The Ogun State Police Command presented six assault-related charges against Habeeb Okikiola, alias Portable, in the Ifo High Court on Monday morning.

On Tuesday at his workplace, Portable resisted being taken into custody by some policemen.

Following that, the "Zazu Zeh" singer was taken into custody last Friday.

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According to Force Public Relations Officer Muyiwa Adejobi on Saturday, Portable is accused of more than six other offenses in addition to resisting arrest and injuring a police officer.

According to Adejobi's tweet, he would be charged with assault for hitting a man in Ota who had petitioned CP Ogun.

Breaking: Authorities charge Portable with assault in court

Nasir Gawuna, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor in the just completed election in Kano, congratulated Abba Yusuf, the winner of the 18 March governorship election, on Wednesday.

In addition to congratulating him, Mr. Gawuna prayed for Allah to guide him in his leadership.

As Allah is the Almighty and bestows authority on whomever he pleases, we first prayed to him to decide what is best for us.

"Even though our party petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to review the election due to several irregularities, today the INEC issued a certificate of return to the declared winner. I've accepted it really.

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I thanked Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President-Elect Kashim Shettima, and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for their countless contributions.

“I am therefore expressing my appreciation to the Kano people and the APC supporters for casting their votes for the APC, thank your unwavering support.

“I am commending All members of our campaign council, party executives and stalwarts for their dedication, loyalty and commitment.

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“My gratitude goes to my family, friends and associates for standing with me all through the electioneering process, Mr Gawuna said.

At its office in the city on Wednesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission also gave certificates of return to the newly elected governor, Mr. Kabir, and his running mate, Aminu Abdulsalam.

After receiving 1,019,602 votes, Mr. Yusuf was proclaimed the winner, defeating the APC candidate who received 890,705 votes.

Nasir Gawuna Congratulates NNPP Candidate Over Victory

The Presidential Spokesman, Atiku/Okowa Campaign Organization, Dr Daniel Bwala, has a thing to say about the support of a Bola Tinubu Presidency ticket by the leaders of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere.

Reports making the rounds suggests that Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, and several South West leaders supports the Tinubu presidency.

Tinubu received their endorsement during a meeting he had with the leaders of the organisation at Fasoranti’s residence in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Some members of the group, including Pa Ayo Adebanjo, and the Secretary-General Chief Sola Ebiseni, were however absent at the meeting.

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But reacting to the endorsement, Bwala in a statement said the absence of Adebanjo and others was an indication that the endorsement was faulty.

He also faulted the Afenifere leaders for inviting only Tinubu among all other presidential candidates to an event where they could have hosted frontline candidates and listened to their plans for the country.

“In what seem like the crawling of a rat at night to steal meat from the pot, Tinubu paid a strange visit to Pa Fatoramti; strange because it was not an organized setting of the usual meeting of the highly respected Afenifere; needless to say the leader of the group Pa Adebanjo and the secretary were obviously absent when he went to in a Gestapo manner.

“First off, the Afenifere we know has through their leader made known their position as to who they support and it was certainly not Tinubu. Secondly, if it were a meeting seeking to know the right person to support or endorse amongst the candidates it ought to have at least invited the leading candidates to hear their take on what plans they have for the country that caters to the interests of Afenifere.”

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Bwala also described Tinubu as a “tribal evangelist”. He said the former Lagos State governor’s comment that he “would bring the trophy home” at the meeting was a “clear ethnic insinuations and divisive remarks”.

The statement read, “So to Tinubu, the race to become the president of Nigeria is a trophy to be won and taken to his ethnic enclave. He was not only wrong in his tribal insinuation that not a single Yoruba opposed the ticket, but he also lied because lots of Yorubas took strong objections to the same faith ticket and to his divisive and religious politics."

“To say that his ticket is supported by all Yorubas is, to say the least disingenuous, false, and condemnable."

