#EndSARS: N2.5b assets burnt, thousands of jobs threatened at Lekki Plaza – LCC (Nation)
The Lekki Concession Company (LCC) Thursday said assets worth about N2.5billion were destroyed in the aftermath of the October 20 incident at the Admiralty Circle (Lekki) Toll Plaza.
The firm said the jobs of over 500 direct staff and thousands of others across its business value chain, would be lost if it doesn’t return to full operations within the shortest possible.
It appealed to leaders of movements planning a protest at its destroyed plaza on Saturday to give peace a chance.
Last Saturday’s decision by the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry to return the toll gate to the LCC has generated strong reactions from youth movements with a group threatening to occupy it and another pledging to defend it. Read more
How NURTW members were attacked at Obalende – MC Oluomo’s aide (Punch)
Jimoh Buhari, the spokesman for the Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo, has said men of a rival union in the state attacked NURTW officials in the Obalende area in a bid to take over the park.
Buhari, who spoke with The PUNCH on Thursday, said there are more than one transport unions in the state.
He said operatives of a rival union, the Road Transport Employers’ Association Of Nigeria, stormed NURTW park in Obalende this morning with weapons in order to take over toll collection at the park.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that gunshots were heard this morning when the men in yellow and green uniforms stormed the area. Read more
Man beats three-year-old daughter to death (Nation)
A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Yaba, Lagos on Wednesday ordered that a 35-year-old security guard, Patrick Akpan, who allegedly beat his three-year-old daughter to death be remanded in custodial centre.
The police charged Akpan with manslaughter.
Chief Magistrate P.E. Nwaka did not take the plea of Akpan for want in jurisdiction.
Nwaka ordered that the case file be duplicated and a copy sent to the Lagos Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
Nwaka adjourned the case until Feb. 23 for DPP advice. Read more
No protest will be allowed in Lagos, police warns (Guardian)
Police authorities in Lagos on Thursday said no form of protest will be allowed in any part of the state.
Lagos police boss Hakeem Odumosu at a press conference said any protest “will be counterproductive to the ongoing series of inquiries and investigations into many cases related to the Endsars violence and the present security situation of the state.”
Odumosu’s comment is coming days after some youths took to social media to speak against the handover of Lekki toll gate, where Nigerian forces opened fire on unarmed #EndSARS protesters last October, to its owners Lekki Concession Company (LCC).
Members of the judicial panel set up by the Lagos State Government to investigate the October 2020 Lekki shooting voted 5-4 in favor of the handover on Saturday. Read more
Nigeria spends N526.4b on treatment of smoking-related diseases (DailyTrust)
A two-year research study conducted by Centre for The Study of The Economies of Africa (CSEA) in collaboration with Amaka Chiwne-Uba Foundation (ACUF) has discovered that Nigeria’s healthcare system gups about N526.45 billion annually in treatment of smoking related diseases. The amount represents about 9.63 per cent of the nation’s total healthcare budget.
In a presentation entitled “Health burden and economic cost of smoking in Nigeria,” during a workshop held on Thursday in Enugu, an Executive Director of CSEA, Dr. Chukwuka Onyekwena, disclosed that about 17 diseases are attributable to tobacco-smoking.
Police comb forests as ‘herdsmen’ attack Ogun communities
Lagos: Police restore normalcy to Obalende after hoodlums’ clash
He listed the diseases to include oral and pharynx cancer, Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease and Unspecified Chronic Bronchitis, stomach cancer, pancreas cancer, lung cancer, Renal Pelvis cancer, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Ischaemic heart disease, Pneumonia and Influenza, among others. Read more
Don’t lie, herdsmen, cattle trespassed on my compound, Soyinka flays police (Punch)
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has said the Ogun State Police Command ‘lied’ that herdsmen did not trespass on his unfenced compound with their cattle.
Soyinka spoke on Thursday on an Arise TV programme monitored by The PUNCH.
The PUNCH had reported that herdsmen trespassed on the compound of the respected academic with their cattle despite repeated warnings.
The trespassing herdsmen were later arrested by the police but the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, said the cows did not enter the compound of the Nobel Laureate. Read more
Navy destroys 15 militant camps, nabs 17 suspected sea pirates in Akwa Ibom (Guardian)
The Nigerian Navy, NNS Jubilee, said it destroyed 15 militant camps and arrested 17 suspected pirates and sea robbers within its area of jurisdiction in Akwa Ibom.
Commodore Abdulmajid Ibrahim, Commander, NNS Jubilee, disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday at the Jubilee Base in Ikot Abasi.
Ibrahim said the militant camps were discovered and destroyed and the suspects arrested during the anti-piracy and anti-sea robbery routine operations from May 2020 to January.
The commander said the destruction of the camps was made possible through the navy’s penetration of some of the creeks within the jurisdiction of the base. Read more
Cryptocurrency: Senate summons CBN gov, DG SEC (Punch)
The Senate on Thursday, summoned the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, and Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission, Lamido Yuguda, over the decision of the CBN to ban the use of cryptocurrency in the country.
The decision was taken following a motion by Senator Istifanus Gyang and Tokunbo Abiru, titled, “CBN decision to stop financial institutions from transacting in cryptocurrencies and matters arising therefrom.”
The Senate asked its committees on Banking, Insurance, and other financial institutions, Capital Market, and that of ICT and cybercrime to summon Emefiele and Yuguda. Read more
UAE bans airlifting of Nigerians to Dubai over COVID-19 (DailyTrust)
The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has suspended the airlifting of Nigerians to Dubai as part of measures to check the spread of COVID-19.
The latest decision comes 24 hours after Emirates, the UAE carrier, announced the temporary suspension of outbound flights from Lagos and Abuja.
