Up-and-coming afro-pop singer, King Oliver, aka Jhehlah, says his looks make female fans drool.
The singer, who hails from Abia State, said this while speaking on his new song, Short skirt.
He said, “I am super confident about the quality and content of my new track, which will also have a befitting video. Short Skirt is a new vibe with a new classical spirit that will redefine afro-pop as it were and I think Nigerians and music fans across the globe should pay attention and take note of my sound texture.
“The music industry moving forward will not have enough of me and that’s why music listeners, buffs and critics alike need to pay attention to what I am about to offer musically.”
The Netherlands-based singer also said his unique selling point is “the way I write my songs, lyrics and most especially my good looks, which get female fans drooling.”
Following the controversy that trailed his inclusion as one of the speakers at the 60th Virtual Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, former President Olusegun Obasanjo during the week, boycotted the conference with the theme, ‘Step Forward’.
The just-concluded NBA conference generated heated controversy when thousands of lawyers signed a petition for the NBA to remove Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, from the list of speakers due to his government’s failure to stop the killings in Southern Kaduna, and his alleged human rights record.
Bowing to pressure, the NBA tweeted its decision, “The National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association at its ongoing meeting resolves that the invitation to the Kaduna State Governor, H.E. Nasir el-Rufai by the 2020 Annual General Conference Planning committee be withdrawn and decision communicated to the governor.”
However, the disinvitation of el-Rufai sparked outrage with the Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria asking the NBA to remove Obasanjo and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, from the list of speakers at the conference.
MULAN President, Ibrahim Abikan, in an interview with The PUNCH had said his association objected to having Obasanjo and Wike as speakers at the conference because they were allegedly guilty of the same allegations filed against el-Rufai.
“We insist that if any standard is set for withdrawing el-Rufai, the same should apply to other speakers too.
“El-Rufai is a public officer and any other person who has the same record of allegations of human rights abuses should also be disqualified. We expect that the same standard should apply to Obasanjo and Wike,” Abikan, a Professor of Law at the University of Ilorin, said.
Our correspondent observed that while other speakers including Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, spoke at the conference, Obasanjo did not, while Wike sent a representative.
Confirming the development, Abikan told The PUNCH on Friday, “I can confirm to you that former President Olusegun Obasanjo did not speak at the conference while Governor Nyesom Wike sent his SSG to represent him.”
Also, Obasanjo’s Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, told our correspondent in a telephone interview on Saturday that the former military head of state did not attend or speak at the conference.
“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was obviously not at the conference but I don’t know why he did not attend the event,” Akinyemi said.
But a top source among the conference planning committee told our correspondent that Obasanjo was advised by the organisers not to attend the event due to the controversy that his inclusion generated.
A Bell 206-B3 helicopter with registration number 5N-BQW, which crashed on Salvation Road, Opebi, Lagos State, on Friday, was declared non-airworthy three years ago, according to SaharaReporters.
The helicopter crashed with three persons onboard.
While two crew members died on the spot, the third person earlier rescued and taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, later died.
Documents seen by SaharaReporters showed that the crashed helicopter was declared non-airworthy in 2017 by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
The aircraft was also used in the past by different Nigerian airline operators to dupe NCAA into issuing them Air Operators’ Certificates.
The AOC, which authorises an operator to carry out specific commercial air transport operations, is issued once the NCAA was satisfied that the operator had the required personnel, assets, and systems to ensure the safety of its employees and general public.
An operator applying for AOC is required to have an air transport license from the NCAA, which permits it to operate scheduled passenger or cargo air services in the country.
A source told SaharaReporters that some of the operators use same helicopters previously presented by others to obtain AOCs from the NCAA including the ill-fated Bell 206-3 aircraft with registration number 5N-BQW.
The crashed aircraft, the source disclosed, was used at different times by Omni-Blue Aviation Services and Quorum Aviation to obtain AOCs from the NCAA.
“The ill-fated copter was declared non-airworthy in 2017 when it was discovered that most of the equipment on board have expired.
