Month: October 2024

The government of Lagos State has announced plans to ban the circulation of single-use plastics and sachet water in the state starting in January 2025.

The state Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, confirmed the upcoming ban during a stakeholders’ workshop on implementing the ban on Styrofoam and single-use plastics (SUPs) for packaging on Thursday, October 3.

Wahab said the move is part of the government’s strategy to introduce policy guidelines for managing plastic waste, which the goal is to create a healthier and more sustainable environment.

However, stakeholders have urged the government to consider a phased implementation rather than an outright ban. They believe this will ensure better compliance and ease the burden during current economic challenges.

Erudite Nigerian human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN has denied a report that was circulated that the crossdresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky approached him to help facilitate the process of securing a presidential pardon for him while serving his term in Kirikiri prison for Naira abuse.

Recall how some days ago, social activist, Very Dark Man, released what he described as an audio conversation between Bobrisky and a man, where the crossdresser claimed that singer Falz reached out to him, saying his father, Femi Falana, could help him secure a presidential pardon at 10 million naira so that criminal records would be cleared of his name.

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The duo, through their lawyers, gave notice to VeryDarkMan demanding the immediate retraction of the said publication and an apology to be published on all his platforms within 24 hours. However, VDM argued that he did not defame the Falanas but only brought the audio recording to light because he wanted relevant agencies to investigate statement allegedly made by Bobrisky.

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However in an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, October 3, Falana denied ever meeting Bobrisky or speaking to him.

He also mentioned that a civil proceeding would be initiated if a retraction and an apology suitable to him and his son were not received.

“Bobrisky never spoke to me, I have never met him, I do not know him from Adam. He was alleged to have spoken to my son Folarin (Falz). Yes, my son said this guy was appealing to people for assistance and called my son I think on May 4 this year – please can you give me N3 million to be placed in a special part of the prison, we call it the VIP section.

My son asked him, are you calling me under the authorization of the superintendent of prisons? He said no – please don’t call me again, I am unable to assist you to bribe the prison authorities and be very careful since you are already in prison for an offence.

Please if you are you are going to call me next time, you either do through the superintendent or you write a letter endorsed by the prison authorities and that was the last. Somebody now start releasing tapes somewhere and went out to lampoon and rather defame me by saying the guy has spoken to me.”

Falana says his family is going to embark on civil proceedings with a view to restoring his and his son, Falz’s name.

In this case, we are not going to file a criminal complain. What we are going to do is to embark on a civil proceedings with a view to restoring our integrity, my own name and that of my son so that nobody will simply rush to the social media to defame any Nigerian. We want to make an example in this case . We have asked for a retraction and an apology rendered to us and that is not too much and if we don’t have a retraction, an apology rendered to us, accepted by us, we are certainly going initiate civil proceedings in the court”.

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A 74-year-old woman has been reportedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend during a heated confrontation at a housing complex in Cornubia City, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) said it was contacted by a resident from the complex just after 5pm on Thursday, October 3, 2024, who reported that a woman’s body was found during a wellness check.

RUSA said it rushed to the scene and found members from the South African Police Service (SAPS) attending the scene.

“Paramedics entered the residence and discovered the female on a bed on the lower level of the home. She was topless and was stabbed multiple times in the face and head. A blue blood-stained t-shirt was located on the sofa next to the bed,” said RUSA.

RUSA added that it was informed by neighbours that they heard the couple arguing and believed the argument turned violent. This prompted them to conduct a wellness check

When they approached the house, the deceased’s partner allegedly behaved in a suspicious manner.

A neighbour entered the house and called out to the female and when she did not receive a response, she tried to look for her before discovering the body on a bed covered with a bed sheet.

“Her boyfriend fled after the discovery was made. Blood was found in the bathroom and it’s believed that the suspect took a shower and changed his clothes prior to members of the community arriving at the house,” said RUSA in a statement.

Additionally, RUSA said neighbours informed them that the suspect had a history of violence and had a history of allegedly assaulting the woman when she refused to purchase alcohol for him.

Justice Dije Aboki of the Kano State High Court has adjourned ruling in the suit filed to prevent the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, from proceeding with renovations on the historic Nasarawa mini palace.

The court has set October 10, 2024, as the date for its ruling on the matter.

The plaintiffs in this case, which include the Kano State Government, the state’s Attorney General, and the Kano Emirate Council, are seeking to preserve the palace’s existing structure and cultural heritage, resisting efforts to modernize the historic site. Emir Bayero has been named as the sole defendant in the proceedings.

