Couple, 1 other in Police net for killing popular hotelier in Ogun (Vanguard)
Operatives of Ogun State Police Command have arrested one Larry Adebayo Adewumi and his wife, Okereke Olufunmilayo with one Adebowale Sanni over the abduction and killing of a popular hotelier, Otunba Abayomi Ajayi Smith, the Director of Rolak Hotel Ijebu Ode.
The command Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi disclosed this in a statement he made available to newsmen in Abeokuta the State capital.
Otunba Ajayi Smith was kidnapped on the 28th of September 2020 at about 7:30 am, at Anifowose Estate Igbeba, Ijebu Ode by some gunmen.
Oyeyemi said, “On receiving the information about the kidnap, men of anti kidnapping unit were mobilized to commence investigation, but all efforts to get the victim out of captivity proved abortive, despite the fact that the victim’s family paid a ransome of 15 million Naira to the abductors”. Read more
After explosive letter, Soludo, Peter Obi meet in church (DailyTrust)
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has met with the Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo.
Soludo met the former Anambra governor at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Awka, Anambra State on Thursday during the thanksgiving mass for Most Rev. Paulinus C. Ezeokafor’s 70th birthday.
There was recently a disagreement between the two after Soludo alleged that the investment of Obi in Anambra state is worth next to nothing. Read more
Security officials grow fat as 100 Lagos-Badagry-Seme highway illegal checkpoints yield billions (Punch)
To any doubting Thomas, encountering over 100 roadblocks on the Lagos-Badagry-Seme Expressway in Lagos State is unbelievable.
However, our investigations reveal this to be the sad truth on the international expressway that leads to the Republic of Benin.
Under the guise of using the roadblocks and checkpoints to checkmate smuggling activities and providing security along the expressway and around the Seme border and its environs, security agents including officials of the Nigeria Customs and men of the Nigeria Police Force had been allegedly subjecting unsuspecting members of the public to traumatising experiences all in a bid to extort them of their hard-earned money. Read more
NDLEA boss knocks Adekunle Gold, Burna Boy, others for glorifying drug abuse (Vanguard)
Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Retd) has slammed Nigerian artistes who glorify the abuse of drugs and substances in their songs.
Marwa lamented how the drug-promoting lyrics from songs have become a buzzword among youths, noting how the young population, on the strength of these songs, have come to see drug abuse as a ‘grand idea of leisure’.
The NDLEA boss who was represented by Dr. Segun Oke said this during the 2nd edition of the Vanguard Mental Health Summit held in Lagos on Thursday with the theme being: ‘Mental Health in a Distressed Economy’.
According to Marwa, drug abuse is a ‘serious’ problem in the country, revealing that 10.6 million Nigerians abuse cannabis. Read more
Actor Deyemi Okanlawon recounts ordeal with Lagos thugs (Punch)
Nollywood actor, Deyemi Okanlawon, has narrated his unfortunate experience with an errant road user on Thursday morning.
Okanlawon took to Twitter to reveal how he escaped beatings from thugs after a driver, who brushed his car, raised a false alarm against him.
In his account of events, the Blood Sisters actor stated that the said driver had called his assistant a thief after the latter tried to settle the matter amicably.
The false alarm then attracted “area boys” who started hitting his assistant. Read more
Court to deliver judgment in Ogun PDP governorship crisis suit Dec 1 (Guardian)
A Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja, on Thursday, fixed Dec. 1 for judgment in a suit filed by Mr Jimi Lawal, an aggrieved governorship aspirant in the May 25 Ogun Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s primary election.
Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date after counsel to the parties adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the suit.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Lawal, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/773/22, had sued the PDP, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mr Oladipupo Adebutu as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.
Lawal, who contested the May 25 governorship primary poll of the PDP, had challenged the emergence of Adebutu as the party’s candidate. Read more
Proliferation of illicit small arms, light weapons huge threat to national security — NSA (DailyTrust)
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno has said that the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons constitutes a huge threat to national security.
He spoke at the destruction of 3000 illicit small arms and light weapons recovered by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) at the Nigerian Army Engineering Deport in Kaduna on Wednesday.
Represented by the Director, Policy and Strategy in the office of the NSA; Ambassador Aminu Lawal, the NSA said the failure of the global community to control the availability of illicit SALW has continued to undermine global peace and significantly hindered development, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
He said, “There is no gainsaying in the fact that the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SMLW) constitutes a huge threat to our national security. It has become a major source of vulnerability in our society and stands out as a key driver of violent conflict, crime and terrorism within and beyond our borders. Read more
Jubilation in Taraba as Appeal Court reinstates Bwacha as APC guber candidate (Sun)
Jalingo, the Taraba State capital and parts of
Taraba State went agog Thursday morning following a ruling by the Court of Appeal Yola that reinstates Senator Emmanuel Bwacha as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State ahead of the 2023 general elections.
