Accident: Two killed during Lagos #EndSARS protest -Police (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has said that two persons died in a road accident that occurred during an #EndSARS protest in the state.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this known in a statement on Friday.
He said one of the #EndSARS protesters, identified as Nike, has been arrested for driving recklessly and alleged killing of two Nigerians at Ikola Road, Alagbado.
The PPRO noted that the bodies of the victims have been deposited at the morgue.
Adejobi said, “Mrs Nike Lawal, was the driver of Toyota 4Runner SUV with REG. NO. GGE 346 BK that ran into a tricycle and killed the duo of Ojo Azeez, m, 27 years and Yusuf Sodia, m, 26 years, both of Command Road, Alagbado, Lagos State. Read more
Lagos Buses Services resume operations after 18 hours (Guardian)
The high capacity buses being operated by the Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL) resumed operations on Friday 18 hours after they were withdrawn from their routes.
The Head of Public Affairs Unit of LBSL, Mr Afolabi Olawale, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.
He said that the management of the company decided to withdraw the buses from plying their designated routes at 2:p.m. on Thursday to avoid being attacked by thugs during the #EndSARS protest.
NAN reports that the #End SARS protests started in Lagos State on Monday by youths that are against the human rights’ violations of innocent Nigerians by SARS operatives, a unit of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). Read more
#EndSARS protesters reject food, drinks donated by MC Oluomo (Punch)
#EndSARS protesters at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Friday rejected food and soft drinks sent by the Chairman of the National Union of the Road Transport Workers in the state, Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo.
The rejection was in reaction to an attack unleashed on the protesters by thugs at Ikeja, the state capital, on Thursday.
MC Oluomo was accused to have been the sponsor of the violent attack but his spokesman, Jimoh Buhari, denied the allegation.
“We have no hand in the attacks. People should stop accusing us wrongly. Were the thugs wearing NURTW uniforms? Is MC Oluomo holding a political office? He has no hand in the case,” Buhari had said. Read more
Lagos East bye-election on INEC’s radar as candidates, parties plot winning tactics (Guardian)
The rivalry between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 general elections has shifted from the recent Edo and Ondo governorship elections to pending bye-elections across the country. Particularly, the Lagos East bye-election, some observers believe, would be the most competitive among such elections to be held by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) scheduled for October 31.
The outcomes of the two recent governorship elections have even heightened the rivalry between the two dominant parties, with PDP winning in Edo but dusted by the ruling party in Ondo. Read more
#EndSARS: Protesters observe Juma’at at Lekki toll gate, Lagos Assembly road (Punch)
#EndSARS protesters who are Muslims on Friday observed their Juma’at prayers at Lekki toll gate and Lagos State House of Assembly road, Alausa.
The PUNCH gathered that the protesters also observed the Friday prayers on the road in Abuja.
At the Juma’at service held at Governor’s road in Alausa, some Christian protesters watched on while others provided cover for the praying Muslims.
During the prayer session, other protest activities were suspended.
One of the worshippers at Alausa, Ismail Adam, said the imam preached about love and unity. Read more
NBC confirms Twitter account hack (Vanguard)
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has confirmed that its Twitter account has been hacked, stating that they are working on the retrieval.
This happened barely 48 hours after viral audio released by an ‘anonymous’ supported the #EndSARS protest, thereby giving the government 72 hours or risked hacking.
The NBC official Twitter account tweeted randomly in support of the protest and the suspicion of an account was confirmed when it tweeted “Good morning, great Nigerians. TGIF and it’s also a good day to #ENDSARS and #EndSWAT Which government website(s) would you want us to play with? Drop your suggestions under this tweet. #TwitterDown #NBChacked”. Read more
Motorists groan as protesters block Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (Guardian)
The protesters carried placards with different inscriptions as they blocked the expressway, causing gridlock.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who monitored the situation reports that the gridlock affected both lanes of the expressway.
The gridlock which started from Mowe axis of the expressway in Obafemi-Owode Local Government, Ogun, had extended to Magboro end of Lagos axis.
