Dismissed policeman charged with murder (DailyTrust)
The trial of a dismissed policeman, Olalekan Ogunyemi, continued yesterday before Justice Adenike Coker, sitting at a Lagos High Court, Ikeja. Ogunyemi’s trouble started on March 31, 2019 at Onipetesi Estate, Mangoro, Ikeja, Lagos, at about 5pm when he was alleged to have unlawfully killed Kolade Johnson by shooting him with an AK 47 rifle in the stomach. The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the one-count criminal that the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) levelled against him. At the resumed hearing of the case yesterday, the investigating police officer (IPO) in charge of the case, from the Lagos State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Mr Chris Akpomomoh, told the court that Ogunyemi had responded to a call that cultists were gathered at a place. Read more
Traffic offence: LASTMA impounded 2,458 vehicles in January, says GM (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) impounded 2, 458 vehicles for various traffic offences in January as against 1,597 vehicles it impounded in December 2019.
The General Manager of the agency, Mr Olajide Oduyoye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that the figure was 861 higher than that of December.
Oduyoye urged all road users to always heed traffic rules and regulations voluntarily to ensure free flow of traffic.
He said that the agency impounded the vehicles from its 43 zones in the state during the period.
“LASTMA impounded 1,333 private vehicles and 1,125 commercial vehicles in January from across our zones and our headquarters’ operational zone. Read more
Court discharge acquits medical doctor accused of attempted murder (Vanguard)
A Lagos High court sitting in Igbosere, on Thursday, discharged and acquitted a medical doctor, of Excel Medical Centre Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, Dr (Mrs) Ifeayinwa Grace Orji, who was standing trial alongside her husband Dr. Ejike Ferdinand Orji, over the alleged attempted murder of a 17-year-old patient.
Justice Adedayo Akintoye discharged and acquitted her following an application made by the Director of Public Production Mr. Yaqub Oshoala, that the Lagos State government wishes to discontinue Grace Orji.
In an application dated February 11, 2020, Oshoala, said that the state has an amended charge, against the first defendant Dr. Ejike Orji. Read more
Court discharges 2 men accused of stabbing friend over cigarette (Vanguard)
Two men, Gabriel Esezabar and Lawrence Matthew, who allegedly attacked and stabbed their friend with a broken bottle, have been discharged by the Wuse Zone 6 Magistrate Court in Abuja on yesterday. Both men, who reside at Bamanda Street, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, were charged on two counts of joint act and causing grievous hurt. The prosecution counsel, Peter Ejike, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on Febuary 6. He alleged that on the same date, the complainant, Moses Musa, of Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, reported the matter at the Wuse Zone 3 Police Station. Read more
Confusion in Bayelsa as S-Court sacks gov-elect, Lyon (Vanguard)
Barely 24 hours to inauguration, the Supreme Court, yesterday, sacked the Governor-elect of Bayelsa State, David Lyon, and his Deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremieoyo.
The duo ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-man panel of justices led by Justice Mary Odili, nullified their election on the ground that Degi-Eremienyo presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in aid of his qualification for the Bayelsa governorship poll held on November 16, 2019.
Following the ruling, confusion, yesterday, enveloped Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, though PDP faithful embarked on wild celebration. Read more
Buhari, Fayemi, Mohammed mourn Victor Olaiya (Guardian)
President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family, friends and all lovers of vintage highlife music as played by Dr. Victor Abimbola Olaiya, who passed on at 89.
Buhari noted that the highlife maestro, known for his mastery of the trumpet, brought joy and delight to people across generations, with his songs which were both entertaining and didactic.
He said: “His place in history is guaranteed. He sang, not just for the entertainment value, but also taught critical lessons on life, good neighbourliness, and national cohesion. He will be sorely missed.”
He, therefore, urged the younger generations of musicians to learn a lesson from Olaiya so that their songs can also remain evergreen, and outlive them. Read more
1999, 2003 elections results missing – INEC (DailyTrust)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that while results of all other general elections are available, those of 1999 and 2003 are not.
The commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Elections and Party Monitoring Committee, Prof. Antonia Okoosi-Simbine, said this in Abuja.
Okoosi-Simbine, a former member of Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), was speaking at a one-day workshop on the compendium on the 2007, 2011 and 2015 general elections results organised by The Electoral Institute (TEI) of INEC and NISER. Read more
Groom chased from wedding after first wife turns up (BBC)
A groom has been chased from his own wedding by an angry crowd – after his first wife arrived to let his new bride know he was already married to not one, but two other women.
Asif Rafiq Siddiqi, described as a bearded, hefty man in his mid-30s, was pushed and slapped by the crowd, his shirt torn and his pants ripped in the violence that followed the revelation.
The groom, who ended up cowering under a bus, was saved by unknown people.
Polygamy is legal in Pakistan.
However, while a man can have as many as four wives, he must get the consent of his previous wives before he marries again. Read more
Are you sitting on unclaimed £5,000,000 lottery fortune? (Metro)
Lottery players are being urged to double check their tickets after one lucky player scooped the entire £5 million jackpot. The winner netted £5,051,768, by matching all six main balls in Wednesday night’s draw. Camelot’s Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at the National Lottery, said: ‘What fantastic news for a very lucky ticket-holder who has secured the entire £5 million Lotto jackpot in tonight’s draw. ‘Players are urged to double check their tickets for a chance to claim this massive prize.’ It is not yet clear where the ticket was bought. Read more
Huawei: US issues new charges of racketeering and theft (BBC)
The US has expanded its lawsuit against Huawei, accusing the Chinese telecoms giant of a “decades-long” plan to steal technology from US firms.
Prosecutors said Huawei had violated the terms of partnerships with US companies and stolen trade secrets such as source code and robot technology.
It adds to a list of other charges brought by the US last year.
Those accused Huawei of violating US sanctions and stealing technology from T-Mobile. Huawei has denied the claims.
The firm, one of the world’s biggest smartphone makers, said the US is targeting it because its expansion is a threat to American business interests. Read more
Enrique Iglesias confirms birth of his third child with Anna Kournikova (Metro)
Congratulations are in order for Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova, as he’s just confirmed news they have welcomed their third child. The Hero singer, 44, shared the first picture of the couple’s newborn daughter to Instagram and confirmed her birth date in the caption, that read: ‘My Sunshine 01.30.2020.’ Their little girl arrived at the end of January and dad Enrique can be seen cradling the newborn, moments after she was born, while still dressed in his hospital scrubs. He and Anna are already parents to twins Lucy and Nicholas, two, who were born in December 2017. Read more
William Barr: Trump tweets make my job ‘impossible’ (BBC)
US Attorney General William Barr has said that President Donald Trump “undercuts” him by tweeting, making it “impossible for me to do my job”.
His criticism of Mr Trump comes amid intense scrutiny of the Justice Department over the handling of a case involving Roger Stone – a convicted former advisor to the president.
The attorney general had been accused of bowing to presidential pressure.
Mr Barr’s comments are a rare sign of annoyance with Mr Trump.
“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Mr Barr told ABC News. Read more
Omeruo, Osimhen and Ndidi will be available for Sierra Leone – Rohr (Vanguard)
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr is confident of his key players’ availability for next month’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures against Sierra Leone.
Over the weekend, some Nigerian internationals were stretched off while in action for their respective clubs in Europe, including Kenneth Omeruo in Leganes’ La Liga defeat while Lille forward Victor Osimhen and Nantes’ Moses Simon were withdrawn after scoring a goal each in Ligue 1.
The Super Eagles are scheduled to play Sierra Leone at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on March 23 followed by a reverse fixture in Freetown eight days later, and Rohr has provided an update on his players’ injuries. Read more
Golf no longer getting support from Sports Ministry – Oyinlola (DailyTrust)
The president of the Nigeria Golf Federation, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola has decried the lack of support from the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Trust yesterday on the sidelines of the 22nd Ladies Open Golf Championship at the IBB Golf Club, the former Osun State governor said the federation has been flying on its wings without any support from the ministry. Read more
Egyptian striker, 75, hopes to become world’s oldest football pro (Vanguard)
The thought of playing soccer as a professional had remained a distant dream for Ezzeldin Bahader for decades – until, at the age of 75, he registered with the Egyptian Football Association as its oldest player yet.
Bahader, father of four and grandfather of six, started playing football in the streets of Cairo at the age of six.
As an adult, he was consumed by his work as civil engineering consultant and later land cultivation expert, to say nothing of many years of smoking. Read more
Arsenal braced for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang transfer exit (Metro)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is expected to leave Arsenal in the summer, while the Premier League club are also braced for offers for Bernd Leno and Alexandre Lacazette. Gabon superstar Aubameyang has developed into one of Arsenal’s most important players since signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2018, scoring 57 goals in 92 appearances. The 30-year-old was named Arsenal’s new captain in November following Granit Xhaka’s axing but is still being strongly linked with a summer move. Read more
Adama Traore: How the winger went from unreliable at Barcelona to unplayable at Wolves (BBC)
Micah Richards laughs and shakes his head as he recalls the only time he challenged Adama Traore to a foot race. “What was I thinking?” he exclaims.
It was 2015 and the pair were team-mates at Aston Villa. Both signed that summer, Richards the experienced and internationally-capped team captain, Traore a largely unknown 19-year-old rookie from Barcelona.
Richards knew his teenage opponent was fast. He’d seen as much already. But he was no slouch himself, having built a career on the back of his pace and power. And besides, how badly could it go? Read more
Newcastle duo return to training ahead of Arsenal clash (DailyTrust)
Newcastle United have been handed a double injury boost ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Arsenal with forwards Joelinton and Yoshinori Muto back in first-team training, the club said. Brazilian Joelinton picked up a rib injury in Newcastle’s 3-2 win at Oxford United in the FA Cup fourth round replay last week, while Japan’s Muto has not played since early last month because of a hip problem. Their return will bolster manager Steve Bruce’s forward options heading into the weekend with both Andy Carroll (hip) and Dwight Gayle (hamstring) sidelined. Read more
Hakim Ziyech: The street footballer set to become Chelsea’s next big-money signing (BBC)
From captaining a club in crisis in his early twenties through to shining on Europe’s biggest stage, Hakim Ziyech has experienced much on his journey from street footballer to becoming Chelsea’s latest signing.
The Dutch-born Morocco midfielder is poised to head to London this summer after Chelsea agreed a fee with Ajax that could rise to more than £36m.
While any big-money transfer to the Premier League comes laden with expectation, 26-year-old Ziyech has already shown he is no stranger to adversity or pressure. Read more
Abd’Allah blames Wikki’s poor run on lack of depth in squad (DailyTrust)
The technical adviser of Wikki Tourists, Usman Abd’Allah has blamed his team’s poor run in the ongoing NPFL campaign on lack of depth in squad. Abd’Allah who spoke to www.npfl.ng following Wikki Tourists 3-0 defeat in Aba on Wednesday in a rescheduled NPFL match, also said there are a lot of positives to take from the match despite the heavy loss. ‘I think there are a lot of positives to take from this match despite the defeat. We played well especially in the first half but the lack of experience failed us in the second half. Read more
Wilder v Fury II: Briton says he needs to knock out American to guarantee victory (BBC)
Tyson Fury says he will have to knock out Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas to avoid a repeat of the judging controversy of their first fight.
The British heavyweight, despite hitting the canvas twice, believed he had won their enthralling December 2018 WBC contest, declared a draw.
“I believe I out-boxed him,” said Fury, who fights Wilder again on 22 February.
“To guarantee a win, I need a knockout. I don’t want another controversial decision – I want a defining win.” Read more
Moses urges Inter Milan not to lose heart (DailyTrust)
Victor Moses called on Inter Milan not to “lose heart” after they lost 1-0 to Napoli in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals at the San Siro. The Nerazzurri came into the game on the back of a big 4-2 comeback Serie A win over city rivals AC Milan last Sunday, while Partenopei were beaten on their turf by Lecce. Inter were, therefore, the favourites, but Fabian Ruiz’s 57th-minute strike was the difference in the Italian fashion capital. “We spent a lot of Sunday in terms of physical and mental energies, but this cannot be an excuse,” Moses said after the match. Read more
Jamie Carragher urges Chelsea to sign Jadon Sancho (Metro)
Jamie Carragher has urged Chelsea to sign Jadon Sancho after they completed a deal for Ajax midfielder Hakim Ziyech on Thursday. Chelsea have reached an agreement with the Dutch club to sign the 26-year-old at the end of the season for an initial €40 million (£33.3m) fee, which could rise to €44m (£36.7m) after add-ons. But the former Liverpool defender believes Chelsea should continue their spending by landing Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga club are reportedly demanding at least £100m for the 19-year-old, who is also wanted by Manchester United and Liverpool. ‘I think it will tell you straight away that Chelsea are desperate for wide players,’ Carragher told Sky Sports when asked about Chelsea’s push to sign Ziyech. Read more