#EndSARS: Make Oct 20th National Youths Day, Dosunmu urges FG (Vanguard)
Public policy expert and Lagos stakeholder, Dr Ade Dosunmu has urged the federal government of Nigeria to make October 20th a National Youths Day to honour the unarmed youths who lost their lives as well as those who condemned in peaceful protest the harassment and brutality meted on the youths by the now, Nigeria’s disbanded police unit, Special Anti-robbery Squad, (SARS).
The Lagos stakeholder condemned those indicted by the judicial panel’s report on the killings and brutality that took place at the Lekki Toll Gate, saying only a national day to commemorate the day will equate to honouring the youths and their noble course.
According to him, governments across the country must set aside every 20th October as a day to listen to the yearnings of the youths.
Dr. Dosunmu who condoled with those who lost loved ones during the Lekki massacre also commended the Lagos Judicial panel for making the truth of what actually transpired that fateful day public. Read more
Nigerian engineers say design of collapsed Lagos highrise altered (Guardian)
Nigerian engineers said the 21-storey building that collapsed in Lagos early this month was originally designed only for six floors before more were added to the structure.
The high-rise building was still under construction in the upscale Ikoyi district of the city when it crumbled on November 1, trapping dozens of site workers and others inside.
At least 45 people, including the owner of the building, were killed, while 15 others were pulled out alive from the debris, according to the latest tally by the state government.
Emergency agencies had initially put the death toll at 42, but state authorities said last week three more corpses had been recovered under the rubble.
Although the government has set up a panel to determine the cause of the collapse within one month, the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE) said variations on the original design were to blame. Read more
NANS begs ASUU, FG to sheath swords, go back to negotiating table to avoid impending strike action (Tribune)
Academic Staff of Universities (ASUU), Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and other academic and non-academic unions of Tertiary institutions in the country have been appealed upon to consider the plight of students and their parents by not embarking on strikes at the slightest provocation.
The appeal was made by the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Sunday Asefon while speaking at the 2021 International Students Day held at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi on Wednesday.
The NANS President opined that the incessant strike action has retarded progress in the educational sector of the country thereby making it look inferior to other countries.
He however appealed to the government to always engage the leadership of the various unions on the need to amicably resolve the problems to avoid strike actions because according to him, such strike action has not brought anything good to the education sector of the country. Read more
CBN’s N1.3t interventions saved power sector from collapse – Experts (Vanguard)
But for the timely financial interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) worth over N1.3 trillion, the Nigerian power would have collapsed due to illiquidity, experts have said.
The power sector which was partly privatized eight years ago has struggled financially due to poor performance, suppressed tariff and lack of infrastructure at the transmission and distribution ends.
According to industry data, financial liquidity in the power sector has risen to around N4 trillion as the apex bank alongside the Federal Government had to initiate series of interventions to enable the sector avoid imminent collapse.
The CBN had launched the Power and Aviation Intervention Fund (PAIF), hovering at about N300 billion, Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) at about N213 billion, N140 billion Solar Connection Intervention Facility, over N600 billion tariff shortfall intervention as well as a recent N120 billion intervention designed for mass metering among others. Read more
Unity Schools: Students’ body tasks govt on security, protection of schools (Guardian)
Former students of Unity Schools in Nigeria under the aegis of the Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA) have called on the Federal government to prioritise the protection of schools from terrorists attacks.
USOSA in a communiqué issued at the end of its 38th Plenary and Annual General Meeting (AGM) noted that present and past leaderships of the country have run out of ideas in confronting the challenges facing the country.
USOSA’s President-General, Lawrence Wilbert, in his address themed “The Role of USOSA in Uniting Nigeria” observed that education is a fundamental and constitutional right, noting that there is a need to secure environment for the child to thrive
According to him, the association abhors extremism, particularly as it relates to the safety of students and academic establishments. Read more
Shippers seek reduction of overweight charges on Nigeria-bound cargoes (Guardian)
Nigerian Shippers have called for the reduction of the overweight charges on Nigeria-bound cargo from China. The President, Shippers Association of Lagos, Jonathan Nicol, frowned on the steady rise in the cost of shipments of cargoes in Nigeria, which he said is becoming very unfriendly and uncomfortable to the shippers.
