TOP 070521 NEWS ROUND-UP

TVC NEWS: An 80-year-old woman, Mrs. Mary Adebayo, her 19-year-old granddaughter, Funmilola Adebayo and two other ladies have been arrested in Akure, the Ondo state capital by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for selling assorted illicit drugs like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, Tramadol, Swinol and Skuchies.

Following intelligence-based raids and follow up operations on their locations on May 2, over 19kg of cocaine and other psychoactive substances were recovered from the suspects while the octogenarian, her granddaughter and two other ladies; Tessy Matthew and Blessing Adesida were arrested.

As a result of the bust, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has directed the acting Commander, Ondo state command of the Agency, Callys Alumona to launch a manhunt for other members of the drug cartel now on the run.

TVCNEWS: Imo State government procures additional one hundred security vehicles and gadgets for "Operation Search and Flush" state owned special security outfit to stem the spate of insecurity in the State.

Handing the vehicles to heads of security agencies in the State, Governor Hope Uzodinma said Imo State will no longer be a safe haven to bandits and criminals as his administration will leave no stone unturned in stamping out criminality in the State.

TVCNEWS: 27 Kaduna Forestry College Students Released

Twenty seven students, abducted by bandits from Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, have been released.

One of the parents who led the protest to National Assembly on Tuesday, Abdullahi Usman confirmed the development.

They were among the thirty seven students, abducted from the school almost two months ago. Ten of them were earlier released.

CHANNELS: WORKING TOGETHER, NIGERIA WILL RELEASE ITS TRUE POTENTIALS – OSINBAJO

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is confident that Nigeria will overcome its diverse challenges and realise its potentials.

He believes this can be achieved if people who share progressive views continue to work together in the interest of the country.

Professor Osinbajo made the remarks on Wednesday when he received members of a South West Think-Tank, known as IMODOYE (knowledge is valuable), led by a former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

PUNCH: Why I represented Asari Dokubo, Niger Delta Avengers – Keyamo

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, says he represented Niger Delta militant, Asari Dokubo, and other groups like the Niger Delta Avengers not because he believed in the breakup of Nigeria but because he believed in the right to self-determination.

Keyamo said this during a recent NTA programme titled, ‘One-on-One’.

He further said no one could lecture him about human rights because the Supreme Court had said human rights should take the back seat when the nation’s unity is involved.

PUNCH: I don’t want to die, Actress Seyi Ariyo begs masqueraders threatening her life

Nigerian actress and filmmaker, Seyi Ariyo, also known as Shebaby, recently took to her Instagram account to raise the alarm that her life is being threatened by masqueraders.

In the video, the teary-eyed actress revealed that she had been getting life-threatening messages from these masqueraders because of a scene in her forthcoming movie, which portrayed a woman having sex with a masquerade.

In the Yoruba culture, such an act is seen as taboo. However, the sex scene leaked online and ever since she has received over 200 threat messages.

LEADERSHIP: CBN Introduces Funding Opportunities For Anambra Farmers, Traders

Branch comptroller of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Awka, Benedict Mmaduagwu, has advised farmers, artisans, traders and others in Anambra State to embrace the funding opportunities the apex bank has made available for them to grow their businesses.

He stated this during the bank’s two-day fair held at Prof. Dora Akunyili Development Centre, Awka, which began on Tuesday.

At the fair with the theme, “Promoting Financial Stability and Economic Development” Mmaduagwu said the apex bank had opened some funding windows designed to help boost the country’s economy, with targets at promoting small and medium scale enterprises across Nigeria.

LEADERSHIP: Years Of Leadership Failure Responsible For Insecurity – Obi

Vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, Peter Obi, has lamented the current nationwide insecurity, warning that unless drastic action is taken to contain it, the situation would degenerate into anarchy.

The former Anambra State governor blamed what he described as cumulative years of leadership failure for the security situation in the country.

Obi, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday in Awka, identified the total absence of merit as the major problem affecting Nigeria.

THISDAY: EFCC Arrests 30 Suspected Yahoo Boys in Kwara

Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arrested 30 internet fraud suspects, also known as Yahoo-Yahoo Boys, in Ilorin, Kwara State.

An EFCC statement listed the suspects as Adigun Oladapo, Olamilekan Ogunsola, Fuad Abidemi, Haastrup Samuel, Olamide Adeyemi, Akinola Abideen, Ebenezer Haastrup, Kehinde Adeyemi, Quadri Kareem, Abubakar Abdulbashit, Damilola Akinola, Ola-Oluwa Samuel, David Oyewole, Mojereola Toheeb, Isaac Chikezie, Joshua Chiekezie, Abdulsalam Opeyemi and Abawonjo Abdulazeez.

Others are: Ganiyu Olanrewaju, Adeleke Ibrahim, Taiwo Ganiyu, Oke Gideon, Olakunle Adebisi, Ajani Samuel, Joshua Ogizien, Sodiq Olasupo, Olamilekan Mubarak, Adeniyi Olashile, Rotimi Adeyemi and Rasaq Olanrewaju.

 

CHANNELS: India’s COVID-19 Cases Worsen As 3,980 Die In 24Hrs

India saw record new jumps in Covid-19 cases and deaths on Thursday, dashing tentative hopes that a catastrophic recent surge that has stretched hospitals to the limit might be easing.

Health ministry numbers showed 3,980 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the national total to 230,168, and 412,262 new cases, taking India’s caseload since the pandemic began over 21 million.

Many experts suspect that with low levels of testing and poor record-keeping for cause of death — and crematoriums overwhelmed in many places — the real numbers could be much higher.

ABCNEWS: Woman from Mali gives birth to 9 babies in Morocco

BAMAKO, Mali -- A Malian woman has given birth to nine babies at once — after expecting seven, according to Mali's Minister of Health and the Moroccan clinic where the nonuplets were born.

It appeared to be the first time on record that a woman had given birth to nine surviving babies at once.

The five girls and four boys, and their mother, “are all doing well,” Mali’s health minister said in a statement.

The mother, 25-year-old Halima Cisse, gave birth to the babies by cesarean section on Tuesday in Morocco after being sent there for special care, Mali’s top health official announced.

 

ABCNEWS: Authorities arrest man accused of stealing 100 vials of COVID-19 vaccine

A man has been arrested for allegedly stealing 100 vials of a COVID-19 vaccine and other property in Washington state, authorities said.

The burglary happened last week at a dental office in Purdy, about 30 miles southwest of Seattle. The owner called 911 in the early morning on April 30 to report that someone had entered the building overnight and stolen 100 vials of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, a vial of Botox and more than $100,000 in medical equipment, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

While its deputies searched for the person responsible, the sheriff's department put out an alert reminding residents that "COVID-19 vaccines are always free" and to only access them "through legitimate sources.".

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE: 2023 Will Either Birth A New Nigeria Or Ground It —Obasanjo

FORMER President  Olusegun Obasanjo has described 2023 as the year that will either bring about the emergence of a  new federation or make the country slide into dissolution.

Speaking on Wednesday  when he hosted members of the Tiv Professionals Group at his Penthouse residence within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) premises in Abeokuta, the former president  urged the nation’s  leaders to ensure that the year 2023 is a watershed in Nigeria.

He noted that all efforts must be geared towards ensuring that 2023 marks the beginning of a new Nigeria,  warning  that if the feeling of rot in the system continues, the nation will be slide into dissolution. He warned those beating  the  drums of war to desist from such, adding that they do not have the interest of the minority ethnic groups at heart.