2 masquerades nabbed over attack on Lagos community (DailyTrust)
Two masquerades who are members of a secret cult operating in the Ikorodu and its environs in Lagos have been arrested for allegedly trying to displace some residents in order to take over their lands.
The suspects who work for a land grabbing syndicate were arrested on Sunday.
It was learnt that the suspects and some others now at large had earlier written to property owners in the area asking them to come and repurchase lands which they had acquired many years ago. Read more
Lout drags Lagos conductor to death over ‘police fee’ (Punch)
A lout, Daramola Olanrewaju, has reportedly caused the death of a bus conductor, identified only as Michael, while trying to collect a N500 ‘police fee’ from him at Ketu Bus Stop, Lagos State.
Olanrewaju was allegedly working for some policemen attached to the Ketu Police Station when the incident happened on Friday, February 3.
PUNCH Metro learnt that argument ensued when the conductor refused to give Olanrewaju the N500 ‘police fee’ said to be compulsory for vehicles plying the Ketu axis. Read more
Ekweremadu’s trial begins, jurors to be sworn in today (Guardian)
With every legal obstacle cleared, the last being Friday’s dismissal of his daughter, Sonia’s application to be excused from standing trial on the basis of being “medically unfit,” the conspiracy to harvest organ seven-week trial of former deputy Senate president, IKe Ekweremadu, begins fully at the Old Bailey today.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator will stand trial alongside his wife, Beatrice, their daughter, Sonia and Dr Obinna Obeta . Though, on paper, the trial started last Tuesday, January 31st, but legal obstacles and accusations of “bad character ” and “issues of disclosure ” that one side of the bench made against the other on Tuesday caused delays. The coast became clear on Friday, when Justice Johnson threw out the application for Sonia to be excused from the trial on the basis of her thrice a week dialysis and the attendant psychological and mental burdens of the treatment.
More importantly, the jury that will determine the fate of Ekweremadu and his co-defendants were not appointed till Friday. Read more
Sanwo-Olu, others for migration summit (Punch)
The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa; and other dignitaries have been scheduled to grace the maiden edition of the national migration summit of the Journalists International Forum For Migration.
This was disclosed by the President of JIFORM, Dr Ajibola Abayomi, in a statement on Sunday, adding that the governor has been invited to unveil the summit while Dabiri-Erewa would deliver a keynote address at the event to be held in Ikeja, Lagos.
He said, “The summit scheduled for February 9 serves as an annual retreat to accommodate capacity building for journalists covering migration and other stakeholders as a platform to contribute to policies and issues on migration matters. Read more
Amuwo-Odofin LP candidate pledges selfless representation (Guardian)
Labour Party (LP) House of Representatives candidate for Amuwo Odofin, George Adegeye, has promised selfless and qualitative representation, if elected into the National Assembly.
During his electioneering, yesterday, he said having been raised within the locality, it is incumbent on him to invest his efforts and resources in ensuring a greater Amuwo-Odofin federal constituency.
His words: “I was raised on this Mile 2 Estate; so, my antecedents are well known to many here, unlike those who had no root here. My late mother, Risikat Adegeye, while in the House of Assembly till 2007, lifted a lot of people.” Read more
Yoruba Nation: Police arrest 10, dismantle camp in Lagos (Nation)
Operatives of the Lagos Police Command on Sunday arrested 10 suspected Yoruba Nation agitators over unlawful assembly
The police also dismantled a protest camp set up by the agitators at Alausa in Ikeja ahead of the planned nationwide anti-Buhari disturbance billed to commence February 6.
The Nation reports that a flier with notice of the protest surfaced on social media calling on all Nigerians against the lingering cash crunch and fuel scarcity to join the “Buhari Must Go” protest in all major cities. Read more
N195 pump price: Showdown looms as fuel marketers plan lockdown, Monday (Tribune)
Independent marketers of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, plan a lockdown on their operations beginning Monday once the government starts enforcing the N195/litre pump price.
The Punch newspaper gathered on Saturday that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, security agencies and the downstream regulator had all agreed that petrol is sold at N195/litre.