He said while shippers are providers of cargo to shipping carriers from different ports of the world, Nigerian Shippers are very dynamic in this trade and should be appreciated by carriers.
Nicol noted that although the carriers have a right to charge on any overweight cargo because of the risks on board, the fee slammed on cargoes from China by French shipping company, CMA CDA Lines, is quite high.
He said Nigeria bound cargo from China is now subjected to $1,000 extra charges for a 1×20’ container shipped with CMA CDA Lines. He said, while a 20ft container can carry excess of 25 to 27 tons of cargo, it did not attract over weight charges from carriers before, adding that even if it did, it was not as much as $1,000 per 20’ over weight cargo from China. Read more
Police arrest suspected kidnapper of RCCG pastor (Guardian)
The Cross River State Police Command, yesterday, arrested one of the kidnappers of the pastor of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Uyo.
It was gathered that the suspect engaged the police in a gun battle, but was over powered, and arrested with bullet wounds on his ankle, while some of the gang members, who were with him, fled.
Pastor Sunday Adeniran and a female teacher in the Sunday School were kidnapped on Saturday in Calabar.
The suspect, Felix Essien, a 26-year-old, was one of the 30-man gang, who have been terrorising residents in Calabar, specifically 8 miles area. Read more
Reps move to avert fresh ASUU strike (Sun)
Rivers State House of Representatives, yesterday, charged the Federal Government to immediately open ‘realistic negotiations’ with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to avert another round of strike.
It also charged government to implement the agreements reached in the interest of university students, their parents, the education sector and the country at large.
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila has invited the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, his counterpart in the Ministry of Finance, Zainab Ahmed and a representative of ASUU to meet with him tomorrow, over the dispute between the government and the union.
This followed the adoption of a motion by Chairman, House Committee on Basic Education, Julius Ihonvbere, on “urgent need to do all within its powers to stop the impending ASUU strike” at plenary, yesterday. Read more
Herdsmen machete 2 to death in Ondo forest (Leadership)
Bodies of two of the butchers kidnapped by suspected herdsmen have been found inside the bush in Akure North local government area of Ondo State.
The three men were kidnapped on Monday while one person was injured. The victims are butchers working in Akure, the state capital.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the incident occurred at around 1 p.m. on Monday at Ajagbusi community after Ala town in Akure North.
It was further learnt that their bodies were found by a team led by the police. Read more
Harry Potter star Emma Watson pens heartfelt message for Philosopher’s Stone’s 20th anniversary (Metro)
Harry Potter star Emma Watson has shared a sweet message for the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone and we’re not okay!
The Hermione Granger actress, who took on the role at the age of 11, shared an adorable photo of herself, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) as teenagers on set.
Breaking hearts across the world, she wrote: ‘Harry Potter was my home, my family, my world and Hermione (still is) my favourite fictional character of all time. I think a journalist once said it was irritating how many times during an interview I mentioned how lucky I was and started counting… BUT I DAMN WELL KNEW!!! And still know.
‘I am proud not just of what we as group contributed as actors to the franchise but also as the children that became young adults that walked that path. I look at my fellow cast members now and I am just so proud of who everyone has become as people. I am proud we were kind to each other that we supported one another and that we held up something meaningful.’
‘Monster’ prisoner who made raping victims his ‘life’s work’ dies of Covid (Metro)
An ex-soldier who raped and sexually abused several women and girls in a 45 year campaign of terror has died after catching Covid in prison.
Dennis Smalley, from Wigan, was jailed for 25 years in March 2016 for raping seven women and teenagers and sexually abusing four other girls.
At the time of his sentencing, a judge told him that he had made his wicked abuse his ‘life’s work’, with his crimes dating back as far as the 1970s.
He raped and sexually abused one victim for more than a decade, while he attacked another woman shortly after she had given birth. Read more
US auctions off oil and gas drilling leases in Gulf of Mexico after climate talks (Guardian)
Just four days after landmark climate talks in Scotland in which Joe Biden vowed the US will “lead by example” in tackling dangerous global heating, the president’s own administration is providing a jarring contradiction – the largest ever sale of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.
The US federal government is on Wednesday launching an auction of more than 80m acres of the gulf for fossil fuel extraction, a record sell-off that will lock in years, and potentially decades, of planet-heating emissions.
