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Marian Robinson, the mother of former US First Lady Michelle Obama, has died at the age of 86, the Obama family announced in a statement on Friday.
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Mrs Obama said, “My mom Marian Robinson was my rock, always there for whatever I needed.
“She was the same steady backstop for our entire family, and we are heartbroken to share she passed away today.”
In a separate tweet, Mr Obama said, “there was and will be only one Marian Robinson.
“In our sadness, we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life, and we will spend the rest of ours trying to live up to her example.”
Robinson was born in Chicago in 1937 and raised her children, Michelle and Craig, on the city’s South Side. She later moved to the White House to support her daughter’s family during Barack Obama’s presidency.
The Obama family’s statement reads in part:
“Marian Lois Shields Robinson — our mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother — had a way of summing up the truths about life in a word or two, maybe a quick phrase that made everyone around her stop and think.
“Her wisdom came off as almost innate, as something she was born with, but in reality it was hard-earned, fashioned by her deep understanding that the world’s roughest edges could always be sanded down with a little grace.
“At every step, as our families went down paths none of us could have predicted, she remained our refuge from the storm.
“On Election Night in 2008, when the news broke that Barack would soon shoulder the weight of the world, she was there, holding his hand.
“With a healthy nudge, she agreed to move to the White House with Michelle and Barack. We needed her. The girls needed her. And she ended up being our rock through it all.”
Media personality and actress, Stephanie Coker Aderinokun has revealed that she battled with PCOS and failed IVF for years.
According to her, the condition made her lose her baby.
In an interview with Chude Jideonwo, she revealed that she nearly took her own life after her second round of IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) failed after spending over $40,000 and travelled to Los Angeles for the procedure.
Following the failed IVF, she recounted how she confided in a friend, expressing her feeling that the baby had rejected her.
Stephanie Coker explained that IVF was her only option due to her diagnosis of PCOS, a condition that caused her to bleed excessively to the point of fainting and being rushed to the hospital last year. She described being confined to a wheelchair and, at one point, having to sleep outside in the garden because of severe internal heat.
Adding to her difficulties, that same year, her husband lost his election amid intense public scrutiny.
“I didn’t have my period for a whole year. PCOS made me choose IVF because mine was very severe. My doctor told me mine was life-threatening; I ended up in a wheelchair and was vomiting blood.
“I got pregnant on the first IVF, the second one failed and actually I was standing in front of a car just to let the car hit me,” she said partly.
Watch the video below
Media
This was a #WithChude classic, and usually those only happen with veterans. But this one was.
— Chude Jideonwo (@Chude) May 31, 2024
In between the most beautiful tears, cool kid and It-girl Stephanie Coker tells me about the heartbreak from her second IVF operation just last year, after spending over $40,000 and… pic.twitter.com/Nhmpaj6PjD
A 39-year-old man, Yusuf Umar from Dagu village in Warji LGA, Bauchi State, has been arrested by the State Police Command for attempting to sell his 5-year-old daughter for N1.5 million.
The arrest was disclosed by the Commissioner of Police, Auwal Musa Mohammed, during a briefing at the Police headquarters in Bauchi.
According to him, “Man was apprehended while attempting to sell his biological daughter. Detectives of the Command arrested one Yusuf Umar aged 49yrs of Dagu village via Warji LGA of Bauchi State. The suspect who claimed to be a staff with Warji Local Government area council was arrested for trafficking his 5-year-old biological child.”
The CP added that “On the 26th May, 2024, the accused took the infant (5-year-old) daughter from the estranged wife in Warji LGA under the pretence that he would take her to his sister in Bauchi town.”
He added that “Unknown to the mother, he had already arranged to hand over the girl to an unknown person, not knowing that he is a Police detective, where the defendant was arrested in a Hotel in Bauchi after he bargained for N1.5m to give up his biological daughter.”
“Additionally, the defendant to ensure his interest, sent the sum of N40000 as transportation fare to the person who linked him up with the buyer,” he added.
Auwal Musa Mohammed added, “I have directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal Intelligent Department (CID) to discreetly investigate the crux of the matter to unravel more motives behind the defendants actions, after which he will be charged to court upon completion of the investigation for the established offence.”
