#EndSARS: No killing at Lekki Tollgate, Lagos counters panel (DailyTrust)
The Lagos State Government has rejected the claim by the Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters that nine persons were killed at Lekki Tollgate when soldiers stormed the epicentre of the #ENDSARS protest on October 20, 2020.
The government in its White Paper on the report by the panel described the claim that nine persons were shot and killed at the Tollgate as “Assumptions and speculations”.
The government said it accepted 11 out of the 32 recommendations by the panel while stating that 14 other recommendations outside the control of the state would be forwarded to the federal government for consideration.
The panel, which was inaugurated last year, submitted its report to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu two weeks ago. Read more
Lagos NGO exploits sick children, women for alms begging, victims rescued (Punch)
No fewer than 13 sick children and three women transported from Benue State for alms begging in the Egbeda area of Lagos State have been rescued.
PUNCH Metro gathered that an unregistered non-governmental organisation took the victims from their homes in Benue under the pretext of helping them to get medical care.
However, the organisation allegedly turned them into beggars.
The Chief Executive Officer of a rights group, Supreme Family Entertainment International Initiative, Hemni Andrew, said when she got to know about the incident, she informed the police and the victims were rescued from a hotel in Egbeda. Read more
Segalink, others silent as Falz, Mr Macaroni, Seun Kuti, Farotimi decline Sanwo-Olu’s invitation to join ‘Walk For Peace’ (Tribune)
Four frontline entertainers and activist involved in the #EndSARS protests against police brutality, Folarin Falana, Debo Adebayo, Seun Kuti and Dele Farotimi have declined the invitation by Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to join a “walk for peace”.
The development is sequel to the offer made by the governor on Tuesday, inviting activists, youths, members of the diplomatic corps, civil society groups, students for the “historic march for our dear Lagos” in December to herald the healing of the land.
But Falana who is popularly known as Falz said the suggestion of the walk was disrespectful to the lives of youths who were killed by security agents during the 2020 #EndSARS protests.
Falana in a series of tweets said Lagos State governor cannot claim to be just when it was yet to prosecute those who killed the protesting youths. Read more
Lagos bag repairer jailed for life for defiling 12-year-old pupil (Punch)
The Lagos State Special Offences Court on Tuesday sentenced an artisan, Gbenga Olasunkanmi, to life imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old pupil.
Olasunkanmi was arraigned before Justice Abiola Soladoye on one count of defilement.
The police prosecutor, Peter Owolabani, told the court that the convict defiled the victim around 5pm on September 6, 2017, in the Isolo area of Lagos State.
The victim was said to have gone to repair her school bag in the convict’s shop when her mother told her to return it because the job was not well done. Read more
Africa Data Centres unveils new 10MW data centre in Lagos (Vanguard)
The new facility, the company says, will pave the way for Africa Data Centres hyperscale customers to deploy digitisation solutions to West Africa.
CEO of Africa Data Centres, Stephane Duproz, describes Nigeria as one of the company’s key markets as there is a rapidly-growing demand for data centres in the region, which is hungry for digitisation, as organisations of every type and size in Africa accelerate their digital transformation journeys.
He says as part of the recently launched Cassava Technologies group, Africa Data Centres plays a critical role when it comes to providing this very digital infrastructure that is needed to support the mass adoption of digital services for consumers and businesses in the region.
Duproz also announced that the new facility is the first of four faculties being earmarked for Nigeria, adding that the company has plans to also build an additional facility in Lagos at a separate location to ensure full disaster backup, whilst Abuja, and Port Harcourt will also get their own facilities. Read more
Compulsory vaccination: Workers demand March deadline, throng centres, FG insists on Dec 1 (Punch)
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria has asked the Federal Government to extend till March next year, today’s (Wednesday) deadline for the compulsory vaccination of civil servants.
The General Secretary of the ASCSN, Alade Lawal, who stated this in an interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday, said the extension was necessary to enable all civil servants to take the jab and avoid a stampede at the vaccination centres.
But the Technical Lead of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Dr Muktar Muhammed, told one of our correspondents that the deadline would not be extended.
As labour union and the PSC disagreed on the deadline, federal civil servants across the country on Tuesday thronged vaccination centres to get vaccinated. Read more
Ebonyi governor suspends salaries of civil servants over killings (Guardian)
Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has suspended salaries of civil servants from Effium Community, in Ohaukwu Council of the state, over the lingering crisis in the area, which recently resulted in the abduction of five construction workers.