“Then, Quorum Aviation had approached the NCAA for AOC license and it was discovered that the helicopter was faulty. NCAA also accused the management of refusing to maintain the engine of the aircraft.
“Imagine in 2016, Omni-Blue Aviation Services borrowed this crashed Bell 206-3 helicopter to obtain AOC from NCAA. A year after, Quorum Aviation applied for AOC with same helicopter,” he said.
Investigation into the cause of Friday’s crash is currently ongoing.
Part of the building the helicopter crashed into was destroyed while some vehicles around the place were also damaged as a result of the incident.
Beyonce is celebrating her 25th year in the music industry since signing her record deal with Destiny’s Child back in 1995.
Despite changing her looks on a regular basis, embracing new hairstyles and dramatic fashion makeovers, the singer looks like she’s barely aged a day.
The pop superstar, 38, has put her ageless beauty down to clean living and drinking lots of water, but a top surgeon has suggested she may have had a little extra help according to reports by The Mirror.
While Beyonce certainly hasn’t gone under the knife for any major surgery, an expert at MYA Cosmetic Surgery suggests she could have achieved her fresh-faced look with some subtle tweaks.
The top surgeon said:
“Looking at previous images of Beyonce, I would suggest that she has had some very subtle and natural procedures.It is possible that Beyoncé has had the non-surgical treatment of Dermal fillers to her cheeks often referred to as ‘cheek fillers’.”
“Dermal fillers can be used in this area to re-introduce structure and volume along the cheekbone. For many, fillers are used to plump up skin sections where fullness can be lost through the natural ageing process that both men and women go through.”
“The procedure replaces soft tissue whilst filling in wrinkles/skin folds. I would suggest that Beyoncé has had anti-wrinkle injections, often referred to as Botox, to her forehead and around her eyes. This non-surgical treatment will create a smooth forehead and limit any frown/expression lines.”
“The treatment will normally last three to six months as muscle action gradually returns and the lines and wrinkles begin to reappear. This procedure can give the appearance of smoother skin if the patient is looking to achieve a youthful appearance or it is often used as a preventative measure to slow the process of ageing.”
Beyonce has previously insisted she’s never had surgery and puts her youthful looks down to a healthy diet and skincare regime.
In an interview with the Mirror, she said:
“I drink lots of water and I try to have a facial every month or two. Cleanser, exfoliator, mask – that usually sorts me out. Also steaming, that makes everything come out. My Mum always preaches to me, you have to take care of your skin when you’re young. I’m young. I don’t think plastic surgery is OK right now, but when I’m 57, who knows what I’m going to say. I don’t judge anybody, though, if it’s something that makes them feel better, then fine.”
At least 14 people were killed after Hurricane Laura slammed into the southern US states of Louisiana and Texas, authorities and local media said Friday.
Louisiana’s Governor John Bel Edwards confirmed at least 10 people had died in his state, half from using carbon monoxide-producing portable generators indoors in the aftermath of the storm making landfall Thursday.
Four of the remaining deaths were caused by trees falling on people’s homes, according to Edwards, while a man drowned after his boat sank in the storm.
There were 464,813 customers without power in Louisiana on Friday, according to the site poweroutage.us.
Texas ended up being spared the brunt of the hurricane, which has since weakened significantly. Three of the state’s four deaths were also reportedly due to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.
Those victims, all believed to be homeless, had sought shelter in a pool hall in the southeastern town of Port Arthur and carried its generator inside, according to the Beaumont Enterprise.
Local media reported Friday morning that a man died in East Texas, although it is unconfirmed that he was a direct victim of the hurricane.
The CBS affiliate for East Texas said the man was killed when a tree fell on his mobile home in Hemphill.
Earlier Friday, Haiti’s civil protection service said 31 people had died due to Hurricane Laura, which blasted the island nation as a tropical storm last weekend before turning into a powerful Category 4 hurricane.
