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Movies can help restore Nigeria’s integrity – Ali Nuhu


Ali Nuhu, the director of the Nigerian Film Corporation and a prominent actor, emphasized the pivotal role of quality in Nigerian filmmaking in revitalizing the country’s integrity. In a recent interview with BBC Hausa, he highlighted that presently, only 35% of Nigerian films meet the desired quality standard, while the target should be between 70 to 75%.

He said,

“If you look at the films we produce in Nigeria’s film industry, you would see that only 30-35 per cent meet desired quality as against 70-75 per cent.

“So I will focus on this by making sure we are more educated and the provisions of quality equipment.

“We have ambition of transforming the industry into one of the world best because we don’t need quantity, what we need most is quality over quantity.”

“Some bad eggs among the industry have given Nigeria a bad name, so through these films, we will restore our integrity,” he added.

“My mother advised me to refrain from wearing short skirts” – Ayra Starr reveals

Renowned vocalist and Grammy nominee, Ayra Starr, discloses that her mother has prohibited her from wearing short skirts.

Known as the ambassador of mini skirts, Ayra Starr has consistently stirred conversations with her daring and revealing attire.ayra starr

In a recent video, she is depicted wearing a long skirt while declaring her resolution to cease wearing short skirts, citing new directives from her mother.

While numerous individuals welcome the new change, there are also those who express discontent and recommend that she return to wearing mini skirts.

Explore various reactions to Ayra Starr’s recent announcement here.

@ophicialrex wrote: “Thank you mummy . Our girl don almost dey wear catapult 🥲”

@Jbrandy_YBNL said: “Mama Celestina finally spoke to her daughter 😂”

@phveektordrayne asked: “You sef gree for her? Una Don dey lose focus this year o🤔 what happened to “no gree for anybody”?”

@Tunmise01 noted: “Long skirt no fit you my baby 🥺🥺”

@I_A_M_WINNER commented: “Tell your mommy I said no. We like you like that”

@Chikodili7517 said: “Sabi girl please 🙏 we need back our short skirts 🥺🙏🙏
You are traumatizing me with the long skirts.
Please forgive them and bring back my shorts.”  

See post below:

Grammy awards 2024: list of winners

The night saw major wins for Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, boygenius, SZA and Billie Eilish

Album of the year

Jon Batiste – World Music

Radioboygenius – The Record

Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation

Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd

Janelle Monáe – The Age of Pleasure

Olivia Rodrigo – Guts

Taylor Swift – Midnights – WINNER

SZA – SOS

Record of the year

Jon Batiste – Worship

boygenius – Not Strong Enough

Miley Cyrus – Flowers – WINNER

Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For? from Barbie: The Album

Victoria Monét – On My Mama

Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire

Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero

SZA – Kill Bill

Best new artist

Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét – WINNER
The War and Treaty

Song of the year

Lana Del Rey – A&W
Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero
Jon Batiste – Butterfly
Dua Lipa – Dance the Night from Barbie
Miley Cyrus – Flowers
SZA – Kill Bill
Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire
Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For? from Barbie – WINNER

Best pop vocal album

Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
Ed Sheeran – “-” (Subtract)
Taylor Swift – Midnights – WINNER

Best R&B song

Halle – Angel
Robert Glasper featuring SiR and Alex Isley – Back to Love
Coco Jones – ICU
Victoria Monét – On My Mama
SZA – Snooze – WINNER

Best country album

Kelsea Ballerini – Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
Brothers Osborne – Brothers Osborne
Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan
Tyler Childers – Rustin’ in the Rain
Lainey Wilson – Bell Bottom Country – WINNER

Best música urbana album

Rauw Alejandro – Saturno
Karol G – Mañana Será Bonito – WINNER
Tainy – Data

Best pop solo performance

Miley Cyrus – Flowers – WINNER
Doja Cat – Paint the Town Red
Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For? from Barbie
Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire
Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero

Best progressive R&B album

6lack – Since I Have a Lover
Diddy – The Love Album: Off the Grid
Terrace Martin and James Fauntleroy – Nova
Janelle Monáe – The Age of Pleasure
SZA – SOS – WINNER

