See Photos From Rio 2016 Paralympics opening ceremony

The 2016 Paralympic Games opened this morning in Rio de Janeiro to a backdrop of colour and music as thousands of performers were involved either side of the two-hour procession of competing countries at the Maracana.

The opening ceremony, though brilliant and colourful, was marred by a brief incident as Athletes supported Russia, banned from Games due to doping allegations, by carrying country’s flag during procession. More photos after the cut.

Photo credit : @Paralympics / Reuters

Don't compare me to 2Face Idibia -Kiss Daniel

In recent times, Kiss Daniel is one of the very few artistes to move from virtual unknown to superstar in less than 4 years. And the fact that he has constantly put out hits shows that he is headed in the right direction.

So it is no surprise that he is often compared to another Nigerian music great 2Baba Idibia. One would think Kiss in true Naija musician fashion will embrace the tag wholeheartedly but his response is very surprising.

He revealed in an interview with Naij.com at the recently held Industry Night event for Beat FM: “I’m honoured to be compared to 2Baba. But bros make I no lie, I no reach. 2baba na legend and I’m just starting so there really is no basis for comparison.”

Speaking on the trending topic of ‘International Collaborations’, he said: “I’m not in a hurry to collaborate with int’l acts because I want my work to speak for me. Look at Wizkid now. Everyone wants him.”

Train Crushes Man Leg and Hand While listening to Music in Lagos

A man, simply identified as Prince, who was allegedly listening to music with ear piece while attempting to cross the rail lines escaped death by the whiskers as a moving train crushed his leg and hand, at Ajayi Farm bus-stop, opposite Adegbola street, in Ikeja area of Lagos State, yesterday morning. 

It was gathered that the victim was crossing the railway but unknown to him a train was moving closer to him. Some sympathisers at the scene said the noise of the moving cars along the Oshodi Iyana- Ipaja expressway would not allow a passerby to hear the sound of a moving train.


An eye witness claiming to be the sister of the victim, told bossnewspapers that the man was already on the rail line with two other friends before noticing the oncoming the metropolis train. However, his inability to hear the blaring horns of the train because of the ear piece on both ears made him fall victim to the train which chopped off his ankle in the bargain.

The sister of the victim claimed that there was no reason the man should not have heard or seen the train even as passers-by were shouting to him. She philosophically added that it was obvious ‘the rail was in need of blood’. 


A sympathiser, Clifford Anyanwu disclosed to Leadership that before the victim could notice that a train was close by, it was too late.

“Though the man tried to escape from the railway, the devil was already there to avert his escape. His trousers hooked a protruding iron in the rail which made the train to meet him and crushed one of his legs and one of his hands. The man wept profusely and even some women were crying for him. Many prayed that he survives the tragedy,” he said

It was gathered that the driver of the train which was moving towards Oshodi area did not hoot its horn from afar to alert people that such heavy vehicle was approaching.

Another eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Mama Adesua said,

“They were two who tried to cross the railway. One noticed that the train was coming and quickly crossed while the other (the victim) did not and has paid dearly for it. All efforts he made to escape proved abortive because he was under tension and the rail iron has held his trouser, causing the train to crush his leg and hand. I and other women were crying like babies when we saw the helpless man in the pool of his blood.”

It was gathered that policemen attached to Man Centre police station were at the scene and they assisted alongside some sympathisers to rush the victim and his severed ankle to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

Soldiers Raid Ex-Militant's Community, Destroy Buildings, Confiscate Cash And Speedboats

Armed soldiers invaded the Bayelsa State communities of Peremabiri, Akamabugo and Tikogbene in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the State on Wednesday, destroying over 43 houses and carting away three speedboats.

Peremabiri ‎is the country home of a former militant leader, Eris Paul, popularly known in the Niger Delta as General Ogunboss.

The other two communities, Akamabugo and Tikogbene, neighbor Peremabiri.

The military invasion, according to concerned indigenes of Peremabiri, was allegedly coordinated by loyalists of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State.

Eyewitness accounts reported that soldiers numbering over 50 searched through the community for suspected members of the Niger Delta Avengers. In doing so, the soldiers beat up two youth leaders, Pastor Lucky and Bernard Ogunawei, to a state of coma.

While Bernard was later released with grievous injuries, Pastor Lucky was arrested and taken to an unknown destination.

Also destroyed in the attack were family homes of General Ogunboss, Million Gobo, Richard Marcus, Elkenah, Bernard Osunawei, and many others.

Contacted on the development, General Ogunboss said a preliminary investigation by his kinsmen revealed that the invasion was ordered by the present administration in the State following the political loyalty of the community to the All Progressive Congress (APC) during the last governorship election in the State.