While answering questions from Journalists, Yusuf Umar confirmed that he actually attempted to sell his daughter and even negotiated with the potential buyer agreeing to sell at the sum of N1.5m.
Asked of the whereabouts of the daughter, he said, “The last time I saw her was last Monday when I brought her to be sold. I am praying that no harm will happen to her. I love her and want to see her again.”
Nigerian gospel singer Yinka Ayefele has said having children despite his spinal cord injury was a miracle.
He noted that any man with cord injury might not be able to impregnate a woman, stressing that his case was rare.
Ayefele spoke on the ‘Curiosity Made Me Ask’ show hosted by content creator, Bae U Barbie.
He debunked claims that he “bought” his children, clarifying that he impregnated his wife and she gave birth to their triplets.
The host, “I’m shocked you said you have three beautiful and amazing kids. My question is, how did you do it?”
Ayefele replied, “How did I do what? Curious that I impregnated my wife? How did I get three kids? You would have seen pregnant women before. I impregnated my wife and she got pregnant and had triplets.
“You thought I bought them? I don’t understand what you mean. I know you are curious, you want to talk about my spinal cord injury. Anybody who has a spinal cord injury might not be able to impregnate a lady. Yeah, it’s a fact, it’s one out of a hundred.”
He began his music career in 1997 after he was involved in an automobile accident which damaged his spinal cord and made him reliant on a wheelchair.
He is married to Temitope Titilope and they are blessed with three children.
President Bola Tinubu has said the reintroduction of the old national anthem was always a priority for him.
Tinubu made this known on Thursday during a meeting with the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) at the State House in Abuja.
The Nigerian leader said the National Assembly made the law reverting to the old national anthem and he does not have a choice but to obey the legislation.
He said Nigeria’s diversity should be protected and celebrated, adding that the country’s population should not be seen as a burden.
He said: “Let me allude to something that happened yesterday. The change of national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’.
“Some people say, okay… say what? Is that your priority? It’s my priority. I agree with the national assembly. If they make law, I’ve got to obey that law, or we disagree openly and close the chapter.”
“But the question of diversity. Who gave us the name Nigeria? Is it not Britain? Or somewhere? Have we changed our name? We are Nigerians. Our passport shows that.
“As long as we are Nigerians and one family, we remain and protect our diversity and love one another as brothers and sisters.
“It is God Almighty that puts you in that particular place and makes you a member of that family. You have no control over it.
“When I came begging for votes, I didn’t say vote for me as a Yoruba man, I said vote for me as Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Recall that in 2022, Tinubu had said in an interview that he would bring back the first national anthem if he had his way.
Two years later, Tinubu signed a bill into law that returned the old national anthem themed: ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’.
The return of the old anthem had divided opinions, with some commentators criticising the move as yet another case of misplaced priority given the plethora of challenges confronting Nigerians.
The governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma has condemned the killing of soldiers in Abia State, south-east Nigeria.
Naija News earlier reported that masked gunmen on Thursday morning, attacked and killed four soldiers in Obikabia Junction in Aba, the commercial hub of the Abia State.
The assailants who burnt the soldiers’ patrol truck were said to be enforcing the sit-at-home order declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) across the South-east to mark the Biafra Day which is celebrated annually in the region.
Reacting to the development, Uzodinma who also doubles as the chairperson of the South-east Governors’ Forum, described the attack and killing as “unfortunate.”
He said the attack and killing of the soldiers would act as a setback to efforts being made to solve rising attacks in the South-east.
The governor stated this while briefing reporters in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
He subsequently called on security agencies to track down those who killed the soldiers in the state.
“On behalf of my brother governors in the South-east Governors’ Forum, I condemn that incident and loss of the lives of soldiers who were on their duty posts.
“Without any provocation, they were attacked by the men of the underworld. I want to condemn that and also to urge security agents to go all out and ensure that those behind that are caught and brought to book.
“The unfortunate thing is that it is going to act as a major setback to the peace process which the governors from the South-east have been pursuing in talking to the federal government, security agencies, and other critical stakeholders on how best to resolve the problem of insecurity in the South-east,” he said.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to a Facebook content creator , Chioma Okoli, in the sum of N5 million with two sureties.
