#EndSARS protesters ask panel to summon Sanwo-Olu, Fashola, others (Nation)
The counsel for the #EndSARS protesters, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana has asked the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Enquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS related abuses and other matters to summon Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and 12 others.
He made said this in a December 9 application to panel chairman, Judge Emeritus Doris Okuwobi.
The application, seen by The Nation, said the proposed invitees could provide information concerning the Lekki shootings of October 20 or its aftermath.
The Nigerian Army has denied #EndSARS protesters allegations that it shot at, injured and killed several peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate. Read more
Suspects arrested in Kaduna for robbing businessman in Lagos (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested four suspects in Kaduna State for allegedly robbing a businessman, Sontochukwu Uzoahukwu, of his valuables at his house on Iliya Street in the Bariga area of the state.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the suspects, Daniel Yaki, 19; Junior Michael, 22; Pius Eko, 18, and Samson Yunana, 22, fled to a village in the Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State, after perpetrating the crime in Lagos State. Yaki was said to be the victim’s security guard.
In a bid to recover the stolen valuables, Uzoahukwu reported the case at the Bariga Police Division.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Thursday, said the command adopted intelligence and forensic strategies to trace the four suspects to Kaduna, where they were apprehended. Read more
Accident killed 16 travellers on Abuja-Kaduna highway, not Gunmen – Police (Vanguard)
The police command in Kaduna State has debunked the story making the rounds that gunmen killed 16 travellers on the Abuja-Kaduna highway on Tuesday.
Commissioner of Police, Umar Muri, in a statement said that the incident that happened on Tuesday, Dec. 8, was a lone accident on the Kaduna-Zaria expressway involving a commercial bus conveying 19 passengers from Kano to Abuja
He explained that the driver lost control at a point at Rigachukun, in Igabi local government area of Kaduna State and the bus summersaulted killing nine of the passengers while the 10 others sustained varying degrees of injuries. Read more
ASUU denies suspending ongoing strike (Punch)
The Academic Staff Union of Universities said it has not suspended its ongoing nine-month-old strike.
Dr. Lazarus Maigoro, Chairman of the University of Jos Chapter of ASUU disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Jos.
According to him, the union has not signed any agreement with the Federal Government to call off the strike as being purported in some quarters. Read more
Nigeria ambassador in US Nsofor dies (Guardian)
Nigeria’s ambassador in the United State Justice Sylvanus Adiewere Nsofor is dead.
Nsofor, aged 85-year-old, died in the United States where he served Nigeria.
Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari appointed Nsofor an ambassador in 2017.
Buhari on Friday commiserated with Nsofor’s family, friends and associates over his demise.
In a telephone call to Jane Nsofor, the widow of the retired justice in New York on Friday, Buhari described Nsofor as “an outstanding judge of rare courage and truth who is not afraid to give justice to whom justice is due.” Read more
Nigeria to access vaccine from Jan, says Okonjo-Iweala (Nation)
Chair of the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has assured that Nigeria and other African countries will have access to COVID-19 vaccines from the end of January.
A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Okonjo-Iweala as making this statement during a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama on Wednesday.
“As long as one person has it in the world, no one is safe. And that is why poorer countries, lower-middle-income countries like Nigeria, need to get it as quickly as possible,” she was quoted as saying.
Okonjo-Iweala is currently the African Union special envoy on mobilising international economic support for the continental fight against COVID-19 and Nigeria’s candidate for the position of World Trade Organisation director-general. Read more
Court rejects FG’s request to mask witnesses in Sowore, Bakare’s trial (Vanguard)
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, rejected an application the Federal Government filed to be allowed to mask all the witnesses that are billed to testify against convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Mr Omoleye Sowore, and his co-Defendant, Olawole Bakare.
Sowore, who was the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in the last general election and Bakare are answering to an amended two-count treasonable felony charge.
The Defendants were alleged to have conspired to stage a revolution campaign on August 5, 2019, tagged “#Revolution Now”, aimed at removing President Muhammadu Buhari from office as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during his term of office, otherwise than by constitutional means. Read more
Dutch TV Documentary: Our staff are not involved in pipeline vandalism- Shell (Guardian)
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) says the allegations in a Dutch Television documentary that its staff were involved in pipeline vandalism for personal gains lacks evidence.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that a Dutch Television in a documentary produced in collaboration with an environmental rights group, Milieudefensie, and aired on Thursday alleged that staff of SPDC benefit from vandalism of assets.
