Latest news with #Osakwe
Eater
15-07-2025
- Business
- Eater
A Health-Conscious Nigerian Chain Expands to Downtown D.C.
Nuli, the Nigeria-based, fast-casual chain, hopes to challenge misconceptions about African cuisine, one jollof super bowl at a time — through its first U.S. location opening soon in downtown Washington. Scheduled to round out The Square food hall (1850 K St. NW) in August, the health-food restaurant's warm bowls and toasted wraps not only emphasize nutrient-rich African ingredients locally sourced from the DMV, but they also reflect culinary traditions across the continent's 54 countries, including its Mediterranean and Indian influences. 'We need to tell these stories of how, at the end of the day, we are one people,' said Ada Osakwe, the Lagos-based entrepreneur and founder behind Nuli. 'Broader than Africa, just we are one, and we need to break down those barriers for building this community.' Nuli founder and Lagos-based entrepreneur Ada Osakwe. Gazmudu The freshly baked naan bread surrounding the toasted wraps is a nod to the Indian diaspora on the African continent — its best sellers are the Naanini and Naan Pepper wraps. Osakwe added couscous as a base option to some of Nuli's bowls because it's something she ate during the four years she lived in Tunisia and worked in development finance for the African Development Bank Group. 'When I lived in Tunisia, that was an eye opener for me,' Osakwe tells Eater. '…That for me was the foundation in terms of realizing that we had such diverse cultures on the continent. North Africans were quite different from us.' Jollof-flavored pasta, called Pasta Magic. Nuli Foods As for the West African influence, Nuli's warm bowls come in a smoky jollof version as well. Its fonio, couscous, and rice offer the red pepper flavorful spice that jollof is famous for, Osakwe said. You can order your bowls with tandoori chicken, spicy prawns, or lamb meatballs, alongside vegan options that include avocado or veggie meat chunks. Osakwe highly recommends that you order sweet plantain fries as a side. Fonio super bowls combine the ancient, protein-packed West African grain with fresh vegetables for a cold salad, or a warm, stir-fried bowl. Salad dressings and Tahini-like creamy spreads are designed around egusi, a West African melon seed that's rich in essential minerals and a valuable source of creamy, planet protein. Items unique to the D.C. location include steamed bean cakes known as moin-moin, and nutritious moringa smoothies and parfaits. Moringa, also known as the 'miracle tree,' has become a popular superfood. Nuli in D.C. will also use gluten-free cassava flour for the naan bread that surrounds the toasted wraps, something that is not available at the Lagos locations. And in keeping with African culinary practices, Nuli's staff will make the menu items from scratch each day. The Naanini Wrap Nuli Foods The melted beef naan wrap. Nuli Foods In Osakwe's experience, many people think of African cuisine as oily, too fatty, and visually unappealing. Or they think Ethiopian cuisine is representative of the entire continent. That's why she presents Nuli's cuisine in a familiar way — through wraps, bowls, and smoothies. 'I'm so excited about finally changing the narrative or perceptions on African food,' she said. 'It doesn't have to be this, sort of, 'What's that floating in the red sauce, I don't understand,'' Osakwe said. Nuli comes from the female name 'Anwuli' and is unique to the Igbo ethnic group in Nigeria. It means happiness or joy — 'Taste Joy,' the company's tagline, is also Nuli's ethos. Osakwe founded Nuli in 2016 when she was incorporating exercise and healthy food into her lifestyle. Her goal was making healthy food more accessible in terms of price and convenience. Beyond that, she wanted to build a homegrown brand on the African continent that translates globally and that she could eventually bring to the United States. A 'berrylicious' smoothie from Nuli's smoothie lineup. Nuli Foods 'I was tired of the Burger Kings or the Pizza Huts coming into our countries and people paying huge franchise fees for those, and yet, we weren't developing and backing our own people,' said Osakwe, who also invests in underrepresented founders in Africa and beyond. 'So yeah, this is like a dream come true.' Tunisia is where Osakwe learned how to back projects that push Africa forward, whether they're in the agriculture, infrastructure or food system spaces. In keeping with that mission, a portion of Nuli's sales support farmer cooperatives owned by African women, who make up more than 50 percent of the farming population. Osakwe operates six Nuli locations in Lagos. In the past, Nuli partnered with Uber to deliver its juice to Lagosians. Google and McKinsey & Company have also regularly placed bulk orders for their workforces in Lagos. Nuli marks the latest spot for The Square, which houses about a dozen eateries. Las Hermanas Coffee Shop, from sisters Keren and Nataly Moreno, arrived at the end of June. Before that, Donisima, the Latin-American pop-up doughnut shop from Miguel Guerra of the Michelin-starred Mita, opened earlier in the month. Osakwe zeroed in on D.C. in part to follow the same trajectory of fast-casual chains Cava and Sweetgreen. Both of them launched their businesses in the area and now operate hundreds of locations across the United States. With Chipotle Mexican Grill among the chains leading the way, the global fast-casual market is expected to grow by $181.6 billion between 2024 and 2029, according to Technavio, a global market research and advisory firm. It predicts that North America will comprise 43 percent of that expansion. To that end, Osakwe hopes to spend the next decade opening 1,000 Nuli locations across the United States. 'What Chipotle is for Mexican-inspired food, what Cava is for Mediterranean-inspired food, Nuli is that for African-inspired food,' Osakwe said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New details emerge on ICE using Taser to grab ex-Yale student. Lawyer says CT judge called ‘traitor'
