Coroner’s inquest into death of Sylvester Oromoni begins Jan 15 (Punch)
A coroner’s inquest into the death of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni (Junior), a pupil of the Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, will commence on January 15, 2022, The PUNCH has learnt.
According to the Chief Coroner of Lagos State, Justice M. A. Dada, the inquest will openly commence on January 15 at Magistrate Court No. 4, Epe District.
In a letter dated January 4, to the lawyers to the family of the deceased students, Femi Falana (SAN), the Coroner of Epe District, Mikail Kadiri, asked the lawyer to forward a list of suspects to be summoned to court.
The letter was titled, ‘Re: Request for Inquest into the tragic death of Sylvester Oromoni killed at Dowen College, Lekki. Lagos State’. Read more
School Resumption: Lagos frowns at non-compliance, says many private schools still on holiday (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Government is not happy that three days after the official resumption of schools for a new term, some private schools are still on holiday, while attendance has not peaked in those which have resumed.
The Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, OEQA, Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, who led a team to monitor compliance with the resumption in some parts of Lagos, said the refusal of some schools to implement the harmonised academic calendar was unfortunate.
She noted that parents should also encourage their children to go back to school on time.
“It is part of our duties that we have a harmonised school calendar developed in conjunction with all of our stakeholders and that was done last June after a series of meetings with all stakeholders. The calendar was published last July and sent to all appropriate quarters.
“We noticed that some did not comply with the calendar last term when we were to have the mid-term break. With this COVID-19 issue, we need to make maximum use of the time we have to teach our children. Going round today, the compliance level could be better. We are not relenting on sensitising stakeholders,” she said. Read more
UTME, direct entry forms not yet on sale, says JAMB (Nation)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it has not begun selling the 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry forms.
It warned candidates to be wary of fraud.
In a statement, the board noted that the sale of forms would be well publicised when the time comes.
The statement reads: “The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been drawn to the activities of unwholesome elements who had been misleading the general public on the purported commencement of the sale of 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) application documents.
“For the avoidance of doubt, any information in circulation purporting to have emanated from the Board to the effect that the sale of the 2022 UTME and DE forms has commenced is not only fraudulent but is a calculated attempt by mischief makers to create unnecessary panic among prospective candidates for their own selfish ends. Read more
Customs generates N2.240 trillion revenue in 2021 (Sun)
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said it generated the sum of N2.240 trillion in revenue for the year 2021, just as the amount generated was over the target of N1,678 trillion set for the year.
Commenting on this feat in a statement released by the National Public Relations Officer, Joseph Attah, quoted the Comptroller General of Customs, Col Hameed Ibrahim Ali (retd), saying that the revenue generated was over the sum of N1,562 trillion generated in 2020 representing 43.45 per cent increase.
However, Ali described the revenue generated as a result of the resolute pursuit of what is right and willingness to adapt to changes brought about by global health challenges occasioned by COVID-19.
‘The service revenue generation profile has continued to be on the rise annually as the ongoing reforms in the Service insist on the strategic deployment of officers strictly using the standard operating procedure, strict enforcement of extant guidelines by the tariff and trade department.
‘Automation of the Customs process thereby eliminating vices associated with the manual process, robust stakeholder sensitization resulting in more informed/voluntary compliance and increased disposition of officers and men to put national interest above selves,’ he added. Read more
Magodo: Lagos to search for 549 plots of land for aggrieved Shangisha landlords (Tribune)
The Lagos State government is currently searching for 549 plots of land in order to finally resolve the lingering dispute over the Magodo Estate land in Shangisha area of the state.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who spoke with newsmen on Wednesday shortly after a meeting with various stakeholders involved in the land dispute at the Banquet Hall of the Lagos State Government House, Ikeja, said government would identify land within the Shangisha Estate and other parts of the state to get the 549 plots of land for the aggrieved landlords to resolve the land dispute that had lingered for over 38 years.
Governor Sanwo-Olu and the stakeholders also agreed that the police officers who had laid siege to the area be withdrawn.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Shangisha Landlords Association, Magodo Residents Association, counsel for the stakeholders and top government officials.
