Church founder, herbalist get four-year imprisonment for trading in human parts (Punch)
A Kwara state Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ilorin, on Monday, sentenced a church founder, Pastor, Gabriel Josaya, aka Eli-Wakuku, to four years’ imprisonment for dealing in human parts.
Josaya, who is the prophet and founder of St. Moses Orimolade Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Ilorin, was convicted after a long trial and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment with no option of fine by Chief Magistrate Mohammed Ibrahim.
Josaya was sentenced along with his accomplice, Gabriel Moyosore, a herbalist, who bought human skulls from him.
The men were convicted of conspiracy, trespass and unlawful possession of human parts. Read more
Lagos begins review of Obas, Chiefs Law (Nation)
The Lagos State Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has begun a stakeholders’ meeting on the Review of the Obas and Chiefs of Lagos State Law, 2015.
The meeting, organised by the MoJ’s Directorate of Legislative Drafting, is seeking to update the law to make it responsive to current realities.
Director, Legislative Drafting, Mrs Aderinsola Olarenwaju, harped on the importance of the review.
“The present legislation is a good law, it’s been in existence since since 1957,” Olarenwaju said, adding that there is a need to “look into it, identify the lacuna and change things not in tandem with present realities.” Read more
Sanwo-Olu to deliver maiden lecture at Echonews community awards (Guardian)
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is billed to speak on how the government is mobilising communities for security and prosperity at the maiden lecture of the Echonews Newspaper awards on Thursday, December 17.
The governor will review the implementation of the THEMES agenda in meeting the needs of various communities in Lagos and plans for the future.
Echonews Newspapers Limited, organisers of the annual event, said the topic has become germane in view of the EndSARS violence, which led to wanton destruction of lives and properties and set the state back.
“The unsavoury development necessitates new thinking and perspectives on how the government can protect lives and properties in times of crisis and the role of communities,” it said in a statement signed by its publisher, Kehinde Bamigbetan. Read more
Katsina abduction: 2 students killed by kidnappers – Escapee (Vanguard)
A grieving mother yesterday said one of the abducted students of Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS), Kankara who escaped from the kidnappers has disclosed that two of his colleagues had been killed, and that the abductors feed them with leaves and beat them like cattle.
She also said the student told them that students still missing were over 500, adding that whoever said the number of missing children is 10, is a liar.
The woman, Hajia Faiza Kankara, who spoke to Vanguard said the escaped student stated this while giving an account of his ordeal in the hands of the captors. Read more
Katsina mass abduction: Bandits first took schoolboys to neighbouring villages, say residents (Punch)
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar -led Jama’atu Nasril Islam, on Monday, expressed shock over the abduction of students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State on Friday night.
The JNI, in a statement titled, ‘Abduction of GSSS Kankara students – a plangent mood for the poor masses,’ issued by its Secretary General, Dr Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to hearken to the voice of Nigerians by ‘revamping ‘ the security architecture of the country and addressing the nation.
The Islamic group said this on Monday just as more facts emerged on the abduction of the schoolboys. Read more
Deregulation of petrol price irreversible, says FG (Thisday)
The federal government yesterday foreclosed a reversal of the deregulation policy that introduced a market reflective pricing regime for determining the pump price of petrol.
Against the background of the protest by organised labour over recent increases in the price of petrol and electricity tariff, the government said it would no longer fix the pump price of petrol, which will now be determined by various variables, including the global price of crude oil.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said at the inauguration of the 23-man Technical Committee on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pricing framework, in Abuja, that the technical committee would work to establish a more transparent method of arriving at the petroleum product price. Read more
Police tortured me, collected N100,000, alleged I was gay – Victim (Punch)
A Benin-based tailor in his mid-30s, Johnson Eze, on Monday told the Edo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for victims of SARS and related abuses of how the police arrested him over an allegation that he was gay, tortured and forcefully extorted N100, 000 from him.
Eze, who said he was detained at the Iyekogba Police Station in Benin on the orders of the Area Commander for three days, alleged that he was abused and coerced to sign a statement already prepared by the police.