Passengers who could not bear with the gridlock were, however, seen trekking. Read more
Senate queries NHIS over N122bn fixed in commercial bank without FG’s approval (Vanguard)
The Senate has taken a swipe at the National Health Issurance Scheme (NHIS) over N122 billion fixed in an unnamed commercial bank in the country without the approval of Auditor General of the Federation.
The query was raised today by the Senator Matthew Urhoghide, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Edo South led Senate Committee on Public Accounts, just as it is also demanding for N3.7bn interest accrued from N122bn fixed in the Commercial bank.
The accusations by the Senate Committee were sequel to a query given to the NHIS in the 2015 report of Auditor General of the Federation (AGF) which was submitted to the Committee. Read more
Tensions as suspects in South Africa farm murder case appear in court (Aljazeera)
Emotions ran high on Friday as two Black suspects appeared in a South African court over the murder of a white farmer which has once again sparked racial tensions 26 years after the end of apartheid.
A barbed-wire fence ringed the courthouse in the central town of Senekal and police and a water cannon were deployed as opposing groups of white farmers and Black activists gathered near the site.
The killing of Brendin Horner, a white man whose tortured body was found tied to a pole near his farm in the Free State province, sparked riots at the start of this month, and prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to make a statement urging South Africans to “resist attempts … to mobilise communities along racial lines”. Read more
Chaka Khan on collaborating with Ariana Grande: ‘She’s good on her own’ (PageSix)
Chaka Khan is disinclined to collaborate with Ariana Grande. In fact, when asked if she’d like to work with the Grammy winner, Khan said, “F - - k her.”
In a new interview with VladTV, Khan said that there are no stars that she wants to record with. The interviewer then threw out Grande as a possible duet partner. “F - - k her,” Khan said, dismissing the younger singer as “alright.”
“She’s good on her own,” Khan added. “She don’t need me. Plus, I don’t wanna sing with another woman.” She said she’d prefer to get her message across “by [herself.]” Read more
‘Jacindamania’ set to return Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand PM (Aljazeera)
Jacinda Ardern is on track for a second term as New Zealand’s prime minister in elections that will take place on Saturday, thanks largely to her handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has helped burnish her image as an effective leader.
While the government has lost some support since the coronavirus resurfaced in Auckland in August, recent opinion polls show it is still polling at 46 per cent compared with the National Party’s 31 per cent with just two days to go before the election.
Political scientist and gardening enthusiast Georgina Murray cast one of her two votes to the Green Party in a bid “to keep the Labour Party honest”. Read more
Ice Cube: I’m no pawn in Trump’s game (TMZ)
Ice Cube’s scoffing at the notion he’s being used by President Donald Trump to win over Black voters — he says that’s irrelevant to his mission, and he’s calling out Joe Biden for balking on joining it.
The rapper and actor joined “TMZ Live” Thursday to address critics who’ve been attacking him, claiming he went to the “dark side” by teaming with POTUS.
On Wednesday, Trump’s administration announced Cube was involved in creating its Platinum Plan … which would pump $500 billion into Black communities and provide better access to education and jobs.
Cube told us his sole focus was getting the administration to adopt elements of his Contract with Black America … in order to improve Black lives. He insists he is NOT attempting to sway Black votes toward either candidate. Read more
Saudi foreign minister hints at resolving Qatar blockade (Aljazeera)
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has signalled progress may be under way towards resolving the three-year-old rift with its Gulf neighbour Qatar, following a meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia along with United Arab Emirates (UAE) Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade ties with Doha and imposed a sea, land and air blockade on the gas-rich nation.
“We are committed to finding a solution,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in a virtual discussion hosted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think-tank, on Thursday. Read more
Cardi B says she’s back with Offset (TMZ)
Cardi B is confirming what our own eyes have been telling us — she and Offset are back together, and to hell with that pending divorce.
During the rapper’s birthday celebration last weekend and another outing in Atlanta together this week, they seemed way more like a happily married couple than exes moving on … and Cardi says the reason is pretty simple.
