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JUST IN: Slap Drama: Mrs Obiano Apologises To Bianca, Soludo, Others

Published

4 years ago

March 30, 2022

The immediate past First Lady of Anambra State, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, has formerly apologised to Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, Ndigbo and friends of Ndigbo, over the incident between her and Mrs Bianca Ojukwu in Awka at the inauguration programme of Soludo on March 17, 2022.

This was, even as she has also declared her intention to join the contest for the forthcoming Anambra North Senatorial District election.

Ebelechukwu made her intention known to a select group of journalists in Awka saying that, “My interest to join the Senatorial race is in response to an overwhelming pressure and calls from my people to represent them in the Senate at the National Assembly, Abuja”.

According to her, “As has been attested to by the good people of Anambra State, service to people, humanity and sharing love and putting smiles on sad faces are my priority in life, and I know that it is the will of God because the Bible says that God is Love.

“Therefore, having witnessed and been positively touched by my ever willing disposition to care for people, empower the poor and needy, especially women and children, particularly widows, orphans and the destitute, my people decided that I should come and serve them better in a higher capacity,” she said.

The former First Lady therefore said that she is willing, ready and has accepted the call by her people to come and service them.

Fielding questions about the incident between her and Bianca, Ebelechukwu said that she has put all of that behind her as a God-fearing person, adding that she remained grateful to God that she resisted and overcame the temptation to retaliate the physical assault meted out on her.

She added that, “As a peaceful person that I am well known for, violence has never been in my character” and so she remained “grateful to several elders, statesmen, friends and associates of the Obianos, as well as countless number of good people of Anambra State who called and expressed their concerns and offered wise counsels and words of comfort after the unfortunate drama”.

In a letter addressed to Governor Soludo titled “A Public Apology”, Mrs Obiano stated that, “Permit me to use this medium to humbly convey to you my sincere, heartfelt and unreserved apology for the unfortunate incident between Mrs Bianca Ojukwu and myself on Thursday, March 17, 2022, the day of your inauguration as the new Executive Governor of Anambra State in which you took over from my husband, His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano.

“The incident, to say the least, was most unnecessary, unfortunate and I regret my action. It was an unintended action as violence is never in my character.

“Your Excellency, Sir, I hold your person, your ideals, the records of your great accomplishments in public service in Nigeria and beyond, as well as their concomitant collosal impacts in public policies in highest esteem.

“Without any equivocation, your achievements as a towering intellectual of national and international repute are enduring legacies and pride for the State and Ndigbo in general.

“I will therefore never deliberately engage in any activity or action to disrespect you and your Government.

“All those who know me can testify that before and throughout my eight years as the First Lady of State, I pursued peace, promoted philanthropic gestures which empowered many of our less privileged people. No excuse can therefore be tenable as justification for such public embarrassment, no matter the height of provocation.

“Equally, I wish to extend the same apology to all the important dignitaries, the people of Anambra State, as well as the entire Ndigbo for that unintended embarrassment at the occasion.

“I want to use this opportunity to pledge that I will wholeheartedly support and pray for the Government of His Excellency, Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, to excell exceedingly better than the immediate past government, even as he builds on the legacy of his predecessor, my husband, His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano, and take our dear State to a higher level.

“I consciously chose this medium to express my apology, goodwill, supports and prayers publicly to His Excellency, Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, as a token of my full respect for him, his family and the entire Ndigbo”, she stated.

Related Topics:Bianca's slap Obiano's wife

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Morocco Jails French Rapper Maes For Kidnapping Bid

Published

13 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A Moroccan court has sentenced French rapper Maes to seven years in prison on charges including the formation of a criminal gang and attempted kidnapping, local reports said Wednesday.

Maes, who has roots in Morocco and whose real name is Walid Georgey, was arrested upon landing in Morocco in January after fleeing the United Arab Emirates, where he feared he could be extradited to France, the reports said.

French authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for him over a separate criminal case.

He appeared in court late Tuesday and was found guilty of “forming a criminal organisation, attempted abduction and unlawful confinement” of a rival in Morocco, news website TelQuel reported.

The rapper with over a billion views on his YouTube channel was accused of tasking a gang and hitmen with killing the rival, but the plot was foiled, TelQuel added.

Maes has denied all charges, with his lawyers calling the case “empty” and “arguing that no evidence linked him to the other defendants”, TelQuel added.

Ten other people were sentenced as part of the case, with terms ranging from one to 10 years, according to news website Media24.