A federal high court sitting in Jalingo and presided by Justice Simon Amobeda had on September 20, 2022, sacked Bwacha as the candidate of the party in a petition filed by Chief David Kente.
The primary election was contested by two of the governorship aspirants, Chief David Sabo Kente and Senator Abubakar Yusuf, who allege irregularities in the exercise.
Meanwhile, the campaign organisation of Senator Emmanuel Bwacha has described the ruling of the appellate court as a vindication of their candidate and a confirmation that Bwacha was indeed a divine project. Read more
Gemma Collins’ room burgled during ‘scary’ Mexico holiday (Metro)
Gemma Collins has opened about the terrifying ordeal she experienced while she was on holiday in Mexico.
The TV personality, 41, has urged people to do their ‘research’ before travelling after revealing someone broke into her room while she was abroad.
In her latest GC podcast, she explained: ‘I went to Mexico once and was going out for dinner, when I came back my room had been robbed.’
‘It’s really scary because you are abroad. Always make sure you put things in the safe.’ Read more
Gwen Stefani to support Pink at 2023 BST Hyde Park shows (NME)
Gwen Stefani will appear as a special guest at Pink’s BST Hyde Park shows in London next summer.
Pink is due to play two headline concerts for the series on June 24 and 25, 2023 as part of her ‘Summer Carnival’ UK tour.
Today (November 24), it’s been announced that former No Doubt frontwoman turned soloist Stefani will be performing at both BST dates.
Speaking about her upcoming return to these shores, the singer said: “I don’t think I would ever be me without the incredible musical influences of the UK. I am so excited to be back! This is going to be an amazing show.” Read more
K-pop girl group Mamamoo staging their 1st concert in Singapore on Feb 9 (StraitsTimes)
K-pop girl group Mamamoo will be performing at The Star Theatre on Feb 9, as part of the quartet’s first world tour.
While the South Korean group previously held a fan meeting in Singapore in 2019, the upcoming show will be their first concert here.
Prices of tickets range from $128 to $288 and go on sale on Wednesday at noon via Ticketmaster.
Those who purchase tickets priced at $288 are entitled to attend a soundcheck held prior to the show. Read more
Special edit of Pushkar and Gayatri series ‘‘Vadhandhi’’ to debut at IFFI (Variety)
Such is the crossover between film and TV that “Vadhandhi – The Fable of Velonie” is only the latest streaming series to find itself a prominent slot at a major film festival.
The eight-part Tamil-language crime thriller will upload to Amazon Prime Video from Dec. 2. But the International Film Festival of India will first give a special edit of the show to a cinema screening on Nov 27.
With a title that means ‘rumors’ in English, the series is set in a small town where nothing is quite as it seems. The focus is on Velonie, a beautiful debutante (portrayed by newcomer Sanjana) who is complex and mysterious and whose back story is murky. Vivek, a cop (portrayed by multi hyphenate S.J. Suryah), who is both troubled and determined, is on her case trying to penetrate through the layers of the town, his suspect and himself. It is not clear that he will be able to build a case, whether he will identify the real culprit or whether he will be able to overcome his own obsessions or be able to do so without destroying his own family. Read more
Joe Jonas lost Spider-Man role to Andrew Garfield (PageSix)
Joe Jonas was set to play Peter Parker in the 2012 movie, “The Amazing Spider-Man,” but he lost the role to Andrew Garfield.
“I remember years ago I was up for Spider-Man, and I was so, so excited, and it was the year Andrew Garfield got it,” the Jonas Brothers member, 33, revealed on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast.
“Obviously, he was the right one,” the musician admitted of Garfield landing the coveted part.
Jonas noted that the film’s director, Marc Webb, “used to be a music video director,” which led the Grammy nominee to believe he had “an in.” Read more
Dozens sentenced to death over lynching in Algeria (BBC)
An Algerian court has sentenced 49 people to death after they were found guilty of lynching a man wrongly suspected of starting devastating forest fires last year.
The sentences are likely to be reduced to life in prison as there is a moratorium on executions.
In 2021, Algeria experienced the worst fires in the country’s history, with multiple blazes killing 90 people.
The lynching victim, Djamel Ben Ismail, had gone to help fight the fires.
After the fires broke out in August last year, the 38-year-old tweeted saying he would travel over 320km (200 miles) from his home to “give a hand to our friends” fighting the blazes in the Kabylie region, east of the capital Algiers, which was the worst-hit area. Read more
Brazil election agency rejects Bolsonaro push to void votes (VOA)
The head of Brazil’s electoral authority has rejected the request from President Jair Bolsonaro’s political party to annul ballots cast on most electronic voting machines, which would have overturned the Oct. 30 election.
Alexandre de Moraes had issued a prior ruling that implicitly raised the possibility that Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party could suffer from such a challenge. He conditioned analysis of the request on the presentation of an amended report to include results from the first electoral round, on Oct. 2, in which the party won more seats in both congressional houses than any other, and he established a 24-hour deadline.