The ex-militant alleged that though many of the youths and women of the community are on exile due to the repeated use of security personnel to intimidate and brutalize the people of the community, the recent attack is condemnable and should be investigated by the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Army Staff and President Muhammadu Buhari.

"The people of Peremabiri are not known to be involved in criminality and have never had anything to do with the Niger Delta Avengers. The Peremabiri people will never allow the PDP and the State government to intimidate them under any guise. We have the right to support the political party we want,” he said.

Culled From SaharaReporters

See Photos From Eniola Badmus’ Birthday Celebration

The actress was a year older and Etisalat and few of her friends surprised her at home by visiting with gifts. Here are photos from the celebration.... see more below...

White Substance Found Inside An Apple Juice (Video)

This Video was sent to my team some few minutes ago

What do you guys think...............................

Kanye West Signs Tyga To His GOOD Music Label

Kanye West has signed Tyga to his label G.O.O.D. Music.

The rapper and clothes designer made the announcement during his pop up show at New York City's Highline Ballroom after kicking off NYFW with his Yeezy Season 4 show on Wednesday.

Tyga, of course, has an intimate connection with the Yeezus rapper as he is dating Kanye's sister-in-law Kylie Jenner.

Tyga self-released his last album The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty through his Last Kings label in 2015.

However, his previous labels Young Money and Cash Money still list him as signed artist on their websites.

Ahmad Salkida Releases Statement, Says He Met With Officers, But Was Never Arrested

Nigerian journalist, Ahmad Salkida who was declared wanted by the army over his access to Boko Haram sect has debunked rumours he was ever arrested. In a statement released, he said he met with officers and they had several discussions and the atmosphere was mutually respectful. He further went on to say he is at the moment working on his next exclusive report. His words;

In response to the demand by Nigerian security authorities for me to clear my name, I flew into Abuja on Monday, 5th September. Contrary to reports, I was not arrested. I had very engaging conversations with officers. The atmosphere was mutually respectful. The discussions opened useful insights that are benefiting to both sides on the discussion table. I wish to thank most especially family friends & professional colleagues who believed & trusted that my outputs have only solely been driven by professional considerations. And to those who never believed, who have used hate, threats and intimidation, I thank you also. Finally, let me make it clear that my commitment and professional obligations is strong, I am not about to shift grounds professionally. My commitment and professional obligations to Nigeria remain unshaken and undiminished. I am now working on my next exclusive report.

Drake's Dad Slams 'Rumours' Of Drake & Rihanna Dating

Anyone holding out for a Rihanna, Drake wedding might be waiting a while as according to the rapper's dad - they're not even dating.

Dennis Graham addressed claims his son is officially the Bajan hitmaker's boyfriend outside Bootsy Bellows in West Hollywood earlier this week and told TMZ that contrary to reports - they're just friends.

"They're friends, they've been friends for years," he said, when questioned about the blossoming romance.

Asked if he was happy about his son hooking up with RiRi, he answered: "I don't know about settling down, no they're friends."

Further questioned about claims they're in "love" he continued to be very clear: "There's no relationship, they're friends."

He even dismissed the matching shark tattoos as a sign they're together, joking anyone could get an inking.

Checkout Otedola & His Children Lifestyle Pixs

They’re heiresses to a billion dollar fortune and currently lead a jet-set lifestyle enjoying all the trappings of wealth.

But the daughters of one of Africa’s richest men say they are not content being rich and famous in his shadow, and instead want to work hard to make names for themselves in their own right.

Cuppy Otedola, 23, and her sister Temi, 19, are well-known in their home country of Nigeria because their father is energy tycoon Femi Otedola, worth an estimated £650million.

He was listed as the 16th richest man in Africa by Forbes in 2015 and has million pound properties in New York, Dubai, London, Abuja and Lagos.

Cuppy

His wealth has enabled his daughters to attend expensive private schools in England, have designer wardrobes and be waited on by ten members of staff.

As well as jet-setting between the opulent family properties around the world, they also enjoy spending time on their father’s £7million yacht, have designer wardrobes and throw birthday parties that cost more than a fleet of supercars.

Cuppy pictured in New York. Her parents have a property there worth millions as well as lavish homes in London, Lagos, Dubai and Abuja

But the sisters say their privileged upbringing does not make their lives easy and they feel under pressure to match up to their father’s success.

‘I am scared of always been his daughter and not getting past that, for me that means not being successful enough,’ Cuppy reveals on Channel 4 documentary Lagos To London, Britain’s New Super-Rich.

‘I am still masked by my dad’s success. If I didn’t try and make it outside Nigeria I would be unhappy.’

Cuppy is keen to be famous in her own right as a DJ and has been securing gigs around the world at venues including Privé, Jalouse, District and Funky Buddha.

