Budget: Lagos Assembly moves against Ambode (Punch)
The Lagos State House of Assembly has summoned the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to appear before it within one week over the 2019 budget, which has caused disagreement between the two arms of government. The Assembly accused the governor of not presenting the budget and spending it when it had not been passed. Ambode had sent the 2019 budget to the House in December against the tradition of laying the budget before the House. The Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, on Monday told lawmakers it was important to give the governor a fair hearing over the 2019 budget. Read more
Senate asks Supreme Court to reinstate Onnoghen, says Buhari can’t remove CJN (Punch)
The Senate on Monday filed a suit before the Supreme Court praying for among others, an order reinstating Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria. The Senate action came after it cancelled its scheduled plenary earlier billed for Tuesday (today). The Clerk of the Senate, Mr Nelson Ayewoh, who announced the cancellation in a statement signed by him, did not give reasons for the action. He only explained that the federal lawmakers would resume on February 19. Read more
Security men chase staff off Onnoghen’s office (Nation)
Security men, including police personnel yesterday chased out staff working in the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). The sprawling office, with adjourning offices, occupied by CJN’s support staff, located at towards the back of the Supreme Court complex, was cleared early yesterday by security men. The suspended CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen was not in the office when the incident happened. A source told The Nation that policemen arrived the CJN wing in the building around 7am and ordered every to leave. The source claimed the move was intended to prevent the suspended CJN from further accessing his office. Read more
IPOB fixes referendum for presidential poll day (Punch)
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has said IPOB will hold a referendum on the sovereign state of Biafra on February 16, a date the Independent National Electoral Commission has set aside for presidential and National Assembly elections. Kanu in a statement by spokesman for IPOB, Emma Powerful, said the group would come out with the modalities for the referendum in a few days time. The statement read in part, “We wish to announce officially to the people of Biafra both home and in the Diaspora, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom that our supreme leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is currently in London to join his family and see his child he hadn’t seen because of his illegal detention. Read more
NBA orders court boycott (Nation)
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Yesterday rose from its emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen with a five-point demand. It ordered a two-day court boycott by lawyers beginning from today. The NBA warned that it would apply more measures if its demands are not acceded to. Its communique reads: “That Hon. Mr. Justice Walter Onnoghen GCON remains the CJN and that his purported removal from office is null and void. “That the NBA does not recognise Mr. Justice Tanko Mohammed JSC as the Acting CJN his appointment being null and void. Read more
Election tribunal upholds Ekiti Governor Fayemi’s victory (Nation)
The Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, the nation’s capital, yesterday upheld the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the July 14, 2018 election, Dr Kayode Fayemi. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, challenged the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Fayemi as winner of the poll and lost. APC members trooped out in their thousands on the streets of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, dancing from Odo Ado to the Government House. Read more
Six Tanzanian children killed ‘for body parts’ (BBC)
Six children in south-western Tanzania have been killed and had their ears and teeth removed, the authorities say. Some of the bodies of the children, aged between two and nine years old, were also missing limbs. “This is all about superstitious beliefs and many believe they will get help from witchcraft,” Njombe District Commissioner Ruth Msafiri said. Police have detained one suspect, a close relative of three of the children who were from the same family. Ten children in all have gone missing in Njombe since the beginning of December and four have been found alive. Read more
US charges China’s Huawei with fraud (BBC)
The US Justice Department has filed a host of criminal charges against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou. The charges against the world’s second largest smartphone maker include accusations of bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology. The case could ratchet up tensions between China and the US, and impact the firm’s global expansion efforts. Both Ms Meng and Huawei deny the allegations. Ms Meng was arrested in Canada last month at the request of the US for allegedly evading sanctions on Iran. Read more
Bayelsa Queens are new NWFL Super Four champions (Guardian)
Bayelsa Queens yesterday made good their boost of winning the 2018 Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Super Four Championship when they beat defending champions, Nasarawa Amazons 2-0 at the Agege Stadium, Lagos. Yesterday’s victory was the club’s fifth success in the competition and it fetched them N3 million. The team defeated Sunshine Queens of Akure to reach the final against the defending champions, who beat Rivers Angels in the semifinals. Speaking after the game, Chairperson of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL), Aisha Falode said the competition created the platform for the players to display their talents, adding that the Nigerian domestic league has tremendous potential, which can serve the country well in international competitions. Read more
Athlete banned from NICEGA for defying anthem (Punch)
