A New York grand jury  incriminated  former President Donald Trump on Thursday over his alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to a porn actress during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to the news.   I t's the first ever criminal case against a former U.S. president and   commander in chief. The indictment was sealed, which means the specific charge or charges are not publicly known. However, the grand jury had been hearing evidence about money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, allegedly to keep her from saying she’d had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.  “This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal,” a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said. “Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.”   Tru...

The Nigeria Police Force has reacted to a viral video of singer Habeeb Okikiola popularly known as Portable, objecting to interrogatories by the police officers mobilized to his arena in Ogun State. In the video shared widely on Tuesday, Portable can be seen demanding an explanation for the officers’ presence, with the operatives notifying him that a petition was filed against him. The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Wednesday, said the artist exhibited irrational behaviour and hurled insults at police officers carrying out their legal duty. According to him, the action is criminal and punishable by the criminal laws of Nigeria. “The action of the singer in the video was unruly and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace and incitement of violence against the officers who were detailed to execute a warrant of arrest on him for series of allegations of criminal acts leveled against Mr Portable,” Adejobi said. “The NPF will take all necessary step...

  The House of Representatives has asked the Federal Government to honor the late national leader Lt. Gen. Donaldson Oladipo Oyeyinka Diya . The House made the resolution on Tuesday, following a motion from the member representing Ijebu Ode/Odogbolu/Ijebu North East Federal Constituency, Kolapo Osunsanya. The Lower Chamber held a moment of silence in his honour and stated that a delegation would be sent to visit his family in Lagos. Diya’s death was announced in a statement by his son, Prince Oyesinmilola Diya, on Sunday morning. The late lawyer, who was a Nigerian general and   the chief of staff under the late head of state General Sani Abacha, died at the age of 78. Born on April 3, 1944 at Odogbolu in Ogun State, he joined the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna and fought during the Nigerian Civil War. Diya was appointed Chief of General Staff (CGS) in 1993 and Vice Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council in 1994. He was second in command and the de facto vice pres...

  The Lagos State Government, on Monday, vested privileges to JSS 3 and SSS 3 students of Chrisland High School in Opebi to write their final examinations. The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, who disclosed this in a statement also said the school will remain shut till all judicial processes are concluded. “The temporary permission to allow the terminal classes comprising JSS3 and SS3 students access to the school was granted to enable them to participate in their terminal examinations. “The school will remain closed until all necessary judicial processes superintended over by the State’s Ministry of Justice and other ongoing administrative inquests within the purview of the Office of Education Quality Assurance and other agencies are completed,” Adefisayo stated. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on March 3, 2023 ordered that the school be shut for investigation into the controversial death of a 12-year-old student, Whitney Adeniran who died at Agege Stadium...

More than 780 lawbreakers have been arrested by men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), for committing of electoral crimes during the just-concluded 2023 general elections.   Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba announced on Monday during a meeting with Commissioners of Police from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, as well as other senior officers. According to the IGP, the exact figure of those arrested currently stands at 781. Giving more details regarding the arrest, IGP Alkali Baba said 185 cases of electoral infractions were recorded during the presidential election with 203 arrests made. For the Governorship and State Assembly elections, the police chief stated that 304 electoral breaches were recorded and 578 offenders were arrested. The IGP said the meeting with the Commissioners and other leaders within the force has become critical in the face of the threats to national security by some political actors who he says are trying to undermine the peace of ...

A  judge sentenced a 16-year-old Florida teen, I den Fucci  to life in prison on Friday for fatally stabbing a 13-year-old classmate on Mother's Day in 2021. Fucci, who was 14 at the time of the killing, received the maximum sentence after authorities said he stabbed Tristyn 114 times on Mother’s Day in 2021,  according to WJAX . He pleaded guilty to a first-degree murder charge last month. “This case is probably the most difficult and shocking case that this county, St. Johns County, has dealt with,” Judge R. Lee Smith said Friday before sentencing Fucci,  WJAX reported . He said Fucci killed Tristyn in “a cold, calculated manner” and highlighted that her family has since suffered “deep emotional and mental health problems.” Fucci, 16, had told a former girlfriend that he was going to kill someone in the month leading up to Tristyn’s death, according to a psychologist who interviewed the girlfriend and spoke in court on Tuesday, WJAX reported.  Dr. Greg Pr...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew encountered stinging interrogations from U.S. lawmakers Thursday over allegations of the company's connection to the Chinese Communist Party and spying by Beijing. “Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security,”  "We do not trust TikTok will ever embrace American values, values for freedom, human rights and innovation,"  Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, said in her opening statement.   "Your platform should be banned," Rodgers told the TikTok CEO. A few days back, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an arm of the Treasury Department that evaluates cross-border deals, told ByteDance to dump its investment in TikTok, Nikkei Asia reported. Failure to do so would leave TikTok facing a possible ban in the country. Chew, a 40-year-old Singapore native, disclosed to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce...

