According to prosecutors, when a 14-year-old Mississippi girl frantically messaged her friend to come over to help with an “emergency” one afternoon this past March, the friend had no idea what she’d witness next.

“Are you squeamish around dead bodies?” 14-year-old Carly Gregg allegedly asked the friend when she answered the front door, according to Mississippi state prosecutor Kathryn White Newman, in footage broadcast by CourtTV, who spoke at the now-15-year-old’s murder trial. Local WAPT and WJTV also reported on Newman’s opening statements in the trial, which began Monday.

According to Newman, moments later, Gregg led her friend to her bedroom, where her mother was dead on the floor from three gunshots, CourtTV and WAPT reported. Newman told the courtroom that Gregg’s mother was searching her daughter’s bedroom for vape pens, WLBT also reported.

Gregg faces murder and attempted murder charges, according to The Clarion Ledger, WLBT, and WJTV, as prosecutors allege the young girl used her mother’s own gun to shoot her dead inside the family’s Brandon, Miss., home before calling her friend to the house.

Later, the teenager is accused by prosecutors of lying in wait an apparent ambush designed to shoot and kill her stepdad, Heath Smylie, when he arrived home, WLBT, WJTV, and The Clarion Ledger reported.

Newman laid out the prosecution’s case to jurors on Monday, according to video from the courtroom shared by Court TV. Newman alleged the teenager arrived home with her mother, a math teacher at Northwest Rankin High School, where Gregg was a student. Gregg went straight into her parents’ bedroom to retrieve a .357 Magnum pistol from beneath their mattress, Newman alleged. Hiding the gun behind her back, Gregg went to her own bedroom and confronted her mother, fatally shooting her three times, Newman said, according to The Clarion Ledger, WLBT, and WJTV.

At a preliminary hearing in April that was recorded and released by the blog Jackson Jambalaya, Rankin County investigator Zachary Cotton said there’s home security footage that shows Gregg’s allegedly nonchalant behavior before and after the shooting.

Cotton alleged that one video shows the teenager returning to the kitchen after allegedly killing her mother, where the suspect is seen then texting from a phone. The investigation allegedly found that the teen was messaging her stepfather asking when he would be home, according to Cotton. 

Cotton alleged in court that between killing her mother and attempting to shoot her stepfather, Gregg was seen in another video “singing to her dog” before texting her friend to come to the house.

When her stepfather arrived home, prosecutors allege Gregg attempted to shoot him and then fled through the family’s backyard after they scuffled over the weapon, WJTV, WLBT, and CourtTV reported.

She was arrested near the house soon after, WAPT, WLBT, and WJTV reported.

Gregg faces two life sentences if she’s convicted in the murder and attempted murder, according to The Clarion Ledger, WAPT, and CourtTV. The outlets report the teenager rejected the state’s plea deal of 40 years in prison and that her defense team entered a plea of insanity.

Credit: People Magazine

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has disclosed some of the benefits of the new Electronic Central Motor Registry (E-CMR), a digital innovation designed to modernise vehicle registration and improve road safety.

The Force Spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, announced the benefits of the innovation on Thursday.

Adejobi said the E-CMR will eliminate the need for physical vehicle documents and enable real-time verification of registration information by police officers

He explained that the Electronic Central Motor Registry system was launched to make roads safer and the policing process more efficient.

Adejobi also stated the new E-CMR system elimination of paperwork, saying, “NO MORE PAPERWORK! With the NPF’s new E-CMR system, you don’t need to carry around physical documents. Access all your vehicle info digitally – quick, easy, and secure.

He added that this new system allows vehicle owners to immediately flag their vehicle as stolen through their online profile if it goes missing, triggering alerts to field officers nationwide within seconds.

With this new E-CMR system, according to Adejobi, there is no more need to stop and check papers, as officers are equipped with cutting-edge technology to verify documents in real time.

Adejobi stated, “If your vehicle is registered with the NPF E-CMR and gets stolen, you can instantly flag it as stolen through your online profile. All field officers nationwide will be alerted within seconds! Let’s make our roads safer together,”

“Inspector-General Egbetokun is revolutionising how we keep our roads safe with the new E-CMR system! Now, no more stopping to check papers; our officers are equipped with cutting-edge tech to verify documents in real-time.”

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, South West zone, on Thursday rejected the N70,000 minimum wage that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) negotiated, which was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.

They urged organised labour to return to the negotiating table while blaming them for allowing the Federal Government to trick them into accepting the amount in the first place.

The NUP Southwest noted that before the N70,000 was even implemented, the federal government had gone ahead to further increase the price of petrol, saying that the NLC and TUC that went into that negotiation were blindfolded and naïve.

The pensioners also said that they wholeheartedly support the autonomy of the local government, provided that whatever arrangement is being put in place, the pensions of primary school teachers and the local government pensioners at the local level are not to be tampered with.

The NUP Zonal Public Relations Officer and Secretary of Oyo State NUP, Dr Olusegun Abatan, stated this in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, while addressing newsmen after the zonal meeting of the pensioners.

