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  Saudi Arabia has halted all international flights for a week amid fears over a highly infectious new mutant strain of the novel coronavirus which has been discovered in Britain, an Interior Ministry source has confirmed. The ban, which came into effect on Sunday, also applies to entry of passengers to the Kingdom through land and sea ports, Gulf News quoted the source as saying. "These procedures will be reviewed in light of the developments related to the pandemic, and what is received from the Ministry of Health," the source said in a statement. Foreign flights that are currently in the Saudi territory will be exempt and will be allowed to leave, the source said. The source further said that the Saudi ban excludes movement of goods, commodities and supply chains from countries where the mutated virus has not appeared. Saudi Arabia's decision came after several European nations, including Italy, Belgium, France and the Netehrlands, have banned flights to a...

  Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal Office, have arrested 32 persons for their alleged involvement in computer-related fraud. The suspects are: Anthony Nicholas, Obabire Adebayo, Nwosu Ebuka, Obiora Udenta, Adeoye David, Oni Oluwabunmi Olasunkanmi, Oiseomaye Mike, Ifeanyi Godwin and Obabire Tunde. Others are: Okafor Chibueze, Damilare Moronfayo, Micheal Makanjuola, Samuel Oyindamola, Haruna Mubarak Okiki, Opeyemi Hassan, Salami Junior, Yusuf Quadri, Adediran Waris, Idoko Shedrack, Andrew Agbai, Mercy Adedoyin, Olamide Mubarak, Damilare Babalola, Idris Mutairu, Adebiye Michael, Idris Adasofunjo, Rasak Adasofunjo, Olawaye Olayemi, Amodu Idris, Adeniyi Ahmed, Shittu Usman and Oli Maduabuchi Charles. They were arrested on Monday, December 21, 2020 during an early morning operation at Plot 12, Road 2, Goodnews Estate, Sangotedo, along Lekki-Ajah Way and Chevyview Estate, Chevron Drive, Lekki, Lagos, following credible intellige...

  At least 11 National Youth Service Corps members have tested positive for Covid-19 at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Sibre, near Jalingo in Taraba State. Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Dr Innocent Vakkai, disclosed this at a media briefing in Jalingo. Vakkai, however, said the 11 corps members who tested positive are responding to treatment at the isolation centre in the state. The Commissioner said based on the directives by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control that all members of the scheme should be tested on arrive at various orientation camps across the country, the 11 corps members were discovered with the virus in Taraba State on arrival at the camp. The Commissioner stated that all the affected corps members were isolated in a Hotel following the vandalisation of the state isolation centre by hoodlums during the EndSAR protest.

The Metropolitan Police is appealing for the public’s help in tracing a 25-year-old Nigerian man, Oluwamayowa Akinola in relation to an alleged serious assault in London.  Akinola is wanted for grievous bodily harm after he failed to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in relation to the serious assault which took place in June 2019 at Brunel University, in Hillingdon.  Akinola is listed among 11 other high harm offenders who are wanted for a range of offences such as robbery and grievous bodily harm (GBH) The suspects are classed as ‘high harm’ as they are either wanted in connection with violent offences or they are known to have a violent background. Superintendent Claire Smart, of the Violent Crime Taskforce, said:  “With Christmas less than few days away we are increasing our efforts to arrest these individuals and apprehend them for their crimes. Since July, we have arrested more than 850 high harm offenders and that number is steadily increasing....

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested five robbery suspects in Abuja.  Spokesman Yusuf Mariam in a statement released on Sunday December 20, said the suspects were arrested last Wednesday around Wuse following a distress call that they were about robbing their victims. The men identified as  Sanusi Ibrahim (20); Salim Umar (19); Kabiru Umar (19); Shamsudeen Rabiu (20) and Ibrahim Shehu (19), have allegedly confessed to being responsible for criminal activities along the Wuse axis.   Mariam said;    “The suspects are Sanusi Ibrahim (20); Salim Umar (19); Kabiru Umar (19); Shamsudeen Rabiu (20) and Ibrahim Shehu (19). “Exhibits recovered from them are eight wristwatches; five Ipads; five laptops; 25 ID and ATM cards; 33 sets of gold and silver jewelleries; 30 UAE Dirham; 3,000 CFA; 100 South African Rand; N25,000; three cutlasses and one sword. “The suspects will be arraigned in court after investigation...

A German court has jailed a far-right gunman for life for his deadly attack on a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle last year, 2019. Stephan Balliet, 28, shot and killed a female passer-by and a man at a kebab shop after failing to break into the synagogue which had about 52 worshippers on 9 October 2019. He wore combat clothing on the day of the attack and filmed the shooting, broadcasting it for 35 minutes on the internet.     A heavy, bolted door at the synagogue was what kept him from firing at the Jewish worshippers marking the Yom Kippur festival inside. If he had been successful, the death would have become Germany's worst anti-Semitic atrocity since the Nazi era.   During his trial, Balliet expressed no remorse for the attack on the synagogue. He said that "attacking the synagogue was not a mistake, they are my enemies".

