Taraba Government has declared Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, as public holidays to enable residents of the state participate in the local government council poll slated for June 30, 2020.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Darius Ishaku, Alhaji Hassan Mijinyawa, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Jalingo.
He explained that the public holiday would enable civil servants to travel to their respective wards and vote.
He said: “The public holiday is to enable civil servants to travel to their respective wards and vote during the local government election slated for Tuesday, June 30, 2020.
“The governor also urged people of the state to be orderly, law-abiding and conduct themselves peacefully while discharging their civic responsibilities.”
Meanwhile, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations under the auspices of Eyes on Democracy of Nigeria (EDON) has activated a situation room to monitor Tuesday’s election to ensure that it is free, fair and credible.
The State EDON Chairman, Alhaji Muktar Madaki in a statement on Monday, disclosed that a comprehensive report on the electoral process would be made immediately after the election.
He said: “We have been observing the preparations by Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission (TSIEC), and we are so far satisfied with the developments.”
A gang member of Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi’s fraud ring, Olalekan Ponle, aka Mr Woodberry, who is facing fraud investigation in United States of America, alongside Hushpuppi is said to have fallen ill in prison.
Woodberry and Hushpuppi have spent just 9 days in Moshannon Valley Correctional Centre in US, and Woodberry has already fallen ill, and is reportedly undergoing treatment.
They were accused of being involved in business email compromise and other forms of Internet fraud.
Hushpuppi and Woodberry were arrested in Dubai and flown to US for further investigation.
The Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church International, popularly known as Winners’ Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, says Lagos and Ogun states have been infected with anti-church virus hence the decision to open markets and keep churches shut.
The cleric said this while delivering a sermon on Sunday.
Oyedepo said it was ironic that people in marketplaces no longer observe social distancing or hygiene and remain open but the church is being suppressed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He argued that refusing to open the church was in contravention of the freedom of worship which is enshrined in the constitution.
The cleric added, “No handwashing, no nothing, everyone is in the market running over each other every day of the week and there is no outbreak from the market but there is now outbreak, perceived outbreak from the church. Prophets are God’s voices to the nations. Caution!
“Now, freedom of worship is no longer a constitutional right but now determined by some individuals. It is a hard thing to kick against the priest. This is no longer coronavirus in Lagos and Ogun. It is now anti-church virus clean and clear.”
Oyedepo said in the last one week, 10 people testified to have been healed of the disease.
The cleric argued that the church which had the power to heal people remained closed.
The bishop said, “Can anybody silence the church? Never! I have never heard of anybody that God healed in the market but people get healed in every church day and night, real tangible healing. We have recorded 114 coronavirus healing testimonies. We got 10 this week.
“And that is the place that is vulnerable, not the market.”
Lagos, which is the epicentre of the pandemic, is yet to reopen places of worship.
Ogun State, which shares boundaries with Lagos, is home to the largest auditoriums of many big churches including the Redeemed Christian Church of God, the Mountain of Fire Prayer City and the Living Faith Church.
The late Olamide Alli, who was murdered by her fiancé, Chris Ndukwe, had concerns about marrying him and she voiced those concerns to friends in a voice note that has now been made public.
In the VN from 2018, Olamide told the friend that her wedding to Chris has been scheduled for October of that year, however, she wasn’t sure she wanted to get married to him.
She said they’ve known each other for years and they have two kids together, but she doesn’t want kids to be the only reason she’s getting married.
Explaining why she’s having second thoughts about marrying Chris, Olamide said she isn’t sure they know each other well enough.
The wedding didn’t hold again in October 2018. It was postponed to August 2020. Unfortunately, he murdered her in June 2020, leaving behind their sons, aged 7 and 3.
Before killing her, Chris locked her up in his room, put on loud music, then tied her up, covered her mouth with a duct tape, before he proceeded to pull out her braids from the roots, one after the other. He then stabbed her multiple times.
Hers was a slow painful death. Afterward, Chris committed suicide.
The body of a six-year-old girl allegedly raped to death by yet-to-be-identified persons, has been found inside a mosque located at New Road, Kurmi Mashi by Nnamdi Azikiwe bypass, Kaduna North local government area of Kaduna State.
Spokesperson of the state police command, ASP Muhammed Jalige, who confirmed the incident, said the body was discovered on Friday, June 26. He said the community members called men of the Kurmi Mashi police division to make a report after seeing the dead body at about 3.20pm which is close to the time they were supposed to converge for their Friday prayers.
Jalige said no arrest has been made but that the police is investigating the matter.
”Though no arrest has been made in connection to the crime, but police detectives attached to Kurmi Mashi division of the Command have launched an investigation to unravel the misery.
