Toscana media blog

  The Federal Government has said that the court cases challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election, will not stop the transition of power from President Muhammadu Buhari to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu and the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima.   The Chairman of the Transition Committee, Boss Mustapha, stated this when he spoke to newsmen in Abuja on Monday, March 28.  “The committee has been active and the refurbishment of offices for the President and Vice-President elect has been completed. The facility at the Defence House is ready. Security personnel of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force have also been deployed to the President and Vice-President elect. Protocol officers have also been assigned to both the President-elect and Vice-President-elect from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence Agency. The transition process is on course and all efforts are being made to ensure that it is smoo...

  BREAKING: Court restrains Ayu from parading self as PDP chairman A High Court in Makurdi, Benue State has issued an interim injunction restraining Dr Iyorchia Ayu from parading himself as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The presiding judge, Justice W.I. Kpochi gave the interim order on Monday in suit No. MHC/85/2023 filed at the court by Engr Conrad Terhide Utaan with Ayu and the PDP as defendants. The case has been adjourned until April 17 for further hearing. Toscana media report 🇱🇷

  Four men were on Thursday, March 23, sentenced to d3ath by hanging by a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja. The convicts - Victor Chukwunonso, Ifeanyi Maduaka, Obinna Nwankwo, and Richard Nwabueze - were sentenced for armed robbery and the kidnapping of a woman, Mrs Gloria Emole. Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo held that the prosecution was able to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The convicts were said to have committed the offences on November 19, 2012, at about 8.30 am. They were arraigned on July 13, 2013, and were remanded in prison custody. The convicts were arraigned on a three-count bordering on conspiracy, armed robbery and kidnapping preferred against them by Lagos State. The state Director of Public Prosecution, Dr Babajide Martins, had told the court during their arraignment that they kidnapped the victim who was about to leave her house at 7, Unity Street, Ogudu GRA, Lagos. According to the prosecutor, the offences committed are contrary to and punishab...

  The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has said there was no meeting between the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola. In a statement on Thursday night, the APC PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga described as “fake, misleading and malicious” a media report (not by Channels Television) that Ariwoola disguised to meet with Tinubu Onanuga said the President-Elect is currently in Paris, France, and not in the UK. According to the campaign council’s spokesman, there is an attempt to create doubt about the legitimacy of the election that produced Tinubu as president-elect. We refute emphatically that there has been no clandestine meeting between the President-elect and the respected Chief Justice of our country, any where. It’s pure fabricated news, groundless in fact and authenticity,” Onanuga stated. “What kind of appointment or secret meeting will the two men have arranged in London, with so...

  T he Lagos state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has asked the police to arrest the Labour Party, LP, governorship candidate in the state, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, over the statement he made this afternoon, concerning the elections.  While reacting to the several incidents of violence recorded in some parts of the state, Gbadebo expressed displeasure over the election, stating that “if tonight, Lagos catches fire, it is not our fault.”  Reacting to the comment, the APC in a statement released by its publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo, cautioned Rhodes-Vivour and asked the police to arrest him if Lagos boils. “The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to a statement made by Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate Gbadebo Chinedu Rhodes-Vivour on today’s elections. He accuses the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the police of “provoking Lagosians” and warning that “if tonight Lagos catches fire, it is not our faul...

  Wongfully Convicted Man Freed After 34 Years In Jail A man, Sidney Holmes, was released after serving more than 34 years of a 400-year prison sentence after the state of Florida reinvestigated the case and determined that he did not commit armed robbery. According to abcNEWS on Tuesday, a thorough re-investigation of the 1988 armed robbery case that led to Holmes' conviction "raised reasonable doubts about his guilt," according to Broward County State Attorney Harold F. Pryor. Pryor said that Holmes was arrested in October 1988 for allegedly being the driver for two unidentified men who robbed a man and woman outside a store at gunpoint. The car of the male victim was stolen by two unidentified men. In April 1989, he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 400 years in prison. At the time, prosecutors asked the judge to sentence him to 825 years in prison. The Conviction Review Unit determined that there is no evidence linking Holmes to the robbery other than an inc...

 A woman has been sentenced to eight and a half years in jail after she injured herself with a hammer to falsely claim she had been r@ped by a gang. Eleanor Williams, 22 from Barrow, United Kingdom, was sentenced today, Tuesday, March 14. She was previously found guilty on eight counts of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice after she accused five men of rape, leading to one being jailed and leaving others' lives in tatters. Williams was 16 when she made the first false claim she had been r@ped at a party in Barrow. She later claimed she had been r@ped after a night out at Manhattans nightclub, where she worked, and again at her flat by the same man. She went on to say she had been groomed from the age of 12, forced to attend sex parties across the north of England and taken to Ibiza where the abuse continued. She said she had been sold as a slave at an auction in Amsterdam while on holiday with her sister. Williams had published pictures of her injuries...