The National Co-ordinator, Congress of University Academics (CONUA), Dr ‘Niyi Sunmonu, on Saturday said its members were ready to resume work.
Sunmonu said this in a statement he issued after its National Executive Council meeting and made available to newsmen on Saturday in Lagos.
He urged the Federal Government to reopen universities and put in place infrastructure and COVID-19 protocols that would facilitate resumption in the institutions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CONUA was an association of lecturers from five universities following cracks in the Association of Senior Staff of Universities (ASUU).
The new Union was announced at the end of its stakeholders’ forum at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in October 2019.
”CONUA members are ready to resume work.
”Everything necessary in terms of COVID-19 protocols must be put in place before reopening the universities in order to prevent students and staff from contracting the disease.
”The education sector cannot continue to stagnate. As it appears, COVID-19 would continue to be a threat and we must, in the circumstance, learn to strive to lead our normal life
”The Union urges the government to make available everything that can help our universities to resume work as it is being done elsewhere in the world,” he said.
Sunmonu said CONUA condemned the intimidation and harassment of some of its members by some university administrations and other unions within the university system.
He said that freedom of association as entrenched in the Nigerian constitution, a provision which allowed every academic the freedom to join any union of his or her choice.
”No amount of molestation or vilification can take the union away from the path of progressive unionism.
”Adequate measures, as far as the law and constitution of Nigeria permits, will be taken against anyone who is using intimidation or employing any other odious means to threaten our members,” he said.
Sunmonu lauded university administrations which held meetings to promote academic staff members during the COVID-19 lockdown.
‘The union received information that some universities held Senate meetings and Congregation elections, but refused to convene any meeting to carry out promotion of its members, simply because some people threatened that such promotions, if ever announced, will be reversed.
”CONUA leadership feels outraged by such pronouncements and expresses its resolve to support any effort by university administrations to facilitate the due promotion of academic staff members.’’
NAN reports that members of the new union were Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife; Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma; Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE); Federal University, Lokoja (FUL) and Kwara State University (KWASU), Molete.
Sunmonu said the union was formed for standard of education to be very high and for a stable academic calendar.
A 22-year-old Musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who was sentenced to death by an Upper Sharia Court in Kano State on August 10, 2020, has been denied access to lawyers even as the 30-day deadline given to him to appeal the judgment lapses on September 9.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that a notice of appeal had yet to be filed in court even as Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has expressed readiness to sign the convict’s death warrant once the 30-day deadline lapses.
Speaking with our correspondent on Friday, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), said he had asked a lawyer to meet with Sharif-Aminu but the lawyer was denied access by prison authorities.
He said, “I sent a lawyer to take up the case and meet with him (Sharif-Aminu) but he was denied access.”
Attempts to speak with the Spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Austin Njoku, proved abortive as he neither responded to repeated calls nor a text message on Friday.
The musician, who is a resident of Sharifai in Kano metropolis, was accused of committing blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed in a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March 2020. Irate youths burnt down his family home and led a protest to the Sharia Police, Hisbah, demanding Sharif Aminu’s death.
The musician, who went into hiding, was arrested, hurriedly tried and convicted for breaching Section 382 (b) of Kano penal code of 2000 which is based on Islamic law.
Some human rights lawyers in Kano told this newspaper that many lawyers were refusing to take up Sharif-Aminu’s case because of the volatile nature of Kano State.
An activist said, “Most of the human right lawyers in Kano that I have asked to take up the case have refused to do so out of fear. Most of them are afraid that their chambers could be burnt down by youths or they could be attacked or killed for defending a blasphemer. Ironically, some of these lawyers support the death sentence handed down to the convict and are refusing to take action.
“And of course, when it comes to such sensitive religious matters, the police are usually complicit or they look the other way. The political leaders also keep mute or come out to support Sharia because they want to remain popular among their people.”
The Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria which is very active in Kano and other states practising Sharia, had recently endorsed the death sentence handed down to the musician, stating that the trial was fair and in line with the laws of the state.