He said that labour leaders ought to be more clever when dealing with politicians.

“There are two burning issues that we need to put forward to the public domain. The first issue is the agreement between labour and the Federal Government over the minimum wage of N70,000,” he said.

“The NUP Southwest debated it extensively and we found out that before the N70,000 was even implemented, the federal government had gone ahead to further increase the price of petrol. And we concluded that the two labour centres that went into that negotiation were blindfolded; they went there naïve.

“They forgot that when you are dining with the devil, your spoon must be very long, and when you are dining with the politicians, your spoon must be longer than that of the devil. So, the federal government took advantage of their naivety and the inexperience of Comrade Ajaero and Osifo by tricking them into accepting N70,000 and that they would not increase fuel prices.

“But no sooner did they agree than the federal government went ahead to increase the price. To that extent, the NUP Southwest is rejecting the minimum wage that the labour has negotiated and advises that they should go back to the negotiating table and insist on the N250,000 they initially wanted.

“What is the value of N70,000? It is just about sixty litres of fuel. We say they should return to the negotiating table, and if going on strike will bring about an improvement, then we will support it. These people are not reducing their level of enjoyment; rather, their level of profligacy is increasing minute by minute. It is only the workers that are expected to tighten their belts; they don’t even have belts because their stomachs are too big to take a belt.”

On Local Government Autonomy, Abatan said, “NUP wholeheartedly supports it. But with the condition that whatever arrangement is being put in place, the pensions of primary school teachers and the local government pensioners at the local level are not to be tampered with. The salaries of working teachers should also continue. The salaries of LG workers and allowances of the traditional rulers should be taken care of as the first-line charges.”

An analysis of Nigeria’s Multidimensional poverty index by ActionAid Nigeria has revealed that about 65 percent of poor people, that is 86 million people live in the northern part of the country, while 36 percent, nearly 47 million people live in the South.

The analysis indicated the poorest states in the country to include Sokoto, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Kebbi, Gombe, and Yobe, but cannot determine which of these states is the poorest.

The organisation disclosed this at the launch of its report on Austerity Measure, poverty and Gender Inequality in Nigeria in Abuja, saying Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for 2022 found that 63% of the population, amounting to approximately 133mn Nigerians, are multidimensionally poor.

Analysing the report, the Country Director of ActionAid Andrew Mamedu noted that Poverty and inequality do not just happen; they result from economic, social, and political decisions made by the state and citizens.

He said “The critical policy decisions reflected in the key macroeconomic indicators show the rate and trend of poverty and inequality. Extant Nigerian negative indicators on gross domestic product (GDP) growth, inflation, interest rate, unemployment, debts, and deficits, among others, can only lead to one direction, increased poverty.”

Mamedu further stated that the underlying cause of the current spate of poverty is rooted in the heavy burden of austerity measures, imposed as part of broader macroeconomic policies.

He disclosed that based on their research, from 2010 to 2020, Nigeria’s debt stock ballooned by over 300%, reaching a staggering ₦31 trillion by the end of 2020​ , and as of March 31st, 2024, debt stock stands at USD 91,463.99, an equivalent of N121, 670.49. trillion consuming 74% of government revenue and leaving little for vital sectors such as education, healthcare, and social protection​.

He pointed out that keeping large numbers of people excluded from access to economic resources, employment, healthcare, adequate food, clean water and sanitation, education, skills, and technology, will result in a reduction of future productive human potential.

He stressed that well-designed and sustained investments in areas such as maternal and child health, education, and social protection would yield significant dividends for society.

“Conversely, no society can expect to achieve sustained economic and social progress while significant numbers of its population often disproportionately women and girls – are poorly nourished, in poor health, and lack the education and/or skills needed for their own and their families’ development,” he stated

The Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Bagudu who was represented by the Director of Microeconomic Philip Okwonkwo wondered if poverty and inequality could be tackled at the same time.

He maintained that the issue of poverty is a global phenomenon as it is not unique to Nigeria and Africa alone and harped on the need for stakeholders to collaborate to empower the poor people in society.

The Presidency has announced that President Bola Tinubu will not be attending the 79th United Nations General Assembly session in New York this year.

According to a statement released by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, President Tinubu has decided to prioritise domestic issues and address the country’s challenges, particularly in the aftermath of the recent devastating flooding.

As a result, Vice President Kashim Shettima has been directed to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the UNGA 79.

During the session, which runs from September 24 to 28, 2024, Vice President Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement to the General Assembly, participate in key sideline events, and engage in bilateral meetings.

The high-level general debate will focus on the theme “Leaving no one behind: Acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have retained their 39th position in the latest FIFA men’s world rankings released on Thursday. During the review period, the Super Eagles played two matches.

They secured a 3-0 victory over the Cheetahs of Benin Republic and were held to a 0-0 draw by the Amavubi of Rwanda. Both matches were qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

On the African continent, the three-time AFCON champions are ranked sixth.

The top five teams in Africa are Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, and Tunisia.