Best R&B performance

Chris Brown – Summer Too Hot
Robert Glasper featuring SiR and Alex Isley – Back to Love
Coco Jones – ICU – WINNER
Victoria Monét – How Does It Make You Feel
SZA – Kill Bill

Coco Jones Photograph: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock

Best folk album

Dom Flemons – Traveling Wildfire
The Milk Carton Kids – I Only See the Moon
Joni Mitchell – Joni Mitchell at Newport (Live) – WINNER
Nickel Creek – Celebrants
Old Crow Medicine Show – Jubilee
Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy

Producer of the year, non-classical

Jack Antonoff – WINNER
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Hit-Boy
Metro Boomin
Daniel Nigro

Songwriter of the year, non-classical

Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Shane McAnally
Theron Thomas – WINNER
Justin Tranter

Best pop duo/group performance

Miley Cyrus featuring Brandi Carlile – Thousand Miles
Lana Del Rey featuring Jon Batiste – Candy Necklace
Labrinth featuring Billie Eilish – Never Felt So Alone
Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice – Karma
SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers – Ghost in the Machine – WINNER

Best dance/electronic recording

Aphex Twin – Blackbox Life Recorder 21f
James Blake – Loading
Disclosure – Higher Than Ever Before
Romy and Fred again.. – Strong
Skrillex, Fred again.. and Flowdan – Rumble – WINNER

Best pop dance recording

David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray – Baby Don’t Hurt Me
Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding – Miracle
Kylie Minogue – Padam Padam – WINNER
Bebe Rexha and David Guetta – One in a Million
Troye Sivan – Rush

Best dance/electronic music album

James Blake – Playing Robots into Heaven
The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling
Fred again.. – Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022) – WINNER
Kx5 – Kx5
Skrillex – Quest for Fire

Best traditional R&B performance

Babyface featuring Coco Jones – Simple
Kenyon Dixon – Lucky
Victoria Monét featuring Earth, Wind & Fire and Hazel Monét – Hollywood
PJ Morton featuring Susan Carol – Good Morning – WINNER
SZA – Love Language

Best R&B album

Babyface – Girls Night Out
Coco Jones – What I Didn’t Tell You (Deluxe)
Emily King – Special Occasion
Victoria Monét – Jaguar II – WINNER
Summer Walker – Clear 2: Soft Life EP

Victoria Monét at the Grammy awards on 4 February 2024. Photograph: Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock

Best rap performance

Baby Keem featuring Kendrick Lamar – The Hillbillies
Black Thought – Love Letter
Drake & 21 Savage – Rich Flex
Killer Mike featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane – Scientists & Engineers – WINNER
Coi Leray – Players

Best melodic rap performance

Burna Boy featuring 21 Savage – Sittin’ on Top of the World
Doja Cat – Attention
Drake and 21 Savage – Spin Bout U
Lil Durk featuring J Cole – All My Life – WINNER
SZA – Low

Best rap song

Doja Cat – Attention
Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua – Barbie World from Barbie: The Album
Lil Uzi Vert – Just Wanna Rock
Drake and 21 Savage – Rich Flex
Killer Mike featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane – Scientists & Engineers – WINNER

Best rap album

Drake and 21 Savage – Her Loss
Killer Mike – Michael – WINNER
Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains
Nas – King’s Disease III
Travis Scott – Utopia

Best country solo performance

Tyler Childers – In Your Love
Brandy Clark – Buried
Luke Combs – Fast Car
Dolly Parton – The Last Thing on My Mind
Chris Stapleton – White Horse – WINNER

Best country song

Brandy Clark – Buried
Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves – I Remember Everything
Tyler Childers – In Your Love
Morgan Wallen – Last Night
Chris Stapleton – White Horse – WINNER

Best country song

Brandy Clark – Buried
Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves – I Remember Everything
Tyler Childers – In Your Love
Morgan Wallen – Last Night
Chris Stapleton – White Horse – WINNER

Best song written for visual media

Barbie World from Barbie the Album, Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. and Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua)
Dance the Night from “Barbie the Album, Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
I’m Just Ken from Barbie the Album, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Ryan Gosling)
Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Music From and Inspired By, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Robyn Fenty and Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Rihanna)
What Was I Made For? from Barbie the Album, Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish) — WINNER

