Cross River prison seeks more inmates to boost farming activities (Guardian)
The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) in Cross River State has raised concerns over the declining number of inmates in its facilities, stating that the shortage is affecting farming and community service programmes.
Speaking at a two-day town hall meeting on the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL), organized by the CLEEN Foundation, the Chief Superintendent of Corrections in charge of Statistics, Mr. Ibiang Otu, who represented the State Controller, Mr William Frai, revealed that the state currently has only 897 inmates across its six correctional facilities, the lowest in the South-South region of Nigeria.
“In the Adim facility, located in the central part of the state, where we have farm settlements, we currently have only 37 inmates instead of the official capacity of 200,” he said. Read more
Lagos hikes BRT fares, cites ‘cost of operations’ (Channels)
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has increased the fare for the Bus Rapid Transit better known as BRT.
A notice posted by LAMATA on Thursday afternoon said the 18 per cent increment would begin next week.
“Please be informed that there will be an 18 per cent increase in the bus fare on all Bus Reform Initiative (BRI) schemes,” part of the notice read. Read more
House: Toll operations on Abuja-Akwanga road has become major source of hardship (ThisDay)
The House of Representatives has lamented that the toll operations on Abuja-Akwanga road has become a major source of hardship and frustration for Nigerians.
It added that the current operational modalities of running tolls have resulted in severe traffic congestion, turning what should be a relatively short journey into an agonizing ordeal.
It said a journey from Lafia to Abuja, which previously took approximately two hours and 30 minutes, now stretches to an unbearable five hours or more. Read more
South West govs in close-door meeting in Lagos (Tribune)
The six South-West governors are now in a closed-door meeting at Lagos House, Ikeja, to discuss the growth and development of the region.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State was the first to arrive at the venue, followed by his Ondo counterpart, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa; Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Ademola Adeleke (Osun).
The South-West Governors Forum meeting is being hosted by its Chairman and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Read more
Lagos Assembly summons Sanwo-Olu’s aide, contractors over abandoned road projects (Vanguard)
The Lagos State House of Assembly has urged the Executive arm to urgently address the plight of residents affected by numerous abandoned road projects across the state.
As part of this effort, the House has summoned the Special Adviser for Works and several contractors responsible for the stalled projects.
During a sitting on Monday, presided over by Speaker Mojisola Meranda, lawmakers specifically mentioned the abandoned Bola Ahmed Tinubu Road in Igbogbo-Baiyeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA). They called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to direct the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to ensure that HITECH Construction Company resumes work on the project. Read more
Ajanaku applauds Okepopo Dynasties Health Walk For Unity, says initiative will strengthen bonds locally, globally (Independent)
A distinguished son of Okepopo in Lagos State, a prominent politician and industrialist, Otunba Rotimi Ajanaku has commended the initiators and organizers of the Okepopo Dynasties Health Walk for Unity.
He also extended his appreciation to four respected high chiefs of Okepopo, Chief Ibikunle Bailey (Oluwo Jakande of Lagos), Chief Tajudeen Durosinmi-Etti (Eti of Lagos), Chief Adeleye Ajanaku, (Araba of Lagos) and Prince Adedeji Akanbi Eshilokun, Chairman Okepopo Foundation for their endorsement of this historic and groundbreaking initiative aimed at fostering unity and rekindling ancestral ties.
In an official statement, Prince Adedeji Akanbi Eshilokun, the Paramount Chairman of Okepopo Foundation, announced that the Health Walk for Unity is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Read more
Deputy Speaker seeks UN permanent seat for Nigeria (Nation)
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu has emphasised the need for Africa, especially Nigeria to be given a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council
Speaking at the Heads of Parliaments meeting holding at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, Kalu said there was the need to redefine multilateralism to accommodate the pressing needs of developing countries.
The meeting is part of preparation for the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva, Switzerland scheduled for July under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Read more
DG seeks compulsory recruitment of first-class graduates into DSS (Punch)
The Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, has called for a policy mandating the recruitment of first-class graduates into the intelligence agency to strengthen national security.
Ajayi made this call while delivering the 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Kwara State.
In his lecture, titled “The Roles of the DSS in Security, Peacekeeping, and National Integration,” Ajayi emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in recruitment and staffing within security agencies to ensure only the best minds are enlisted. Read more
Woman accused of killing family with poisoned Christmas cake found dead in cell (Metro)
Deise Moura dos Anjos, 42, was found lifeless in her cell
A woman accused of killing three members of her family with an arsenic-laced Christmas cake was found dead in her prison cell in Brazil.
Deise Moura dos Anjos’s body was lifeless when guards burst into her cell at the jail in Guaiba, near the city of Porto Alegre.
The 42-year-old was alone when the incident happened this morning and police have since confirmed her death is being treated as a suicide. Read more
Captain America: Brave New World comes close to breaking terrible Rotten Tomatoes Marvel record (Independent)
Captain America: Brave New World has come close to securing an embarrassing Rotten Tomatoes record for a Marvel film after the new blockbuster opened to negative reviews from critics.
Brave New World marks Anthony Mackie’s first feature film outing as Captain America with his character inheriting the mantle from Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) at the end of Avengers: Endgame. The movie also stars Harrison Ford, Giancarlo Esposito and Danny Ramirez.
Although Marvel movies continue to dominate the box office, critics have been notably much harsher on their output since Endgame with five of their films since 2019 currently holding the lowest scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Read more
Emilia Perez stars to present Bafta prizes with Karla Sofia Gascon unconfirmed (Standard)
Emilia Perez stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez are to present prizes at Sunday’s Bafta awards, with actress Karla Sofia Gascon not confirmed among those attending the event amid criticism over a number of tweets.