Similarly, two other victims, Hyacinth Inhanrebhor and Pascal Omozee, also alleged that they were made to pay N50,000 and N60,000 respectively on the claims that they were homosexuals after being arrested by policemen and taken to the same Iyekogba Police Station. Read more
Nigerian music stars, Omah Lay and Tems remanded in Ugandan prison (Vanguard)
Nigerian singers Stanley Omah Didia aka Omah Lay and Temilade Openiyi popularly known as Tems, have reportedly been remanded in prison in Uganda, until Wednesday,16th of December when they would be expected to appear before a Court.
The Ugandan Police made this known today via its official Twitter handle. “The Nigerian trio of Stanley Omah Didia alias Omah Lay, Temilade Openyi alias Tems and Muyiwa Awomiyi have been charged to court in Makindye on charges of Negligently doing acts likely to spread an infectious diseases C/S 171 of the Penal Code Act.”
“The earlier plans of releasing them on police bond, were suspended after their casefile was sanctioned by the Office of the DPP. They were jointly charged with four other Ugandans. All remanded till Wednesday 16.12.2020.” the tweet reads. Read more
Crisis looms in Ghana as Mahama rejects presidential poll result (Guardian)
National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader, John Mahama, 62, has rejected results of Ghana’s December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections, citing “litany of irregularities and blatant rigging” in favour of President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The Electoral Commission (EC) declared Akufo-Addo, 76, re-elected with 51.59 per cent of the ballots against Mahama’s 47.36 per cent. The umpire later revised the figure of valid votes cast, but insisted the revision and the voided scores of Techiman South constituency, where the exercise was marred by violence, would not affect the overall outcome.
But the opposition party is contesting the figures and calling for a re-run, because from its calculations, none of the 12 candidates allegedly met the constitutional requirements to be declared winner. Read more
Ivory Coast’s Ouattara, 78, sworn in for third term (Vanguard)
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara took the oath of office for a controversial third term on Monday, urging the opposition to help “defuse tensions” ahead of general elections early next year.
The solemn ceremony was attended by 13 African counterparts as well as former French president Nicolas Sarkozy — but boycotted by the opposition, as was the election that returned Ouattara to power.
“I ask all political parties to seize this new opportunity… to defuse tensions through dialogue,” the 78-year-old president said.
He had said earlier that he asked his prime minister, Hamed Bakayoko, to “resume discussions” with the opposition, which continues to contest the legitimacy of the October 31 election. Read more
Joe Biden says ‘will of people prevailed’ after victory confirmed (BBC)
Joe Biden has said the “will of the people prevailed” after his presidential election victory was confirmed by the US electoral college.
In a speech after the announcement, he said the US democracy had been “pushed, tested and threatened” and “proved to be resilient, true and strong”.
He made references to President Trump’s attempts to challenge the result, and said it was “time to turn the page”.
The confirmation was one of the steps required for Mr Biden to take office. Read more
Pornhub deletes all unverified videos after Visa and Mastercard stop payments (Metro)
A significant amount of Pornhub videos will no longer be available after the x-rated website announced it planned to remove all unverified clips. The porn site made the change after Mastercard and Visa said last week they would block their customers from using the credit cards to make purchases on the website. The move followed accusations Pornhub showed videos of rape and underage sex. The credit card companies reacted following an investigation by opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times that also alleged the site depicts revenge pornography and video taken without the consent of participants. Read more
Actor Craig McLachlan found not guilty in indecent assault case (BBC)
Australian actor Craig McLachlan has been found not guilty of allegations that he assaulted four women during a Melbourne stage show.
Mr McLachlan, 55, had consistently denied seven charges of indecent assault and six of common assault.
The allegations arose from a 2014 production of The Rocky Horror Show, in which the veteran actor played the lead role of Frank-N-Furter.
A magistrate handed down the ruling on Tuesday, clearing him of all charges. Read more
Taylor Swift on course for sixth UK number one album after dropping surprise release Evermore (Metro)
Taylor Swift could find herself with yet another number one album in the UK, after surprising fans with new release Evermore. The singer, 30, sent fans into overdrive as she dropped her latest album – a sister record to her folk-inspired album Folklore she put out in July. Evermore is her ninth studio album and features 15 brand new tracks, with the release expected to follow in Folklore’s success when it comes to the album charts. Read more
US Attorney General William Barr to leave post by Christmas (BBC)
US Attorney General William Barr is stepping down before Christmas, President Donald Trump has announced.
