A 41-year-old man, Baridapsi Needam has been sentenced to to 14 years imprisonment by the Bayelsa State High Court, sitting in Yenagoa.

The man was jailed for r*ping and impregnating his daughter.

It was learnt that the victim gave birth to a baby girl while the trial was pending.

Bayelsa State Commissioner of Justice and Attorney-General Biriyai Dambo, in the suit numbered YHC/14C/2022, charged the accused with the offence of r*pe, contrary to Section 1(1) of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law of Bayelsa State, 2021.

The State Prosecuting Counsel and Deputy Director in the Bayelsa State Ministry of Justice, Pere Amanda Egbuson, told the court that investigations revealed that the accused began defiling his daughter when she was seven years old by inserting his fingers into her vagina and started having sex with her in 2020 until she got pregnant in 2022.

The presiding judge, Justice D.E. Adokeme, stated while delivering the judgement that the prosecution presented credible evidence and made reference to the DNA result, which revealed a 99.99 per cent positive report that the convict is the father of the child.

The court ruled that the prosecution has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt that Needam committed the offence of r*pe and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment.

Speaking after the judgement, lead prosecuting counsel Pere Amanda Egbuson noted that the judgement will serve as a deterrent to others as a strong message has been sent that the court will not tolerate such heinous acts.

The convict, Baridapsi Needman, who hails from Ogani Wily Kaira Community in Ogoni in Rivers State, was reported to the police by members of the state gender advocacy group, Gender Response Initiative Team, GRIT, in 2022, when a concerned neighbour noticed that the victim was five months pregnant and that the father was responsible for the pregnancy.

Needman was reported to have replaced his deceased wife with his daughter on his matrimonial bed. While the 14-year-old girl, who was in Junior Secondary School 3, was sleeping on the bed with her father, her two younger brothers were made to sleep on the floor.

Talent manager Paulo Okoye has shared a throwback video with Davido on Instagram, revealing how he tirelessly fought for Davido’s career in the early days.

Despite being rejected six times by a company, Paulo persisted and eventually secured a job for Davido.

He attributed their success to hard work, stating that he wasn’t born with a “golden spoon.”

“Is all about hard work !!! Respect!!! Then Davido have on One song !!! Duro!! I fought for that job for him !! The company says no to me 6x I come back fighting before they say Yes. it is well !!! !!! I’m not born with a golden spoon, it’s just hard work,” he wrote on Instagram.

Davido and his brother, Adewale Adeleke, validated Paulo’s claims in the comment section, with Davido writing “Facts” and Adewale acknowledging Paulo’s significant role in Davido’s career, he wrote: “Yep our first endorsement, MTN was done by you sir. You forever played a major role in David’s story! God bless you”.

This testimony comes amidst Paulo’s online dispute with Very Dark Man, who disparaged Paulo’s girlfriend, Iyabo Ojo.

Media personality and actress Moet Abebe has confirmed that she is in a long-term romantic relationship with rapper Ice Prince.

On the “Bahd And Boujee” podcast, she revealed that they have been together for 12 years, calling herself his “baby girl.”

When asked about having children with him, she playfully dodged the question, while she affirmed to have received financial support from him, referring to him as her “boo.”

She said, “Ice Prince is my man. We have been dating for 12 years. I’m his baby girl.”

Tolanibaj asked: “Do you plan to have children with him?”

Abebe replied :“Our babies will be fine but no. Let me not say no [laughs].”

Tolanibaj asked again: “Have you ever received a credit alert from him?”

Abebe replied: “Why not. That’s my boo.”

Talent manager Soso Soberekon, has shared valuable advice for women on his Instagram page.

He emphasised that no amount of s3xual prowess can prevent a man from cheating if he is inclined to do so.

He encouraged women not to strain themselves trying to please a man, using the metaphor of “breaking their spinal cord.”

“No sex position makes a man faithful. Who’ll cheat will cheat. Don’t break your spinal cord my sister,” he wrote on Instagram. 

Big Brother Naija reality star, Tolani Baj, has expressed readiness for a romantic relationship.

Co-hosting the latest episode of the Bahd And Boujee Podcast with actress Moet Abebe, Tolanibaj lamented her difficulty in finding love.

“I don’t understand how my man is out there like your missing rib is still missing. I’m your rib. How are you surviving without your missing rib? You’ve peace of mind, you can sleep without your missing rib? I’m tired, I’m ready to complete you,” she said.

Abebe asked, “Are you sure that you’re putting yourself out there strategically?”

Tolanibaj replied, “I don’t care about strategy. This is the thing about Lagos. That’s why I said Lagos is dirty. Why do I’ve to be strategic? Why can’t a man just see me and say this is her, this is my rib that I’ve been looking for?

“I’m beautiful, I don’t play games. I’m ready to be loved. I pray that in season 3 of this podcast my missing rib would have found me.”