Umahi also announced the removal of the coordinators of two development centres in the area, adding that he will approach the State House of Assembly for a way forward on the chairman of the council and the two members of the House from the area.
He announced the suspension in Abakaliki during a security summit organised by the founding fathers of the state and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), among others.
The governor alleged that although perpetrators of the killings and destruction in the area were funded from outside the state, some stakeholders of the area also fund the violence. Read more
Court overturns demotion of 75 coronet obas in Ogun (Sun)
The Ogun High Court, yesterday, overturned the demotion of 75 coronet Obas by Governor Dapo Abiodun on February 6, 2020, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The 75 coronet obas had challenged their demotion by governor Abiodun and had sought the courts to nullify the action.
Other respondents in the suit were the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and the Permanent Secretary in the ministry.
Delivering judgment on the suit filed by the obas, Justice Abiodun Akinyemi affirmed their installation, appointment and promotion, declaring their demotion as unlawful, null and void. Read more
Idris Elba partners Nigerian filmmaker to secure Oscar qualification with “Edicius” (Nation)
Nigerian-American, Uzo Oleh has partnered with British film star, Idris Elba to produce “Edicius”, an Oscars qualifying film.
The Nation exclusively gathered that Elba takes on the role of an executive producer for Oleh’s short thriller.
Speaking about his collaboration with Oleh, Elba said, “To trust our intuition is a familiar theme, but ‘Edicius’ dares to imagine the consequences of rejecting those gut instincts in a truly nightmarish tale. Uzo is a director who is one to watch.”
In a brief chat with one of the film’s crew, Chika Oleh, Edicius has already been selected for screening in a slew of film festivals including Raindance, Newport Beach, and Norwich Film Festival. Oleh also revealed that the short thriller has qualified for both the Academy Awards also known as the Oscars and the BAFTAs. Read more
Group condemns FCT administration’s failure to pay teachers’ entitlements (Guardian)
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) has condemned the failure of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to pay teachers’ entitlements.
It said funds from the federal coffers were directly and constantly remitted to the FCTA without hitches and that it was known for imposing taxes on small businesses and house owners in Abuja and therefore, it was irresponsible not to pay teachers their entitlements.
In a statement issued by its FCT, Abuja Co-ordinator, Adebowale Oluajo, it lamented that the FCTA failed to pay 2016, 2017 and 2018 promotion arrears to secondary school teachers in the FCT despite issuing several ultimatums.
“In spite of various ultimatums issued to the six council chairmen to settle outstanding entitlements of the teachers, they refused to heed the unions’ call to pay their entitlements, including 2019 and 2020 promotion arrears in some Local Education Authorities (LEAs). Read more
CNN suspends Chris Cuomo after he helped brother amid sexual harassment reports (Guardian)
CNN has suspended Chris Cuomo indefinitely after details emerged about how he helped his brother, the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, as he faced accusations of sexual harassment.
Questions have hovered over the CNN anchor’s future since the release of documents by New York’s attorney general on Monday indicated a greater involvement in his brother’s efforts than the network previously knew.
The new evidence showed that the primetime host used media contacts to glean information about women accusing his brother, the then New York governor Andrew Cuomo, of sexual harassment – then sought to make his sibling aware of forthcoming coverage.
The network said on Tuesday: “We have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation” as a result of the new details. Read more
Honduras: Ruling party concedes defeat to Xiomara Castro (DW)
The ruling National Party of Honduras on Tuesday accepted that leftist candidate Xiomara Castro had won Sunday’s presidential elections. Castro was the candidate for the Liberty and Refoundation Party (LIBRE).
With over half the votes counted, Castro had 53% support compared to her rightwing rival Nasry Asfura’s 34%, according to the National Electoral Council.
“I congratulate her for her victory,” Asfura said in a statement. “I hope that God illuminates and guides her so that her administration does the best for the benefit of all of us Hondurans, to achieve that development and the desires for democracy.”
Asfura’s recognition comes as a relief to many Hondurans who had feared another contested election similar to the 2017 debacle that sparked protests in which 23 people died. Read more
US panel backs first-of-a-kind COVID-19 pill from Merck (TimesofIsrael)
A panel of US health advisers on Tuesday narrowly backed a closely watched COVID-19 pill from Merck, setting the stage for a likely authorization of the first drug that Americans could take at home to treat the coronavirus.
The Food and Drug Administration panel voted 13-10 that the antiviral drug’s benefits outweigh its risks, including potential birth defects if used during pregnancy.
