Army went to Lekki Tollgate with blank and live ammunition, General tells Judicial Panel (Vanguard)
Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Taiwo, Commander of the 81 Division, Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, told the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the Lekki Tollgate incident that the army went to the tollgate with both blank and live ammunition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Taiwo made the revelation while being cross-examined by lawyers to the #EndSARS protesters, Mr Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN) and Mr Adeshina Ogunlana.
Under cross-examination by Olumide-Fusika, Taiwo said that the there were men and materials from the Army at the Lekki Tollgate in the evening of Oct. 20.
“We had men and materials – vehicles and rifles for shooting. A portion of the force were carrying live bullets in case they are attacked. Read more
Lagos tasks residence on tolerance (Guardian)
Lagos State Government has stressed the need for residents, irrespective of tribe, race and religion to tolerate and show love towards one another, to boost the state’s prosperity.
The Commissioner for Home Affairs, Prince Anofiu Olanrewaju Elegushi, who stated this at an event to mark International Day of Tolerance, noted that Lagos has played home and brought prosperity to people from different parts of the world, and tolerance is needed to sustain its growth and progress.
He said it is the reason the state is preaching the need for residents and visitors to imbibe the culture of tolerance.
Elegushi said human beings are brought up with different views, cultures, beliefs and leanings. Therefore, there is bound to be some level of disagreement. Read more
Truck drivers delaying Lagos-Ibadan road completion –FG, Julius Berger (Punch)
The Federal Government, Julius Berger and Reynolds Construction Company have accused truck drivers of negatively impacting the progress of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The contractors of the project, Messrs Julius Berger and Reynolds Construction Company, accused truck drivers situated at Ogere for damaging some completed sections of the road.
The Managing Director, Julius Berger, Lavs Richter, at an inspection tour on Saturday, explained that the workers experienced a series of congestion from truck on the road. Read more
Ngige: ASUU’s exemption from IPPIS temporary (Thisday)
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has said the federal government’s proposal to exempt some members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System was only a temporary measure pending the conclusion of the integrity test on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution.
Ngige, who clarified the position of the government team during Friday’s negotiation with ASUU, said it was not true that government had abandoned IPPIS and that ASUU should not be on IPPIS.
“I think it is better, because a lot of people are quoting us out of context, saying that we abandoned the IPPIS and that we said they should not be on IPPIS. It is not true. Read more
Two arrested for allegedly eating roasted police officers’ flesh in Ibadan (Vanguard)
The police in Oyo State have confirmed the arrest of two suspects allegedly linked with the roasting and eating of the flesh of police officers burnt in Ibadan during #EndSARS protest.
Police Spokesman at the Oyo State Command, SP Olugbenga Fadeyi, confirmed the arrest of the suspects on Saturday in Ibadan in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The suspects, a 34-year-old expectant mother and a 43-year-old man have been transferred to the Force Intelligence Bureau at the Force Headquarters in Abuja for further investigation, he said. Read more
COVID-19: Rising cases, no plans for another lockdown, says SGF (Thisday)
With the economy now back in recession, the nation is definitely not contemplating a second lockdown even though the Covid-19 cases are increasing by the day, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on coronavirus, Boss Mustapha, has said.
Mustapha, who hinted that the PTF is billed to meet tomorrow, Monday, November 23, and perfect strategies on how to contain the new wave of Covid-19 infection, however, said the nation might introduce new but stricter measures, going forward.
Although he claimed more facts did not support the idea of a second lockdown, Mustapha insisted that such a position would be the way to go if only Nigerians were willing to cooperate and stop acting as though the virus was a hoax. Read more
Masari mulls economy gains as FG commissions power infrastructure (Guardian)
Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, yesterday, stressed the need for the Federal Government to boost economic activities through adequate power supply.
This, according to him, will lead to improved productivity across all sectors of the economy.
Masari stated this at Unguwar Dutse, Malumfashi Council of the state during the commissioning of a 300kva transformer and other power infrastructure implemented through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
Stating that the development will enable the communities to contribute to economic activities, Masari, represented by his Senior Special Adviser on Power, Mansur Musa, said the project would be used to power schools, hospitals and businesses across the community. Read more
CCB set to charge Magu for failing to declare accounts (Punch)
The Code of Conduct Bureau is set to charge the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for failing to declare some accounts on his Asset Declaration form, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.
