*Davido, Chioma W’Cup pictures become most-liked on Nigeria-Instagram (Punch)*Abuja court convicts Okupe of money laundering (Independent)

Davido, Chioma W’Cup pictures become most-liked on Nigeria-Instagram (Punch)

Nigerian global music star David Adeleke popularly known as Davido has hit another milestone in his career.

Apart from winning awards, Davido is also breaking grounds and setting records on social media as his pictures with his lover Chioma at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Monday, became the most-liked picture on Instagram in Nigeria, with over 1.7 million likes.

Davido performed at the closing ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Sunday, and prior to his performance the award-winning star shared pictures on Instagram with Chioma, who was seen dressing her man ahead of his performance.

The post was the first social media post Davido had made since the death of his son, Ifeanyi in October. Read more 

Abuja court convicts Okupe of money laundering (Independent)

Doyin Okupe,  a former Senior Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, has been convicted by the Federal High Court in Abuja, for violating the Money Laundering Act.

Justice Ijeoma Ojuwku of the Abuja court on Monday found Okupe, who is the first defendant in the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)  guilty of receiving over N200 million cash from a former National Security Adviser (NSA). Col. Sambo Dasuki.

According to the Judge, “there is no evidence that the money passed through a financial institution”, expressing that the Act provides that no individual or organization shall receive any sum above N5 million and N10 million respectively without passing through a financial institution.

The court held, “I find the first defendant, Dr Doyin Okupe guilty in count 34, 35, 36…… 59. Read more 

Lagos police arrest 2 fake visa dealers, retrieve 33 passports of four countries (Guardian)

Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old fake visa issuer, Peter Oghenekome, and his 57-year-old accomplice, Friday Boro, in Satellite town, Lagos.

The duo have been issuing fake visas to different nationals for years before their arrest after a victim raised an alarm.

Items recovered from Oghenekome and his accomplice include, 18 Nigerian passports, nine Ghanaian passports, four Camerounian passports, two Eritrean passports and one seal.

Speaking with The Guardian, spokesperson for Lagos State Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, said: “We arrested the suspects after someone was issued a visa and decided to do further investigation on it and he discovered that it was fake.  “The man reported to the police and we arrested the agent, who took us to Oghenekome. Read more 

Farmers kill cows, 3 youths murdered in reprisal (Punch)

Suspected herders have killed three people at Adaka, a suburb of Makurdi, Benue State.

The incident happened on Friday when some herders invaded the community and attacked residents on their farm.

Some of the locals believed that the attack was a reprisal for the killing of some cows that destroyed their farmland.

A resident, who identified himself simply as Terkimbir, said, “Three people from this community were killed; one of them is our son, while the other two came to get land to farm rice. Read more 

Lagos PDP felicitates Saraki at 60 (Tribune)

Lagos State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has felicitated the former Senate president, Bukola Saraki, as he celebrates his 60th birthday, describing him as a quintessential leader whose contributions to the development of the country showed his love towards her and evidence of the advancement of his family legacies.

The party said this on Monday in a release issued and signed by its spokesperson, Hon. Hakeem Amode, even as it further acknowledged Saraki’s contribution to the main opposition PDP, which it said remained “immense and of great emulation.”

PDP affirmed that it found the former Senate president, who is also a former governor of Kwara State “worthy to be celebrated,” noting that his contributions to Nigeria’s development not only showed his love towards the country but “evidence of the advancement of his family legacies which his family established from the time of Baba Oloye and a foundation that he has successfully built on and advanced for the upliftment of his people and the country in general.” Read more 

Dwindling economy: ICAN charges FG to seek advice of accountants, others (Sun)

With the glaring harsh economic environment tearing many apart, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Of Nigeria (ICAN) is calling on the federal government of Nigeria as well as state governments to seek the professional advice of Chartered Accountants in every policy decision, programs and plans it designs for Nigerians.

At the 15th (crystal) anniversary of the Institute (Amuwo & District Society) and Members’ forum- Lagos, the accountant General of Lagos state, Biodun Muritala, represented by the immediate past president of the district, Mrs. Comfort Olujumoke Eyitayo, who made this known said the services of accountants in economic growth and development remains indispensable.

According to him, not a few organizations are winding down because they had no professional advice, while others who knew this fact, shy away from the truth, noting that the economy is seriously in deep trouble because people are not doing the right thing. Read more 

Police arrests 3 suspected IPOB members in Cross River (Guardian)

The Police Command in Cross River says it has arrested three suspected members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The state Police Commissioner, Sule Balarabe, disclosed this during a parade of the suspects, who were arrested by the command between August and November.

The Commissioner gave the names of the suspected IPOB members as Richard Ukehad, 29; Esther Asado, 29 and Chief Isaac Ebebe, 44.

He said that the suspects were arrested at their camp in Bebe III community in Obanliku Local Government Area of the state following an intelligence report. Read more 

Suspected herdsmen write Ogun communities, threaten attack (Channels)

Suspected killer herdsmen have allegedly written to residents of some communities in Ogun State, threatening to attack them in their communities.