Nigeria’s biggest carrier, Air Peace, which operates to Sharjah-Dubai, has also communicated the decision of the UAE authorities to its passengers.
Air Peace, however, apologised for the flight disruptions. Read more
Taylor Swift has finished re-recording Fearless – and it could be out in April (BBC)
When Taylor Swift’s back catalogue was bought in June 2019 by Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, the superstar almost immediately announced she would re-record her first five albums in an attempt to regain control of her music.
“I think that artists deserve to own their work,” she said. “I feel very passionate about that.”
According to the terms of her recording contract, she was allowed to start re-making those records last November.
We heard a snippet of her UK breakthrough single Love Story in December – and now the star says she’s finished work on the album it came from, Fearless. Read more
Four new symptoms have been linked to coronavirus (Metro)
A study has suggested there could be four additional symptoms of coronavirus. At the moment, the official symptoms recognised by the NHS are a loss of smell and taste, a fever and a new persistent cough. But chills, a loss of appetite, headaches and muscle aches could also be included, according to a study of more than one million people in England. The research is based on swab tests and questionnaires from Imperial College London’s React study, carried out between June 2020 and January 2021. Read more
Man kills himself outside home of Texas congresswoman (NYPost)
A man killed himself outside the home of a Texas congresswoman on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
The man fatally shot himself in front of Republican Rep. Beth Van Duyne’s home in Irving shortly before 4 pm., KXAS-TV reported citing Irving police.
When police officers arrived, they found the victim lying on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound. The victim’s identity has not been released.
Van Duyne — the former mayor of Irving who was recently elected to serve in the House — was home during the shooting. Read more
Iran produces uranium metal in new violation of nuclear deal (BBC)
Iran has started producing uranium metal, despite being warned by world powers that it constitutes another breach of the 2015 nuclear deal.
International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors verified the existence of 3.6g (0.1oz) of the substance at a facility in Isfahan last week.
Iran says it is carrying out research and development with the aim of producing fuel for a research reactor.
But uranium metal could also be used to make the core of a nuclear bomb. Read more
Jack Ma reportedly spotted golfing after hiding out for weeks (NYPost)
Jack Ma’s battle with Chinese regulators hasn’t stopped him from hitting the links.
The Alibaba founder — whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at $61.4 billion — was spotted golfing recently after an unusually long absence from the public spotlight, according to Bloomberg News.
Ma’s course of choice was the Sun Valley Golf Resort, a scenic 27-hole complex on the southern tip of the Chinese island of Hainan, the outlet reported Wednesday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Read more
Myanmar coup: US announces sanctions on leaders (BBC)
US President Joe Biden has approved an executive order to impose sanctions on the leaders of Myanmar’s coup.
The measures will be focused on military leaders, their family members and businesses linked to them.
Steps are also being taken to block access by the military to $1bn (£720m) of government funds held in the US.
The sanctions come as a woman who was shot in the head during protests against the coup fights for her life at a hospital in the capital Nay Pyi Taw. Read more
Infantino says COVID measures could still be in place for 2022 World Cup (Guardian)
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said for the first time Thursday coronavirus containment measures could still be in place during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but he insisted stadiums would be full.
In an interview with AFP ahead of the Club World Cup final he also suggested FIFA could “concretely” help travelling fans from countries where vaccine rollout has been slow or had not yet begun.
“Maybe some precautionary measures have to be taken,” he said in the Qatari capital Doha, where Bayern Munich face Mexican side Tigres on Thursday. Read more
UEFA opens disciplinary case against officials over PSG-Istanbul Basaksehir game (BBC)
UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against two Romanian match officials following allegations of racism during December’s Champions League group game between Paris St-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir.
The match was abandoned at 0-0 after fourth official Sebastian Coltescu was accused of using a racist term towards Basaksehir assistant Pierre Webo.
Both Coltescu and assistant referee Octavian Sovre face punishment for a “potential violation” of Uefa’s disciplinary regulations.
Following an investigation, European football’s governing body says the pair were in breach of Article 11, when a person’s “conduct is insulting or otherwise violates the basic rules of decent conduct”. Read more
Arsenal provide Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney injury updates ahead of Leeds Utd clash (Metro)
Arsenal will be without influential duo Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey for Sunday’s Premier League match against Leeds United. Summer signing Partey hobbled off during last weekend’s defeat against Aston Villa, while Scotland international left-back Tierney is yet to recover from a muscle strain in his right leg. Partey had broken down on two separate occasions already this season but made his latest return in mid-January and featured in seven successive matches before appearing to suffer a recurrence of a thigh strain against Villa. Tierney, meanwhile, arguably Arsenal’s player of the season, has missed the last five matches in all competitions but the club are hopeful he will return to first team training next week. Read more
F1 teams back ‘sprint’ race proposals at three Grands Prix (BBC)
Formula 1 teams have backed a plan to hold shorter ‘sprint races’ at three Grands Prix this season.
Details are still to be ironed out, but all teams gave their support to the idea at a meeting of the F1 Commission.
Teams and F1 bosses also agreed to the introduction of a freeze on engine development from the start of 2022.
This could be enough for Red Bull to finalise plans to continue running Honda engines when the Japanese company pull out at the end of this year. Read more
Manchester United’s new signing Amad Diallo handed hefty fine over fake documents (Metro) Manchester United new boy Amad Diallo has been handed a £42,000 fine in Italy over accusations he used fake documents to enter the country back in 2015. The teenager left Serie A club Atalanta for Old Trafford during the January transfer window in a deal that could reach £37.2million, though had been subject to an investigation by the Italian football federation (FIGC). It had been claimed that Diallo used fake papers to get into Italy and be reunited with his supposed parents, though the investigation concluded that the two people cited were not related to Diallo at all. Read more
