Alleged kidnap, attempted murder: Absence of Evans’ counsel stalls trial (Nation)
Absence of counsel to suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, aka Evans, on Friday, stalled the hearing in his case before a Lagos High Court, sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square.
Evans is currently facing two separate charges, bordering on conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping and attempted murder, before Justice Adedayo Akintoye.
In the first charge, Evans is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Ugochukwu Nwachukwu and Victor Aduba.
In the second charge, he is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Victor Aduba and Linus Okpara. Read more
Man, 33, allegedly steals delivery motorcycle (Vanguard)
A 33-year-old man, Lukemon Odewole, on Friday appeared before an Ogudu Magistrates’ Court, Lagos State, for allegedly stealing Domino Pizza’s delivery motorcycle.
Odewole, whose address was not provided, is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor, Insp Sunday Bassey, told the court that the defendant committed the offences on Nov. 17 at 5.32 p.m. at Ramat Kolawole Street, Ogudu GRA, Lagos State. Read more
Ifeoma Utomi to deliver UNILAG inaugural lecture (Independent)
Renowned orthodontist Prof Ifeoma Linda Utomi will take the academic community on an excursion into the world of dental care in her inaugural lecture at the University of Lagos on Wednesday 8 December 2021.
Prof Utomi will speak on “Beauty, Braces and Being: Restoring the smile, transforming the life” to inform her colleagues and the community about her research in the linkages between dental care and physical and emotional well-being.
Ifeoma Linda Utomi is a professor of Orthodontics/Consultant Orthodontist, Department of Dental Health, Faculty of Dentistry, at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos.
Prof Utomi’s particular focus is on early treatment and special needs individuals as part of Oral Health and Dental Management. Read more
Lagos to probe Dowen College student’s death (Vanguard)
The Lagos State government has sympathised with the family of Sylvester Oromoni, a student of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, who died from injuries he allegedly sustained from the beating by his colleagues that wanted him to join their secret cult group.
The state government also promised to investigate the matter.
A statement on Friday by the spokesman of the Ministry of Education, Ganiu Lawal, said the government was in touch with the parents of the boy.
The statement read in part: “The Lagos State Government sends its condolences to the parents of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni Jnr., a student of Dowen College, Lekki. Read more
Court orders autopsy on corpse of Imo businessman killed by suspected soldiers (Punch)
A Federal High Court in Owerri, Imo State, on Friday, ordered that an autopsy be carried out on the corpse of Noel Chigbu.
Chigbu, a businessman in Owerri, was allegedly shot dead on April 30, in Owerri, by suspected soldiers for allegedly violating a traffic rule.
The deceased eldest brother and spokesperson for the family, Tobechi Chigbu, had told journalists that some soldiers had shot dead his brother on the day he took delivery of his new Toyota Camry car and was driving home at the close of work.
The distraught Tobechi had said that Noel was killed after dropping off his friend and was driving home. Read more
Contractors, workers groan as NDDC elevators break down (Nation)
Contractors and workers at the 13th-floor corporate headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) located in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, are groaning over the breakdown of all the lifts installed in the building.
Investigations revealed that all the four lifts installed to facilitate movements in and out of the multi-billion naira edifice stopped working about a month ago.
An insider source, who spoke in confidence, said they started malfunctioning almost immediately they were activated on completion of the project.
“They started malfunctioning, breaking down midway and dropping incapacity. Sometimes they got only to the fifth floor then dropped to third and finally packed up. Read more
MTN wants as many Nigerians as possible to be co owners of the company, says MTN chief executive officer (Sun)
Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Teriola, has said that the reason they were making a public offer was to bring in as many Nigerians as possible to becoming part owners of MTN Nigeria.
He spoke in Kano,during a road show organised by the company to enlighten the investing public about their public offer.
In his words: “We are going public for one reason and only for one reason. We want Nigerians, every common Nigerian in every part of Nigeria, to have a share in the wealth creation that MTN is going to take us through in the coming years , 20 , 30 and in the next hundred years”
He explained that MTN does not want to give a chunk of its shares to a few large institutions, adding rather that, ” We want as many people as possible to holds shares however little you can afford.” Read more
Omicron variant: FG releases new Int’l travel guidelines (Sun)
With confirmed cases of omicron variant of COVID-19, the Federal Government has reviewed its international travel protocol to reduce the risk of spreading the virus in the country.
