nigerian Police Force and was commissioned as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent. While in the force, he held several duty posts amongst which was serving as an Aide-de-camp [ADC] to the former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He retired voluntarily from the Nigerian Police in 2008 as a Superintendent of Police.

Prince Gbolahan Lawal was a Senior Special Assistant on Special Projects to a former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). In this capacity, he coordinated the Agriculture-Based Youth Empowerment Scheme (AgricYES). The success of the innovative Agric-Yes paved way for his appointment as the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives in Lagos State in 2011.

His impeccable public service record and his ability to address urban challenges also led to his appointment as the Honourable Commissioner for Housing by former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State in October 2015, a position he held until May 2019.

A lot of programmes and landmark projects were achieved under his watch as the Honourable Commissioner such as the Rent-to-own home ownership program, Master Craftsman program, Lagos Affordable Public Housing (LAPH), and The 4-IN-14 days bungalow housing development.

In 2019, Gbolahan Lawal was reappointed as the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture in Lagos State by the current Governor of the State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu essentially based on his sterling performance and quality leadership he provided in his first stint in the office.  Suffice it to say that during his first reign as the Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives in Lagos State, Gbolahan was the brain behind programmes and projects such as the School Agric programme, the Agric-YES summer school for senior secondary schools and the Eko Rice Mill, Imota.

During his second spell as the Honourable Commissioner, he has brought to bear his previous experience and expertise in the field. He came up with the idea of an Agricultural Stakeholders Summit in furtherance of the efforts of the State Government to make Lagos a 21st century economy with the agricultural sector playing a vital role in sustainable food security and diversification of the economy. Essentially, the Summit developed strategies that will ensure the State attains sustainable food security, improved nutrition, generate employment and create wealth through a combination of business and development platforms in partnership with the private sector.

As an offshoot of the Summit, he also saw to the development of a five-year Agricultural Roadmap for the State (2020-2025). The roadmap focuses on the development of agricultural value chains where the State has competitive and comparative advantages including the provision and availability of improved inputs, increased productivity and production. Suffice it to say that he was similarly instrumental to the organisation of a roundtable discussion on the implementation of the Roadmap in order to ensure adequate planning to circumvent risks and uncertainties in the sector.

Prince Lawal is also the brain behind the reforms and development of the Red Meat Value Chain in Lagos State; Agricultural Value Chains Empowerment Programme, a programme targeted at farmers, service providers, transporters, input manufacturers and suppliers within the system whose services are required for the successful implementation of increase productivity in Agriculture; an appraisal of Farm Estate and Settlements in the State; Lagos Agriprenuership Programme; the very popular Lagos Seafood Festival and the EKO City Farmers’ Market.

Lawal also successfully midwifed and superintended the State Government’s food security and palliative efforts during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Suffice it to say that to curtail the spread of the disease, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu declared a lockdown in the state and initiated various interventions in the areas of health, food and security to ameliorate the pains that the lockdown had on the citizenry. And it was Lawal’s Ministry of Agriculture that successfully coordinated and to the admiration of all, the twin efforts of the Emergency Food Response and the Temporary Food Markets.

He also has several awards in recognition of his outstanding performances in both sectors he served as Honourable Commissioner.

He is happily married with children, a sports, music and arts enthusiast.

17-YEAR OLD GIRL ARRESTED ALONGSIDE HER BOYFRIEND FOR FAKING HER KIDNAP

The girl identified as Seun Adekunle,17, was arrested alongside her 25-year-old boyfriend, Basit Olasunkanmi, after her mom, Bukky Adekunle, reported at Enugada police division on the 4th of June 2020 that she sent her daughter to Lafenwa market on the 1st of June 2020 and she has not been seen since then.

The mother disclosed that she received a call from someone two days later and the caller claimed to have kidnapped her daughter. The caller then made a demand for the sum of N500,000 as ransom.

 

She added that the caller warned her not to go to the police if she wants her daughter alive.

 

Investigation led the police to the hideout where the girl and her boyfriend were staying as they waited for the ransom to be paid.

 

Preliminary investigation revealed that the boyfriend, who is a butcher, was the one who brainwashed the girl and fed her the plan because he needed money.