 ' Okada' Rider To Die By Hanging For Killing Father Over Property Justice Ezekiel Enang of Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Etinan Local Government Area has sentenced a commercial motorcyclist, Moses Edo, 37, to death by hanging for killing his father, Abdon Edo, over landed property. Justice Enang held that the convict, an indigene of Ikot Ukobo in Nsit Ubium LGA, confessed in his statement to have single-handedly killed his father in broad daylight on July 29, 2015, in his house and buried him, Daily Post reported on Tuesday. Enang said, “The convict, who is the first son of the deceased confessed to pursuing his father to the backyard of his old building and hit his head on the wall where he died on the spot over landed property.” The court held that by smashing the head of his father on the wall, the convict had intended to kill him. Justice Enang found Moses guilty of murder and ordered that he should be hanged or a lethal substance injected inside him until he is de...

 The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections, Peter Obi, has said that he is challenging the process leading to the declaration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, as the winner of the election and not the declaration itself. Obi said this during his appearance on Arise TV Monday morning. Toscana media report 🇱🇷

  The  Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC),  Ondo Command, has arraigned a man identified as  Samuel Oni , before a Magistrate’s Court sitting in Akure, the state capital, for allegedly defrauding a sex worker,  Blessing Olaitan,  of N120,000. In the course of the court proceeding, Olaitan said she was a professional sex worker, adding that after having sex with her, the defendant collected N80,000 from her with a promise to transfer the money alongside her N15,000 fee to her account. According to the sex worker, she later received a fake credit alert from Oni, who was dragged to the court on two-count bordering on conspiracy and stealing. “That you, Samuel Oni, and others at large on March 2023, at Alagbaka, Akure, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did conspire with yourselves to commit a criminal offence to with (sic) stole a sum of one hundred and twenty thousand naira of Mrs Blessing Olaitan, thereby committed an offence con...

Sad Sunday as Corps Member Who Died In Lagos Train Accident Buried amidst tears  The remains of Oreoluwa Aina, a 28-year-old National Youth Corps Member who was involved in the Lagos train accident which occurred on Thursday, March 9, have been laid to rest. Aina was among the six victims who were confirmed dead after a train crushed a Lagos State Government staff bus at PWD, Ikeja area of the state. The late corps member, who was serving with the Curriculum Services Department of the Lagos State Ministry of Education in Alausa was buried on Saturday at Atan cemetery. A delegation of the state government led by the Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo, was present at the burial. Also present were the deceased’s family members and the State Coordinator of NYSC, Yetunde Baderinwa. Credit: Dayo Oyewo -- Follow for breaking news and videos.

  LP Lagos Gov Candidate Alleges Threat To Life The Lagos State governorship candidate under the Labour Party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has raised the alarm on death threats and assassination attempts on his life. Appearing on Arise TV on Sunday, the governorship candidate stated that he was attacked on Saturday. He said, "There have been lots of threats. We have gotten a lot of intel about potential assassination attempts on my life. Yes, it happened in Epe.  "We had Honourable Wale Oluwo with us and we also had Honourable Najid of the PDP working with us and they were also shot at in Epe yesterday." Credit: Arise TV Toscana media report 🇱🇷

  Cubana Chief Priest denies having child outside marriage Popular businessman, Pascal Okechukwu, also known as Cubana Chief Priest, has debunked the rumour of fathering a child with a kenyan woman outside marriage. A Nigerian blogger, Gistlover, has earlier reported that the businessman had a child from an extra-marital affair. Cubana Chief Priest debunked the rumours on Sunday on his Instagram story. He wrote, “I'm so rich that if I have a child outside my marital bliss, no one will ever know about it. Gistlover feels I can pay him/her for blackmail that’s so funny, me of all people. Oba without palace. If e sure for you, pay for the logistics for the DNA with your money, I go run am. "If the baby is mine, I will double your expenses. If you can’t afford to pay, show yourself and I will spend my money to do it." He added, "It’s a huge disrespect to me to say my child was born in Kenya of all places. God forbid. I assemble my babies in Nigeria and make them in Ameri...

  The body of a missing 15-year-old girl, Karabo Monyama, was buried in a shallow grave in the backyard of her 23-year-old boyfriend's home in South Africa. Police spokesperson Lt-Col Amanda Funani, who confirmed the development in a statement, said Monyama's body was discovered on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Funani said the victim's boyfriend has been arrested and charged with murd£r, perjury and defeating the ends of justice. According to the spokesperson, the teenager from Cyferskuil, close to Makapanstad, North West province, was last seen at lunchtime on Sunday March 5, when she left home to watch soccer at a nearby field. She never returned home. “Cyferskuil police arrested a suspect after the body of missing teenager was found yesterday, 08 March 2023. The body of 15-year-old Karabo Monyama was discovered, buried in a shallow grave in the backyard of her 23-year-old boyfriend. The boyfriend was arrested on the same day, and he was charged for cases of murder, perjury a...

