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The plaintiffs in the suit filed against the eligibility of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State on Monday told Justice David Oladimeji that the testimonial and statement of result submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission and the court by the defendants are forged documents. The plaintiffs, Rasheed Olabayo and Oluwasegun Idowu,  had informed the court of the possibility of an out-of-court settlement of the case at the last sitting of the court but an agreement on this could not be reached as the court continued with the hearing of the case. The counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr Olufemi Ayandokun, had in his response to the notice of preliminary objection filed by the defendants told the court that his clients had filed a nine-paragraph affidavit dated August  3, 2018, and attached two exhibits marked G.E 1 and G.E 2. Ayandokun said, “We stated in our affidavit that the documents he pr...

A suspected kidnapper, who wanted to kidnap a pharmacy owner, slept off as a result of tramadol he took before the operation. The Ondo State Police Command said the incident took place in Owo town , Ondo State, on Sunday, adding that as of Monday, the suspect was still sleeping due to the effect of the drug. Parading the unconscious suspect at the command headquarters in Akure, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Femi Joseph, explained that the suspect and his gang members had invaded a pharmacy in Owo to kidnap the owner. Joseph said the three-man gang stormed the store with a gun, but the victim raised the alarm and escaped through the back door. The PPRO said, “After failing to abduct their target, the hoodlums fled, but one of them stumbled because he was not active again due to the effect of the tramadol he had taken. “The suspect has been sleeping for  more than 24 hours after his arrest while a 400mg tablet of tramadol was found in his pocket. “ The ...

Armed and masked officials of the Department of State Services have blocked access into the National Assembly complex. The armed men have prevented staff, legislators and journalists from entering the complex.   Senators Ben Murray Bruce, Biodun Olujimi and Rafiu Ibrahim are among those blocked. Details later… Punchng

The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday, said he was saddened by the drowning of nine National Youth Service Corps members in River Mayo-Selbe in the Gashaka Local Government Area of Taraba State on Saturday. The victims were among the 22 youth corps members who had gone on a picnic around the area when the incident happened. In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, the Acting President extended condolences to the families and relations of the nine youth corps members on behalf of himself and the Federal Government. Osinbajo said with the tragic incident, the nation had lost some of its talented and productive young people in their prime. He said, “This terrible occurrence has abruptly ended the lives of these young men and women while they were dutifully engaged in national service. “The Federal Government appreciates their service to the nation and it is my prayer that God will comfort their families and loved ones, a...

Forty-four people were shot across the Midwestern US city of Chicago Sunday, US media reported, with five killed in a wave of violence police branded “totally unacceptable.” Chicago Police chief of patrol Fred Waller told a press conference Sunday afternoon some of the shootings were “targeted” and related to gang conflicts.   “The city of Chicago experienced a violent night. Incidents of either random or targeted shooting on our streets is totally unacceptable,” he said. CNN reported multiple shootings took place between midnight and 2:00 pm local time — with 10 taking place in just three hours from 1:30 am. Gunmen targeted groups including one gathering of people who had attended a funeral repast, police said, adding that one of the injured victims was an 11-year-old boy. Chicago experienced a near 20-year record number of murders in 2016, prompting President Donald Trump to regularly single out the city for criticism. But Waller said so far this y...

Nine Youth Corps members currently serving in Taraba State, on Saturday, drowned in the River Mayo-Selbe, in the Gashaka Local Government Area of the state. The Police Public Relations Officer, Taraba State Police Command, ASP David Missal, who confirmed the death of nine out of the 22 corps members who were swimming in the said river, said seven corpses had so far been recovered from the river. “Information at our disposal revealed that 22 youth corps members currently serving in the state were on a picnic in the River Mayo-Selbe, in the Gashaka LGA on Saturday when the incident happened. “We were made to understand that while they were swimming in the river, there was a sudden upsurge in the volume of water which swept them away. “Nine of them drowned while others managed to escape. “We have so far recovered seven corpses, while the search for the two remaining corpses is still in progress,” he said. The State NYSC Coordinator, Mrs Florence Yaakugh, also ...

A 23-year-old housewife, Damilola Ayeni, has been arrested by the police in Lagos for allegedly stabbing her husband, Olumide, to death at their house on Bamgbose Street, Lagos Island. PUNCH Metro learnt that the duo, who got married about two years ago with two children together, had a disagreement at their home on Friday. The woman was said to have stabbed the 36-year-old husband in the chest. He was rushed to the Lagos Island General Hospital where he died. The deceased’s father, Sunday Ayeni, who reported the case to the police, told our correspondent on Sunday that the couple’s marriage was fraught with disagreements. The Ikale, Ondo State indigene explained that he had tried to intervene, but he was stopped by some family members, who warned him to back off. He said his son was murdered by the wife over suspicion of infidelity. Sunday said, “My son and I work at the Lagos Island General Hospital. While I work as a security guard, he worked in the ...

