News

British DJ’s Lagos High Life Ends Amid Rape Charges

Published

3 weeks ago

October 11, 2025

In the pulsating heart of Lagos, where Afrobeats rhythms collide with global hip-hop beats under neon lights and government-backed spectacles, British Disk Jockey, Tim Westwood, has long found a second act.

The 68-year-old former BBC Radio 1 icon, once a kingmaker in the United Kingdom’s urban music scene, has been spinning records at high-profile events and rubbing shoulders with Nigerian superstars, even appearing at state-sponsored carnivals.

But that glamorous exile has now ended.

Westwood faces charges of rape, alongside counts of indecent and sexual assaults.

The charges were brought by London’s Metropolitan Police in a case spanning decades of alleged abuse.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the charges relate to incidents that allegedly occurred between 1983 and 2016, when Westwood was at the height of his career hosting shows on BBC Radio 1 and Capital Xtra.

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Those shows introduced British audiences to artists such as Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and Nigerian stars Wizkid and D’Banj during their rise to fame.

His alleged victims include girls as young as 17, according to earlier investigations by the BBC and The Guardian, which first aired the claims in 2022.

Westwood, who has consistently denied the allegations, calling them “false,” is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 11.

The allegations

Between 1995 and 1996, Westwood allegedly raped the first teenager in London.

Between 2000 and 2001, another female, aged between 17 and 18, was allegedly raped and indecently assaulted in London.

In 2010, a woman in her 20s was allegedly raped by the suspect in London, while another woman, also in her 20s, was allegedly sexually assaulted in Stroud.

In 2016, a woman in her 20s was allegedly sexually assaulted in the Finchley area of London.

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In 2022, a report revealed that 18 women had accused Westwood of behaving in a sexually inappropriate manner, including unwanted touching, in incidents said to have occurred between 1992 and 2017.

Meanwhile, Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of the Metropolitan Police called for more witnesses to come forward, saying, “It takes courage to come forward and report allegations of this nature.”

BBC apologies

In February 2025, the BBC Board apologised over “missed opportunities” to tackle “bullying and misogynistic behaviour” by the former employee.

The broadcaster said it became aware of Westwood’s conduct after it was published by an independent outlet, which highlighted a series of incidents and allegations that amounted to a “considerable body of evidence” the BBC failed to investigate properly.

“The board also wants to take this opportunity to apologise on behalf of the entire BBC to anyone impacted by what the review has found,” it added in a statement.

While the UK justice system was closing in on the celebrity DJ, Westwood crossed over to Africa.

An online medium, West Africa Weekly, reported that he left the UK for Ghana, as seen in a 2022 post he shared on social media.

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He later moved to Lagos, where he began headlining gigs that blended his old-school hip-hop flair with Afrobeats energy.

Between January and April 2024, he was seen in an upscale Lagos residence overlooking a private pool, trading turntables for TikTok tutorials on okra soup and chicken stew—a bizarre rebrand as a “food influencer” that some observers saw as a cynical bid to launder his image.

Videos showed him chopping onions with theatrical flair, captioned with hashtags like #NigerianCuisine.

In April 2024, posters announced his performance at the Oniru Private Beach, Victoria Island.

By December 2024, Westwood took the stage at a Lagos Island carnival, sharing the news on his now-inactive Instagram page.

Footage from the carnival captured him, baseball cap tilted low, hyping the crowd with mixes of Burna Boy and Drake.

He also claimed, in another Instagram post, to have performed at the 60th birthday celebration of Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

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Sharing a photo of himself shaking hands with the governor, Westwood wrote, “Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State, honoured to DJ at your 60th birthday luncheon at Isimi Lagos, Epe.”

In February 2025, the BBC reported that he held a gig in Oyo State.

By April 2025, he was spotted at industry nights, clubs, and events, and even hosted a live session with a local drill artist.

In September 2025, posters advertised him as host of the NPL S8 Grand Finals esports event in Oregun, Lagos.

Amid his constant public appearances, some Nigerians began to question his participation in local events.

An X user, Michael Morgan (@mikecmorgan), who expressed concern, tweeted, “Tim Westwood has been interviewed four times under police caution after sexual misconduct allegations. Concerned, I called the promoter, who confirmed this event is taking place. He seemed annoyed when I pressed him to answer some obvious questions and slammed the phone down.”

Another Nigerian, Ronke Lawal (@ronkelawal), wrote on August 20, 2025, “The way Tim Westwood has found refuge in Nigeria and continues to be embraced by Nigerians is actually disgusting. They value proximity to fame more than morals.”

However, as news of the formal charges against him rippled across social media on Thursday, his presence in Lagos gained serious public attention and was subject of debate.

Westwood’s social media accounts, once buzzing with Lagos shoutouts, suddenly went dark hours after the charges were announced.

News

Gombe Wins Northeast Quiz Competition On Legislature, Democracy

Published

3 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Gombe State has emerged as the winner at the 2025 North East Zonal Quiz Competition on legislature and democracy organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for senior secondary schools across Northeast on Friday.

