Foreign
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: Singer Cassie accuses rap mogul of rape, abuse
His lawyer said the claims were “offensive and outrageous”.
Ms Ventura – an R&B singer and dancer who performs under the stage name Cassie – alleges that the rap producer raped and beat her over 10 years starting when she was 19 and he was 37.
“After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
The lawsuit includes multiple graphic descriptions of the violent abuse that she says occurred beginning after she met the rapper in 2005.
According to the complaint, Mr Combs signed her to his record label, Bad Boy, and “plied the vulnerable Ms Ventura with drugs and alcohol, causing her to fall into dangerous addictions that controlled her life”.
The lawsuit labels the musician a “serial domestic abuser, who would regularly beat and kick Ms Ventura, leaving black eyes, bruises, and blood”.
In her statement, Ms Ventura said she was ready “to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships”.
In a statement to BBC News, Mr Combs’ lawyer said Ms Ventura had demanded $30m (£24m) “under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship”.
His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said the alleged demand “was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail”.
“Ms Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr Combs’ reputation, and seeking a pay day,” he added.
In response to Mr Brafman, Ms Ventura’s lawyer, Doug Wigdor, said Mr Combs had offered her a payment of “eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit”.
“She rejected his efforts and decided to give a voice to all woman who suffer in silence,” he said.
Her lawsuit also alleges that the music mogul told her he planned to “blow up” a car owned by rapper Kid Cudi. Mr Combs had become jealous that Ms Ventura was in a relationship with the rapper, according to the legal action.
She says he told her of his plan during Paris Fashion Week in 2012.
“Mr Combs told Ms Ventura that he was going to blow up Kid Cudi’s car,” the complaint says, “and that he wanted to ensure that Kid Cudi was home with his friends when it happened. Around that time, Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway.”
A spokeswoman for Kid Cudi told the New York Times that Ms Ventura’s account was true.
She released several hits in the 2000s, including songs that featured Diddy.
Her most famous tracks include Me & U, Long Way to Go and Official Girl, featuring Lil Wayne.
An Australia-based Nigerian, Foluso Omole, is facing trial over his alleged role in a $5m fraud involving the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Omole was arrested by operatives of the Australian Federal Police at Adelaide Airport last Friday while allegedly attempting to flee Australia.
According to the report, Omole had allegedly “cut ties” in Adelaide and was preparing to travel to Nigeria before his arrest, a court heard.
The 38-year-old appeared before the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, where his bail application was refused following allegations that he had attempted to leave Australia for Nigeria.
The court heard that Omole, a dual Australian and Nigerian citizen, had “purchased a one-way ticket to Nigeria” before his arrest.
A prosecutor also told the court that Omole appeared to have “sent, over the course of his offending, significant funds back to Nigeria”, where his wife resides.
The report stated that Omole was working as an NDIS coordinator and operating two businesses that employed several staff at the time of the alleged offences.
The prosecutor reportedly told the court that Omole allegedly received information “improperly” from a woman employed by the National Disability Insurance Agency over a period of six years and “used that information to obtain benefit fraudulently”.
The woman, who has also been charged in connection with the alleged fraud, was expected to appear in court on Thursday.
However, disputing the allegation that Omole intended to flee Australia, his lawyer, Mark Twiggs, told the court that his client had informed him that he planned to travel to London on a “return ticket” purchased before any raid on the woman’s home.
“The charges are denied. He has no record at all.
“My client has good reason why he should be given bail,” Twiggs said.
Omole is yet to enter pleas to one count of dealing with proceeds of an indictable crime worth more than $1m and one count of dealing with money or property valued at more than $1m that is allegedly the proceeds of crime.
Magistrate Patrick Hill, however, refused bail, citing concerns that Omole posed a flight risk.
“Whether it was a one-way ticket to Nigeria or a return ticket to London does make a difference as to the court’s assessment of whether or not Mr Omole is a flight risk.
“For the other reasons put forward by the prosecution, in any event, I remain concerned that he is a risk of flight and the bail application is refused,” Hill said.
In April, a Nigerian couple, Luciana and Femi Akanbi, were jailed in the United Kingdom for their involvement in a similar fraud scheme.
The couple reportedly used personal data belonging to Transport for London employees to carry out a tax rebate fraud scheme that cost the public purse more than £433,000.
The fraud, which was carried out between September 2021 and January 2022, was reportedly based on sensitive information belonging to at least 40 TfL workers, including passport details, National Insurance numbers and bank records. The information was used to submit 139 fraudulent tax refund claims.
Court proceedings at Woolwich Crown Court revealed that Luciana Akanbi, 38, who worked in TfL’s human resources department, had access to the personal records of about 107 employees, which were later exploited for the scheme.
A United States federal court has set August 21, 2026, as the deadline for the release of records linked to longstanding allegations concerning Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and U.S. financial accounts associated with him in the 1990s.
The records are being sought in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan, which has reportedly been before the federal courts for more than three years.
The documents are understood to be held by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The development followed a reported request by the DOJ for an additional 10 days to comply with an earlier court order requiring the release of the records.
According to Von Batten, a Washington, D.C.-based Republican lobbying firm, Tinubu also joined the DOJ’s request for the extension.
The firm said it obtained a copy of a recent court filing submitted on Tinubu’s behalf and claimed that the Nigerian president formally joined the request just two business days before it became public.
However, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected the request for additional time and directed that the records be released by August 21.
Von Batten said Tinubu’s reported decision to participate in the extension request raised questions about his reasons for seeking more time before the records are made public.
The firm alleged that the delay could potentially be used to lobby U.S. officials over concerns that releasing the documents might affect U.S.-Nigeria relations.
It further speculated that Tinubu could argue that disclosure of the records might affect his cooperation with Washington on counterterrorism and security matters.
The records relate to allegations dating back to the early 1990s, including the 1993 forfeiture of approximately $460,000 connected to accounts associated with Tinubu in a U.S. proceeding involving suspected proceeds of narcotics trafficking.
Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and has rejected allegations linking him personally to drug trafficking.
Von Batten also warned against any attempt by U.S. officials to interfere with the FOIA or judicial process to prevent the records from being released.
The lobbying firm referenced U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated opposition to shielding individuals accused of serious criminal conduct, arguing that the legal process should be allowed to proceed without political interference.
With Judge Howell’s ruling in place, the records are expected to be released on or before August 21, unless further legal action changes the deadline.
The contents of the documents remain unknown, and their release could provide further information about the 1990s forfeiture proceedings and U.S. law-enforcement investigations involving accounts linked to Tinubu.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
-
Crime4 days agoArmy Destroys Three Suspected IPOB/ESN Camps, Kills Three in Anambra
-
Crime4 days agoBreaking: Knight Attacks Catholic Priest After Mass in Enugu
-
News5 days agoBREAKING: Osun 2026: Adeleke In Early Lead as INEC Uploads 903 Polling-Unit Results
-
Politics4 days ago2027 Enugu Guber: NDC’s Odalije Chinyeaka Ohaa Reiterates Power of Electorates to Hire and Fire Leaders
-
News4 days agoOsun Guber: Adeleke Sweeps 19 LGAs, Oyebamiji Wins 11
-
Special Report4 days agoFederal Roads: Umahi Closing the Gap as Tinubu Addresses Years of Neglect in South-East
-
News5 days ago#OsunDecides2026: Results emerge as voting ends, collations begins in units
-
Crime4 days agoOkigwe Road: The ‘Uniformed Robbery’ Motorists Can No Longer Ignore