Osinbajo Jumps Off His Car, Interacts With Cross River People

Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday surprised Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River as he got off his car to interact with the people Calabar, the state capital.

At the Obong's palace, where Governor Ayade expressed pleasure how Prof. Osinbajo interacted with the people.

Ayade noted how the Acting President shook hands with supporters, both Peoples Democratic part and All Progressives Congress, APC who came out to meet him.

The governor "was surprised when he asked we get off the car”, Laolu Akade, senior media officer in the Vice President's office stated on his twitter timeline.

FUTA Becomes First Ever Nigerian University To Launch Satellite Into Space

The Federal University of Technology, Akure, on Thursday launch a CubeSat, with the code name NigeriaEdusat-1, into space from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, United States.

The Nigerian Cubesat, is a component of the Birds 1 satellites, comprising of four other CubeSats belonging to Japan, Ghana, Mongolia and Bangladesh. They will be launched from the SpaceX Falcon9 Rocket.

According to a statement from the Head, Media and Protocol Unit of the university, Mr. Adegbenro Adebanjo, the university hopes to make satellite technology popular “among members of staff and students of the university for the purpose of research, resources and environmental management and sustainable socio-economic development of the nation.’’

The statement read in part, “The Nigerian CubeSat is designed, built and owned by The Federal University of Technology, Akure in collaboration with the National Space Research and Development Agency, Nigeria, and the Kyushu Institute of Technology Japan. Mr. Ibukun Adebolu of FUTA’s Department of Mechanical Engineering is the representative of Nigeria on the project. It is the first ever university satellite to be launched in Nigeria. The CubeSats will be launched and docked to the International Space Station where the satellites will be deployed into lower orbit during the last week of June 2017.

“The satellite technology development in the long run shall have spillover effects on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education that is an essential tool for a country industrial development.’’

NYSC Sends 49 Corps Members Back Home In Osun

No fewer than 49 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members have been sent back to their parents from the orientation camp in Osun State.

The State Coordinator of NYSC, Mr. Emmanuel Attah, said some of the corps members were medically unfit to participate in the activities of the orientation camp.

He explained further that the decision was taken in order to prevent serious health issues, and even death of corps members while on camp.

Mr Attah stressed that NYSC places priority on the health and welfare of corps members, saying qualified medical personnel are fully on ground to attend to any health issue.

“2,300 corps members were deployed in Osun State and out of this, we registered 2,226. Of this number 1,023 are male while 1,123 are female corps members.

“Out of this number, we had instant relocation of 73 corps members; 49 corps members were on medical grounds while others are nursing mothers and marital issue. We take medical issues seriously, that is why we never had any issue right from Sunday.

“Before the corps member entered the camp, all members of the medical team and myself were at the gate to check any corps member coming in with any communicable diseases and we got some, registered them and relocated them to their parents,” he said.

CNN Fires Kathy Griffin Over ‘Beheading Donald Trump’ Photo Shoot

CNN has fired Kathy Griffin after she was pictured holding a likeness of President Donald Trump’s severed head. Ms Griffin has been dismissed from her annual gig co-hosting the television network’s New Year’s Eve program with network anchor Anderson Cooper, the network announced.

CNN’s PR department tweeted: “CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year’s Eve program,” The gruesome photos were taken in a shoot with celebrity photographer Tyler Shields, who is known for work depicting violence.

Archbishop Leaves Suicide Note, Jumps Into Lagoon

Mgr. Jean Benoit Balla, the Archbishop of Bafia, Cameroon, has reportedly taken his own life by jumping into the Sanaga River around the Ebebda Bridge in Cameroon.

The Catholic community launched a search for the clergyman after his Land Cruiser SUV with registration plate number CE 9503V was found on the Ebebda bridge Wednesday afternoon- about 90km from Yaounde.

A search of the vehicle revealed his ID card, drivers license and car documents.

However, a handwritten note on the letter head of the diocese simply read “Je suis dans l’eau”, which translated into English as “I am in the water” was also found in the car, local news website, cameroon-info.net reported.

Naseri Paul Bea, Governor of the Centre region, the Divisional Officer of the locality and other administrative authorities were reported to have rushed to the scene with security forces.

The Divisional Officer, D.O, of Ebebda, told journalists that a Reverend Father informed him about the incident at about 1pm.