Okoli was arraigned on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 before Justice Peter Lifu but was later remanded at Suleja Correctional Center in Abuja.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the two counts of conspiracy and cyberstalking levelled against her.
In his ruling on the bail application filed by her lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, on Friday, the judge granted her bail with two sureties in like sum.
Justice Lifu held that one of the sureties must be her spouse or blood relations and must be resident in Abuja with verified means of livelihood.
She must also deposit her passport with the court, if she has one.
The court held that the ruling was predicated on Section 365 (5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended on the presumption of innocence. The court held that denying her bail would be a wrong application of discretion and tantamount to pre-trial judgment and judicial rascality.
Naija News reports that the case has been adjourned to June 13, 2024 for trial.
Recall that the CEO of Erisco Foods Limited, Eric Omeofia, alleged in 2023 that a negative product review made by Chioma Okoli adversely impacted his business after she said that the Nagiko Tomato Mix she bought had too much sugar.
Okoli was arrested by the police in September 2023 with her lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, raising the alarm that the fundamental rights of his client were being breached by the police and Omeofia.
40-year-old Woman Bags 5 years Imprisonment For Trafficking Young Nigerian Girls To Ghana For Prostitution
AFOLABI
A 40-year-old Nigerian s3x worker, Rose Ikem, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour by a Circuit Court at Asokwa, Kumasi, Ghana, for trafficking young girls from Nigeria to Konongo in the Ashanti region for pr*stitution.
Ikem, who was convicted of human trafficking and assault this week, will also compensate four of her victims, whom she lured from Nigeria, for GHȼ24,000 with each of them receiving GHȼ6,000.00.
Her latest victims were aged between 17 and 24 years.
According to police prosecution, the convict has been trafficking young girls from Nigeria to Konongo, deploying them into pr*stitution, with some of them being subjected to abuse.
On April 23, 2024, police received a complaint from a resident of Konongo about the treatment being meted out to the victims by the convict.
Police proceeded to the Konongo SSNIT area residence of Ikem but met her absence.
According to ASP Stephen Ofori who led the police prosecution, the police detected that the victims were locked up in a room, and the whereabout of Ikem was unknown.
Police then laid an ambush until she resurfaced and was subsequently arrested.
When she was forced to open the room, police rescued two victims (name withheld) with the two others who ran away being rescued the following day, with the help of the complainant
The court, presided over by His Honour Fred Obikyere, was told how Ikem tasked her victims, who had worked between three months and two weeks, to make a daily remittance of GHȼ500 to her. This amounted to a total of GHȼ89,000.
According to ASP Ofori, any time the victims failed to meet their target, Ikem assaulted them physically, causing one of the victims to fracture her left hand.
The court sentenced her to 5 years with hard labour for trafficking and 12 months for causing harm. Both sentences will run concurrently.
Former Governor of Osun State, Bisi Akande has made a new claim.
He stated that President Bola Tinubu battled spiritual forces before his inauguration in May 2023.
He disclosed this while speaking at a one-day lecture organised by an Arewa think tank in Kaduna on Thursday.
The former interim chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, said it was not surprising that the opposition tried to prevent Tinubu from winning at the polls.
“The tension and threats generated in the country by the opposition with the view to deny Tinubu the presidential victory in the presidential election were not surprising,” he said.
“Towards the last elections, the prophecy was thick that Bola Ahmed Tinubu would not become the APC candidate, but he did become.
“Religious clerics of one belief and the other became sleepless for him not to win the presidential elections, he won!”
He continued, “Thereafter, spiritual threats and political manoeuvring began that he would not be inaugurated as a Nigerian president, he assumed the presidency.
“The battle then shifted to the judicial sword-crossing that he should be removed from the presidency, but his presidency was upheld.
“Other predictions were that he would have no health to manage the office, but he remained divinely healthy”.
He further revealed that Nigeria has been waxing stronger despite permutations from different quarters, adding that President Tinubu’s one-year anniversary was celebrated in grand style.
The Sokoto State Police Command has arrested ten members of a human trafficking and child abduction syndicate in the state.
