Entertainment

‘Absolute mess and inner turmoil’: Adele details anticipated new album 30

After a slow drip-feed of information – the name of her new single, an unprecedented two simultaneous covers of Vogue in the US and the UK – Adele has officially confirmed the release date of her fourth album.

30 will arrive on 19 November – as fans had guessed when Taylor Swift pulled her latest release forward a week from 19 November to 12 November, presumably to avoid a clash with another pop titan.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Adele said: “I was nowhere near where I’d hoped to be when I first started [30] nearly three years ago. Quite the opposite actually. I rely on routine and consistency to feel safe, I always have. And yet there I was knowingly – willingly even – throwing myself into a maze of absolute mess and inner turmoil.”

— Columbia Records (@ColumbiaRecords) October 13, 2021
Adele and her ex-husband, charity CEO Simon Konecki, divorced in 2019. Speaking to Vogue, Adele intimated that they had been separated long prior to the split becoming public. The former couple have a nine-year-old son.

Now 33 years old, Adele wrote that she had “learned a lot of blistering home truths” about herself in the past three years. “I feel like I’ve finally found my feeling again. I’d go as far as to say that I’ve never felt more peaceful in my life. And so, I’m ready to finally put this album out.”

30 is preceded by the single Easy on Me, due for release this Friday. A brief clip of the song teased online suggested a return to Adele’s trademark balladry – but it remains to be seen whether that is a red herring.

She likened the album to the type of friend who appears during trying times with bottles of wine, good advice, comfort, impromptu trips out and surprise gifts of magazines and face masks – “to make me feel loved while inadvertently reminding me not only what month it actually was, but that I should probably exercise some self-care!”

She wrote that she had “painstakingly rebuilt my house and my heart since then and this album narrates it”.

In August 2020, Adele credited self-help author Glennon Doyle’s book Untamed: Stop Pleasing, Start Living with transforming her life. “I am so ready for myself after reading this book!” she wrote on Instagram. “It’s as if I just flew into my body for the very first time.” Speaking to Vogue, she explained that exercise had helped her through the profound anxiety that she had experienced in recent years.

30 will be Adele’s first album solely for Columbia Records. Her earlier albums were released in partnership between Columbia and UK independent label XL Recordings.

Entertainment

Court dismisses Iyabo Ojo’s N1bn defamation suit against Lizzy Anjorin

A Lagos High Court sitting in Osborne, Ikoyi, has dismissed a N1 billion defamation suit filed by Nollywood actress Iyabo Ojo against her colleague, Lizzy Anjorin.

Justice Olabisi Akinlade, who presided over the matter, held that the suit was incompetent due to procedural defects and a fundamental flaw in the originating processes. The court also ordered Ojo’s lawyer, Dr. Olabimpe Ajegbomogun, to pay N500, 000 to Anjorin’s lawyer, Barrister Ademola Olabiyi.

The case, marked LD/ADR/5292/2023, was instituted by Iyabo Ojo, who sought N1 billion in damages for alleged defamation. However, Anjorin’s counsel, Olabiyi, filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the suit failed to comply with mandatory pre-action protocols required under the Lagos State High Court Civil Procedure Rules.

Key among the objections was that the Statement of Compliance with Pre-Action Protocol (Form 01) accompanying the Writ of Summons was unsigned by Ojo’s counsel. Olabiyi contended that this omission rendered the suit null and void. He also highlighted that the Writ itself did not strictly follow the format prescribed by the court rules and lacked proper endorsement of the reliefs sought.

The defence further submitted that the unsigned documents in the court file and the absence of a Certified True Copy (CTC) raised concerns about the legitimacy of the processes filed by Ojo. Olabiyi noted that a search of the court file on April 2, 2024, revealed that the original copy of the Writ was unsigned and that the copy filed by the claimant in her counter-affidavit was an uncertified photocopy.

In response, Iyabo Ojo’s counsel argued that the procedural objections did not affect the substance of the suit and urged the court to discountenance the technicalities raised by the defence. The counter-affidavit claimed the Writ was properly signed and that any errors could be amended before the trial commenced.

However, Justice Akinlade ruled that the failure to sign the original Writ of Summons at the time of filing was a fatal defect. The judge noted that the certified copy obtained by Anjorin’s counsel confirmed that the Writ was unsigned when the suit was filed and assigned to the court.

Entertainment

Mohbad: Lagos Coroner’s Court orders prosecution of auxiliary nurse for unlawful medical practice

The Lagos State Coroner’s Court sitting in Ikorodu, has recommended the criminal prosecution of auxiliary nurse Feyisayo Ogedengbe over the d3ath of singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad.

Delivering the court’s findings on Friday, July 11, 2025, Magistrate C.A. Shotobi held that the nurse acted with gross negligence by administering an injection on the singer without a doctor’s prescription.

Although the court ruled out foul play or homicide in the case, it held that the actions of the nurse were both “unlawful and professionally negligent.”

“In pursuant to section 29 of the coroner laws of Lagos State, this court recommends that the prosecution of the unlicensed medical personnel by the office of the Director of Public Prosecution should commence appropriate prosecution against Felicia Ogedengbe for unlawful medical practice and gross negligence,” the magistrate said.

Recall that Ogedengbe was arrested following the singer’s d3ath under controversial circumstances on September 11, 2023.

Testifying before Justice C.A. Shotobi at the Coroner’s Court in March 2025, she disclosed that the rapper had a reaction and started vomiting after she administered a tetanus injection to him.

Entertainment

Veteran actor, Tom Njeamanze battles prostate cancer, solicits financial assistance

Veteran actor Tom Njeamanze is currently fighting for his life after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Footage shared by producer Stanley Ontop on Instagram shows the ailing actor hospitalised, connected to an oxygen cylinder and intravenous drips.

The producer shared the actor’s bank details and urged fans and well-wishers to contribute, emphasising that “nothing is too small” to save the legend’s life.

“Hello guys, one of our Nollywood legends is sick and needs urgent surgery. Sir Tom Njamanze has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he needs your support to undergo surgery,” he wrote.

“Nothing is too small, fams. Help our legend live again.”

The post sparked an outpouring of support, with fans offering prayers and calling for intervention from the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN).

Many lamented the lack of structural support for aging actors in Nollywood.

Njemanze began his acting career in the 1990s and is known for his standout performances in several films, including ‘Tokunboh’, ‘Pounds and Dollars’, ‘Atosa’, ‘Issakaba’, ‘Osuofia in London’, ‘Brain Box’, and ‘Igbotic Love’.

In February, Ontop also appealed for financial assistance to cover the medical expenses of veteran actor John Amaefule, who was diagnosed with cancer.

He revealed that the actor suffered a stroke on the left side of his brain, which led to weakness on the right side of his body. Thecable.