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Abba Kyari: The trouble with Nigerian Police

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By Kene Obiezu

SIR: Nigeria is not exactly a police state but it is perilously close to being one because the police wield so much power and act with so much impunity. The EndSARS protests which erupted out of nowhere and  sent chills down the corridors of power last year were a telling testament to the depth of the frustration which average Nigerians feel  towards the Police.

The protests which shook the country to its core forced the government to act, and the police authorities to critically examine its ranks and modus operandi. But for all its gains, many Nigerian feel a deep sense of loss over the protests as there have been very little fruits, but especially as innocent blood was let at the Lekki toll gate killings.

Because Nigerians regard the police with more suspicion and even outright disgust than affection, news involving police officers, even when they are perilous are often met with muted celebrations. For  a whole lot of Nigerians, each time a police officer runs into a professional hazard in the course of duty, there is cause for celebration.

The sad irony of the whole situation is that while a cross-section of sensible Nigerians loathe the Police for their high-handedness and lack of professionalism, there is also a good number of Nigerian criminals who would rather the country is unpoliced and citizens left  without any form of security. This is because in spite of their many failings, the police keep criminals on their toes. The police still do its bit no matter how little in seems in a country engulfed by insecurity like a hurricane.

It is also public knowledge that the rampant corruption which seems to infect the rank and file of the Nigeria Police like uncurable leprosy is in no small measure fuelled by the appallingly atrocious  apathy with which successive administrations in Nigeria have treated police welfare. It is pretty common knowledge that once a police officer in Nigeria falls in the line of duty, their family is mostly left to its own devices with very few exceptions.

Nigerians have recently been inundated with the predicament of Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police  nicknamed “ supercop” for his exploits and antics. The iron irony of  one who on countless occasions declared others now being wanted himself by no less than the American Federal Bureau of Investigation has not been lost on many.

Abba Kyari has been suspended by the Nigeria Police pending the outcome of investigations. While the threat of looming extradition hangs over his neck like the sword of Damocles, Nigerians have been sharply divided into two camps of those who baulk at the attempts by the United States of America to “whittle” down  the sovereignty  of Nigeria, the largest black country on earth; and those who have no doubt  that it is the chickens that have come home to roost for Abba Kyari,  long accused of a litany of  brutalities against Nigerians.

When Hushpuppi an internet fraudster and hero to countless young Nigerians left with nothing to look forward to but the promise of a big pay day from internet fraud was arrested and put on trial in the United States of America, Nigeria‘s long suffering  image  went into another round of  trial.  Now that Abba Kyari, one of the more popular faces of the Nigeria Police, has been dragged into Hushpuppi‘s hell on allegations of receiving proceeds of fraud to set the law in motion against a perceived enemy, Nigerians know that the other shoe  has dropped.

As Nigeria continues to struggle to live up to its limitless potentials, Nigerian institutions, long fingered as the harbingers and hosts of corruption, have done irritatingly little to show that they are up to the task of nation building. Kyari’s predicament puts  Nigeria‘s Police Force firmly in the eye of the storm and confirms the worst fears of those who believe that the Police in Nigeria employs many insufferable ingrates  who would rather rob Peter to pay Paul. Nigeria is truly an Augean stable. Even Hercules will quake in his boots at the prospect of cleaning it.

Culled from the Nation News Nigeria

 

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Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.

In the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Emilio Garcia said that after a night out in 2022 in Ibiza, Spain, he was in an SUV with the hip-hop star when she began having sex with another woman right next to him. He was unable to get out of the moving car, and would have been in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country even if he was able. Garcia was “embarrassed, mortified and offended throughout the whole ordeal,” according to the lawsuit.

Alex Spiro, Megan’s lawyer, said she would fight the lawsuit in court.

“This is an employment claim for money — with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her,” Spiro said.