Omicron — identified as a “variant of concern” — was recently detected by South African authorities.
In the new travel protocol dated December 1 and signed by Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, the new travel protocol which takes effect on December 5, out-bound travellers are required to provide either valid evidence of full vaccination against COVID-19 or negative PCR test results within 48hrs from the time of boarding.
The inbound flight according to the statement COVID-19 PCR test is to be done within 48hrs before departure, post-arrival day 2 COVID-19 PCR test, self-isolation for 7 days (for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals), day 7 post-arrival exit PCR test (for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals). Read more
Pope Francis appoints Bishop Badejo, others to Vatican Communications’ Dicastery (Nation)
Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo to the Vatican Dicastery for Communications.
The appointment was announced in a statement made available by Rev. Fr. John Irekiigbe, the Director of Communications, Oyo Diocese, to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday.
NAN reports that the Dicastery of Communications is the administrative department of the Holy See (The Vatican State) through which Pope Francis directs affairs that pertain to Social Communications in the Roman Catholic Church.
Badejo has, since 2015, been the Bishop President for CEPACS, the French acronym for the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications, which is the communications committee of Bishops for the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). Read more
International Space Station forced to swerve away from stray piece of spacecraft (Independent)
The International Space Station was forced to swerve away from a stray piece of spacecraft early on Friday.
The floating lab had to take evasive measures to escape from a piece of a US launch vehicle, according to the head of Russia’s space agency.
It is just the latest in a series of dangerous events that have seen astronauts forced to take measures to keep themselves safe from so-called space junk.
Calls to monitor and regulate space debris, or space junk, have grown since Russia conducted an anti-satellite missile test last month. This generated a debris field in orbit that U.S. officials said would pose a hazard to space activities for years. Read more
Uber to pay $9m in sex-assault report settlement (BBC)
Uber is to pay $9m (£6.8m) to settle a complaint over its sexual-assault and harassment reporting in California.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) had told Uber to hand over information about assault and harassments – but it did not do so.
At the time, Uber had argued it would be a “shocking violation of privacy” for victims.
The payment – reduced from an initial $59m fine – will help fund passenger-safety promotion, CPUC said. Read more
‘Evil’ stepmum who murdered boy, 6, ‘had salt thrown at her’ by fellow prisoners (Metro)
The ‘wicked’ stepmother convicted of murdering her partner’s six-year-old son during a ‘campaign of appalling cruelty’ whinged at being threatened and attacked in jail in the lead-up to her trial.
Emma Tustin, 32, inflicted an ‘unsurvivable brain injury’ on Arthur Labinjo-Hughes at her home in Cranmore Road, Solihull, after violently shaking him and repeatedly banging his head against a wall.
She then callously took a photo of him as he lay dying in her hallway and sent it to his father, 29-year-old Thomas Hughes, who was found guilty of manslaughter at Coventry Crown Court after encouraging his own son’s killing, including sending a sick text to Tustin telling her to ‘just end him’.
Tustin also poisoned Arthur by force-feeding him salt-laced meals, and it has since emerged that she had ‘salt thrown at her’ by other inmates while on remand at HMP Peterborough awaiting trial. Read more
Lebanon minister Kordahi resigns to resolve Saudi Arabia dispute (Aljazeera)
Information Minister George Kordahi, whose criticism of the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen against the Houthi rebels sparked a diplomatic crisis, has announced his resignation, as cash-strapped Lebanon tries to resolve the weeks-long row.
“I won’t accept being used as a reason to harm Lebanon and our Lebanese brothers in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries,” Kordahi said at a news conference on Friday.
“The interests of my country and my people and supporters is above my personal interest. Lebanon is more important than George Kordahi, and the Lebanese interests are more important than a ministerial role.”
Kordahi said Prime Minister Najib Mikati had told him earlier this week that his resignation would be a prerequisite for French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the diplomatic crisis with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyadh and defuse tensions between Lebanon and the kingdom. Read more
Iran chief negotiator says nuclear proposals ‘cannot be rejected’ (Aljazeera)
Iran’s chief negotiator has said the draft proposals his country submitted during talks with world powers aimed at reviving a 2015 nuclear deal “cannot be rejected”.