“I immediately ran to the scene and saw for myself. The car is truly here on the bridge and the note the Bishop left suggests he jumped into the river”, said the DO.

He also said no damage had been done to the car which indicates there was no violence.

Presidential Adviser, NBA, Others Call For Release Of Dasuki, El-Zakzaky

Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, has called on the Muhammadu Buhari administration to release immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), and the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (Shiites), Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

PUNCH reports that Sagay made the call alongside other SANs ; Adegboyega Awomolo, Mike Ozekhome, Kunle Ogunba, Tunji Oyetubo, Sebastine Hon and Edward Ashiekaa.

Oyetibo condemned the Federal Government’s disobedience of the court orders to release Dasuki and El-Zakzaky, saying the government was “contemptuous.”

The NBA has also called on the government to release Dasuki and El-Zakzaky.

Married Female Corps Member Caught Having Sex Camp Gutter, Blames Weather Condition

It was a very bad day yesterday for two newly sworned in corps members who were caught in the act in Plateau State NYSC camp.

According to an exclusive source who sent the news to GistReel.Com, the corps members who are of the recently mobilised Batch A Stream 1 were caught having sex inside a gutter in the wee hours of yesterday.

They caught in the act after lights out by parading soldiers.

The male corps member blamed the devil for the devil while the Female who happens to be married blamed the weather conditions in Plateau State and stated that she can’t stay too long away from sex.

Gistreel.com reports that the tow corps members have been decamped in accordance with the NYSC law.

E-Money hosts English footballer in London

Five Star Music boss, E-Money has been in London for over a week, meeting up with a number of personalities while there.

A week ago, he met with UBA chairman, Tony Elumelu and Trancorp Hilton Nigeria CEO, Val Ozigbo, at Dorchester Hotel.

Now, he’s met with English footballer, Dexter Blackstock, who is a striker with Rotherham United.

Blackstock has previously played for Oxford United, Southampton, Plymouth Argyle, Leeds United, Derby County, Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest.

Wole Soyinka meets rusticated UNILAG student, calls him ‘my prison mate’

Adeyeye Olorunfemi spent days in Kirikiri Prison after he was arrested, alongside others, for protesting on behalf of blind student University of Lagos (UNILAG) authorities wrongfully suspended.

Adeyeye himself is serving a four semester rustication for criticizing the way UNILAG clamped down on students who demanded improvement in basic amenities on campus.

Since his ordeal began, Adeyeye has become the face of student activism in Nigeria. He recently hung out with ‘senior activist’ Wole Soyinka in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

‘I know you so well. I read you on magazines. You are my prison mate.’ Adeyeye told Newsroom Soyinka, a world renown Nobel Laureate, said those words to him.

We haven’t reached Soyinka to confirm if he said the words. But we have photos of Adeyeye and Kongi himself on the set of Onyeka Nwelue’s show where the activists met.

The meeting took place on Democracy Day.

‘I thought the interview was going to be in another language besides the English Language,’ Adeyeye said.

‘How do I speak English before Wole Soyinka? Where do I start from?

‘I was practically calculating the number of words I uttered, relating it with time as if I was calculating velocity. I thank the Prof. for not scolding me for my grammatical blunders,’ Adeyeye said.

He added that meeting Soyinka reignited his belief and zeal in speaking up for the downtrodden.

Adeyeye has, since his release from Kirikiri Prison, secured freedom for inmates whom he believed were wrongfully jailed by the government.

One of the inmates was a teenager imprisoned for ‘having no means of livelihood‘. He had help from other activists

Mystery fashionista buys handbag for N119m!

A luxury Hermes handbag shattered the world auction record in Hong Kong on Wednesday, fetching an eye-popping $380,000, (about N119 million according to current exchange rate) Christie’s spokeswoman, Gigi Ho said.

The auction house didn’t identify the buyer of the matte white ‘Himalaya’ crocodile skin Hermes Birkin bag.

The handbag was produced in 2014 and has 18 karat gold buckles and strap loops encrusted with 205 diamonds.

It fetched 2.94 million Hong Kong dollars ($380,000), which Christie’s says is a record for any handbag sold at auction

The price flew past the pre-sale estimate of HK 1.5 million to 2 million ($193,000-$258,000) during 10 to 15 minutes of intense bidding in the auction room and from phone and online buyers, Ho said.

