Police : Septuagenarian raped two underaged girls in Ogun

The Ogun State Police Command on Thursday arrested a septuagenarian, Sunday Tugbobo, for allegedly raping two underage girls of seven and eight years.

The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi in a statement to newsmen, said the arrest of the septuagenarian followed a complaint by one John Oru, a resident of 10 Ondo road Ijebu-Ode and the father to one of the affected girls.

Oyeyemi further explained that Oru reported at Igbeba divisional headquarters that the suspect, who is a co-tenant in the same house, had unlawful carnal knowledge of his 7-year-old daughter (name withheld).

He said: “He stated further that it was their landlady who caught the suspect right on the act and informed them.

“It was when the landlady was informing them that the other girl who is eight year old also accused the man of having done the same thing to her earlier.

“Upon the report the Acting DPO Igbeba Division SP Onah Lawrence detailed his detectives to the scene where the randy suspect was arrested.

“On interrogation, the suspect confessed to the commission of the crime.

“He also admitted that he lured the two minors to his room with mince pie at different time where he had carnal knowledge of them.

“The two victims had been taken to Ijebu-Ode general hospital for medical examination.”

PPRO Oyeyemi added that the Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmed Iliyasu has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution. - Daily Post

Minimum wage: FG promises to conclude talks before NLC ultimatum expires

The federal government has assured the organised labour that the tripartite committee on the national minimum wage would conclude its negotiation before the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum.

Amal Pepple, the tripartite committee chairman, gave the assurance while addressing journalists on Thursday in Abuja.

Organised labour had, on September 12, issued a 14-day ultimatum that it would embark on nationwide strike if the committee did not reconvene and complete its work.

The ultimatum will expire on September 25

“We do not want strike and I am sure that even the Federal Government does not want strike, and also Nigerians,” NAN quoted her to have said.

“So, we pray that everything will be resolved before then so labour does not have to embark on any strike.”

The chairman said the committee has worked hard and have finished its assignment.

“We have some figures from organised labour, organised private sectors and individuals from others sectors. But, we still need approval from the Federal Government and some figures from the state governments,” she continued.

“We do not want to fix a date for the reconvening of the meeting on our own without everyone’s opinion. We believe it is better to have all the figures and the government position for the sake of peace.

“So, that we can comfortably say that we have taken everyone position into consideration before the recommendation.” - TheCable

I will not overturn the result of the Brexit referendum' - PM

Theresa May delivered a defiant ultimatum to European Union leaders in a statement from No 10 this afternoon, saying she would offer no more concessions until they give ground.

“We are at an impasse,” she declared. In a terse tone, Mrs May accused the EU of failing to show Britain respect at the Salzburg summit where her proposals were publicly rebuffed.

“I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same.

“It is not acceptable to simply reject the other sides proposals without a detailed explanation and counter proposals.”

Standing at a lectern in front of two large union flags, Mrs May said she would “never agree” to the EU’s demand that Northern Ireland stay aligned with EU rules, which “threatens the integrity of the United Kingdom”.

She went on: “If the EU believe I will, they are making a fundamental mistake.

“Anything that fails to reflect the referendum or divides our country in two would be a bad deal. And I have always said, no deal is better than a bad deal.”

She said the only offers made so far by EU leaders were “bad deals” that she could only reject as they failed to respect the EU referendum result of 2016.

The Prime Minister called cameras into No 10 just before 2pm - but the BBC said the statement was delayed by a power failure in the room.

Earlier the Brexit Secretary expressed anger over her treatment at the Salzburg summit which has been described as a “humiliation” by the media.

Dominic Raab complained that the EU leaders had “yanked the handbrake” on her plans without offering any credible alternative.

He accused European summit president summit leader Donald Tusk of looking “unstatesmanlike” by posting Instagram images mocking Theresa May. The picture showed him offering her a cake with the quip: “Sorry, no cherries.”

Mr Raab lambasted the EU 27 leaders for giving “no coherent explanation” for rejecting Mrs May’s Chequers plan, nor offering any alternative to it. He said they seemed to be trying to “salami slice” her blueprint rather than respond in kind to the “arm of friendship” that Mrs May had extended.

