The 51-year-old comedian and actor is facing several charges of rape and sexual assault against six women, which are alleged to have occurred between 1999 and 2009.

The trial at Southwark Crown Court, which could last up to 10 weeks, is expected to begin with the process of jury selection on Monday morning.

Brand pleaded not guilty to the charges during pre-trial hearings.

The comedian and actor arrived at court wearing a navy suit and sunglasses, accompanied by his wife Laura.

There was a large media presence at the court for the start of the trial, which is expected to last up to 10 weeks.

He has been charged with three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault.

He rose to fame as a stand-up comedian and became a household name as host of TV shows such as Big Brother’s Big Mouth, and with his own radio programmes on stations.

Brand went on to establish a Hollywood career, starring in films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and getting him to the Greek. In recent years, he has turned to podcasting.

From Wins Charity, Owerri

A woman, Peace Jonah has been granted N500, 000 bail by a chief Magistrate in Imo State, C.J Nkwoada after she was arraigned by the police in the state.

The suspect was arraigned on Friday by the police on one count charge bordering on inflicting grievous harm on a 14 year old girl, Chilaka Osinachi.

The operatives of the State Criminal Investigations Department in Owerri had in August arrested Jonah following a petition written against her by a human rights organization, Sand For Humanity Foundation.

Arraigning the suspect, the police prosecutor, Sampson Obodo, told the court that the woman used boiled water to batter the minor’s breasts and other parts of her body.

Obodo told the court that the suspect’s action was illegal as punishable under section 355 of the criminal code Cap C38 laws of the country and prayed the court to remind her in prison while Counsel to the woman, Innocent Onyekwere, asked the court to release the woman on bail,

In his ruling, the Magistrate granted the suspect N500, 000 bail, deposition of recent passport photographs and verification of the house address of her surety.

The charge sheet read ” that you Peace Jonah on the 21 day of August, 2026, at Umuamadi Nguru Mbaise, triable in the Ngor Okpala Magisterial district did unlawfully assault one Chilaka Osinachi by pouring on her hot water on her belly and her breasts which caused her grievous harm and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 355 of the criminal code Cap C38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004 as applicable in Imo State of Nigeria.”

The president of the human rights organization, Chidiebube Okeoma, which initiated the arrest of the woman, disclosed in a statement in Owerri on Sunday that the organization was seriously fighting all forms of child abuse in the state.

Okeoma,   a child rights advocate, said that using boiled water to batter a girl child was a criminal offense.

Saying that bail is not exoneration of crime, Okeoma said that his organization would pursue the court proceedings to its logical conclusion so as to serve as a deterrent to others who abuse children.

Okeoma disclosed that Stand For Humanity Foundation got wind of the abuse on the minor through its whistleblowing policy, urging members of the public to keep reporting abuses on children to the organization

From Dan Amasingha, Minna

The disappearance of 11-year-old Christabel Albert after she left home for a birthday celebration has ended in tragedy, with the Niger State Police Command confirming her death and the arrest of a 26 year-old church security guard in connection with the incident.

Christabel reportedly left her home in Suleja on September 19 to attend a relative’s birthday celebration within the area but did not return.

The following day, the alarm was raised over her disappearance.

According to the Niger State Police Command, a report was lodged at the ‘A’ Division, Suleja, at about 12:30pm on September 20.

Later that evening, a pastor of the Apostolic Church in Suleja reported the discovery of a body inside a well located within the church premises.

Police operatives, assisted by officials of the local government welfare department, recovered the body and took it to the General Hospital, Suleja, for examination.

The body was subsequently identified as that of the missing child.

As investigators began piecing together the circumstances surrounding Christabel’s death, suspicion fell on Godwin Dauda, a 26-year-old security guard attached to the church.

The police said Dauda became a person of interest after information emerged suggesting his possible connection with the incident and his disappearance from the church premises shortly afterwards.

He was eventually arrested on September 23 at about 8pm in the Kuje area of the Federal Capital Territory, where he had reportedly fled to.

The police said the suspect, during interrogation, confessed to luring Christabel into his security room on September 19, where he sexually assaulted her and suffocated her by blocking her mouth and nose.

He reportedly told investigators that the child died in the process, after which he disposed off her body in the well in an attempt to conceal the incident before fleeing the area.

The Command, however, stressed that the investigation was still ongoing and that the full circumstances surrounding the child’s death were yet to be established.

Dauda has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Minna, for further interrogation and prosecution.

In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, urged members of the public to disregard unverified accounts circulating on social media concerning the incident.

He said the Command remained committed to transparency, accountability, protection of vulnerable persons and ensuring that justice was served.

For Christabel’s family, however, the investigation comes after the devastating loss of a child whose ordinary outing for a family celebration ended in tragedy.