The Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday denied reports that it arrested a journalist and activist, Dr Chido Onumah in Abuja airport. The bureau, in a statement signed on Monday by the Public Relations Officer, Peter Afunaya, argued that Mr Onumah was only engaged in an interaction during which an act of his capable of undermining public order and national security was explained to him. “The Department of State Services ( DSS) wishes to make clarifications regarding media reports that Dr Chido Onumah was arrested by the Service. To set the records right, Onumah was never arrested by the Service. “He was rather engaged in an interaction during which an act of his capable of undermining public order and national security was explained to him. “On his arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on 29th September 2019, it was discovered that Onumah wore a T-shirt with WE ARE ALL BIAFRANS inscription on it. With credible intelligence that he might be a subject o...

Teodorin Obiang Nguema A collection of luxury cars seized from Equatorial Guinea’s vice president, Teodorin Obiang Nguema, will be auctioned off in  Switzerland  and are evaluated at 18.5m Swiss francs ($18.7m). “This is an exceptional sale,” Philip Kantor, of British auctioneers Bonhams, told AFP. “It’s a private collection of supercars, with very low mileage.” Among the cars to go under the hammer at a Geneva golf club on Sunday are seven Ferraris, three Lamborghinis, five Bentleys, a Maserati and a McLaren. The most expensive lots are a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, valued at between 4.8m and 5.7m euros ($5.2-6.2m) and a yellow Ferrari hybrid at 2.4-2.6m euros. The cars were impounded by Swiss justice after the opening in 2016 of a financial malpractice case against Obiang, son and likely heir of Equatorial Guinea’s authoritarian president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has governed for 40 years. All will be sold with no reserve price. In February Swiss pr...

                                                                                                 Pastor Elijah Daramola According to the statement issued by the church Head, Media and Public Relations, of RCCG Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi, the Assistant General Overseer of the church, Pastor Elijah Daramola is dead. The statement added, “The leadership of the Redeemed Christian Church of God announces the transition to glory of the Assistant General Overseer in Charge of Doctrines, Pastor Elijah .O. ELIJAH Daramola at the age of 67. “Pastor Elijah Daramola who was a member of the Governing Council of the Mission, passed on in the early hours of Sunday, September 22, 2019, after a brief illness. “He was the Pastor in Charge of Regio...

                                           Quincy Thorpe New York Port Authority police and federal authorities have arrested a Delta Airlines ramp worker they assume rack up a bag containing $250,000 about to be flown to Florida — then called in sick, police sources said Thursday. The bag of money, which belonged to an armored car company, was stolen from a Delta Airlines plane on Tuesday but was not reported missing until the plane landed in Miami, sources said. According to the information provided by the Port Authority police, federal authorities immediately began questioning the Delta Airlines crew that worked on the plane. Mr Quincy Thorpe immediately became a suspect after he called in sick the next two days. The FBI arrested Thorpe at his home late Wednesday. He was charged with grand larceny. The money has not been recovered. Thorpe was released on $80,0...

Jacques Chirac  Former French president Jacques Chirac died on Thursday at the age of 86 after a long battle with health issue, prompting tributes from across the world for a cheerful leader who famously  against  the 2003 Iraq war.  World leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded his relevance to France. President Emmanuel Macron announced a day of national mourning for Monday, when a mass will take place at the Saint-Sulpice church in Paris. "We French have lost a statesman whom we loved as much as he loved us," Macron said in an address to the nation from the Elysee Palace.He  affirmed Chirac as a "great Frenchman" .

Picture Courtesy Lagos State Government-@ the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said that 9,000 megawatts is the amount of energy required to transform Lagos State economy. If realised, Lagos, the most populous city-state, and the fifth largest economy in Africa, would be self-sufficient in electricity supply that would adequately power its industrial sector, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and residential buildings. The Lagos State Governor disclosed this when he addressed a Forum at the Corporate Council on Africa, a side event at the ongoing 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States. Sanwo-Olu seek the support of investors at the forum, assuring them that his administration would be open to tapping private investment in clean energy to enable Lagos attain its aspiration of transforming to 21st century economy driven by technology and innovation...

