#EndSARS: Panel demands autopsy for slain policeman (Punch)
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing allegations of rights abuses against the police, on Friday, directed Mrs Olamide Erinfolami, the widow of Inspector Ayodeji Erinfolami, who was killed during the #EndSARS protest, to visit the pathologist for a post-mortem evaluation on her husband’s remains.
Ayodeji was shot on the stomach on October 12, 2020, in the Surulere area of Lagos during the #EndSARS protest and the widow had alleged that her husband was shot by one of his fellow policemen.
At the last sitting of the panel, the widow’s counsel, Mr Gbemiga Ogunleye, had prayed the panel to order the police to immediately conduct an autopsy and release the remains of the deceased for burial so that the family could get a closure while the counsel for the police, Cyril Ejiofor, told the panel the police would call at least one witness.
However, at the resumed sitting on Friday, Ejiofor informed the panel that the police witness was not available and requested a short adjournment. Read more
COVID-19 violation: Club VICTORIA boss begs Lagos governor, others over closure (Guardian)
The management of Club VICTORIA in Lagos has appealed to the Lagos State Government to kindly reconsider the closure of the facility following a violation of the COVID-19 protocols.
The Lagos State Police Command had last Saturday raided the club located at Ajose Adeogun, Victoria Island and arrested some clubbers and strippers at the club.
But the club’s Executive Chairman, Bruno Roy Owede, in a statement issued on Friday, described the incident as gross managerial misconduct, stressing that the management has enforced disciplinary procedures against the affected workers.
“On behalf of the entire board and management of Club VICTORIA, we are deeply sorry for the unpleasant events of Friday, 8th of January 2021, which has put our brand in the headlines for the wrong reasons,” read the statement. Read more
Lagos-East By-election: Sen Abiru urges court to quash PDP’s challenge (Vanguard)
The Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Mr Tokunbo Abiru, yesterday asked a Federal High, Court, sitting in Lagos to dismiss a challenge on his eligibility for the office.
Abiru, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), told Justice Chuka Obiozor that the suit, filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the last December 5 senatorial bye-election, Ademola Gbadamosi, was incompetent, defective and ought to be struck out.
Gbadamosi, the plaintiff, claimed that Abiru was ineligible for the election on grounds of alleged double voter registration and indigeneship. But Abiru, who won the election by a landslide, polling 89,204 votes against Gbadamosi’s 11,257 votes, argued his objection in the suit through his counsel Mr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN. Read more
Suspected sea pirates arrested for kidnapping four Americans (Punch)
Three suspected sea pirates have been arrested in Bayelsa and Rivers states in connection with the kidnapping of four expatriates from the United States of America.
The suspects – Tony Ebiyepade, General Karinatei Timidiseghe and Godbless Oruboro – were reportedly tracked down through leaked telephone conversations.
They allegedly specialised in kidnapping expatriates and collecting huge sums for their release.
City Round learnt that detectives from the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team began tracking the syndicate in August 2020, which consequently led to the arrest of a member. Read more
COVID-19: Schools in Edo to remain closed till Feb. 1 – Obaseki (Guardian)
Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo has said that schools in the state will remain closed until Feb. 1, as the state grapples with the second wave of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Obaseki stated this at a news conference on Friday in Benin, as most states across the federation gear up to reopen schools on Jan. 18.
”We have decided that schools will not reopen for now; this situation will be reviewed by Feb. 1.
”We will like our own schools to reopen on Feb. 1, depending on the situation at that point in time. Read more
Robbers shoot Rivers female victim for resisting rape (Punch)
Some gunmen suspected to be armed robbers on Wednesday shot their female victim for allegedly resisting a rape attempt on her at Agip Flyover, Rumueme, in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, near the Rivers State College of Health Sciences and Management Technology.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim was found in a pool of blood and taken to a medical centre, where she was resuscitated.
Speaking to our correspondent in Port Harcourt on Thursday, the President of the Student Union Government, Rivers State College of Health Sciences and Management Technology, Igwe ThankGod, said security guards of the college, who were attracted to the gunshot sound, found the victim and administered first aid to her before the arrival of the police. Read more
Foundation empowers business owners living with disabilities (Guardian)
A non-governmental organisation, Keeping It Real (KIR) Foundation, in partnership with ‘We Will Rise Initiative,’ has empowered 15 small business owners with disabilities in the ICT sector with two small generators, eight laptops, three printers, three rework stations, two mobile phones and registration on an online platform for VTU and payment of bills to scale up their businesses.
