Samlitegist

A Total of 6,900 Boko Haram fighters from among the over 200,000 surrendered terrorists in the custody of the Borno State government will undergo transitional justice. Borno State Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo who stated this also disclosed that over 80,000 of those in custody are innocent men and women used by the terrorists as slaves to farm for them. Transitional justice is a peace-building mechanism that seeks to address severe atrocities and end recurring cycles of violent conflict through a range of responses, including restitution, reconciliation, prosecution, and amnesty. Hajiya Gambo made the revelation during the conclusion of the best practice dissemination and learning programme organised by the Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development, held on Tuesday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. A total of 200,000 Boko Haram terrorists and their families have thus far surrendered to the state government since the mass surrender be...

Former US president Donald Trump has agreed to meet with the FBI for a victim interview about this month’s assassination attempt. Providing an update on the status of the probe into the July 13 shooting, Federal Bureau of Investigation officials said they have still not determined a motive for the attack by the 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks. They said Crooks, who was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper after firing eight shots during Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, appeared to be a Loner and they have not identified any co-conspirators. FBI special agent Kevin Rojek said the interview with Trump will be a standard victim interview like we would do for any other victim of a crime under any other circumstances, we want to get his perspective on what he observed FBI officials said they have interviewed dozens of people who knew or interacted with Crooks, including family members, co-workers, former teachers, classmates and others. The FBI officials said Crooks...

A mother has become the first person to be jailed under Australia’s forced marriage laws, for ordering her daughter to wed a man who would later murder the 21-year-old. Sakina Muhammad Jan, who is in her late 40s, was found guilty of coercing Ruqia Haidari to marry 26-year-old Mohammad Ali Halimi in 2019, in exchange for a small payment. Six weeks after the nuptials, Halimi killed his new bride - a crime for which he is now serving a life sentence. On Monday, Jan - who pleaded not guilty - was sentenced to at least a year in jail, for what a judge called the “intolerable pressure” she had placed on her daughter. Forced marriage laws were introduced in Australia in 2013 and carry a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment. There are several cases pending, but Jan is the first person to be sentenced for the offence. Jan was sentenced to three years in jail, but may be released after 12 months to serve the rest of her sentence in the community. she sat in the court dock and told her la...

The ninth edition of the popular reality TV show, Big Brother Naija, BBNaija, kicked off on Sunday night with 14 pairs of 28 housemates who will give viewers premium entertainment for the next 71 days. Among the first set of housemates to enter the house include Chinwe and Zion who go by the pair name Zinwe, followed by the duo of Sooj and Topher, DJ Flow and Ruthie, Chinne and Nne, a niece and her aunt who are known as Ndi Nne. Others were Femi and Michky, who are known as Radicals, Shaun and Victoria also known as Shatoria, Wanni and Handi, an identical twins and DJs from Kaduna State. We also have Ben and Tjay known as Betta, Toby Forge and Mayor Frosh aka Streeze, Kassia and Kelkyrae, Chizuba and Onyeka, Neita , Damilola and her partner known as Tami among others. This year, we have four identical twins in the house, the Mbadiwe twins and DJ twins from Kaduna, Wanni and Handi. The housemates are full of life, promising nothing but full drama and entertainment, This year’s season wh...

Manchester United have appointed another first-team coach, Andreas Georgson. The Red Devils disclosed this in a statement on their website ahead of their pre-season friendly clash with Arsenal on Saturday. Georgson is the latest addition to Man United manager, Erik Ten Hag’s staff this summer. He will work alongside fellow first-team coaches Steve McClaren and Darren Fletcher in the refreshed set-up. The 42-year-old joined the Premier League giants from Norwegian side Lillestrom, where he has been head coach since January of this year. He has extensive coaching experience in England, having worked at Brentford, Arsenal and Southampton in the past. Recall that Man United had earlier this month confirmed that Rene Hake and Ruud van Nistelrooy had joined the club, as first-team assistant managers. Jelle ten Rouwelaar has also come on board as a gaolkeeping coach.

