Daughter sues mum over rape allegation against dad (Punch)
One Jessica Obinomeh and her mother, Sandra, have drawn a battle line at an Ogba magistrates’ court, Lagos State, over lingering family issues.
Obinomeh alleged that her mother and siblings tortured her with a hot iron, compelling her to lie that her father raped her.
The plot, according to the 20-year-old woman, was meant to shame her father who is based abroad, and his extended family.
But the mother debunked her claim, saying that she was tortured for stealing N345,000 from her (Sandra’s) account. Read more
Royal Scuffle: I remain Oluwo of Iwoland, I was not suspended – Oba Akanbi (DailyTrust)
The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi has said that he was never suspended as Oluwo of Iwoland and that he remains the one and only Oluwo of Iwoland. The Council of Obas in Osun State on Friday suspended Oba Akanbi for misconduct and set up a committee to recommend further decision on him. At its meeting in Osogbo, the state capital on Friday, the Council said the conduct of the Iwo monarch since he became Oba does not portray the traditional institution well. The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi who is the permanent chairman of the Council presided over the meeting which was attended by a large number of traditional rulers in the state. Read more
Two killed as rival cult groups clash in Lagos (Punch)
Two persons lost their lives on Friday in a clash between two rival cult groups, Aiye and Eiye confraternities, in the Mile 12 area of Lagos State.
It was learnt that the fight broke out around 1pm after some aiye members invaded the neighbourhood on the account that their rival group had a hand in the arrest of their leader arraigned in court earlier on Friday.
Our correspondent gathered that two persons had been hacked to death before policemen from Ketu Police Station arrived at the scene.
A police source told City Round that a corpse was recovered from the scene while the leader of Aiye group, one Jakaba, was arrested. Read more
Teacher allegedly defrauds friend of £28,000 (DailyTrust)
A teacher at Saint Peter’s Anglican School in Ogun State, Christiana Ikara, who allegedly defrauded her friend of 31 years of £28,000 under the false pretence she would help her purchase two houses, was yesterday arraigned before a Lagos magistrate court sitting in Igbosere. Ikara, 55, who allegedly connived with her two sons was said to have acted as an agent and a lawyer to defraud her friend. She is facing a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy and stealing that the police preferred against her. Read more
Damilola Taylor’s killer jailed after driving into police officer (Metro)
One of schoolboy Damilola Taylor’s killers has been jailed for four years after hitting a police officer with a car. Damilola, 10, was on his way home from a south London library on 27 November 2000 when he was stabbed with a broken beer bottle and left to die alone in a concrete stairwell. Ricky Preddie, 32, was 13 and his brother Danny 12 when they killed the young boy in Peckham. They were sentenced to eight years for manslaughter in 2006. Preddie was sentenced to four years on Thursday (Picture: PA) Preddie was jailed again after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified at Harrow Crown Court on Thursday. Read more
US to sign withdrawal deal with Taliban (Nation)
THE United States said on Friday it had reached an understanding with the Taliban to significantly reduce violence across Afghanistan for a week preparatory to the signing of a peace deal on February 29.
The agreement is expected to bring the war in Afghanistan a step closer to an end.
”After decades of conflict, we have come to an understanding with the Taliban on a significant reduction in violence across Afghanistan,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, tweeted during a visit to Saudi Arabia.
“This is an important step on a long road to peace, and I call on all Afghans to seize this opportunity,” he added. Read more
Woman sentenced to death for pushing husband to death (DailyTrust)
A Kano High Court presided over by Justice A. T. Badamasi yesterday sentenced a 35-year-old housewife, Rashida Sa’idu, to death by hanging for pushing her husband, Dr. Adamu Ali, from a one-store building during a fight, resulting in his death. Ali was a lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Kano. Mrs. Saidu was last year charged to court for killing her husband over a phone conversation with a person she suspected to be his girlfriend. The prosecution counsel, Mrs. Maryam Jibrin, proved to the court that the woman shoved her husband off a storey building during a fight, as a result of which he broke his neck and was confirmed dead on arrival at a hospital on Feb.25, 2019 in their matrimonial home at Dorayi Quarters. Read more
FG releases N386m to fight coronavirus (Nation)
The federal government has released N386m to forestall unforeseen outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 virus, hitherto known as coronavirus.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) received a sum of N315m while N71m was released to the port health services division of the ministry for improved surveillance at the ports of entry.
Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Abdullahi Mashi, disclosed these on Friday during a media parley in Abuja. Read more
Meet Kaduna’s 67-year-old local mat weaver (DailyTrust)
By Maryam Ahmadu-Suka & Faruk Shuaibu, Kaduna | Published Date Feb 22, 2020 2:44 AM TwitterFacebookWhatsAppTelegram As he weaves the mat, he rolls in into a wheel-like object until the mat is complete Seated comfortably on a wooden plank supported by three cement blocks, 67-year-old Peter Zango Garkuwa is engrossed in the weaving of a multi-coloured local mat, a trade he learned from his father. Peter, who has been weaving mats since he was a child, does the weaving effortlessly while he engages in different conversations with other people using only his hands and eyes to perform the art. One would think modernization and the need for people to go with the trend will make such businesses go extinct but Zango says he is not deterred by the trend because he’s certain a lot of people still patronize the straw mat despite the existence of the more modern rubber mat. Read more
Harry and Meghan to stop using ‘Sussex Royal’ brand after spring (Metro)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will stop using their ‘SussexRoyal’ brand after the spring, a spokeswoman has confirmed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex built a website based on the title which started from their Instagram page. They had also registered Sussex Royal as a trademark internationally on items including clothing, stationery, books and teaching materials. However, the Queen and other senior officials ruled they should no longer be using the term ‘royal’ for merchandising. Read more
Michael Bloomberg to release female employees from gag orders (BBC)
Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg has bowed to pressure to release former female employees from non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
He said his company was prepared to void three NDAs “with women to address complaints about comments they said I had made”.
His Democratic White House rivals have been pounding away at him on the issue.
Critics of NDAs argue these legal gag orders on employees serve to cover up workplace misconduct. Read more
Coronavirus: ‘Narrowing window’ to contain outbreak, WHO says (BBC)
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern at the number of coronavirus cases with no clear link to China or other confirmed cases.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s comments follow Iran’s announcement of two more deaths, bringing the total there to four.
The window of opportunity to contain the virus was “narrowing”, he said.
Iranian health officials said the virus may already be in “all Iran’s cities”.
Outside China 1,152 cases of the virus have been confirmed in 26 countries and there have been eight deaths. Read more
COVID-19: Cured cases surpasses new confirmed cases – Embassy (Guardian)
The People’s Republic of China Embassy in Nigeria says 2 out of 13 provinces on the Chinese mainland are not seeing new cases of confirmed COVID-19.
According to a newsletter on “Fighting 2019-nCoV” by the Embassy in Abuja, as of 24:00 on Feb. 19, the National Health Commission received 74,576 reports of confirmed cases on the mainland.
“These include 2,118 deaths and 16,155 patients cured and discharged from the hospital; there still remained 4,922 suspected cases.
“So far, 126,363 are now under medical observation, who have been identified as having had close contact with infected patients. Read more
Friends to reunite for one-off special on HBO Max (BBC)
The cast of Friends is to reunite for a one-off special, more than 15 years since the show ended.
The episode will air on the HBO Max streaming service, which launches in May. A date is yet to be announced.
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer will all appear.
Perry posted on Instagram: “It’s happening” with a photo of the cast from the 1990s. The rest of the cast then started sharing the same post.
Friends aired from 1994 until 2004. The final show was watched by 52.5 million viewers in the US, making it the most watched TV episode of the 2000s. Read more
Leah McCourt: Bellator Dublin fight ‘a celebration of women’ (BBC)
Mixed martial arts fighter Leah McCourt says it will be a “celebration of women” when she becomes the first female to headline a Bellator Europe event in Dublin on Saturday.
McCourt’s bout with Germany’s Judith Ruis was promoted to the top of the card when James Gallagher’s fight against Cal Ellenor was called off.
The Belfast featherweight, 27, has won three of her four professional fights.
“This is probably the biggest moment of my career,” she told BBC Sport. Read more
Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury II: Fight preview and all you need to know (BBC)
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will face each other again almost 15 months on from a controversial draw that left punters desperate for a re-run of their thrilling affair in Los Angeles.
Tickets in Las Vegas are exchanging hands for thousands of dollars, the fighters are volleying spiteful words at one another with gusto and pundits who have frequented Sin City more times than they care to remember have labelled the occasion a “monster”.
Somewhere amid the chaos is the prize of Wilder’s WBC world title. If Fury wins it, all four heavyweight belts will be shared between two British fighters – him and Anthony Joshua, who holds the IBF, WBA and WBO titles. Read more
Scrabble stars battle for N2m as 2020 MSPL league begins (Guardian)
The 2020 Mindgames Scrabble Premier League (MSPL) will officially begin tomorrow at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja with the players vying for over N2 million in prize money.