The governor said to this end, the committee long set up by the state government should get to work as from Friday to ensure resolution of the matter. Read more
Bill to amend Benue’s Grazing Law passes first reading (DailyTrust)
A bill seeking to amend portions of the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law (2017) has passed its first reading in the state’s House of Assembly.
Our correspondent reports that the executive arm of the state government wants a stiffer punishment for offenders of the law through the amendment of the bill.
Speaker of the Assembly, Titus Uba, at the commencement of sitting on Thursday informed the house of the letter from the Attorney General, Barrister Mike Gusa, seeking the amendment to strengthen the law with a stiffer penalty for violators in order to deter others.
To this end, the Majority Leader of the House, Damian Cheme, presented the bill for deliberation on behalf of the executive while the Clerk read the bill for the first time and thereafter committed it to the Business and Ethics Committee.
The Speaker, on his part, urged members to look at the law with a view to ensure that penalty serves as a deterrent to future violators. Read more
2023: I’m interested in building strong institutions — Anyim (Vanguard)
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential aspirant, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim has said that he was more interested in becoming the president of Nigeria so as to build strong institutions in the country.
Anyim also said that he was ready and equipped to lead Nigeria out of its present economic woes if given the opportunity to become Nigeria’s president next year.
The former President of the Senate made the statements at the PDP South-East Briefing and Consultative session in Enugu, on Thursday.
According to Anyim, “My records as President of the Senate and as Secretary to the Government of the Federation clearly show that I am more interested in building strong institutions than seeking enhancement of personal power or position. My records show effective and efficient management of the nation’s diversity on the basis of equity, justice, fairness and inclusiveness. Read more
Recruitment: Police release list of qualified candidates, training dates (Punch)
Police have finally released a list of qualified candidates, dates, venues, and requirements for the 2020 Police Constables Recruitment Training.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Enugu State Police Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, on Thursday.
Ndukwe advised candidates to visit the recruitment portal on www.policerecruitment.gov.ng to download the list and check their names or alternatively visit the Police State Command Headquarters to view the list.
“The command wishes to inform residents of the state, who applied for 2020 Nigeria Police Force 10,000 Police Constables Recruitment and had successfully progressed to the medical screening stage of the exercise that the final list is out. Read more
Things to know about new Olubadan-elect (Nation)
Ten of the 11 members of the Olubadan-in-Council on Wednesday endorsed the nomination of Senator Lekan Balogun as the next Olubadan of Ibadanland.
The Council also denied that a legal tussle could scupper the succession to the Olubadan throne.
Here are things to know about the new Olubadan-elect of Ibadanland, the 79-year-old Dr Lekan Balogun
· After his primary school education, young Lekan was enrolled at CAC Modern School, Anlugbua. Then he was staying with one of his brothers, Late Hamzat Adewale Balogun, who was a civil servant but was studying privately for the General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level (GCE O’L). He was also subscribing to Rapid Result College in the UK to enhance his performance in the examination. But Lekan was secretly reading his brother’s correspondence which became very helpful to him when he wrote his qualifying test which was like ‘G4’ at the time. Read more
Black and Asian workers are ‘paid 16% less than white people’ – losing up to £255,000 in lifetime (Metro)
New research has revealed that a stark disparity still exists between ethnic minority and white employees in terms of how much they are paid.
Workers from Black, Asian, mixed-race and minority ethnic backgrounds only earn 84% of what their white counterparts are paid -16% less, which equates to losing thousands of pounds every year, according to a study.
The findings, from networking group People Like Us and Censuswide, also revealed that people from racially diverse backgrounds are passed over for pay rises – and this happens more frequently the more senior they become – a third are passed over at entry level, while it is more than half at senior manager and director level. Read more
Biden bashes Trump, pushes federal election bill on Capitol riot anniversary (NYPost)
President Biden is expected to blast former President Donald Trump as a threat to democracy and repeat his calls for passage of a federal election bill Thursday at an event marking the anniversary of the Capitol riot.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will speak to a gathering of lawmakers around 9 a.m. in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, which is located between the building’s central Rotunda and House chamber.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that Biden “is going to speak to the truth of what happened, not the lies that some have spread since, and the peril it posed to the rule of law and our system of democratic governance.”