The price surpasses the record set a year ago when Christie’s auctioned a similar Birkin bag for $300,000.

It had identical specifications but was produced in 2008.

Christie’s says Himalaya Birkins get their name from the bag’s colour, which fades from smoky gray to pearly white, evoking comparisons with the mountain range.

The company says they’re exceptionally rare, with only one or two believed to be made each year because of a time-consuming process to dye the crocodile skin.

The highly coveted bag was created in 1984 by French luxury label Hermes in honour of British singer and actress Jane Birkin.

It’s famous for a stratospheric price tag, celebrity owners and a years-long waiting list.

The Internet comes for make-up artist who transformed a white woman to a ‘black’ woman

An Instagram makeup artist got a little too creative with his craft and ended up on the wrong side of the Internet’s books.

The MUA with Instagram name @paintdatface came under fire after he shared before and after photos of a white woman he transformed into what many have interpreted as a black woman with the aid of makeup.

The backlash his post got didn’t come as a surprise to him. If anything, he was expecting it as his caption read:‘

DISCLAIMER. I want to clearly express the sincere place I am coming from with this transformation. As an artist and visionary, I can become bored of the ‘glam’ and done-up looks that we find all over social media, my page included.

I struggle to remain challenged, and as a result of that, my posts have become more manufactured than authentic.

 This is a transformation that I’ve been holding back from releasing for a while now, solely because of the fear I’ve had of people turning it into a racial scandal against me.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT A RACE CHANGE. This is about one woman acknowledging, embracing, and celebrating the beauty of another woman’s culture. I believe we live in a society nowadays that seeks any reason to stomp around town with a picket stick in their hand, fighting ABOUT something, rather than FOR something (and yes, there is a difference!).

I didn’t want this to become another reason to stir up negativity. This is, by far, the proudest I’ve ever been of my work and I’m so fortunate to have created it with @annathorsell, who trusted my vision from the very beginning.’

But it might have gotten a bit too much for him to handle because he deleted the original post.

The change of mind didn’t last for that long as he returned with another post moments later to explain that he has no regrets and is not apologetic about his first post or the work he did.

‘The transformation that I recently posted of a woman transformed into a woman of another culture has been highly criticized by those who don’t understand the message.

I deleted the post, not because I had regret or saw wrongdoing, but because of the negativity social media turned it into. It’s been assumed by most that my intentions were to transform my model into a black woman.

     ‘Truth is, my intentions were to keep the look vague enough to be relatable to many women of different cultures, but the true inspiration of the overall look came from my Cuban heritage.

Although I am saddened by how many people are angered, I can’t offer an apology for my artwork and for what I find to be beautiful.

‘The transformation came from a place of love and was not about mocking one’s race, but rather about celebrating it. I am so proud to be illustrating a woman representing several cultures along with their achievements, beliefs and histories.

‘Art is interpreted differently by all and sometimes it’s uncomfortable, but making this world a better place starts with our mindset – thinking positive, showing love and practicing unity,’ he wrote.

Idris Elba and Kate Winslet combine in likely Oscar contender, ‘The Mountain Between Us’

British actor, Idris Elba has teamed up with Kate Winslet for the romantic drama, The Mountain Between Us.

The Twentieth Century Fox project in conjunction with Chernin Entertainment is an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Charles Martin.

The Mountain Between Us tells the story of a man and woman, survivors of a plane crash in the wilderness, who fall in love.

Directed by Hany Abu-Assad, the film sees Idris Elba play Dr Ben Payne while Kate Winslet is Ashley Knox.

The film’s release is set for October 20, 2017.

Courtesy of USA Today, here are first-look photos from the film.

Kidnapped House of Reps Member 'Garba Durbunde' Regains Freedom

Garba Durbunde, a member of the House of Representatives, who was kidnapped along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, has been released.

An aide of the lawmaker, Tunde Adela, who spoke to The Cable confirmed his release. A source said the legislator was released after an undisclosed ransom was paid.

Wonder Woman Arrives Nigeria

Wonder Woman, the latest superhero movie from DC Comics will arrive Nigerian cinemas starting from June 2.