                                                          File Picture -  Omoyele Sowore Justice Taiwo Taiwo has asked the Department of State Service to release Omoyele Sowore on bail. The judge, as part of bail conditions, asked Sowore to drop his passport with the court within 48 hours. Leading Omoyele Sowore’s team, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), argued that the order issued by the court on August 8, 2019 permitting the DSS to hold the activist for 45 days, had expired on September 21.

British travel operator Thomas Cook Group  collapsed on Sunday night . The 178-year-old company  said in a statement  that its board "concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect" after talks on a financial rescue failed. All Thomas Cook bookings have been canceled, the UK Civil Aviation Authority  tweeted . Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook's chief executive, apologized to customers, employees, suppliers and partners. "This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world," Fankhauser said. "Despite huge efforts over a number of months, and further intense negotiations in recent days, we have not been able to secure a deal to save our business. I know that this outcome will be devastating to many people and cause a lot of anxiety stress and disruption," he added. Thomas Cook's business o...

                                          1985 File Photo - Joel Robin/AFP/Getty Images Greece Police have arrested a 65-year-old man linked to the 1985  hijacking  of a Trans World Airlines flight, an attack during which a U.S. Navy diver, Robert Stethem, 23 years  was killed. Hamadei Saleh Mohammed Ali, a Lebanese citizen, was apprehended on Thursday during a routine passport check in Mykonos, the last stop in Greece before traveling to Turkey on a cruise ship.  Lt. Col. Theodoros Chronopoulos, a police spokesman, told The Associated Press that the hijacking case involved TWA Flight 847. The flight was commandeered by hijackers shortly after taking off from Athens on June 14, 1985. It originated in Cairo and had San Diego set as a final destination, with stops scheduled in Athens, Rome, Boston and Los Angeles. The Investigation is still ongoing. ...

                                                  I slamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami Any country that attacks Iran will become the “main battlefield,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops warned Saturday after Washington ordered reinforcements to the Gulf following attacks on Saudi oil installations it blames on Tehran. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the strikes but the US says it has established the attacks involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounted to “an act of war.” Washington approved the deployment of troops to Saudi Arabia at “the kingdom’s request,” US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, the forces would be “defensive in nature” and focused on air and missile defense. But IRGC commander Major General Hossein Salami said Iran was “ready for any type of scenario.”Tensions escalated betwe...

                                          Picture File Copy - Atiku Abubakar Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the decision of the  Election Tribunal, which endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the  Presidential Election. Atiku in a statement signed on Friday explained his motive for ‘pursuing judicial route,’ and why he is seeking legal redress challenging Buhari’s victory in the February 23, 2019 presidential election. He wrote; Message of Gratitude to Nigerians For Your Support on This Necessary Journey  Dearly beloved citizens of Nigerians, I write to personally thank you for your support for our shared common goal and the solidarity I enjoyed from all walks of life and every strata of society, right from July 21, 2018, when I informed you, the goo...

                                                                   Picture File Copy   Delta Air Lines diverted an Atlanta flight going to Florida after an unknown problem caused the cabin's oxygen masks to be released. News outlets report the Fort Lauderdale-bound plane made an emergency landing at Tampa International Airport about an hour after it departed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A statement by Delta says the plane was diverted out of an abundance of caution over the "cabin pressure irregularity." It says the plane is now being evaluated by maintenance technicians. 

                                                        Picture File Copy- Godwin  I Emefiele Beginning from September 18, 2019,  bank account owners in Nigeria will start  paying charges for deposits and withdrawals. Making the revelation on Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria declared that the nationwide implementation of the cashless policy will begin by March 2020.  Implementation of this new policy would signal the imposition of charges on deposits in addition to already existing charges on withdrawals. According to the circular, the charges will attract 3% processing fees for withdrawals and 2% processing fees for lodgments of amounts over N500,000 for individual accounts. For corporate accounts, the apex bank in the notice proclaim that DMBs would charge 5% processing fee for withdrawals and 3% for lodgments ...

                                                Picture File Copy- Gov. Seyi Makinde The Oyo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the application filed by Chief Bayo Adelabu, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the March 2, 2019 election. Adelabu, in his application, prayed the court to announce him the winner of the election or order a rerun, recounting that the election was marred with irregularities, over-voting and lack of proper accreditation. However, t he tribunal believed that he failed to “prove substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act”. Delivering the final ruling, the three-man tribunal led by Justice Sirajo Muhammed, ruled that the APC and its candidate failed to prove the allegation of corrupt practices, over-voting, improper accreditation, inaccurate ballot counting and non-compliance with t...