  President Muhammadu Buhari in Doha, Qatar, called on Nigerians living in the country to support President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as he takes over the reins of government on May 29. Speaking on Tuesday at a Town Hall meeting as part of his visit to the State of Qatar, President Buhari said his administration set forward to emplace credible, transparent and fair elections which will conclude on Saturday, March 11, with the Governorship and State Assembly elections. He therefore called on them to “support the incoming government of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, so that Nigeria will continue to be the beacon of hope and prosperity in our continent and an example for other African countries to emulate Speaking further, the President acknowledged the noble roles that Nigerians in Diaspora all over the world have been playing in the development of Nigeria, adding that his administration had approved a National Diaspora Policy, and supported the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (...

  The Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour says the security and safety of voters are paramount in the forthcoming March 18 election, adding that any form of voter intimidation and harassment will be met with resistance. “My focus now is on security and ensuring that people come out to vote and they are not intimidated or harassed because any form of intimidation or harassment will be met with resistance. It’s just that simple,” Rhodes-Vivour said on Channels Television’s  Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday.. On February 25, thugs attacked voters and disrupted the electoral process in Elegushi, Ikate and other parts of Lagos . The police said over 20 political thugs were arrested over cases of electoral violence and ballot box snatching recorded during the just-concluded presidential and National Assembly polls. He also said the postponement of the governorship and state assemblies’ elections from March 11 to March 18 has not d...

 The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has put together a legal team of 19 Senior Advocates of Nigeria to challenge the outcome of the February 25 election.   Atiku briefed his legal team at his campaign Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, March 8. The former Vice President asked them to “establish the claim of illegality in the election and reclaim the mandate of the Nigerian people.”   The team is headed by a seasoned litigation and commercial lawyer, JK Gadzama. Other members of his legal team include Chief Chris Uche, Paul Usoro, Tayo Jegede, Ken Mozia, Chief Mike Ozekhome, Mahmood Magaji, Joe Abraham, Chukwuma Umeh, Garba Tetengi and Chief Emeka Etiaba – as well as Chief Goddy Uche, Professor Maxwell Gidado; PDP’s National Legal Adviser A.K. Ajibade; O.M. Atoyebi; Nella Rabana; Paul Ogbole; Nuremi Jimoh and Abdul Ibrahim. Toscana media 🇱🇷

 Several persons rendered homeless as rainstorm blows off 105 buildings in Ekiti Several persons have been rendered homeless after a heavy downpour destroyed more than 105 buildings in Oke-Ako, Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State on Friday, March 3. The downpour which started at about 3pm also destroyed some electricity facilities across the town, thereby subjecting the residents to a total blackout. While on a visit to the affected area on Saturday, March 4, the deputy governor of the state, Monisade Afuye, described the incident as highly devastating. A statement by the Special Assistant Media to the Deputy Governor, Victor Ogunje, on Saturday, quoted the Governor as expressing delight that no life was lost during the stormy rainfall. “On behalf of his Excellency, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, I sympathize with you on the destruction caused by rainstorm to many residential buildings and electricity poles in this town , which we believe must have affected the wellbeing of the v...

  Buhari Thanks Nigerians For Voting Him, Tinubu The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), on Sunday  thanked Nigerians for voting for him twice and also for voting Bola Tinubu as president-elect. He said, “Thank you for electing me on two occasions to be your president and thank you also for responding positively to my call by voting for our presidential candidate,  Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “By the grace of God, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Ahmed is now the president-elect of the country and as I have mentioned before, he truly believes in Nigeria and is genuinely committed to the progress and sustainable future of the country.  "I believe that Bola Tinubu will sustain our legacies and build on them towards achieving a greater Nigeria.” Credit: Twitter | BashirAhmaad Toscana media report 🇱🇷

Atiku lost presidential polls, primaries six times  By Alao Abiodun Serial presidential aspirant Atiku Abubakar once again lost out in the February 25th presidential election.  Fortune failed to smile at him this time around again. Atiku, since 1993, has continued to eye the presidency seat but has been unsuccessful. Running for President six times — 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023 — was fraught with many of the same hurdles.  He has contested six times for presidential tickets. On February 25, it was the third time he lost a presidential contest.  At 76, this may be Atiku’s last attempt at having a shot at the presidency.  The former Vice-President first ventured into politics in the 1980s when he campaigned for Bamanga Tukur, a former Governor of old Gongola. Here is a timeline of presidential elections and primaries that Atiku contested in and lost: https://thenationonlineng.net/timeline-atiku-lost-presidential-polls-primaries-six-times/ Toscana media 🇱🇷...