Chidinma, foster father lied about Ataga’s death – Police (Punch)
A Deputy Superintendent of Police, Olusegun Bamidele, on Tuesday, told a Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square that Chidinma Ojukwu, the alleged killer of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, and her foster father, Onoh Ojukwu, did not tell the police the truth on the incident.
Bamidele, who is serving with the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, disclosed this while being cross-examined by Chidinma’s lawyer, Mr Onwuka Egwu, during trial within trial.
Chidinma, a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, Akoka, is standing trial over the alleged murder of Ataga.
She is also charged with stealing and forgery alongside one Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu. Read more
Amnesty faults flogging of Kano comedians (Guardian)
Directorr of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, has expressed concern over the ruling of a magistrate court to punish stand-up comedians for allegedly defaming Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
A Kano magistrate court, on Monday, ordered 20 lashes each to be administered on two comedians, Mubarak Muhammad and Nazifi Bala, for defaming the character of Ganduje on their Tik-tok accounts.
In a statement, yesterday, Ojigho said the authorities must quash flogging sentence of Tik-tokers, noting that satirising those in authority is not a crime.
She said: “Amnesty International condemns the sentencing of Tik-Tokers, Mubarak Muhammad (Uniquepikin) and Nazifi Muhammad for allegedly defaming the governor of Kano in Northern Nigeria.” Read more
Scarcity: Fuel can’t sell below N200 per litre – Marketers (DailyTrust)
The National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi, says the only realistic pump price of petrol is between N200 and N210 per litre.
Osatuyi said the Federal Government’s pricing template that fixed pump price at N169 per litre of petrol is grossly unrealistic when landing cost of the fuel at the station is N194 per litre.
He said this in an interview with NAN in Lagos on Tuesday.
“I buy petrol at N186.50k per litre from the depot and it costs me about N9.50k to get the same litre to the pump after paying levies. How do you want me to sell at N169 per litre when I have incurred additional costs?” Read more
Lagos police arraign 2 men for attempted sodomy (Punch)
Two men, Victor Adams and Bolaji Adebayo, were on Tuesday arraigned before a Lagos Magistrates’ Court in Ojo, for allegedly attempting to sodomise a man.
Adams, 25, and Adebayo, 27, were charged with conspiracy and unlawful detention with intent to commit indecent assault.
During their arraignment before Magistrate L. J. K. Layeni, the prosecution counsel, Dr Simon Uche, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on October 31, 2022.
He said the incident took place on Love Estate, Iba Town, Ojo, Lagos. Read more
ASUU: No lawmaker gets half salary over absenteeism — Senator Sani (Vanguard)
Senator Shehu Sani has faulted the Federal Government’s decision to pay lecturers half of their salaries following the eight-month strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
According to Senator Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the National Assembly from 2015 to 2019, no lawmaker is paid half salary for staying away from “office” during sessions.
He particularly made reference to the efforts of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila’s attempt to explain government’s decision to pay the lecturers half salary.
Gbajabiamila
The Speaker had been mediating in the face-off between the union and Federal Government. Read more
Wife begs court to teach husband Lesson for defiling 10-year-old daughter (DailyTrust)
A 35-year-old woman has described her husband, John Odu, as an animal for sexually abusing and defiling their 10-year-old daughter.
The aggrieved mother is begging an Ogba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos to mete out severe punishment on him.
The accused was alleged to have taken advantage of the innocence of his daughter when his wife was not around to engage in the act.
The police said the incident happened in the Lekki area of Lagos.
The police prosecutor, Akeem Raji, said when the 10-year-old girl could no longer bear the pain, she reported the matter to her mother. Read more
ASUU NEC in crucial meeting over alleged pay cut (Tribune)
The National Executive Council of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is locked in a crucial meeting to decide on the next line of action to take following the alleged payment of “half-salaries” to the lecturers.
Tribune Online gathered that the NEC meeting commenced Monday afternoon.
The lecturers are angry that they were paid half salaries for the month of October, which ASUU described as “amputated and insensitive.”
A source who is a top member of ASUU NEC who craved anonymity said “we are still in the meeting and the outcome will be made known by the President”.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, defended the action of the government to pay the lecturers that the government paid the lecturers pro-rata. Read more
NCC warns users against ‘mobile apps group’ over Trojan, Malware concerns (Guardian)
Following the constant introduction of malicious apps into Google Play Store, the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has advised against the installation of apps from the offending publisher, the ‘Mobile Apps Group’, whose products were discovered to contain Trojan and Malware that are harmful to users and their privacy.
NCC-CSIRT’s advisory on the incident in a statement by Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, yesterday, disclosed that “the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) has continued to observe and monitor the constant introduction of malicious mobile applications into Google Play Store.
