Tag: World

  • Dangote Cement denies price reduction, says scammers at work

    Dangote Flour posts abysmal 309.7% loss in Q3 2019 earnings report, records negative earnings per share

    Management of Dangote Cement Plc has denied reports, in some online platforms (not Ripples Nigera) that it has embarked on sales promotion and has further adjusted its prices.

    In response to the misleading report, the Chief Branding and Communications Officer of the Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina on Tuesday described the reports as mischievous, malicious, and false.

    He added that the management had formally notified law enforcement agents to track down, name, and shame the perpetrators of the devious and deceptive information.

    He urged Dangote Cement customers and other stakeholders to be careful of scammers bent on defrauding them of their funds.

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  • ‘Gas the Jews’ chanted in Australia by pro-Palestine mob

    A crowd of mostly Muslim pro-Palestine protestors gathered near the Sydney Opera House in Australia Monday night, chanting “Gas the Jews.” The demonstration comes after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel over the weekend, killing more than 800 people and wounding thousands more.

    video of the roughly 2,000-person protest shared on social media shows the crowd chanting remarks against Jews, including “gas the Jews” and “f-ck the Jews.”

    According to The Daily Mail, local police allowed Monday night’s pro-Palestinian protestors outside of the Sydney Opera House to chant violence against the Jews and burn the Star of David; however, local police arrested a pro-Israeli protestor for attempting to raise an Israeli flag.

    Daily Mail Australia reporters noted that at one point, a large crowd of pro-Palestinian protestors attempted to set an Israeli flag on fire with firecrackers prior to stomping on the flag and shredding it in public. The Daily Mail reported chants of “Allahu Akbar” (translated as “God is great” in Arabic) and “death to the Jews” from Muslim protestors.

    Monday’s protest was organized by the Palestine Action Group Sydney. The rally began at the town hall in the Central Business District before protestors marched to the Opera House, which was lit up in blue and white to show support for Israel after the devastating attacks by Hamas over the weekend killed hundreds of civilians.

    READ MORE: 31 Harvard groups blame Israel for Hamas killing 700 civilians

    While the leaders of Monday’s rally reportedly urged protestors to show respect to the police, multiple protestors were seen swarming the police barrier outside of the Sydney Opera House. More than 100 law enforcement officers were present at the rally. However, the police did not respond with force, even as Muslim protestors threw flares and other objects at the police.

    On the other hand, the Daily Mail reported that a man carrying an Israeli flag was arrested by police officers for “disrupting the peace” before he had the opportunity to raise the flag.

    In the video, Businessman Mark Spiro can be seen dragged away from the rally by three police officers. Spiro can be heard repeatedly stating, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

    In response to Spiro’s repeated comments, one of the officers told the businessman, “You’ve been arrested in relation to a breach of the peace.”

    According to The Daily Mail, New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley acknowledged Tuesday morning that he had not been aware of Monday’s protest. He later urged people to “calm down and stay at home.”

    New South Wales Premier Chris Minns noted Tuesday that he “deplored” Monday’s anti-Israeli rally, describing the rally as standing “against the tenets of our multicultural community.”

    In the aftermath of Monday’s rally, Australian police are facing mounting criticism for allowing the anti-Israeli rally to proceed while urging Jewish residents to “stay home.”

    Co-CEO of the Executive Australian Council of Jewry Alex Ryvchin stated, “I think it’s frankly disgusting to have people coming out in support of the horrific atrocities that we’ve seen in Israel – over 700 people killed, there are accounts of gang rape, of children snatched from the hands of their parents.”

    Ryvchin added, “And people in our own country think that is a cause to rally and celebrate and cheer. Then we saw the scenes of violence, of burning of flags, of chanting explicitly about Jews, not just about Israel. It’s really terrifying to hear that we have people who hold these sentiments here in our homeland.”



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  • How Nigerian Business Owner Lost UN Contract For Not Doing The Basics- Dr Steve Ogidan

    Steve Ogidan, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Successory Nigeria Limited has narrated how a restaurant owner lost a catering contract awarded by the United Nations Development Programme for not registering her business and having a bank account linked to her business.

    Ogidan shared the experience while speaking on the challenges of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on NIPSS Policy Tv, monitored by THE WHISTLER.

    Nigeria officially has about 39.6 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises but a lot of them are not captured in the national records because they are not registered.