                                       File Copy-Shuli Adebolu The Lagos State Government says it will construct a one-stop shop for film producers in the state. The Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Shuli Adebolu, said this at the graduation ceremony of the Pioneer MultiChoice Talent Factory Scholars drawn from across West Africa. Adebola said in a statement signed by  Olayinka Ojo, the Assistant Director, Public Affairs in the Ministry, on Sunday that the one-stop shop was part of efforts to boost the film and entertainment industry. According to her, the state is blessed with beautiful locations that support the aesthetics of film production. “Efforts are being considered to ensure the state has a one-stop centre that will ensure quality and timely production of films that meet domestic and international standards, which will grow the industry and also...

A Norwegian fisherman was shocked when he reeled in a strange, alien-looking creature from the water. The mysterious animal had large bulbous eyes that made it look different. Oscar Lundahl nearly “jumped out of his fishing boat” when he pulled the strange creature into his boat,  The Sun  reported.  Lundahl said that due to the extreme change in pressure, the ratfish didn’t survive the experience. Not wanting to waste it, Lundahl claimed that he took the fish home and fried it up. Despite its ugly appearance, it was really tasty,” he told The Sun. “It is a bit like cod but tastier.”

                                              Dr. Anthony  Onyegbula                  Picture Courtesy- WSB TV Atlanta GA -The regional president for United Community Bank sent Dr Anthony  Onyegbula a statement after he was  suspected of being a potential criminal by the Bank .The doctor  was at the United Community Bank on Eagles Landing Parkway to open a new account with his wife.  “They said I was suspicious, I was wearing a hat, and they thought I wanted to rob the bank, and I was like, ‘What?’” Onyegbula said. The statement reads: “For privacy reasons, we do not comment publicly about the details of any customer or potential customer transactions. However, providing excellent customer service is our top priority and we are disappointed that we didn’t deliver that to Drs. Onyegbula and Tedga i...

                                                                     Picture Courtesy Methodist Healthcare A Germantown Family in Tennessee welcomed a wonderful baby girl this week, and her birthdate and time are incredibly special. Christina Malone-Brown was born at 9:11 p.m. on 9/11 and also Christina’s weight is 9 pounds, 11 ounces. “Oh my God! This is 9-11, 9-11, 9-11 baby,” the doctor said when the triple coincidence was realized, parents Cametrione Malone-Brown and Justin Brown  told ABC7 News . Rachel Laughlin, head of women's services at the hospital said such a coincidence was extremely rare. "I've worked in women's services for over 35 years, and I've never seen a baby's birthdate, time of birth, and weight all be matching numbers," she said.

                                          Picture Courtesy Pixabay- lindsay/fox/7images On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of  vaping-related illnesses  jumped to at least 450 cases in 33 states and cautioned people about using e-cigarettes, especially those  bought off the street . As of Friday, five deaths from vaping-related respiratory illness were reported. “These are not just cases or data points,” said Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer of the Illinois Department of Health. “These are individuals who are suffering.” “CDC has advised that individuals consider not using e-cigarettes because as of now, this is the primary means of preventing this  severe lung disease ,” Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, with the CDC’s Lung Injury Response team. Los Angeles County health officials also called for a vaping prohibiti...

File Picture -alliance /AP/M.Giginyu The President Media Forum of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria , Ibrahim Musa, declared that three of their members were killed in Kaduna. But, the Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Yakubu Sabo,  narrated  the claim as “a blatant lies.” He said that the IMN was used to making such frivolous claims in the past, and that “has been their tradition.” According to the police , there was no report of casualties. DSP Sabo said, “Its a blatant lie. The police didn’t kill anybody.  Police only dispersed some hoodlums that were sighted along Bakin Ruwa staging a protest. “If you remember, we came out with a warning yesterday (Monday) that the  IMN has been proscribed both by the Federal and the Kaduna State Governments. “So, when we received information that they are going to stage a protest today, we warned them not to come out because police will not allow anybody under any guise to stage any p...