“We have been rebuffed on our plans without any coherent explanation why,” he told the BBC.

“We have revved up the motor of these negotiations and the EU has just yanked up the handbrake. For the negotiations to go forward they are going to have to take their hand off the handbrake.”

He signalled that Mrs May would not dump her plans nor make further concessions at this stage. “We are going to hold our nerve, keep calm and continue negotiating in good faith.”In a clear reference to Mr Tusk he said: “I don’t want to impugn bad intentions to the other side. I think some of the way it was done - social media against the Prime Minister - didn’t feel to me like very statesmanlike behaviour.”He went on: “To be rebuffed on those aspects, without a coherent explanation, without credible alternatives, I think at some point light will shine back on the EU with questions about whether they handled this well.” - Evening Standard

PL News : Walcott reflects on his frustrating final months at Arsenal

Everton winger Theo Walcott has been reflecting on the final stretch of his time at Arsenal.

Speaking to the Mirror ahead of this Sunday’s fixture between the Toffees and the Gunners, Walcott had the chance to look back on his time at Arsenal and admitted that he left after becoming frustrated with the shortage of first-team opportunities.

Walcott has been a strong player for Everton following his move from Arsenal last January. He has started the new season in fine form, also, and will be out to impress against his former side at the Emirates this weekend.

The winger admitted that he was “hurt” by how his long tenure in North London ended but was quick to look forward to the future with Everton.

“I wasn’t enjoying it. I’ll be honest. I was frustrated, I wasn’t playing, I didn’t play a lot of the games. Having spent so much time there, done so well, it does hurt, but that’s gone now.”

“I had great times but I feel like I’m going to have even greater times here, I really do.”

Arsenal will be hoping to keep Walcott quiet when they welcome his Everton side to the Emirates on Sunday.

Unai Emery’s men will know that a fourth consecutive Premier League win could lift them high up the table, as they look to secure a top-four finish this season. - Read Sport

Osun guber: What we’ll do on Saturday – European Union

The European Union (EU) Election Observers say they will monitor Saturday’s governorship election in Osun with an eye on vote-buying.

Mr Ketil Karlsen, the EU ambassador to Nigeria, said this at a news conference on Friday in Osogbo.

Karlsen said that the EU was hopeful that the modalities put in place by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to check vote-buying during the election would yield positive results.

While commending INEC on its preparation, Karlsen said the global community would be watching the conduct of the election, being the last before the 2019 general elections.

Karlsen, who noted that more than 28 diplomatic observers from different countries were in the state for the election, said EU was committed to the continued consolidation of democracy in Nigeria.

“We are neutral in this election. We are not here to promote any candidate or political party.

“But we are here to promote the process that would lead to credible, free and fair elections in Nigeria and we hope to see credible election on Saturday.

“We are also here to see stability and continuity in Nigeria,” Karlsen said.

Also speaking, Mr Dominic Williams, the Political Councillor, British High Commission, said the Osun election would be a signal to the 2019 general elections.

Williams said the EU would be watching to see how the election would be conducted and its impact on the 2019 general elections.

“We want free, fair and credible elections and we want candidates to show respect for the rule of the game and shun violence.

“We also appeal to the more the 1.2 million people that have collected their Permanent Voter Cards to come out en mass to vote,’’ Williams said.

In his remarks, Mr David Young, Deputy Chief of Mission, United States embassy, said the US was committed to transparent and credible elections in Nigeria.

Young said the EU would continue to support the process that would promote peaceful elections.

While commending INEC for what it had done so far, Young urged the security agencies to be neutral in the election. - Daily post

PL News : Hughes claims Liverpool 'need' to win the Premier League title

Southampton manager Mark Hughes says Liverpool ‘need’ to win the Premier League title this season to continue growing as a club.

The Reds dominated English football in the 1970’s and 1980’s, but it has been a long time since the club last won the top flight league title.
Speaking ahead of his sides visit to Anfield on Saturday, as reported by the Express, Hughes had this to say on Liverpool’s chances of claiming the title this season.