“Tinubu has made no secret about his tribal championship and utter disregard for other ethnic people in southern Nigeria. This to say the least is sad and terribly troubling and Nigerians should rise and condemn this rhetoric at the polls.”

presidential candidates of the APC and PDP

Atiku's Campaign Spokesman Pokes Hole at Tinubu's Support

After a long stint in the fashion and makeup industry, Rihanna is making a highly anticipated return to music this week, her reps said Wednesday.

After six years without releasing a new solo song, the 34-year-old on Friday will drop a new single entitled “Lift Me Up,” which will be on the soundtrack for the Marvel sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

It’s her first solo single since 2016’s “Love on the Brain.”

Rihanna is releasing the new song on her Westbury Road label in conjunction with Roc Nation, Def Jam Recordings and Hollywood Records.

The singer behind the hits “Diamonds” and “Umbrella” posted a brief preview of the new track, which featured humming over strings.

The news comes only weeks after the NFL announced Rihanna would be headlining the coveted Super Bowl halftime show in February, a long-awaited return to the stage for the pop phenom.

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Rihanna’s fierce fan base has been clamoring for her ninth album, which she has said will be “reggae-infused” and has hinted since 2019 is nearly finished.

But the Barbadian-born artist has focused on other ventures, including becoming the first Black woman to head a fashion house for the French powerhouse LVMH, which owns legacy brands including Fendi and Givenchy.

She welcomed her first child with rapper A$AP Rocky in May.

Rihanna Plans on Making Return to The Music Industry

The immediate past Secretary to the Katsina State Government, Dr. Mustapha Inuwa, has warned the state government and its top-ranking officials to stop denying civil servants their right to vote or associate with candidates of their choice in next year’s election. He also told the electorates to vote wisely.

Inuwa was speaking on Sunday in Danmusa, his hometown when he picked his PDP membership card, a week after he announced his defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, along with his teaming supporters cut across 627 political groups.

He urged residents to vote for the PDP for them to get out of the current artificial hardship, telling them not to be intimidated by any threat by anyone in the 2023 general elections.

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He believed that the recent political development in Kaduna State and Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State signifies the end of the APC era in the country where blind followers were seen looking for trouble which will surely contribute to their defeat comes 2023.

Inuwa, however, encouraged the electorates not to reject any money offered by politicians or any aspirant during the general elections, urging them to vote for the best candidates that will build their future and that of their children as well as the general well-being of the citizens.

“This gathering is important and historic in the history of Katsina State and Nigeria at large.

“I want to thank the good people of Katsina State, particularly that of Danmusa Local Government Area for their continuous support and cooperation to me since before now.

“I pray that God will continue to assist us in the struggle and effort to better the lives of Katsina people and their yet unborn generation.

“I am soliciting you and Nigerians, in general, to register with the PDP and garner more support for the party to win the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

“Successful people don’t fight. You all saw what happened in Kaduna and Jibia which signify the end of the APC era. This was because they were just looking for trouble, hence they will surely be defeated.

“We are all after people’s progress. We don’t do things that will jeopardise the lives of our people.

“You all know what’s happening currently in Danmusa and Katsina including the country as a whole. So, we must stand firm and assume that we are all candidates.

“If any politician or any candidate offers you money to vote for him or his party, don’t reject the money, collect it but vote wisely and vote for the best candidates that will build your future and that of your children.

“Vote for the PDP to get out of the current hardship. Don’t be intimidated with any threat from anyone else. So, government and its top ranking officials should not intimidate or threaten civil servants of their rights to vote or associate with any candidate he or she wishes to vote because the constitution allows for that”, he noted.

Channels Television reported that the immediate past Secretary to the Katsina State Government, Dr. Mustapha Inuwa, and his teaming supporters on Sunday last week defected from the APC to the PDP.

Inuwa, who is the longest-serving Secretary to the Katsina State Government, announced his defection at his campaign office in the state capital after meeting with thousands of his supporters cut across 627 political groups and associations.