However, global rights group, Amnesty International, had said in a statement that the musician, from all indication, was not given a fair hearing.
“This is a travesty of justice. There are serious concerns about the fairness of his trial; and the framing of the charges against him based on his WhatsApp messages. Furthermore, the imposition of the death penalty following an unfair trial violates the right to life. Yahaya Sharif-Aminu must be released immediately and unconditionally,” said Osai Ojigho, Amnesty International Nigeria country director.
In an email chat with Saturday PUNCH, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Commissioner Frederick Davie, said the USCIRF would be making foreign policy recommendations to President Donald Trump, the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo; and Congress on Nigeria to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief.
On what recommendations the commission would be making as regards the blasphemy case, Davie said, “It is the commission’s opinion that laws criminalising blasphemy are detrimental to religious freedom and are inconsistent with international human rights standards and with Article (Section) 38 of the Nigerian Constitution.
“We recommend that the US government enter into a binding agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria to address violations of international religious freedom across the country, including by engaging state and local counterparts in a political dialogue to repeal or reform the country’s blasphemy laws to be more in line with the constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
The Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation and Other Related Matters Bill 2019 popularly known as the social media bill, is one of the bills before the Nigerian Senate led by Ahmed Lawan.
SaharaReporters gathered that the Nigerian Senate has concluded a “signed, sealed and delivered” plot to pass the social media bill once it resumes plenary on September 15.
According to a top source in the Senate, who pleaded anonymity, the upper legislative arm is determined to pass the heinous bill despite the immense rejection by majority of Nigerians.
“They have already concluded plans to pass the bill. They are going to hide behind the COVID-19 issue and other national issues and pass the bill without delay. Their plan is to do it once they resume. It is already signed,” the source told SaharaReporters.
Recall that SaharaReporters reported that the social media bill was rejected by majority of Nigerians during the public hearing of the bill in March.
It will also be recalled that the bill had been rumored to be an “executive bill”, thus making its passage non-negotiable by the lawmakers, who have shown that they were willing to support anything from the presidency.
When asked whether the Senate’s plan had always been to pass the bill without considering public opinion, the source told SaharaReporters, “I am not sure about that, but they believe that Nigerians will accept it and move on the same way they have accepted the Broadcasting Code.”
The reviewed Broadcasting Code was recently passed into law for media organizations in Nigeria.
The reviewed code increased the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to N1m among other things and has already been used in sanctioning Nigeria Info, a radio station, following a recent interview in which a guest criticized the government on one of its popular programmes.
According to its objectives, the social media bill will enable the Nigeria Police Force to “detect, control and safeguard against coordinated inauthentic behaviour and other misuses of online accounts”.
The bill proposes up to N5m or three years imprisonment or both for defaulters.
All attempts to reach Senator Muhammed Sani Musa; sponsor of the social media bill, and Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, on the issue proved abortive as both were unreachable on their official telephone lines.
Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman has died aged 43 after a four-year fight with colon cancer.
A message on his official Twitter account read: “It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman.
“Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more – all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.
“It was the honor of his career to bring King TChalla to life in Black Panther.”
The Accident Investigation Bureau has recovered the Black Box of a helicopter belonging to Quorum Aviation that crashed into a residential building in Lagos State on Friday.
The AIB said there was a passenger and two crew members on board the aircraft with registration number 5NBQW at the time of the accident.
Director-General of LASEMA, Dr Femi Osanyintolu, while speaking to journalists said the helicopter came in from Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Osanyintolu said two persons died from the crash with one other critically wounded but people on the ground were not affected.
He said, “At about 12:00pm, we received a distress call in our command and control centre that there was a helicopter mishap and immediately we activated the Lagos State Emergency Response Team.
“We were able to rescue one person alive and he has been transferred to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital where he is receiving adequate treatment, but it is pertinent to note that we recovered two bodies and they have been deposited at the mortuary.
“Based on the investigation carried out, it was due to the impact that led to their mortalities.”
