3 clerics re-arraigned for alleged rape, abuse of corpses in Lagos (Vanguard)
Three clerics were on Wednesday re-arraigned in an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court by the Lagos State Government on an eight-count charge of rape and abuse of corpses of their congregants.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jacob Farinmade, Abraham Olujobi and Olatunde Taiwo plead not guilty to three charges of conspiracy and misconduct with regards to a corpse.
While Farinmade pleaded not guilty to five counts bordering rape, unlawful detention and unlawful burial in a house.
The Leas State Prosecutor, Mr Olusola Soneye, the defendants who were in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ Gospel Mission at No. 15/23 Pipeline Street, Ipaja, Lagos committed the offences in 2015 in Lagos. Read more
Court orders lawyer to produce suspect in $32m fraud case (NewTelegraph)
Justice Peter Lifu of a Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered a lawyer, Kehinde Awowole, to produce a businesswoman, Princess Toyin Kolade, who was allegedly involved in a $32 million fraud, in court on December 3, 2021.
Kolade is one of 11 others facing a 10-count charge of $32 million fraud preferred against them by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF).
The defendants include four Indians, Prem Garg, Devashish Garg, Bhagwan Simgh Rawat and Mukul Tyagi, and two Britons – Marcus Wade and Andrew Fairie, said to be at large.
The others, apart from Kolade, are: Metal Africa Steel Products Ltd, Wilben Trade Ltd, Fisolak Global Resources Ltd and Kannu Aditya India Ltd. Read more
NIS explains delay in international passport processing (Nation)
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Ikoyi Passport Office, Lagos has attributed the delay in processing international travel documents to challenges of epileptic power supply and non-validation of names supplied by applicants in their National Identity Number (NIN).
Passport Control Officer (PCO) Ikoyi Passport Office, Mrs Abolupe Bewaji, a deputy Comptroller of Immigration (DCI), disclosed this to journalists in Lagos.
The new PCO said the NIS is scaling up efforts to address the challenges to improve delivery timelines for the renewal and issuance of international travel documents in line with the Ministerial directive.
Besides, she said hitches associated with epileptic power supply has been addressed as a financial institution donated a 100KVA generating set within the first six days of her assumption of office to fast track issuance of passports. Read more
Court sentences auto-mechanic to life imprisonment for defiling 10-year-old neighbour (Vanguard)
An Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court on Wednesday sentenced Friday Imoh, a 43-year-old auto-mechanic to life imprisonment for defiling his 10-year-old neighbour (name withheld).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Abiola Soladoye sentenced Imoh after finding him guilty.
He was found guilty of a two-count charge of defilement of a child and threatening violence contrary to Sections 137 and 56 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2015.
“The prosecution has established beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the defendant. The conduct of this defendant is most cruel, callous, despicable and condemnable in all ramifications. Read more
Court adjourns Kanu trial to Jan 19 as lawyers stage walkout (Sun)
The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has adjourned the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to January 19, 2022.
Meanwhile, Kanu’s legal team led by Ifeanyi Ejiofor staged a walkout to protest the refusal of operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) to allow some of them to gain access into the courtroom.
Kanu, who was brought into the courtroom around 9:52 am, had, shortly after his case was called up, kicked against the refusal of security agents to allow some members of his legal team, especially his lawyer from the United States, Bruce Fein, to enter the courtroom.
The IPOB leader told the court that Mr Fein, who he said was handling a case for him in the US, was around to witness his trial. Read more
Intending couples must show evidence of toilet in their houses before they are allowed to get married, says LG (Tribune)
The Bubura Local Government Area of Jigawa State has enacted a bye-law that will not allow any intending couple to get married until they provide evidence of having toilets in their homes.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the local government, Alhaji Lawan Ismail, while speaking on the bye-law, saying the “aim of the bye-law is to prohibit open defecation in the local government area.”
Alhaji Ismail disclosed that “with this bye-law, it is now mandatory for any intending couple to have toilets in their homes before they are allowed to get married in the local government area.
According to him, “apart from health issues attached to open defecation, there are also reports of rape cases in the area as a result of men and women defecating inside the bushes.” Read more
Actor Ayoola contradicts TMC team, says producers aware of ‘temporary’ relocation (Punch)
Nollywood star, Ayoola Ayolola, has broken the silence concerning his removal from the popular Nigerian series, The Men’s Club.
