BRT crushes Lagos motorcyclist, passenger to death (Punch)
Two yet-to-be-identified persons lost their lives on Wednesday when a bus belonging to the Primero Transport Services Limited rammed into a commercial motorcycle conveying two passengers to a destination in the Ile-Igbo area of Abule-Egba, Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the motorcyclist was plying the Bus Rapid Transit dedicated route without switching on the headlamp of his motorcycle when the tragedy struck around 4 am.
The motorcyclist and one of the passengers, died on the spot, while the other passenger, who sustained injuries from the impact of the collision, was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
It was learnt that immediately the accident happened, the bus driver, Bohan Abiodun, went to the Oke-Odo Police Division to report the matter, and this enabled the police and other emergency responders to rescue the injured victim. Read more
Independence Day: Police Command warns against rallies in Lagos (Vanguard)
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, has instructed officers and men of the command to disallow any group from staging rallies or protests within the state to mark the nation’s 60th Independence anniversary.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria will attain 60 years as an independent country on Oct.1,2020 having gained independence from the British Government on Oct.1, 1960.
Odumosu, in a statement signed by the command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), SP Olumuyiwa Adejobi on Wednesday, said that the Lagos State Government had cancelled the ceremonial parade in adherence to COVID-19 regulations. Read more
Lagos lauds XHS’ contributions to education, to partner firm (Thisday)
The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, has commended the management of XHS Nigeria Limited for consistently delivering quality equipment and solutions to the state examination board for the past 14 years which he said has enhanced the productivity of the board.
According to the statement made available to THISDAY, the deputy governor said this recently during a courtesy visit of the company’s management team to the State House, led by the Chief Executive Officer, Femi Okunade on the firm’s effort at delivering 21st century smart office solutions to the state.
Responding, Okunade expressed his team’s gratitude to the state government for giving the company the privilege to share in its responsibility of executing the state it agenda by providing print management solutions across the MDAs to support e-governance, reduce cost of printing and enhance productivity. Read more
Atiku, Mark, governors, others felicitate with Nigeria at 60 (Thisday)
As Nigeria marks her 60th Independence anniversary, the former vice president and the PDP presidential candidate in the 2019 general election, Atiku Abubakar has appealed on those who have taken up arms against Nigeria to have a rethink.
He said that whatever differences they may have with the rest of Nigeria, whether religious, ethnic or political: terror, violence and separatism are not the way.
The former vice president also called on the federal government to invest in the future of the youths as they remain the soul of the Nigerian nation.
According to Atiku in a statement he signed said, “Let us learn from history. In Ireland, Israel, and the Balkans, such groups have seen the wisdom in giving up armed struggle for participation in the political process”. Read more
Nigeria at 60: There is hope – Afenifere (Vanguard)
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, says there is still hope for Nigeria as it attains 60 years of nationhood.
The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr Yinka Odumakin, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
Odumakin said that Nigeria would move forward to fulfil the dreams of its founding fathers if the citizens would do the right things and the constitution reviewed to reflect the will and wishes of the federating units.
He said that there was the need to separate good governance from politics. Read more
Independence Day: Buhari addresses Nigerians from Eagle Square (Nation)
President Muhammadu Buhari will address Nigerians from the Eagle Square in Abuja on Thursday October 1, as part of the activities commemorating the nation’s Independence Day Anniversary celebration.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the open air address, which will take place after an anniversary parade, will replace the traditional early morning radio and television broadcast.
The statement, however, noted that the anniversary celebration programme, which will take off from 10am, will be broadcast live on major television and radio stations.
“As part of activities commemorating the 60th Independence Anniversary of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari will address the nation from the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Thursday, October 1, 2020. Read more
Nigeria turns 60: Can Africa’s most populous nation remain united? (BBC)
How to keep a multitude of ethnic groups united and satisfied? This was the greatest hurdle Nigeria faced in the first decade of its independence – and continues to be the case 60 years later.
Heated national conversations usually revolve around which ethnic group gets what, when, and how. Or how fairly a person from one group was treated compared to one from another.
A major policy to promote systemic equality was launched by the Nigerian government almost four decades ago, but it has led to further balkanisation and bitterness.
Nigeria is home to more than 300 ethnic groups and three dominant ones: the Igbo in the south-east, the Yoruba in the south-west, and the Hausa in the north.
These groups were separate entities before the British merged them into one country that today operate as a federal system – with power concentrated at the centre and distributed among the 36 states and the capital, Abuja.