The next day Megan told Garcia never to discuss what he saw and berated and fat-shamed him, the lawsuit said. The complaint also said Garcia, who had already considered quitting because he was overworked and underpaid in a hostile work environment aggravated by Megan’s possessiveness and abusiveness, was misclassified as an independent contractor but treated as an exclusive employee.

Garcia raised those issues in the conversation with Megan, and was fired the following day after four years of working for her, the suit said. He has since filed a job discrimination complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.

The lawsuit, first reported by NBC News, names as defendants Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete; her companies Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment and Hot Girl Touring; and her label, Roc Nation. A defense response has yet to be filed. There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment from a representative of Roc Nation.

Garcia is seeking financial damages to be determined at trial, alleging he has suffered severely both emotionally and physically because of his treatment on the job, the firing and having to witness the scene in the SUV.

Megan, 29, was previously involved in major legal drama — and underwent a torrent of online abuse — as the victim of a shooting by rapper Tory Lanez, who a jury found fired at her feet on a street in the Hollywood Hills in 2020. She testified at the trial where jurors convicted Lanez of three felonies and a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Already a major rising artist at the time of the shooting, Megan has since become one of hip-hop’s biggest stars. She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021, and she had No. 1 singles with “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”

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Body of O.J. Simpson to be cremated this week; brain will not be studied for CTE

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April 15 (UPI) — The body of O.J. Simpson, who died last week at the age of 76, is to be cremated, a lawyer representing the ex-football superstar’s estate said, adding his brain will not be donated for research.

Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime attorney and executor, told the New York Post that his client’s body is to be cremated Tuesday in Las Vegas.

He said Simpson’s family also gave a “hard no” to scientists seeking to examine the former running back’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.

CTE is a rare and little understood brain disorder that is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to definitively diagnose it is with an autopsy of the organ after death.

Memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes and erratic behavior, including aggression, depression and suicidal ideation, are among CTE’s symptoms, the Alzheimer’s Association said.

The disease has been found in those who play contact sports, including football and hockey.

LaVergne confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that at least one person has called seeking Simpson’s brain.

“His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated,” he said.

Simpson died Wednesday following a battle with cancer.

Known by the nickname “The Juice,” Simpson was a NFL superstar during the 1970s, which made him a household name that propelled him into film and television during the next decade.

But his stardom would come crashing down in the mid-1990s when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

His high-profile trial lasted months, but ended with his acquittal.

In 2008, he was found guilty on a dozen charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and was paroled in 2017 after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence.

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Houston’s Urban South Brewery Celebrates Fourth Anniversary

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Urban South Brewery Houston will host its upcoming Anniversary Party from Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7, in the HTX Taproom, starting at 11 AM, celebrating four years of crafting exceptional brews and fostering community culture. This milestone event will be an exciting day featuring live music, food, activities, and a vendor market.

Beer enthusiasts are also in for a treat with the release of four exclusive anniversary specialty beers. Highlights include “Press Start,” a crafted Czech Pale Lager brewed in collaboration with Parleaux Beer Lab. Additionally, beer fans can indulge in “Level Up,” an Old-Fashioned Cocktail Sour Ale infused with orange peel, Luxardo cherry syrup, and subtle bourbon barrel notes. The offerings continue with “High Score,” a robust Double IPA bursting with flavors of Mosaic, Citra, and Chinook hops, and “Game Over,” a decadent Neapolitan Ice Cream Stout layered with strawberry fruit, Tahitian vanilla bean, and milk chocolate.

To make the celebration even more memorable, fans can pre-order an Exclusive 8-Bit Beer Box featuring the four-anniversary specialty beers (Press Start, Level Up, High Score, Game Over), a 16oz can-shaped Silipint with discounted refills, and 2 tokens redeemable for draft beer.

The Anniversary Party is open to the public, welcoming families and furry friends. Urban South Brewery invites everyone to join in the festivities and toast to four years of brewing excellence.

For more information on Urban South’s Anniversary Celebration, follow the Houston taproom on Instagram and Facebook.

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