    Most Nigerian MSMEs have been unable to harness opportunities due to poor government policies and a lack of ease of doing business in Nigeria.

    A survey conducted by the Small Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria revealed that MSMEs reduced from about 41 million in 2017 to 39 million in 2021.

    The CEO said business registration and proper documentation have cost a lot of small businesses opportunities to secure contracts and funding that would help them expand.

    Ogidan narrated, “I was doing training for the United Nations Development Programme in Niger State. Because of the structure of the UNDP governance, they said they would pay me the cost of the training as a consultant but the cost of feeding the participants for the three weeks of training will be paid directly to the restaurant that provides the food and I said I had no problem with that.

    “Meanwhile, any time I go to Nigeria State for this training, I always get a restaurant caterer that provides food for them and by the time I called the lady to bring her tax papers and registration papers for us to submit to UNDP, she has no registration paper and bank account.

    “How can UNDP pay you without a bank account? Incidentally, the person who got the contract has no restaurant. All she has was a registration paper, the tax paper and a bank account and she got the contract and now outsourced the business again to the person who can do it.”

    Ogidan believes that the Nigerian government has contributed to the failure of small businesses through complex registration procedures and difficulty in securing a Tax Identification Number and multiple taxation.

    The consultant argued that a major support strategy that the Nigerian government should adopt is making it easy for SMEs to be able to register their businesses.

    Ogidan said a business that is not registered ‘does not exist’ officially in government, adding that a seamless registration process would encourage MSMEs and help the government to keep track of their activities.

    “The Federal Inland Revenue Service should be able to give them their Tax Identification Number with ease so that they will be recognised.”

    Aside the ease of registration, the CEO also said that the government has not done enough to help MSMEs to secure cheap loans through microfinance banks.

    “Government is not doing enough; microfinance banks are there and they are not getting support. When the microfinance policy for Nigeria was designed, the original plan was that the government would give wholesale loans to microfinance banks for them to be able to reach out to MSMEs in rural areas,” he said.

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  • Playboy fires p0rnstar Mia Khalifa after she mocked the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and called the attack a ‘renaissance painting’

    Playboy fires p0rnstar Mia Khalifa after she mocked the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and called the attack a

    Adult magazine, Playboy has ended it’s contract with p0rn star, Mia Khalifa due to controversial social media posts supporting Palestine and Hamas amid the Israel-Hamas war.

    Hours after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, October 8 killing hundreds, Khalifa posted a message on social media platforms expressing solidarity with the militants.

     

    Her message, which urged people to stand with Palestinians, quickly attracted attention and criticism from various quarters. She emphasised that those who failed to support Palestinians were on the wrong side of history.

     

    Playboy fires p0rnstar Mia Khalifa after she mocked the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and called the attack a
    Playboy fires p0rnstar Mia Khalifa after she mocked the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and called the attack a

     

    Shortly after, Khalifa added fuel to the fire by posting another message, this time encouraging freedom fighters in Palestine to capture the unfolding events in horizontal, high-quality 4K footage.

     

    Playboy fires p0rnstar Mia Khalifa after she mocked the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and called the attack a
    Playboy fires p0rnstar Mia Khalifa after she mocked the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and called the attack a
    Playboy fires p0rnstar Mia Khalifa after she mocked the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and called the attack a

     

    She then called a Hamas attack on an Israeli military vehicle ‘a Renaissance painting’.

    Her intention appeared to be preserving a historical record of the struggles faced by Palestinians in their quest for freedom from what she referred to as an “open-air prison.”

    Also, Reality star Kylie Jenner, who had posted and later deleted a message expressing support for Israel was challenged by Khalifa who said Jenner had a poor understanding of geopolitics and called for a coherent response.

     

    Playboy fires p0rnstar Mia Khalifa after she mocked the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and called the attack a

    Mia Khalifa’s social media posts triggered an immediate and significant backlash

    Canadian podcaster and radio host Todd Shapiro, who was Khalifa’s business partner and collaborator in Red Light Holland Corp, swiftly terminated their association, announcing her immediate firing. He vehemently criticised Khalifa for seemingly condoning violence, death, rape, beatings, and hostage-taking, labelling her stance as “disgusting” and “beyond disgusting.”

    Late Monday night, Playboy sent a mail to its subscribers informing them it has terminated Khalifa’s contract.