Struggles for power at the centre or concerns about unfair treatment have at different times led to pogroms, protests and violent conflict, including the civil war of 1967 to 1970, sparked by an attempt by the Igbo to secede and form a new nation called Biafra. Read more
Queen Elizabeth II congratulates Nigeria on 60th independence anniversary (Thisday)
The Queen of England, Elizabeth II, Wednesday sent a congratulatory message to President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday’s occasion of Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary.
A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the queen’s message was conveyed by the British High Commission in Nigeria.
He quoted the queen as saying, “It gives me great pleasure to offer my warmest congratulations on the 60th anniversary of Nigeria’s Independence, together with my best wishes for your country’s continued happiness and prosperity.
“The United Kingdom and Nigeria benefit from strong and enduring ties as Commonwealth partners through shared history and most importantly, our people. These are bonds that I hope and believe will flourish long into the future.” Read more
We killed 50 kidnap victims because we couldn’t get ransoms –Suspect (Punch)
A kidnap kingpin, Mohammed Sani, has narrated how his gang murdered over 50 of their victims whose families could not pay ransom.
Sani, who was paraded on Tuesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, alongside his gang members and 46 other suspected criminals at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad headquarters in Abuja, said he carried out his operations mainly in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger and Zamfara states.
Wearing a military camouflage, the 30-year-old said he worked for one Yellow Jambros, who gave him guns and military uniform for the kidnap operations. Read more
Girl, 3, dies from heart attack after ingesting drug-dealer dad’s cocaine (Metro)
A girl, three, died from a heart attack after ingesting cocaine brought into her home by her dad, a judge has ruled. The child, named in court only as K, was admitted to hospital with suspected sepsis or meningitis, but collapsed and died on April 6 last year. A post-mortem then revealed she had cocaine in her blood. Her parents blamed each other for bringing drugs into the property, with the dad claiming her mum had left cocaine in a bedroom drawer. Their other four children were removed from the household. High Court judge Mr Justice Williams has now ruled that K’s dad ‘carelessly’ brought the cocaine into the house, ‘in connection with his drug-related activities’. Read more
Pope rejects US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting (BBC)
The Vatican has denied US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo an audience with Pope Francis.
The Holy See said the Pontiff does not receive politicians during an election period.
The move adds to a diplomatic row following comments by Mr Pompeo about China and the Catholic Church.
The Vatican accused Mr Pompeo of trying to use that issue to attract voters in November’s US presidential election. Read more
Google announces Pixel 5 with prices starting at £599 (Metro)
Google has announced the Pixel 5 alongside the Pixel 4a 5G at a special virtual event that also saw the launch of a new Chromecast and smart speaker. The 5G-enabled Pixel 5 was teased months ago, but Google tonight made it official, stating that prices for the new Android phone will start at £599. Rather than dazzle with new features, Google’s approach this year is to double-down on the camera technology, improve the battery performance and keep price low. Read more
Technical glitch halts trading on Japan’s exchanges (BBC)
A technical problem has forced a halt to all trading on Japan’s stock exchanges, including the popular Nikkei 225 index.
Stock exchanges in Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo all suffered suspended trading on Thursday.
A Japan Exchange Group statement gave no details about the nature of the glitch and didn’t indicate when trading would resume.
The shutdown follows a cyber-attack on New Zealand’s stock exchange in August. Read more
South Africa opens borders to African countries, limits others (Guardian)
South Africa will reopen its borders to all African countries from Thursday while barring tourists from around 50 nations with high coronavirus infection rates, the government said on Wednesday.
The continent’s most industrialised economy shuttered its borders at the start of a strict nationwide lockdown on March 27 to limit the spread of the virus.
Restrictions on movement and business have been gradually eased since June, but borders stayed sealed to avoid importing the virus from abroad. Read more
Julia Roberts’ breakout role in Mystic Pizza nearly went to Gloria Estefan (Metro)
Julia Roberts’ Hollywood career began with the 1998 film Mystic Pizza – but it could have all been so different. Gloria Estefan has revealed she was offered the role of Daisy Araújo in the romantic comedy-drama, but turned it down – leading to a then-unknown Julia taking the part. The Conga singer remotely appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, and a fan asked if there were any songs that she passed on that went on to be hits for somebody else. Read more
LA police ‘ambush’: Deonte Lee Murray charged with attempted murder (BBC)
Investigators in Los Angeles have charged a man with the attempted murder of two police officers who were shot as they sat in their patrol car.
Deonte Lee Murray, 36, was already in custody for unrelated carjacking charges, prosecutors said.
At a court appearance on Wednesday he pleaded not guilty to the charges in both cases, AP News reported.