Naija News reports that the state Commissioner of Police, Ali Kaigama, stated this while addressing journalists at the command headquarters in the state capital on Thursday.
Kaigama disclosed that the suspects include one Bala Abubakar of the Tudun Wada area of Sokoto, who sold out a total of 28 children, including six of his biological children.
The commissioner noted that the rescued children had been handed to the state orphanage home for proper care.
According to Kaigama, the suspects gave their victims to Kulu Dongoyaro and Elizabeth Ojah in exchange for between N150,000 and N250,000, claiming they were being taken to an Abuja-based NGO willing to shoulder the responsibility of their welfare.
In another development, Kaigama disclosed the arrest of one Saifullah Hassan of Gunmi Local Government area of Zamfara State, who was alleged to have killed one Balikisu Garba of Gidan Dare behind Jummat Mosque at the Ifeoma Hotel.
He said, “On May 24, 2024, at about 0620 hrs, Mr John, the manager of the Ifeoma Hotel in the Phase 1 Old Airport area of Sokoto, reported that a woman identified as Balikisu Garba of Gidan Dare was found dead.
“On receipt of the report, police operatives from the Old Airport Division led by the DPO swung into action, and as a result, the suspect bag, which was abandoned after the act, containing some receipts of payment and some SIM cards, was recovered.
“These recoveries led to the identification of the suspect as one Saifullah Hassan of Gunmi LGA of Zamfara State, which intensified the investigation, and the suspect was later traced and arrested in Funtua, Katsina State.”
The CP assured the state’s residents that the command remains committed to upholding law and order and commends the governor, Ahmed Aliyu, for his support throughout the investigation process.
He called on the good people of the state to continue cooperating with the command to create a safer environment.
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Police Officer Calls For Arrest Of School Proprietor, Head Teacher For Singing Old National Anthem
AFOLABI
A former Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, has called for the arrest of the proprietor and head teacher of a private school (name withheld) for singing the old national anthem.
Naija News recalls that President Bola Tinuby had on Wednesday signed the old National Anthem Bill 2024, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’ as a replacement for the national anthem “Arise, O Compatriots.”
In a post via her Instagram page on Friday, Dolapo described the refusal to revert to the new national anthem as an unpatriotic attitude and it would not be tolerated.
The police officer noted that it was against the law to use the old anthem after President Tinubu signed and assented to the new national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’.
Dolapo Badmus added that the proprietor and head teacher will be charged to court for the offence.
She wrote, “If, as of today, three days after the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed and assented the new national Anthem into law, you are not able to recite it in its entirety, then you are a suspect.
“I just passed through a private school, and I could hear them singing the old National Anthem! Arise oh compatriots”! (We are no longer arising as compatriots; it is Nigeria we are hailing now.)
“I have called police to come and arrest not only the proprietor but the head teacher inclusive ( I will make sure they are charged to court) Don’t ask me for what offence? Consult any lawyer to learn more. Anyone not singing the new national anthem is sabotaging Nigeria. I won’t tolerate any unpatriotic attitude.”
...As Negotiations Continue On Friday
The federal government has invited the leadership of organised labour for fresh talks on Friday as it battles to meet the May 31 deadline set by the union for the government to end negotiations on the proposed new minimum wage.
Recall that the President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, had said on May Day that “If by May end, we don’t have a new minimum wage that will take a worker home, we will not be able to guarantee industrial peace. We are sticking to that ultimatum.”
However, the negotiations for a new minimum wage had been stalled on Tuesday, after the federal government delegation increased their earlier proposal by N3,000 to N60,000 with organised labour reducing theirs by the same margin to a final proposal of N494,000.
THE WHISTLER reported that organised labour was disappointed with the pattern of negotiation, which prompted the meeting to end in deadlock and adjourned indefinitely.
But THE WHISTLER learned on Thursday that the continuation of the tripartite meeting will continue on Friday, May 31 2024, by 10 am, with both unions reiterating that the May 31 ultimatum is still in motion.
A top source who spoke anonymously said, “We will meet with the federal government in Abuja on Friday by 10:00 am to continue the minimum wage discussion.
