Google has announced a commitment to invest $1 billion in Africa’s digital transformation over the next five years. Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, confirmed the news on Wednesday at the Google for Africa event. The investment, he claims, will include the landing of the Equiano subsea cable, which will enable higher internet speeds and reduced connectivity prices. It will also include low-interest loans to help small businesses and equity investments in African startups. Since 2017, Google has trained 6 million young Africans and business owners in digital skills. Google has also supported more than 50 non-profits across Africa with over $16…
Author: Abiodun A.
Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300-level Mass Communication student at the University of Lagos, and others are expected to be arraigned next week Tuesday in connection with the alleged murder of Usifo Ataga, the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV. The Lagos State Government will arraign Chidinma before Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square on Lagos Island. She, alongside her sister, Egbuchu Chioma, from whom the late Ataga’s iPhone 7 was alleged to have been found, and another person, Adedapo Quadri, will be prosecuted on a nine-count accusation. Mrs Olayinka Adeyemi, the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), filed the 9-count complaint on August 31st. In count one, Chidinma and Adedapo were charged with conspiring to murder Usifo Ataga contrary to Section 233 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos 2015. In count two, Chidinma and Adedapo were charged with the murder of Usifo Ataga, an offence said to have been committed by stabbing him several times on the neck and chest with a knife. In counts 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7, Chidinma and Adedapo were charged with conspiracy to commit forgery, forgery and making documents without authority. They were specifically alleged to have procured false…
On Monday, hundreds of millions of users were unable to access Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp for more than six hours, highlighting the world’s dependency on networks owned by the Silicon Valley behemoth. The question is simply, Why was there and outage on the social media platforms? What does Facebook say happened? Santosh Janardhan, Facebook’s vice president of infrastructure, apologized for the outage in a blog post, saying that “configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic across our data centers caused issues that disrupted this communication.” The outage was “triggered not by hostile behavior, but by an error…
The Amotekun Corp of the Ondo State Security Network Agency has nabbed a suspected kidnapper in the state. Samuel Lucky Akpan, the suspect, is accused of kidnapping a four-year-old boy in Akure, the state capital. While arraigning Akpan, the state Commander of Amotekun, Adetunji Adeleye, said that he confessed to the crime and that he planned to sell the youngster for N200,000. He claimed he was a family friend, and the youngster came from his mother’s shop to play with him. The Commander of the security agency also paraded 17 other suspected criminals arrested in various parts of the state. They were accused of various offences which include; kidnapping, internet fraud, and cultism. Addressing journalists at the Command’s Headquarters in Akure, the Amotekun Commander disclosed that the arrest was in continuation of the Command’s determination to rid the state of criminals threatening the lives and peace of residents. Chief Adeleye further said the cultist was arrested following the aftermath of a clash he had with some persons in his community, adding that he brought out a…
Netflix has announced the acquisition of its first video game studio, as the streaming giant bids to expand its entertainment empire with a push into the lucrative gaming sector. The company announced on Tuesday that it has bought the California-based Night School Studio, best known as the creators of the paranormal thriller game Oxenfree. Netflix had indicated its intention to venture into video games in July, eyeing potential hits based on the storylines of popular TV series. The company said Night School’s “artistic excellence and proven track record make them invaluable partners as we build out the creative capabilities and…
A final year student of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Mario Okiwelu, has been arrested for importing five variants of liquid cannabis weighing 49.6grams from the United States. He was apprehended along with his accomplice, Precious Awuse, on Monday last week through controlled delivery around the NIPOST area in Port Harcourt. In the same vein, narcotic officers attached to some courier firms in Lagos have seized different sizes of illicit drugs, including 40grams of cocaine concealed in a degree certificate going to Australia, 280 grams of cannabis hidden in body cream bottles…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) captured a fake soldier, Hayatu Galadima, and his collaborator, Hamisu Adamu, while transporting drugs, ammunition, and communication equipment to bandits in Kaduna State. The two were apprehended by a patrol team of NDLEA officials on the Gwagwalada Expressway in Abuja on Friday last week, the agency said in a statement on Sunday. They were found with 21 RLA 7.45mm ammo secreted in a water bottle, 16 packs of new two-way radio (walkie talkie), four army coloured head masks, and an army ID wallet. Three mobile phones, seven Nigerian Army pass letters, five handbags, and a sack containing personal goods were also found on the suspects. Galadima claimed to be a Lance Corporal serving in Ibadan, Oyo State, but the suspects said they were going to Kaduna and Kano with the stuff.
