Five inmates of Maximum Security Prison in Kirikiri, Lagos, have bagged university degrees from National Open University (NOUN).

The Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu, disclosed this in Lagos on Friday during the graduation ceremony and presentation of certificates to the five inmates at Maximum Security Prison, Kirikiri.

Adamu, who was represented by Professor Gregory Okagbare, said over 526 inmates were studying various courses from Nigerian prisons.

He said there had been an increase in the numbers of inmates enrolling in degree programmes of NOUN in the various study centres located in prisons nationwide.

“There are over 526 inmates studying various courses at both under and post graduate levels while in prison detention.

“I congratulate the graduating inmates and urge you to seek for higher qualifications,” he said.

The Controller General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed, who was represented by Assistant Controller General Chuks VU Chiabua, reiterated the commitment of the prison service to continually provide educational platform for inmates to realise their dreams while in prison.

The successful inmates who received their certificates in various degrees are: Adebayo Ojo, B.Sc Criminology & Security Studies, Idong Nelson, B.Sc Peace & Conflict Resolution and Audu Godfrey, B.Sc PCR.

Others are Akolade Arowolo, PDG in Peace & Conflict Resolution and Okeke Chinonso B.Sc Entrepreneurship and Business Management. (NAN)

Bandits commanders in Birnin-Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara, on Friday agreed to suspend attacks on the people at a dialogue meeting with the state government and security officials.

The bandits also said that the coast is now clear for all those displaced by the attacks to return home.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agreement was reached at the palace of the Emir of Birnin-Magaji.

Present at the meeting were the state Commissioner of Police, bandits commanders, leaders of Fulani, Civilian Joint Task Force and local vigilantes known as “Yansakai”.

The meeting, chaired by Police Commissioner Usman Nagogo, was also attended by Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Security Matters, Abubakar Dauran and National leaders of Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).

The bandits’ commanders at the meeting were: Ardo Nashawari, Audu Karki and Muhammad Bello, while the leaders of civilian JTF and vigilantes were Malam Garba Nasarawa-Godal and Alhaji Shuaibu Aliyu.

Speaking on behalf of the bandits, Nashawari, said with the suspension of the attacks, farmers were now free to return to their farms and other residents free to go about their normal businessess.

Nashawari added, “We believe with this dialogue,the Fulani can now go to markets, they can move freely without any hitch.”

The Civilian JTF leader, Alhaji Shuaibu Aliyu, urged the government to ensure immediate disarming of the bandits.

“On behalf of the entire members of Civilian JTF and Vigilance Group Birnin-Magaji Local Government Area, we commend the state government for this dialogue, we abide by it,” he said.

On his part, the commissioner of police described the meeting as “fruitful” and restated the commitment of the command to rid the state of banditry, kidnapping and other crimes.

“We are impressed with the comments of the warring factions, both of them have accepted the dialogue”, Nagogo said.

The National President of MACBAN, Alhaji Ardo Kiruwa, described the dialogue as “succeeding”, noting that most of the markets that were hitherto closed due to insecurity, have been opened.

“We were told that the Fulani were seen in Shinkafi market yesterday”, he added.

Kiruwa called on the Fulani to cooperate with government and security agencies in order to maintain peace and stability in the state.

Also, Dauran, the special adviser on security, thanked the people of the state for their support and cooperation toward ensuring that the dialogue succeeded.

He cautioned against politicising the state government’s efforts at tackling the security challenges in the state.

“We are aware that some people are using politics to challenge the government’s efforts in this regard”, he noted.

The Emir of Birnin-Magaji, Alhaji Hussaini Maude-Dan’Ali, thanked the state government for initiating the dialogue and urged all parties to adhere to all the agreements reached during the dialogue.

“We are happy with the outcome of this meeting, we are going to continue to support government towards ensuring the success of this dialogue”, the emir said. (NAN)

Algeria Desert Foxes have won the 2019 Africa Cup of Nation (AFCON) with a lone goal defeat of the Teranga Lions of Senegal in the final played on Friday at the Cairo International Stadium, Egypt.

Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedja found the back of the net in the 2nd minute when his shot took a treacherous deflection off Sane and looped over the Senagelese goalkeeper into the net.

The night's victors 🙌#TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/ET8eNPR4iC

— CAF (@CAF_Online) July 19, 2019

It is the North Africans second successful outing at the AFCON and the first after 29 years.

Senegal are yet to win the AFCON trophy.

It would be recalled that Nigeria’s Super Eagles defeated Tunisia 1-0 on Wednesday to win the third place match.

Super Eagles forward Odion Ighalo won the highest goal scorer award of the tournament.

Titles by country

Egypt: 7 titles (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010)
Cameroon: 5 titles (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017)
Ghana: 4 titles (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)
Nigeria: 3 titles (1980, 1994, 2013)
Cote d’Ivoire: 2 titles (1992, 2015)
DR Congo: 2 titles (1968, 1974)
Algeria: 1 title (1990)
Congo: 1 title (1972)
Ethiopia: 1 title (1962)
Morocco: 1 title (1976)
South Africa: 1 title (1996)
Sudan: 1 title (1970)
Tunisia: 1 title (2004)
Zambia: 1 title (2012)

U.S. singer and reality star, Aubrey O’Day has professed her love for former American President Barack Obama, saying that she needs him as her sperm donor for kids.

O’Day declared in a recent interview that she was now ready to be a mother but would need Obama to be her sperm donor to make her dreams come true.

“I would like to do a show about inseminating me with some brilliant man’s sperm so I can have a child,” O’Day recently told Page Six.

She further said: “Dream donor, Barack Obama.

“Because he’s brilliant, classy, kind, compassionate, witty, gorgeous; everything that a great woman deserves, and that’s why he’s got a great woman.”

The 35-year-old Danity Kane singer has been single since her split from 39-year-old TV personality and disc jockey, Paul ‘Pauly D’ DelVecchio, 39.

She also dated Donald Trump Jr. prior to that and said on the first episode of “Ex on the Beach” — which airs on MTV Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET — that he is her soul mate.

O’Day claim she would have gotten back together with Trump Jr. if he had shown up to compete for her love on “Ex on the Beach,” telling us: “If he gave up what he chose to be with over me and came back, I would jump on and marry him right then and there.”

The 57-year-old Obama, has been married to Michelle Obama, 55, since 1992 and they share two daughters, Sasha, 18, and Malia, 21.

No Sir, we'll prefer them on site.

By Victor Okoye

Super Eagles Coach Gernot Rohr has admitted that his team lost to a better side in the semifinals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a Riyad Mahrezs goal from a free-kick at the edge of the box, with seconds left to play, condemned Nigeria to a 2-1 defeat and steered Algeria to their first AFCON Final match in 29 years.

Rohr told newsmen during a post-match interview that it was a game of two halves, adding however that Algeria were the better side at the end of the day.

Until the last minute, Algeria had a better first half than us, but we came back a much better team in the second half.

Unfortunately, we conceded a goal in the last minute. I think the players wanted to go to extra-time believing that perhaps Algeria will get tired and we could win the match in extra time

It was a wonderful game. We lost it, so we are not happy. Congrats to the winners. They were the better team in the first half.

We scored an own goal. We were unlucky but we came back like we have always done all the time in this tournament.

When we found ourselves in a difficult situation, we always reacted and we did that also today coming back through a penalty and playing a better second half.

But a wonderful free-kick from a football genius made the difference.

In our last game, we won in the last minute against South Africa and today we lost. Thats football, he said.

Coach Djamel Belmadi of Algeria on his part said his side had a tough game against a tough opponent, adding that it had to take the quality of Mahrez to decide the result of the match.

We knew that it would be a tough game because of the quality of our opponents and the tough game we had against Cote dIvoire on Thursday.

My boys had an amazing first half. So, we deserved at that time to score a goal and I think we could have scored even more goals.

Then in the second half, we had a difficult moment for about 15 minutes, we were under pressure.