Mr Barr’s term was due to end on 20 January, when Mr Trump leaves office.
There had been tension between the two after Mr Barr said there was no widespread evidence of voter fraud in November’s election.
He was criticised by Mr Trump for not publicly disclosing that the justice department was investigating Joe Biden’s son during the campaign. Read more
US Women’s Open: A-Lim Kim wins first major title after stunning finish (BBC)
World number 94 A-Lim Kim claimed her first major title with a stunning final round at the US Women’s Open.
Kim, 25, started five strokes behind leader Hinako Shibuno but closed with three straight birdies in a four-under 67 to finish three under overall.
The South Korean was making her US Women’s Open debut in Houston and this is only her third professional victory.
World number one Ko Jin-young and American Amy Olson tied for second, one shot back, with Japan’s Shibuno fourth.
The tournament was completed on Monday after rain forced play to be abandoned on Sunday. Read more
Recycling coaches bane of Nigerian Football, says Omokaro (Guardian)
Former international, Bright Omokaro, is worried that the performance of Nigeria’s junior teams, has continued to dwindle, blaming this on Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) penchant to recycle coaches as a major problem against the growth of the sector.
Speaking on the recent poor performance of Flying Eagles at the ongoing WAFU Zone B Championship in Benin Republic, Omokaro said Nigeria’s football would continue to face challenges at all levels if the right coaches were not appointed to handle the national teams.
He wondered why Nigeria that has dominated youth football in Africa and even the world, would fail in a West African championship, adding that poor decisions by coaches’ selectors has hampered the growth of the sport. Read more
Arsenal, Chelsea & Spurs prevented from having fans at stadiums as London enters Tier 3 (Metro)
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham will be unable to welcome fans inside their stadiums as London will move up to tier three from Wednesday. The capital has been moved into the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions due to rising infection rates. Arsenal were the first Premier League club to welcome fans back to their stadium for their Europa League tie against Rapid Vienna on December 3. Read more
DR Congo’s Jacques Maghoma says ‘Indian Super League can be the next MLS’ (BBC)
East Bengal’s DR Congo midfielder Jacques Maghoma has said that the Indian Super League (ISL) can emulate Major League Soccer (MLS) in the US.
On the back of five seasons with Birmingham City, Maghoma chose to ply his trade in India, coveting an experience in a different football culture.
The 33-year-old was also intrigued by the history, pedigree and forward planning of ISL newcomer East Bengal.
“The Indian Super League is only in the seventh season and you can already tell how much it has improved from when it first started,” Maghoma told BBC Sport Africa.
“The stadiums, the pitches, the referees – how everything is set up, a lot of it has improved. It will be like Major League Soccer.” Read more
Arsenal chief Edu backs Mikel Arteta but explains when that will change (Metro)
Arsenal technical director Edu has backed Mikel Arteta, saying the Spaniard is doing a ‘great job’ but admits his support will waiver if the players stop believing in his project. The Gunners are enduring a woeful start to the season, their worst since 1974-75, as defeat to Burnley on Sunday left them 15th in the Premier League. Arteta’s side have picked up just 13 points in their opening 12 games of the Premier League season, scoring just 10 goals in that time. Read more
Neymar: Paris St-Germain say Brazil forward’s injury news is ‘reassuring’ (BBC)
Paris St-Germain say an initial assessment of key forward Neymar’s ankle injury has been “reassuring”.
The Brazil international was carried off on a stretcher during Sunday’s defeat by Lyon, with PSG saying on Monday he had sprained his left ankle.
The French club added Neymar will be further examined in the next 48 hours.
The 28-year-old was seen screaming in agony and clutching his ankle after a poor challenge from Lyon midfielder Thiago Mendes, who was sent off.
“The medical examinations carried out on Neymar are reassuring following his twisted ankle in Sunday’s game against Lyon,” PSG said. Read more