“Mobile apps group has a history of distributing malware-infected apps through the Google Play store, and the current batch of apps has already been downloaded over a million times” it said. Read more
Stormzy and Dua Lipa join epic line-up for Capital’s iconic Jingle Bell Ball (Metro)
Rapper Stormzy and pop sensation Dua Lipa are the latest music royalty to secure a place on the Jingle Bell Ball’s roster.
Confirmed this morning on the radio station’s breakfast show, the inclusion of the pair in the line-up was revealed by presenting quartet Roman Kemp, Chris Stark, Sian Welby and Sonny Jay.
The December fixture will take place over the course of a weekend and will find its home at The O2.
A usual sell-out event, Stormzy spoke to Capital Breakfast and shared his excitement at the news: ‘I’m really excited. It’s gonna be a great show. The energy is second to none, everyone who comes, they come raring!’ Read more
US midterm elections: Who won, who lost and what it means (BBC)
The dust has not yet settled in the 2022 midterm elections, but it’s not too early to draw some conclusions about the proceedings so far. It has been, as predicted, a good night for Republicans – although how good remains to be seen. But it’s clear at this point that there’s already one big winner.
Ron DeSantis
Four years ago, Ron DeSantis won the governorship of Florida by a fraction of a percent over Democrat Andrew Gillum. After four years of his conservative leadership, where he leaned into hot-button cultural issues like transgender rights and “critical race theory”, railed against coronavirus pandemic restrictions, and became a fixture on conservative news outlets, he has won re-election in a walk.
How he did it is particularly remarkable.
In 2018, he lost the Democratic stronghold of Miami-Dade county by 20%. This year, he is on track to be the first Republican governor candidate to win in the majority-Hispanic area since Jeb Bush in 2002. He may even do so by a double-digit percentage.
Mr DeSantis’s move to overrule his state legislature and redraw the state’s congressional district lines to heavily favour Republican candidates has also paid national dividends. It has netted his party at least two of the five seats they need to win control of the House of Representatives. Read more
Britney Spears: Khloé is ‘the reason’ I got on board with ‘hot’ beauty trend (PageSix)
Queens recognize queens.
Britney Spears took a moment to praise Khloé Kardashian on Tuesday, saying the reality star and her ever-changing locks have been the pop star’s source of hair inspiration lately.
“She’s the reason I crimp my hair now 💇♀️!!!” Spears, 40, tweeted alongside a picture of Kardashian at Beyoncé’s 41st birthday party in September, where the Good American founder sported long, wavy, voluminous blonde hair.
“How f’n hot is that,” the singer marveled, calling the “Kardashians” star, 38, “beautiful.”
But Spears admitted that her mane has a ways to go, adding, “I don’t see how hers is more puffy!!! I’m working on it.” Read more
Macron tells France’s heavy polluters to cut emissions, promises aid (France24)
President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday told France’s biggest polluters they should cut their greenhouse gas emissions by half over the next decade and said there would be more public money available to help decarbonisethe economy if they acted quickly.
Oil and gas group TotalEnergies, cement-maker Holcim and steelmaker ArcelorMittal were among those invited to the Elysee Palace to listen to Macron, who wants France to be a leader in cleaner industry. The country aims to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Addressing executives whose companies operate France’s 50 most polluting industrial sites, Macron said that if they alone reduced their emissions at these plants by half the country’s greenhouse gas output would drop by 5%.
“We’re going to fight to have more public and private investment to accompany this,” Macron told the executives. Read more
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever carries Chadwick Boseman’s torch beautifully (Metro)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was always going to be an emotional affair but, crikey, what an absolutely stunning tour de force it is.
Ryan Coogler had the unimaginably daunting task of not only trying to recreate the magic of the first Black Panther, released in 2018, but to also give justice to the memory and legacy of the late Chadwick Boseman.
Just two years after he made his critically acclaimed debut as King T’Challa aka Black Panther, Boseman died in August 2020 after keeping his battle with colon cancer private. It’s an insurmountable loss to his family, friends, Marvel co-stars and also fans, who were blown away by his cool, measured and entertaining performance as the superhero and looked forward to what he would bring in the sequel.
With that in mind, the responsibility Coogler had to make Wakanda Forever as sensitive as it is enjoyable was one that no director would ever want to shoulder. Fortunately, with support from a phenomenal cast, he surpassed expectations as the sequel is enough to make even the most cold-hearted critic melt. Read more
Ancient Rome: Stunningly preserved bronze statues found in Italy (BBC)
Italian archaeologists have unearthed 24 beautifully preserved bronze statues in Tuscany believed to date back to ancient Roman times.
The statues were discovered under the muddy ruins of an ancient bathhouse in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop town in the Siena province, about 160km (100 miles) north of the capital Rome.
Depicting Hygieia, Apollo and other Greco-Roman gods, the figures are said to be around 2,300 years old.
One expert said the find could “rewrite history”.
