Eight held as army foils Boko Haram bid to attack Lagos (Nation)
EIGHT Boko Haram suspects arrested in connection with plans to attack facilities in Lagos are being held by the military, the army said at the weekend.
The Nation gathered on Sunday that the insurgents made attempts about two weeks ago to attack one of the universities in the state, but operatives of the 81 Division beat them to their game.
Four persons directly involved in the botched plan were arrested and immediately whisked to the Army Headquarters in Abuja for further investigation.
It was gathered that four other suspected members of the terrorist group were arrested within that period. They allegedly confessed their membership of Boko Haram. Read more
Lagos seeks 260,000 blood units to meet demand (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has said the state’s blood bank will need over 260,000 units of blood to meet the growing demand for blood transfusion.
The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service, Bodunrin Osikomaiya, added that the state had less than 10 per cent of voluntary donors, saying over 90 per cent of blood units were sourced from replacement donors who had a high risk of transfusions transmissible infections such as HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis.
Urging Lagosians to donate blood voluntarily in order to meet the growing demand for safe blood for transfusion, Osikomaiya stressed that voluntary blood donation would save lives and bring to the barest minimum the number of deaths related to loss of blood. Read more
How government agencies flout TSA policy (Guardian)
Some key government organisations have been avoiding the use of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in the last three years, thereby causing a huge loss of revenue to the country.
According to a report by the adhoc committee of the House of Representatives Committee on TSA, shortly before the end of the Eighth Assembly, the lawmakers affirmed that as of July 31, 2018, the platform processed more than N9.78 trillion, as against N4.21 trillion in the first year.
Of N4.21 trillion in the first year, the embattled Remita collected over N3.65 trillion; the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) got N287.92 billion, and N269.77 billion came from Direct Debit. Read more
Emojipedia gathers tweetstorm with new oral sex emojis (Punch)
Emojipedia, a Twitter handle that teaches followers how to interpret or generate emojis, has introduced a new emoji that has been interpreted to be indicative of oral sex.
The new emoji showing a man or woman in kneeling position has been hailed as the world’s “first explicit blowjob icon.”
It may be recalled that Facebook and Instagram had imposed a ban on certain emojis with double meanings, such as the ‘eggplant’ and ‘peach.’ Read more
Nine expelled FUTO students graduate two years after recall (Punch)
there was jubilation at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, on Thursday, as nine student activists, who were expelled in 2017 for championing a protest against increase in school fees, hostel and Internet fees, eventually graduated.
The Senate of the institution had on March 30, 2017, handed the student leaders, who were involved in a peaceful protest, expulsion letters.
The affected students are Ogbenna Collins, Mmegwa Kenneth, Naomi Chizoba, Ukwu Okey, Onuoha Elvis, Mmadu Nnamdi, Odunze Ebuka, Ihuka Victor and Choke Fred. Read more
How I blackmailed my girlfriend with her nude photos’ (Nation)
Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) have arrested an Oregun, Lagos church protocol officer, said to lure female worshippers to hotels, took their nude pictures which he used to extort money from them.
The suspect Victor Duru, 23, a university dropout, was arrested on Thursday in Surulere after one of his victims reported him to RRS.
He was said to have repeatedly blackmailed the unnamed woman whose picture he allegedly took at gunpoint with the help of his friend. Read more
McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook fired after dating employee (BBC)
McDonald’s has fired its chief executive Steve Easterbrook after he had a relationship with an employee.
The US fast food giant said the relationship was consensual, but Mr Easterbrook had “violated company policy” and shown “poor judgement”.
In an email to staff, the British businessman acknowledged the relationship and said it was a mistake.
“Given the values of the company, I agree with the board that it is time for me to move on,” he said. Read more
California Gov appoints Nigerian Uduak-Joe Ntuk as oil and gas supervisor (Punch)
Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has appointed a Nigerian, Uduak-Joe Ntuk, as the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, responsible for managing the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that DOGGR uses science and sound engineering practices to regulate the drilling, operation and permanent closure of energy resource wells.
The division prioritises protecting the public and the environment in its oversight of the oil, natural gas and geothermal industries within the largest state in America. Read more
Ebola: Attackers kill DR Congo journalist shining light on virus (BBC)
A Congolese journalist who had been raising awareness about the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been killed at his home.
The army said unidentified attackers raided Papy Mumbere Mahamba’s home in Lwebma, in the north-eastern province of Ituri, killing him, wounding his wife and burning their house down.
DR Congo is experiencing the world’s second-worst Ebola epidemic on record.
People working to stop the virus are often targeted. Read more
Lewis Hamilton: I don’t know how I am supposed to feel (BBC)
Lewis Hamilton said he was “flying super-high” after winning his sixth drivers’ title and was struggling to come to terms with his achievement.
The Mercedes driver clinched the championship with second place at the United States Grand Prix behind team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
“It’s beyond surreal that my life journey has brought me to this point in winning the sixth title,” he said. Read more
Djokovic beats Denis Shapovalov to win fifth Paris Masters title (Nation)
Novak Djokovic recorded his 77th ATP title with a 6-3 6-4 win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov at the Paris Masters.
