Calabar motorcyclists dump slain colleague’s body in Cross River Gov’s office (Punch)
Angry commercial motorcycle riders have invaded the Calabar office of Cross River State Governor with the corpse of a colleague of theirs. In protest against what they alleged as “extra-judicial killing” of the unnamed man, the angry riders laid the corpse on the ground at the entrance to one of the offices in the expansive premises. The irate riders gained entry into the premises by attacking and overpowering the security men at the gate, our Correspondent has said. He also reported that the angry commercial cyclists smashed one of the doors leading to the governor’s office once they gained entry into the premises. Read more
Onnoghen: Even Dangote can’t forget $1m in his bank account, says El-Rufai (Punch)
Gov. Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State on Friday advised suspended Justice Walter Onnoghen to resign as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria. He gave the advice when members of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in the state took their protest to the Government House in Kaduna. El-Rufai, who received the protesters’ solidarity letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the suspension of the CJN, said with just over 20 years in public service, Justice Onnoghen possibly has more money than Aliko Dangote, the richest African. Read more
Man killed for demanding N3m from daughter’s lover (Nation)
A 50-year old palm wine seller, Matthew Idahosa, has been killed by a supposed lover of one of his daughters from whom he reportedly demanded the sum of N3m as compensation. Late Matthew was said to have been bitter that the daughter’s lover, Atekha Iyare, a vulcanizer succeeded in sleeping with her. The incident happened at Oza village in Orhionmwon local government area. Atekha, aged 50, who was paraded at the Edo State Police Command said he was shocked that the girl’s father said he would not marry even if he paid the N3m. Read more
Nigerians to pay for national ID card from 2022, says NIMC (Guardian)
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said registration and issuance of national identity card would attract payment as from 2022. Director-General, NIMC, Aliyu Aziz, made the disclosure at the Lunch Time Reform Seminar on “The National Digital Identity Ecosystem Strategic Road Map for the Enrolment of Nigerians and Legal Residents into the National Identity Database (NIDB)” organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR). Aziz, who urged Nigerians to register for their identity cards within three years, said further registrations would attract an undisclosed fee. Read more
INEC warns against publication of false results (Nation)
With just two weeks to the general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned media practitioners and accredited electoral observers against disseminating results of elections not endorsed by the electoral umpire. The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC) of the commission, Barr. Festus Okoye gave the warning Friday in Awka at the Zonal sensitization forum for the media on the elections. He explained that announcing results were legally reserved for the Returning officer. Read more
There’s no proof you were tortured, judge tells suspected kidnapper Evans (Punch)
Justice Hakeem Oshodi of an Ikeja High Court on Friday told alleged kidnap kingpin Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, a.k.a. Evans, that there was no proof that he was tortured by the Police. Giving a ruling admitting Evans’ June 11, 2017 confessional statement into evidence, Justice Oshodi noted that the 1999 Constitution did not require that statements to the Police must be in a specific form. He also said that based on Evans’ videotaped confession played in court on October 26, 2018, there was no proof that Evans was tortured to provide details of his alleged misdeeds. Read more
9-year-old girl drowns in Jigawa well (Vanguard)
A nine-year-old girl identified as Hassana Aliyu of Kasarau Yamma quarters in Dutse, Jigawa, has lost her life after falling into a well. Alhaji Ahmed Danyaro, the Director, Jigawa State Fire Directorate, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Friday that the incident occurred at about 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. Danyaro said: “Nobody can ascertain how the deceased fell into the well as we just received a distress call that she had fallen into the well in their home. “On receiving the information, we quickly sent our rescue team which rescued her unconscious and later confirmed dead at hospital.” Read more
Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo to fight detention at Hague court (Guardian)
vory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo will on Friday appeal against his continued detention at the International Criminal Court following his acquittal on charges of crimes against humanity. The 73-year-old ex-strongman remains behind bars despite the fact that judges in The Hague cleared him and his right-hand man Charles Ble Goude of all charges in January. Gbagbo and Ble Goude stood accused of orchestrating a wave of violence after disputed elections in the West African nation in 2010. The crisis claimed around 3,000 lives. Read more
Five things about the EU-Japan trade deal (BBC)
Cheaper wine and cheese for Japan, cheaper cars for the EU – part of what the EU-Japan trade deal, now in force, means. The world’s biggest such deal, it covers nearly a third of global GDP and 635 million people. However, there are warnings that the UK could lose its benefits if it leaves the EU without a deal. It comes as a trade war rages between the US and China, who have slapped tariffs on each other’s’ products. The EU’s Jean-Claude Juncker said the pact, which took years to agree, was about “values and principles”. Read more