     

    In a statement, the magazine condemned Khalifa’s comments as “disgusting and reprehensible,” particularly her celebration of Hamas’s attacks on Israel.

     

    Playboy fires p0rnstar Mia Khalifa after she mocked the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and called the attack a

     

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  • FLASHBACK: Gani Fawehinmi Called Atiku Thief, Said He Stole Petroleum Funds Meant For Poor Nigerian Students In 2007 Interview

    In a 2007 interview, the late legal luminary, Gani Fawehinmi described the immediate former Vice President at the time, Atiku Abubakar as a thief.

    Fawehinmi described then-President Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku’s eight-year tenure which ended in May 2007 as “eight years of self-centred disposition, eight years of ‘wayo,’ eight years of deception, eight years of creating a few rich people, eight years of anti-masses programmes, eight years of deliberate junketing all over the world, eight years of make-believe, eight years of dictatorship, eight years of lack of coherent policies, eight years of so much wealth coming to the hands of government out of which Nigerians received aggravated poverty and economic pain”.

    In the interview in which Fawehinmi described Obasanjo as the “most corrupt Nigerian,” said if not because of Obasanjo and Atiku’s rift at the time, Nigerians wouldn’t have known about Atiku’s corruption.

    The late legal luminary, who died on September 5, 2009, after a prolonged battle with lung cancer at 71, said in the interview, “I am appalled, because if not for the feud between him and Atiku we may never have known that Atiku was messing up with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF.

    “Obasanjo cannot say that he did not know that Atiku was stealing the PTDF, established in 1973, meant for the welfare of our country by training our brilliant students in the universities with the fund.

    “A fund meant for the improvement of our petroleum technology, a fund meant to ensure that the sons and daughters of poor parents who have the intellect can engage in research work.

    ‘But alas! this fund was used, not only to pay lawyers but to establish just one company alone. Now, Atiku dipped his hand into it, (businessman Oyewole) Fasawe dipped his hand into it and Mr. President dipped his hand into it for personal reasons. We want to have the full story of PTDF and other agencies of government.”

    Last Thursday, Atiku, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, thanked Fawehinmi (SAN) for inspiring him to dig into President Bola Tinubu’s past.

    The former Vice President lost to Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.

    Atiku said this at a world press conference in Abuja, two days after his lawyers through a United States court obtained the academic records of Tinubu from the Chicago State University (CSU) which showed discrepancies with what the sitting Nigerian president submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the February election.

    The Registrar of CSU, Caleb Westberg, earlier said that the diploma Bola Tinubu submitted to Nigeria’s electoral body was not issued by the school.

    Westberg, however, insisted that the Nigerian president is an alumnus of the school.

    Though Atiku’s case challenging Tinubu’s election was dismissed by the Presidential Election Petition Court in September, the PDP candidate is hoping to use the case of the forged certificate as a strong argument against Tinubu in his appeal to the Supreme Court.

    Speaking at the conference, Atiku said, “I wish to pay tribute to the late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, who inspired us on this path of discovery. Now, he can truly rest in peace in the assurance that what he started about 23 years ago has come to fruition. Gani’s vindication today gives credence to the saying that no matter how fast a lie runs, the truth will someday overtake it.”

    Shortly after Atiku’s world press conference, Omoyele Sowore, the candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections, said Atiku ignored Fawehinmi and let him die a broken man when he (Fawehinmi) exposed Tinubu as a fraud and a certificate forger in 1999.

    He asserted that the late Fawehinmi was humiliated and his car was smashed, while Atiku then went ahead to form alliances with Tinubu because it suited him and his ilk politically.

    Sowore, who said this on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle last Thursday noted Nigeria had been kept down by the size of its evil and selfish opportunists who celebrate crooks and vilify the just amongst its citizens

    He wrote, “When late Chief Gani Fawehinmi exposed @officialABAT as a fraud, a certificate forger, in 1999 he was humiliated, his car was smashed, the @atiku’s ignored him and he died a broken man.

    “Atiku then went ahead to form alliances with him (Tinubu) because it suited him and his ilk politically. When in 2008 @SaharaReporters got hold of his drug forfeiture case file in Chicago, the platform was ridiculed and we were threatened. It is the case for those fighting relentlessly and selflessly for the betterment of our society either as advocates in the temple of justice, journalists, citizens throwing themselves on the frontlines to bring about a sane society.”