“If Liverpool are going to become the team they feel they can be and be as successful as they want to be they need to get that Premier League title.”
“If they do that then a lot of titles will follow for them.”
“They look really strong. You sense they are very close and they are as good as they have been for a number of years.”

“They need to put trophies on the sideboard now.”
“They have come close in the Champions League final but now they need to go the final step.” = Read Sport

One Night Stand : Mr. Ibu opens up on cheating his wife with strange woman

Nollywood actor, John Okafor, also known as Mr Ibu, has finally opened up on the claim by a lady that he (Mr. Ibu) had a one night stand with her.

In an Instagram post that went viral, the lady had claimed that veteran comic actor had a one-night stand with her.

Mr Ibu who spoke with Punch, said although he posed for a photo shot with the lady whom he described as a “fan,” he never had sexual intercourse with her.

Mr. Ibu said, “The woman approached me to take a picture with me alongside her husband. She said she happily posted those pictures she took with me without any write-up. It was when a blog carried the picture that a write-up appeared from nowhere.

“I initially called police to arrest the woman, but she came to my house with her family to apologise that she would not have posted the picture had she known it would cause trouble. She swore that she would not have a child, if she ever wrote anything evil about me. I believed her. I told her that she did nothing wrong by posting the picture.

“I know that I have enemies. They were the ones who put that write-up to tarnish my image, but they can never succeed because I have never stepped on anybody’s toes and I will never do it. I only want to upgrade people and make them happy.

“Some people are trying to pull me down. I’ve witnessed instances where hackers used my account to defraud other people and upload all sorts of nonsense about me. But I always tell people that I am not the owner of those accounts.” - Daily Post

Police recover $470.5m, N8bn NNPC funds hidden in commercial banks

The Nigeria police on Thursday said they recovered $470.5m belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s Brass Liquefied Natural Gas hidden in some commercial banks in violation of the directives of the Federal Government on Treasury Single Account.

The force disclosed that another N8.8bn belonging to the NNPC/LNG which was also not remitted to the TSA was recovered.

The police spokesman, acting DCP Jimoh Moshood disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.

The statement read: PRESS BRIEFING: EFFORTS OF THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE IN THE RECOVERY OF MONETARY AND NON- MONETARY ASSETS FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

“On the assumption of Office, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, NPM, mni created Special Units to handle high profile cases including Terrorism, Cyber and high-tech crimes, some of which includes the IGP Monitoring Unit, Special Investigation Panel (SIP) and Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism.

“As a result of these efforts, the Nigeria Police Force recovered the following monetary and non-monetary assets for the Federal Government.

RECOVERY OF CASH ITEMS

i. The sum of Four Hundred and Seventy Million, Five Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Nine US Dollars and Ten Cent ($470,519,889.10) belonging to NNPC BRASS/LNG INVESTMENT hidden in some commercial banks after the directives of the Federal Government on TSA.

ii. The sum of Eight Billion, Eight Hundred and Seven Million, Two Hundred and Sixty Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty Four Naira, Ninety Six Kobo (NGN8,807,264,834.96) monies belonging to NNPC BRASS/LNG INVESTMENT, that was not remitted to TSA Account of the Federal Government was also recovered

iii. The Sum of One Hundred and Fourteen Million, Two Hundred And Ninety Thousand Naira, (NGN 114,290,000.00) in relation to the December 10th, 2016, National And State Assembly Re-Run Elections in Rivers State Of Nigeria was recovered from twenty-three (23) INEC Electoral officials.

RECOVERY OF NON-CASH ITEMS

“The Nigeria Police Force in the fight against Economic Sabotage and pipeline vandalism related crimes recovered two (2) Vessels, seven (7) Speed Boats, eight-three (83) Trucks, twenty-five assorted Cars including Jeeps, thirty-six (36) Buses, twenty-nine (29) Motorcycles, five Speed Boat engines and thirty-eight (38) pumping/Drilling Machines and Generators.

