Accidental discharge from hunter’s gun injures 8 at religious event in Adamawa (Leadership)
Eight persons have sustained various degrees of injuries following an accidental discharge from a gun at Lutheran Church of Christ (LCCN) national convention in Demsa local government area of Adamawa State.
The State’s Commissioner of Police, Danwambo Morris, has strongly condemned the firearm mishandling incident that occurred on Tuesday at the convention ground.
The CP said investigations so far revealed that the incident was caused by a member of the Hunters Association from Kukta Village in Song LGA, who was carrying a dane gun as part of security support for the religious event. Read more
Lagos Speaker Meranda denies resignation rumour (Punch)
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mojisola Meranda, has denied rumours suggesting that she has resigned.
Meranda’s Chief Press Secretary, Segun Ajiboye, debunked the rumour on Wednesday.
“I’m in the office. The speaker is in the office. I don’t know where that is coming from,” Ajiboye said in a chat with PUNCH Online. Read more
Ayra Starr becomes first woman to win ‘‘Best African Music Act’’ in 16 years (Nation)
Afrobeat singer Ayra Starr has achieved a monumental feat at the 2025 MOBO Awards, in Newcastle, United Kingdom.
She took home two prestigious awards, ‘Best International Act’ and ‘Best African Music Act’.
Ayra Starr’s win in the ‘Best International Act’ category marks a historic milestone, as she becomes the first African female artist to receive this honor. Read more
Senate summons NSA, DSS Boss Over Allegations Against USAID (Channels)
The Senate has summoned the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and the heads of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) over allegations of terrorist funding against the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The call for an urgent investigation into allegations of terror financing against USAID followed a motion raised by Senator Ali Ndume on the urgent need to probe the matter.
During the plenary, lawmakers expressed concerns over a viral video of a US Congressman, Scott Perry, who alleged that USAID has been involved in financing terrorist groups across the world, including Boko Haram. Read more
APC LG chairs, councillors resume duties in 14 Osun (Guardian)
Chairmen and councillors elected in the October 15, 2022, local government elections have resumed work at 14 secretariats across Osun State as of 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
The officials, accompanied by many APC , have reoccupied offices at secretariats in Ila, Ede South, Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ilesa East, Ilesa West, Boripe, Oriade, and Obokun, with further resumptions noted in Ejigbo, Iwo, Ayedire, and Boripe.
Ex-Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Jamiu Olawumi, confirmed the resumption and highlighted the robust security measures in place. “Security was top-notch. Members of the police tactical team, an armed squad of civil defence, and DSS are all present around the secretariat,” he said. Read more
Benue assembly crisis deepens as 13 lawmakers face suspension (DailyTrust)
The crisis rocking the Benue State House of Assembly over the removal of Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpambase, escalated on Wednesday as the House suspended 13 lawmakers for opposing the majority decision.
Our correspondent reports that shortly after 23 out of 31 members voted to remove Ikpambase, the 13 dissenting lawmakers held a press conference in Makurdi, condemning the process and alleging a breach of due process.
In response, the Speaker, Chief Hyacinth Aondona Dajoh, on Wednesday announced a three-month suspension of the lawmakers, accusing them of engaging in “dishonourable actions capable of causing acrimony in the House.” Read more
Delay in Ajaokuta Steel takeoff reduces confidence in Nigeria’s Iron, Metal & Steel Industry — MAN (Nairametics)
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has noted that the delay in the commencement of operations at the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the Aluminum Smelter Company affected the confidence level of operators in Nigeria’s iron, metal, and steel industry in the last quarter of 2024.
This was stated in the Q4 2024 report of the Manufacturers CEO Confidence Index report released by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
According to the report, the Basic Metal, Iron & Steel sub-sector recorded diminished confidence indices, dropping from 58 points in Q3 2024 to 57 in Q4 2024. Read more
Lagos assembly dismisses members defection rumours (NewTelegraph)
The Lagos State House of Assembly has refuted allegations that 27 members of the House are planning to defect from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to Labour Party (LP).
In a statement issued by the Chairman House Committee on Information, Strategy and Security, Olukayode Stephen Ogundipe, said the publication is entirely false, misleading, and a deliberate attempt to misinform the public.
“The Lagos State House of Assembly wishes to categorically debunk the malicious and unfounded publication alleging that twenty-seven members of the Assembly are planning to defect from the ruling party to the opposition Labour Party (LP). Read more
Blake Lively claims other women raised concerns about Justin Baldoni on ‘It Ends With Us’ set (CNN)
In an amended complaint, attorneys for Blake Lively added nearly 50 pages to their lawsuit against the actress’ co-star Justin Baldoni, furthering the details to Lively’s initial allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation.
Filed in New York federal court on Tuesday just ahead of a judge’s deadline, the amended complaint states that additional women who worked on the set of the movie, “It Ends With Us,” were made uncomfortable by Baldoni’s “unwelcome behaviour” and confided in Lively.
Another female co-star reported concerns about Baldoni to Sony, the film’s distributor, according to Lively’s complaint. “Ms. Lively brought this lawsuit because she was one of the ‘women or two’ that Mr. Baldoni ‘one million percent’ … ‘made uncomfortable” on the set of the film,” the amended lawsuit states. Read more
Children reportedly killed in summary executions by M23 fighters (NewUN)
The humanitarian emergency in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has deteriorated sharply with serious human rights violations and abuses, including reported summary executions of children and generalised sexual violence.
In an alert on Tuesday, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, confirmed that three children were killed by Rwanda-backed M23 armed group in Bukavu, the city in South Kivu which fell to the fighters on Sunday.
“Our office has confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week. We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons,” said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani. “We call on Rwanda and M23 to ensure that human rights and international humanitarian law are respected.” Read more
Scottish crime writer Denzil Meyrick dies aged 59 (BBC)
Bestselling Scottish crime writer Denzil Meyrick has died at the age of 59.
The former police officer is best known for his series of 11 books about DCI Jim Daley, set in the fictional Scottish town of Kinloch.
Meyrick’s agent Bell Lomax Moreton said he died at his home near Loch Lomond on Friday. He had suffered from crippling arthritis for years.
A spokesperson said: “It was a real honour to work with you, Denzil. Our thoughts are with Fiona and the family at this time.” Read more
Elon Musk makes shocking claim about the reason why NASA astronauts are still stranded in space (Unilad)
Elon Musk has made an outlandish claim about why two NASA astronauts ended up being stuck in space.
In June 2024, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore embarked on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission.
However, upon making it to the International Space Station, the duo were unable to return back to Earth as planned do it technical issues with their Boeing capsule. Read more
Rock band frontman charged with defamation of Italy’s PM (Sky)
Placebo frontman Brian Molko is being charged with defamation after launching insults at Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a gig.
Brian Molko launched into a rant in Italian about Ms Meloni, who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy party, on stage at the Sonic Park festival in Turin in July 2023.
Speaking in front of around 5,000 fans, the frontman of the alternative rock band called the prime minister a “piece of s***” and described her as “fascist” and “racist”.
His remarks prompted cheers from the audience. Read more
Rihanna feeling ‘thankful’ after A$AP Rocky is acquitted in a gun assault trial.” (MusicNews)
Rihanna is “thankful” that her partner A$AP Rocky was found not guilty in his felony assault trial.
On Tuesday, a jury in Los Angeles found the rapper, real name Rakim Mayers, not guilty of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm over claims he fired a gun at his former friend A$AP Relli during an argument in 2021. But 990Rihanna, who was present in court, expressed her gratitude for the jury’s verdict on her Instagram Stories shortly after. Read more
Previously unseen Led Zeppelin footage surfaces after being in a drawer for 45 years (NME)
Previously unseen footage of Led Zeppelin has been unearthed after sitting in a drawer for 45 years. You can watch it below.
The 13-minutes of video was shot on 8mm film during the legendary band’s show at the Falkoner Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in July 1979. This was the second date of two warm-up gigs ahead of their final UK dates at Knebworth the following month.
As Louder Sound reports, the resurfaced footage was captured by fan Lennart Ström, who revealed the existence of the film last summer. Read more
Lookman gets Super Eagles’ support after penalty miss criticism (Punch)
Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, the Super Eagles, have expressed their support for Ademola Lookman after the forward was publicly criticised by Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini for missing a penalty in a UEFA Champions League home defeat against Club Brugge.
In a show of solidarity, the official Super Eagles X handle quoted Lookman’s statement on the controversy with a brief but powerful message: “We are with you,Responding to Gasperini’s remarks in a statement on Wednesday, Lookman described the coach’s public rebuke as “deeply disrespectful.” Read more
Arsenal defender Tomiyasu to miss rest of season (BBC)
Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his right knee.
The 26-year-old has made only one appearance this season, as a substitute in a Premier League win over Southampton in October, because of the issue.
He initially sustained the injury in pre-season and had a surgical procedure in August, but required further surgery after problems with the knee persisted. Read more
Manchester United spent £14.5 mln on sackings including Ten Hag and Ashworth (France24)
Manchester United paid a total of £14.5 million ($18.3 million) to sack manager Erik ten Hag, sporting director Dan Ashworth and other members of their football staff, according to the fallen English giants’ latest accounts published Wednesday.
United, the 20-time champions of England, are currently a lowly 15th in the Premier League table following Sunday’s 1-0 loss at Tottenham, with only West Ham and Wolves between them and the relegation zone.
The hope for ‘bounce’ in results under new manager Ruben Amorim has failed to materialise since the Portuguese boss replaced Ten Hag, sacked in October just 116 days after United triggered a clause to extend the Dutchman’s contract until 2026. Read more
Why Shakur Stevenson opponent was pulled out from fight as late replacement announced (Independent)
Floyd Schofield Jr has been pulled from his blockbuster WBC lightweight world title fight against Shakur Stevenson on Saturday with Josh Padley confirmed as a late replacement.
The American was due to clash with Stevenson on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol 2 on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, with Daniel Dubois also defending his heavyweight world title against Joseph Parker.
But the 22-year-old failed to show up at the grand arrivals and has now been officially withdrawn after his father shared a picture of his son in a hospital bed. Read more
Arne Slot aims cheeky Everton dig after Liverpool fan’s first goal at new stadium (Mirror)
Liverpool boss Arne Slot could not resist taking a cheeky dig at local rivals Everton after Reds fan Harrison Rimmer scored the first goal at the Toffees’ brand new stadium.
Everton are set to move into their new £750 million ground on Bramley Moore Dock next season and the club held their first test event at the stadium on Monday, with their Under-18s side taking on Wigan.
Around 10,000 fans attended the match, which Wigan won 2-1. Wigan midfielder Rimmer opened the scoring in the first half, becoming the first player to score a goal in the new ground, and the Liverpool fan promptly celebrated by raising six fingers up to the crowd to symbolise their six European Cup wins. Read more
George Russell stands firm on Max Verstappen criticism with ‘‘pretty clear’’ message sent (PlanetF1)
George Russell insisted his run-in with Max Verstappen was in the past but reiterated that he will not be pushed around on track.
The Mercedes driver publicly fell out with his Red Bull counterpart at the end of last season but in a new year and with a winter break behind him, Russell wants it to be water under the bridge.
Verstappen and Russell clashed in the stewards room of the Qatar Grand Prix in an incident that escalated to the point of the Dutchman saying he had no respect for Russell afterwards. Read more