  A former Nigerian Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice were convicted of arranging an illegal kidney donation for their daughter. The verdict is the first of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act Ekweremadu, 60; his wife, Beatrice, 56; and Obeta, 51; were found guilty of facilitating the travel of a young man to Britain with a view to his exploitation after a six-week trial at the Old Bailey. They criminally conspired to bring the 21-year-old Lagos street trader to London to exploit him for his kidney, the jury found, according to UK Guardian. Ekweremadu and his wife were charged in the United Kingdom after they allegedly lured a young man from Nigeria to harvest his organ for their ailing daughter, Sonia. The lawmaker was last year arrested and had been in the custody of UK authorities after they received complaints from the young man about their alleged plans to harvest his organ. The prosecutor Hugh Davies KC told the court on Thursday the Ekweremadus an...

  The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, is asking the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja, to declare him the winner of the February 25 poll or order a rerun between him and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.  Also,Peter  Obi of Labour party asked for an order "cancelling the presidential election" and for the INEC to conduct a fresh vote because the  election was filled with irregularities and accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of breaching the law by failing to use electronic machines to upload polling station results, among other criticisms.   These are the key reliefs being sought in the petition filed for him and the main opposition PDP. They are challenging the election on four grounds which are not limited to claims the election of Tinubu, is invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022. That his election as President-elect, Is invalid by reason ...

  A fire outbreak has made serious destruction to a section of Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State. The inferno broke out in the early hours of the morning, damaging a building that housed a police post, fire service station, market security office, and warehouses for fabric goods. According to some traders who raised the alarm over the fire, the incident started near the Gwongworo section of the large market. Meanwhile, no casualties were recorded but the the blaze led to the loss of several goods worth millions of naira. The White House is the office of the leaders of the market, an expansive two-story building that houses several offices, and halls for meetings on the first and second floor, while the ground floor hosts shops. Sources said the area, mostly affected by the fire is the block of shops under the White House, where expensive lace materials are sold. However, the State Fire chief, Mr Martin Agbili, is yet to react to the unfortunate incident. But traders and other s...

  Franck Kessie scored a vivid late winner as Barcelona beat Real Madrid to move 12 points clear in La Liga. Real continued in El Clasico against the run of play as Vinicius Jr's cross was headed into his own net by Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo. Barca equalized just before half-time through Sergi Roberto's shot after Raphinha's effort had been blocked. Marco Asensio saw a late strike for Real ruled out for offside, before Kessie scored the injury-time winner. Both sides have 12 league matches remaining and Barca are in a dominant position as they look to win the title for the first time since 2018-19. Roberto said: "You can never say [the title] is over but we have now gone 12 points clear so it's difficult for them. "It's down to us and that's the most important thing. I'm just glad to have helped the team with a goal. It was epic at the end and I'm pleased for Franck to get the goal." "The game swung when we thought Asensio had ...

  The Court of Appeal Abuja has rejected an appeal for bail by an associate of the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, Sunday J Ubua. Delivering Judgement, a three-man panel held that Ubua’s appeal lacks merit. In the lead judgement, Justice Stephen Adah held that the appellant placed no new materials before the court to warrant it departing from the earlier decision on the issue by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Justice Adah also affirmed the ruling by Justice Nwite, which on March 28, 2022, rejected Ubua’s application for bail on the grounds that the prosecution placed sufficient materials before the court to warrant its rejection of the bail application. Ubua, who is an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), is standing trial with Abba Kyari and three other former members of the Intelligence Response Team IRT, of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on charges relating to unlawful dealing in drugs and attempting to tamper with evidence. They ar...

  The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the country’s headline inflation rate rose to 21.91 percent in February 2023 compared to 21.82 percent of January 2023, indicating an increase of 0.09 percent points. The bureau affirmed this in its report titled ‘Consumer Price Index (February 2023)’ made available to News reporters on Wednesday. The statement comes as the country attempts to bounce back from months of naira scarcity occasioned by the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) first announced on October 26, 2022. The CBN launched the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes in November 2022 in a bid to tackle cash hoarding and vote-buying ahead of the 2023 general elections. The extended deadline of February 10 was enforced amid a Supreme Court ruling allowing the validity of the old notes. “In February 2023, the headline inflation rate rose to 21.91% compared to January 2023 headline inflation rate which was 21.82%,” it stated. “Looking at the trend...

Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho will be side-tracked for several weeks after suffering an injury in the 0-0 draw with Southampton on Sunday. The 18-year-old came on after 73 minutes of the game and appeared to be in pain after a challenge by Kyle Walker-Peters. Garnacho then went off and was replaced by Fred in the closing stages before leaving Old Trafford on crutches. "It is difficult to put into words how I'm feeling right now," said Garnacho. "Unfortunately I will not be able to help my team and team-mates in the upcoming games in what is a very important part of the season for us at Manchester United." United face Real Betis in the second leg of their last-16 Europa League tie on Thursday before taking on Fulham in an FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday before the international break. Garnacho had been called up by world champions Argentina for friendlies this month when he could have made his international debut. "I am disappointed to also miss...

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday said over 170,000 polling unit results of the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections have been uploaded on its Result Viewing Portal (IReV). The Commission also said the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Registration Systems (BVAS) would be completed by Tuesday in preparation for the March 18 governorship and state assembly elections. “As at the last time, over 170,000 of those results have been uploaded,” INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, said. “As you are aware, we are reconfiguring the BVAS for purposes of the governorship and state assembly elections, and any BVAS that was used for the presidential and National Assembly elections that do not push to the accreditation backend, the data relating to the conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections will not be reconfigured. Okoye spotlighted that every  Nigerian  has the constitutional and legal right to protest, but...

  Jimmy kimmel The 95th Academy Awards took place at a commemoration in Los Angeles on Sunday and were telecast live on ABC television. The 2023 Oscars  ceremony  was   hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. These are your 2023 Oscar winners. BEST PICTURE "All Quiet on the Western Front" "Avatar: The Way of the Water" "The Banshees of Inisherin" "Elvis" WINNER:  "Everything Everywhere All at Once" "The Fabelmans" "Tár" "Top Gun: Maverick" "Triangle of Sadness" "Women Talking" BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Austin Butler, "Elvis" Colin Farrell, "The Banshees of Inisherin" WINNER:  Brendan Fraser, "The Whale" Paul Mescal, "Aftersun" Bill Nighy, "Living" BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Cate Blanchett, "Tár" Ana de Armas, "Blonde" Andrea Riseborough, "To Leslie" Michelle Williams, "The Fabelmans" WINNER:  Michelle Yeoh, ...

  ABUJA, NIGERIA: Labour Party (LP) has announced to protest at the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nationwide over the Commission’s failure to allow it to inspect materials used for the presidential election of February 25th, 2023. The party’s presidential candidate Peter Obi had asked an order from the Court of Appeal to prevent INEC from reconfiguring the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). But the court gave the Commission permission to reconfigure it and asked that Obi be given access to inspect the materials. Days after the ruling, the LP Presidential Campaign Council (LP-PCC) spokesman Dr Yunusa Tanko accused the electoral umpire of not following the court order. “As we speak INEC has chosen to obey the court order given to it to reconfigure the BVAS machine, which they doing right now and ignoring the order granted to us to inspect electoral materials,” he said in the statement dated March 10, 2023. “We, therefore, call on the general ...

An Augusta man was sentenced to five years in prison for filing a false tax return for over $100 million.   After a two-day trial, 70-year-old  Julius Williams  was found guilty and sentenced to prison for making a false statement. “Williams reportedly filed a 2017 Tax Return for $100,000,689.00 on March 15, 2019. He then proceeded to repeatedly call the Department of Revenue demanding payment of his refund,” the TV station said. Williams represented himself during the trial, saying he was “acting righteously in God’s eyes” and told the jury, “They would have to answer to God if they convicted him,” WJBF said. The TV station said the jury returned a guilty verdict against Williams in less than 15 minutes. “Williams was convicted in federal court in Maryland for a similar offense in 2017 for preparing tax returns for immigrants, using their identities to claim as dependents on his own taxes,” the TV station said.

Manchester United manager Erik ten extolled goalscoring skipper Bruno Fernandes as a hero in Europa League last-16 first-leg victory against Real Betis. He said on Friday that the stand-in captain Bruno Fernandes must work on controlling his emotions and channelling them in the right way. Fernandes was heavily criticized following Sunday's record 7-0 Premier League humiliation at Liverpool. But Ten Hag confirmed in the build-up the Portuguese would remain captain if Harry Maguire was not on the field - and Fernandes repaid that faith with an outstanding contribution to a much-needed win. It included his eighth goal of the season as he headed home Luke Shaw's 58th-minute corner. "He was the best player on the pitch," said Ten Hag. "He played a little deeper role and he was brilliant, making the game from the back position, with a lot of good passes in between the lines. From there we created a lot of chances."