Caregiver docked for defiling teenager, raping woman with Down syndrome (DailyTrust)
A 30-year-old caregiver for persons with Down syndrome, Kabiru Wasiu, was on Tuesday arraigned before an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court for defiling a teenager. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Wasiu, whose address was not provided, was also charged with raping a woman with Down syndrome. He, however, plead not guilty to a three-count charge of sexual assault by penetration, defilement of a child and rape. Read more
LASTMA after my life over impounded vehicle, says pastor (Punch)
A pastor, Anthony Esezobor, has accused officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority of threatening his life after his Mercedes Benz SUV was impounded by the agency nine months ago.
According to the cleric, the SUV was impounded by men of the Zone 30 command over what was described as “wilful obstruction of oncoming traffic.” Read more
Lagos denies demanding operational licence fees from Uber drivers (Guardian)
Uber drivers protest in front of the Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Services office in Ojodu, Lagos.
Lagos State government has denied claims that it was demanding for N110,000 operational licence fees from Uber drivers.
Commissioner of transportation Frederic Oladeinde said the claim is “totally untrue, unsubstantiated, unreasonable and a ploy to win public sympathy.”
“Uber operators are out to make mischief as they would not tell the public that their members whose vehicles were apprehended contravened one law or the other,” Oladeinde added.
This comes days after Uber drivers and drivers of other popular ride-hailing companies marched on the office of the Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS) to protest the alleged recent “crackdown” on their operation. Read more
Painter defiles three-year-old stepdaughter in Lagos (Punch)
A painter, Paul Iwapele, has been arrested by members of a vigilante group for allegedly defiling his three-year-old stepdaughter in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the victim’s mother, identified only as Kemi, came from Benin Republic to Lagos some years ago.
Kemi was said to have been impregnated by a man, who died a few months into their relationship.
The woman was said to have met Iwapele, who promised to take care of her and the pregnancy, which was four months old at the time. Read more
Police arrest woman in possession of human parts (Punch)
The Osun State Police Command on Monday said a woman, Amudatu Sani, had been arrested with human parts in Ikire.
The Commissioner of Police, Johnson Kokumo, confirmed the arrest.
Speaking through the command’s spokesperson, Folasade Odoro, the commissioner said the suspect was arrested with dry human parts which she concealed in a sack.
He warned that the command would ensure a thorough investigation and ensure whoever found culpable face the full wrath of the law. Read more
Train passengers decry delay, ticket hoarding (DailyTrust)
Train commuters have criticised authorities for poor operations which result in delayed departures and ticket hoarding at the Kubwa train station, Abuja. Some passengers told City News that there is no strict adherence to the scheduled takeoff time thereby causing inconveniences to passengers who wait several hours before taking off. One of the passengers, Saba Mohammed, said “the major problem here is the take-off time. Passengers will buy their tickets and have to wait for long time to takeoff behind the scheduled time,” he said. Another passenger, Comfort Gideon, decried the racketeering involved in ticketing at the station. Read more
British Airways, others dump Nigerian passengers in Ghana Airport (Vanguard)
More than 1,500 Nigerians have been stranded in Kotoka International Airport, Accra, Ghana after they were dumped there by British Airways, BA, Delta Air, and other foreign airlines. Their flights were diverted by these foreign airlines to Ghana due to the inclement weather in Lagos and poor visibility at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Instead of thinking of alternate airport within Nigeria where visibility is good for landing, these foreign carriers took the unilateral decision to divert their flights to Ghana and subject Nigerians who had urgent engagements in Nigeria to untold hardship. British Airways is reported to have told some of the stranded Nigerians who could not get airlines from Ghana to bring them to Nigeria that they will take them back to Britain if they can no longer endure their hardship at the Accra airport in Ghana. Read more
Nigerian freed of drug trafficking charges in Saudi Arabia (Nation)
A criminal Court in Makka, Saudi Arabia has discharged and acquitted a Zamfara death row accused Sheikh Ibrahim Ibrahim.
Ibrahim, a renowned Islamic cleric from Zamfara State, was allegedly accused of drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia and was on the death row.
Zamfara Commissioner of Special Duties, Alhaji Mohammed Saddiq, told newsmen Tuesday from Makka that the accused Ibrahim Ibrahim is a free man.