I think we played too deep and didnt apply enough pressure on our opponents due to fatigue on my players and the quality of course of our opponents.

Then came the penalty which I think my players showed great character and mental strength to come back and fought until the end to score the decisive goal.

We however had some situations in the second half, maybe not clear cut chances where I think we could have scored another goal with a little more accuracy.

Then the free-kick arrived and of course with the quality of players like Riyad Mahrez, its a massive chance at goal and thank God we made it count, he said.

Nigeria will now take on 2004 champions Tunisia in the third place match at the Al Salam Stadium on Wednesday, while Algeria take on Senegal in Fridays final at the Cairo International Stadium.

Source: NAN

By Anita Eboigbe

Nigerians spent nearly 3, 124, 026, 959 billion Naira to watch box office movies at Nigerian cinemas between January and June.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the figures are according to data provided by cinemas and gathered by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN).

The year opened with Aquaman, Chief Daddy and Up North sitting on the top three of the chart with an estimated combined earnings of 168, 263, 512 million Naira.

The movies maintained their positions until the fourth week when Glass debuted at number one with Aquaman taking second place and Chief Daddy, third booting Up North to fourth place.

This led to a combined earnings of 91, 409, 100 million Naira which fell to 77, 259, 811 million Naira as January closed with Kevin Harts The Upside kicking Chief Daddy to fourth place.

NAN reports that earnings remained low for February, making it the lowest grossing month with a total of 291, 843, 044 million Naira.

Top spots were alternated between Alita, Cold Pursuit, What Men Want, Escape Room and The UpSide.

By March, viewership picked up steadily and the earnings were almost doubled from that of February leading to a total of 434, 432, 431 million Naira.

What Men Want, Alita, Hire A Woman, She Is, Us and Babymamas enjoyed a relatively good run in March but a chunk of the earnings and viewership went to Marvels flick Captain Marvel.

At the beginning of April, HellBoy, Shazam, Little and Us continued to share the top spot with Captain Marvel until the release of the much anticipated Avengers:Endgame.

NAN also reports that with Avengers: Endgame, earnings from April climbed from 186, 929, 188 million Naira in its third week to 342, 382, 389 million Naira in its final week.

The month, which is the highest grossing in 2019, closed with an estimated total earnings of 734, 151, 060 million Naira due to major boost from Disneys Endgame.

In May, there was a massive dip in earnings similar to that experienced in February. With Endgame, The Intruder and Longshot, it earned a total of 367, 498, 554 million Naira.

The fall in viewership is usual after a global holiday such as Christmas for December/January and Easter for April.

The numbers picked up in June with John Wick, Godzilla and Aladdin leading the numbers. They were supported by Anna, Men In Black, Dark Phoenix and Bling Lagosians.

June opened with 161, 132, 714 million Naira but closed with 100, 663, 647 million Naira leading to a total earning of 576, 322, 779 million Naira.

Source: NAN

Former South African president Jacob Zuma will be questioned at a public inquiry into state graft on Monday, a dramatic fall from grace for a politician who has cast a long shadow over the countrys politics for the past decade.

Zuma, ousted by the governing African National Congress (ANC) in February 2018, will be asked to respond to allegations that he allowed cronies to plunder state resources and influence senior government appointments during his nine years in power.

He has consistently denied wrongdoing, saying the allegations against him are politically motivated. His lawyer said in a letter to the inquiry last month that Zuma believed it was prejudiced against him.

Zuma is expected to give evidence from Monday to Friday, testimony that will be broadcast live on South African television to millions of viewers.

It is a rare example of an African leader being brought to book soon after losing power.

Zuma, 77, has also been in court on several occasions over the past year to answer corruption charges linked to a deal to buy military hardware for the armed forces in the 1990s.

He set up the corruption inquiry in his final weeks in office under pressure from rivals in the ANC, including his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, who feared scandals surrounding Zuma could tarnish the partys reputation indelibly.