“Summary of Monetary and Non-Monetary Assets recovered; The total recoveries of Monetary and Non-Monetary Assets of the Federal Government by the Nigeria Police Force are:

(a) MONETARY ASSETS

Four Hundred and Seventy Million, Five Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Nine US Dollars and Ten Cents ($470,519,889.10).

Eight Billion, Nine Hundred and Twenty-One Million, Five Hundred and Fifty-Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four Naira and Ninety-Six Kobo (NGN 8,921,554,834.96).

(b) NON-MONETARY ASSETS:

Two (2) Vessels

Seven (7) Speed Boats

Eighty-three (83) Tanker Trucks

Sixty-one (61) assorted Vehicles

Five (5) Speed Boats Engines

Twenty-nine (29) Motorcycles

Thirty-eight (38) Pumping/Drilling Machines and Generators.

“The Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris NPM, mni, on 21st February, 2018 directed the Commissioners of Police of all the State Commands of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and their Supervisory Assistant Inspectors General of Police of the Twelve Zonal Commands in the Country, and the Force Headquarters Joint Task Enforcement Team to immediately commence simultaneously throughout the Country, the mopping-up, recovery of prohibited firearms, ammunition and weapons in the possession of all suspected Militias, Bandits, Armed Herdsmen and Farmers, Vigilante groups, Neighbourhood watch and other groups or Individual(s) or Bodies bearing prohibited firearms and ammunition, illegal weapons and lethal devices whether locally fabricated, modified or otherwise fashioned to kill or that can cause harm or injury to persons or that can cause panic, fear, apprehension, security breach, breach of Public peace or that can cause threat to law and order anywhere in the Country.

“Consequently, ultimatums of Twenty One (21) days at intervals were given by the Force for voluntary return of all prohibited firearms in the hands of members of the General Public, individuals and groups such as Vigilantes and neighbourhood watch groups in any of the Thirty Six (36) States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) including the Seven Hundred and Seventy Four (774) Local Government Areas of the Federation, Town Unions, Hunters and Watch night men or any group or association under any capacity or guise, other than Security Agencies recognized statutorily and gazetted by the Federal Government of Nigeria to bear firearms of specified category; after the expiration of the grace period and ultimatums, the Commissioners of Police of State Commands, FCT and their Supervisory Assistant Inspectors General of Police and the Force Headquarters Joint Task Enforcement Team in compliance with IGP’s directives and working on actionable intelligence, swung into actions and embarked on Mop-up, Seizure and Recovery of all illegal and prohibited firearms and ammunition from wrong hands, suspected Militias, Militants, Criminal/Unlawful Gangs through search, raid and seizure from identified premises, hideouts, dwelling houses, buildings and sites where these illegal/prohibited firearms were kept based on reasonable suspicion and intelligence and recovered the following prohibited/illegal firearms and ammunition:

RECOVERED PROHIBITED FIREARMS

Batch 1 – No. of Firearms Recovered = 6, 527

No. of Ammunition Recovered = 14, 809

Batch 2 – No. of Firearms Recovered = 3,130

No. of Ammunition Recovered = 12,185

“Below are the categories of the prohibited/illegal firearms and ammunition, specified under Chapter F.28 LFN 2004 Fire Arms Act:

Prohibited Firearms; Artillery
Apparatus for the discharge of any explosives of gas diffusing projectile.
Rocket weapons
Bombs and Grenades
Machine-Guns and Machine-Pistols
Military rifles, namely; those of calibres 7.62mm, 9mm, .300 inches

Revolvers and Pistols whether rifled or unrifled (including flint-lock pistols and cap pistols).
Firearms such as Pump action gun of all categories
Any other firearms/lethal weapons fabricated to kill

“This operation which is still ongoing among other purposes, is aimed at the full enforcement of the Firearms Act, mopping-up and recovery of all prohibited firearms and illegally acquired weapons and will enable the Nigeria Police Force deal decisively with Herders/Farmers Clashes, Kidnappings, Armed Robbery, Cattle Rustling, Militancy and Terrorism etc.