Senators of the ruling All Progressives Congress and their counterparts in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party have vowed to resume hostilities over which party controls the majority in the upper chamber when the Senate resumes plenary on September 25. Controversy surrounded the defection of 14 senators from the APC to the PDP as well as the African Democratic Congress; this pitted members of the two dominant political parties against one another There are 109 seats in the Senate with only two seats declared vacant following the death of two Senators. The deceased Senators are Ali Wakili (APC, Bauchi-South) and Mustapha Bukar (APC Katsina-North). The Senator Ahmed Lawan-led APC caucus had after the defection of 14 APC Senators claimed that his party still maintained its majority status with 52 members while the PDP had 50; the ADC, three and APGA, two. But two of the Senators who left the APC, Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara-South) and Isa Misau (Bauchi-Central), claimed in a state...

A gale of defection on Tuesday hit the National Assembly with 37 members of the House of Representatives and 14 senators leaving the All Progressives Congress. But President Muhammadu Buhari while reacting to the defection from the APC in the National Assembly said it would not impact negatively on the party. Buhari said this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu. Shehu quoted the President as urging members of the APC not to despair over the development which he described as a “seasonal occurrence.” He then wished the lawmakers who left the party well in their future endeavours. The statement read, “President Buhari assured members of the APC of his total support and urged party faithful not to despair but to see the defections as a seasonal occurrence that happens on election eve. “He expressed confidence that no harm or injury will be done to the party and its aspirations by the movements. President Buhari wi...

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has said that it has what it called “facts” on how the last Saturday’s governorship election was allegedly rigged in Ekiti State. It said members of its National Working Committee met in Abuja on Tuesday, where they received and reviewed “all facts relating to the July 14, 2018 Ekiti state governorship election It added that after the NWC members reviewed what was brought before them, they came into a conclusion that the Independent National Electoral Commission allegedly rigged the election in favour of the rival All Progressives Congress. It will be recalled that the commission on Sunday morning, declared the APC candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, as the winner of the election. However, the candidate of the PDP, Prof Kolapo Olusola and the former ruling party insisted that the votes were doctored in favour of Fayemi. The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement in Abuja on ...

When Taiwo and Kehinde Animashaun bade their mother goodbye after a visit to her residence in the Sango area of Ogun State, little did they know they were exchanging last pleasantries. The 31-year old twins were returning to their houses in Ijoko, a neighbouring community, when  motorcycle they were on crashed into a stationary truck parked by the roadside. The twins and the motorcycle rider, Wahab Lamidi, died on the spot. It was gathered that the twins checked on their widowed mother after attending a family function in the area. After spending some hours with their parent, they left for home around 9pm on the motorcycle which ran into the truck at Vulcanizer Bus-Stop. Speaking with our correspondent, the elder brother of the twins, Afeez Animashaun, said the incident happened on Sunday. He said, “They both came for the introduction of one of our family members and they went to visit our mother afterwards. “They both left at the same time because they lived not t...

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has again attacked the Federal Government, stating that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is incompetent and incapable of addressing the killings and poverty in the country. He argued that the administration was confused and had reached the end of its tether while the nation was being left perilously to drift. Instead of proffering solutions, the former leader said the government had been wringing its hands and “giving one unrighteous and unacceptable justification after the other.” Obasanjo said this in a letter read on his behalf at a one-day national summit on insecurity and killings in Nigeria convened by the Northern Elders Forum, Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Pan Niger Delta Forum on Wednesday in Abuja. The ex-President, who was represented by a former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, noted that Buhari was, by his action and inaction, doing a lot of harm to the nat...

When you receive a photo or video from a contact in WhatsApp, after you load it, it’s automatically saved to your phone’s local storage. That means all received content from WhatsApp is visible to anyone who gains access to your default photo gallery. Luckily, there’s a new feature available for the Android version of the app that can prevent this from happening. However,  Gadget Hacks says for now, this new feature is an experiment in the WhatsApp beta for Android, but you can try it out by joining the WhatsApp beta from Google Play The new feature in the WhatsApp beta for Android will prevent photos and videos from automatically being saved to your device’s default gallery. Any media you have in your gallery from WhatsApp already will still remain; only new media received going forward will be blocked from ending up in your gallery app. All media will still be available to view in the WhatsApp threads that they were received in. Once you have the beta installed, there ar...