The enormous size of the lease sale – covering an area that is twice as large as Florida – is a blunt repudiation of Biden’s previous promise to shut down new drilling on public lands and waters. It has stunned environmentalists who argue the auction punctures the US’s shaky credibility on the climate crisis and will make it harder to avert catastrophic impacts from soaring global heating.
“Coming in the aftermath of the climate summit, this is just mind boggling. It’s hard to imagine a more hypocritical and dangerous thing for the administration to do,” said Kristen Monsell, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s incredibly reckless and we think unlawful too. It’s just immensely disappointing.” Read more
DC Mayor Bowser says city will lift indoor mask mandates from next week…. but Biden White House says it won’t (DailyMail)
The White House won’t be dropping its indoor mask requirement, despite Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser decision to lift the mandate.
‘The White House follows CDC guidance which recommends masking in areas of high or substantial transmission,’ White House spokesman Kevin Munoz said on Tuesday.
Mayor Bowser announced on Monday that the District of Columbia will lift its indoor mask requirement starting next week, as local COVID-19 infection cases continue to trend downward.
Starting Monday, November 22, masks will no longer be required in many indoor spaces, although the stipulations do not apply to federal Washington, including the White House and Congress. Read more
Kyle Rittenhouse defense accuses prosecutors of withholding key video (NYPost)
Kyle Rittenhouse’s legal team accused prosecutors of holding back key video footage that is at the heart of their case in a formal motion for a mistrial, court documents show.
Lawyers for the 18-year-old Kenosha gunman already called for a mistrial during the hearing, and filed a formal seven-page request less than an hour before closing arguments Monday, the Chicago Tribune noted.
The motion argues any conviction should be overruled and seeks to forbid any chance of a retrial if Rittenhouse is cleared of the five felonies he faces for the deadly triple shooting at last year’s Kenosha riots.
It highlighted some of the prosecutors’ missteps that already had Judge Bruce Schroeder railing at them, including mentioning evidence they’d been warned not to use and also making a play on the teen’s right to silence. Read more
Kenya prison chief sacked after Islamist inmates escape (BBC)
The head of Kenya’s prison service has been sacked days after three inmates serving time for terror-related offences allegedly escaped from a maximum security prison.
In a statement President Uhuru Kenyatta said Wycliffe Ogalo would be replaced with immediate effect “to entrench accountability in the ranks of the leadership of all security organs”.
Mr Kenyatta also directed security agencies to use “all available resources” to pursue the escapees.
The fugitives include Mohamed Ali Abikar, who was convicted for his role in the 2015 Garissa University attack in which 148 people were killed. Read more
Banksy art carved off wall in Lowestoft so it can be sold in US for millions (Sky)
A building owner in Lowestoft has removed a portion of wall containing an original Banksy mural.
Workmen arrived over the weekend to carve away the artwork, which is expected to sell for millions in the US.
The piece, depicting a child building a sandcastle with a crowbar, was one of 10 created in the area over the summer, during his Great British Spraycation.
Following its removal, the slab of wall was loaded onto a truck and taken to a hidden location, ready to be shipped to the US. Read more
Hoffman confirms exit as Premier League chair (Guardian)
The Premier League has confirmed that Gary Hoffman is to step down as its chair. The move stems from the controversy over the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United and Hoffman will leave at the end of January.
He has been in the job for only 18 months but was the subject of an unofficial vote of confidence by Premier League chairmen last week, with more than half calling for his removal.
“It has been a privilege to lead the Premier League through the last two seasons – when the spirit of English football has been more important than ever,” Hoffman said. “Now, I have decided the time is right for me to stand aside to allow new leadership to steer the league through its next exciting phase.”
Hoffman has become the focus of clubs’ fury over the way the Newcastle deal was approved. Clubs complained they had not been properly consulted over a decision to allow the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to buy the club, having been notified of the outcome by email and only after reports had been published in the media. Read more
Michael Oliver agrees with Howard Webb over worst player to ref (Independent)
Premier League official Michael Oliver has claimed that former Liverpool star Craig Bellamy was the most difficult player to referee.