The Ogun State Police Command, on Monday, confirmed the threat but assured residents of adequate protection.

The letters were reportedly written to the residents of Asa, Agbon, Ibeku and Oja-Odan communities in Yewa-North Local Government Area (LGA) of Ogun State in English and Hausa languages.

The letter which was posted on a few walls in the community has generated fear among the locals as some are already considering relocation from their communities. The suspected herdsmen in the letter informed the residents of their planned attack between December 2022 and January 2023. Read more 

Avatar 2 fan ‘dies from heart attack’ while watching sequel in cinema (Metro)

An Avatar 2 fan has died after suffering what is suspected to be an ‘excitement-induced heart attack’ while watching the movie. 

The sequel to James Cameron’s blockbuster epic, officially titled Avatar: The Way Of Water, was released in cinemas worldwide on Friday. 

It has been a longtime coming for fans of the first instalment, released in 2009, and boasts a star-studded cast including Kate Winslet, Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver. 

A man, who has been identified as Lakshmireddy Srinu, went to watch the film at a cinema in the Kakinada district of southern Andhra Pradesh state with his younger brother. Read more 

Amber Heard settles defamation case against Johnny Depp (BBC)

US actress Amber Heard has settled her defamation case against ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Ms Heard, 36, wrote on Instagram that she had made the “difficult” choice to settle, adding the decision was “not an act of concession”.

She and Mr Depp, 59, faced off in court earlier this year, where jurors heard intimate details of their relationship.

A jury then found Ms Heard had defamed Mr Depp in an article in which she said she was a victim of abuse.

The terms of the settlement are not immediately clear. Read more 

Netflix partners with Amazon on Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery marketing push (THR)

In an unusual partnership between two giants in the streaming video space, Amazon and Netflix are teaming up on a promotional effort tied to the upcoming Netflix film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

The partnership will see owners of Amazon Fire TV devices have access to an exclusive trailer for the film, which hits Netflix Dec. 23, as well as unique behind-the-scenes footage. But it will also include an interactive mystery, letting owners of the Amazon streaming devices channel their inner Benoit Blanc.

The mystery (which is about a stolen Amazon Fire TV Cube) will be accessible from Fire TV home screens, and will include some of the franchise’s signature red herrings to throw users off the case. Viewers playing the game will be able to ask their Alexa devices for clues.

The partnership will kick off on Dec. 19 in the U.S., and in other markets on Dec. 23, timed to the release of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel. Read more

Tom Cruise wishes fans happy holidays mid-air while skydiving during filming of Mission Impossible (People)

Tom Cruise is sending his holiday greetings from the sky!

On Sunday, the action star shared a clip of himself via Twitter from the set of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning in South Africa to express his gratitude for his fans’ support and wish them happy holidays while showing off his skydiving skills.

“Hey everyone,” Cruise, 60, began the video. “Here we are over stunning South Africa, where we’re filming Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning parts one and two. And I didn’t want the year to end without thanking you all for coming out to the theaters and thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick.”

Dead Reckoning director who was also the Top Gun: Maverick screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie later interrupted the actor as he playfully reminded him to keep his speech short. “Listen, we really gotta roll, we gotta get the shot,” McQuarrie, 54, said. Read more 

SZA didn’t expect people to vibe with her new album SOS (MusicNews)

SZA “never in a million years” expected her album SOS to blow up as it has.

The I Hate U singer released her long-awaited second album SOS to major acclaim this month, five years after her debut studio album Ctrl, but SZA feared it would be hated and told her record label to consider moving the release date to January.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, she continued: “[Another] part of me was just like, I just wanna get it over with. I wanna meet my own fate. If [people] hate it, then great. I can never do music again. And I told my engineer, we’ll move to India and we’ll live in an ashram and we’ll take a vow of silence and that’s it.

“And it is also really scary that it didn’t go that way because I’m like, now what do I do.” Read more

Billy Joel postpones Madison Square Garden performance due to viral infection (CBS)

Billy Joel fans will have to wait a while longer to see him live. 

He announced he is canceling his upcoming concert at Madison Square Garden. It was set to be his final MSG show of the year.

Joel says he has a viral infection and doctors ordered him to rest his voice. 

The Piano Man’s representatives say he will be back to performing live next month. Read more

Putin visits Belarus as Russia holds joint military exercises with allies (RFI)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Belarus on Monday for talks with his counterpart and ally Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus is one of the rare countries that fully supports Russia in its war with neighbouring Ukraine. The meeting coincides with an announcement of joint military exercises in both Belarus and China.

Moscow announced the pair will discuss Russian-Belarusian integration “as well as current topics on the international and regional agenda”.

The visit comes 10 months into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, which was launched from several directions, including Belarusian territory.