Best comedy album

Trevor Noah – I Wish You Would
Wanda Sykes – I’m an Entertainer
Chris Rock – Selective Outrage
Sarah Silverman – Someone You Love
Dave Chappelle – What’s in a Name? – WINNER

Best global music album

Susana Baca – Epifanías
Bokanté – History
Burna Boy – I Told Them…
Davido – Timeless
Shakti – This Moment – WINNER

Best African music performance

Asake and Olamide – Amapiano
Burna Boy – City Boys
Davido featuring Musa Keys – Unavailable
Ayra Starr – Rush
Tyla – Water – WINNER

Best musical theater album

Kimberly Akimbo
Parade
Shucked
Some Like It Hot – WINNER
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best alternative music album

Arctic Monkeys – The Car
boygenius – The Record – WINNER
Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Gorillaz – Cracker Island
PJ Harvey – I Inside the Old Year Dying

Best alternative music performance

Alvvays – Belinda Says
Arctic Monkeys – Body Paint
boygenius – Cool About It
Lana Del Rey – A&W
Paramore – This Is Why – WINNER

Best rock album

Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
Greta Van Fleet – Starcatcher
Metallica – 72 Seasons
Paramore – This Is Why – WINNER
Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman…

Best rock song

The Rolling Stones – Angry
Olivia Rodrigo – Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl
Queens of the Stone Age – Emotion Sickness
boygenius – Not Strong Enough – WINNER
Foo Fighters – Rescued

Best metal performance

Disturbed – Bad Man
Ghost – Phantom of the Opera
Metallica – 72 Seasons – WINNER
Slipknot – Hive Mind
Spiritbox – Jaded

Best rock performance

Arctic Monkeys – Sculptures of Anything Goes
Black Pumas – More Than a Love Song
boygenius – Not Strong Enough – WINNER
Foo Fighters – Rescued
Metallica – Lux Æterna

Best country duo/group performance

Dierks Bentley featuring Billy Strings – High Note
Brothers Osborne – Nobody’s Nobody
Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves – I Remember Everything – WINNER
Vince Gill and Paul Franklin – Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)
Jelly Roll with Lainey Wilson – Save Me
Carly Pearce featuring Chris Stapleton – We Don’t Fight Anymore

Nollywood is the hot new investment for tech founders; returns are up to 3x

Nollywood is on a path to globalisation, and the deep pockets of tech operators will help achieve global success.On August 25, Editi Effiòng, a Nollywood director, shared a list of executive producers for his film, The Black Book. It featured African startup founders and investors like Nadayer Enegesi (Eden Life), Olumide Soyombo (Voltron Capital), and Ezra Olubi (Paystack). While this is not the first time African tech players have invested in film projects, the long list of executive producers for The Black Book has shown that tech operators are increasingly funding film projects. For decades, inadequate funding has slowed Nollywood’s growth, affecting film quality and limiting profitability. Niyi Akinmolayan, a filmmaker, shared on X that because of these issues, many Nigerian films submitted to streaming platforms are underpriced compared to those from other industries or rejected. Anita Eboigbe, a journalist and film writer, told TechCabal that more money in the film industry could help solve some of these problems. “Right now, there are monopolies everywhere that can only be disrupted by more money. When it comes to streaming platforms, there are still a lot of negotiation problems that haven’t been solved. These all boil down to how we handle the process, and to fix this, we need money,” she said. Investments from streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime and partnerships with local studios like Inkblot and EbonyLife are improving film quality. It is translating to better commercial performance at the cinemas. The highest-grossing films in Nigerian box-office history as of 2022 have been local productions: The Wedding Party ($1.5 million) and Omo Ghetto: The Saga ($1.5 million); and Nollywood now accounts for 55% of ticket sales in Nigeria.

In the first quarter of 2023, Nollywood accounted for 42% of box office revenue.