“While the Firearms Mop-up Operations and the recovery of monetary/non-monetary assets of Government are still ongoing, the Nigeria Police Force therefore implores Members of the Public with useful information that will assist the Police to report via the following contacts:

DIG Department of Operations: 08037025670

O/C IGP Special Investigation Panel: 08035891859

O/C IGP Monitoring Unit: 08032451594

O/C IGP Intelligence Response Team: 09098049333

“The commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to guarantee protection of Lives and Property and recovery of Government assets in the hands of unpatriotic individual(s), group(s) or corporate bodies across the country remains unequivocal and unwavering.” - Daily Post

Rivers overtakes Lagos as top investment destination

The investment profile report by the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) shows that Rivers state received the largest investment in the first half of 2018.

According to the report, a total of $45.74 billion was invested for 42 projects in nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The sectoral analysis of the investment profile showed that mining and quarrying accounted for 61% of the total investment and manufacturing, 28%.

Others sectors are transportation and storage, five percent; real estate, three percent; and the remaining sectors accounting for three percent.

It added that the investments were from investors in 11 countries, with French companies accounting for 35% of the value, closely followed by Nigerian companies at 31%.

The report said the UK’s investment stood at 20%; Luxembourg seven percent and the remaining eight percent were from the other countries.

Rivers received 35% of the total sum while Bayelsa and Lagos received 26% each.

“The top 10 announcements accounted for 43.1 billion dollars, representing 94 per cent of the value of the announcements,” the report read.

“NIPC sends out its NIPC Intelligence newsletter six days a week. The newsletter carries Nigerian investment-related news culled from various sources.”

It said the report was based only on investment announcements cited in NIPC’s newsletters from January to June 2018, it might not contain exhaustive information on all investment announcements in Nigeria during the period.

“Nevertheless, the report gives a sense of investors’ interest in the Nigerian economy in the first half of 2018.

“NIPC did not independently verify the authenticity of the investment announcements but is working on tracking the announcements as they progress to actual investments.” - TheCable

PL News : Pedro claims Hazard is in football's top four

Chelsea winger Pedro believes Eden Hazard is closing in on Lionel Messi as one of the best players in world football, ranking him above the likes of Gareth Bale and Kylian Mbappé.

The Belgian playmaker has long been considered one of the best talents in world football, but he has seemingly never been able to hit the heights that others have managed.

However, Blues teammate Pedro, who also played alongside Messi for Barcelona in multiple Champions League winning sides, claims the 27-year is closer to the Argentine superstar than many believe.

Talking about Hazard, who has already scored five Premier League goals this season, Pedro said, as reported by the Metro:

“It is obvious that Eden Hazard is in the three, four players that are the best in the world like Leo, Cristiano Ronaldo , Neymar, Eden.”

“Because Eden every year, you show your football and your numbers – score goals, assists, play a lot of minutes, play very good.”

“I don’t know, maybe in a few years Eden can win the golden ball or another thing because he is a very good player.”

“He is a big star. It is very good for the us that Eden is in good form with good confidence, doesn’t lose ball, is dribbling very good, score goals.”

  “It is a very good help for the team and when this guy plays like this he is very difficult to stop.””

“He is playing with good confidence and very high potential to score goals, help the team, no pressure but as well in a really good form physically.”

“This is also very important for the team because he is a very important player for the team.”

Pedro has also begun the season in fine form, having already scored three goals in the Premier League, in Chelsea’s quest to regain the title from Manchester City. - Read Sport

PL News : Emery claims Everton won't be easy opponents for Arsenal

Arsenal boss Unai Emery believes Everton will be a difficult opponent for his side on Sunday, despite the Blues most recent disappointing result against West Ham.

Everton lost 3-1 to the Hammers last Sunday in Marco Silva’s first truly poor performance of the season, and will be looking to hit back against the Gunners this weekend.

However, the Toffees haven’t ever beaten the North London side at the Emirates Stadium, while they haven’t beaten the club on their own turf since 1996.