A female athlete Esther Edet has been expelled from the ongoing 19th Nigerian Colleges of Education Games at the Federal College of Education, Obudu, Cross River State. NICEGA president, Dr Sanusi Mohammed, expelled Edet, who is representing College of Education, Akampka, Cross River, for refusing to stand up during the rendition of the national anthem. “All participants must obey the rules and play by them. Any athlete who goes contrary to the regulations of the Games will be shown the way out. And that is why I am expelling this participant for her attitude and disposition when the national anthem was playing. This will serve as a deterrent to others to always obey the rules of the game,” he said. Meanwhile, sports have been described as a source of fostering peace and friendship, as well as transforming society through healthy competition. Read more
Holders Chelsea draw Man Utd in FA Cup (BBC)
Defending champions Chelsea will host 12-time winners Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup in a repeat of last year’s final. League Two side Newport County could host Premier League champions Manchester City if they overcome Middlesbrough in their replay. League One side Doncaster Rovers will be hoping to create an upset after they were drawn at home to Crystal Palace. The fifth-round ties will take place between 15-18 February. Read more
Indian actress slammed for racist remarks about Iwobi (Punch)
Arsenal fan and Bollywood star Esha Gupta has been slammed online after sharing racist remarks aimed at Alex Iwobi on Instagram, describing the Nigerian as a ‘gorilla’.The Indian actress is a well-known Arsenal fan and has been spotted at the Emirates Stadium watching games in the past. She was also reported to have previously been dating Hector Bellerin and helped the club launch a kit in 2017. However, after the Gunners’ FA Cup defeat by Manchester United on Friday night, the 33-year-old posted a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between herself and another person on Instagram. She has 3.4million followers on Instagram and 412,000 on Twitter. The image showed messages exchanged between herself and Varun_Gupta17, with one of the messages reading, “Solves our winger issues. I can’t see that gorilla faced Iwobi running down the flank again. He’s so bad ya.” Read more
Rape: Suspect retracts guilty plea after pregnant daughter, uncle, helpers die (Punch)
A native doctor, Jacob Alonge, who was accused of impregnating his own daughter, Gift, has retracted his guilty plea. The 54-year-old, who was to be sentenced after pleading guilty to charges of incest, reportedly changed his plea after the news that his 17-year-old daughter had died in an accident on the way to a magistrates’ court in Benin City, Edo State. Among those who also died in the ill-fated vehicle were Gift’s uncle, Mr Ukere Adagbogu; a worker with a non-governmental organisation, BraveHeart Initiative for Youth and Women, Ms Promise Ezekiel; and the driver, Paul Opashi. Read more
My mother told me to poison my father, boy tells court (Nation)
A 10-year-old boy on Monday told a Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan that his mother asked him to put poison in his father’s food and bathing water. Adenike Ayodele, the mother of the boy, had petitioned the court to dissolve her 15-year-old marriage to her estranged husband, Adeshina, on grounds of irresponsibility and battery. In his testimony, the boy told the court that his mother gave him a nylon which contained some powdery substance which she instructed him to pour in his father’s food as well as his bathing water. “After giving me the substance, my mother warned me never to tell my father or anyone about it. “However, I love my father and I told him because I never wanted any bad thing to happen to him,” he said. Read more
Family, community leader demand justice for slain Lagos residents (Punch)
The family of Azeez Lawal has called on the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, to help fish out the killers of the 28-year-old. The family said petitions written to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Onikan, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Panti Division, had not yielded results, alleging that the police appeared not interested in unravelling the perpetrators of the murder. This is just as a leader of the community, the Seriki of Ijora-Badia, Alhaji Kanuribe Mustapha, has urged the state police command to bring to justice the killers of one Umar, who was murdered alongside Lawal on December 4, 2018, during a clash in the neighbourhood. Read more
Police arrest woman, in-law over killing of 14-year-old (Nation)
The Ondo State Police Command on Monday said it had arrested a woman, Mrs Ajoke Adebayo and her brother-in law, Idowu Adebayo for allegedly killing a 14-year-old Mathew Adebayo at Oda area of Akure, the Ondo State capital. The incident which occurred last Saturday was said to have thrown the community into pensive mood. Sources said the JSS 3 student was allegedly tortured to death by the suspects for stealing a sum of N21,000 naira from the bank account of his mother, Ajoke. It was learnt that after she noticed that her son had stolen money from her bank account, Ajoke called her husband, Ayodele Adebayo, a police officer to inform him about the development. Read more
Police arraign hit-and-run driver for killing five students (Punch)
A suspected hit-and-run was, on Monday, arraigned before an Ogun Magistrates’ Court sitting in Isabo for allegedly killing five female students in a crash in Abeokuta. The victims reportedly lost their lives when an unmarked Toyota Avensis car crashed into them along the Abiola Way, Olorunsogo, Abeokuta. The police arraigned the suspect before Magistrate Basirat Adebowale on three counts of dangerous driving, causing untimely death and driving without a driving licence. The suspect pleaded not guilty to the charges. The police prosecutor, Hammed Moshood, told the court that Shoyoye drove the car in a dangerous manner and caused the untimely death of Rokibat Olorode, 18; Halimo Adeyemi, 18; Ayisat Ajibabi, 19; and Mistura Hammed, 18, all students of the Ogun State Technical College, Olobe, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, as well as one 13-year-old Odunayo Akingbade. Read more