CEO of Blue Pictures, Joy Odiette, said the release of the movie into the Nigerian cinemas follows the media screening held on May 30.

“Without a doubt, It is one movie that will hold people spellbound and we are excited to be distributing it here.”

“As far as this movie is concerned, we have a sure shot winner in our hands and audience are going to love it.

The movie tells the story of Princess Diana (Gal Gadot) of the Amazons who grew up on an isolated island trained to be an unconquerable warrior. She then met an American pilot who intimates her of the chaos in the outside world. Diana then leaves her home for the first time to put an end to the conflict.

The movie has a rating of 8.5 on IMDB and 79% on Metacritic.

Eagles vs Bafana Bafana: Moses out

Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr has invited 23 players to the Super Eagles’ camp ahead of next week’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.

Turkey–based midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi topped the list made available on Wednesday, with Elderson Echiejile, Ahmed Musa and Kenneth Omeruo also called. The biggest surprise in Rohr’s list was the exclusion of Chelsea star, Victor Moses. Speculation has been rife in recent weeks over whether Moses would be available for the June 10 match in Uyo. The 26-year-old has been Nigeria’s most outstanding player in Europe this past season but there have been doubts about his commitment to the Super Eagles. But spokesman of the Super Eagles Toyin Ibitoye told BBC Sport that, “Moses has been excused by the coach. “Moses will be having surgery on his injured toe this summer and that effectively rules him out of the game versus Bafana Bafana,” Ibitoye said.

Hillary launches astonishing conspiracy claim that Trump won the election because he 'colluded' with 1,000 Russian agents

Hillary Clinton launched an all-out assault on Donald Trump Wednesday, claiming he must have 'guided' Russian efforts to keep her out of the White House.

Openly saying that she believed he had 'colluded' with Russia, she made an astonishing series of claims about the presidential election, including claiming that the 'vast majority' of news about her on Facebook was 'fake'.

She even cited 'Pizzagate', claiming that claims she was involved in a child sex-trafficking network in a Washington D.C. restaurant had helped swing 'low information voters'.

Clinton spoke at a tech conference in Silicon Valley to an audience which applauded repeatedly as she outlined her allegations against Trump - a man she described as having a 'visceral grasp on America's political underbelly'.

The question and answer session is her latest return to public life after her defeat. It was unclear if she was paid for the appearance at the Codecon conference in Rancho Palos Verde. 

The loser began by saying: 'I take responsibility for every decision I made but that is not why I lost.'

Then Clinton spelled out a detailed theory that her campaign had been hit by the Russian hacking and that it used its agents to spread 'fake news'.

But she added: 'The Russians in my opinion - and based on intelligence and counterintelligence people I have spoken to - could not have known best how to weaponize that information unless they had been guided by a specific group of people. By Americans.'

How Masquerades invaded mosque, attacked worshippers in Ekiti

The Imam of Ikun-Ekiti Central Mosque in Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State, is currently at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, receiving treatments after he was attacked by masquerades Tuesday night.

Muslim faithful had gathered in the mosque to break their Ramadan fast in preparation for the evening prayer by 7p.m., when the masquerades struck.

The masquerades attacked the worshippers with cudgels, stone and iron, inflicting injuries on them.

About five of the worshippers were said to have sustained varying degrees of injury.

The hoodlums also vandalised two cars parked at the mosque’s premises.

The Imam, Alhaji Abdul-Rasak Abubakar-Bello, who was rushed to the Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, received stitches on his head.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he told Vanguard that the Muslims were held hostage in the mosque for four hours by the masquerades, who threatened to kill them.

He said: “There was no way we could escape because they were waiting for us outside after initially attacking us inside the mosque with iron rods and woods. When we succeeded in locking ourselves inside the mosque, they started throwing stones at us.”

Bello accused the Divisional Police Office of ignoring the rescue calls made to him by the Muslim community.

Meanwhile, the Muslim community accused a traditional ruler of masterminding the attack on them.

But at press time, the said monarch neither picked calls nor responded to a text message sent to him on the attack.

Condemning the attack, the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations, NACOMYO, accused the king and the police of complicity in the attack on the Muslims.

In a statement by the state Coordinator, Tajudeen Ahmed, and the Secretary, Musa Tijani, NACOMYO stated that the king had earlier warned the Muslims to keep their women away from the mosque on Tuesday, being the grand finale of their masquerade festival.

