The Osun State Supreme Court has passed its judgement and we don’t think Davido will be pleased. Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj will perform in Saudi Arabia! Yes, we are just as surprised. Get in on the gist with our Rave News Digest which summarizes some of the hottest global news you need to catch up on, saving you time and energy. Consider it your daily news fix.
Here is a rundown of five of the hottest news topics…
1. Osun State Supreme Court judgement: Court upholds Oyetola’s victory in Osun Election
The Supreme Court has affirmed the victory of Gboyega Oyetola as the governor of Osun State. The court validated the decision of the Court of Appeal which nullified the March 22 judgement of the Osun State election petition tribunal.
The tribunal had declared Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the September 2018 election. You would recall that the PDP candidate in the elections, Mr Adeleke, filed a petition at the election tribunal to challenge the victory of Mr Oyetola of the APC. The main election was held on September 22 while a supplementary election was held on September 27 in seven polling units. The electoral commission, INEC, declared Mr Oyetola winner of the election after the supplementary poll.
Mr Adeleke, who claimed he polled the highest number of votes in the election, asked the tribunal to cancel the victory of Mr Oyetola and declare him the winner of the election. In a split judgement on Friday, the Supreme Court agreed substantially with the Court of Appeal which ruled that a majority judgement delivered at the tribunal was a nullity.
The court said the judge who had read the majority judgement at the tribunal, Peter Obiora, was evidently absent on February 6, following the documents before the court. It said that the failure of Mr Obiora to be present on that day meant that the tribunal lacked the authorities to have given any judgment on the matter.
The verdict was not a completely unanimous one though as two of the seven members of the Supreme Court panel, disagreed with the ruling. Pleased with the Osun State Supreme Court judgement? Let us know in the comment section.
2. Sudan reach power-sharing agreement
Sudanese citizens took to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, Friday to celebrate a power-sharing agreement that could bring an end to a weeks-long standoff between the ruling Transitional Military Council and the opposition alliance.
Sudan’s military leadership and the country’s pro-democracy movement have agreed to form a rotating, joint sovereign council that will govern “for the next three years or a little longer,” Mohamed el-Hassan Labat, the African Union’s envoy to Sudan, said early Friday.
Under the agreement, the military council will be in charge of the country’s leadership for the first 21 months. A civilian administration will rule the council during the following 18 months.
The joint sovereign council will consist of five members of the military and five civilians, in addition to one civilian chosen by consensus from both sides.
Talks between the military leadership and opposition groups collapsed after security forces broke up a protest camp outside Khartoum’s military headquarters on June 3. More than 100 protesters were killed in the crackdown.
Ethiopia’s government and the African Union-mediated talks that led to Thursday’s agreement, Labat said.
3. California earthquake
The strongest earthquake to hit Southern California in nearly 20 years prompted one city to declare a state of emergency on Thursday and shook residents from Las Vegas to Orange County.
The quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, was centred near Ridgecrest, a community west of the Mojave Desert and about 150 miles north of Los Angeles.
At least 159 aftershocks of magnitude 2.5 or greater were recorded after the earthquake, according to USGS Seismologist Robert Graves. It is a higher than a normal number, but not unprecedented, he said. The largest of them was magnitude 4.6.
Noted seismologist Lucy Jones called it a “robust” series and said there is a 50% chance of another large quake in the next week.
Jones said there is a 1 in 20 chance that a bigger earthquake will hit within the next few days. “It’s certain that this area is going to be shaking a lot today and some of those aftershocks will probably exceed magnitude 5.”
Jones said the quake, named the Searles Valley Quake, was preceded by a magnitude 4.2 foreshock.
Ridgecrest announced a state of emergency following the start-up of five fires, broken gas lines and power outages in the city of 28,000 residents.
4. Nicki Minaj to perform in Saudi Arabia
Organisers of the Jeddah Season cultural festival have announced that Rap star Nicki Minaj will perform in Saudi Arabia later this month,
Saudi organisers said at a press conference on Wednesday that Nicki Minaj, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj, will headline the festival on July 18.
Minaj is known for her outlandish performances and flamboyant, hyper-sexualised image. Her music videos often feature figure-hugging, skin-bearing outfits and provocative dancing. Her lyrics are often laced with profanities and mainly address sex.
So the announcement comes as a surprise from the ultraconservative kingdom which has been known for its tight restrictions on entertainment over the years. It has triggered a storm on social media, ranging from joy to criticism and disappointment.
However, the concert, in line with Saudi laws, will be alcohol and drug-free, open to people 16 and older and will take place at the King Abdullah Sports Stadium in the Red Sea city.
Saudi Arabia has promised quick electronic visas for international visitors who want to attend so run along and get those tickets!
5. Wimbledon: Nadal, Federer, Serena cruise, Kerber, Wozniacki, Cilic crash out
The Wimbledon tennis championship is heating up. In round two on Thursday, audiences were treated to a thriller between world number two, Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios.
An irate Kyrgios was proving to be a handful for Nadal but the world number two showed him who is boss by winning 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3). Nadal will play Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the next round.
Meanwhile, eight-time champion Roger Federer beat British wildcard Jay Clarke in straight sets to reach Wimbledon’s third round.
Federer, 37, was tested in the second set but otherwise dominated the 20-year-old, ranked to win 6-1 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.
Ninth seed John Isner and 13th seed Marin Cilic both went out.
In the female corner, seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams recovered from being a set down to beat teenage qualifier Kaja Juvan and reach the third round.
Williams was surprised by the 18-year-old from Slovenia, who twice broke serve to win the first set but responded to take control in the second and eventually closed out the decider for a 2-6 6-2 6-4 victory in one hour 36 minutes.
Defending champion Angelique Kerber was not so lucky as she was knocked out in the second round after a stunning display by Lauren Davis.
The German suffered a 2-6 6-2 6-1 defeat by the American to crash out of the tournament.
Top seed Ashleigh Barty, Petra Kvitova and Sloane Stephens, made it through safely to the third round with straight-set victories.
World number one Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka and 15-year-old sensation Cori Gauff, are all in action on Friday.
Muslihat Shaka reporting
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