In the firstIt’s in contrast to Nollywood’s early beginnings when direct-to-video sales at local markets were the preferred distribution method. Tech investors are now riding Nollywood’s newest growth wave. Subomi Plumptre, CEO of Volition Cap and one of The BlackBook’s investors, told TechCabal that she decided to fund Nollywood films because of the industry’s long-term financial potential. Olumide Soyombo, the founder of Voltron Capital, told TechCabal that he’s investing in Nollywood films to drive profitability in the industry.

Investors are building their appetite for Nollywood

Victoria Popoola, co-founder and CEO of TalentX Africa, a film-financing marketplace, told TechCabal that “the more significant revenue opportunities currently come from streaming, with cinemas helping to drive streaming leverage depending on performance.” TalentX has invested “close to $1 million” in Nollywood movies. Plumptre’s Volition Cap also provides structure around film investing by creating a model that “looks like traditional African cooperatives.” For The Black Book, investors participated via “relatively small ticket sizes”, said Plumptre, and were supported by more prominent institutional investors. She added that the film’s investors earned dollar payouts because Netflix took up the movie. Soyombo told TechCabal that the collaboration between tech investors and Nollywood has helped change how filmmakers approach filmmaking. “Now we are seeing (filmmakers) keep an eye on money and not just the creative side.”Another significant challenge the film industry faces is the lack of physical infrastructure and production talent. Being unable to afford the appropriate technical equipment and talent affects the kind of stories that get told, with filmmakers sticking to plots—mainly drama—that don’t require a lot of technicality, missing out on the revenue that popular genres like action produce. Patient capital can solve this problem.Soyombo told TechCabal that he has invested over £1 million in Rushing Tap Studio, a physical studio where filmmakers can rent studio space to create movie scenes. Plumptre told TechCabal that Volition Cap prefers creative projects with a maximum time frame of 24 months. The firm is also thinking of investing in physical infrastructure. Popoola echoed the same thoughts, telling TechCabal that although she believes that “there’s a critical need for investment in more distribution infrastructure” and “a need to rethink the cinema experience,” Talent X is not investing in physical infrastructure. To address the talent problem, Popoola and Plumptre told TechCabal that their firms were open to partnerships.

It’s in contrast to Nollywood’s early beginnings when direct-to-video sales at local markets were the preferred distribution method. Tech investors are now riding Nollywood’s newest growth wave. Subomi Plumptre, CEO of Volition Cap and one of The BlackBook’s investors, told TechCabal that she decided to fund Nollywood films because of the industry’s long-term financial potential. Olumide Soyombo, the founder of Voltron Capital, told TechCabal that he’s investing in Nollywood films to drive profitability in the industry.

Amazon Prime to layoff staff and stop producing African content

Amazon Prime, the global streaming giant, is laying off staff and scaling back its local content production in Africa and the Middle East, according to a new report by Variety. The streaming platform, the third largest in Africa, is restructuring its business model to focus on its European market. Barry Furlong, the vice president of Prime’s EMEA division, told staff in an email that the decision was made to focus “on the areas that drive the highest impact and long-term success.” It’s unclear how many employees will be affected. Approved shows like “Ebuka Turns Up Africa” will still be rolled out as Amazon Prime will still be present in Africa, but the platform will stop approving local shows in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa. Africa’s streaming market is projected to have at least 18 million paying streaming customers by 2029, up from 8 million customers last year. With a combined 75% of the streaming market, Netflix and Showmax are the market leaders. Despite this growth, streaming penetration remains low, as most of these customers are in South Africa and Nigeria. By 2029, only 7.7% of African households would be paying for at least one of these platforms.

Amazon Prime was estimated to have 575,000 sub-Saharan customers in 2021, which was projected to reach 1.9 million in 2026.

From lofty goals to a retreat

Amazon Prime had lofty goals of being the biggest streaming platform in Africa, as it quickly hired lots of staff and signed at least four partnerships with local production studios when it landed in Africa in December 2021. Prime has two dedicated teams for Nigeria and South Africa, its two largest markets. While the Nigerian team operates out of London, the South African team works in Cape Town and Johannesburg. “We now have a dedicated local content strategy for the continent across the board, from originals to be developed and produced by Amazon Studios to an exciting licensing slate with top-tier producers,” Ned Mitchell, Prime’s head of originals for Africa, said in February. By then, Prime had announced multi-year partnerships with Nigerian studios like Anthill, Inkblot, and Greoh. But it was its partnership with Jade Osiberu’s Greoh that stood out. The three-year deal would allow all of Osiberu’s movies and shows to be exclusively available on Amazon Prime and the first movie out of this partnership, ‘Gangs of Lagos’, broke multiple records. Within two months, it was the 9th most watched non-English title on Prime. Its success also inspired the creation of a new film-financing firm, Capital Films.