“I see this as an incredibly difficult decision with many more questions than answers,” said panel chair Dr. Lindsey Baden of Harvard Medical School, who voted in favor of the drug. He said FDA would have to carefully tailor the drug’s use for patients who stand to benefit most.
The recommendation came after hours of debate about the drug’s modest benefits and potential safety issues. Most experts backing the treatment stressed that it should not be used by anyone who is pregnant and called on FDA to recommend extra precautions before the drug is prescribed, such as pregnancy tests for women of child-bearing age. Read more
Sony producer Amy Pascal confirms Tom Holland to return as Spider-Man, hints at new MCU trilogy (TheMix)
While many have speculated that, like Tobey Maguire before him, Tom Holland’s upcoming third solo outing as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home would be his last, Sony producer Amy Pascal recently confirmed that not only is the actor set to return to the role, but that all parties involved are currently working towards a new film trilogy centered on the wall-crawler’s current cinematic iteration.
Pascal revealed Holland’s continued future as Marvel’s resident web-slinger during a November 29th interview with Fandango given in promotion of the upcoming release of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
At one point, as staff reporter Erik Davis turned to discuss Pascal’s thoughts about wrapping up “this trilogy of films in collaboration with Marvel Studios,” the producer asked if she could “say something about that,” to which Davis acceded, “Sure.”
“This is not the last [Spider-Man] movie that we are going to make with Marvel,” Pascal then enthusiastically confirmed. “We are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel.” Read more
6 injured after car crashes into Indianapolis AT&T store, female driver flees the scene (People)
Six people were injured after a Toyota RAV4 crashed into an Indianapolis AT&T store on Monday.
Public Information Officer William Young with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department told reporters that a vehicle went inside of a building in the 4300 block of Lafayette Road shortly before 4 p.m. local time.
Six people were transported to various area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.
FOX59 and the Indy Star reported store employees were among those injured, though police were unable to confirm during a press conference, as they said it was too early in the investigation to reveal that information. Read more
M16: China becomes single greatest focus for intelligence service as country accused of large-scale espionage operations against UK (Sky)
China has for the first time become the single greatest focus for MI6, with its chief warning the risk “is real” of a miscalculation by Beijing through underestimating western resolve to push back.
Pointing to Taiwan, Richard Moore said a desire by the ruling Chinese Communist Party – backed by an increasingly powerful military – to resolve a dispute over the territory’s sovereignty by force if necessary was a “serious challenge to global stability and peace”.
He also accused China of conducting “large-scale espionage operations against the UK and our allies” and he said countries globally should be “clear-eyed” when dealing with Beijing because of the potential to fall into a debt trap or to have data on their population exploited.
It is very unusual for such a senior security figure to speak in such stark terms about China. Read more
Putin comments on Biden’s bid to be president in 2024 (RT)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has lavished praise on his American counterpart Joe Biden’s decision to announce he has plans to run for another term in the White House in 2024, saying it will help stability in the US.
“As for Biden’s announcement about his possible re-election, I think he was absolutely correct to do so,” Putin said. “Because if election preparations were already beginning in America, the management of the country would suffer significantly,” he continued. “The president of the US doesn’t need my feedback, but I think he acted absolutely correctly.”
Reports began circulating earlier this month that Biden was planning a bid for a second term, and the White House confirmed his intention to run in 2024 in a statement last week. He had previously indicated during a news conference in March that he expected to run again.
As a candidate in the 2019 election, Biden refused to pledge to serve only one term, but he said he wasn’t necessarily committed to another run if he was elected in 2020. Read more
Troubles prosecution ban set for imminent introduction, says Sinn Féin (BBC)
Sinn Féin has said the UK government has given its “clearest signal yet” that it will introduce laws to ban all Troubles-related prosecutions.
The main Stormont parties and UK and Irish governments discussed Troubles legacy issues on Tuesday.
In July the government said it wanted to legislate to end Troubles-era investigations, prosecutions, inquests and civil actions.
That has been rejected by all Northern Ireland parties and victims’ groups. Read more
England women win qualifier 20-0 as Ellen White becomes all-time top goalscorer (Mirror)
Ellen White became England’s all-time top scorer after netting a hat-trick against Latvia on a famous evening in Doncaster.
Sarina Wiegman’s team hammered their opponents 20-0 in the World Cup qualifier, with four players hitting at least three goals.
One of those was Beth Mead, who opened the scoring after just three minutes to set England on their way to their biggest ever win.