Representatives of Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom convened this week in Vienna for the seventh round of talks to restore the landmark accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The United States, which unilaterally withdrew from the pact in 2018 when it also reimposed punishing sanctions against Iran, is only participating indirectly as Iran refuses to hold direct negotiations with it.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera in the Austrian capital, Ali Bagheri Kani said on Friday Iran would deliver a third proposal once the first two it submitted the previous day were accepted.
“Iran’s proposals to the world powers cannot be rejected. They are based on the provisions of the 2015 agreement,” he said, adding that all nuclear-related US sanctions should be removed immediately. Read more
Italian man tries to dodge Covid vaccine wearing fake arm (Guardian)
An Italian man is facing charges of fraud after turning up for his Covid-19 vaccine wearing a fake arm.
So determined was he to dodge the jab but still obtain a health pass, the anti-vaxxer may have paid hundreds of euros for the silicone prosthetic.
The bizarre episode at a vaccine hub in Biella, a town close to Turin in the northern Piedmont region, came a week after Italy announced measures barring unvaccinated people from a host of social, cultural and sporting activities.
After completing the bureaucratic formalities, including signing a consent form in front of a doctor, the man, aged 50, sat down and lifted up the sleeve of his shirt as he prepared for a health worker to administer the jab. Read more
Omicron: Thai government reprimands newspaper for headline saying it is ‘hunting for Africans’ (Independent)
A major Thai newspaper has become the target of a public rebuke by the country’s Covid-19 task force agency for its “poor choice” of words in a headline about the omicron variant.
The Bangkok Post on Thursday tweeted a picture of its print edition’s front page with the main headline reading: “Govt hunts for African visitors”.
It comes after the new variant of coronavirus, omicron, was first reported by South Africa on 25 November. Thailand’s health authorities on Wednesday said they were tracking down around 783 travellers who have arrived in Thailand from various southern African countries since 15 November amid fears over the heavily mutated SARS.CoV.2 variant.
In a press conference on Friday, a spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) criticised the newspaper and said the headline does not reflect the government’s policy or approach. Read more
Suspect randomly stabs two men in separate NYC attacks (NYPost)
An assailant randomly stabbed two men in separate attacks in Morningside Heights on Thursday night — leaving one of the victims in grave condition, police and sources said.
The first knifing occurred near the intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and 123rd Street shortly before 11 p.m., cops said.
About 15 minutes later, the same male suspect stabbed another victim near Morningside Park at the intersection at Morningside Drive and West 110th Street, according to police and sources.
The victims are 30 and 27 years old, police said. One of them was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and the other is expected to survive. Read more
NFF receives ministerial approval to Sack Rohr (DailyTrust)
The Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development has given approval for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to sack the present Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr and hire a more competent coach for the three-time African champions.
This was part of the agreement reached at the meeting held yesterday in Abuja between the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare and the president of the NFF, Amaju Pinnick.
An inside source told Daily Trust that among several other issues discussed, the Minister of Sports gave the NFF approval to pay-off Gernot Rohr and find a capable replacement for the Franco German coach.
The source also said the Minister insisted that before the NFF would employ a new coach, the federation must prove it can pay either whole or substantial part of the money that is due to the embattled coach. Read more
Ralf Rangnick sets out his plan to fix Manchester United’s defensive woes (MEN)
“Yesterday’s game was exciting for the fans, but even for myself, as the future coach, those are not the kind of games that we need every day”.
Ralf Rangnick was present for a blockbuster at Old Trafford on Thursday night as Manchester United came from behind to beat Arsenal 3-2.
It was a thriller for the neutral that had a bit of everything, though in his first press conference as Manchester United boss on Friday morning, Rangnick was clear that these aren’t the sort of spectacles he’ll want to see from his United side going forward.
“Yesterday, we conceded two goals, we needed three goals to win the game and if you look at the total number of goals conceded, it is almost two on average, per game, and this is just too much. Read more
2021 Abuja Carnival Polo Tournament: Pomp as Army, Lintex, ASI, Dokaji win top honours (Nation)
The nation’s capital city, Abuja, celebrated one of its grandest moments as polo patrons, players and dignitaries turned up in their droves to celebrate yet another exciting edition of the Abuja Carnival polo in a week-long fiesta.