Gang threatens Mexican president over fuel theft crackdown (Guardian)
A suspected criminal gang left a fake bomb and threatening message for Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador outside an oil refinery Thursday, warning him to stop his crackdown on fuel theft. Since taking office in December, Lopez Obrador has been waging war on rampant theft from state oil company Pemex’s pipelines, a massive criminal industry involving drug cartels and corrupt officials that cost Mexico an estimated $3 billion in 2017. The message, written on a bed sheet near the Salamanca refinery in the central state of Guanajuato, warned the leftist leader to withdraw the army and other security forces from the state. Read more
Gay porn star fined for threesome on Tube in front of passengers (Metro)
A gay adult performer who filmed himself and his former partner having a threesome on a Tube train in front of passengers has been fined £1,000. Porn actor George Mason, 35, and Nicholas Mullan, 24, had sex with a third man, who has not been identified, on a Northern Line train between Leicester Square and Waterloo stations. The incident happened in July 2017 but was not reported until February last year, when it was posted on Twitter. Mason, from Southwark, south-east London, and Mullan, from Belfast, admitted outraging public decency at an earlier hearing. Read more
Mariah Carey shuns boycott call, performs in Saudi Arabia (Vanguard)
U.S. pop star Mariah Carey performed in Saudi Arabia, despite calls for her to cancel the show in protest at human rights abuses in the Gulf kingdom. She was wearing a full-length long-sleeved black sequinned dress and with her hair uncovered when she performed. She took the stage in the coastal city of Jeddah on Thursday as the first international female star to perform in the kingdom, which has loosened social restrictions in recent years in a bid to attract tourists and investments. Carey’s performance came after she was asked to support detained women’s rights activists, amid reports by rights group that they have faced torture and sexual harassment. Read more
Martial can take inspiration from Ronaldo, says Solskjaer (Guardian)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has challenged Anthony Martial to fulfil his potential at Manchester United by following Cristiano Ronaldo’s example. United announced on Thursday that the France striker had signed a new contract that commits him to the club until at least June 2024, with the option for a further year. Martial, who is expected to recover from a minor training injury to play at Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday, has scored 10 goals this season, although he had gone more than a month without one before striking in the 3-1 FA Cup win at Arsenal on January 25. Read more
More Russian athletes banned for doping (BBC)
London 2012 Olympic high jump champion Ivan Ukhov is among 12 Russian track and field athletes banned for doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Three years of Ukhov’s results, including the 2012 Olympics, have been disqualified, meaning Britain’s Robert Grabarz could be upgraded to silver. Cas acted on evidence from the McLaren report, which found Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme. The 12 athletes have 21 days to appeal against the decision. Cas says the athletes “participated in and/or benefited from anabolic steroid doping programs and benefited from specific protective methods” from London 2012 to the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. Read more
Maurizio Sarri uses Jurgen Klopp to defend Chelsea’s poor results (Metro)
Maurizio Sarri has urged Chelsea to be patient with his methods and believes his current struggles at Stamford Bridge mirror the troubles Jurgen Klopp faced during his first season at Liverpool. Chelsea slipped out of the top four on Wednesday evening after they were hammered 4-0 by Bournemouth – their worst defeat in the league in 23 years. Sarri has openly admitted that his players are failing to grasp his tactics but more worryingly, the Italian says he is having issues with motivating his squad. Read more
Cardiff struggled to sign players after Sala disappearance, says Warnock (Guardian)
Cardiff manager Neil Warnock says some players did not want to join the club in the January transfer window after the disappearance of the plane carrying new signing Emiliano Sala. Sala and pilot David Ibbotson remain missing after the light aircraft carrying them over the Channel disappeared on January 21, two days after the Argentine striker completed a club-record £15 million ($20 million) move to Cardiff. “One or two of the strikers we were talking about didn’t really want to come in the circumstances,” the Cardiff boss said ahead of Saturday’s Premier League home game against Bournemouth. Read more
On-loan Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko wants to stay at AC Milan (Metro)
On-loan Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko admits he wants to stay at AC Milan. The 24-year-old failed to make an impact in his first season at Stamford Bridge after arriving in a £40 million deal from Monaco. Maurizio Sarri gave the green light for Bakayoko to leave last summer and the French midfielder ended up joining AC Milan on a temporary deal for this season. Bakayoko struggled during his initial stages at San Siro but has impressed in recent weeks, triggering speculation that AC Milan will take up their €35m (£30.7m) option to sign him at the end of the season. Read more