The CCB had invited Magu via a letter with reference number CCB/HQ/II&M/007/2093 dated November 2, 2020. He was asked to appear before the anti-corruption agency on November 17, 2020.
The suspended EFCC boss was asked to come along with acknowledgment copies of all asset declaration forms since joining the public service as well as his payslips and land documents. Read more
Kenyan online cartel is luring girls to orgies, police warn (BBC)
Police in Kenya are investigating an “online cartel” that targets girls stuck at home because of coronavirus and lures them under false pretences to what officers describe as orgies.
The case came to light after three missing teenagers were rescued by officers in the capital Nairobi.
The three told police they had seen a social media account that invited them to “parties” in the city.
Police warned parents to keep a close eye on their children’s activities.
“The DCI (Directorate of Criminal Investigations) wishes to inform the public that we are hunting down members of the cartel and they’ll be apprehended to answer for their crimes,” police said on Twitter. Read more
Amazon investigates after customers receive bags of rice instead of PS5 (Metro)
Amazon UK customers awaiting the delivery of the new Playstation 5 have been left reeling when they were greeted by bags of rice instead of the sleek games console. Thieves appear to have stolen PS5s before they were delivered on Thursday and Friday this week. Disappointed buyers who had ordered months in advance took to Twitter to share their dismay and utter confusion, after discovering their £450 console was replaced with random items such as foot massagers, cat food, and George Foreman grills. Other customers reported packages had mistakenly been marked as delivered when they hadn’t received anything. MTV journalist Bex April May tweeted about her ordeal when Amazon marked her PS5 order as ‘missed’ around Thursday afternoon even though no attempt at delivery had been made. Read more
US election: Trump camp’s lawsuit struck down in Pennsylvania (BBC)
A judge in Pennsylvania has dismissed a lawsuit from the Trump campaign that sought to invalidate millions of mail-in votes in the battleground state.
District Judge Matthew Brann said the “court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit”.
The move paves the way for Pennsylvania to next week certify Joe Biden’s win – he leads by more than 80,000 votes.
It is the latest blow to Donald Trump, who is trying to overturn his loss in the 3 November presidential election.
He has refused to concede and made allegations of widespread electoral fraud, without providing any evidence. Read more
Dutch journalist crashes ‘secret’ EU defense meeting after access code accidentally posted online (RT)
A Dutch reporter has managed to log into a supposedly highly secure EU videoconference, using a pin-code that had been accidentally exposed on the country’s defense minister’s Twitter account.
The ‘hack’ occurred on Friday, when RTL Nieuws journalist Daniel Verlaan managed to sneak into the online gathering of the EU bigwigs. Footage of the incident, shared by the reporter online, shows a smiling Verlaan waving to the officials, many of whom were not exactly glad to see the reporter — while others laughed.
The journalist was confronted by EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy boss Josep Borrell, who asked Verlaan to present himself and said the conference had been intercepted.
“You know you have been jumping into a secret conference?” Borell asked. Read more
Black Panther 2 to start filming in July after death of Chadwick Boseman (Metro)
Black Panther 2 is set to begin shooting in July 2021, almost a year after death of Chadwick Boseman. The Marvel sequel was originally scheduled to begin production in March, but this date was understandably postponed following the devastating death of Boseman – who played T’Challa – aged 43. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the as yet untitled sequel will begin filming in Atlanta in July, for a shoot that will last ‘for upwards of six months’. While the cast has not been confirmed, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett are all expected to return, with some sources saying that Wright’s character Shuri may take a bigger role. Read more
Guatemala: Congress on fire after protesters storm building (BBC)
Hundreds of anti-government protesters in Guatemala have vandalised and set fire to parts of the Congress building, before being dispersed by riot police.
The building in Guatemala City was empty at the time of the attack, which lasted for about 10 minutes.
The fire services have managed to put the fire out but the extent of the damage is not yet known.