“He will also speak to the work we still need to do to secure and strengthen our democracy and our institutions to reject the hatred and lies we saw on January 6th and to unite our country,” Psaki added. Read more
Covid-19: More than 100 test positive on an Italy-India flight (BBC)
A total of 125 passengers who arrived in the northern Indian city of Amritsar on a chartered flight from Italy have tested positive for Covid-19.
They will be placed in isolation, health officials said.
They were among 179 passengers on the flight from Milan which landed in Amritsar on Wednesday afternoon.
India reported more than 90,000 cases on Thursday – a nearly six-fold rise over the past week that experts say is fuelled by the Omicron variant. Read more
Men ‘overestimate’ attractiveness of women – study (RT)
Researchers have found that men tend to overestimate how attractive a woman is based on just a brief glimpse, whereas women who catch a glance of a man are more likely to underestimate his handsomeness.
The findings, published last month in the Evolution and Human Behavior journal, suggests the cliche about ‘falling in love at first sight’ only goes one way. The study appears to confirm the concept of ‘first-impression bias’ in both men and women.
Conducted in Australia, researchers asked around 400 volunteers to evaluate the attractiveness of strangers from the opposite sex based on a blurry photo without a clear view of their facial features, and then again from a clear image.
The researchers also randomized the order of presentation, switching between first showing participants a blurry image or a clear image. Through this method, they were apparently able to “isolate the unique effects of uncertainty” – which was only identified when volunteers saw the blurred images first. Read more
BMW’s new car actually changes colour (Metro)
A car that changes colour seems like a pretty sci-fi concept, until you see that BMW has gone and created exactly that.
The all-electric BMW iX Flow is able to shift from black to white at the touch of a button.
It works using the same ‘e-ink’ electrophoretic technology that you find in a Kindle e-reader, only applied to a special car wrap rather than a tiny screen.
The technology uses an applied electric field to separate molecules (in this case, black and white pigments) and swap them based on their respective electric charges. Read more
Italian man accused of stealing unpublished manuscripts, targeting celebs arrested at JFK (NYPost)
An Italian citizen accused of stealing hundreds of unpublished book manuscripts – including one from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author – was arrested Wednesday afternoon when he arrived at JFK airport, prosecutors said.
Filippo Bernardini, 29, an employee at London’s Simon & Schuster UK, was charged in a newly unsealed federal indictment with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft over the alleged scheme that dates back to at least August 2016, according to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Bernardini, who lives in London, allegedly posed as agents, editors and other publishing industry insiders to gain access to the unpublished works.
Margaret Atwood and Ethan Hawke were among those targeted, the Associated Press reported. Read more
Ashers ‘gay cake’ case: European court rules case inadmissible (BBC)
A gay rights activist has lost a seven-year discrimination dispute over a cake order as the European Court of Human Rights ruled his case inadmissible.
Gareth Lee started legal action back in 2014 after a Christian-run Belfast bakery refused to make him a cake with the slogan “Support Gay Marriage”.
The family firm Ashers said the slogan contravened their Christian beliefs.
The European court ruled Mr Lee’s case inadmissible, saying he had failed to exhaust all options in the UK courts. Read more
NPFL: LMC slams N3.5m fine, banish Dakkada FC to Benin (DailyTrust)
The League Management Company (LMC) has hit hard on Dakkada Football Club after one of its officials attacked an assistant referee during a clash with Remo Stars on Sunday.
The LMC announced the immediate expulsion of Sunday Etefia, the Dakkada FC Assistant Coach while slamming on the club a total sum of N3.5m.
Dakkada FC has also been ordered to play their next three home matches at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin for breach of Rules B13.52 and C9 following the incidents of Sunday.
Etefia was indicted for assaulting Assistant Referee 11, Sani Baba, at the end of the Matchday 4 fixture against Remo Stars in Uyo. The LMC has also recommended to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to review his coaching licence.