The previous record was a 13-0 triumph against Hungary in 2005. Latvia have now conceded 46 goals from their five qualifiers, scoring just two. Read more
Thomas Tuchel: Andreas Christensen ‘needs to walk the talk because he tells us he loves Chelsea’ (Examiner)
Thomas Tuchel has told Andreas Christensen it is time to “walk the talk” by committing his future to Chelsea following protracted contract discussions.
Blues boss Tuchel was expecting imminent good news on the defender’s future almost two weeks ago.
But Denmark international Christensen, whose existing deal expires at the end of the season, has seemingly stalled on putting pen to paper.
The 25-year-old has been an unused substitute for the club’s last three fixtures and, ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Watford, may remain on the bench until the matter is resolved. Read more
Tiger Woods: 150th Open at St Andrews is target for 15-time major champion (BBC)
Tiger Woods says he would “love to play at St Andrews” on his “favourite course in the world” when the 150th Open is staged in the Scottish town next July.
The 45-year-old, who won two of his three Opens on the Old Course, faces a race to be fit after sustaining serious injuries in a car crash last February.
“I would love to be able to play that Open Championship, there’s no doubt. Physically, hopefully I can,” he said.
“The tournament’s not going to go anywhere, but I need to get there.” Read more
Waldrum praises NFF as Falcons round off training camp (Punch)
Super Falcons head coach, Randy Waldrum, has commended the Nigeria Football Federation for its continued support for the country’s senior women’s national football team as it concludes its nine-day training camp in Abuja.
The training camp that commenced last Monday is set to come to an end on Tuesday (today).
“I am very delighted with the support the federation has always given to the team, this has helped our work. I am happy we had this training camp as we were able to see the home-based players and the overseas-based, and everyone bonded very well. It has been a marvellous experience and the joy among the players is palpable.
“We will look to have periodic campings like this in order to be able to put forward the best of Nigeria women players for matches and championships at any time.” Read more
Lee Elder, first Black golfer to play Masters, dies aged 87 (FirstPost)
Lee Elder, who broke down racial barriers as the first Black golfer to play in the Masters and paved the way for Tiger Woods and others to follow, has died at the age of 87.
The PGA Tour announced Elder’s death, which was first reported Monday by Debert Cook of African American Golfers Digest. No cause was given, but the tour confirmed Elder’s death with his family.
He had been in poor health and wore an oxygen tube beneath his nose when he appeared at the opening of the Masters in April. The tour said he died early Sunday in Escondido, California.
A Texan who developed his game during segregated times while caddying, Elder made history in 1975 at Augusta National, which had held an all-white tournament until he received an invitation after winning the Monsanto Open the previous year. Read more
Liverpool And Arsenal legend dies at age 70 (Independent)
Former Liverpool and Arsenal player Ray Kennedy has died at the age of 70, the Merseyside club have announced.
Kennedy won three European Cups and five league titles with the Reds, whom he joined from Arsenal in 1974 having done the league and FA Cup double with the Gunners three years earlier.
A personal highlight was his pivotal away goal in the 1981 European Cup semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1984 and a testimonial game between Liverpool and Arsenal was held in 1991. Read more
Davis Cup Finals: Germans exact revenge against GB with comeback win as Dan Evans calls for rule change (Eurosport)
Two years after they lost in the quarter-finals to Great Britain in Madrid, Germany turned the tables on their opponents on Tuesday by defeating the Brits 2-1 at the very same stage to reach the Davis Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2007.
“I think you could see that after the match point, I think a lot of pressure fell off,” admitted Germany team captain Michael Kohlmann.
“I was super happy. I mean, last time was 2007, and that year actually I played. I thought this team is much better than I was at that time, so I think they deserved. So I was extremely happy and extremely proud”
Germany fell behind 0-1 in the tie before Jan-Lennard Struff came up with some clutch play to upset world No.12 Cameron Norrie 7-6(6) 3-6 6-2 and level the quarter-final. Read more
Robert Pires names the Man Utd legend who didn’t stop insulting him during Arsenal games (Metro)
Arsenal legend Robert Pires admits former Manchester United defender Gary Neville ‘knew how to unsettle him’ and didn’t stop dishing out ‘insults’ during Premier League matches.
While Pires enjoyed individual and collective success at Highbury, winning two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and receiving the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award in 2002, he struggled against United.
In the 13 games he played against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, Pires came out on top just twice, suffering seven defeats.
The French legend has described his record against Manchester United as ‘catastrophic’ and says that is largely down to Neville, who was ‘always at him’. Read more