Earlier Wednesday, party president Valdemar Costa and lawyer Marcelo de Bessa held a press conference and said there would be no amended report.
“The complete bad faith of the plaintiff’s bizarre and illicit request … was proven, both by the refusal to add to the initial petition and the total absence of any evidence of irregularities and the existence of a totally fraudulent narrative of the facts,” de Moraes wrote in his decision hours later. Read more
Uruguay held by South Korea in entertaining draw (BBC)
Nothing could separate Uruguay and South Korea in their World Cup opener in Group H despite plenty of attacking quality on show in Qatar.
In front of a vibrant crowd at the Education City Stadium, the South Koreans frustrated Uruguay but did not create many clear-cut opportunities.
Their best fell to Hwang Ui-jo, who fired over the bar in the first half, before Uruguay captain Diego Godin headed a corner against the post.
Hwang stood with his head in hands afterwards, while team-mates fell to their knees in disbelief, all in front of a group of South Korean fans behind the goal, who were in fine voice throughout.
South Korea had controlled most of the first half but Uruguay began to dominate as the game wore on and they almost won it in the final minute of normal time when Federico Valverde’s long-range effort crashed off the post. Read more
Osavi-Samuel: I almost dumped Nigeria for Turkey (Sun)
New Super Eagles right back, Bright Osayi-Samuel, has made some startling revelations regarding his decision to play international football for Nigeria.
Born in Okija to Nigerian parents 24 years ago, Osayi-Samuel emigrated to England when he was barely ten.
The full back has since developed into one of the most accomplished defenders in the Turkish league.
Osayi-Samuel received his first international call-up on Thursday, November 17 to make his full debut for the Super Eagles in the 4-0 defeat to Portugal in a friendly. Read more
World Cup 2022: Kieffer Moore hoping Wales follow England blueprint to expose Iran weakness
(Standard)
Kieffer Moore has vowed to follow England’s lead in exposing Iran’s aerial frailties, as he pushes to start Wales’s crucial Group B game tomorrow.
Moore was a surprise exclusion from the starting XI for the opener against the USA on Monday night, as Rob Page opted for an extra midfield body and a front-two of Gareth Bale and Dan James.
Wales were dominated during the opening 45 minutes, but Moore’s half-time introduction proved a turning point, and Page’s men fought back to earn a 1-1 draw, thanks to Bale’s late penalty.
“I wanted to impose myself on the game and do what I could, so hopefully I am in a position to start on Friday,” said Moore, who started three of Wales’s four games at the Euros last summer. Read more
UEFA still waiting on Champions League final report (RTE)
UEFA has still to be notified when the independent review into the chaotic scenes at May’s Champions League final will be published.
European football’s governing body commissioned a team led by Portuguese Dr Tiago Brandao Rodrigues to look into the events at the Stade de France which saw dangerous congestion problems leading to a delayed kick-off, fans locked out, tickets failing to work and heavy-handed Paris police tear gas supporters.
UEFA stated it aimed to have the report published by the end of November but with less than a week remaining it is still waiting for confirmation of when the report will be received.
“UEFA has not yet been informed of a concrete date for the publication of the report being currently prepared by the Independent Review team led by Dr Brandao Rodrigues,” said a UEFA statement given to the PA news agency. Read more
Alpine boss aims dig at Oscar Piastri after landing Pierre Gasly following summer saga (Express)
Otmar Szafnauer has been candid in his criticism of Oscar Piastri since it emerged earlier this year that the youngster would not be making his Formula 1 debut with Alpine. However, the team’s principal believes his outfit may have lucked out in landing Pierre Gasly as an alternative.
Piastri was formerly part of the Renault (now Alpine) academy programme and tested for Alpine throughout 2022. However, he was also made available to McLaren as a reserve driver, with Alpine under the impression the 21-year-old was contracted to drive for them in 2023.
Instead, McLaren exploited every avenue to lure Piastri as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo, having taken the decision to terminate the latter’s contract one year early. Gasly was in turn signed from AlphaTauri on a multi-year deal as a replacement for the departed Fernando Alonso (now at Aston Martin), a turn of events Szafnauer said could work in Alpine’s favour. Read more
Davis Cup: Sonego beats Tiafoe, Italy leads US 1-0 (DailyMail)
Lorenzo Sonego gave Italy a 1-0 lead over the United States in the Davis Cup quarterfinals after beating Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 7-6 (7) on Thursday.
No. 45-ranked Sonego struck 17 aces and never ceded a service game on the indoor hard-court in Málaga. Sonego clinched the win after Tiafoe netted a forehand following a long rally to end the second-set tiebreaker.
“I feel like I let my guys down,” Tiafoe said. “It’s tough. It has been a great season for me and I wanted to win for my team, so (I feel) some extra frustration because it is not about me, it is about the team.”
No. 19-ranked Tiafoe, who reached the U.S. Open semifinals in September, won their only previous meeting at the Paris Masters just over three weeks ago. Read more