Zuma had avoided establishing the inquiry since a 2016 report by the countrys anti-corruption watchdog, the public protector, instructed him to do so to investigate allegations that three Gupta brothers had been able to influence ministerial appointments and had won state contracts improperly.

The Gupta family, business friends of Zuma, denied the accusations and left South Africa around the time that Zuma was ousted.

Ramaphosa, Zumas former deputy, has made sweeping personnel changes in government and state-owned companies as part of an effort to curb corruption and revive the stagnant economy.

The inquiry, headed by South Africas deputy chief justice, Raymond Zondo, held its first hearing in August and is due to finish next year.

Reuters

Source: NAN

By Deborah Akpede

A trader, Mrs Kuditat Ajayi,52, told an Igando Customary Court that she slept with her brother-in-law because she thought he was her husband.

Ajayis husband, Akande, is seeking the dissolution of their 35-year-old marriage, accusing her of infidelity.

I was in bed in the night when my husbands younger brother came to the house my husband rented for me.

I thought it was my husband who normally come to the house at that particular time between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. to play and sleep with me.

It was after he finished making love to me that I realised that he was not my husband.

When I queried him, he claimed that my husband had traveled that was why he came to have sex with me.

I reported the case to my brothers wife, who advised me not to tell my brother so that peace can reign in the family.

The respondent said that her husband treats the children of the other wives better than hers.

The mother of four denied being fetish as claimed by husband.

Ajayiprayed the court not to grant her husbands wish for the dissolution of their marriage that she still love him.

The petitioner, Akande, approached the court to terminate his 35-year-old marriage accusing wife of infidelity.

He said that his wife was wayward and adulterous that her man friend was claiming paternity of one of their children.

When I married her, I rented an apartment for her because I have other wives and I dont want them to live together.

I started hearing from people in the area that my wife was having affair with a man, initially I ignored it until her lover came claiming ownership of one of my children.

The man eventually came to the house but I refused to open the door for him.

When I questioned my wife, she confessed that the man slept with her but it did not result in pregnancy.

The 71-year-old businessman said that his wife was fetish.

I once caught her burying something in my compound, I accosted her and tried to remove what she buried there but I could not.

I went out before I returned, she had cemented the place.

He begged the court to end the marriage that he was no longer interested that the love he once had for her had faded.

The president of the court, Mr Adeniyi Koledoye, urged the two parties to maintain peace and adjourned the case until Aug.22 for judgment

Source: NAN

A socio-political group, Akwa Ibom Liberation Movement (AILM) has called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state not to blame Justice Jennifer Ijohor for their seeming poor outing at the Tribunal.

The group while reacting to demands by the APC for the removal of Ijihor from the tribunal, stressed that the party should rather focus on getting their lawyers and witnesses to present a formidable case.

Addressing journalists in Uyo on Sunday, Acting Secretary of AILM, Barr. Solomon Abasiekong, said the APC demand indirectly reflects their resort to blackmail having performed poorly at the tribunal.

Let everyone note that the attempt by APC to blackmail members of the tribunal particularly Justice Ijohor, is the last resort for the party. By now the APC knows it has no case; however leaders of the party are looking for what to hold on to.

We advise them to desist from their current deceitful attempt to whip unnecessary sentiments against the election petitions tribunal by blaming Justice Jennifer Ijohor for its woes at the election tribunal, he said.

Abasiekong alleged that the leadership of APC in the State was making frantic attempts to accuse members of the tribunal of compromise, with the intent to have some of them replaced.

The group claimed it has received reliable intelligence that stalwarts of the APC are working frantically towards relocating the tribunal to Abuja.

We are aware of the antics of the APC, part of it is to accuse the tribunal of working for the PDP and using that to campaign for the relocation of the tribunal from the State.

Every reasonable person who has followed proceedings of the tribunal will quickly corroborate that there has not been any crises or security challenge to warrant any person or group to call for the relocation of the tribunal.

The group called on the President of the Court of Appeal to ignore the purported attempt by Akwa Ibom APC to have the tribunal relocated from Uyo.

Source: NAN