“He was said to have written a letter to the Muslim community of Ikun-Ekiti to ensure that their women are kept indoors.

“The Muslim community of Ikun-Ekiti ensured total compliance by keeping all their female members indoors.”

Trump’s personal lawyer subpoenaed in Russia probe

President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen will be subpoenaed to testify in the Russian political meddling investigation by the House Intelligence committee, the panel announced Wednesday.

The committee said it had approved subpoenas for Cohen and for Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn to appear before them and supply documents.

While Flynn has been a known target of congressional and Justice Department investigations into possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump presidential campaign, Cohen has only recently become a focus of the probe, for unknown reasons.

"As part of our ongoing investigation into Russian active measures during the 2016 campaign, today we approved subpoenas for several individuals for testimony, personal documents and business records," said Republican committee chair Mike Conaway and senior committee Democrat Adam Schiff.

"We hope and expect that anyone called to testify or provide documents will comply with that request, so that we may gain all the information within the scope of our investigation. We will continue to pursue this investigation wherever the facts may lead."

Cohen spent years as the main lawyer for the Trump Organization, the president's New York-based real estate and entertainment business.

Cohen was also mentioned as someone with Russian contacts in the still-unverified dossier on Trump campaign ties to Russia compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele.

Besides Cohen and Flynn, the investigations are believed to be examining Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former political advisor Roger Stone, and erstwhile foreign policy consultant Carter Page.

The House and Senate Intelligence Committees continue to press ahead in their investigations, even as a newly-appointed independent special counsel takes over the Justice Department and FBI investigations into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The special counsel, former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller, was appointed two weeks ago amid worries over Trump's possible interference in the probe.

Nnamdi Kanu meets Igbo leaders in Enugu over Biafra

Apparenyly buoyed by the success of the sit-at –home exercise called on Tuesday by agitators, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, stormed Enugu yesterday and held closed door meeting with some Southeast leaders under the auspices of the Ala Igbo Development Foundation (ADF).

At the over two hours meeting chaired by the president of the ADF, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala, were Archbishop Maxwell Aniekwenwa; a former Ohanaeze president-general, Dr Dozie Ikedife; Secretary general of Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), Prof Elo Amucheazi; a former Vice Chancellor of Imo State University, Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie; Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Ebere Chukwu, Ambassador Lawrence Agubuzo, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, Bishop Obi Onubugo among others.

Although resolutions of the meeting were not disclosed, it was however gathered that it was used to strengthen relationships among other Igbo groups in the agitation as well as provided opportunity for advice on the Biafra struggle.

Meanwhile, three organizations, the Eastern Consultative Assembly (ECA), Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) and Igbo Women Assembly yesterday hailed Ndigbo for their resilience in the struggle for the realization of Biafra.

They and a Biafran activist in the diaspora, Iyke Celestine Udeze, commended Kanu for his leadership qualities. The groups stressed that “by word of the mouth, the entire eastern region and beyond were locked down completely. The lesson here is threefold, one, our people showed all, their loyalty to the IPOB, two our people also openly announced their total rejection of Nigeria as presently constituted, and finally our people decided to leave no one in doubt of our preference for freedom as opposed to eternal servitude.”

Udeze who fled in the wake of the crackdown on pro-Biafra agitators, also condemned the activities of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, describing both groups as terrorists.

Igbo residents in Kaduna Stae have explained why they defied the order to sit at home. An Igbo trader from Anambra, Chinnedu Obinna, at Sheikh Abubakar Gumi market told The Guardian that he could not afford to stay at home and lose customers, saying that “almost everyone of my fellow Igbos was at the market selling.”

Others said a that majority of the Igbo could not sit at home in order to avoid trouble. However, the leader of the Movement For Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Comrade Uchenna Madu, said the success of the order was a signal to the international community that ‘Biafrans’ were united in the agitation.

He explained that MASSOB was not against Nigeria’s existence. “Biafra can as well exist as a sister nation with Nigeria like any other African country,” he stressed.

But for what it described as a threat to national unity, peace and security, a group under the auspices of South East Peoples Assembly (SEPA), has asked Federal High Court, Abuja, to revoke ‎the bail earlier granted Kanu.