Two alleged kidnappers were apprehended by police in Ogun State while attempting to collect ransom. Muhammed Abubakar and Clinton Niche were named as suspects in a statement released by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi. They were alleged to have been detained after Stephen Ajibili reported his seven-year-old kid was taken by unknown men as he was despatched on an errand to the Agbara Area Command. The abductors allegedly called the victim’s father and wanted one million naira in exchange for his son’s release. “Consequent upon the report, the acting Area Commander Agbara, CSP Kayode Shedrack, quickly mobilised his detectives to embark on a technical and intelligence-based investigation to unravel those behind the dastardly act,” the statement partly read. “The efforts of the detectives paid off when the suspects who had directed the victim’s parents to drop the ransom somewhere were ambushed and apprehended by the police detectives. The suspects subsequently led the policemen to a bush where the innocent young boy was tied to a tree by his abductors.” Upon interrogation, the suspects informed the police that they…
The world social media platforms which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp have been attacked by a massive outage on Monday, tracking sites showed, affecting approximately tens of millions of users around the world. Report shows that the most popular social media platforms went out for a while users tried to send and receive messages, after a while messages poped up to them. Outage tracker Downdetector was showing outages in highly populated areas like Washington and Paris, with problems being reported from around 1545 GMT. Users trying to access Facebook in affected areas were greeted with the message: “Something went wrong.…
Two individuals were killed in a new bandit incident in Kaduna State’s Zango Kataf Local Government Area. The bandits assaulted Ungwan Taila village in Zango Kataf on Saturday night, killing two villagers, according to the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs. The bandits, however, fled the village before the arrival of troops of the Nigerian military. This comes one week after bandits attacked Kacecere and Madami villages both in Zango Kataf and Kaura local government areas, killing 14 and 38 people in separate incidents.
Alhaji Abubakar Muazu Magarya, the father of Hon. Nasiru Magarya, the Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, is said to have died in captivity at the bandits’ hideout. Bandits kidnapped the Speaker’s father, who was the District Head of Magarya village, together with his wife, a three-week-old infant, and three others, roughly two months ago. While the kidnapped victims were rescued on Saturday (October 2), the Speaker’s father was not among them. Speaking after his rescue, the elder brother of the deceased, Malam Dahiru Magarya, who was among the kidnapped victims said, the speaker’s father died of a heart attack. “One of the bandits’ kingpins popularly known as Kachalla informed me that my brother died due to heart failure while in captivity. We were separated when they…
Solomon Ebe, a suspected arm robber, was captured in Delta State with 340 rounds of AK-47 live ammo hidden within a bag of garri (cassava flakes). The suspect was apprehended in the early hours of Friday by officers attached to the Bomadi Divisional patrol team who were on a stop-and-search duty along the Bomadi/Tuomo Road, according to a statement published on Sunday by Delta Police Command spokesman Bright Edafe. According to him, the police operatives had intercepted the 37-year-old suspect, who hails from Tuomo community of Burutu Local Government Area of the oil-rich state, on his motorcycle. “The operatives, who were discrete in their responsibilities on reasonable suspicion, decided to search the suspect and the bag,” the police spokesman added. “Upon search, three hundred and forty (340) rounds of AK-47 live ammunition, hidden inside the garri, were recovered. The suspect was arrested and investigation is ongoing.” Similarly, the statement noted that a mob had also reportedly set a suspected tricycle thief on fire in Warri.…