From the highly entertaining Beginners’ game that saw Amir Adamu Yaro and other youngsters display awesome skills to the delight of the crowd, to the participation of royal fathers from ancient Yola, Keffi and Zazzau kingdoms, the prestigious fiesta was truly a royal carnival.
Undoubtedly the biggest highlight came from the Lintex, ASI and Dokaji teams that combined to put host Abuja on top of the pristine Aso Rock that provided a perfect backdrop, winning three out of the four major titles at stake.
Top firing Abuja Lintex parading Isa Kwame, Abdulmalik Badamasi, Jamilu Mohammed and team Patron, Bashir Bashir Dantata, defeated two tough and determined oppositions, Cassiva team and former champion Keffi Ponys to clinch the event’s biggest prize- the President Cup. Read more
Emmanuel Dennis nominated for November Premier League Player of the Month (Vanguard)
Watford striker, Emmanuel Dennis is among the six players nominated for the Premier League’s player of the month for November.
Dennis, since joining the Hornets this season, has found the back of the net six times in thirteen league appearances and provided five assists, making him one of the Nigerian strikers lighting up Europe.
He found the back of the net two times out of the four games his side played in the month of November, scoring the two goals consecutively against Manchester United and Leicester City. He also scored in their narrow 1-2 loss to Chelsea on Wednesday.
He becomes the sixth player to reach at least five goals and 5+ assists in his first 12 Premier League matches. Read more
Lewis Hamilton fastest in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix first practice (BBC)
Lewis Hamilton led title rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull by a tiny margin in first practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver ended up just 0.056 seconds clear of Verstappen after the first running on the spectacularly fast new Jeddah Corniche street circuit.
Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas was 0.223secs off the pace, and declared the track “cool”.
Verstappen leads Hamilton by eight points with two races remaining. Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo already feeling Ralf Rangnick pressure with noticeable Man Utd change (Mirror)
Cristiano Ronaldo already appears to be feeling the pressure ahead of Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick taking charge for the first time – as the veteran star put on a show for his new boss in United’s 3-2 win over Arsenal on Thursday night.
Ronaldo’s brace helped fire United to a much-needed win to round off Michael Carrick ‘s brief stint in charge before Rangnick steps in.
The German coach was watching on from the stands at Old Trafford after he was appointed earlier this week.
And it appears that it has presence has already had the desired effect on United’s Portuguese superstar, who turned in one of his most impressive performances of the season. Read more
Lamine Diack: Disgraced athletics boss dies in Senegal (BBC)
The disgraced former head of world athletics’ governing body Lamine Diack has died at home in Senegal, aged 88.
Diack, who was convicted of corruption last year, was president of World Athletics (formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations, IAAF) from 1999 to 2015.
In September 2020, he was found guilty of corruption and money-laundering, linked to the Russian doping scandal.
A French court sentenced him to four years in prison, two of them suspended. Read more
‘What WTA did is really STRONG’ – Danil Medvedev on Peng Shuai reaction (Eurosport)
World No.2 Daniil Medvedev helped secure a 2-0 win for Russian Tennis Federation over Sweden on Thursday to send his side into the Davis Cup semi-finals then immediately found himself fielding questions about the WTA’s decision to immediately suspend all tournaments in China and Hong Kong, as concerns continue to mount over the safety and well-being of Peng Shuai.
Following the WTA’s announcement on Wednesday, the ATP released a statement on Thursday that expressed concern for Peng but did not mention her sexual assault accusations, nor did it include any intention of pulling any operations from China.
“What WTA did was definitely a strong decision. At the same time there are so many, let’s say, companies in the world, let’s talk, outside of WTA and ATP. Many of them are outside of China and are still working,” Medvedev told reporters in Madrid.
“I feel like there can be different opinions on what to do. I’m sure talking about [ATP chairman] Andrea [Gaudenzi], ATP, every player, we all want to see her, to be safe, in China, outside of China, doesn’t matter. Read more