Gist of The Hour Blog

The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University management has verified that four of its learners have been killed after the collapse of a Gubi campus bridge. The event resulted from a severe downpour in the state that lasted several hours. Muhammad Abdullazeez, Vice Chancellor, who spoke to reporters at a press conference in Bauchi State on Tuesday, August 6, said four students were murdered while seven students were wounded. He said full details of the incident were still awaited, but he said the school was closed in honor of the deceased. Abdullazeez said, “I regret to announce the death of four of our students on August 5th, 2019. The unfortunate incident that led to the demise of the students occurred late last night (Monday), at the Gubi Campus of the University.  “While full details of the occurrence are being awaited, the University Senate, at an emergency meeting this morning, (August 6th, 2019) has decided to close the University in honour of t...

Saudi Arabia's King Salman Salman bin Abdulaziz has invited survivors of the Christchurch massacre and victims ' families to be his holy pilgrimage guests. King Salman offers to pay about £ 1 m for the predominantly Muslim sufferers who were caught in the mass shooting previously this year in two Christchurch mosques so they can follow him to Mecca for hajj. The Saudi king pays for the cost of their airfare, lodging and transport. The group will travel to Medina's holy locations as well. The invitation was extended after New Zealand's Saudi ambassador, Abdulrahman Al Suhaibani, informed the families that the Saudi king was horrified by the March 15 assaults on two mosques and wanted to give them peace. The Saudi king invites several hundred individuals each year to conduct the hajj as his own visitors, often choosing those most affected by that year's tragedy. Mr. Suhaibani said this is the king's first invitation to his annual progr...

Wayne Rooney has signed a deal for 18 months to become DC United player coach at Derby County. In January 2020, when his time in Major League Soccer comes to an end, the former England and Manchester United captain will officially arrive as a player-coach. For the championship side, Rooney who is expected to earn £ 100,000 a week will wear the No 32 shirt. Rooney said:' I'm very enthusiastic about the chance given me by Derby County.  Since the beginning of January, I look forward to joining Phillip Cocu, his coaching staff and the first-team team. I'm sure I can make a big contribution and can't wait to satisfy the followers in particular. I'm just as excited to start my coaching career at Derby County working with both the first team and the academy.'' The business opportunities that this creates are widespread and significant,' said Derby Chairman Mel Morris. We want to leverage Wayne's participation and 32Red sup...

The Ondo State Police Command has stated that the Nigerian Army has yet to transfer the case of Akungba Akoko, Adekunle Ajasin University, who was supposedly raped by some troops. Some 32 Artillery Brigade troops attached to a checkpoint on Ikare Akoko-Akungba Akoko Road supposedly gang-raped the student last week, but the military said the suspects had been detained while the inquiry was underway.  Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu had previously called on the military to transfer the case to the police for further inquiry and prosecution of the suspects, but the police said the case was not transferred to them. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Femi Joseph, said the brigade was waiting for the brigade to transfer the case to it. "While I'm talking to you, we still have to receive the case from the military, maybe we'll have the case later; but there's nothing like that for now," said Joseph.  Meanwhile, Nigerian Army and other s...

Two Chinese nationals, Lin Piehao, 22, and Li Ruoneng, 27, were detained  by officers of the Lagos State Police Command for supposedly running an illegal e-waste plant in the state's Ikeja region. E-waste adds to degradation of the environment with adverse impacts on human health such as inflammation and oxidative stress precursors to cardiovascular disease, harm to DNA and potentially cancer. Spokesperson of the State Police Command, Bala Elkana, who confirmed their arrest, said that the Chinese nationals whose visas to Nigeria have since expired were arrested by a team led by the Commander Area F, Akinsoji Adebayo, Assistant Police Commissioner (ACP), at their illegal factory at 19 Sule Abuka Street, Opebi in Ikeja on Monday night, August 5. One of the police officers who took part in the Chinese nationals ' arrest said, "We got a tip-off about their activities and we stormed and arrested them there. We also found that the company's two brains are illeg...

Office of the Senate President has released his official portrait and also stated how Ahmad Lawan should be addressed officially. An email from the Senate President’s Media Office reads; ”The attached photograph is the official portrait of the president of the Senate. The President of the Senate is to be addressed as: Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, Ph.D, CON, as indicated on the portrait.”

Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht died in the third stage of the Tour of Poland after crashing. The youthful rider died at the age of 22 on Monday, August 5, 2019. During heavy rainfall, Lambrecht descended in a crash close the town of Zory and hit a culvert. He was handled instantly by the medical employees of the race, and the emergency resuscitation was needed. During heavy rainfall, the Belgian cyclist crashed into a concrete culvert about 60 miles from the third stage finish line from Chorzow to Zabrze. He was immediately handled on the scene after being taken by ambulance to a neighboring hospital in Rybnik, but died during surgery, according to The Sun. "We tried to give a heart massage shortly thereafter, then we called for a helicopter, but his condition was so serious it couldn't carry him," said Ryszard Wisniewski, race doctor. Lambrecht was taken to an ambulance hospital where he was not surviving emergency surgery. ...