Shortly after his announcement, supporters were seen chanting solidarity songs, removing all APC banners and flags hitherto erected in and outside the campaign premises.

His defection, he said, may not be unconnected with the fact that both the ruling APC in the state and its governorship candidate are not interested in his support and contribution from the look of things.

Inuwa recalled that the state APC governorship candidate also rejected the person he was hitherto advised to pick as running mate simply because the man supported him during the governorship primaries.

He, however, expressed concern about the leadership style of the incumbent governor, Aminu Masari, amidst the deteriorating security situation, collapse in the education sector, and youth unemployment among other challenges bedeviling the state

Ex-Katsina SSG Inuwa Implores Electorates to Vote Wisely

Cholera has killed 80 people across nine states of the federation as cases of the infectious diseases have risen to 4,153.

This is according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control Situation Report for week 39 which was obtained on Tuesday.

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by the Vibrio cholera bacillus. The disease spreads through contaminated food and water, reappearing periodically in countries unable to secure access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation like Nigeria.

In the latest report which covers September 5 to October 2, Borno State topped the infection chart with 2,626 cases.

According to the NCDC report, 11 states account for 86 per cent of all cumulative cases, with Borno leading again with 3,663 cases, followed by Yobe State with 1,632 cases.

Other states with reported cases are Katsina – 767; Taraba – 675; Cross River – 649; Gombe – 470; Jigawa – 417 and Bauchi (304).

Yobe and Gombe States followed Borno State on the log with 718 and 317 cases respectively.

Zamfara State recorded 212 cases, followed by Bauchi with 119, Jigawa, with 95, and Sokoto State with 47 cases.

While Katsina recorded 16 cases, Adamawa came last on the log with three infections only.

“Thirty-one states have reported suspected cholera cases in 2022. These are Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara,” the report read.

“In the reporting month,9 states reported 4153 suspected cases – Borno (2626), Yobe(718), Gombe (317), Zamfara (212), Bauchi (119), Jigawa (95), Sokoto (47), Katsina (16) andAdamawa(3).

“There was a 42% increase in the number of new suspected cases in September Epi week36- 39(4153) compared with August Epi week 31 – 35 (2428).

“In the reporting week, Borno (883), Gombe (97), Bauchi (15) Yobe (8) and Sokoto (3) reported1006 suspected cases. Borno and Gombe states account for 97% of 1006 suspected cases.”

Of all suspected cases in 2022, NCDC noted that 48 per cent are males and 52 per cent are females.

NCDC noted that no Cholera Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and no stool culture was conducted in week 39 for all states, adding that “the National multi-sectoral Cholera TWG continues to monitor response across States.”

The report also showed that of the total 256 suspected deaths in 2022, Borno State accounted for 93, followed by Yobe and Taraba states with 39 and 28 deaths respectively.

dirty environment with poor drainage system

Cholera Case Rises to 4153 in Nigeria, 80 People Dies

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has received backlash from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party over his anti-Yoruba and Igbo comments.

Atiku had on Saturday advised Northerners to vote for him in the 2023 election since he is from the northern region.

“What the average Northerner needs is somebody who’s from the North and also understands that part of the country and has been able to build bridges across the country.

“This is what the Northerner needs. It doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate. I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin,” the Adamawa-born former Vice-president said in a viral video.

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His comments did not go down well as the presidential hopeful was bashed by many, including the ruling party and the Labour Party as well as many civil society organisations.

In his response on Sunday, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Atiku’s utterance is an attack on the country’s long-preserved national unity.

According to Morka, the PDP presidential candidate’s statement has shown his desperation to rule the country.

“What does Atiku think the average Southerner needs? Why is it about what the average Northerner needs, or even what the average Southerner may need? Why is it not about what Nigeria and Nigerians need? Nigerians need bold and visionary leadership anchored on a firm commitment to transcendental national unity, over and above ethnic or sectional obsessions,” he said.