The 32-year-old Serb will be replaced as world number one by Rafael Nadal on Monday despite sealing his 34th Masters title, his fifth in Paris and fifth overall ATP victory of the year.
He maintained his record of not losing a set in the week as he wrapped up the match in one hour, five minutes. Read more
Senegal emerge African Champions of 2019 COPA Lagos (Punch)
The Sand Terranga Lions of Senegal were on Sunday once again crowned champions of the 2019 COPA Lagos as they successfully defended the crown they won in 2018.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Senegalese won all their matches in the 2019 tournament to emerge champions.
Senegal defeated Brazil 5-4 in their first match and beat Nigeria 5-2 in their second encounter, while their last match with the Three Lions of England ended 3-2. Read more
Enyimba, Enugu Rangers qualify for CAF Confederation Cup group stage (Guardian)
Nigeria’s representatives in the CAF Confederation Cup, Enyimba of Aba and Enugu Rangers yesterday defeated TS Galaxy of South Africa and ASC Kara of Togo respectively to qualify for the group stage of the competition.
Enyimba won the first leg of their tie in Aba 2-0, while Rangers lost to Togo’s ASC Kara 1-2 in the first leg.
Yesterday at the Mbombela Stadium, Enyimba showed their superiority over the home team as they raced to a 2-0 goal before TS Galaxy reduced the tally by one late into the game.
The game ended 4-1 on aggregate to Enyimba in the play-off round. Read more Bayern Munich sack coach Niko Kovac (Nation)
Bayern Munich have officially confirmed that Niko Kovac has been sacked as their manager.
Hansi Flick will take over until further notice and will manage the team against Olympiacos and Borussia Dortmund. Read more
Tennis: Australian Ashleigh Barty wins WTA Finals (Punch)
World number one Ashleigh Barty spectacularly ended her jinx against defending champion Elina Svitolina to win the WTA Finals on Sunday and scoop the richest prize in tennis history.
Barty, who had never beaten Svitolina in five previous attempts, won 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 26 minutes at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre.
The Australian claimed a record-setting US$4.42 million paycheque –- the largest sum ever awarded in men’s and women’s tennis. Read more
Rivers Angels beat Confluence Queens to 2019 Super Four crown (Guardian)
Cecelia Nku’s second-minute penalty was all Rivers Angels needed to win the 2019 Nigeria Women Premier League (NWPL) title against a very determined Confluence Queens side.
The well attended final, which had the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, Women Affairs Minister, Mrs. Pauline Tallen and Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, all in attendance, lived up to fans’ expectations as the teams displayed entertaining football.
Precious Christopher briefly gave Confluence Queens hope in the 14th minute when her penalty hit the woodwork after Amaechi Ojini handled the ball inside the 18-yard box. Read more
EPL: Gomes suffers cruel injury as Everton draw Tottenham (Nation)
Everton midfielder Andre Gomes suffered a serious leg injury which left Tottenham’s Son Heung-min in tears and overshadowed the home side scoring a 98th-minute equaliser to earn a vital point.
Gomes, 26, was tackled by Son and appeared to be injured by an awkward fall which prompted an anguished reaction from players and fans close to the incident.
Son was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson as Portugal international Gomes received extensive treatment in a lengthy delay and was eventually taken off on a stretcher. Read more
LMC grants FC IfeanyiUbah’s coaches certification waiver until mid-season (Guardian)
FC IfeanyiUbah has received a temporary waiver for its coaches until the mid season when they are expected to have obtained requisite qualifications to coach a Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) club.
The League Management Company (LMC) granted the waiver following an application by the club requesting that Head Coach, Uche Okagbue and his assistants be allowed time to obtain CAF Coaching licences in line with the NPFL Framework and Rules.
The LMC had in a letter dated November 1, 2019, directed the club that all the coaches it presented for registration did not have the required CAF graded coaching licence. Read more
Leicester City back in third after 2-0 win at Crystal Palace (Nation)
Caglar Soyuncu’s goal and a late effort by Jamie Vardy earned Leicester City a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace to move them back into third place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Turkish centre back Soyuncu broke the deadlock at Selhurst Park when he headed home James Maddison’s 57th-minute corner for his first Leicester goal.
Vardy fired in his 10th league goal of the season late on to seal the points and a third successive win for Leicester.
After last week’s runaway 9-0 thrashing of Southampton, Leicester produced a controlled performance to move to 23 points from 11 games, two points behind Manchester City. Read more
Southampton FC open Saint Lagos Academy in Nigeria (Guardian)
English Premier League (EPL) side, Southampton Football Club have joined the league of foreign football academies in Nigeria following the unveiling of the Saints Lagos Academy at the weekend.
The football Academy is an extension of the English Premier League club’s flagship modelled on Southampton’s football club academy in England, which has produced football stars in the likes of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Oxlade Chamberlain, among others. The Saints Lagos Football Academy is a partnership with Crimson Sport Limited, which is located at the Goal Centre facility in Lekki, Lagos. Read more