The recipients were 12 mobility challenged, one deaf, and one blind and one visually impaired engaged in running business centres, repair of phones and computers and selling of recharge cards.
One of the recipients, Amadi Henry, who got a small generator and printer and has been running his business centre since 2016, said with COVID-19, business had been really slow and the fact that he did not have a functional generator made it the more difficult. Read more
2 houses destroyed, 4 cars burnt as Police wade into Anambra community clash (Vanguard)
The Anambra State Police Command has waded into an attack by rival groups in Nkerehi in Orumba South local government area with a view to making peace between the two groups.
Two houses were destroyed and four cars vandalized during the midnight attack.
It was not clear what caused the attack, but an indigene of the community, Hon Marcel Ike told Saturday Vanguard that the victims were taken by surprise, alleging that those who caused the trouble were supporters of a governorship aspirant from the community, whose brother he was also positioning to be the traditional ruler of the town.
According to Ike, the Anambra commissioner of police had been notified of the incident, adding that policemen were already on ground at Nkerehi to restore peace. Read more
Prince Harry reportedly heartbroken over rift with Royal Family (CBC)
Britain’s Prince Harry is heartbroken over his split with the Royal Family, but he and his wife, Meghan, are happy in their new lives in the United States, broadcaster and confidant to the couple Tom Bradby said in an interview to be aired on Saturday.
Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, moved to Los Angeles with baby son Archie last year after they gave up their official royal roles following disagreements with other family members and in the face of huge media attention.
“I think he is heartbroken by the situation with his family,” Bradby said in an interview for ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh show.
“But are they unhappy out there? No, I don’t think that’s right, I think they are pretty happy actually, but I think they wrestle with their position in life, I think they all do.” Read more
Ovarian cancer pill breakthrough as ‘major milestone’ drug approved for patients (Metro)
A ‘major milestone’ drug to treat ovarian cancer will now be accessible for thousands of women across England. Patients newly diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer will be offered the pill to delay the progression of the deadly disease. Following new guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), the drug – known as niraparib – will be available to those with stage III and IV ovarian cancer from their first round of treatment. Previously, it was only available to a smaller group of patients whose cancer had come back after treatment. Read more
Abbas announces first Palestinian elections in more than 15 years (France24)
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Friday announced dates for the first Palestinian elections in more than 15 years, setting legislative polls for May 22 and a July 31 presidential vote.
Abbas’s Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority based in the occupied West Bank, and the Hamas Islamists, who hold power in Gaza, have for years expressed interest in taking Palestinians back to the polls.
A long-standing rivalry between the two main Palestinian factions was seen as a leading factor in stalling progress towards a new vote.
But Fatah and Hamas have been engaged in unity talks in recent months, reaching an agreement in principle in September to hold elections in 2021. Read more
“One Night In Miami”: Regina King brings four Black icons to life in captivating directorial debut (Metro)
We’ll never know exactly what happened when Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Cassius Clay (Muhammed Ali) and Jim Brown hung out together in a hotel room in 1964, but Regina King’s One Night In Miami does a wonderful job imagining the conversation. Based on the stage play of the same name by Kemp Power, the film follows the events that took place on February 25 when young Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) emerged from the Miami Beach Convention Center the new World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. Against all odds, he defeated Sonny Liston and shocked the sports world. As crowds of people swarm Miami Beach to celebrate the match, Clay is unable to stay on the island because of Jim Crow-era segregation laws. Instead, he spends the night at the Hampton House Motel in one of Miami’s historically black neighborhoods celebrating with three of his closest friends: activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and football star Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge). Read more
UK to close all travel corridors from Monday (BBC)
The UK is to close all travel corridors from Monday morning to “protect against the risk of as yet unidentified new strains” of Covid, the PM has said.
Anyone flying into the country from overseas will have to show proof of a negative Covid test before setting off.
It comes as a ban on travellers from South America and Portugal came into force on Friday over concerns about a new variant identified in Brazil.
Boris Johnson said the new rules would be in place until at least 15 February. Read more
EU states express ‘severe concern’ as Pfizer temporarily reduces COVID-19 vaccine deliveries (France24)
A global coronavirus vaccine rollout suffered a major blow Friday as Pfizer said it would delay shipments of the jabs in the next three to four weeks due to works at its key plant in Belgium.