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“Atiku’s words ring loud of extreme and mindless desperation and such an extremely desperate man cannot and must not be entrusted with the most important job of President – a job whose core duty is that of leading, uniting and working in the best interest of all in an ethnoreligious, pluralistic society as Nigeria. Our country does not need this kind of highly inflammable rhetoric now or ever.’’

Morka expressed surprise that Atiku who claimed to be on a mission to unify the country could engage in acts that undermined national unity.

Similarly, the LP vice presidential candidate, Senator Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, also knocked Atiku over his comments that could jeopardise the country’s unity.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday, he described the former vice president as an ethnic bigot who cannot even unify his party.

“Atiku is an ethnic bigot. A big one at that.  Someone that cannot unify his party wants to unify Nigeria? Liar!!!” he tweeted.

APC, LP Knock Atiku Over Anti-Yoruba, Igbo Comments

Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday arrived in her native Pakistan to visit flood victims, 10 years after a Taliban assassination attempt against her.

Yousafzai was just 15 years old when militants from the Pakistani Taliban — an independent group that shares a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban — shot her in the head over her campaign for girls’ education.

She was flown to Britain for life-saving treatment and went on to become a global education advocate and the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Two days after the 10th anniversary of the attack, she landed in the southern city of Karachi — only her second visit since the shooting — from where she will travel to areas devastated by unprecedented monsoon flooding.

Her visit aims “to help keep international attention focused on the impact of floods in Pakistan and reinforce the need for critical humanitarian aid”, her organization Malala Fund said in a statement.

Catastrophic flooding put a third of Pakistan under water, displaced eight million people — who are now facing a health crisis — and caused an estimated $28 billion in damages.

Yousafzai’s visit comes as students at her former school join a strike over a rise in violence in her hometown of Mingora in the Swat Valley.

The Pakistani Taliban waged a years-long insurgency in Swat until a major military crackdown in the northwest of the country in 2014 restored security in the area.

But it has seen a resurgence of militancy since the Taliban returned to power across the border in Afghanistan last year.

There has been a spike in attacks in recent weeks, targeting mostly security forces.

On Monday, a driver was shot dead and a child wounded in an attack on a school bus, prompting up to 2,000 students and teachers to walk out of classes.

Locals blamed the Pakistani Taliban, but the group has denied responsibility.

Students and teachers again walked out on Tuesday calling for peace in the region.

“People are angry,” principal Ahmad Shah told AFP on Monday. “Students from all the private schools came out to protest.”

Malala Yousuf Visits Pakistan to Mark 10th Year of Shooting

Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli will return to Sevilla’s after being named on Thursday as the replacement for axed coach Julen Lopetegui.

The club said Sampaoli had “signed for the remainder of the season and one more, until June 30, 2024, and this afternoon will lead his first training session.”

Sampaoli, 62, has already coached Sevilla.

He took over in July 2016 from Unai Emery, who had guided them to seventh in La Liga but also to a third straight Europa League victory and was hired by Paris Saint-Germain.

Sampaoli led Sevilla to fourth in La Liga and the last 16 in the Champions League, where they lost to Leicester, before leaving to become Argentina boss in May 2017.

Sampaoli had been out of work since leaving Marseille in July.

Lopetegui was sacked on Wednesday after a 4-1 home loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

Lopetegui, who had briefly been Spain coach, arrived in June 2019 after an abrupt exit from Real Madrid the previous year.

He led the club to thee consecutive fourth place finishes and another Europa League triumph in 2020 but started this season in disastrous fashion.

The club have five points from a possible 21 in La Liga and have lost two and drawn one of their three Champions League group games.

Coach Jorge Sampaoli Set to Return to Sevilla

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed legislation to seize four territories of Ukraine, government documents showed.

The Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions are “accepted into the Russian Federation in accordance with the constitution of the Russian Federation”, the documents said.