Governor Bello Mohammed earlier met with President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the matter who in turn, instructed the Minister of Justice to proceed. Read more
Our tariffs up by 50% April 1 –Ikeja Disco (Punch)
Ikeja Electric Plc says its tariffs will go up by 50 per cent beginning from April.
The Disco disclosed this in a letter to Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission dated February 12, 2020 on its performance and improvement plan and application for extraordinary tariff review of the Multi-Year Tariff Order 2015.
NERC, in its December 2019 Minor Review of Multi Year Tariff Order 2015 and Minimum Remittance Order for the Year 2020 for the 11 Discos, had said on January 4 that consumers would start to pay more for electricity from April 1, 2020. Read more
Global health experts question cruise ship quarantine measures (Guardian)
Quarantine conditions imposed on a stricken ship in Japan are both morally dubious and appear counterproductive, according to health experts who fear the vessel has become an incubator for the disease.
Thousands of people have spent the past two weeks stuck onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which now accounts for the biggest cluster of cases outside mainland China. More than 540 passengers in the Japanese port Yokohama are confirmed to have the virus, after 88 additional cases were confirmed on Tuesday. Read more
HSBC to cut 35,000 jobs worldwide as profits plunge (Guardian)
The bulk of HSBC’s profits come from Asia, which has been hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
HSBC has said it will slash 35,000 jobs over three years as part of a major shake-up as it issued a warning over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in Asia.
The interim chief executive, Noel Quinn, confirmed on Tuesday that plans to cut $4.5bn (£3.5bn) worth of costs would involve slashing about 15% of the group’s global workforce. “We would expect our headcount to decrease from the current level of 235,000 to be closer to 200,000 in 2022,” Quinn said. Read more
Drivers block Onitsha -Enugu expressway (Nation)
No fewer than 1,000 tipper drivers in Anambra state on Tuesday blocked the Onitsha -Enugu expressway, protesting alleged imposition of taxes, intimidation and violation of Court judgement in the agents of state government.
The situation made commuters to suffer hectic time at Onitsha as security agencies battled in vain to appease the protesters .
They protested under the aegis of Animo Tipper Drivers’ Association of Nigeria, the God’s own Tipper owners, Drivers’ Association, and the Ihiala LGA Tipper workers Association and drivers. Read more
Enyimba hammer Abia Warriors 4-1 (Nation)
Enyimba Football Club yesterday produced a clinical performance to outclass Abia Warriors 4-1 in a thrilling Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) fixture at the Okigwe Stadium.
The fixture, which began at the Umuahia Township Stadium on Sunday was called off following crowd violence; turned into an exciting five-goal spectacle upon resumption in Okigwe on Monday.
Stanley Dimgba kept his feet on the pedals of his fine scoring form, controlling Cyril Olisema’s chipped pass to send in a low strike and give Enyimba the lead four minutes before the interval.
Three minutes later, youngster Anayo Iwuala spearheaded a swift break to set up Victor Mbaoma, who picked his spot from the edge of the box, handing Fatai Osho’s side a two-goal lead at the break. Read more
Galatasary win thrills Onyekuru (Punch)
Henry Onyekuru has expressed delight at helping Galatasary record their third straight win in the Turkish Super Lig.
Galatasary have earned victories over Kayserispor, Kasimpasa and Yeni Malatyaspor with Onyekuru playing a part in those encounters.
Onyekuru, who made his first start since returning to Galatasary in the encounter, praised his teammates for their resilience, which earned them the crucial win.
“It was an important win for us, thanks to the team. We all gave our best. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It was a game we had to win. Read more
Mourinho fears Son will miss rest of Spurs’ season with arm fracture (Guardian)
José Mourinho has said he fears Son Heung-min will miss the rest of the season after the forward fractured his right arm in Tottenham’s win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Son suffered the injury in a first-minute challenge with Villa’s Ezri Konsa and though he completed the 90 minutes and scored twice, he faces surgery. It leaves Tottenham desperately short up front, with Harry Kane also a long-term absentee with a hamstring injury.
A club statement had said Son was “expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks” but Mourinho said: “I’m not going to count on him again this season. If he plays two or three games then it’s because he [the press officer] is very optimistic, but I’m not counting on him.” Read more
ETTU Cup: Quadri inspires Sporting to semis (Nation)
Aruna Quadri is ready to depart Sporting of Portugal on high after the highest African ranked player in the world inspired the Lisbon-based team to the semifinal stage of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Cup.