A final year student of Business Administration at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Saliu Haruna, has been found dead inside an abandoned well. Haruna was declared missing after he and other students were allegedly chased by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad attached to the Edo State Police Command. We learnt that the SARS team had invaded Haruna’s hostel on Friday, which led to the occupants fleeing in different directions. Haruna who was reportedly washing his clothes took to his heel and could not be found after the trigger-happy policemen left.  It was gathered that he was subsequently declared missing when he was not found after some search parties were organised to look for him. However, his dead body was found in the well on Monday by some students. A student of the university, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Haruna fell into the well while trying to avoid the policemen. The student said, “Yes, Haruna was found dead last night...

Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly have condemned and rejected the result of last Saturday governorship election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The assembly also adjourned sitting till October 8, 2018, due to alleged harassment of members by security agents. The adjournment followed a motion moved by the Leader of Business, Akinyele Olatunji. Speaking at the House plenary in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, Olatunji described the process leading to the election and final results as unfortunate. He condemned the harassment of Governor Ayodele Fayose, Peoples Democratic Party leaders across the state and members of the state assembly by security men. The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Samuel Omotoso, said the election did not meet all democratic credentials. He pointed out that the election was marred by outright brigandage, vote buying and falsification of results. The Deputy Whip, Ekundayo Akinleye, remarked that the outcome of ...

Belgium achieved their best World Cup finish as goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard secured a 2-0 victory over England in Saturday’s third-place playoff in Saint Petersburg. Meunier, who missed the semi-final loss to France due to suspension, scored after just four minutes before Hazard grabbed a late second as Belgium eclipsed the side that came fourth at the 1986 edition. Belgium have now defeated England twice in a fortnight, having waited 82 years to beat them before winning 1-0 in their group stage encounter. Gareth Southgate’s men were forced to settle for England’s joint best performance at a World Cup abroad, matching that of the 1990 generation. He made five changes to the team beaten 2-1 by Croatia in the last four, as England fielded their youngest World Cup line-up in history — with an average age of 25 years and 174 days. Phil Jones, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Fabian Delph and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all came into the side, while Belgium boss Roberto ...

No fewer than 11 people died while property and other valuables worth millions of naira were lost on Friday during a downpour in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. The rain, which started around 4.30pm, subsided about three hours later, leading to a gridlock in major parts of the town, forcing many residents to trek to their destinations. Among those who lost their lives were a food vendor, Halirat Akintobi, and her two sons. The deceased, according sources, had a container at Ilawo, near Kobiti  Central Mosque in the Abeokuta North Local Government Area,  where she had gone for the day’s business with her children, when the flood hit the area. They were said to have taken shelter inside the container when the flood caused the havoc. Their corpses were recovered from the river channels and were said to have been buried according to Islamic rites on Saturday morning. Sources said some residents were still searching for their family members by visitin...

The All Progressives Congress candidate in the Ekiti State governorship election, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has won the poll held on Saturday. From the results of the 16 local government areas in the state, Fayemi defeated his closest rival, Prof. Kolapo Olusola of the Peoples Democratic Party, in 12 LGAs. Fayemi polled 178,913 while Olusola scored 178,114 votes. The election witnessed a large turnout of voters and early arrival of the ad hoc staff and supervisors of INEC at polling units. Voting materials also arrived early in many polling units across the state while voters conducted themselves well during accreditation process. But tension set in as allegations of vote-buying were levelled against party agents by voters in some polling units. In some cases, the situation led to friction among loyalists of various political parties. At Ward 12 in the Igbehin area of Ado-Ekiti, an elderly voter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, accused the All Progressives Congress of offe...

The name Port Harcourt represents many things to diverse individuals. While to some it is no more than another urban centre in Nigeria, to others, it is the land where ‘milk’ and ‘honey’ flows. The capital of one of the country’s largest oil-producing states, the town fondly dubbed ‘Garden City’ by its teeming admirers, is not only revered by many within and outside it but also regarded as a place where dreams are lived. Housing nationals of different nations drawn into it by its oil wealth, the city is a melting pot of culture, lifestyle and a thriving leisure industry anchored on diverse forms of entertainment. It is one of the few cities that never sleep in Nigeria. READ ALSO: Girl to undergo surgery after grandma burns fingers While ‘joints’, hotels and spots where women – young and old – in the business of servicing men in need of steamy sex are in abundant supply across the city like in many urban districts around the country, ladies in need of male company in this regar...