Most of the statues – which were found submerged beneath the baths alongside around 6,000 bronze, silver and gold coins – date to between the 2nd Century BC and the 1st Century AD. The era marked a period of “great transformation in ancient Tuscany” as the area transitioned from Etruscan to Roman rule, the Italian culture ministry said. Read more
US Envoy to UN stresses ‘steadfast’ support, grain deal significance on ukraine visit (VOA)
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield met Ukraine’s president in Kyiv on Tuesday and expressed Washington’s “steadfast” support for the country, which is suffering rolling power blackouts, water shortages and Russian shelling.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed holding Russia accountable for atrocities committed in Ukraine since its invasion eight months ago, as well as the war’s impact on global food security, according to her spokesman.
“She committed to continuing to work at the United Nations to strengthen international support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and to urge member states to defend international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” her spokesman Nate Evans said in a statement. Read more
It hurts not to be champion – Joshua (Punch)
Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is still feeling the pain of his loss to Oleksandr Usyk in their title rematch when he failed to win back the WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF titles.
Joshua has been out of action since his rematch with Usyk in August. Their first encounter nearly a year prior saw the Ukrainian dominate and leave Joshua’s home country as the world heavyweight Champion.
Following the 2021 defeat, Joshua decided to leave his longtime trainer and meet up with Robert Garcia. He also activated his rematch clause with Usyk, ensuring a second encounter between the two heavyweights.
After multiple delays, the rematch finally happened in August. Despite Joshua entering the contest as a heavy underdog, he showed a lot of new improvements to his game and nearly scored a stoppage in round nine of the bout. Read more
Team Nigeria wins bronze at Africa Senior Squash Championships (Guardian)
Nigeria’s contingent to the just concluded 2022 Africa Senior Squash Championships in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, did the nation proud as it defied the odds to place third at the tournament.
While the women’s team, which included Favour Utukpe, Busayo Olatunji, Rofiat AbdulAzeez and Blessing Isaac defeated Zambia on Monday morning to seal third place, their male counterparts conquered Kenya 2-0.
The Pharaohs of Egypt lived up to their billing as the best in Africa, as they defeated their fellow squash powerhouse and closest rivals, South Africa, in the men and women’s final, yesterday, winning 2-1 in both finals.
It was a good experience for the young Nigerian team as it was the players’ first time at the championships, but remained undeterred by old timers and more experienced teams. Read more
Bayern Munich provide update on Sadio Mane as Senegal star suffers World Cup injury scare (Metro)
Bayern Munich are hopeful Sadio Mane has avoided serious injury after picking up a knock just 12 days before Senegal begin their World Cup campaign.
The German champions eased to an emphatic 6-1 win over Werder Bremen on Tuesday evening, a result that moves them four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Mane’s injury overshadowed the result however with the former Liverpool star going down with a knee injury that required treatment after just 15 minutes.
He was replaced by former Man City star Leroy Sane, heading straight down the tunnel for further treatment. Read more
Oshoala wins 2022 Women’s ICC award (Punch)
Super Falcons striker Asisat Oshoala has added a new honour to her ever-growing shelf of laurels after she was honoured by the Women’s International Champions Cup for her role in advancing women’s soccer.
The Barcelona forward, who was named to the third annual WICC Best XI on Monday, and Colombia and Deportivo Cali forward Linda Caicedo were the two footballers nominated for the prestigious awards alongside others.
England national team coach Sarina Wiegman, journalists Jeff Kassouf and Anna Kessel, U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone and Ally Chief Marketing Officer Andrea Brimmer were other members on the award list.
Two activists, Asma Mirzae and Fran Hilton, were also honoured, as were Angel City co-founder Kara Nortman and Kansas City Current co-founder Angie Long. Read more
Pique and Lewandowski sent off in Barcelona victory (BBC)
Gerard Pique was sent off at half time in his final match before retirement as Barcelona came from behind to beat Osasuna and move five points clear at the top of La Liga.
Pique, 35, was dismissed despite being on the bench after appearing to remonstrate with the referee.
He was angered by the decision to show Robert Lewandowski a second yellow card in the 31st minute.
David Garcia gave Osasuna the lead, before Pedri and Raphinha struck.
Lewandowski was dismissed for only the second time in his career after he was booked for an aerial challenge with Garcia. Read more
Organisers promise fireworks, funfare at 2022 ADRON Games (Guardian)
Organisers of the 2022 ADRON Games, which holds from tomorrow to Sunday, have assured participants and sports fans of a fantastic atmosphere at the competition.
It is the sixth edition of the games with the theme, ‘The fit are the Best.’
According to ADRON Games 2022 Media Consultant, Segun Adebowale, this year’s event holding in Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) will feature18 sports, including football, volleyball, table tennis and basketball, as well as track and field events.
Some of the regions that will compete at the event are Eko (Lagos Island), Capital (Lagos Mainland), Northern, Gateway (Ogun), Oyo and Living Fountain (Osun and Ekiti). Read more