Earlier this month, the Nigeria sealed a deal with a German Bundesliga Club TTC RhönSprudel Maberzell Fulda ahead of his departure in September after 10 of playing in the Portuguese league.
But Quadri’s commitment Sporting to fore again at the weekend as the Oyo State-born played a crucial role in their passage to the last four of the second prestigious club tournament in Europe. Read more
UEFA reduces VAR review time in Champions League games (Punch)
UEFA says it has shaved 15 seconds off the average time it takes for the Video Assistant Referee system to correct a decision in its Champions League this season.
It said the average is now down to one minute 30 seconds.
The head of UEFA’s referees’ committee, Roberto Rosetti, said he was very happy with the way the technology had been used in the competition.
But he stressed that it was only for “clear and obvious” mistakes.
UEFA said that in 108 playoff round and group stage matches so far, 27 decisions had been corrected by the VAR system, an average of one every four games. Read more
Ryan Newman hospitalized in horrific wreck as Hamlin wins Daytona 500 (Guardian)
Denny Hamlin won his second straight Daytona 500 and third overall, beating Ryan Blaney in a photo finish marred by a terrifying crash that sent Ryan Newman to hospital on Monday.
Newman had surged into the lead on the final lap when Blaney’s bumper caught the back of his Ford and sent Newman into the wall. His car flipped, rolled, was hit on the driver’s side by another car, and finally skidded across the finish line engulfed in flames.
It took several minutes for his car to be rolled back onto its wheels. The 2008 Daytona 500 winner was placed in a waiting ambulance and taken directly to a hospital, and the damage to his Mustang was extensive. It appeared the entire roll cage designed to protect his head had caved. Read more
Thrills, frills of 2020 Lagos Polo (Nation)
The prestigious 2020 GTBank Lagos International Polo Tournament ended on a flourishing note at the weekend, with Lagos-based teams sweeping all the stakes at the glamorous fiesta.
The proud host that threw in more teams than other participating clubs dominated the two-week international event, with Lieghton Kings team harvesting four major prizes to confirm Lagos supremacy as Nigeria’s oldest polo club since 1904.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his Deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, MD/CEO GTBank, Segun Agbaje led the roll call of dignitaries to the grand finale of the tournament which attracted an unprecedented 39 teams. Read more
Mikel suspended for Besiktas clash (Punch)
Trabzonspor midfielder Mikel Obi will miss Saturday’s Turkish Super Lig clash against Besiktas at the Vodafone Arena through suspension.
Mikel has been in good form of late for Trabzonspor but bagged his fourth yellow card of the season in the 90th minute of Sunday’s 2-1 win over Sivasspor, which makes him ineligible for their trip against Besiktas.
The 31-year-old had earlier in the season been cautioned against Besiktas, Caykur Rizespor and Konyaspor.
An altercation off-the-ball with Sivasspor midfielder Mert Hakan Yandas saw referee Cuneyt Cakir caution the Nigerian. Read more
Oyo, Brightville College athletes shine at AFN All Comers in Akure (Guardian)
Athletes from Oyo State and an Ibadan-based school that is renowned for relay races, Brightville College gave good account of themselves at the recently held AFN All Comers Athletics Championship at the Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State.
Oyo, led to the event by the State’s Athletics Association Chairman, Dr. Isaac Ogada, booked slots to participate at the AFN classics in Ado Ekiti, while Brightville College of Oyo State emerged first with an impressive time of 49:00seconds in the 4×100m relay girls among many invited secondary schools from South-South/West states.
Oyo athletics boss in his reaction after the event described the All-Comers Championship as a good tune-up competition that would kick start Nigeria’s preparations for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Read more
Amina Wilfred clinches 2020 Nigeria Ladies Golf Open (DailyTrust)
Nigerian golfer, Amina Wilfred has dethroned Uganda’s Irene Nakalembe to win the 22nd Ladies Open Golf Championship held at the IBB International Golf and Country club on Sunday. The three-day golf championship attracted over one hundred golfers from the African continent. Wilfred, a woman police inspector’s shot a combined gross score of 254 to emerge champion said she was ready to regain the trophy from the Ugandans who had won it twice in a row. “I feel happy. I thank God for emerging champion in this tournament. Its not by my power but God for giving me this opportunity to win this tournament. Read more