Cardi denies she’s gone back to Offset for attention, instead it’s just that she’s a “crazy bitch” who can’t make up her mind. She says one day she’s happy, the next day she wants to beat him up … and then she starts to miss him all over again.
She adds … “It’s hard not to talk to your best friend. It’s really hard not to talk to your best friend.” Read more
Covid: Remdesivir ‘has little or no effect’ on survival, says WHO (BBC)
Anti-viral drug remdesivir has little to no effect on Covid patients’ chances of survival, a study from the World Health Organization (WHO) has found.
The WHO trial evaluated four potential medications for Covid-19, including remdesivir and hydroxychloroquine.
Remdesivir was among the first to be used to treat coronavirus, and was recently given to US President Donald Trump when he was in hospital.
The drug’s manufacturer Gilead rejected the findings of the trial. Read more
Gareth Bale: Tottenham winger will ‘probably’ play against West Ham – Jose Mourinho (BBC)
Gareth Bale will “probably” make his second debut for Tottenham against West Ham on Sunday, says Jose Mourinho.
Bale, 31, has been continuing his recovery from a knee injury since re-joining Spurs on loan from Real Madrid in September.
The Wales international has been involved in full training for the last two weeks, and Spurs manager Mourinho said he is in “good condition”.
“Probably he plays Sunday, if he doesn’t he will on Thursday,” he said.
“He is very, very close.” Read more
COVID-19: Australia Open cancelled, first time since WW2 (Vanguard)
The Australia Open will be absent from the sports calendar for the first time since World War Two this season.
This came to be after Golf Australia and the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of Australia cancelled all of their top events on Friday because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 105th edition of the country’s oldest and most prestigious tournament, scheduled to take place at Melbourne’s Kingston Heath Golf Club, had already been postponed from its usual slot in November.
With Melbourne still in lockdown and access to Australia still extremely difficult for foreigners, however, the governing bodies decided to cancel both men and women’s Opens. Read more
Man City’s De Bruyne out of Arsenal game (BBC)
Man City and Belgium midfielder De Bruyne won the PFA Player of the Year award in the 2019-20 season
Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne will miss Saturday’s home Premier League game against Arsenal through injury.
The Belgium midfielder, 29, was substituted in his country’s Nations League match against England on Sunday.
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez said the move was a “precaution”, but City boss Pep Guardiola said he is not available for the 17:30 BST kick-off. Read more
Osun United to resume training on Sunday (Vanguard)
The management of Osun United Football Club of Osogbo says the club will begin full preparation for the 2020/2021 Nigeria National League (NNL) season on Sunday.
Tajudeen Amodu, the club’s Media Officer, in a statement on Thursday said the move followed Federal Government’s announcement of the lifting of its ban on contact sports.
“The decision is as a result of the announcement by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, in conjunction with Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, that contact sports should resume,” he said. Read more
Liverpool clash will test Everton’s progress -Ancelotti (Punch)
Carlo Ancelotti says Everton will get a true measure of their improvement when the surprise Premier League leaders face champions Liverpool on Saturday.
Ancelotti’s side have reeled off four successive wins in a perfect start to the season.
But the Everton manager knows this weekend’s Merseyside derby at Goodison Park will provide the acid test of their resurgence. Read more
Ibrahimovic set for Milan derby, Ronaldo in quarantine as Serie A returns (Guardian)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic prepares to return in Saturday’s Milan derby but Juventus will be without Cristiano Ronaldo as Serie A swings back into action after the international break in the shadow of coronavirus.
In a week where Napoli were deducted a point and handed a 3-0 defeat to Juventus for failing to turn up for their match because of two virus cases, Covid-19 looks set to be a game-changer in a season already in turmoil going into round four.
“The real victory is to finish the championship, the result is secondary,” said Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini as his team headed back into isolation after Weston McKennie tested positive with Ronaldo returning with the virus from international duty in Portugal. Read more