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  Robert Lighthizer, US President, Donald Trump's Trade chief has suggested a reopening of the process to find a new Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO),  an unprecedented move that will surely be a blow to Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo Iweala. The US opposes former World Bank economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the job, and considering that the US owns the dollar as is a major player in world trade, a candidate not supported by the US has a very low chance of assuming the role. Donald Trump's trade chief Robert Lighthizer speaking to the BBC said that the WTO needs "someone with real experience in trade".   Robert Lighthizer's also said that there is no way the Trump administration will be persuaded to back the Nigerian ex-finance minister in its remaining weeks in office. Mr Lighthizer said the WTO "is massively in need of reform", adding that the US needs to "start making headway" on that process. According to...

  India's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a Nigerian 'professor' Nwagwu Princewill Chika, found in possession of "intermediate quantity" of cocaine. NCB officers said the Mumbai team on Thursday, December 17, received an intelligence input based on which they conducted a raid in Nalasopara, Mumbai and arrested Nwagwu.They recovered 10.2 gm of cocaine and 1 blot of LSD from his possession. "He has been arrested and will be produced before the court. He has some high profile links that we are probing," said Samir Wankhede, NCB zonal director. The agency also found that Chika is a graduate of Imo State University in Owerri and used to teach about the functioning of the government. He had come to India in 2017 on a tourist visa, which expired in 2018. He continued to stay here and even learnt the Hindi language. "He is not cooperating with us and not sharing the passwords of his electronic gadgets," an officer privy to the in...

  American-Jamaican singer, Sean Kingston has reportedly been charged with grand theft and has an arrest warrant in his name in connection over an unpaid jeweler. According to TMZ, the Beautiful Girls singer, 30, was charged in connection with grand theft over jewelry that was delivered to him. Police sources told the outlet that Kingston has not yet paid for the good, leading to the warrant. The criminal complaint also notes that bail will be set at $45,000 and that Kingston could serve up to three years in prison if convicted in connection with the case. Last night, Kingston appeared to react to the reports by posting a series of clips, including showing off a diamond-studded watch on Instagram.   

  Lorenzo Taliaferro, an NFL running back whose career with the Baltimore Ravens was cut short by injuries, has died at the age of 28.  According to local news station WBFF-TV Fox45, a family member of Talafierro said he died of a heart attack on Wednesday, Dec. 16. He was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. after being transported to Riverside Doctors' Hospital in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.  Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in a statement that the NFL team is "deeply saddened" by the 28-year-old's death. "Lorenzo was a kind, smart, respectful and determined young man—someone always committed to his teammates and well-liked by everyone in our organization. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Lorenzo's family," the statement read. "May he rest in peace." Taliaferro was drafted in 2014 by the Ravens. He played three seasons through 2016, but primarily as a backup to another sensati...

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria,  Femi Falana has countered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho's claim that #EndSARS protesters whose accounts were frozen because they are economic saboteurs.  Recall that Justice Tsoho who spoke at a ceremony marking the commencement of the 2020/2021 legal year of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday December 15, alleged that freezing of bank accounts of the #EndSARS protesters prevented dollar from exchanging for N500.  Countering the allegation, Falana stressed that the protest promoters were not economic saboteurs but patriotic citizens. He also recounted how Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele held a virtual meeting with some of the protest promoters in the wake of the peaceful protests. The lawyer said;    “So if it was the #EndSARS people that were involved in the activities under cover then it...

New Orleans rapper, Mystikal, who had been in custody for nearly 1½ years on a rape charge, has been released after his rape charges were dismissed due to lack of evidence.  Tyler was accused of sexual assault after a woman claimed that the rapper sexually assaulted her at a Shreveport casino in October 2016 and was indicted on charges of first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping. The rapper, whose real name is Michael Tyler was arrested in 2017 after investigators submitted physical evidence to a lab, they were notified that the DNA linked Tyler and another man named Averweone Holman, 26, to the alleged rape.  Tyler spent 18 months behind bars until he finally posted a $3 million bond in February to secure his release from a Louisiana prison. “However, additional evidence and information were discovered and the case was resubmitted to this second grand jury in the interest of justice,” the district attorney’s office explained Thursday....

  A 39-year-old Nigerian security guard has been jailed for raping a woman who mistook his car for her pre-booked mini-cab. Sola Austin Warikwah, of Albyn Road, SE8 appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, 17 December where he was jailed for seven years, uplifted with an additional three years to be served on licence, for rape [(ten years in total) A check on the convict's Facebook page shows that he is originally from Rumuji community in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.  He is also the founder of a foudation dedicated in memory of his father.      He was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and was placed on the sex offenders register for life.     Warikwah had previously been found guilty of the offence by a unanimous jury verdict following a week-long trial - at the same court on Friday, 18 September. He told jurors that they had consensual sex but the victim claimed she was a les...

  The Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Ibrahim has died from suspected COVID-19.  It was gathered that the police boss died on Friday, December 18, at the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Isolation Centre in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH Calabar.   However, a source close to the family, told Vanguard that Ibrahim was rushed to UCTH on Friday morning, December 18, where he died of pneumonia complications. “Nobody should tell you he died of COVID-19 but the doctors said he died of pneumonia." the source claimed. A police source said the CP was diabetic and had complained of not feeling well for some time. “They have told us to report today at State Police Command headquarters by  3.00 pm to solidarity with him as he is to be given an award for excellent services but nobody told us he is dead." the source said.