A woman hatched an evil plan to destroy her husband’s life after learning that he was cheating. According to worldwideweirdnews.com, the jealous wife from Bangkok, Thailand, used a 12-inch butcher knife to cut off her husband’s manhood and threw it out the window. Neighbours, who heard the husband’s screams for help, called an ambulance. In a video of the incident uploaded to the Internet, the husband, 40-year-old Siripan Sanusan, could be seen being rushed to a hospital. Emergency workers were able to find his organ on the street and they took it along to the hospital after placing it in ice. Meanwhile, his wife, 24-year-old Karuna Sanusan, was arrested for carrying out the bloody attack. Police said that the woman admitted to planning the attack. She told detectives that she works with her husband and they sell vegetables. Recently, she began suspecting that he was cheating. When her suspicions were confirmed, she planned the attack. One morning, she pretended that she ...

A young man, who was identified as a labourer, was Wednesday evening killed by a group of policemen, who chased and shot him in the head at close range. Sources within Peace Avenue, off Iwofe Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, said the deceased was chased by the police from a place known as Calabar Quarters where Indian hemp was sold to willing buyers. It was also gathered that the trigger-happy policemen had recovered an unidentified sum of money and some wraps of weeds (Indian hemp) from the deceased after he was shot. One of the residents of the area, who identified himself as Jones, told our correspondent that they were jolted by the sound of a gunshot and the cry of a woman from Akwa Ibom State. It was learnt that the woman, who raised an alarm in her language drew people’s attention that a person had been killed. An eyewitness, who identified himself as Ikechi, told Southern City News that both the policemen and the man that was killed were alway...

Thirty-four candidates from various political parties will on Saturday (today) contest for the Ekiti State governorship election. There had been tension and apprehension during the electioneering, especially with the deployment of more than 30,000 security men by the police and other security agencies in the state for the poll. According to records by the Independent National Electoral Commission, in the 16 council areas of the state, there are 177 registration areas; 2,195 polling units; and 256 polling points, with 913,334 registered voters. However, out of the figure, 667,270 are accredited to vote, representing 73 per cent of the registered voting population. Among those contesting to succeed Governor Ayodele Fayose are the Accord Party candidate, Jacob Aluko, 69; the All Progressives Congress candidate, Kayode Fayemi, 53; the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Kolapo Olusola, 49; and 43-year-old Aiyegbusi Oladele of the Socialist Democratic Party. Also ...

The Ondo State Police Command has said two men joined Alao Adeyemi to allegedly kill Khadijat, the daughter of a former deputy governor of the state, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo. Adeyemi, Khadijat’s boyfriend, was arrested by the police on Sunday following the discovery of the remains of the deputy governor’s daughter in a shallow grave in his room. However, the police on Wednesday said two other persons that had yet to be identified were also involved in the death of the 400-level student of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Akoko. Parading Adeyemi at the headquarters of the state police command in Akure, the state capital, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Femi Joseph, said the two accomplices fled after the dastardly act. Joseph said, “The command received an information that Adeyemi, 27, who was Khadijat’s boyfriend, had allegedly killed her and was about to dispose of her corpse. “The police immediately swooped on him and on close observation of his resid...

The family members of a four-year-old, Elo Ogidi, are in distress over the disappearance of the child during a church service at the headquarters of the Christ Embassy in Oregun, Lagos. PUNCH Metro learnt that Elo was with the maid during the church’s children thanksgiving service last Sunday when she went missing. The Personal Assistant to Elo’s father, Solo Cosmos, told our correspondent on the telephone that Elo’s parents were too distraught to speak. Cosmos, however, said efforts to find her had been abortive, adding that the police had yet to have a clue on the whereabouts of the pupil. He said, “The family were all there at that thanksgiving service and Elo was with the maid, who took care of the three kids of the family. “Cake was shared for the children during the thanksgiving service and the maid went to get the kids’ slices. But when she returned, she discovered that Elo was not on her seat again. “We got information from a child that he saw El...

There was drama in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday as Governor Ayo Fayose said he was brutalised by policemen who allegedly stormed the main entrance to the Ekiti State Government House to stop a rally by the Peoples Democratic Party. Residents said there were gunshots at the main entrance to the Government House while tear gas canisters were reportedly shot to disperse the crowd at the rally. An eyewitness said the situation became tense when riot-policeman dispersed supporters of PDP governorship candidate in the July 14 election, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, who had gathered at the Fajuyi Pavilion for a rally. The pavilion is serving as the campaign office for Kolapo Olusola Campaign Organisation. The PDP supporters who refused to leave the venue of the rally were reportedly forced to by the policemen. The police allegedly fired canisters of tear-gas to disperse the crowd, saying it had to do so because the organisers did not obtain its permit before embarking on the rally. Fayose,...