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Bauchi LG Gets First Female Chairperson. Bauchi State governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has nominated Zainab Baban Takko for appointment as the caretaker committee chairperson of Bauchi local government area. Takko is in the list of nominees that the governor transmitted to the Bauchi State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation. LEADERSHIP Friday gathered that this is the first time that a woman will be leading the council since its creation. Until her nomination, Zainab served as commissioner for commerce and industries in the last lap of the first tenure of Governor Bala Abdulkadir. Similarly, the governor nominated three other women for appointment as deputy chairpersons in Darazo, Giade and Warji local government areas accordingly. The nominees are Jamila Aliyu Adamu who was nominated as deputy chairpersons for Warji local government; Bahijja Baki deputy chairperson Giade and Tasalla Kawu Labaran deputy chairperson Darazo.   

Loot: UK may confiscate $129m belonging to Ibori A state prosecutor on Thursday asked a London court to order the confiscation of more than 100 million pounds ($129 million) from Nigerian politician and ex-Delta State governor, James Ibori, Reuters report. Ibori had earlier been convicted for fraud in the United Kingdom and the ex-governor spent years in prison in Britain. Ibori was extradited in 2011 from Dubai to London, where he was charged with laundering a “corruptly acquired fortune”. He pleaded guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money laundering and received a 13-year jail sentence, an outcome hailed by Britain as a landmark in the struggle against corruption. With its highly developed financial and legal services and lucrative property market, Britain is a global money-laundering hub, but it is rare for the foreign kleptocrats it attracts to be prosecuted and Ibori’s case remains an outlier. After more than a decade of legal wrangling and court delays, attempts by prosecu...

Shakira to face new tax probe in Spain Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, Colombian singer popularly known as Shakira, will be facing a new tax probe in Spain, months after leaving the country. The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer was earlier charged with tax evasion in 2022. The 46-year-old could be imprisoned in Spain if found guilty of failing to pay 14.5 million euros in taxes between 2012 and 2014. She is due to face trial later in the year and could serve prison time if found guilty. She has denied the allegations stating in an interview with ELLE that she was not a resident of Spain during the said period. With a few months to her trial which will commence in November, another fresh probe has been opened against the superstar. On Thursday, a court seated in the northeastern Spanish town of  Esplugues de Llobregat stated that it had granted prosecutors the go-ahead to investigate two possible cases of tax fraud by Shakira from 2018. Responding to the reports, the singer’s legal team said she has ...

FG delists loan apps, vows more clampdowns The Federal Government through the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has said it will release a list of illegal (unregistered) digital loan apps operating in Nigeria. It also said it would delist two legal (registered) loan apps from Google Play Store for harassing Nigerians. According to the FCCPC on Thursday, it had added digital money lenders that had refused or failed to register under its guidelines on its watchlist for strict surveillance and necessary action. In a statement signed by the Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer, Babatunde Irukera, the FCCPC said, “The commission has also placed digital money lenders that have refused or failed to register under the guidelines on its watchlist for strict surveillance and necessary action. Commenting on the permanently delisted digital lenders, the FCCPC listed them as Sycamore Integrated Solutions Limited and Orange Loan, and Purple Credit Limited, along with...

Many reportedly feared dead in a fatal accident on Third mainland bridge, Lagos An accident occurred on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos on Friday Morning, leaving behind a significant number of casualties. Full details about the cause of the accident and the exact number of victims involved are yet to be announced. According to reports, LASAMBUS and other agencies are currently attending to victims at the accident scene. Authorities are currently investigating the incident, and further information will be made available to the public as soon as it is gathered. Watch video below. 

Outbreak Of Unknown Disease Kills 10 In Kaduna In Kaduna State, about 10 children between the ages of 3-13 were said to have died from yet-to-be-identified suspected respiratory tract infection which broke out in Kafanchan, Jama’a Local government area of the state. The Chief Medical Director of Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa Memorial Hospital in Kafanchan, Doctor Isaac Nathaniel confirmed the outbreak in Kafanchan. According to a report, “the outbreak had already claimed the lives of the victims, which if care is not taken as a result of ignorance and negligence will claim more.” “Furthermore, as the experts from Federal Capital Territory and Kaduna State are as well coming for intervention, Jema’a LG citizens are advised to disclose, expose and convey whosoever is suspecting with such signs and symptoms to the Primary Health Care, Traditional Institutions among other relevant authorities.”

Nigerian University students break fellow student's head for refusing to open his book inside exam hall.  A male student reportedly refused to allow his colleagues copy from him while they were writing an exam and he suffered terribly for it. He was beaten up by his coursemates and suffered head injuries because he covered his answer booklet when they were beckoning on him to open it. In a video which is circulating online, he could be seen nursing his wounds after they alleged smashed bottles on his head outside the exam hall. Some guys could be seen trying to stop the blood that was gushing out of his head as a result of the attack. A fellow student who was recording the scene talked about how he was facing the consequences of failing to do the reasonable thing expected of him.