The former Wales international enjoyed a stellar career in the top flight, boasting stints at the likes of Manchester City and Newcastle as well as two separate spells at Anfield.
A fan of the Magpies himself, Oliver may have expected to have some kind of chemistry with the former St. James’ Park star.
However, Oliver has since told The Athletic that he instead found the task of keeping Bellamy in check particularly challenging, before revealing how an official can tell which teams are likely to prove frustrating to officiate. Read more
Liverpool expect Andy Robertson to miss Arsenal clash with hamstring injury (Metro)
Liverpool expect Andy Robertson to miss Arsenal clash with hamstring injury
The left-back had to be subbed off against Denmark on Monday (Picture: Getty)
Liverpool are sweating over the fitness of Andy Robertson ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash against Arsenal after he picked up an injury playing for Scotland.
The left-back started Monday’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Denmark but was forced off the field in the 79th minute clutching the back of his leg and was replaced by Scott McKenna.
Fortunately for Scotland, they managed to double their lead through Che Adams shortly after Robertson’s withdrawal to secure a 2-0 victory that means they are seeded for the World Cup play-offs.
Liverpool expect Andy Robertson to miss Arsenal clash with hamstring injury
Robertson was forced off late on against Denmark (Picture: Getty)
But the Liverpool defender is now a major doubt to take on Arsenal with The Times reporting that he has sustained a hamstring injury. Read more
ATP Finals 2021: Novak Djokovic into semi-finals after dominant win over Andrey Rublev (Eurosport)
Novak Djokovic was once again in imperious form as he qualified for his 10th semi-final at the Nitto ATP finals following a straight sets victory over Andrey Rublev in Turin.
The world number one, who is targeting a record-equalling sixth title at the tournament to cap a sensational 2021, came through 6-3 6-2 in one hour and eight minutes to finish top of Green Group with a match to spare.
The result also sees the 20-time Grand Slam champion claim his 40th win at the ATP finals, moving beyond Ivan Lendl into outright second position for most match victories at the competition, with Roger Federer way out in front on 59.
An untidy opening period saw both players trade immediate breaks with Djokovic again showing early rust on serve, similar to his lull prior to easing past Casper Ruud in his opening match. Read more
Aaron Ramsey is looking to leave Juventus in January (Metro)
Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey would ‘love’ to rejoin Arsenal in the January transfer window.
That’s according to former Gunner Theo Walcott, who believes the Welshman would jump at the opportunity of returning to the Emirates.
Ramsey, 30, swapped London for Turin in 2019 when he joined Juventus on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract at Arsenal.
However, the former Cardiff City man has endured a injury-ravaged spell in Italy and the club are looking to sell him in January, if only to get his £400,000-a-week wages off the books. Read more
Canadian men and women learn draw for Dubai kickoff to 2022 World Rugby Sevens Series (Globe&Mail)
Canada’s men have been drawn in a pool with Olympic champion Fiji, Australia and France for the opening event of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series later this month in Dubai.
The Canadian women will play in a group with Olympic bronze medallist Fiji, Britain, Ireland and Russia.
But the New Zealand’s men’s and women’s teams, who won the respective World Series titles in 2020, and the Samoan men, won’t take part in Dubai due to pandemic-related travel issues.
World Rugby has also decided to drop the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, originally planned for April 1-2, from the 2022 season. It will now take place Nov. 4-6, 2022, and serve as the 2023 season opener. Hong Kong will host a second event in the 2023 Series in its traditional April window. Read more
Brett Favre misses payment of $228K in welfare case, auditor says (USAToday)
Retired NFL player Brett Favre missed a deadline to pay $228,000 in interest on welfare money he was paid for a public speaking contract he did not fulfill, the Mississippi state auditor said Tuesday.
Auditor Shad White said he is turning the matter over to the state attorney general’s office, a month after sending a demand letter to Favre. White said the attorney general is in charge of enforcing unmet auditor’s demands.
“My understanding is the AG and the Department of Human Services have given authority to a private attorney to recoup the misspent money,” White wrote on Twitter. “We have been in contact with that attorney and will provide him any information he needs.”
Favre is not facing criminal charges, but the leader of the organization that paid him is awaiting trial in one of Mississippi’s largest embezzlement cases. Read more