While Cuppy admits her father’s fortune has opened doors and helped her network, she then has to prove her talent behind the decks to secure more work.

She said:

‘I think I am a great DJ. Network comes into it but if I don’t do well I won’t get asked back no matter whose daughter I am.’

Cuppy, who recently graduated from King’s College, University of London, with a degree in business and French, said she wants to become renowned around the world as a DJ and make it into Forbes 30 under 30 Rich List.

Her younger sister Temi feels the same and she is busy trying to establish a name for herself in the fashion world.

Temi has set up her own style blog JTO Fashion and has 22,000 followers on Instagram.

Temi

She shares news on the latest style must-haves with her fans – many of whom are Nigerian – as she travels between the fashion capitals of Europe and shops in Dubai and London.

She said she feels her blog is ‘acting as the medium between Nigeria and the rest of the world’.

Temi has been running her blog for the last year and said it has helped her establish a number of contacts with key fashion houses including Valentino.

She said she works hard on her blog because

‘my sisters and I were taught from a young age you can’t live your life in someone else’s shadow. Anything your family has done for you, you have to go and do for yourself as well.

‘I think that is why my sisters and I go out and try to do our own thing because we want to be respected in our own rights.’

Temi admits she wouldn’t have been able to establish her blog without her father’s financial support – but she sees the help he has given her so far as a loan she intends to repay.

Cuppy, who DJs wearing £1,000 headphones covered in Swarovski crystals (of which she owns 15 pairs), adds that being the daughter of a billionaire also brings with it additional problems.

Speaking of why they love London so much, Cuppy said: ‘We go to Harrods a lot because it is convenient, they sell cars in there it is crazy.

‘We love The Arts Club, a super, amazing private members club, good food, good atmosphere.’

Temi, who is studying for a degree in art history at University College London, added:

‘We have done Dubai and Paris but always come back to London. You have the luxury shops, luxury cars, luxury houses, you can spend the money you have worked hard making.’

The girls certainly know how to spend money on throwing a good party.

Cuppy said her party would have cost the same price as more than one Lamborghini

Cuppy recently had Marie Antoinette graduation bash at the lavish Mandarin Oriental hotel in London where her guests were served Michelin starred food on gold plates and enjoyed Champagne fountains and indoor fireworks.

Cuppy said she chose the theme because: ‘I feel like I am this young woman with just so much responsibility and Marie Antoinette was Queen Of France at a young age, plus we both love dogs.’

She said the party would have costs around the same amount as ‘a few Lamborghinis’ but she will have to top it on her wedding day.

Guests were served with golden plates at the party in the ballroom of the five star Mandarin Oriental.

Meanwhile, Temi had a similarly extravagant 18th party which was Moulin Rouge themed and attended by 200 guests.

The sister say they don’t play hard in this way too often, preferring to be role models to young women in their home country and inspire them to work hard to achieve their goals.

Cuppy said:

‘We are setting the pace for young women who are trying to get out of a generational trend of just going to school, be good, get a job, get married and sit there looking pretty.’

Temi’s greatest extravagance is shoes, although not the Louboutins her sister Florence adores. She’s a fan of boots, with one recent indulgence being a pair of £998 Chloé Susanna ankle boots.

Temi was born in London, but her family moved back to Nigeria shortly afterwards. Then, when she was seven, her mother sent Temi and her sister Florence to the King’s School Canterbury where fees are £11,480 for boarders.

Temi and mum Nana recently attended the opening night of the opera in Milan as guests of the design house Bottega Veneta

She went on to attended the £26,800 a year American School in St John’s Wood London as she wanted to have an American college experience.

Their father Femi divides his time between Lagos and London, coming to the UK about once a month.

‘He’s very modest,’ Temi explained. ‘He’s self made and he’s always been very careful with money.

‘He loves his yachts but that’s his only indulgence. He still uses an old pay-as-you-go Nokia phone and he only recently learned how to use an iPad.’

Otedola and wife, Nana

She’s had to face something of a backlash from commentators in the Nigerian media who’ve said she’s managed to get where she is because of her father’s name.

‘There has been negativity,’ Temi admitted. ‘There always will be. My sister was DJing before I got started with my blog so I was prepared for it.

Temi blogs about her favourite beauty products and outfits, with clothes from her favourite brands including Emilia Wickstead, a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, Rag & Bone and All Saints.

She also likes to shop at boutiques such as One Vintage and Feathers near her family home in Knightsbridge where she returns every weekend, as well as Browns Focus, and Alara Lagos, which stocks brands such as Valentino, Dries Van Noten, Marni.

4 UNILAG Students Arrested For Cultism

Four students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, have been remanded in prison for cultism by a Lagos court, The Nation reports.