Consequently, the LMC fined the Club N3m for failure to provide adequate security in the course of the match, in addition to the sum of N250,000 each to be paid to the Assistant Referee and General Manager of Remo Stars for medical expenses and may include any additional verifiable and authenticated medical costs.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Referees Association, NRA has revealed its decision not to send its officials to officiate any Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL match involving Dakkada FC of Akwa Ibom State. Read more
Pep Guardiola tests positive for Covid as seven Manchester City players isolate (Metro)
Pep Guardiola has tested positive for Covid-19 while seven Manchester City players are now isolating as the virus continues to spread at the Etihad.
The City boss and his assistant Juanma Lillo both returned positive tests on Tuesday and will now miss Friday’s FA Cup clash with Swindon Town, although the game will still take place.
With a number of other positive cases within the Man City first-team bubble, 21 people – 14 backroom staff and seven players – are now isolating for Covid-related reasons.
Assistant coach Rodolfo Borrell will take charge of Manchester City’s FA Cup third-round clash with League Two side Swindon, but new rules regarding the duration of isolation periods means Guardiola could return for the Premier League fixture against Chelsea on January 15. Read more
NFF needs N15 billion for AFCON, World Cup (Vanguard)
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have requested for billions of Naira from the Federal Government for the Super Eagles AFCON campaign.
NFF president Amaju Pinnick confirmed the federation have asked for “an intervention fund” as they often do for major tournaments like the AFCON and the World Cup.
“Things are very difficult (financially),” admitted Pinnick.
“We hope that our request will be approved.”
The Government paid the NFF close to a billion Naira for the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, but the federation will be asking for a lot more now because of a bigger squad of 28 players to Cameroon and the additional costs often incurred on account of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Read more
Nigerian striker Ighalo joins Osimhen, Dennis on 2021 AFCON no-show list (Guardian)
Ighalo, whose Saudi Arabian club Al Shabab, did not permit his participation in the AFCON 2021, joins fellow strikers Victor Osimhen and Emmanuel Dennis to miss the competition.
Nigeria Super Eagles coach Augustine Egwavoen had given Ighalo a 5:00 pm deadline to join the team on Tuesday. But Al Shabab said the official invitation from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) came in late.
Majid Al-Marzouki, an official of Al Shabab, said there is no further conversation between Nigeria and the Asian club as Ighalo’s absence from the 2021 AFCON is ‘settled’.
“The Fifa Player Status Regulations stipulates that the federation must notify the player and his club in writing of his summons 15 days before the start of the tournament, and it is advised to send a copy to the local federation of the club as well, which did not happen,” Al-Marzouki said. Read more
AFCON 2021: Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tests positive for Covid-19 (BBC)
Gabon captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has tested positive for Covid-19 just four days before his country’s first game at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Aubameyang and Nice midfielder Mario Lemina returned positive lateral flow tests on arrival at Yaounde’s airport in Cameroon.
Coach Anicet Yala also tested positive.
Head coach Patrice Neveu told AFP that the trio, who are all asymptomatic, are isolating in their hotel rooms and awaiting results of PCR tests.
Gabon play their opening Group C match against Comoros on Monday, with their second group game against Ghana on Friday, 14 January.
Novak Djokovic put in Australia detention hotel until Monday over vaccine visa row (Metro)
World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic has been put in a detention hotel until Monday after Australia delayed their deportation decision.
Djokovic had been hoping to defend his Australian Open title but had his visa to enter the country revoked upon his arrival in Melbourne.
The Serbia legend, who has not spoken about his Covid-19 vaccination status, was held in the airport for several hours before border control said he had not met entry rules.
Djokovic’s team have appealed the decision and he will now stay in a Melbourne hotel until Monday, pending a final decision on his deportation which will be made at 10am local time. Read more
Kyrie Irving: Brooklyn Nets point guard returns after vaccine controversy (BBC)
Kyrie Irving returned after Covid-19 vaccination controversy to help the Brooklyn Nets claim victory in Indiana.
In December, the Nets reversed an earlier decision that the 29-year-old could not play until he was vaccinated.
The NBA All-Star can now play part-time but will miss games in areas that require players to be jabbed – including the Nets’ New York home.
Able to make his season debut in Indiana, the point guard scored 22 to help Brooklyn win 129-121.
Playing for the first time since June, Irving helped the Nets overturn a 19-point deficit and end a three-game losing streak. Read more