Oil marketers said the agreement was reached at a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, as participants resolved that beginning from Monday, February 6, 2023, the pump price of petrol should not exceed N195/litre, a development which dealers, particularly independent marketers, described as tough due to the high ex-depot price of the commodity. Read more
6 killed, properties burnt as gunmen attack Ondo villages (DailyTrust)
At least six local farmers and traders have been murdered by suspected gunmen in Arimogija and Molege communities in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo state.
A community leader, Mr Owolafe Folorunsho, who confirmed this to newsmen on Sunday, said the traders were killed by the marauders while returning from Akure, the state capital.
“They laid an ambush, attacked the traders who were coming from Akure, and killed all the occupants before taking away their money and setting their vehicles and motorcycles on fire,” Mr Folorunsho said. Read more
Viola Davis achieves EGOT status with Grammy win for audiobook (CBS)
Actress Viola Davis has won a Grammy for the audiobook of her memoir, Finding Me, earning her the coveted EGOT status — meaning she has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award in her career. Davis is just the 18th person to have won all four major entertainment awards.
“I wrote this book to honor 6-year-old Viola,” Davis said Sunday during her acceptance speech. “To honor her life. Her joy. Her trauma, everything. And it has been such a journey. I just EGOT!”
Davis previously won an Oscar for best supporting actress for Fences, an Emmy for her role as Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder, and two Tony Awards. Read more
Rare Russian arctic anti-air system destroyed for first time by Ukraine (JPost)
A rare Russian Arctic TOR-M2DT air defense system was destroyed for the first time in the platform’s service history by Ukrainian artillery, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
Ukrainian artillerymen hit the TOR-M2DT with shells after the location of the system was scouted by a drone, the ministry said, posting a video mocking how the anti-air platform had been extolled in Russian media.
“The Arctic TOR-M2DT air defense system became the star of Russian television when it was sent to Ukraine,” said the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. “It burned brightly, the fire extinguisher did not help.” Read more
Tár named film of the year at London Critics’ Circle Film Awards (THR)
Todd Field’s Tár claimed the top prize at the 43rd London Critics’ Circle Film Awards on Sunday night, where it was named film of the year. Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett won actress of the year — the third time she has done so — and Field landed director of the year.
Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin was another big winner in London, winning five prizes, including the Attenborough award for British/Irish film of the year, screenwriter of the year, actor of the year for Colin Farrell, and both supporting actor and supporting actress for Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon. Another Irish title, The Quiet Girl, won foreign-language film of the year in a tie win alongside Park Chan-wook’s noir thriller Decision to Leave. Laura Poitras’ pointed Nan Goldin film All the Beauty and the Bloodshed was named documentary of the year.
The ceremony was capped with the presentation of the Dilys Powell award for excellence in film to cinematic icon Michelle Yeoh, who was accompanied by her Everything Everywhere All at Once costar Ke Huy Quan. Danny Boyle presented the honor at the end of the night. Read more
Mark Hamill will sign Luke Skywalker posters to raise funds for Ukraine (Deadline)
Mark Hamill wants to help the Ukrainian army maintain its drone supply. So Mr. Luke Skywalker is going to start selling signed posters to raise cash.
“We decided to sign Star Wars posters, a limited amount,” said Hamill, speaking to Politico. “For real hardcore collectors — especially those that have disposable income — you can get way more money … than you would imagine.”
Details on where the posters will be on sale isn’t finalized. Hamill envisions an auction where competition will drive up the price. The poster sale is expected to start next week. Read more
2023 Grammys: Beyoncé officially ties record for most awarded person ever with 31st win (ET)
Beyoncé is now tied for the most awarded individual in the history of the Grammy Awards. On Sunday night, during the 65th annual ceremony, she won her 31st trophy for Best R&B Song for her track, “Cuff It.” The award officially ties her with conductor Georg Solti, who long has held the record with 31 competitive wins.
Her 29th and 30th wins were for Best Dance/Electronic Recording and Best Traditional R&B Performance.
Of course, this is not the only title she has. During the 2022 Grammys, she became the most awarded female artiste when she took home her 28th win and surpassed the record previously held by Alison Krauss. Additionally, she and husband JAY-Z share the record for the most nominations ever, with 88 each. For Beyoncé, that includes her time as a solo artist and with Destiny’s Child. Read more
South Africa records 2 imported cholera cases (VOA)
South Africa has recorded two confirmed imported cases of cholera, the health department said Sunday, as it called for vigilance.