A 27-year-old Nigerian man has admitted taking part in a conspiracy to loot both Washington State's Employment Security Department and state of Pennsylvania unemployment insurance funds. Esogie Osawaru, also known as "Milk Anthony" was arrested by the FBI in June 2020 along with a Nigerian co-defendant, Nosayamen Iyalekhue, 33, for defrauding victims using various online scams during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Iyalekhue and Osawaru participated in a series of romance, pandemic unemployment insurance, and other online scams designed to defraud victims by convincing them to send money to accounts controlled by the defendants. To carry out the scams, the defendants used false foreign passports in the names of others, but with their photos, to open numerous bank accounts, and in turn directed the victims to send money to these accounts. Iyalekhue and Osawaru then rapidly withdrew the victims’ money from various bank branches and ATMs, often multip...

A mother of five identified as Ifeoma Otubo had reportedly committed suicide at Okposi Umuoghara, in Ezza North local government Area of Ebonyi State. The 45-year-old woman was found hanging from a mango tree behind her house in the early hours of Sunday, December 20. The deceased's brother, Christopher Oyibo, who confirmed the incident, said she had attempted to commit suicide in 2014 because of hardship but was rescued.      It was gathered that before she took the drastic action, she had lamented that she was finding it difficult to take care of her children. According to a source from the community, the deceased and family were displaced due to the Ezza/Eziulo lingering communal crisis in Ishielu local government area of the state. "She was among the people displaced by Ezza/Eziulo war. She returned to her father’s house having been displaced by the communal war together with the husband and children but since that time, life has not been easy...

Davido has fulfilled the promise he made that he would be attending his driver's wedding ceremony. The dude got married yesterday and Davido was there. He even performed one of his latest songs -- FEM at the ceremony. More photos below...

  What Jo Pearl? What sidechic again??  StefflonDon is not letting any woman come between she and her man and despite the whole drama Jo Pearl dragged Burna Boy into in the last few weeks, alleging that they are an item, StefflonDon is STANDING RIGHT BY HER MAN. Only last night the couple were spotted in Ghana -- an indication, the British singer is home to spend Christmas with her man. Ofcourse -- their final destination -- Nigeria, Burna Boy's country.

  Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested two suspects for allegedly gang-raping a 19-year-old girl and filming her nude. The suspects — Damilare Oyeniyi, 30, and Emmanuel Okori, 20 — reportedly committed the crime on December 12, 2020 in the Sango area of the state. They were arrested four days later by policemen attached to the Sango Divisional Police Office. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday. Oyeyemi explained that the suspects were arrested following a report lodged at the Sango Police Station by the victim. He said the teenager reported that Oyeniyi and Okori, who were her neighbours, dragged her into the room of one of them, stripped her naked, filmed her nude and took turns to rape her several times. The police spokesman said, “Upon the report, the DPO Sango division, CSP Godwin Idehai, detailed his detectives to go after the suspects and bring them to book. “The investigative effo...

Ariana Grande is engaged to Dalton Gomez. The singer, 27, showed off her new diamond engagement ring on Instagram.     "Forever n then some," Grande captioned the series of images, which included a close look at her engagement ring.     "They couldn't be happier, they're just so excited. This is a happy time for them, both sets of parents are thrilled," a source tells People of Grande and Gomez, who is a real estate agent.  

The Lagos State Safety Commission on Saturday night December 19, sealed off CUBANA night club in Ikeja and other facilities for non-compliance of the State Government COVID-19 protocols. On Friday, December 18, Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, placed a ban on concerts, street parties, and nightclubs as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID19 in the state. Nigeria is currently experiencing a second wave of the pandemic and so the numbers of confirmed cases of the virus have been on the increase.   On Saturday night, a team from the Lagos State Safety Commission led by the Lagos state commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, stormed the Ikeja GRA facility of Cubana grills and shut down the facility for hosting its customers despite the ban on night clubs.   Videos shared online by the Lagos state government shows the nightclub goers being ordered out of the facility.   See more photos and videos below  

An unidentified young man committed suicide in Uratta Owerri North LGA, Imo State on Friday, December 18. The deceased did not leave any suicide note so the reason for his dastard act is unknown. However, his neighbors claim he might have decided to take his life due to  economic hardship and hunger. His body has since been removed from the tree where it was found. See graphic photo below  

  A former Big Brother Naija contestant and social media influencer, Natasha Akide, popularly known as Tacha, would not forget her disqualification from the reality TV show in a hurry. Recounting the sad experience on her YouTube channel, Tacha stated that though it was a low moment for her, God elevated her.  She said, “On September 27, 2019, I was disqualified from Big Brother Naija. That was a very low moment for me, having almost got to the finals and being dropped. Getting disqualified was one of the low moments of my life. I felt down.  There were times I would be all by myself and start crying that I almost got to the last day of the show. It really shook me and a lot of people. But, I got elevated somehow, and I still don’t know how that happened.  There is a stigma behind getting disqualified but I am still doing well a year later. I consider that to be a huge elevation. Some people have gone through such moments in their lives and still have not...