Detectives from the Oko-oba Division of the Lagos State Police Command have busted a child trafficking ring, rescuing a two-month-old baby and arresting five individuals involved in the crime. The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this in a statement released on Saturday. Hundeyin revealed that the operation was launched following a report filed by the distressed mother of the abducted infant, who said that one Gloria Sunday absconded with her son on July 11, 2024. The statement partly read, “Detectives swung into action, which led to the arrest of Gloria Sunday, who, during interrogation, confessed to selling the baby for ₦500,000 to one Pastor Peter Udoh ‘m’. “Pastor Udoh, who was subsequently arrested in Ikene Town, Ogun State, admitted reselling the child for One Million, Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (₦1,450,000) to one Loretta Nelson (f) who was then also apprehended in Festac Town, Lagos. She confessed to selling the baby for two million, three hund...

The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics began Friday, an unprecedented and ambitious show with up to 7,000 athletes parading down the River Seine past the historic monuments of the French capital despite the risk of rain dampening spirits. For the first time in Olympic history, the opening ceremony is taking place outside the main stadium, with some 300,000 people watching in person from specially built stands on the river banks, and another 200,000 from overlooking balconies and apartments. As tradition dictates, the Greek delegation had the honour of leading out the flotilla, as the cradle of the modern Olympic movement. In an ambitious, high-risk departure from past opening ceremonies, the athletes will sail down the river in an armada of 85 boats. The show will blend both French culture and history and great Olympic moments of the past while US pop star Lady Gaga wowed the crowd of VIPS and spectators with an early performance in the ceremony 

An Iraqi judoka has tested positive for banned anabolic steroids at the Paris Olympics, the International Testing Agency announced on Friday – the first positive doping test at the Games. The ITA said a sample collected from Sajjad Sehen had “returned an adverse analytical finding for the non-specified prohibited substances methandienone and boldenone”. Both drugs are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The sample was collected by the ITA during an out-of-competition anti-doping control on Tuesday in Paris, with the result reported by the WADA-accredited laboratory of Paris on Thursday. The 28-year-old first-time Olympian had been due to compete next week in the men’s 81-kilogram class. The ITA statement said the athlete had been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter. “This means that the athlete is prevented from competing, training, coaching, or participating in any activity during the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” it said The manager of Iraq’s delegation, Herda...

Barack Obama has endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee, ending days of speculation over whether he would support her. Former President Obama and ex-First Lady Michelle Obama said in a joint statement that they believe Ms Harris has the "vision, the character, and the strength that this critical moment demands". Mr Obama was reportedly among more than 100 prominent Democrats Ms Harris spoke to after President Joe Biden announced last Sunday he was dropping out of the race. In a statement at the time, Mr Obama praised Mr Biden's exit, but stopped short of endorsing Ms Harris. The US vice-president has already secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates, setting her on course to become the official nominee at the party convention in August. The Obamas said in Friday's statement that they could not be "more thrilled to endorse" Ms Harris. They vowed to do "everything we can" to elect her. We agree...

  An explosion, suspected to be caused by a planted Improvised Explosive Device, has occurred in Buni Yadi market in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State. According to a news report a resident of Buni, Ali Hassan said that the incident happened at around 12.30pm on Friday, injuring a girl. The name of the girl and her current state of health has yet to be known The spokesman of the Sector 2 Joint Task Force Operation Hadin Kai, Captain Muhammad Shehu also confirmed the incident, saying another IED planted in the market was discovered and successfully defused by the Army. He further explained that the only victim of the explosion is currently receiving treatment at one of the health facilities in Buni Yadi. He stressed the incident was a planted IED and not a suicide bombing incident. Buni Yadi, located 54 kilometres from Damaturu, the state capital, was the most severely affected local government area in Yobe State during the two years it was under Boko Haram insurgent control...

The Muslim Rights Concern has called for the ban of the yet-to-be-released movie where popular actress Nancy Isime and other actresses wore purdah, an Islamic full covering popularly called the Niqab, and brandished dangerous weapons. Getty image  The group described the movie as ‘satanic’, adding that it depicts Muslim women as criminals and incites the public against them, The call was made in a statement signed by the Executive Director, MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Thursday. The statement read, “An extremely anti-Muslim film has been released into the Nigerian movie industry. The upcoming film, which was recently unveiled by Nancy Isime, shows women in purdah brandishing dangerous weapons and robbing banks. It is Islamophobia taken to the highest level. This film is satanic, repugnant, and provocative. Getty Image It is aimed at portraying Muslim women as criminals with a violent proclivity. The film is capable of inciting the public against Muslim women. It may also exp...