    “I just read @atiku’s press statement today praising Chief Gani Fawehinmi to high heavens for starting this journey of discovery. This why our position remains a revolutionary change of political order. #RevolutionNow,” he added.

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  • ‘The invisibles’: A Cuban asylum seeker’s dangerous odyssey

    Migrants queuing in May 2021 for dinner at the Jesús El Buen Pastor shelter in Tapachula, Mexico, where they are forced to wait for months before being allowed to proceed northwards. (Jordan Stern/TNH)

    When migrants and asylum seekers reach Mexico, they have to announce themselves to authorities or risk being detained or deported. The migrant population once again becomes visible in large numbers, especially in small border towns in some of the country’s poorest states.

    Arrival here may mean waiting for months for documentation – both for refugee status within Mexico and permissionto head to the US border – before being allowed to continue northward. In the interim, employment opportunities are virtually nil.

    Tapachula, where many migrants and asylum seekers find themselves legally stranded, is blisteringly hot. During the day, thousands wait endlessly in the shade, clutching identical translucent plastic envelopes stuffed with application papers or wearing their passports around their necks. Most possessions can be replaced, but the immigration papers contained in those envelopes are priceless and never leave their side.

    None of the new arrivals want to be in Tapachula, but the town has become the de facto holding ground for migrants from Central America and beyond. Those attempting to leave the region while their cases are being reviewed may end up at Siglo XXI, Latin America’s biggest migrant detention centre, notorious for overcrowding and allegations of detainee abuse.

    In 2021, Mexico detained over a quarter of a million migrants, the majority in Tapachula. According to the law, migration cases for detained foreigners should be resolved in 15 working days, but that provision was extended to 90 due to the backlog, and some migrants report waiting even longer.

    As a result, many give up plans to continue north and decide to apply for asylum in Mexico. Asylum claims in Mexico reached an all-time high in 2021 of over 130,000. Detentions and deportations of migrants also skyrocketed, according to government statistics.

    Mexico’s southern border states of Chiapas and Tabasco have been unable to cope with the soaring number of asylum applicants, most of whom stay in the border cities, explained Adam Isacson, of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). “COMAR (the Mexican migration service) doesn’t have the resources or the personnel to handle this,” Isacson said. “They are overwhelmed.”

    UNHCR has programmesdesigned to help those who decide to stay in Mexico regularise their migration status, find work, and obtain housing, but it’s a process that takes time, and the agency’s workers in southern Mexico are unable to assist everyone.

    Spindler said the organisation had requested more resources from both the US and the UN to deal with the increased demandin the region – not only to assist the increased numbers of migrants heading northwards, but also deportees sent back by the US.

    After being robbed in Costa Rica and narrowly escaping detention in Nicaragua – he only avoided it by bribing a border guard – Will eventually managed to cross into Mexico from Guatemala, where he made contact once again.

    Although Will did manage to avoid Siglo XXI – a slice of good fortune other migrants in touch with The New Humanitarian did not share – he was still left languishing for weeks, awaiting Mexico’s labyrinthine bureaucracy, like virtually all his fellow travellers.

    “I am opting to apply for the humanitarian visa, but they told me that I cannot leave the state with the humanitarian visa,” Will messaged from Palenque, in northern Chiapas. “It doesn’t matter. If they give it to me, I will take off and go from here to there.”

    While cases are reviewed, migrants are prohibited from leaving the department in which they filed their claim.

    Ongoing protests by migrants in southern Mexico demanding the right to work and continue north have further strained difficult relations with local residents, leading to a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment.

    Locals often complain about increasing crime rates, being “overrun” by migrants, and how Tapachula has changed for the worse.

    Graver risks from drug and criminal gangs are also ever-present.

    “There is no work here,” Will said from Palenque. “Just gangs, organised crime, hunger, and xenophobia.”

    One of Will’s travel companions was kidnapped shortly after his arrival in Mexico. For three days, he heard nothing and assumed he had been killed. Will then learned that the kidnappers had in fact released his companion after securing money from the man’s relative in the United States.

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  • Coroner holds inquest into death of late Dowen College student, Sylvester Oromoni, mother rains curses on son’s killers

    The coroner inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the cause of death of a 12-year-old student of prestigious Dowen College, on Monday, listened to the testimony of the deceased’s mom, Rosemary Oromoni.