Minsk announced the visit earlier on Friday and the presidential office said the leaders will hold one-on-one talks as well as wider negotiations with their ministers. Read more

“I can’t believe it”, Messi writes after World Cup win (Punch)

Argentina’s talisman and newly-crowned World Cup winner Lionel Messi on Sunday night took to his Instagram page to soak in the moment of the World Cup win in Qatar and express his gratitude to his fans, family and country, saying it was an unbelievable moment for him.

Messi led Argentina to defeat France to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986, when Diego Maradona led the Argentine national team to victory over West Germany.

In a stellar, heart pumping match the two teams went head-to-head up until the last minute with France forward and star man, Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick that levelled the scoreline in extra-time, dragging Argentina to a penalty shootout, where the South American team conquered France 4-2, after a thrilling 120 minutes of game time ended in a 3-3 draw.

Celebrating the win and his team in a moment of pure, undiluted emotion, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi wrote, “CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!! So many times I dreamed it, so much I wanted it that I still don’t fall. I can’t believe it.

“Thank you so much to my family, to all who support me and also to all who believed in us. We prove once again that Argentinians when we fight together and united we are able to achieve what we aim. Read more 

Iwobi close to new Everton deal (Punch)

According to transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, Nigeria international, Alex Iwobi, is close to signing a new long-term contract with Everton following an incredible campaign with the English Premier League club.

The midfielder is expected to sign new terms with the Toffees after a string of impressive performances for Frank Lampard’s side this season, with Iwobi scoring one and assisting five in the Premier League already.

Signed from Arsenal for a reported £35m in 2019, Iwobi is starting to look the part for Everton having struggled over the years at Goodison Park. However, Lampard’s coaching has finally seen the 26-year-old nail down a role that gets the best out of the Nigerian’s qualities.

Lauded as ‘brilliant’ by Lampard himself, Iwobi’s transformation has been nothing short of incredible, with the midfielder one of the few bright sparks for the Toffees in what has been another year to forget for the Merseyside outfit. Read more 

Karim Benzema retires from international football after France World Cup final snub (Express)

Karim Benzema has announced his retirement from international football just the day after France lost in the World Cup final to Argentina. Benzema’s World Cup hopes were ended before the tournament got underway after picking up a thigh injury last month.

It meant that he had to watch from the sidelines while France made their way to Sunday’s final.

Reports had emerged that Benzema was in line for a shock return to the France squad to be in contention to play against Argentina.

But Spanish outlet Libertad Digital claimed Benzema had no desire to join back up with Didier Deschamps’ squad due to the manner of his departure from the French team before the tournament. Read more

Sergio Gomez promises Man City will be ready for Liverpool FC cup clash (MEN)

Sergio Gomez has vowed that he and his Manchester City teammates will be ready to take on Liverpool just four days after the World Cup Final.

City will return to competitive action on Thursday when they meet Liverpool in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. The clash at the Etihad Stadium is a mouth-watering one, although it’s unclear which of City’s stars will feature.

Only two of the 16 City players that took part in the World Cup were involved in the Blues’ 2-0 friendly defeat of Girona on Saturday. Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan both started at the Academy Stadium, but the other 14 were all absent.

City’s stars who weren’t in Qatar were also involved, including Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez and Gomez. The trio were part of City’s warm weather training camp in Abu Dhabi, but even if the majority of the squad weren’t, Gomez believes they’ll be ready for whatever Liverpool throw at them. Read more 

Conor McGregor uses Floyd Mayweather’s boast against him as he eyes boxing rematch (Mirror)

Conor McGregor believes he carried Floyd Mayweather in their 2017 mega-fight despite being stopped by the legendary boxer.

UFC star McGregor competed in his first professional boxing match against former five-weight world champion Mayweather, losing to the American by 10th round stoppage. The fight was a huge success, selling 4.3million pay-per-view buys to make it the second highest-selling fight of all time, falling 300,000 buys short of the record held by Mayweather’s 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao.

The Irishman has now insisted he was the one who carried the fight, despite Mayweather also making the same claim several years ago. Whilst replying to Nate Diaz about a potential in the UFC’s new Power Slap league, McGregor wrote back: “I carried Floyd. Not next time. Like in the pub. One shot. Nighty night I don’t give a rat, U too.” Read more

Adrian Newey details Renault’s role in limiting Red Bull’s progress back to the top (PlanetF1)

Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey has reflected on the decline of the team’s relationship with former engine partner Renault following their initial streak of success in Formula 1 with Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel claimed four consecutive World Championships between 2010 and 2013 in the final years of the V8 engine era, with Red Bull and Renault’s exploitation of exhaust-blown technology a key factor in the team’s success.

However, Red Bull’s dominance ended when Renault struggled to adapt to the new V6 hybrid powertrain rules in 2014 and the two parties went their separate ways at the end of 2018 after the relationship became increasingly tense.

With Honda power, Red Bull ended an eight-year wait for a title when Max Verstappen clinched the 2021 title, with the team winning their first Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship double since 2013 this season as Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez won 17 races between them. Read more 

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