AFP was unable to independently verify the reports as prosecutors were not immediately reachable for comment.

In 2020, when Maes was one of France’s most-streamed rappers, he fell victim to extortion attempts in his native Sevran, a suburb north of Paris, according to reports.

He retaliated by opening fire with weapons he had at home, leading to a shootout. He then fled to Dubai with his family, according to an interview with French YouTube channel LEGEND.

Following the killing of his manager in 2022, he was suspected of ordering reprisals against those he believed were behind the murder, according to reports.

AFP

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UK Court Clears Comedy Writer Of Harassing Transgender Woman

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13 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A London court on Tuesday cleared Emmy award-winning comedy writer Graham Linehan of harassing a transgender activist online but found him guilty of criminal damage to their mobile phone.

Linehan, who co-created the popular 1990s sitcom “Father Ted” but has more recently become well-known for his gender critical views, had been accused of sending Sophia Brooks “abusive and vindictive” messages on social media.

He was also charged with criminal damage after deliberately knocking a phone out of Brooks’s hand as they filmed him on the sidelines of a London conference.

Ruling on the case, District Judge Briony Clarke said she was not convinced Linehan’s conduct “was oppressive and unacceptable beyond merely unattractive, annoying or irritating”.

Clarke also concluded Brooks was not “as alarmed and distressed as they portrayed themself to be”.

But convicting Linehan of criminal damage, the judge ruled he was “angry and fed up” and did not use “reasonable force” when the phone was taken from Brooks.

Clarke fined him £500 ($655) and ordered him to pay costs of £650 and a statutory surcharge of £200.

The Irish writer, who also co-created the popular sitcoms “Black Books” and “The IT Crowd”, became embroiled in a free speech row in Britain earlier this year over his anti-transgender stance.

It followed his arrest at London’s Heathrow Airport by armed police over accusations of inciting violence with his X posts insulting transgender people.

The arrest sparked a backlash and claims of state overreach, including from US tech billionaire Elon Musk. But in October, UK prosecutors said they would take “no further action” in that case.

AFP

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Prosecutors Seek Jail For Italian Influencer Ferragni In Fraud Case

Published

13 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

Italian prosecutors asked a court on Tuesday to sentence fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni to one year and eight months in prison if found guilty of alleged fraud over charity endorsement deals.

The Instagram star and businesswoman has been on trial since September for aggravated fraud over promotions of a pandoro cake — a Christmas treat similar to a panettone — and Easter eggs, which purported to raise money for charity or social causes.

The 38-year-old, who is based in Milan, told the court during the closed-door hearing on Tuesday that she denied the charges and had always acted “in good faith”, her lawyer Giuseppe Iannaccone said.

Leaving the audience, Ferragni told a throng of journalists that she felt “confident… I can’t say anymore”.

A verdict is expected in January.

Aggravated fraud carries a jail term of between one and five years.

But Ferragni has chosen a fast-track trial, which gives defendants a sentence reduction — meaning she cannot receive more than a maximum penalty of two years and three months, according to a source close to her team.

In Italy, people sentenced to prison for less than two years rarely serve jail time.

Ferragni started out with a fashion blog, The Blonde Salad, in 2009, and in 2017, Forbes magazine named her its top fashion influencer.

Chronicling her glamorous lifestyle and being paid to promote high-end brands, she built the blog into a lucrative business, then used it as a springboard to launch her own eponymous label with stores around the world.

Her trailblazing story even became a Harvard Business School example of how social media fame can be monetised.

But the fraud accusations have hit her reputation and her endorsements.

Outside court for a hearing earlier this month, Ferragni acknowledged to journalists that it was a “difficult phase of my life”.

The allegations relate in part to Ferragni’s 2022 endorsement of a pandoro cake purportedly to raise funds for children undergoing treatment at a Turin hospital.

In December 2023, Italy’s communications watchdog (AGCOM) fined two of Ferragni’s companies one million euros ($1.2 million) for unfair commercial practices for the “Pandoro Pink Christmas” promotion — around the same sum they had made in the deal.

Shoppers were led to believe that buying the special edition cake made by Balocco would benefit the hospital, but it only received a single 50,000-euro donation from the company.

Balocco was fined 420,000 euros at the same time.

AGCOM also investigated Ferragni-branded Easter eggs from 2021 and 2022, linked to a social enterprise initiative.

Ferragni and her husband, rapper and music producer Fedez, who were one of Italy’s most famous celebrity couples, split in 2024.

AFP