Pfizer said the modifications at the Puurs factory were necessary in order to ramp up its production capacity from mid-February of the vaccine developed with Germany’s BioNTech.
There will be “a significant increase” in deliveries in late February and March, the US group promised.
Six European Union health ministers on Friday signed a letter to the European Commission to express “severe concern” over delivery delays for the coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. Read more
Man with huge tattoo of Boris Johnson says he’ll ‘never regret it’ (Metro)
A man got a huge picture of Boris Johnson tattooed on his stomach and said he has no regrets about it. Kenny Wilding, 42, used the bizarre tattoo to fund-raise money for a family friend with stage-four rectal cancer to be sent to the US for a clinical trial showing promising results. Megan Smith’s family are hoping to raise £150,000 to help the 25-year-old who was diagnosed with the life-threatening disease in January 2019. Mr Wilding, from Kidderminster Worcestershire, said he wanted to ‘do something to help’ Ms Smith in her ‘last chance of survival’ and thought a tattoo of Boris Johnson would ‘raise a lot of money’. Read more
MLS is just one of many options for Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo (BBC)
Odion Ighalo’s representatives are exploring many options for the Manchester United striker this transfer window with the Nigerian attracting interest from clubs in the Premier League, Europe and Middle East.
The 31-year-old’s loan spell at Old Trafford from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua expires at the end of this month and he has not ruled out a move to Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States.
But his representatives, who have held talks with clubs in England and Europe, have quickly tried to cool talk of him being linked with a move stateside, insisting MLS is just one of many options.
“I can confirm that some Premier League clubs, two teams outside of England and some clubs in the Middle East have made formal enquiries,” one of his representatives told BBC Sport Africa. Read more
Wizards appoint Amber Nichols as NBA G League’s 2nd female GM (CBC)
Amber Nichols is the NBA G League’s second female general manager after the Washington Wizards promoted her to that job with the Capital City Go-Go on Friday.
Nichols, who played four years of college basketball at Richmond, has been with the Go-Go since the team’s inception. She managed its logistics the past two seasons and has worked with the Wizards’ front office during NBA and G League drafts and scouting events.
“Couldn’t be prouder. Amber deserves it,” Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard said on a video conference call. “She originally came to the Wizards as an intern; worked her way up.” Read more
Paris St-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino tests positive for Covid-19 (BBC)
Paris St-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino has tested positive for coronavirus and is set to miss his side’s next two league games.
The former Tottenham boss, 48, took over earlier this month and won a trophy in only his third game in charge as PSG beat Marseille to win the Trophee des Champions on Wednesday.
PGS face Angers on Saturday in Ligue 1 and Montpellier on Friday, 22 January.
A club statement said Pochettino had returned a confirmed positive test.
“He will therefore respect isolation and is subject to the appropriate health protocol,” it added. Read more
Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney appointed Derby County manager (Metro)
Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney has been appointed Derby County manager on a permanent basis. Rooney has been acting as interim manager since the end of November but has now signed a two-and-a-half year contract to be the club’s permanent boss. When Rooney took over at Derby, the Championship club had won just one of their first 13 games of the 2020/21 season. Since then, the Rams have lost just twice in nine matches and can move out of the relegation zone if they beat Rotherham in Rooney’s first match as the permanent manager on Saturday. Read more
Tennis stars’ arrival angers stranded Australians (BBC)
The sight of some of the world’s biggest tennis stars touching down for the upcoming Australian Open tournament has frustrated many Australians unable to return home due to the pandemic.
Australia currently has a cap on the number of international arrivals, with people having to undergo quarantine in a designated facility.
There are roughly 37,000 Australians waiting to return, ABC news reports.
A number of airlines have suspended routes making it harder to travel back. Read more
Jose Mourinho responds to Marcus Rashford’s Manchester United penalties claim (Metro)
Jose Mourinho suggested he is not responsible for Manchester United’s high penalty win rate, despite Marcus Rashford’s claims he taught players to be more ‘savvy’. The number of penalties won by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side has become a major bone of contention ahead of their Premier League clash with Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp brought up United’s high volume of penalties after defeat against Southampton earlier this month – where Sadio Mane was denied two penalties in a 1-0 loss. ‘I hear now that Manchester United had more penalties in two years than I had in five and a half years,’ Klopp said. ‘I’ve no idea if that’s my fault, or how that can happen.’ Read more