Femi Falana, a human rights campaigner and Nigeria’s Senior Advocate, has encouraged the media and Nigerians to stop labeling terrorists as mere bandits. Mr Falana issued the remark on Sunday in response to the Federal Government’s apparent inaction on calls to label bandits terrorists. He made reference to the Chibok situation, as well as IPOB among others who the government was “quick to proscribe” as terrorists and yet has continued to treat banditry ‘lightly’. “It is public knowledge that the dangerous criminal elements who kidnapped the Chibok and Dapchi secondary school girls in the North East Zone in 2014 and…
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife students have protested against the closing down of the school on the directive of its management. The aggrieved students stepped out as early as 7:30am on Saturday as they stormed the streets within and outside the campus in Osun State. They shut the campus gate and blocked the major roads leading to the school, insisting that the management must rescind its directive on the total shutdown of the campus and that students should vacate the hostels. This action was triggered by the death of a final year student who was being rushed ti the “health…
The police have arrested a 28-year-old man for impersonating an officer of the Nigerian Army in Lafia, Nasarawa State. Timothy Emmanuel, an indigene of Plateau State, was paraded on Friday alongside 60 other suspects arrested for various crimes at the Police Headquarters in the state capital. He was said to have been apprehended with an AK-49 rifle and two magazines while travelling on Sunday evening along the B.A.D Road in a vehicle suspected to have been stolen. “Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect who parades himself in military camouflage was never enlisted into the army but got the uniform from…
Gunmen have killed a police officer and two civilians in an attack at the Ukaegbu Junction by Ezeiweka Road, Awada Obosi Layout in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state. The incident, which happened on Sunday, also saw the attackers setting fire on the police patrol van before leaving the area. Residents who spoke to Channels Television, said the incident took place around 8:30 am when officers from the Awada Divisional Police Station were conducting stop-and-search in the area considered as a flash point. During the attack, the officer, a tricycle rider and a resident of the area lost…
Gunmen have killed three police officers at a checkpoint in Umutu community, Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday. According to Edafe, the three policemen attached to the Umutu Divisional Police Headquarters in the state were killed at about 7:00 am on Wednesday, at the checkpoint they mounted along the Obeti/Oliogo Road in the LGA. Their patrol vehicle was also set ablaze during the attack. Investigations into the incident are ongoing, the spokesman added.
One-time internet giant Yahoo, which has undergone recent ownership changes and strategic pivots, announced Friday that Tinder CEO Jim Lanzone will be its new chief as the company looks for new opportunities. When Lanzone takes over as chief executive officer on September 27, he will inherit a company that once contended to be the main global internet portal. However, Yahoo has been gradually supplanted by titans like Google and was bought this year by private equity firm Apollo Global Management in a deal for Verizon’s media properties. “With our unique assets, resources, and lineage, we are one of the few…
The police have arrested five suspected ritualists for the murder of a commercial sex worker in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Okasanmi Ajayi confirmed this in a statement on Friday. He identified the suspects as Samuel Peter Tsado, Mohammed Gbara, Abubakar Mohammed, Mohammed Ahmadu Nma and Bala Karin. According to him, the victim identified as Abigail, was lured from the hotel where she worked, taken to the home of one of the suspects before she was beheaded for money ritual purposes. “On June 29, 2021, at about 23:08hrs, an unknown…
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested some suspected pipeline vandals and seized 36 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol in Lagos State. NSCDC spokesman in the state, Abolurin Oluwaseun Olumide, disclosed the arrest via a statement obtained on Friday. He said the Divisional Officer of Badagry, Akinyemi Rasheed Ayodeji, led the operation, adding that the suspected vandals took to their heels on sighting the security operatives when they were about perfecting their act. “The gallant marine and anti-vandal team, who intercepted the suspected vandals at the Badagry Division, discovered some thick nylons (white…