The cases were of sisters who had in January traveled to Malawi, where a cholera outbreak since last year has claimed more than 1,000 lives as of January, the highest on record in the country.
“Both patients had developed symptoms on their return to Johannesburg,” the health department said in a statement. Read more
Bodies of British volunteers killed in Ukraine recovered during prisoner swap (ITV)
The bodies of two British volunteers killed in Ukraine have been recovered in a prisoner swap with Russian forces, a top Ukrainian official has said.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the Ukrainian President, said that the bodies of Christopher Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 48, had been handed over by the Russians as part of a prisoner of war exchange on Saturday.
Mr Yermak tweeted: “Another big POWs swap. We managed to get back 116 of our people. Read more
NPFL: Akwa Utd dent Remo Stars’ push to top of group A (ThisDay)
Ikenne club, Remo Stars suffered yet another defeat in their Match-day 6 fixture against Akwa United at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo yesterday.
Despite the defeat, Remo Stars remain in the second spot behind Bendel Insurance in the Group A of the 2022/23 Nigeria Premier Football League log.
Cyril Olisema fired Akwa United ahead in the fifth minute from the spot. Read more
Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City: Kane breaks another goal record as hosts do Arsenal a favour (Tennis365)
Harry Kane scored the record-breaking only goal against Manchester City as Tottenham helped Arsenal maintain their Premier League title advantage.
Kane converted with typical ruthlessness after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg pressured Rico Lewis into a mistake in the Manchester City penalty area after 15 minutes.
In the process, Kane became Tottenham’s all-time record scorer with 267 goals, finally overtaking Jimmy Greaves’ total, while racking up his 200th Premier League strike. Read more
Raphinha and Franck Kessie shine as Barcelona thrash Sevilla, put Real Madrid on notice in LaLiga race (ESPN)
Barcelona scored three times in 21 minutes in the second half as they beat relegation-troubled Sevilla by 3-0 at Camp Nou on Sunday. With the win, Barca move eight points clear at the top of the LaLiga table ahead of second-place Real Madrid.
Jordi Alba opened the scoring just before the hour mark after good work from Franck Kessie. That forced Sevilla to open up and Barca soon took advantage of the space that afforded them.
Raphinha created the second for Gavi and then added the third himself from Alba’s cross to complete the scoring and extend Barca’s winning streak in all competitions to seven games, their longest since the 2019-20 season. Read more
Norrie inspires Great Britain to Davis Cup win (RNZ)
Cameron Norrie secured Great Britain’s place in the Davis Cup Finals group stage, with his victory over Colombia’s Nicolas Mejia giving the visitors an unassailable 3-1 lead in Bogota.
The New Zealand-raised British number one made back-to-back straight-set wins at altitude on clay as he beat Mejia 6-4 6-4.
It meant Dan Evans was not required to play the final rubber against Nicolas Barrientos. Read more
Chelsea chief Todd Boehly ”ready to break bank” to steal top Man Utd target (Express)
Chelsea are reportedly ready to continue their huge transfer outlay under co-owner Todd Boehly and splash out on Manchester United target Victor Osimhen. Despite spending over £300m in January – including a record £107m deal for Enzo Fernandez – there have been concerns that the Blues still do not have a number nine to spearhead their attack, which could be Chelsea’s next investment.
The Mirror have claimed that Chelsea have joined the race to sign Napoli sensation Osimhen in the summer, while Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in the Nigerian striker. Napoli want around £100 million for their star man, having spent an initial £62m to sign him from Lille in 2020.
The 24-year-old will likely be one of the most sought-after players on the market in the summer as he has scored 14 goals in 16 Serie A appearances so far this campaign, while Napoli have looked one of the most impressive sides in Europe and sit 13 points clear of second-placed Inter Milan at the top of the table. Read more
Matteo Berrettini outlines his career goals and legacy (Tennis365)
Matteo Berrettini favours enjoying everything he does over winning matches and tournaments.
Berrettini feels that victories and titles will follow if he can find a way to enjoy himself in preparation and play.
He suffered an early exit from the Australian but Berrettini remains upbeat about his chances in 2023. Read more