  Davido, through his manager, Asa Asika, refuted claims that he snubbed Cynthia Morgan. Davido’s response became necessary after Cynthia Morgan turned Madrina accused him of ignoring her calls and messages despite asking her to reach out to him earlier in the year. “Cynthia Morgan call me,” he wrote, adding in another post that “Tell Cynthia l got an anthem for her… I’ll record my verse now.” Davido dropped the tweets in May after Cynthia had provoked controversies on social media baring lurid details of her feud with Jude Okoye, CEO of Northside Entertainment, her former label. However, Cynthia in a recent interview said: “After the interview that I had with Sandra, I did see a tweet where David said ‘Cynthia call Me’ and I did call David but he didn’t take his calls. Sent messages on WhatsApp but he didn’t reply them.” The gifted dancehall artiste who unfollowed days later added that “It’s just a long story actually…but l don’t know. Even the record he sent, I made...

  Nigerian artistes Wizkid and Tems have made former US President Barack Obama’s list of ‘Favourite Music of 2020’. In listing his favourite songs for this year, Obama is continuing an annual tradition. In 2019, Grammy nominee Burna Boy and Mavin Records’ star Rema made the list with “Anybody” and “Iron man” respectively. But the former Commander in Chief’s Nigerian pick for 2020 is Essence, a single from Wizkid’s “Made In Lagos” album in which he features Tems. According to Obama’s list, the former president has a diversified taste, listening to music from various genres, such as pop, R&B, hip-hop, música urban and country music. The list which was shared on Twitter, according to Obama is complied with “valuable consultation from our family music guru, Sasha” who seems to have a considerable influence on her famous father’s music choices. See the full list of Barack Obama’s favorite music of 2020 below: SAVAGE REMIX – Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé LOVE IS THE KING – ...

    The Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Barrister Bawa Wuse and the Clerk of the House Mohammed Kagara have gone into self-isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus. The lawmakers and principal staff, it was learnt have gone into quarantine as the second wave of the pandemic hits the state A source in the House said most of the test carried on the lawmakers returned negative except that of the Speaker and the Clerk, adding that the dou are, however, responding to treatment. According to the source, two weeks ago, a member of the house tested positive and this made the whole legislators and staff of the assembly to undergo testing for coronavirus. “Unfortunately, the results of the speaker and that of clerk turned out positive,” the source said. Confirming the situation, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mohammed Sani Idrissaid the Speaker and Clerk of the Assembly are down with Covid-19 and currently on isolation, adding t...

  Donald Trump took to Twitter to continue insisting that Joe Biden did not win the US election. He tweeted a statement from One America News (OAN) host Christina Bobb. Trump tweeted: "The lie of the year is that Joe Biden won! Christina Bobb @OANN." Twitter added a fact-checker to the tweet. "Election officials have certified Joe Biden as the winner of the U.S. Presidential election," Twitter added at the bottom of Trump's tweet.  

Former Super Eagles attacker, Daniel Amokachi, has blasted the Nigeria Football Federation for the new contract it gave to Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr which has a $2 million compensation clause. Rohr was appointed as coach of the Super Eagles in 2016 following Sunday Oliseh’s resignation as manager of the national team. According to Oliseh he left the post due to the failure of the federation to support him and also over his unpaid wages and contract violation.   Rohr upon taking over in 2016 guided the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia but failed to progress past the group stage. Rohr who finished third at the 2019 Afcon in Egypt and was handed a new deal after the federation reviewed his job and expressed satisfaction with him. Nigeria recently failed to beat lowly-rated side Sierra Leone in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers putting much criticism on the Franco-German tactician.   Special assistant on sports to Nigeria Preside...

Sugar Land police in Texas are investigating the death of a Nigerian couple found dead in apparent murder-suicide.  The husband and wife identified as Benjamin Okigbo and Theresa Okigbo were found dead at their Greatwood home on Friday morning, December 18.     The discovery was made around 10:05 am at the Greatwood Subdivision in the 1500 block of Brookstone Lane. Police said the case is being investigated as a murder-suicide. On Saturday, Police said that their investigation revealed that Benjamin Okigbo strangled Theresa Okigbo to death. He then attempted to kill both of his 21-year-old sons by strangling them before he eventually killed himself by hanging. Both of the sons survived the attack with injuries that are not life-threatening. They are both receiving treatment at a hospital.      On Friday morning, the couple's daughter, who doesn't live at the home, went there after she became concerned. She then called 911 and told...