However despite the odds being heavily stacked in Arsenal’s favour, coach Emery believes that Everton will certainly be no walkover, with Silva’s side sure to be determined to prove doubters wrong.

Talking to the club’s official website, Emery said:

“They have a very big history and a good coach with good players too. Their start has been good with lots of good moments in their games, and other moments like in their last match against West Ham.”

“They didn’t win that important match [against West Ham] but maybe this is why they can be more dangerous to us because they come here and need to show their supporters that they are better than the last match.”

“They lost against West Ham and they want to show us, to show their supporters, that they can win here. We need to think about our performance and work hard with respect to Everton, knowing that they have good players and good tactics. We need to impose ourselves on the game.”

Emery also praised Silva, claiming that in his one and only clash against the Portuguese manager, he knew he was a good coach. Emery continued:

“I played against his one team in Portugal, Estoril. I think that was five years ago. I looked when we were playing and this team were a very good, organised team and with very good coaches.” - Read Sport

Google defends Gmail data sharing, gives few details on violations

Alphabet Inc's Google gave details about its policies for third-party Gmail add-ons but stopped short of fully addressing questions from U.S. senators about developers who break its email-scanning rules.

How user data flows between big technology platforms such as Google and Facebook Inc and their partners has faced scrutiny around the world this year since Facebook revealed it had done little to monitor such relationships.

Google said in a letter to U.S. senators made public on Thursday that it relies on automated scans and reports from security researchers to monitor add-ons after launch, but did not respond to lawmakers' request to say how many have been caught violating the company's policies.

Senators may seek further clarity on Gmail's operations at a Commerce Committee hearing about privacy practices scheduled for Sept. 26 with officials from Google, Apple Inc, AT&T Inc and Twitter Inc.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gmail users must give their consent to activate extensions, which can help them send emails on a time delay, get price-match rebates from retailers and remove unwanted mailing lists.

Under Google's policies, software firms that create these add-ons must inform users about how they collect and share Gmail data

The lawmakers' inquiry came after the Wall Street Journal reported in July that some add-on makers did not make clear to users that their employees could review Gmail messages and that their data could be shared with additional parties.

Software experts told Reuters in March that auditing of apps that interact with Gmail, Facebook and other services is lax.

To be sure, sharing with a fourth party is essential to the functioning of some add-ons. For instance, a trip-planning app may scan a users' email for upcoming flight details and then use the data to query an airline for updated departure information.

Google told senators it has suspended apps due to "a lack of transparency to users," without identifying violators or when enforcement actions took place.

Gmail, used by 1.4 billion people, is not the only Google service drawing lawmaker questions about oversight.

House lawmakers asked Google in a separate letter in July whether smartphones with its voice assistant tool can or do collect so-called "non-triggered" audio in order to recognize phrases like "Okay Google" that activate voice controls.

The lawmakers cited media reports and said there had been suggestions that third-party applications have access to and use this non-triggered data without disclosure to users.  - Reuters

‘I don’t believe foreigners are involved in Nigeria killings’ – French envoy contradicts Buhari

Denys Gauer, outgoing French ambassador to Nigeria, says he does not believe that foreigners are involved in the killings across the country.

The French’s envoy position contradicts that of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari had said that the killings are as a result of the influx of mercenaries from the Sahel region.

“It has always been there, but now made worse by the influx of armed gunmen from the Sahel region into different parts of the West African sub-region,” the president had said when Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, visited him in London back in April.

But speaking with journalists on Friday in Abuja, Gauer said impunity is encouraging the killings in the country and those responsible must be punished.

The envoy spoke to journalists in commemoration of the 2018 French National Day.

“The reason for the killings is demography; some people are fighting for land, so there must be direct policy to develop agriculture and animal husbandry,” he said.

“I think impunity is encouraging the killings and those responsible must be punished. I don’t believe foreigners are involved in the killings.

“The second is justice. When there is that kind of killing, there must be proper prosecution and perpetrators must be properly sentenced. If that does not happen then, it cannot end.” - TheCable