Contrary to what the production said, Ayoola on Tuesday claimed that the producers were aware of his ‘temporary’ move out of the country.
Also known as TMC, The Men’s Club is a story about love, friendship, and betrayal, which revolves around four male main characters and how they relate with their partners.
One of the main characters, Aminu Garba, which was originally played by Ayoola, has been taken over by reality TV star, Pere Egbi, as announced by the series director, Tolu Odunsi, on Monday. Read more
FGC Wukari ’91 set to meet in Lagos (Tribune)
All is now set for the 30th anniversary dinner and reunion of the 1991 set of the Federal Government College, Wukari, Taraba State, to hold in Lekki, Lagos State.
A statement by the chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the event, Mr Wole Ladipo said the three-day event holds from 12th to 14th November 2021.
According to Ladipo, the event will have in attendance old students of the set both home and abroad.
He urged all old students of the set to make adequate preparations to attend the event, adding “there is no reason for anyone to miss out as everything that will ensure their comfort and has been put in place.” Read more
Need to fast tract actions on plastic pollution is now – AFMESI (Vanguard)
African Marine Environment Sustainability Initiative, AFMESI, has called for fast tracked action against plastic pollution with a view to sustaining the nation’s aquatic lives.
Speaking at the just concluded third edition of the annual Symposium of AFMESI, Executive Secretary, Chiamaka Mogo, said that the marine environment must be protected so as to preserve the nation’s cultural connection to the waters.
Mogo explained that there is a need for governments across the African continent to adopt a fund-to-yield approach and prioritize allocations for ocean science and data gathering, maritime surveillance technology, building of Indigenous shipping capacity and very importantly, gender equality and youth involvement in the maritime sector.
She stated; “The importance of healthy and sustained Blue Economy sectors across Africa cannot be overstated. For a continent significantly surrounded by water, there is need to fast tract actions against the menace of plastic pollution, protect our marine biodiversity and preserve our cultural connections to water. Read more
Why Twitter suspension has not been lifted, by FG (Nation)
The Federal Government has said the suspension of Twitter has not been lifted because the company has met 10 out of the 12 conditions given it.
The government however raised the hope of Nigerians that it is a matter of time before all issues with Twitter are resolved.
But it clarified that the suspension of Twitter had nothing to do with issues bordering on President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made the clarifications while responding to a question from a participant at Nigeria International Partnership Forum in Paris. Read more
Squid Game Season 2 confirmed by K-Drama creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk (HITC)
The hit Korean drama Squid Game is Netflix’s most popular title and now, we can finally confirm that the series will return for season 2”!
Squid Game can only be described as a rollercoaster ride from start to finish; feeling like an expertly crafted mixture of Deadman Wonderland, Alice in Borderland and The Purge.
The series premiered through Netflix on Friday, September 17th and went on to become the biggest title on the entire platform – with over 142 million households watching the deadly K-drama.
The final episode of Squid Game season 1 certainly had all the twists, turns and high-stakes moments that fans have become accustomed to in a Netflix suspense thriller. Read more
$4.3b class action against Google blocked by UK Supreme Court (Metro)
The UK Supreme Court has blocked a planned 3.2 billion pound ($4.3 billion) British class action against Google over allegations the internet giant unlawfully tracked the personal information of millions of iPhone users. Britain’s top judges unanimously granted a Google appeal against the country’s first such data privacy case on Wednesday, a move that upsets a string of similar claims waiting in the wings against companies such as Facebook and TikTok.
The landmark case led by Richard Lloyd, a consumer rights activist and the former director of Which? magazine, sought to extend Britain’s class action regime to include compensation claims for alleged misuse of data – even if there is no obvious financial loss or distress.
Lloyd, backed by a commercial litigation funder, alleged Google secretly took more than 5 million Apple iPhone users’ personal data between 2011 and 2012 by bypassing default privacy settings on Safari browsers to track internet browsing histories, and used this for commercial purposes.
“We are bitterly disappointed that the Supreme Court has failed to do enough to protect the public from Google and other Big Tech firms who break the law,” he said. Read more
Italy issues arrest warrant for grandfather of cable car crash survivor (Independent)
Italian magistrates have issued an international arrest warrant on kidnapping charges for the grandfather of an Israeli boy who was the only survivor of a cable car disaster in May, prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday.
While visiting the six-year-old in Italy in September, his maternal grandfather, Shmuel Peleg, picked him up and brought him back to Israel without the consent of the paternal aunt he was living with, triggering a custody battle between the two families.
