Fire guts Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central London

Twenty fire engines and 120 firefighters and officers were called to a blaze on the roof of the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge, central London last night.

The cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained but the thick black smoke was visible coming from roof

Police said the hotel was being evacuated and it was not yet known whether there had been any injuries. It was gathered that the raging inferno has swept through 12 floors at the hotel.

Guests at the 12-storey luxury hotel, which has recently undergone a £185m refurbishment, were safely evacuated, some in their dressing gowns. The London ambulance service attended the scene, close to Harrods department store, but said there were no casualties.

Godwin Obaseki sacks staff and shuts down College of Agriculture in Edo State

Godwin Obaseki, the Edo State Governor has sacked the staff of the state government owned College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, in Ovia South West Local Government Area of the state, and closed down the institution.

The institution was established by the then civilian administration of the late governor Ambrose Ali, in 1981, closed by the military governors and later reopened by the former governor Lucky Igbinedion administration in 2001.  

Obaseki said the institution was shut because it was not worthy of being a school of agriculture, due to its poor standard. The government, in a letter signed by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Monday Osaigbovo, dated May 25, 2018, and given to all the staff, announced the termination of their appointments.  

Meanwhile, the academic and non-academic staff as well as students of the college have instituted a legal action against the state government and its agents at the National Industrial Court, Akure Division, over their sack. They are asking the court to declare that the disengagement of the entire staff of the institution, as well as its closure negates the extant law establishing it.  

The claimants in the suit are Mr. Ezomosogie Pullen Pius, Miss Iyase Linda, Mr. Unionmwan Osaro, Mrs Ovu Bridget, Mr. Amionkhabhor Benson, Mr. Avanrenren Roland, Miss Oviawe Jessy and Agbaren Esellosemhe.  

The defendants are the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Edo State, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Edo State, Edo State Government, College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, Governing Council, College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, Provost, College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, Registrar, College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi and Speaker House of Assembly.  

The claimants, in the suit filed on their behalf by their counsel, Dr. West Idahosa, want the court to declare that the fourth defendant is a creation of law, having been established pursuant to Edict No. 1 of 1992, with its commencement date as December 27, 1994, and deemed as existing law made by the eighth and ninth defendants, vide the provisions of Section 315 (1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, among others.

Nwankwo Kanu robbed of more than £8,000 after arriving in Russia ahead of World Cup

Nigerian Football Legend and former Super Eagles captain, Kanu Nwankwo was recently robbed of  £8,250 US dollars in cash after he arrived in Moscow from London.

The Arsenal legend, 41, reported the money missing when he reached Kaliningrad, where he was playing in a World Cup curtain raiser game organised by FIFA.

According to Russian police, the money was stolen by two loaders at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.

Lt-Col Irina Volk, spokeswoman for the Russian Interior Ministry, said the loaders were dealing with the baggage from a London to Moscow flight.

'The stolen cash was removed (from the loaders) and will soon be returned to the owner', she said.

Mash online news outlet reported: 'The World Cup has not even begun yet, but world soccer celebrities already require the help of Russian police.'

The loaders, aged 30 and 36, who have been arrested could be sent to jail for up to six years.

Despite being robbed,  Kanu who played for a Fifa legends team still had nice things to say about his trip to Russia during an interview.

'Kaliningrad is a very nice city with very nice people,' said Nwankwo Kanu.

'It's really good to be here. The stadium is fantastic, I liked the atmosphere inside and also enjoyed being in the players' dressing room.

'The pitch is marvellous and, actually, that's all you need as a player.

'The FIFA World Cup is the greatest football tournament on the planet – every team dreams of being part of it and I am sure it will be a very special event in Russia.

'Nigeria will be a big surprise, for sure. We have good young and talented players; they are hungry for victories and want to do well – for themselves and for the country.'

'I’m so proud of my son for doing something that I didn’t do... graduating from high school' - Floyd Mayweather

Legendary American boxer, Floyd Mayweather in his happy father moment took to instagram to celebrate his son, Koraun Mayweather who has just graduated from high school.

According to Floyd, 'I’m so proud of my son for doing something that I didn’t do, and that’s graduate high school. When I? was his age, I? dropped out of school and followed my dream of boxing to take my family out of poverty'.

'Six out of every 10 young people are cultists in Lagos State' - Police commissioner, Edgal Imohimi

Edgal Imohimi, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State on Friday said six out of ten young people are cultists in Lagos.

Edgal who expressed sadness over the rising cases of cultism among youths in Lagos, called for a state of emergency on cultism. Imohimi spoke at a town hall meeting with some residents of Surulere area of the state.

“I instructed one of my officers to carry out a research on the reason for increase in cultism among the young ones, and it was revealed that it gives them a kind of advantage over their peers. For some, they joined to avoid being intimidated. Whatever reason it is, the blame is on us parents for not caring enough about our children,” he said.

Nigerian Table Tennis player, Seun Ajetunmobi dies at 33

Nigerian Table Tennis national player, Seun Ajetunmobi has died at the age of 33.

The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) confirmed the death, saying it occurred at the early hours of Friday June 1 after a domestic accident at his Lagos home.

 Ajetunmobi died at the hospital where he was receiving treatment. His last international duty for Nigeria was at the 2015 African Games in Congo Brazzaville. The Italy-based athlete was crowned men’s singles champion at the annual Aso Championships held in Abuja in May.

“On behalf of the President, the executive board members and the entire table tennis family in Nigeria, I regret to announce the sudden death of one of our National Team players Seun Ajetunmobi, which sad event occurred early morning of June 1, 2018, in a Lagos hospital. The Italy-based athlete was on holiday in Nigeria after the end of the season in Italy. The federation sympathised with the player’s family and his supporters in Nigeria and around the World. The burial will be announced later by his family,” Secretary-General of NTTF, Idaye Anthony, said in a signed statement

CBN Deputy Governor Adebayo Adelabu Resigns

President Muhammadu Buhari has formally accepted the disengagement of the Deputy Governor in charge of Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, with effect from July 15, 2018.


In a letter dated May 24, 2018 and personally signed by him, President Buhari thanked Mr. Adelabu for his services to the country and wished him the best in his future ambitions.

“While appreciating your services in the Central Bank of Nigeria since 9th April 2014, I wish you the very best in your future ambitions and continued commitment to public service in our country and specifically, as you seek to play a more active role in politics, in your home State,” the letter stated.


Adelabu formally assumed duty as Deputy Governor at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on April 9, 2014 and served at different times as Deputy Governor in charge of Financial System Stability (FSS), Corporate Services (CS), and lastly Operations (Ops), before he tendered his letter of disengagement.


The disengagement was not unconnected with his ambition of contesting the governorship of Oyo State in the forthcoming primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He is a direct grandson of late Adegoke Adelabu (aka Penkelemesi), an articulate grassroots politician of the pre-independence political era.


He was an Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc. He holds a First Class degree in Accounting from the (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).