The Federal Government has announced the resumption of the trial of persons allegedly involved in terrorism and suspects of other heinous crimes against the Nigerian state. A spokesman for the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Abu Michael, said the resumed trial is in pursuance of the government’s commitment to promoting social justice by entrenching a transparent administrative system. In a statement, he said the ongoing trial, which is in line with the International Criminal Justice (ICJ) system, is being administered by the Federal High Court of Nigeria, with the Complex Casework Group (CCG) of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, in collaboration with other critical stakeholders under the coordination and supervision of the NCTC in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). The statement revealed that more than 300 suspects are on trial with five reputable judges manning five courts and chambers set up for speedy administration of justice on the on...

A heatwave in Morocco has killed at least 21 people in 24 hours in the central city of Beni Mellal, the health ministry announced on Thursday. The meteorology department said soaring temperatures affected much of the North African country from Monday to Wednesday, reaching 48 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit) in some areas. In Beni Mellal, “the majority of deaths involved people suffering from chronic illnesses and the elderly, with high temperatures contributing to the deterioration of their health conditions,” the regional health directorate said in a statement. The ministry was not able to immediately say if this was the highest recorded death toll from a heatwave in the country. Beni Mellal, more than 200 kilometres (150 miles) southeast of Casablanca, was still experiencing temperatures of 43 degrees on Thursday. Temperatures are expected to drop in the coming days, the meteorology department said. In the tourism hotspot of Marrakesh, they are expected to drop by 10 degrees on Sund...

President Bola Tinubu has commissioned the ultramodern and Digitalized National Cybercrime Centre to strengthen the efficiency of law enforcement agencies in the country. The president, who was represented by the minister of communication, innovation, and digital economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, said that the government was committed to investing in Nigeria Police Force through the procurement of sufficient arms, weapons, and other equipment as well as recruitment and continuous training to boast the number, quality, and preparedness of the police personnel. In his words, “This administration remains resolute in the fight against all forms of criminality. As emerging and rapid categories of offenses, cyber crimes are a new frontier in the battle. We are witnessing a rise in the threat posed by cybercriminals, online financial fraudsters, and cyber terrorists who use the internet to coordinate and carry out destabilizing and nefarious activities.” He said the emerging development of technolog...

 MASSIVE Chaos at Paris Olympics on the first day. Match suspended. Fans stormed the pitch. Argentina vs Morocco men's football game was suspended due to Hooliganism. An Angry Morocco fans invade Pitch and scare Argentina players with Crackers. They threw fire crackers on the ground and which scared the Argentinian players as they rushed back to the dressing room. A late equaliser for the South American side was disallowed and the final minutes were played out in an empty stadium following crowd trouble. Argentina thought they had escaped from the Group B match in Saint-Etienne with a 2-2 draw when Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of added time. But as their players celebrated, projectiles including bottles and plastic cups rained down from the stands and several spectators entered the pitch, with the referee promptly blowing the whistle. The teams left the playing area, but the referee had not blown for full-time and the outcome of the match was completely unclear until t...

The  National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Wednesday said its operatives have arrested the leader of Mushin, Lagos drug cartel identified as Sulaiman Jimoh aka Temo. Courtesy: punchNews The agency stated that Temo, who had been on its wanted list, had been evading arrest until he was eventually nabbed. His arrest comes after a drug baron, identified as Joachin Mbonu, was arrested in his mansion in Imo State on July 12 after fleeing from South Africa. In a statement on Wednesday, the NDLEA ‘s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said Temo was apprehended at his hideout after initially resisting along with his men He said, “After many years of wearing the toga of invincibility, the overall head of the Mushin, Lagos drug cartel, 57-year-old Alhaji Sulaiman Jimoh (alias Olowoidiogede, popularly known as Temo), has been arrested by operatives of the NDLEA, at his enclave after an initial resistance from him and his horde of hoodlums.” Babafemi recalled that operatives of the NDLEA had seized d...