Prime scaling back its presence on the African continent also offers a new challenge to a new business model where tech-focused professionals are increasingly financing Nollywood movies or even creating them to sell to international streaming platforms. This business model has seen successes like Netflix’s ‘The Black Book,’ which was watched more than 70 million times in less than three weeks on Netflix. African streaming platforms have also struggled in recent years, as Video Play, Telkom One and Kwese TV have all shut down. In November, TechCabal reported that IrokoTV, Africa’s oldest streaming service, had only 46,000 active users in December 2022, a 76% decline from the beginning of the year. IrokoTV’s CEO, Jason Njoku, shared that the service had invested $30 million in Nigeria but had yet to profit from the country.

Jose Mourinho is SACKED by Roma

Roma have sacked Jose Mourinho, with the club languishing in ninth place in Serie A.

His final game in charge was Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to AC Milan – which a suspended Mourinho had to watch from the stands – meaning the Stadio Olympico-based outfit had won just one of their past six league games, while they were also dumped out of the Coppa Italia by arch-rivals Lazio last week.In total, Roma have won just eight of their 20 matches in Serie A this season and sit behind the likes of Bologna, Atalanta and Fiorentina in the race for European qualification.

Despite him asking for a new contract – after ex-Chelsea and Man United boss was repeatedly sent off and led his team down to ninth in the table

In a statement, Roma owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin said: ‘We would like to thank Jose on behalf of all of us at AS Roma for his passion and efforts since his arrival at the club.’We will always have great memories of his tenure at Roma, but we believe that an immediate change is in the best interests of the club.

We understand Daniele De Rossi is the favourite to replace Mourinho as head coach.Talks are underway with the 40-year old who though he made over 600 appearances in Roma’s midfield, has limited coaching experience having worked with the Italian federation and Serie B side SPAL who sacked him a year ago.Former Chelsea and Spurs boss Antonio Conte and Graham Potter, also formerly of Chelsea and Brighton, are also being considered.Potter, 48, has been biding his time awaiting the best project ahead of making his return to management after a highly promising start. He is also understood to be in Manchester United’s thoughts should they make a change on manager.Mourinho joined Roma in May 2021 and spent two-and-a-half years in the role, leading them to the Europa Conference League title in 2022 when they beat Feyenoord, which was the club’s first European trophy since 1961.He also guided them to the Europa League final last season, before they were defeated by Sevilla on penalties.

Mourinho’s contract was set to expire at the end of this season and there had been increasingly speculation surrounding his future before Roma’s announcement on Tuesday. However, over recent weeks, he had outlined his desire to stay at the club, with the 60-year-old rubbishing speculation linking him with Saudi Arabia.Speaking after a 2-0 defeat to Bologna on December 17, Mourinho said: ‘I want to continue at Roma. And if I stay at Roma we’ve got to really think hard about the financial fair play limitations we have, because maybe it’s better to work with younger players and give them some chances.’That could present an opportunity for development, compared to players who have nothing left to develop. I want to continue and I’m open to a new approach.’ The former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United boss won 68 of his 138 matches in charge, but was repeatedly at the centre of disciplinary problems.Just last week, Mourinho was dismissed for the second match in a row after a violent and chaotic Rome derby in the Coppa Italia quarter-final which his side lost 1-0 to arch-rivals Lazio. The Portuguese coach had already accumulated a mammoth five red cards in total during 2023-24, which follows the three dismissals he received in 2022-23.

While Mourinho remained largely revered among Roma supporters following their European success, he only managed to lead them to two sixth-place finishes after spending heavily in his first season at the club.This included the additions of the likes of Rui Patricio, Tammy Abraham, Roger Ibanez and Matias Vina for an outlay of more than £100m, and has meant his attempts to strengthen in recent windows have been hampered by FFP constraints. Mourinho departing midway through his third season will remind fans of his similar struggles at previous clubs.