The 52-year-old is nominated for best leading actress at the awards, but has stepped back from promoting the film after the X posts, made between 2019 and 2024, about Islam, the death of George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars resurfaced following the musical’s release.
Gascon, who became the first trans woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe for the French film set in Mexico, has not attended recent awards shows the film has featured at, with the latest being Spain’s Goya Awards. Read more
“It Ends with Us” author Colleen Hoover returns to Instagram — and removes photos of Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively (People)
Colleen Hoover has returned to Instagram after deactivating her account on Jan. 22.
Along with her return, the It Ends with Us author’s profile no longer features photos of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni — the stars of the film adaptation of the book.
Her Feb. 12 comeback follows her decision to step back from the social media platform amid the current legal battle between Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 41. Read more
Happy Valley star joins new murder mystery series led by All Creatures Great and Small star
(Hello!)
Channel 5 has announced the star-studded cast of its new murder mystery drama, “Murder Before Evensong”, which is adapted from the first novel of author Reverend Richard Coles’s bestselling book series.
Matthew Lewis (All Creatures Great and Small, Harry Potter), who was previously announced as the show’s lead, will be joined by a host of major stars including Amanda Redman (New Tricks), Amit Shah (Happy Valley) and Adam James (The Day of the Jackal).
The six-parter, which arrives on screens later this year, follows Canon Daniel Clement (Lewis), who shares Champton rectory with his widowed mother, Audrey (Redman). But when Daniel shares his plan to install a lavatory in the church, the parish is divided and long-buried secrets come to the surface. Read more
Ex-Google boss fears for AI “Bin Laden scenario’’ (BBC)
The former chief executive of Google is worried artificial intelligence could be used in a “Bin Laden scenario” or “rogue states” to “harm innocent people.”
Eric Schmidt told the BBC: “The real fears that I have are not the ones that most people talk about AI – I talk about extreme risk.”
The tech billionaire, who held senior posts at Google from 2001 to 2017, told the Today programme “North Korea, or Iran, or even Russia” could adopt and misuse the technology to create biological weapons. Read more
Driver who hit union rally in ‘‘suspected attack’’ in Munich is Afghan asylum seeker, police say (Guardian)
A 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker has driven a car into a trade union demonstration in Munich, injuring at least 30 people, German police have said, in a suspected attack that is expected to inflame tensions before this month’s election.
The car, a Mini Cooper, accelerated and ploughed into people at the back of a rally by the Verdi union at about 10.30am during a strike by public sector workers. Employees of daycare centres, hospitals, sanitation facilities and public swimming pools had joined the work stoppage calling for higher pay and longer holidays. About 1,500 people were reportedly at the scene.
Among those hurt were children, and some of the victims had critical injuries. Media images showed the damaged car and several bodies lying on the ground, which was strewn with shoes and stained with blood. Read more
Europa League: Osimhen’s Galatasaray suffer big defeat at AZ Alkmaar (CompleteSports)
Victor Osimhen’s Galatasaray suffered a 4-1 defeat away to AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of the Europa League playoffs on Thursday.
Osimhen did not feature in the first leg tie due to disciplinary issue.
Tony Parrott, Jordy Clasie, David Wolfe and Sven Mijnans all scored for the Netherlands side, Roland Sallai got Galatasaray’s goal. Read more
NPFL, V Agency hold workshop on creating opportunities in football (Nation)
Seeking to continually improve the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) ecosystem, a workshop on integrating football and education leveraging on technology was organised in Abuja on Tuesday, February 11.
Organised under the auspices of the NPFL Board led by the Chairman, Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye and an international sports management agency, V Agency Sports Management, the workshop was led by Alexandra Végh, the CEO of the Hungary-based agency.
In his presentation at the workshop, which was held at Sheraton Hotels in Abuja, Elegbeleye harped on the need to harness the synergy of sports and education to trigger the inherent potentials. Read more
Premier League announce major VAR change and implementation just weeks away (Express)
The fifth round of the FA Cup this season will see the debut of semi-automated offside technology, with plans for the Premier League to adopt the system later in the season. The technology will be utilised only in the seven matches set to take place at Premier League venues, while VAR will be operational at all eight fifth round games.
A joint statement from the FA, Premier League and PGMOL revealed that in-stadium VAR announcements will also be introduced to “provide improved clarity and understanding for spectators and viewers”.
They further clarified that the offside technology has undergone “extensive testing”, with the Premier League aiming to implement it this season if its use in the FA Cup proves successful.
Fenerbahce, Real Sociedad earn wins in Europa League play-offs (JapanToday)
Real Sociedad will return to Spain in a commanding position after a penalty from Brais Mendez and terrific goal by Japan winger Takefusa Kubo saw them past Danish Midtjylland, who pulled one back through Adam Buksa. Read more
Swiatek becomes the first woman with the longest winning streak at the Qatar Open since the tournament began in 2001 with 15 consecutive wins. Read more
Injuries affected England’s training time – McCullum (BBC)
England “backed guys off a little” because of injuries within the squad during their tour of India, says coach Brendon McCullum amid criticism of the team’s preparation.
England were thrashed in the third one-day international on Wednesday meaning they ended the tour with seven defeats from eight matches across the ODIs and T20s.
Former captain Kevin Pietersen was among those to question the squad for not training before the second and third matches. Read more