Connect with us

News

Straight From the Headlines! What Everyone was Talking About This Week

Published

 on

Thank God Its Friday!

Good evening everyone and thank you for joining us at Bellanaija.com. We are glad to see you here at the Straight From The Headlines slot where we recap major stories that have graced our headlines this week.

We hope you have an interesting time reading through the news summary we’ve brought to you and we wish you success in all your endeavours!

***

Mikel Obi deleted his Twitter account after he was racially abused for ‘costing’ Chelsea victory in the opening match of their Champions League defence against Juventus on Wednesday September 19th, 2012. The match ended 2-2 and Chelsea fans blamed Mikel for giving the ball away just ten minutes before time and also not preventing the equalizing goal. After the end of the game, Chelsea fans racially abused Mikel on his Twitter account @Mikel12Official, prompting the Super Eagles midfielder to delete the account which he set up just a few months back. Chelsea said they have informed the police after being made aware of the racist Tweets.

***

Fans of Apple’s smartphone queued overnight to be the first to get their hands on the iPhone 5 that went on sale today September 21, 2012 in nine countries. The iPhone 5, which was unveiled on September 12th, booked more than two million online preorders within the first 24 hours and went on sale first in Australia. The demand has already stretched Apple’s capacity, with the company acknowledging that it would be October before some orders were filled. The smartphone has a four-inch screen and is Apple’s thinnest and lightest phone yet. It also has three microphones, an 8 megapixel camera that can take panoramic views, and improved battery endurance.

***

Some military officers on Thursday described the penalties attached to some sections of the new Lagos State Traffic Law as extreme. The officers expressed their views at an enlightenment forum, organised for naval officers and men at the Western Naval Command, Apapa, Lagos. Some naval officers and ratings at the forum urged the Lagos State Government to review the law in conformity with the realities of life. They pointed out that not many low-income earners could afford to pay the fines prescribed by the law.

***
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has banned the conduct of re-sit examinations in Nigerian universities. The NUC, in a statement by its Chief Information Officer, Mrs Bukola Olatunji, in Abuja, on Wednesday, frowned on the discovery that some universities conduct supplementary examination for their students, in addition to regular semester examinations. The commission therefore warned that the conduct of such examinations was in violation of extant rules and regulations, and urged all universities involved to stop the practice henceforth or face sanction.

***

The United States has not designated Boko Haram a terrorist organisation because its insurgency is principally aimed at portraying the Nigeria government as ineffective, Ambassador Jonnie Carson said this week. The US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs spoke in a continent-wide telephone conference monitored at the US Embassy in Lagos. Mr. Carson said Boko Haram is not a homogenous organisation and, therefore, not qualified to be labelled a terrorist group. “Boko Haram is an organisation trying to discredit the Nigerian government and trying to show the government as ineffective in protecting its citizens,” he said.

***

The Joint Task Force on Operation Restore Order said on Thursday that it had shot dead two suspected commanders of Boko Haram in Maiduguri. JTF spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, said in a statement in Maiduguri that the suspects were top commanders of the group in-charge of Yobe and Adamawa. “Two suspected Boko Haram top terrorists commanders were killed along Maiduguri-Kano road as they tried to escape on Wednesday,” he said, “The suspects were top commanders coordinating activities of the sect in Mubi and Yola in Adamawa and in Yobe.’’ Sagir added that the duo were trailed by a combined team of security operatives for many hours before they attempted to escape.

***

A Lagos High Court in Ikeja, on Thursday, sentenced a middle-aged man, Kehinde Olude, to death by hanging for the murder of a lecturer, Mr. R.A Adisa, of the College of Education, Okene, Kogi State, on November 29, 2000. Olude was said to have killed Adisa in Alafon Village along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and robbed him of his Honda car which he was helping him (the deceased) to drive to Okene. The judgment came about 11 years after the incident and seven years after Olude was arraigned by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions on May 9, 2005. The judge, Justice Joseph Oyewole, said there was sufficient evidence to warrant the court’s “inevitable conclusion” that Olude actually murdered Adisa. “The only statutory punishment for murder is death penalty.”

***

The police in Ipaja-Ayobo area of Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria have arrested a man who allegedly defiled eight children. He is now being detained, awaiting arraignment in court. The suspect, Mr. Temitope Alo was arrested on Saturday at Koloba area of Ayobo after the children allegedly confessed that he had raped them. The eight victims, whose ages range from 8 to 15 years were brought to the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, WAPA by the Vice Chairman, Ipaja-Ayobo Local Council Development Area.  The victim said he works for a newspaper company (name withheld) in Lagos and allegedly lured the children to his apartment where he defiled them and threatened to kill them if they reported the matter.

***

How do you feel about the news that made headlines in the country this week? What other stuff happened that you would like to share?

Have a great weekend!

Adeola Adeyemo is a graduate of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from University of Lagos. However, her passion is writing and she worked as a reporter with NEXT Newspaper. She believes that anything can be written about; anything can be a story depending on the angle it is seen from and the writer's imagination. When she is not writing news or feature articles, she slips into her fantasies and creates interesting fiction pieces. She blogs at www.deolascope.blogspot.com

Advertisement

Star Features

css.php