Putin also signed decrees formally appointing the current Moscow-backed heads of the four regions as their acting leaders.

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Earlier, the annexation legislation was unanimously supported by both Russia’s lower and upper chambers of parliament.

Putin last Friday presided over a grand ceremony at the Kremlin during which he signed agreements with the Moscow-installed leaders of the four regions to become subjects of the Russian Federation, despite condemnation from Kyiv and its allies in the West.

The four territories create a crucial land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Together, the five regions make up around 20 percent of Ukraine.

But Russian forces do not have complete control over Kherson or Zaporizhzhia and the Kremlin has not yet confirmed what areas of those regions are being annexed.

President Putin Signs Law to Seize Four Ukraine Territories

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, police authorities in Jigawa State have dispersed supporters of the All Progressive Congress Supporters (APC).

The supporters, under the ages of Danmodi Youth Concern,  had converged at the Investment Centre in Dutse for a rally to rally support for the APC governorship candidate in the state.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Lawal Shiisu, confirmed this to journalists on Tuesday, saying the supporters had a disagreement and began to fight each other, leading to the intervention of the police.

According to him, the Danmodi Youth Concern intended to show support to the governorship candidate, Umar Namadi popularly known as Danmodi, by marching to the orphanage in Dutse and donating relief materials to the orphans.

“However, a fight erupted between them and the police had to mobilize to put a stop to the unruly behavior,” he said.

One of the members of the Danmodi Youth Concern said the fight erupted while they were distributing some campaign materials at the meeting point of the rally.

“They began distributing materials but didn’t give many people. That is why some people especially those that come from a far destination become angry. They decided to mount on the vehicle that is carrying the materials and the driver furiously drove to the road leading to some of them getting injured. That is how the fight began,” the APC member said.

Another participant at the rally who identified himself as Isah Ibrahim said: “After the fight erupted, the police came to the scene and started chasing people with sticks and arresting everyone they could get that is how they dispersed everyone.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Danmodi Youth Concern, Mr. Ahmed Abdulmumin, said the purpose of the planned event was to show support for the APC governorship candidate who is at the same time the state’s deputy governor.

“Our collective resolution to converge as Danmodi Youth Concern Organization and support Danmodi was born out of his numerous commitments as a former commissioner and a present deputy governor of Jigawa state towards uplifting the course and aspirations of youth in the state,” he said.

Men of The Nigeria Police Disrupts APC Rally in Jigawa State

The US military killed 12 civilians in 2021, all in Afghanistan, according to a Pentagon report released Tuesday.

The Department of Defense “assesses that there were approximately 12 civilians killed and approximately five civilians injured during 2021 as a result of US military operations,” said the report, which Congress has required to be produced annually since 2018, and part of which is classified.

All of the civilian deaths occurred in Afghanistan, according to the public part of the report.

The Pentagon has already acknowledged its responsibility for the deaths of 10 members of the same family, including seven children, during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of August 2021.

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The public document specifies that a civilian was killed in a US strike on January 8 in Herat, and another on August 11 in Kandahar. Two civilians were also wounded on January 18 in Kandahar.

In addition, the US military admitted having wounded three civilians on January 1 in a strike in Qunyo Barrow, Somalia.

The Pentagon also reassessed its counts from the years 2018 to 2020, recognizing 10 more dead and 18 wounded, all in Syria.

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NGOs regularly publish much higher assessments of deaths and injuries from US strikes in conflict zones.

The organization Airwars, which lists the civilian victims of air strikes around the world, estimated in its annual report published in May that between 15 and 27 civilians had been killed in US operations in Syria alone.

In January 2022, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urged the military to do more to avoid civilian casualties in airstrikes, after several deadly blunders that tarnished the reputation of the military.

Protecting civilians is a “strategic and moral imperative,” Austin noted in a memo to the military chain of command.

US Confirms Killing 12 Civilians in Afghanistan in 2021

Nigerian newspapers,on one page.