Manchester United, the Premier League club, completed Harry Maguire's record signing in a £ 80 m move from Leicester City, making him the world's most costly defender. England's 26-year-old international put pen to paper for another 12 months on a six-year agreement with the option. The amount of the deal is up to £ 200,000 a week.   Maguire informed the official website of the club:' I'm happy to sign for this excellent club. I had a great time at Leicester and would like to thank everyone in the club and the fans for their wonderful assistance over the previous two seasons. However, it's an amazing chance when Manchester United comes knocking at your door. I'm enthusiastic about the vision and plans he has for the team from my discussions with the director. Clearly, Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) is building a trophy winning team. Now I'm looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and starting the season.' Solskjaer added:' Harry is ...

Spanish giants, Barcelona, have announced that during training their superstar captain Lionel Messi suffered a calf strain. On Monday morning, the Catalan giants announced the sad news and said Argentina will not join his team-mates on their pre-season journey to the United States. The football star is now in doubt for next week's Friday's first season match of the Catalan giants against Athletic Bilbao. Barca said in a declaration: "First team player Leo Messi, who returned for practice on Monday from his summer break, withdrew from the session owing to discomfort in his correct knee." Tests conducted diagnosed an Argentine grade 1 calf strain. Messi will stay in Barcelona and will not be traveling to the USA for the tour of the club. His willingness to return to action will be dictated by his recovery from the injury.

After being nominated for eviction, Jeff was sent packing from the Big Brother Naija house today August 4.  On July 29, along with Tacha, Omashola and Mike, the banker turned reality show star was nominated for eviction.  Jeff, who was the first Head Of House to be expelled in the 2019 edition of the Big Brother Naija Reality show, became the eighth home to be expelled. Recall that everything had been removed from the show by Avala, Isilomo, Thelma, Nelson, Tuoyo, Ella and Kimoprah.  Five fresh housemates were also introduced to the house last week; Cindy, Elozonam, Joe, Venita Akpofure, and Enkay.

Michael Job, the US preacher and actor who lately visited Kenya as' Fake Jesus,' is reported to have allegedly died as a guest speaker just a few days after attending a Christian interdenominational event. Medics at Heyn Hospital have verified that Michael Job succumbed to pneumonia while receiving treatment,' according to a report by Kenyan Live News.  Fake Jesus, Michael Job, died of Pneumonia days after his trip to Kenya. Photographs and videos depicting him dressed as Jesus Christ were commonly shared throughout Africa on social media. He was deported from Kenya last week while pastors who invited him were also detained by the police.

American singer Alicia Keys went to Instagram on Monday, August 5th to post this loved-up picture of sharing a kiss with her boyfriend, Swizz Beatz, in the pool. The award-winning music producer who was unable to resist commenting on their picture wrote on her website:' Your love is always incredible like hot water.' Last week, Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys celebrated their 9th anniversary of their wedding. 

Premier League club, Manchester United agreed with Leicester City on a £ 85million fee for signing Harry Maguire, making him the most costly defender in the world.  After weeks of negotiations between both clubs, the fee, which contains add-ons, was lastly reached. United will pay £ 80 m in advance and another £ 5 m in add-ons, according to Mail Online.  The 26-year-old had already taken friendly against Atalanta on Friday from the final pre-season of Leicester. On Saturday, August 3, 2019, he is anticipated to undergo his medical treatment.  The deal also puts him ahead of Southampton's Virgil van Dijk who bought Liverpool in January 2018 for £ 75 m. SEE  THE 10 ALL TIME MOST EXPENSIVE DEFENDERS BELOW. 1. Harry Maguire - £85m (From Leicester to Man United)  2. Virgil van Dijk - £75m (From Southampton to Liverpool)  3. Lucas Hernandez - £68m (From Atletico Madrid to Bayern Munich) 4. Matthijs de Ligt...

Arsenal, Premier League Club, announced a five-year contract to sign Nicolas Pepe from Lille for £ 72million.  Arsenal will pay an initial £ 20 m with the remaining £ 52 m spread over the next five years as a result of their transfer limitation, according to an arrangement reached between both clubs.  The 24-year-old Ivorian forward, who is going to wear the No 19 shirt, said after completing his move:' It's very emotional to be here because it wasn't simple for me. I've come a long way and struggled a lot, so it's a great reward to sign for this wonderful club. Making the correct decision was crucial, and I am persuaded that Arsenal is the correct option.' Unai Emery, arsenal boss, added:' Nicolas is a highly-rated and talented winger that many of Europe's top teams wanted. In this transfer window, signing a top-class winger was one of our main goals and I'm happy that he's joining. He will add pace, power and creativ...

The Nigerian Defense Headquarters (DHQ) has rejected allegations published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that it has secretly buried over 1000 troops.  We stated previously that the study admitted that, according to Nigerian troops, diplomats and a senior public official,' after dark, soldiers ' bodies are covertly transported from a mortuary that sometimes gets so crowded the bodies are delivered by truck. The corpses are placed in trenches created by infantrymen or local villagers paid a few bucks per change by flashlight. The declaration issued by the Director of Defense Information Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, however, insisted that the "insinuation can only emanate from the uninformed situation of the author of the said publication." It further reads, "It must be unambiguously clarified that the Nigerian Armed Forces do not indulge in secret marriages, as it is sacrilegious and profane to the ethos and trading that still exists. "Th...