    Giving her testimony before the Coroner, Magistrate Mikail Kadiri, the bereaved mother who reportedly rained curses on killers of her son, told the sitting that she received a message from the school that her son was injured while playing football with some of his colleagues.

    Mrs Oromoni narrated that after the family picked up Sylvester from the school in Lagos, he was subsequently taken to their hometown in Warri, Delta State, when his health did not improve.

    She noted that when her son was brought back home from school, she noticed that his lips were scaly and he had a swollen hip.

    “He was subsequently treated for malaria for three days at home but he was still in pain,” she said.

    The woman added that the deceased eventually confessed to her that he was beaten up by five other students who also gave him a strange substance to drink.

    She said before giving up the ghost, Sylvester could only give her the names of three of the students who brutalized him.

    According to her, following his persistent poor health, the family doctor asked them to take him to the laboratory for a scan and X-ray but she said she could not recall the result because at that moment, she was heartbroken.

    Sylvester eventually died on November 30, 2021, at a private hospital in Delta State, following what was said to be complications from the substance he was given to drink.

    His death caused a lot of outrage which forced the Lagos State Government to shut down the school and a constitute a coroner’s inquest to investigate the circumstances of his death in January 2022.

    At the end of the inquest, Kadiri, asked parties to file their final written addresses which will be adopted on November 20, 2023.

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  • Dwayne Johnson addresses backlash to his and Oprah’s Maui fund: ‘I get it and I completely understand’

    Dwayne Johnson says he totally gets why people have criticized him and Oprah Winfrey for asking the public to donate to their Maui fund.

    “When we first launched the fund, there was some backlash,” Johnson said in a video posted to his Instagram page on Sunday, after joking that he keeps “receipts.” “I get it and I completely understand, and I could’ve been better — and next time I will be better.”

    The People’s Champ said he remembers how it feels when money is tight, commenting, “I understand money ain’t falling out of the sky and it isn’t growing on trees. And there’s a lot of people out there who’s living paycheck to paycheck, and I get it and I know what that’s like.”

    Oprah Winfrey is sitting on stage talking into a microphone and gesturing with her hand while wearing glasses

    “I’ve lived paycheck to paycheck — seven bucks, I know,” he added.

    Clarifying that he was only speaking for himself, he recalled being “easily pissed off” and “frustrated” when living paycheck to paycheck. He continued: “And the last thing you want to hear when you’re living paycheck to paycheck is someone asking you for money, especially when the person asking you for money already has a lot of money.”

    Johnson and Winfrey started the People’s Fund of Maui in August, days after wildfires tore through West Maui, including Lahaina, where flames destroyed homes, businesses and historic, cultural landmarks. More than 100 people died in the blaze, named the deadliest fire in the United States in the last century.

    The fund connects donations directly to people affected by the wildfires in the form of $1,200 monthly checks. To start the fund, the pair of celebrities donated $10 million each to seed the charitable foundation. For the rest, Johnson and Winfrey asked the public for help.

    A flood of voices online blasted Winfrey and Johnson’s invitation for donations, with some asking how they expected the public to give when many Americans “barely can pay rent, barely can put food on the table for our families.” Others demanded that the celebs instead fund the project by digging deeper into their pockets or rallying their wealthy friends in Hollywood and Washington, D.C.

    TV personality Nick Cannon joined the backlash, commenting on his “Daily Cannon” podcast that he supported the criticism against Winfrey and Johnson.

    “It’s in poor taste for a billionaire to ask anyone for money,” Cannon said. “I don’t care what the situation is.”

    Winfrey addressed the backlash in September, telling “CBS Mornings” that she had been “terrorized and vilified” online. “I was so excited and I got up the next morning and I saw all of this vitriol and I was like, ‘Whoa, what happened here?’” Winfrey said.

    Earlier this year, Winfrey bought more than 870 acres on Maui, expanding her holdings on the island to more than 1,000 acres of land. After the acquisition, Forbes estimated her net worth at $2.5 billion.

    Johnson’s net worth is around $270 million, and he was ranked by Forbes as among the top five earners in entertainment. He reportedly rents a massive vacation estate on Oahu. However, Johnson, who is of Samoan descent, also does have roots in the Hawaiian islands — as a child, he lived with his mother on Oahu before they were evicted when he was 14 and had to leave Hawaii.