The championship, which is divided in divisions A and B, will feature 12 teams, including Airpop Alpha, Blazers, Brainiacs, Bulldozers, Gracious Pickers, Hurricanes, Lekki Bombers, Lusty Seniors, Olowoyeye Predators, Phoenix, Supreme and Lekena Drones.
The 10 teams in Division B are Airpop Falcons, Anagrammers, Aries, Brain Teasers, D. Warriors, Encore Flamingos, FPC Titans, High Flyers, Indomitable and Merry-ers will take the centre stage in the second division. Read more
WGC-Mexico Championship: Bryson DeChambeau one ahead, Rory McIlroy three back (BBC)
American Bryson DeChambeau carded an eight-under-par 63 to take a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the WGC-Mexico Championship.
The 26-year-old posted seven birdies in eight holes and leads on 11 under.
South African Erik van Rooyen equalled the course record on his 30th birthday with a nine-under 62 and shares second with Patrick Reed, who returned a 63.
Rory McIlroy, two ahead overnight, made a slow start but two late birdies left him three shots back in sixth. Read more
AZ Zola to battle Abu Babes in Lagos JOF U-13 Football Cup final (Guardian)
The month-long Lagos State JOF U-13 Football Championship will end on Sunday at the Campos Mini Stadium in Lagos Island AZ Zola of Ijegun battling Abu Babes of Ibeju Lekki in the final match.
Before the final game, the third-place match will be played between Aguda United from Surulere and Zamaj Babes from Dopemu.
The competition, which is strictly for youngsters under 13 years in Lagos State, is being sponsored by JOF Nigeria Limited, an integrated logistics services provider with subsidiaries in properties and investment portfolios. Read more
Floyd Mayweather in talks to fight Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov on the same day (Metro)
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is in talks to fight UFC duo Conor Mcgregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov on the same day, according to his uncle. Mayweather is planning his next return to the ring and is keen for a historic encounter against McGregor and Nurmagomedov in a sensational ‘day and night’ double header. And Jeff Mayweather, Floyd’s uncle, believes that Mayweather would easily beat both of the MMA stars, but would knock McGregor out early this time, having stopped the Irishman in the 10th round of their mega-money showdown in 2017. Jeff Mayweather told VegasInsider.com: ‘Floyd is talking about the possibility of fighting McGregor and Khabib in the same day, which he could easily make happen. Read more
Anthony Joshua may be crowned Ajagungbade of Yorubaland (Guardian)
World heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, will bag a chieftaincy title in his hometown, Sagamu when he returns to Nigeria in March.
Joshua was given a hero’s welcome in Sagamu on Wednesday when he paid an unscheduled visit to the town, his first appearance in Nigeria since he reclaimed his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles from Mexico’s Andy Ruiz in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua’s visit was celebrated by hundreds of fans, who surrounded him, singing praises during his visit to the Alaafin Elepe Palace and the Akarigbo of Remo land. Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo: Juventus forward on verge of 1,000th senior appearance (BBC)
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make the 1,000th senior appearance of his illustrious career when Juventus travel to SPAL in Serie A on Saturday.
The Portugal star has played 835 games in club football and 164 on the international stage, scoring 724 goals in the process.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s extraordinary career began at Sporting in Lisbon, where he made 31 appearances from 2002 to 2003 before moving to Manchester United, aged 18.
After six years and 292 appearances at United, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 and remained there until 2018 when he made the switch to Juventus. Read more
Chelsea, Tottenham in top four crunch, Everton face Arsenal test (Guardian)
All eyes will be on Stamford Bridge and the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League this weekend as they battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League heats up, while runaway leaders Liverpool can take another step towards the title.
With the league’s first winter break done and dusted, it is full steam ahead for the clubs fighting to secure the lucrative Champions League berths behind champions-elect, Liverpool.
Any London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham is a feisty occasion, but there is an extra spice to the rivals’ latest meeting as they are in direct competition for a European place. Read more
Zidane says he’s in support of Ramos’ Tokyo Olympics dream (Nation)
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says he will back his La Liga club captain Sergio Ramos if he decides to represent Spain at the Olympic Games later this year.
The defender who turns 34 next month has been chosen in Spain’s preliminary squad for the tournament.
Ramos is set to captain the team at the European Championship and has been playing for Real Madrid at his usual relentless pace, starting 30 games already this season. Read more