The four undergraduates were arraigned by police, for allegedly being members of a secret cult known as Aloral Bucania.

The suspects Raheem Yusuf, 21, Adedoyin Adeyemi Abraham, 24, Olanrewaju Idowu, 36, and Safraini Oluyemi Peters, 24, were arrested by the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, of the Lagos State Police Command.

According to the police the suspects had on August 4, around 9:30am, in Room 318, Biobaku Hall of the institution, conspired among themselves to commit an offence likely to cause a breach of public peace.

They were arraigned before Chief Magistrate Oluwayemisi Adelaja on a two-count charge, with Charge No: D/45/2016 bordering on conspiracy to cause a breach of public peace and belonging to an unlawful and secret society, known as Aloral Bucania.

The prosecutor, Adebayo Oladele, told the court that the offences were contrary to and punishable under Sections 409 and 42(a)(b) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.

The defendants pleaded not guilty and were granted a N200,000 bail by the Magistrate with two sureties each in the like sum.

The sureties must show evidence of three years’ tax payment to the Lagos State government, affidavit of livelihood and be residents of the state.

Magistrate Adelaja also remanded the defendants in prison custody pending the perfection of their bail conditions. She adjourned the case till September 26 for trial.

Police Officers, NDLEA Officers Protecting Cannabis Dealers

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Osun State Command, on August 15, 2016, destroyed about 21 hectares of cannabis sativa at the Onikete Farm Settlement in Isokan area of the state.

But about 25 kilometres of land, which is allegedly being used to cultivate cannabis in the settlement was allegedly spared. It was gathered that the cannabis farm was under the protection of a traditional ruler in one of the communities.

A source told Punch that policemen and some officials of the NDLEA in the state were also part of those protecting the farm.

He said another cannabis farm of about 20 kilometres was being cultivated at the Araromi Erinfolami Forest Reserve in the same Isokan LGA.

He said, “The two cannabis farms were ripe and could be harvested by the planters any time from September 10. The cultivation of the plant had been going on in the area unhindered for 16 years.”

It was gathered that residents, who raised the alarm, were either victimised, ostracised or maimed. 

One of such victims is 53-year-old Biliaminu Fatoye, whose cocoa and banana farm at Araromi Erinfolami Forest Reserve were surrounded by cannabis sativa.

Another victim is a police officer, who was allegedly transferred from the Isokan Police Division for going after the hemp planters.

In September 2015, Fatoye’s shelter in the farm was destroyed by suspected hoodlums.

Fatoye said, “On June 19, 2016, some masked men came to attack me around 1am. They fired gunshot at my house. I fled through the back door and handed over my five-year-old daughter to a neighbour.

“They set the two-storeyed building I was living in ablaze, and destroyed my property worth about N2.5m. My landlord estimated the damage to the house at N4.4m.

“I later reported the matter at the Isokan Police Division. Three suspects were arrested on June 21. They were charged to court and were granted bail. They have returned to the farm.

“A policeman called Inspector Mukaila is among the policemen who alert cannabis farmers whenever some uncompromising NDLEA officers are around.”

The widower, who had abandoned his farm and house, said he was ready to lead security operatives to the two farms, adding that he petitioned the anti-narcotic agency in Osun State on August 8, but did not get any response.

He added that seven days after he submitted the petition, his farm was destroyed.

Meanwhile, photographs taken on September 5 by Punch correspondent, who disguised as a farmer, indicated that the two cannabis farms had not been destroyed.

“A traditional ruler and some notable persons are protecting the farms and the cannabis planters. They wanted to take over the five hectares on which I planted my crops, but I refused. That was how I incurred their wrath.

“I informed a police officer in Isokan. He vowed to facilitate the destruction of the cannabis farms. He was on it when he was transferred to another state,” Fatoye added.

The police officer, who spoke with Punch Metro on condition of anonymity, alleged that some NDLEA officials were protecting the cannabis farmers.

He said, “When I saw how big the two farms were, I was surprised. I carried out some investigations and found out that some policemen and NDLEA operatives were colluding with the perpetrators.”

Another cocoa farmer, whose four hectares of farmland was snatched by the hoodlums to plant cannabis, said he had been living in hardships since February.

The farmer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being attacked, said, “I was working in my farm when some hoodlums chased me and some other farmers away with cutlasses and warned us not to return to the farm again. It has not been easy to fend for my family since then.”

The NDLEA Head of Public Relations, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the agency would inspect the two farms and ensured that the plant was destroyed, while the perpetrators would be nabbed.

He said, “I don’t think the command is aware of the cannabis farms. The agency has zero tolerance for cannabis and other hard drugs. We have been active in the campaign against drug abuse and trafficking. But if it is true, our men will be mobilised to destroy the farm.”