  Kebbi State High Court 7, presided by Justice Shamsudeen Jafar, on Tuesday, sentenced Amiru Sani, Aliyu Umar and Bashar Dan-Inno, to life imprisonment for raping an18 -year-old married deaf woman. Courtesy: independent.ng The Prosecution Counsel, Barrister Faridah Muhammad, in her submission, said the convicts, who were facing two count charges of criminal conspiracy and rape, perpetrated the act at Wararin Zaromawa Village in Gwandu Local Government Area of the state. The convicts had broken into the victim’s household, while she was sleeping, they forcefully had carnal knowledge of her. They had choked her with thick pieces of clothes as well as tied her two hands with a rope before having carnal knowledge of her one after the other,” she said. The counsel prayed the court to convict the defendants as charged because the law imposed a mandatory sentence on the rapist. The offences of criminal conspiracy and rape are punishable under sections 259 and section 60 of the Kebbi Stat...

Meta Platforms Inc. “the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp” announced on Wednesday the removal of 63,000 accounts associated with the Nigerian cybercrime scene, which were engaged in financial sextortion scams targeting users in the United States. In sexual extortion, people are threatened with the release of compromising photos, either real or faked, if they do not pay to stop them. The investigation showed that the majority of the scammers’ attempts were unsuccessful and although mostly targeting adults, there were also attempts against minors, which Meta reported to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the U.S Meta Platforms said on Wednesday it had removed about 63,000 Facebook accounts in Nigeria that attempted to engage in financial sexual extortion scams mostly aimed at adult men in the United States. Nigerian online fraudsters, known as “Yahoo boys”, are notorious for scams that range from passing themselves off as people in financial need...

Abducted corps members from Ondo State who were released by the kidnappers on Monday said the family of each of the victims paid a sum of N1 million before they were set free. The five victims, who include four corps members and one artisan, were kidnapped by the bandits at about 11 pm last Thursday at Omi Alafa Village in Ifon, Ose Local Government Area, and dragged the victims into the forest. The corps members were said to be going back home after the three-week National Youth Service Corps Orientation camp in Enugu and Abia States. It was gathered that the driver and one passenger sitting in front of the vehicle were shot dead by the bandits. Narrating their ordeal in the incident, one of the corps members, Patience Andrew, said the bandits contacted their families and demanded a sum of N30 million each for ransom but after much negotiation they agreed to collect N1 million. She described the four days experience in the den of the bandits as horrible and hellish, saying they were b...

 The Chief Executive Officer of Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk, on Monday, said he was “tricked” into granting permission for his child to undergo puberty blockers. Getty images  “It’s evil. You’re taking kids who are far below the age of consent. It’s very possible for adults to manipulate children who are having an actual identity crisis into believing that they are the wrong gender,” Musk disclosed in a live interview with psychologist Jordan Peterson on X on Monday. Musk added, “Well, it happened to one of my older boys. I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys, Xavier. This was really before I had any understanding of what was going on, and we had COVID going on, so there was a lot of confusion. And I was told Xavier might commit suicide.” The billionaire business mogul said these while explaining the rationale behind his decision to relocate SpaceX’s headquarters from California, citing the state’s new legislation, Assembly Bill 1955, which...

The head of the US Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle has said she plans to resign following security lapses in the run up to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to step down following the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.   The demand came during and after a hearing on Monday that questioned Ms Cheatle about her agency's security preparations ahead of the 13 July rally in Pennsylvania. The shooting left one person dead and three others, including Trump, wounded. Ms Cheatle testified for nearly six hours during a contentious House committee hearing on Monday. Lawmakers became increasingly frustrated when she refused to answer questions about the shooting at Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month. "As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse," she said in her resignation letter on Tuesday. Both Democrats and Republicans...

  Vice-President Kamala Harris has secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates to become the party's nominee for president. A survey by the Associated Press on Monday evening said she had received the endorsement of more than the 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination in the first round of voting. That means Ms Harris is on course to be crowned the party's standard bearer and take on Republican Donald Trump in November's presidential election. It becomes official when party delegates hold a roll call vote ahead of next month's Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. Delegates are people who are selected to represent their electoral area. Their pledges of support are non-binding until the vote but unlikely to change. No-one has publicly stepped forward to challenge Ms Harris since President Joe Biden left the race on Sunday. He found himself under mounting pressure from senior members of his party following his stumbling debate performance a...