    During his apology, Johnson also announced that the first round of monthly checks have been given to “the thousands and thousands of survivors” over the last several weeks. He shared how his part in the rebuilding effort with others is inspired by his culture, and said it is a “reflection of who we are as Polynesian people.”

    ___

    © 2023 Los Angeles Times

    Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.



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  • ‘We’re All Dead People That Haven’t Died Yet’ — CJN Ariwoola Speaks At Late Justice Nweze’s Valedictory Session

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, has eulogized the life and works of the late Justice Chima Centus Nweze of the Supreme Court of Nigeria who died on Sunday, July 30, 2023, reminding attendees that they would die someday.

    Ariwoola spoke about his deceased brother Justice during the valedictory session held in his honour at the main courtroom of the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

    Ariwoola described him as a man of impeccable character, a legal icon, indomitable lion in the temple of justice.

    The CJN said the judiciary was consoled by the indelible footprints Nweze engraved on the sands of time, reminding attendees to be properly guided as they would depart the world someday.

    “Your death has, once again, made us realize that out of the several people that ever lived, almost all of them are dead now.

    “In reality, we all are just dead people who haven’t died yet. Nevertheless, we have always found solace in the belief that as a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so does a well-used life, bring happy death.

    “Rest well in the bosom of your creator, our dear brother Justice,” Ariwoola said.

    On his part, the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, represented by the Solicitor-General of the Federation, Mrs Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, said the late Justice devoted his time to the just application of relevant laws.

    “For the late Nweze, life was all about service, ” the AGF said through the Solicitor General.

    THE WHISTLER reports that Nweze (65), who hails from Enugu State, was the judge who delivered a controversial judgement of the apex court affirming former Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, as the All Progressives Congress senatorial candidate for Yobe North.

    Nweze was also the only judge who stood his ground against a majority decision of the apex court which had declared Hope Uzodinma the winner of the Imo state governorship election in 2019.

    According to the Supreme Court data, “Nweze was sworn-in as Justice of Supreme Court on 29th October, 2014 and was born in Obollo, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State on 25th September, 1958.”

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  • Eden Hazard retires from football at the age of  32

    Eden Hazard retires from football�at the age of �32

    Eden Hazard has announced his retirement from football at the age of 32. 

     

    The former Chelsea winger has been without a club since he was released by Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer having made just 76 appearances across four seasons at the club. 

     

     

    Following his Real Madrid departure, Hazard couldn’t secure a move to another, and has now decided to hang up his boots for good.

     

     

    In a lengthy post on his Instagram page, the former Chelsea star confirmed his decision to retire from the game for good.  

     

     

    The former Chelsea and Real Madrid star wrote: ‘You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time.

     

     

    ‘After 16 years and more than 700 matches played, I have decided to end my career as a professional footballer.

     

     

    ‘I was able to realise my dream, I have played and had fun on many pitches around the world.

     

     

    ‘During my career, I was lucky to meet great managers, coaches, and teammates – thank you to everyone for these great times, I will miss you all.

     

     

    ‘I also want to thank the clubs I have played for: LOSC, Chelsea, and Real Madrid; and thank the RBFA for my Belgian Selection.

     

     

    ‘A special thank you to my family, my friends, my advisors, and the people who have been close to me in good times and bad.

     

     

    ‘Finally, a huge thank you to you, my fans, who have followed me for all these years and for your encouragement everywhere I have played.

     

     

    ‘Now is the time to enjoy my loved ones and have new experiences. See you off the field soon my friends’.

     

     

    Hazard won the Premier League twice and the PFA Player of the Year award at Chelsea, and also secured two La Liga titles and the Champions League with Real Madrid. 

     

     

    However, the Belgian winger suffered 18 separate injuries during his spell in the Spanish capital, ruling him out of 95 games for club and country in that time.

     

    At Chelsea, the Belgian notched 110 goals and 92 assists in 352 appearances for the Blues.

     

     

    During his time with the Blues, Hazard also won two Europa League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup. 

     

    On an individual basis, Hazard was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season during the 2014–15 campaign. 

     

    He also won the Chelsea Player of the Year award on four separate occasions after his stunning displays on the wing for the Blues. 

     

    At Madrid, Hazard managed to claim six titles, having also won the Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, and UEFA Super Cup.  

     

     

     

     

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