During his second spell at Chelsea and his time with Man United, Mourinho left during his third full campaign at the club. He leaves with Roma in danger of dropping out of the top half of the table, while they are 22 points behind leaders Inter Milan and 13 off AC Milan following Sunday’s defeat. Roma’s on-pitch struggles have been accompanied by increasing outbursts from ‘the special one’, with Mourinho dubbing himself ‘Jose ‘Harry Potter’ Mourinho’ after his side were knocked out of the Coppa Italia to Lazio.’The Roma fans are the most incredible I have seen. Their coach is Jose ‘Harry Potter’ Mourinho and he raises expectations,’ Mourinho said last week.’I don’t know how many derbies I’ve played, 200, 150, they are always special matches. I’ve won, I’ve drawn, I’ve lost, always with a different experience.’I have always understood that for a Chelsea fan, a game against Manchester City is not the same as a game against Arsenal. That for Inter, a game against Roma is not the same as a game against Juventus

How female lawyer gruesomely killed her husband in Lagos – Police

A prosecution witness on Wednesday gave graphic detail of last year’s gruesome killing of Lagos lawyer, Symphorosa Otike-Odibi, by her lawyer wife, Udeme, before an Igbosere High Court, Lagos.The witness, Olusegun Bamidele, an assistant superintendent of police in the Homicide Section, State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Panti, told the court that Udeme, in her statement, confessed to killing her husband and cutting his manhood.Udeme was arraigned on June 13, 2018 on a two-count charge of murder and misconduct with regard to a corpse by Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Titilayo Shitta-Bey.According to the prosecutor, Udeme stabbed Symphorosa, also a lawyer, to death and mutilated his corpse by cutting off his genitals on May 3, 2018, at their Diamond Estate, Sangotedo, Lekki, Lagos home.

The prosecutor said the offences contravened Sections 165 (b) and 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.Udeme pleaded not guilty and was remanded in prison custody.At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, the prosecutor called Bamidele, a police veteran, as the state’s final witness.Bamidele told the court that as the head of a team that investigated the killing, he personally recorded the defendant’s statement.He said that Udeme wrote a detailed confessional statement during an interactive session with her in protective custody in the police hospital.According to him, the defendant was recuperating from what doctors described as “superficial and self-inflicted wounds,” when she made her statement.

He said the defendant spoke freely after identifying herself as a lawyer.Bamidele said: “While she (Udeme) was writing her statement, it was an interactive session. I put questions to her, she would explain it to me and put it down in writing.“She stated in her statement that she was married to the late Symphorosa and that they were having marital issues.

“She stated that the deceased was having extra-marital affairs and whenever she raised the issue with him, his responses were not satisfactory, he appeared nonchalant.“She said that on May 2, 2018, she was preparing to travel to United Kingdom when she checked the bedside locker for her marriage certificate. When she could not find it, she went to the deceased where he lay on the bed and asked him about it but there was no response, the response given was not okay.“She had a discussion with him and there was hot exchange of words, which made her to go to the kitchen and get a frying pan and knife.“When she returned to where the deceased lay, she hit him on the head with the frying pan and said ‘Tell me, what is in your mind that you are withholding.

“She stated that the deceased called his mother to report her conduct. She continued to hit the deceased on the head again and again. Finally, she confirmed that she used the knife to stab the deceased in his abdomen.