During the hearing on the motion, the plaintiffs’ counsel, Habib Akilu, noted the absence of the defendant’s legal team.

“The substantive application is ripe for hearing,” Akilu asserted, as he moved for an interlocutory injunction to restrain the Emir from “reconstructing, demolishing, or altering the face of the mini palace” until the court delivers a final judgment.

In response, Justice Aboki scheduled the ruling for October 10, emphasizing the importance of keeping all parties informed by ordering that relevant court processes be posted on the court’s notice board.

The plaintiffs had previously secured an interim injunction on September 13, 2024, which barred the Emir from undertaking any renovation work following the release of a proposed modernization plan for the palace.

This interim measure was granted after a motion ex parte was filed by the plaintiffs’ lead counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Rilwanu Umar, on September 12.

In a supporting 33-paragraph affidavit, deposed by the Matawallen Kano, Ibrahim Ahmed, the plaintiffs argued that any alterations to the palace would compromise its historical value and cultural significance.

“The Nasarawa mini palace is a symbol of our heritage.

Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed emphasized.

The court has previously mandated that all parties maintain the structural and architectural integrity of the palace until a final decision is rendered.
 

The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane has lamented over the country’s food inflation.

According to him, while the prices of other food commodities have recorded a minimal drop in the last few days, market prices of beans have significantly gone up.

Rewane stated this on Channels Television’s Business Morning segment of Sunrise Daily breakfast programme on Thursday.

“We’ve seen onions come down sharply to N115,000, and rice has also come down to N110,000; it was as high as N120,000. The commodity that is surprising to everybody is beans; beans has gone out of storage and out of reach,” he said.

According to market checks by our correspondent, traders sold a paint rubber of beans for N13,000 and a derica of the commodity for N3,000 while a bag of beans goes for as high as N180,000.

The economist attributed the hike in beans’ prices to recent flooding which ravaged food-producing states like Borno, Bauchi, and Sokoto, amongst others.

“Flooding has destroyed a lot of goods,” Rewane said, adding that the costs of moving agricultural produce from farms to the markets have also gone up due to a recent hike in petrol prices — from around N600 to about N1,000 per litre.

The economist predicted that food inflation would increase in the coming weeks but was optimistic that duty waivers on expected imported commodities would moderate prices.

“For now, despite everything, we think that inflation will still increase. Food inflation in particular will increase; headline inflation will increase to 34% but this is only temporary. When the imported commodities that we are going to enjoy the duty waivers come into the country, those prices will start to reduce,” Rewane said.

On October 1, 2024. President Bola Tinubu said his administration is focused on restoring peace to the troubled parts of the North so that farmers displaced by bandits and kidnapping can return to their farmlands and increase food production.

“We expect to see a leap in food production and a downward spiral in food costs. I promise you, we shall not falter on this,” Tinubu said on Tuesday during his 2024 Anniversary Broadcast on the occassion of Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day Anniversary.

Nigeria is battling one of its worst economic crises in recent times, with rising living and energy costs, sparked by the twin policies of the government’s removal of petrol subsidy and unification of the foreign exchange windows in May 2023.

In August, aggrieved youths protested hunger and economic hardship for the first 10 days of the month. The country’s inflation stood at 32.15% in August, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of State Statistics (NBS).

The NBS said the food inflation rate in August 2024 was 37.52% on a year-on-year basis, which was 8.18% points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (29.34%).

It attributed the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis to increases in prices of bread, maize, grains, guinea corn, bread, cereals yam, Irish potatoes, water yam, cassava tuber, palm oil, and vegetable oil, among others.

The Tinubu administration alongside governors in the 36 states has rolled out some palliative measures but Nigerians continue to be lamentably hurt by the severe impact of inflation as the prices of food commodities and basic products multiply uncontrollably.

The incident happened during the singer’s live performance in Dublin on Wednesday.

Recall that Asake had a few days ago made headlines after he angrily smashed a fan’s iPhone 16 pro max in Paris while trying to take a picture with him.

Asake in a now trending video created a scene at his recent stage performance in Dublin, Ireland.

The video captured Asake displaying his boxing skills towards his bodyguard, a development that raises eyebrows among the audience.

The singer jumped from stage and headed straight to the bodyguard to punch him but the bodyguard kept dodging the punches.

Watch the video below: