EFCC nabs 792 foreigners over romance, investment scam in Lagos (Vanguard)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested 192 foreign nationals for their alleged involvement in cryptocurrency investment fraud and romance scams, marking the largest such operation in the commission’s history.
Among those arrested are 148 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two Khazartans, one Pakistani and one Indonesian. The suspects were apprehended in a surprise operation at their hideout, a seven-storey building known as the Big Leaf Building, located at No. 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. Read more
Police detain 2 international fraudsters, reject N66m bribe in Lagos (Punch)
The Zone-2 Police Command in Lagos has apprehended two suspected international fraudsters allegedly involved in forging foreign certificates in Lagos and Ghana.
In a bold move underscoring their integrity, the police operatives turned down a bribe offer of N66 million from the suspects.
AIG Adegoke Fayoade, who heads the Zone-2 Command, confirmed the arrest on Monday. Read more
Supreme Court slams N5m fine on ex-presidential candidate over suit against Tinubu (Tribune)
The Supreme Court, on Monday, imposed a N5 million fine on a former presidential candidate, Ambrose Albert Owuru, for filing frivolous suits against President Bola Tinubu.
Owuru, who contested the 2019 presidential election against former President Muhammadu Buhari on the platform of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), was ordered to pay N5 million to Tinubu.
The apex court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji, issued the order against the former presidential candidate while dismissing his fresh suit praying for Tinubu’s removal as Nigeria’s President. Read more
Gov Yusuf nominates ex-Chief of staff, 5 others as commissioners (DailyTrust)
Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has transmitted to the State Assembly names of six commissioner nominees for appointments into various ministries.
Daily Trust reports that this is coming following the recent reshuffle of the governor’s cabinet which saw the scrapping of the Chief of Staff (CoS) portfolio, sacking of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abdullahi Bichi, and five commissioners.
The speaker of the house, Ismail Jibrin Falgore, announced this on Monday while reading the governor’s letter at plenary. Read more
Former sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi resigns from PDP (Nation)
A former minister of sports and youth development Bolaji Abdullahi, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Abdullahi announced his intention to resign in a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ubadawaki, Kwara state.
The ex-minister also said he is yet to decide which political platform to pitch tent with. Read more
Atiku congratulates president-general of Ohanaeze (NewTelegraph)
Nigeria’s Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has joined others to congratulate the new President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Ozichukwu Chukwu.
In his congratulatory message issued on Monday, by his spokesman, Paul Ibe, in Abuja extended his heartfelt congratulations to the entire Ndigbo community for the seamless transition of leadership.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) lauded the dignity and grace that accompanied Nze Ozichukwu‘s ascension to the position, while also acknowledging the immense responsibility that such a leadership role entails. Read more
Kemi Badenoch’s Identity Debate Holds Zero Value For Nigeria – Moghalu (Channels)
Former presidential candidate and Economist, Kingsley Moghalu, has advised Nigerian leaders to focus on building the country’s economy, saying that the intense recent debate on Kemi Badenoch’s identity does not hold any value for the country.
Moghalu weighed in on the controversy in a post on his official X handle on Sunday.
Badenoch, a Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom, has faced criticism for comments seen as distancing herself from her birthplace, Nigeria. Read more
Over 200 terrorism suspects bag death sentence, life imprisonment (DailyTrust)
More than 200 suspects who were linked with the terrorism activities in different parts of the country have been convicted by the Federal High Courts (FHC) in the country after they were found guilty of the offences, Daily Trust reports.
Some of the suspects, according to the National Counter-Terrorism Centre in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), were sentenced to death, life imprisonment and 20 to 70 years depending on the gravity of their offence.
Daily Trust reports that the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, under the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in collaboration with ONSA oversaw their trials. Read more
Sexyy Red and Summer Walker go viral for dating hot take: “He only cheated twice?” (Allhiphop)
Summer Walker and Sexyy Red sparked backlash after advising women to take back cheating partners because all men are unfaithful.
Sexyy Red and Summer Walker were going viral on social media after sharing some controversial dating advice that didn’t sit well with their fans.
The “Sense dat God gave you” collaborators joined forces on the debut episode of the R&B singer’s “Over It Radio” show. The ladies offered some unfiltered advice to a caller with relationship struggles. The woman explained her partner of nine years cheated on her twice, including with her best friend, and was unsure if she should forgive him. Read more
Benin grants citizenship to slave descendants (AfricaNews)
When Nadege Anelka first came to the West African country of Benin from her home island of Martinique, a French overseas territory in the Caribbean, the 57-year-old travel agent said she had a feeling of deja vu.
“A lot of the people reminded me of my grandparents, the way they wore their headscarves, their mannerisms, their mentality,” she said.
Feeling at home in Benin, Anelka decided to settle there last July and open a travel agency. She hopes to become a citizen by taking advantage of a law passed in September that grants citizenship to those who can trace their lineage to the slave trade. Read more
Retired cop claims he found trove of unreleased Michael Jackson songs (RNZ)
A retired California highway patrolman has stumbled into possession of a trove of unreleased Michael Jackson songs – which the world may never have a chance to hear.
Gregg Musgrove, now a stay-at-home dad, procured the tapes after an associate purchased a storage unit in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles that contained the recordings, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The unit had once belonged to music producer Bryan Loren – who also worked with artists including Whitney Houston and Sting – but whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Read more
Country star Walker Hayes surprises Nashville Waffle House workers with huge tips (Fox)
Country star Walker Hayes surprised three Waffle House employees in Tennessee when he gave them huge tips to mark the holiday season.
The 44-year-old singer was joined by entrepreneur and social media influencer Lexy Burke at one of the restaurant chain’s locations in Nashville, where they handed $1,200 in tips to workers following a meal.
Known as the “Serial Tipper,” Burke, a former server, collects donations from her followers to provide restaurant staff with generous tips. Burke launched the online movement in May 2020 to support food service workers after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she has continued her efforts since then. Read more
Chris Rock hosts Saturday Night Live — as longtime friend Adam Sandler makes a surprise cameo (People)
Chris Rock brought the laughs to Saturday Night Live — with a little help from Adam Sandler.
The actor and comedian, 59, hosted the late-night comedy sketch series for the fourth time on Dec. 14, when he was joined by Gracie Abrams as musical guest.
In one sketch, Rock played a doctor performing surgery on a patient, who accidentally has their gallbladder removed instead of their appendix thanks to a mistake made by another surgeon. Read more
‘‘Superman’’ teaser drops, featuring twist on John Williams’ iconic theme tune (Deadline)
DC Studios is ramping up the Superman promotion charge with a new teaser.
The James Gunn superhero reboot swoops into cinemas on July 11, 2025, and the director has released new material for the movie ahead of a trailer premiering on Thursday.
A motion poster for Superman features the tagline “Look up” and is embellished with a stirring version of John Williams’ icon theme tune for the Man of Steel. Read more
Ryan Reynolds “has some pitches and ideas” for Deadpool’s future (FilmNews)
Ryan Reynolds has some “pitches and ideas” up his sleeve for Deadpool’s future as a supporting player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Canadian actor led two standalone films as Wade Wilson/Deadpool before teaming with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine for the box office smash hit Deadpool & Wolverine earlier this year.
Discussing Deadpool’s future in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reynolds revealed that he sees his character as more of a supporting player in other movies going forward. Read more
Usyk names Joshua among top 5 boxers (Leadership)
Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has included former two-time champion Anthony Joshua in his list of top five boxers in the world despite defeating the British-Nigerian twice.
The Ukrainian, who is preparing for his heavyweight title rematch against Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 21, made the surprise inclusion during an interview with DAZN.
Usyk, who handed Fury his first professional defeat in May, named pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford and super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez as his top two choices before adding Joshua to the list. Read more
Las Vegas already seems part of the NBA world, which makes expansion decision feel inevitable (ABC)
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers has heard and seen enough. He’s convinced there will be an NBA team in Las Vegas.
“Yeah, they’re going to get it,” Rivers said.
It’s no secret that when NBA expansion happens — nobody has revealed exactly when that will be — Las Vegas will be at the front of the list of candidate cities to get one of what will probably be two new clubs, pushing the league to 32 franchises. And given the way the NBA Cup and other NBA events have been received, probably nobody would say that coming to the Nevada desert full-time would be a bad idea. Read more
Travis Hunter breaks down in tears speaking about father during Heisman acceptance speech: ‘I did it for you, man’ (People)
Travis Hunter is feeling grateful after winning the Heisman Trophy.
The Colorado wide receiver and cornerback won the prestigious award, given to the top player in college football every year, on Saturday, Dec. 14, during the Heisman ceremony at the Lincoln Center in New York City.
The football star, 21, thanked friends, teammates, coaches and family during his acceptance speech, but he got particularly emotional while shouting out his father, Travis Hunter Sr. Read more
Sarr scores twice as Crystal Palace win at Brighton (BBC)
Ismaila Sarr scored twice as Crystal Palace beat Brighton to inflict a first home defeat of the season on their rivals and move four points clear of the relegation zone.
Centre-back Trevoh Chalobah hammered a shot into the roof of the net from close range to open the scoring in the 27th minute, after the ball bounced around the six-yard box following a corner.
The Eagles got their second just six minutes later when Tyrick Mitchell’s curling cross was headed in by Senegal forward Sarr at the far post. Read more
10-man Liverpool draws with Fulham in Premier League but Arsenal fails to take advantage (JapanToday)
Premier League leader Liverpool twice came from behind with 10 men to draw with Fulham 2-2, yet dropped points for the second straight match to give hope to its title rivals on Saturday.
Arsenal failed to take advantage.
A 0-0 draw at home to lowly Everton left third-placed Arsenal still six points behind Liverpool and will go down as a big opportunity missed. Read more
F1 in Africa: Rwanda launch bid for Grand Prix near planned Bugesera airport close to Kigali at FIA general assembly (SkySports)
Rwanda’s president has confirmed the country’s plans to bring a Formula 1 race back to Africa amid ongoing discussions with the sport’s bosses.
F1 has not raced in Africa since the 1993 South African Grand Prix in Kyalami, with plans to bring the event back to the calendar in recent years ultimately not materialising. F1 president Stefano Domenicali met representatives from Rwanda’s bid in September.
The track would be a permanent circuit near the planned Bugesera airport close to Kigali. Read more