The boy, Eitan Biran, had moved in with his aunt, Aya Biran, after his parents, younger brother and 11 other people all died in the cable car crash disaster in northern Italy in May.
The arrest warrant targets Peleg as well as Gabriel Abutbul Alon, who allegedly helped him with the plan, the statement said. Read more
Carer shortage leaves Greysteel woman ‘stuck in hospital’ (BBC)
A woman with Alzheimer’s has been left stranded in hospital because of a lack of carers to help look after her at home, her husband says.
Brenda Devine, 57, from Greysteel, County Londonderry, was admitted to the Waterside Hospital seven months ago.
Her family said she had been told she was ready to go home, but could not leave due to a shortage of carers.
Her husband Terence said it felt like his wife was “in a prison and I can’t get her out”. Read more
Super fit nurse, 53, hangs herself (DailyMail)
A brave nurse whose ‘independence was stripped from her overnight’ when she lost both her legs and an arm after a cough turned to sepsis was found hanged by her husband, an inquest heard.
Jayne Carpenter, 53, was left with just one limb when a simple cough in 2016 developed into neutropenic sepsis – a life-threatening reaction to an infection which occurs when the immune system overreacts and begins to damage the body’s tissues.
The hospital nurse, who lost her left arm below the elbow, both legs and four fingers of her right hand, soon began campaigning to highlight the dangers of sepsis.
Before her death, Jayne, who continued to dance and keep-fit using metal prosthetic legs that caused terrible pain and infections, had been fundraising money for pioneering limb surgery not available on the NHS and had raised more than £20,000 of her £265,000 target. Read more
Mother of 5 killed in Tesla fire in Ohio (Independent)
A mother of five was killed when the Tesla she was driving crashed near an elementary school in Ohio, police said.
Christy Corder was driving her Tesla on 8 November morning when it overturned after going off the side of the road.
A family friend confirmed to WLWT that Corder was killed in a crash around 4.15am on Gaskins Road near Merwin Elementary School in Clermont County, Ohio.
Captain Mike Masterson of Pierce Township Fire Department told WCPO that the electric car made it difficult to extinguish the fire. Read more
Iain Duncan Smith paid £25k by hand sanitiser firm that supplies NHS (Metro)
Senior Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith is under fire for recommending rules which will directly benefit a company paying him £25,000 a year.
The former Conservative leader chaired the Task Force on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform in May, when he and two other MPs were asked by Boris Johnson to find ways of cutting ‘EU red-tape’.
In a report proposing a raft of changes to post-Brexit regulation, the task force called for alcohol-free hand sanitiser be given the green light for use in the UK.
The report made no reference to the chair’s relationship with Byotrol – a multimillion pound hand sanitiser firm. Read more
Zimbabwe defence minister says war veterans to receive annual bonuses in foreign currency (VOA)
Zimbabwe’s Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, says Treasury has agreed to pay annual bonuses of former freedom fighters of the 1960s in foreign currency.
In an address monitored by VOA Zimbabwe Service from Harare, Muchinguri-Kashiri told top military officials today attending a strategic planning workshop today that the country has an obligation to look after war veterans.
She said, “As we plan for 2022 and beyond it is critical for us not to leave them behind. They are an important constituency of our society by virtue of their sacrifices towards liberating mother Zimbabwe from the jaws of colonial bondage. The need for these cadres to live descent lives is an absolute imperative especially now when the majority of them are in their twilight of their lives.”
Muchinguri-Kashiri said the war veterans’empowerment programs need to be prioritized. Read more
Delta State Headmasters’ Cup final holds Nov 18 (DailyTrust)
The finals of this year’s edition of the Zenith Bank sponsored Delta State Headmasters’ Cup has been shifted from November 11 to 18 at the Stephen Keshi stadium in Asaba.
The final match will be contested between Valley Stream British School, Sapele and Ogbe Primary School Effrun.
To reach the finals, Valley Stream British School, Sapele, defeated Destiny Primary School, Ughelli North 1-0 while Ogbe Primary School Effrun edged Royal Foundation Primary School, Ogwashi Uku, 3-0.
The Third Place match between Destiny Primary School and Royal Foundation will serve as the curtain raiser. Read more
Anthony Joshua advised to move to America and make himself “uncomfortable” (Mirror)
Anthony Joshua has been advised to cross the Atlantic by one of the coaches he met in America.