“Our bone of contention is for the federal and state governments, Organised Private Sector (OPS) and other tripartite members to explain how they arrived at the N60,000 proposal.
“Although negotiations continue tomorrow, it will not stop the earlier announcement of the May 31 ultimatum”.
Also speaking on the issue, the National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) Etim Okon, said, “A joint National Executive Council (NEC) gave us a mandate to uphold the ultimatum, so everyone should wait till May 31”.
Okon, who is also the Vice-President of the TUC when asked if the TUC will honour Friday’s meeting, said, “I cannot reply to this, we are not working as TUC but as organised labour as far as the issue of minimum wage is concerned”.
He described the N3,000 increase as “embarrassing”, alleging that the federal government is not serious about the minimum wage discussion.
Okon said, “We have been able to explicitly defend our demands, but after we walked out, they increased it by N3,000 which is very embarrassing, and we also responded by a N3,000 decrease.
“They are coming to the negotiation table without seriousness, It is a clear indication that the government is lackadaisical in their statement and approach to ensuring that the national minimum wage comes to stand.
“The government needs to know that the informal economy receives from workers take-home pay, we want the government to show seriousness.
“Because we walked away, you issued notice for another meeting, who is fooling who”.
Earlier the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, in a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun appealed to organised Labour to be considerate and patriotic in their demands for the ongoing minimum wage negotiation.
She had said, “We appeal to organised labour and, indeed, other relevant stakeholders to be considerate and patriotic in their demands, recognising that our economy is still recovering from the devastating effects of the pandemic and other global economic shocks.
“We are committed to putting the people first and ensuring that our economic policies benefit all Nigerians, not just a select few”.
The Naira recorded its first massive depreciation against the dollar at the foreign exchange market 24 hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s first anniversary.
FMDQ data showed that the Naira depreciated to N1484.75 against the Dollar on Thursday from N1329.65 on Wednesday.
This represents an N155.1 loss against the dollar compared to N1329.65 traded on Wednesday.
Similarly, at the parallel market section the depreciated to N1490 per dollar on Thursday from N1480 the previous day.
The development comes as the turnover of foreign exchange transactions dropped to $235.41 million on Thursday from $328 million on Tuesday.
Accordingly, the last time the Nadepreciatedated at both official and parallel foreign exchange markets was on May 23, 2024, when the Central Bank of Nigeria announced fresh guidelines to Bureau De Change operators.
Since mid-April, the Naira has continued to fluctuate against the dollar at the forex market despite CBN interventions.
Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of CBN at the last 295th Monetary Policy Committee blamed the volatility on seasonal fluctuations.
Credit to the government rose month-on-month, MoM, by 2.0 percent to N19.98 trillion in April from N19.58 trillion in March.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Money and Credit Statistics for April showed mixed trend in credit to the government since January where it stood at N23.5 trillion.
According to the CBN, credit to the government grew to N33.92 trillion in February and fell to N19.58 trillion in March but went up to N19.98 trillion in April.
The data also showed that credit to the private sector rose MoM by 2.4 percent to N72.9 trillion in April from N71.2 trillion in March. This resulted in a 2.31 percent MoM rise in net domestic credit to N92.9 trillion in April from N90.8 trillion in March.
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited attributed the March decline in credit to the government to the effect of policy rate hike by the CBN.
Commenting in the company’s weekly financial Market review and outlook, they said: “This could be linked to the effect of the policy rate hike by the monetary authority on the economy where the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has raised interest rate by 600 basis points to 24.75 percent so far in 2024 from 18.75 percent just to achieve price stability.
“The full impact of the policy rate hike by the central bank will continue to be seen in the economy as borrowing costs trend higher while businesses seek alternative funding options in the local debt market through the issuance and raise of commercial papers for the short term in order to keep business operations afloat.”
However, the increase in credit to the government in April contradicts analysts’ prediction of a continuous declining trend.
“While we think a continued slow growth in total credit to the government and private sector will continue, businesses will explore further funding options amidst rising prices. On the other hand, we think the federal government will continue exploring various funding options with lower debt servicing requirements just to meet its project funding and investment obligations”, analysts at Cowry Asset projected.