Yes, the case was reported at Kurmi Mashi division on Friday. Our men in that division received a call from the people in the community in Kurmi Mashi that they saw a dead body lying in the mosque. With the lockdown, they have not been opening mosques except for Friday prayers. They discovered the dead body around 3:20 pm close to prayer time.
An investigation into the matter has commenced. No arrest made so far. But police detectives attached to Kurmi Mashi are seriously on the issue.” he said
Nollywood actress, Amara Maduka, who recently bagged a modeling endorsement deal with BBW Erotic Modeling Agency, is popular on social media for posing Nood.
Shedding more light on her newfound love and reasons behind it, she says, “I didn’t choose the naked life; the naked life chose me. I embraced my body and the part of me that lots of people are afraid to confront within themselves. I love eroticism. I take erotic pictures for no reason. The agency got drawn to my content after seeing my page on Instagram and contacted me. They don’t have any model in Africa and they decided I would make a great representative for their brand over here.
“Despite how much I love eroticism, I won’t do porn. I’ve been contacted twice for that with a mouth-watering offer. I love erotic, not sex. I’m a tease. I enjoy teasing men but when they bring out the real deal, I’ll will run away.’’
Despite her love for nudity, would Amara still want to feature in movies? Her response: “The most important thing for me would be embracing my love for adult content. Starting off my career with comedy and transitioning into a nudist took me a lot and I’m just happy to dance to the rhythm of my soul. I love making comedy movies and I still get offers for roles.
“When the producers and I talk, they will say, ‘are you still the funny Amara I worked with the last time, because I don’t recognise who I’m seeing these days anymore?’ And I find that so hilarious. I believe a person can be everything they want to be. I don’t have to limit myself to a certain persona, because people are already accustomed to that. We are divine. We are multi-dimensional beings. We can do everything and anything. Well, I can. I don’t know about others.”
The National Executive Council (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by President Muhammadu Buhari, has dissolved the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, and appointed the governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni as the new caretaker committee chairman.
A statement by Femi Adesina, special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari in media and publicity, said the emergency NEC meeting adopted all the recommendations by President Buhari, and appointed Governor Mai Buni, as Caretaker National Chairman, while Senator John Akpanudoede was designated Caretaker National Secretary.
Buni was also appointed as the APC Caretaker Chairman and chair of an Extraordinary Convention to be held at a later date.
Aside Governor Buni, other members of the caretaker committee and extraordinary convention planning committee are Governor Isiaka Oyetola of Osun State, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, Stella Okorete and Governor Sani Bello of Niger State.
The United Nations (UN) says it has launched investigation into a viral video showing a couple apparently having sex in one of its official cars in Israel.
Spokesman of the Secretary-General, Mr Stephane Dujarric, told UN correspondents in New York on Friday that the organisation was “shocked and deeply disturbed” by the footage.
Dujarric confirmed that the video featured a 4×4 vehicle, containing personnel “likely assigned to the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO)”.
The short video shows a woman in a red dress straddling a man in the back seat of the white SUV bearing the “UN” inscription.
With them in the moving vehicle are the driver and a bald-head man sitting on the passenger side in front.
Media reports say the footage was recorded on HaYarkon Street, a major thoroughfare in Tel Aviv, the Israeli capital, although the UN said its authenticity had not been confirmed.
Dujarric said: “We are shocked and deeply disturbed by what is seen on the video.
“The behaviour seen in it is abhorrent and goes against everything that we stand for and have been working to achieve in terms of fighting misconduct by UN staff.
“We became aware of the video a little bit more than two days ago and our colleagues in the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) were immediately activated.
“Their investigation I know is moving very quickly. We know the location of the incident and the identification of individuals in the video, who are likely assigned to the UNTSO, is close to being completed.
“As part of the UN’s commitment to transparency, the UN will provide updates on the conclusion of the investigation, and any further action.”
According to the organisation, UNTSO, headquartered in Jerusalem, is the first ever peacekeeping mission established by the UN in 1948.
It says the mission comprises military observers to monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements and prevent military escalation.
In a statement, UNTSO said it was committed to the UN’s zero-tolerance policy against any kind of misconduct, including sexual exploitation and abuse.
It reminded its personnel of their obligations to the UN Code of Conduct.
The BBC quoted Ms Heather Barr, Co-director of the women’s rights division of Human Rights Watch’s, as saying the video did not come to her as a surprise.
Barr, who according to the news outlet had worked for the UN in Burundi and Afghanistan, said the UN had a bigger problem than the video.
“That problem is about allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by staff members of the UN,’’ she told the medium.
NAN recalls that the UN received and investigated 175 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against its staff in 2019.
Out of the total, 16 were substantiated, 15 were unsubstantiated and all others were still being investigated.