Ronnie Shields, a decorated trainer who has coached the likes of Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson, spent two days with Joshua during his recent trip to the United States.
And his assistant coach Dominick Guinn has implored Joshua to come over to the US in an effort to restore “the dog” within him and prepare for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua has flirted with the idea of bringing a new coach into his training set-up, but has said that he would ideally like his current head trainer Robert McCracken to head up a team. Read more
The Glancing Queen takes Bangor Listed prize (Sky)
The Glancing Queen was an impressive winner of the Listed Yorton Stallions Mares’ Novices’ Chase for Alan King at Bangor-on-Dee.
The seven-year-old mare travelled strongly into contention behind the frontrunning Maskada, before taking a narrow lead between the final two fences under Tom Cannon and pulling away after the last to win by just under two lengths.
Maskada stayed on doggedly to finish second, with Nigel Twiston-Davies’ experienced chaser Vienna Court back in third.
The Glancing Queen handed a boost to some Cheltenham Festival form, having finished best of the British runners in the Dawn Run Mares’ Novice Hurdle when fifth in March behind Telmesomethinggirl. Read more
‘We questioned why we were doing it’ – Laura Kenny on juggling parenting with Tokyo Olympics dream (Eurosport)
Laura Kenny admits there were times her and husband Jason wondered if the sacrifices to make the Tokyo Olympics were worth it as they juggled training and raising their son.
The 29-year-old gave birth to Albie in 2017 after securing a second Olympic double at Rio 2016 in the velodrome.
She returned to competition at the beginning of 2018 in a bid to make the GB team for Japan, but a broken shoulder at the start of 2020 appeared to derail those hopes – especially as her targeted event, the Madison, required slingshotting a teammate forward with her arms during the race.
In the background, Jason was also struggling for form as they shared parenting duties. Read more
Mercedes agree with Max Verstappen’s prediction for Brazilian Grand Prix (Independent)
Mercedes have agreed with Max Verstappen that they expect to run the Dutchman closer at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton was largely unable to match the Red Bull driver’s speed in Mexico City as Verstappen took victory and extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 19 points.
The Interlagos circuit has also historically suited the 24-year-old, who took the win at the last Brazilian Grand Prix in 2019.
Yet Verstappen struck a more cautious tone than those predicting further success for Red Bull after his win in Mexico, saying: “I expect Brazil not to be like it was here.” Read more
Chelsea preparing to send Saul Niguez back to Atletico Madrid in January after underwhelming loan (Metro)
Chelsea plan to cut short Saul Niguez’s loan spell and send the midfielder back to Atletico Madrid in January, according to reports in Spain.
Saul, 26, had fallen down the pecking order under Atleti manager Diego Simeone and signed for Chelsea on a temporary basis on transfer deadline day, with Thomas Tuchel keen to strengthen his midfield options.
The Spain international joined Chelsea with the intention of seeing out the 2021/22 season and the Champions League winners have been given the option to buy him outright for a fee of around £30million next summer.
But Saul has badly struggled to make an impact, playing four times in all competitions and making just one substitute appearance in the English top flight since his underwhelming debut at home to Aston Villa. Read more
Premier League rejects homeless charity request for home sides to wear away kits on Boxing Day (Eurosport)
The Premier League has turned down a homelessness awareness campaign which would have meant home sides would wear away kits during Boxing Day fixtures.
Charity Shelter had pitched the proposal and while clubs are believed to have been receptive to the idea, organisers have said it would break one of their regulations – as all teams are required to wear their home kits whenever they can at their own ground.
A statement read: “The Premier League receives a large number of requests from charities every season, however we aren’t able to support all centrally,” the organisation said.
“Clubs are entitled to support charitable causes, and we encourage clubs to do so, provided it is in compliance with Premier League rules.” Read more
Matthew Hayden set for ‘unusual’ World Cup reunion with friend and rival Justin Langer (IOL)
Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer, who formed one of Test cricket’s most enduring and destructive opening partnerships, will briefly become rivals on Thursday when Pakistan tackle Australia for a place in the Twenty20 World Cup final.
Both now aged 50, their competitive natures have found new outlets – Hayden as batting consultant with Pakistan and Langer as Australia’s head coach.
“It’s a very unusual feeling,” admitted Hayden on Wednesday.
“I was a warrior for Australian cricket over two decades, so that does give me the benefit of having wonderful insights not only into these players but also into the culture of cricket in Australia.” Read more