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MEET Silas Adekunle, world’s highest-paid robotics engineer
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Let’s talk about Silas Adekunle, a brilliant Nigerian inventor and entrepreneur who made waves by creating the world’s first intelligent gaming robot.
Born in Nigeria, Silas moved to the UK at 12 and went on to earn a first-class robotics degree and an honorary Doctor of Technology degree from the University of the West of England, Bristol.
Silas co-founded and led Reach Robotics, a UK-based company that combined augmented reality gaming with STEM education. The star of the company’s creation was MekaMon—a four-legged robot with lifelike movements. It wasn’t just a toy; MekaMon brought video games to life with robotics and augmented reality. Alongside the robot, Reach Robotics developed an app that controlled MekaMon and served as a gateway to even more digital fun.
Silas raised $12 million in investments, growing the company to about 65 employees at its peak. In 2018, he landed a major deal with Apple to sell MekaMon in the U.S. and UK.
Adekunle is regarded as the highest paid in the field of robotic engineering, after being credited for building the world’s first gaming robot. Adekunle was able to achieve this feat after signing a mouth-watering deal with Apple Inc.
Despite these achievements, Reach Robotics faced challenges in the consumer robotics industry and closed its doors in September 2019. Later in 2022, the name “Reach Robotics” was revived by a company called Blueprint Lab.
But Silas Adekunle didn’t stop there. He turned his focus to robotics education across Africa, using MekaMon to inspire the next generation of tech innovators. He also started Awarri, a company promoting AI and robotics technology on the continent. By January 2020, he became the co-founder and CEO of R.I., a company helping developers create cloud solutions to remotely manage robots, industrial systems, and IoT devices.
Silas’s work has earned him well-deserved global recognition. In 2018, he was named one of the Financial Times’ “Top 100 Minority Ethnic Leaders in Technology” and featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe: Technology list.
Vanguard News
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Commercial S3x Worker Arrested For Stabbing Bartender To Death Over N200 Debt
A 32-year-old sex worker, Riyanatu Musa, has confessed to have stabbed to death a bartender, whom she owed N200 in Adamawa State.
The sex worker stabbed her victim, identified as Yohanna Musa, during an altercation over N200 balance for liquor in Mubi, according to the police.
Spokesperson for the police in Adamawa State, SP Suleiman Nguroje noted that Musa confessed to the crime during interrogation.
“She narrated that she had collected a bottle of dry gin known as ‘big ben’ and one other from the victim and promised to pay the following day, saying that she paid the sum of N1,500 remaining a balance of N200.
“She explained that the fight ensued between her and the victim when he demanded his money and in the course of it she stabbed him with a knife in the chest to death,” Nguroje said.
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Nigerians man nabbed for k!lling his mother for rituals
A 29-year-old man has been nabbed by the police for allegedly killing his mother for ritual purposes in Cross River.
Spokesperson for the Police Command in the state, SP Irene Ugbo, confirmed the suspect’s arrest and detention to newsmen on Friday in Calabar, albeit without further details.
The incident had occurred on Dec. 25, 2024 in Batriko, Eastern Boki Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
Credible source revealed that a combined team of police and the security team of Obudu council area made the arrest on Friday.
According to reports, the suspect had dumped his mother’s body in a well in Obudu LGA, while security operatives had been tracking him since the incident occurred.
The source said that the suspect, who was arrested alongside a native doctor, would be brought to the state command for further investigation.
Recall that the suspect was alleged to have shaved his dead mother’s hair and dumped her remains in a well thereafter.
The source told NAN that the arrest of the fleeing suspect was effected by security operatives at the shrine of a native doctor, with a bag containing his late mother’s shaved hair.
“As I speak with you, the suspect and the native doctor are presently cooling off at the Obudu Divisional Police Headquarters,” said the source. (NAN)
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Royal matter: Appeal Court Orders Fresh Hearing into Kano Emirate Tussle
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered a fresh hearing in the legal battle over the disputed Kano Emirate involving Alhaji Nasir Ado Bayero.
The Appellate Court, in a judgment delivered on Friday, held that Bayero was denied fair hearing due to the shoddy manner in which a Kano High Court conducted proceedings against him.
Justice Mohammed Mustapha, who delivered the lead judgement, stated that the Kano High Court was unfair to Bayero by conducting proceedings without serving him a hearing notice to enable him to present his case.
Justice Mustapha held that all courts of law are bound to ensure justice for all parties by giving them equal opportunities, adding that the conduct of the proceedings against Bayero amounted to a travesty of justice.
Specifically, the Appellate Court held that Bayero ought to have been served with a hearing notice to allow him to present his grievances before judgment was delivered against him in what it described as a shoddy arrangement.
The Court of Appeal, therefore, ordered that the case be remitted to the Chief Judge of the Kano State High Court to be reassigned to another judge for expeditious determination.
Justice Mustapha did not award costs against the respondents in the appeal filed by Ahaji Ado Bayero.
Details later.
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