Speaking before the commencement of the 2025 edition of the zonal debate which focuses on the legislature, democracy and governance, the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the exercise was to deepen the knowledge of legislative and democratic governance among secondary school students and youth.

According to him, it was also to broaden their knowledge on the history, practice and procedure of the legislature and encourage deeper understanding of civic and democratic governance.

The competition, he added, would stimulate the interest of the young students in politics and make them more proactive in matters relating to the legislature and democracy.

He explained that enhancing the knowledge of young Nigerians in the legislature would not only foster an inclusive and participatory legislature in Nigeria but would also serve as an avenue for citizen engagement in the legislative process.

Represented by Mr Jeremiah Agada, NILDS Northeast Zonal Quiz Coordinator, Sulaiman added that the quiz competition would take place in all the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“It is also to inspire young Nigerians to cultivate the interest to participate in legislative governance.

“This 10th edition of the competition is therefore the fourth time the competition has been held at the national level.

“As the 2025 NILDS Zonal quiz competition is declared open, I therefore urge all competing students and their teachers to abide by the rules of the game so that the desired objectives of the competition are achieved,” he said.

Also speaking, the Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Education, Dr Muhammed Lawal, said the exercise was a welcome development in the circle of education, adding that it was a ground where students in the zone could be tested among other students in the country.

“This will enable us to improve the quality of our delivery in our various schools to our teeming students across the zone.

“I want them to take it upon themselves that in an engagement like this, there is no loser. You put in your best, and if at the end of the day, you don’t make it up to the top, your efforts will be crowned.

“I hope this will be well covered because it will stimulate other schools to be part of and perform better so that they can come up to this level as well,” he said.

Mohammed appreciated the commitment of teachers and moderators who coached the students to fully participate in the competition and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to revamping the education sector under Gov. Bala Mohammad’s leadership.

Announcing the winner of the competition, the Quiz Master Mr. Lucky Tongs, announced Gombe State as the overall winner of the debate with 75 points

He also announced Taraba State as the first runner up with 55 points and Yobe State as the third position with 50 points, adding that the winner is expected to represent the Northeast sub-region at the National competition in Abuja.

Other states that participated in the competition included Adamawa and Bauchi.

News

Police Arrest Nollywood Production Manager For Assaulting Crew Member

Published

6 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Police have arrested a Nollywood production manager, Anierobi Courage, for allegedly assaulting a crew member.

Anierobi Courage, better known as Nwa South, reportedly assaulted the head of makeup, Mary Chizzy Eze, on October 28, 2025, while on the set of the film “Lagos to Opulence.”

A trending video of the physical altercation showed the production manager pressing Mary’s throat after slapping her, an act that has sparked widespread outrage on social media.

Reacting to the public condemnation, the Nigeria Film Crew Community (NFCC), in a statement released on Thursday, described Courage’s actions as “animalistic behaviour.”

Announcing his arrest, NFCC called on Nollywood producers and other stakeholders to blacklist Courage across all productions.

“The production manager violently hit and strangled Mary Chizzy Eze for speaking up against unequal treatment among the crew. While she has received medical care, he has been arrested.

“This level of disregard for human dignity is unacceptable. We stand firmly against all forms of abuse, assault, and crew maltreatment,” the NFCC said.

News

‘EFCC Collected N10m Before They Released Me’ – Oladips Alleges [VIDEO]

Published

7 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Popular Nigerian singer, Oladips has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of collecting N10 million from him.

The rapper made this known nearly a year after he was arrested by EFCC during a midnight raid in his estate.

Oladips was arrested with some of his neighbors for alleged fraud in November 2024.

He was released after spending five days in detention.

Speaking about his experience with the EFCC, Oladips in his latest interview on Trending podcast, stated that nothing was found on him after the EFCC investigations.

While revealing that the EFCC collected N10 million from him before his release, he lamented that “Nigeria just happened to me”.

“It’s just one smelling place like that. They just packed us there like sardines and they gave us nonsense food. Funny enough it was Zlatan that was sending me food. Zlatan is not even a friend, that’s my blood.

“He was sending someone to buy good food for me because the food there is bad. They just packed us there like sardines. I’m not even supposed to be there first of all. Like, why did I spend four to five days there when you people (EFCC) didn’t find anything on me, not even a single thing. And they still collect N10 million from me before they released me.”

When asked “Is it a thing you can take up against the EFCC later, or you will just allow the sleeping dog lie?”, the singer responded “Who is my father?”

“Who is my father now? At the end of the day, who is my father? It’s just me and my truth. It’s not something I will want to. I don’t just know how the system works. I for dey their page now if to say I dey do Yahoo. They didn’t find anything on me. If they are watching this, they know that I’m saying the truth.

“They collected money from me before they released me. They didn’t find anything on me. So, what was the money for? What was all that stress and suffering for? It’s just Nigeria. Nigeria just happened to me,” he said.

https://x.com/i/status/1983504280972615813