The protesters are opposed to a budget which was approved by Congress on Wednesday night. Read more
Eddie Murphy’s Coming 2 America gets 2021 release date on Amazon Prime (Metro)
Eddie Murphy’s highly anticipated comedy sequel Coming 2 America will launch on Amazon Prime Video in 2021. Amazon Studios has bagged the worldwide rights from Paramount Pictures, meaning the Craig Brewer directed film will be seen around the world in over 240 countries when it arrives on March 5, 2021. Set in Zamunda, it sees newly-crowned King Akeem, played by Eddie, and his right hand man Semmi (Arsenio Hall) embark on a new adventure as they return to Queens, New York, where it all began in the 1988 original movie. Original stars James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, Cleo McDowell and Louise Anderson also star, and they will be joined by a host of newcomers including Tracy Morgan, Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones and Teyana Taylor. Read more
Fernandes’ retaken penalty earns Man Utd win over West Brom (BBC)
Bruno Fernandes’ twice-taken second-half penalty was enough to give Manchester United their first Premier League victory of the season at Old Trafford over a battling West Brom outfit.
Former United keeper Sam Johnstone made a string of superb stops to deny his old club, included a splendid save from Fernandes’ initial kick.
However, VAR intervened as Johnstone was clearly off his line and Fernandes made no mistake with his second attempt. The effort ended a wait of 324 minutes for a United goal in the Premier League on home soil – and that was also a spot-kick from the Portuguese against Tottenham. Read more
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits Manchester United were off-colour in West Brom win (Metro)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that his Manchester United side’s performance in Saturday’s narrow 1-0 victory against West Brom was ‘way below par’. The Red Devils clinched their first win at Old Trafford in the Premier League this season, with Bruno Fernandes’ retaken penalty in the second half securing all three points. The clash was marred by VAR controversy, with the Baggies having their own spot-kick decision overturned by referee David Coote after a pitch-side review. Read more
ATP Finals 2020: Daniil Medvedev beats Rafael Nadal & Dominic Thiem overcomes Novak Djokovic (BBC)
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were knocked out of the ATP Finals as Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem set up a title decider.
World number two Nadal served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but Russia’s Medvedev hit back brilliantly to win 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in London.
He was the more aggressive player throughout and was composed in the decider as errors came from Nadal.
Earlier, Thiem beat world number one Djokovic 7-5 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (7-5).
The Austrian trusted his big hitting and fought back from a 4-0 deficit in the deciding third-set tie-break to win in almost three hours. Read more
Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr ‘won’t be tested for marijuana use’ before comeback showdown on November 28 (RT)
Boxing icons Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr will not be subjected to drug testing for marijuana ahead of their much-hyped comeback showdown in California later this month, according to reports.
Tyson and Jones Jr – who boast a combined age of 105 – meet in a heavyweight exhibition bout at the Staples Center on November 28 as the pair step out of retirement.
Some details of the contest have already been confirmed, such as the prize on offer in the form of a specially created ‘Black Lives Matter’ belt commissioned by the WBC. Read more
Spurs go top with victory over Man City (BBC)
Tottenham Hotspur went top of the Premier League after producing a display of clinical efficiency and tactical discipline to beat Manchester City.
In the usual battle of wits between Jose Mourinho and his old adversary Pep Guardiola, the Spurs manager came out on top as his team’s season gathered further momentum.
Son Heung-min put Spurs in front after five minutes, finishing coolly from Tanguy Ndombele’s pass before Manchester City had a first-half goal ruled out by VAR for a handball by Gabriel Jesus after Aymeric Laporte’s finish.
City continued to enjoy greater possession but Spurs, as you would expect from a Mourinho side, were fiercely drilled and resilient, taking their chance when it came to double their advantage and finish the game. Read more
Jose Mourinho rates Tottenham’s title chances after Manchester City win (Metro)
Jose Mourinho is adamant his Tottenham side are not equipped to fight for the Premier League title, despite Saturday’s convincing win over Manchester City. Goals from Heung-Min Son and Giovani Lo Celso sent Spurs top of the table, for 24 hours at least, as Mourinho celebrated his first season in charge of the north London club in the perfect fashion. After their opening weekend defeat against Everton, Mourinho has masterminded an impressive run of form and but for a late collapse against West Ham. Read more