Widely shared video of the shooting showed a figure approach the police car, open fire and then run away. Read more
Rohr sure Nigeria will qualify for Qatar 2022 World Cup, even against Algeria, Senegal (Guardian)
Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr, is sure his team will qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup even if Nigeria is matched against Algeria and Senegal in the last qualifying round of FIFA’s most important competition.
Nigeria is currently in the same Group C of the first qualifying round as Cape Verde, Central Africa Republic, and Liberia. These teams, according to Rohr, are not capable of stopping the Eagles from advancing to the last qualifying round, which will see Africa’s best sides divided into five groups of four teams each. Only the top five teams from the groups will make the 2022 World Cup.
Fielding questions from FIFA.com on Tuesday, Rohr said his team has developed so much that he no longer worries about what the opposition would bring to battle, adding that they are also more experienced than they were before the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Read more
The dilemmas facing a young Gambian female footballer (BBC)
Ajara Samba says she is combining her university studies, working and playing top-flight football in The Gambia to give herself as many options as possible in the future.
The soft-spoken 22-year-old plays for first division giants Red Scorpions in the Gambian women’s league and studies economics at the University of The Gambia.
She has already set her sights on breaking into sports administration in the future.
“That leadership barrier is what I want to break – that is why I’m juggling books and football so that when my football career ends the sport knowledge can prevail,” Samba told BBC Africa Sport.
“My aim when I graduate is to do few courses in sports like activity leadership, sports administrations and governance because I still want to be in the sport fraternity in my life after football. Read more
We’ve been unfairly treated, lament Olympians, athletes (Punch)
Retired and active sportsmen and women, including Olympic medalists, say they’ve been poorly treated despite winning laurels and bringing glory to the country.
As Nigeria celebrates her 60th Independence anniversary today, some of the athletes, who spoke to The PUNCH, stated in clear terms that the country was not worth dying for.
Chioma Ajunwa, Nigeria’s first and only individual Olympic gold medallist revealed that she would have been a wretch if she was not an employee of the Nigerian Police Force.
“Nigeria has never been fair to her athletes,” Ajunwa told The PUNCH.
“I Thank God that I have a job, those who don’t have are leaving from hand to mouth. When you get injured, you are deserted. Nigeria does not care for her athletes well. That’s why our potential athletes represent other countries like Bahrain.Read more
Juan Mata praises ‘very clever’ Donny van de Beek after sublime assist in Brighton win (Metro)
Manchester United attacker Juan Mata was full of praise for ‘very clever’ team-mate Donny van de Beek after the midfielder supplied the Spaniard with an exquisite assist in the side’s 3-0 win against Brighton in the Carabao Cup.
Van de Beek has had to bide his time for minutes since joining the club and both of his starts have come in the Carabao Cup. The 23-year-old impressed in a 3-0 win against Luton last week and he started in a no.10 position against the Seagulls.
United entered the break a goal up after Scott McTominay broke the dealock shortly before half-time but the Red Devils failed to create further chances to add to their lead until Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford emerged from the bench. Read more
Vinicius scores winner for Real as they go joint top (BBC)
Substitute Vinicius Junior scored the only goal as defending champions Real Madrid beat Real Valladolid to continue their unbeaten start to the season.
Zinedine Zidane’s side had taken four points from their first two La Liga games – both away – but took a while to get going in their first home fixture.
Valladolid keeper Roberto made fine saves from Federico Valverde and Luka Jovic to keep the visitors in the game. Read more
Super Eagles Friendlies: Officials, Ahmed Musa to depart for Austria on Saturday (Vanguard)
Officials of the Super Eagles, including the team’s assistant coach, Joseph Yobo and goalkeeper trainer Aloy Agu are expected to depart the country on Saturday night for Austria, ahead of the international friendly matches with Algeria and Tunisia.
Others to depart on Saturday night are Team Administrator, Dayo Enebi Achor; Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye; Team Doctor, Ibrahim Gyaran; Equipment Manager, Chidi Ngoka and Physiotherapist, Christopher Nnadozie.
Toyin Ibitoye, Super Eagles, Media Officer, disclosed this on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), saying that the officials had all received their visas for the journey. Read more
Man Utd sweep aside Brighton to cruise into last eight (BBC)
Manchester United beat Brighton for the second time in four days, with Paul Pogba scoring a free-kick to help seal their progress to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
On Saturday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side needed a dramatic late penalty, awarded via VAR after the full-time whistle had blown, to beat the Seagulls 3-2 in a game packed with incident.
This was a less frantic and fun affair, played out by largely second-string sides and in periods of torrential rain.
And it was settled in far more routine fashion, with midfielder Scott McTominay finding space in the box to head home Juan Mata’s free-kick from close range in the first half. Read more