A former Yale student detained recently by immigration agents in Hartford's federal courthouse received medical attention after being hit seven times with Tasers by immigration agents who then rebuked a judge who tried to intervene, according to information presented in court Thursday. New details of the May 9 detention of Afghan refugee and former student Saifullah Khan by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents became public Thursday when Khan argued for release on bond at a federal immigration court in Chelmsford, Mass. The Department of Homeland Security said Khan is dangerous and a flight risk — in part because he tried to run away from the plain clothes ICE against who he said failed to identify themselves before firing Tasers at him on the sixth floor of the secure federal building on Main Street in Hartford. U.S. Immigration Judge Donald R. Ostrom did not immediately rule on bond. Ostrom said he was taking the matter 'under advisement' and would issue a written decision, departing from his practice in other cases Thursday in which he issued rapid fire decisions on release from the bench. Hartford attorney Gregory C. Osakwe, who represented Khan, argued for bond, disputing government arguments about danger and flight, while providing more information about how ICE agents made the arrest. Osakwe said Khan, who had a pending asylum application, had been summoned to appear in immigration court and was leaving Judge Ted Doolittle's courtroom after the hearing was continued to a future date. 'When he was exiting the court on the sixth floor in Hartford, ICE officials approached him,' Osakwe said. 'There was no reason to arrest him. They had the authority, but it was highly irregular because he had an affirmative application which was pending. 'They didn't identify themselves. They sought to grab him. And then he, not knowing who they were, started running back to the court and he was tasered seven times. Judge Doolittle came out of the court and asked ICE officers, 'Why are you doing this?' And they told him he should not interfere with a lawful arrest. ' 'As a matter of fact, the ICE officers subsequently told (Khan) that the judge was a traitor for coming out to challenge them,' Osakwe said. He said Khan may have suffered a concussion and received a medical examination. No one could be reached at Hartford's ICE office Thursday afternoon. Osakwe also disputed claims by the Department of Homeland Security that it has not been able to locate Khan for years. Among other things, he told the court the department has mailed immigration forms to his apartment. Khan, who is 32, is married to a U.S. citizen and lives in New Haven. He became well-known in legal circles a decade ago because of a sexual assault accusation that resulted in his expulsion from Yale and a defamation suit he filed against university in retaliation after a jury acquitted him of the sexual assault charges. He was born in a Pakistani refugee camp after his family was forced from Afghanistan by the Taliban. He was admitted to Yale as a scholarship student and was on track to graduate in 2016 until the expulsion. On Halloween night in 2015, a female student who lived in Khan's dormitory accused him of sexually assaulting her. He said they spent the night together and engaged in consensual sex after attending a party and a performance by the Yale Student Orchestra earlier in the evening. Khan denied the sexual assault allegation. But he was ultimately expelled after an inquiry by Yale's University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct. After his exoneration in court, Khan sued Yale and his accuser, asserting that he had been treated unfairly by Yale's in-house disciplinary process. Two appeals courts agreed and Yale has not succeeded in winning dismissal of the defamation suit. Homeland Security attorney Alexandra Wolff, who argued against bond, said Khan also was the subject of a protective order in the state of Washington in 2018. There was no criminal charge in that matter, which arose from an intimate relationship. Wolff argued that the Yale accusation and the Washington order are interactions with law enforcement that support the DHS argument that Khan is dangerous. She said the department has not been able to confirm Khan was acquitted of the Yale charges because the transcript of the trial resulting in exoneration has been partially sealed to hide the accuser's identity. 'It does appear that the respondent was acquitted of those charges,' Wolff said. 'It is DHS's position that DHS has not been able to independently verify the acquittal because the case was sealed.' 'Additionally the department posits that there are multiple ways to be a danger to the community and not just through criminal convictions or interactions with law enforcement,' Wolff said. Wolff was referring specifically to a rebuke of Khan by the U.S. District judge presiding over the defamation suit. After the court denied an attempt by Khan to unseal the identity of his accuser, he posted on social media that he had been 'gagged.' The court said the post was an encouragement to others to publicly identify the accuser in violation of the confidentiality order. DHS considers Khan a flight risk because, in spite of the publicity that has accompanied his suit against Yale, the department had been unable to locate him for years, Wolff said. . 'The respondent has been unable to be found for the last several years,' Wolff said. 'I can proffer as a representative of DHS that ICE has been attempting to locate this respondent since 2016 and they have been unable to locate him. Now a government agency being unable to locate someone should be significant evidence of flight.' Osakwe said claims that Khan could not be found are untrue. He said Khan has lived at his current address for seven years and his U.S. wife has submitted documentation of their marriage to immigration authorities as part of the couple's argument against deportation. Their address can be found in forms documenting the marriage, as well as other correspondence — including forms and notifications immigration authorities have addressed to Khan. 'When counsel proffers that they have been trying to locate him and have been unable to do that, it is factually inaccurate,' Osakwe said. 'He has not lived at any other address for the past seven years. They have his address. The only time they made an effort to detain him was when he had come to the court.' Osakwe was critical of how Khan was detained. 'It is very unfortunate that officers of the United States government would do that,' he said. 'It is a pattern that they are doing right now to intimidate people. That officers would make derogatory statements to an immigration judge …is also very unfortunate.' Khan, who appeared at the hearing remotely by video link wearing a green prison uniform from a detention center in Plymouth, Mass. said at the end of the hearing that he will comply with any conditions of release. 'I have been attending court appearances in the criminal matter and the civil matters and this one voluntarily over the past nine years,' he said.