The Naira appreciated against the dollar at the foreign exchange market on Friday to end the week on a positive note after nine days of depreciation.

FMDQ data showed that the Naira gained at N1505.30 against the dollar on Friday from N1510.10 traded on Thursday.

This represents an N4.8 gain against the dollar compared to the N1510.10 traded the previous day.

Similarly, the Naira saw a gain and traded N1515 against the dollar at the foreign exchange market on Friday.

This is the first time the Naira has appreciated since June 18, 2024, when it traded at N1482.72 per dollar at the official forex market.

The development comes as Nigeria’s external reserves rose to a record high of $34.07 billion on June 26, 2024.

The Federal Government has received at least 103 Nigerians deported from Turkey over migration related issues.

Some of the issues were expired visas, irregular migration, among others.

Alhaji Tijani Ahmed, the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, NCFRMI stated this on Friday during the deportees’ profiling in Abuja. 

Represented by Amb. Catherine Udida, the Director Migration Affairs in the commission, Ahmed said that the commission expected 110 deportees but received 103, all males.

“Some of them have been in the deportation camp for some months, and now that they are here, we are hoping to follow up on all the allegations gathered in their profiling.

“We will go through the profiling forms, because some of them have said that their passports were seized.

“We are going to follow up with the Turkish authority, because the passports are still the property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he assured.

According to him, the NCFRMI is the mandate agency responsible for all returnees, irrespective of their status.

“We equally have a programme where we train them and thereafter reintegrate them into the society”, the Federal Commissioner stated.

Seriake Dickson, a senator representing Bayelsa West District in the National Assembly on Friday described those behind oil theft in the Niger Delta as “big players” who reside outside the region.

The Senator, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the allegation at Oporoza, headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta while visiting the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Oboro-Gbaraun II, Aketepe, Agadagba.

Dickson said although Ijaw youths were tagged to be behind oil theft, they lacked the capacity and technical know-how to understand how pipelines operate.

“Those big players behind the crude oil theft are not from the region but are based in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the world,” he said.

He explained that the Ijaw people were living in the creeks, earning their daily livelihood on the waterways and farmlands when the alleged thieves polluted the land with their nefarious activities.

“We have no means and no capacity to engage in the high-level operations that result in the daily loss of Nigerian crude oil produced from our place.

“Those who have the capacity to compromise and infiltrate the national security system and infiltrate the national petroleum system; those who have the capacity to hire the tankers and shuttle vessels, they are not Ijaws.

“We do not have the capacity to do that! We do not even have the experience to be involved in that kind of operation,” he said.

The legislator, who is also the state ex-governor, said such high-level operations needed a lot of resources, coordination, funding and international networking.

He, however, urged Nigeria to step up her game in the international arena by pushing for the designation of her stolen crude oil.

“Those who, on a daily basis under declare what is produced; those who have refused to properly monitor and record what is produced for over 50 or 60 years should take the blame.

“It is not the Ijaw youth – harmless people without the capacity and without the technical know-how,” he said.

He, however, commended the traditional ruler for ensuring peace in his kingdom and the entire Niger Delta.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dickson also visited Dr Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, founder of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL).

He commended Ekpemupolo for the wonderful job he had been doing with his private security outfit, TSSNL, to boost the nation’s oil revenue and ensure the regeneration of the region’s ecosystem. (NAN)

Former Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has called on the federal government to consider scrapping the local government system if state governors continue to hinder its effective operation.

Ogbeh highlighted concerns over the inefficiency of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, citing issues of governance control and alleged mismanagement of funds by governors. He emphasized that little improvement has been seen despite calls for local government autonomy and recent legal actions against governors for misusing local government funds.

Speaking on the socio-political programme “Inside Sources with Laolu Akande” on Channels Television, Ogbeh, a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressed frustration over disappearing funds meant for local government administration. He criticized the lack of visible development projects despite significant federal allocations.

“If we don’t want the local government system, let’s scrap it. But if allowed to function properly, it could be a fantastic system,” Ogbeh asserted.

He urged the federal government to withhold monthly allocations to states where governors appoint caretaker committees for local government administration, labelling such committees illegal according to Supreme Court rulings.

“Don’t send them cash; deduct their allocations and retain it,” Ogbeh insisted. He argued that governors failing to manage local government affairs adequately undermine national stability and development.

“These failures are creating dangerous problems for the country,” he concluded, emphasizing the urgent need for effective governance at the grassroots level to benefit all Nigerians.

An Immigration officer, Dabiet Onyemi Gilbert, has been sentenced to one year in prison for defrauding a job seeker of N800,000. 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted Gilbert on a one-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence. After receiving a petition from the victim and conducting an investigation, the EFCC brought the case to court, leading to Gilbert's conviction.

Justice H.H. Kereng of the Gombe State High Court who presided over the case, handed down the sentence after listening to testimonies.