“She also said while the deceased was lying on his back, she was still angry. She sat beside him, looking at his intestines coming out of the deceased and said: ‘If this your penis is the one that is giving you license to have the feeling of another person, it’s better we cut it off,’ she proceeded to do so with the same knife she used in stabbing him and hanged a piece of the penis in his right hand”.Bamidele explained that later that night, Udeme sent her “close friend” Maureen Offor, a WhatsApp message which read: “I have done something terrible.”The witness said further investigation showed that she sent two other WhatsApp messages, firstly to the husband of the deceased’s younger sister, Charles Akpoguma, which read: “Just pray for us. May God forgive.”He said the last message was to her mother in Calabar the same night. It read: “Sorry mum, we engaged in a fight.”However, things took a more graphic turn when the prosecution played pictures of the defendant on a hospital bed after the incident and her bloodied deceased husband on his deathbed.Shitta-Bey also tendered, through Bamidele, several exhibits recovered from the defendant.They included a big, shiny frying pan allegedly used by the defendant on the deceased, a blood covered kitchen knife Udeme allegedly used in killing Symphorosa, a blood stained pen, four phones, two of which were blood stained, Udeme’s Nigerian and British passports.But when the prosecutor sought to tender the two statements which Udeme allegedly made to the police, her counsel, Mr Olusegun Banjoko, opposed the admissibility of the statements.Banjoko prayed the court not to admit the statements as evidence, adding that they were not made in the presence of the defendant’s lawyer as required by law.Justice Adedayo Akintoye adjourned until February 25 to consider the admissibility of the statements in a trial within trial.

MAN CITY HANDED TOTTENHAM TRIP IN FA CUP FOURTH ROUND DRAW

The draw for FA Cup’s fourth round has been made ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Wigan.Reigning holders Manchester City will travel to Tottenham while Liverpool’s reward for eliminating Arsenal sees them hosting the winner from Norwich City and Bristol Rovers’ third-round replay.

Whichever team emerges victorious at the DW Stadium is set for a trip to whoever triumphs in Newport County and Eastleigh’s meeting.The draw in full …

Watford v Southampton

Blackburn Rovers v Wrexham

Bournemouth v Swansea

CityWest Brom v Brentford/Wolves

West Ham/Bristol City v Nottingham Forest/Blackpool

Leicester City v Hull City/Birmingham City

Sheffield Wednesday v Coventry City

Chelsea v Aston Villa

Ipswich Town v Maidstone United

Liverpool v Norwich City/Bristol Rovers

Tottenham v Manchester City

Leeds United v Plymouth Argyle

Crystal Palace/Everton v Luton Town/Bolton Wanderers

Newport County/Eastleigh v Wigan Athletic/Manchester United

Sheffield United v Brighton

Fulham v Newcastle United.

Emefiele illegally opened 593 illegal bank accounts in UK, US, China – Investigation report

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The immediate past Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele, illegally lodged billions of naira in about 593 bank accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, and China.

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Investigator, Jim Obaze, disclosed that Emefiele opened the bank accounts without the approval of CBN’s Board of Directors and Investment Committee.Obaze disclosed that Emefiele deposited 543, 482,213 in fixed deposits in UK banks alone without authorisation.

This was contained in Obaze’s final report tagged, ‘Report of the Special Investigation on CBN and Related Entities (Chargeable offences)’ submitted to Tinubu.The report reads partly: “The former governor of the CBN invested Nigeria’s money without authorisation in 593 foreign accounts in the United States, China and the United Kingdom while he was in charge.“All the accounts where the billions were lodged have all been traced by the investigator, In the UK alone, Emefiele kept £543,482, 213 in fixed deposits without authorization by the CBN board and the Investment Committee of the bank.

The former CBN governor is currently in Kuje prison after he was arraigned by the Nigerian Government for alleged N1.2 billion procurement fraud.The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, had granted him bail in the sum of N300m but he had failed to perfect it.

Here is why fans can’t stop talking about Tiwa Savage and Tems

Social media has been buzzing with talks surrounding and focusing on two of the biggest female artists in Africa, Tiwa Savage and Tems.Multiple award-winning singers Tiwa Savage and Tems were spotted together at a recent event in Lagos.The sensational singers and talented vocalists were at a DJ Obi’s house party together on Monday, December 18, 2023, and the meet up is something fans have not stopped talking about.

Many have categorized the link up as two of the heavyweight in Afrobeats hanging out and others could not help but speculate that Tiwa Savage and Tems might just be working on releasing a work of art together.This is a probability as Tems who has been working on putting out her debut album has been very secretive regarding what to expect from the album but her recently released singles Me & U and Not An Angel as well as a recent video of her in a studio session with Odumodublvck and Blaqbonez have kept fans salivating for more from her.

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