Reacting to the alleged complicity of staff, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, SPDC’s Media Relations Manager told NAN on Friday that there was no report of any staff involved in vandalism before it adding that when there was any evidence, the oil firm would investigate it. Read more
Harrison Ford returns as Indiana Jones for fifth and final episode (BBC)
US actor Harrison Ford is to reprise his role as adventurer Indiana Jones in the Disney movie franchise.
The film, to be directed by James Mangold, is to be the 78-year-old actor’s fifth and final instalment as Indy.
Disney made the announcement in a virtual presentation to investors where it also unveiled plans for Star Wars series spin-offs and Marvel series.
The film is due for release in July 2022.
In a 2013 interview, Harrison Ford said it was “perfectly appropriate” for him to return as the adventurer.
“We’ve seen the character develop and grow over a period of time and it’s perfectly appropriate and OK for him to come back again with a great movie around him,” he said at the time, stressing that Indiana Jones did not have to be so action-oriented. Read more
Black ballerina ‘told to whiten her skin to “blend in” with Swan Lake performance’ (Metro)
A black ballet dancer has claimed an instructor told her to whiten her skin to ‘blend in’ for performances.
Chloé Lopes Gomes was the first black dancer hired by the prestigious German ballet company Staatsballet in 2018.
But she told the Guardian she was the victim of racism almost straight away.
The 29-year-old claims her instructor demanded that she use makeup to whiten her skin for Swan Lake and refused to give her a white veil along with everyone else because of the colour of her skin.
The French ballerina did not speak English or German when she first went to work in Berlin, but was able to communicate with her instructor in Russian as she had trained at Russia’s prestigious Bolshoi Ballet. Read more
4 aid workers killed in Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis (BBC)
Four aid workers were killed last month during fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, aid agencies say.
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) reported the deaths of three security guards, while the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said one of its staff members had been killed.
Government forces have been battling the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the region since 4 November.
The government says it is in control of Tigray and the conflict is over.
But TPLF leaders say they are still fighting on various fronts. Read more
Ex-bin Laden henchman freed from NJ prison after judge deems him too fat for jail (NYPost)
A former Osama bin Laden henchman convicted in two deadly 1998 bombings is free and living in the UK this week after being released early — thanks to a Manhattan federal judge who agreed the terrorist was way too obese to survive the coronavirus behind bars.
Adel Abdel Bary, 60, had spent 21 years in a New Jersey prison for his role in the 1998 al Qaeda bombings of two US embassies in Africa that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.
“Defendant’s obesity and somewhat advanced age make COVID-19 significantly more risky to him than to the average person,” US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan wrote in granting the release. Read more
No-deal Brexit is ‘very, very likely,’ UK’s Johnson says (RT)
A no-deal Brexit is now the likeliest outcome from trade talks between Britain and the European Union, PM Boris Johnson said on Friday, and top EU officials are reported to have the same view as the Sunday deadline looms.
Britain still has “teams” in Brussels negotiating the post-Brexit trade agreement, Johnson said during a visit to Blyth in Northumberland. “And if there is a big offer, a big change in what they are saying, then I must say that I’ve yet to see it,” he said.
However, he explained that two key unresolved things remain in the talks. One is a “kind of ratchet clause” to keep the UK “locked in to whatever they want to do in terms of legislation,” and the other is “the whole issue of fish” as the UK wants “to take back control of our waters.” Read more
Facebook workers not required to get COVID vaccine before office return (NYPost)
Facebook’s tens of thousands of employees will not be required to take the coronavirus vaccine before heading back to work in the social-media titan’s offices, a report said Thursday.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement when asked during an all-hands meeting Thursday how the coming vaccine would affect the company’s day-to-day operations, The Daily Beast reported, citing an anonymous source familiar with the huddle.
Zuckerberg reportedly said that the company’s more than 50,000 employees would not be compelled to get the shot as a prerequisite for returning to its offices around the world.
In fact, he said, some Facebook workers have already returned to office life in countries where the coronavirus is on the decline. Read more
“Sound of Metal” praised for depiction of deafness (CBC)
“No holds barred.”
That’s the way deaf actor Chelsea Lee explained what it was like to work with Riz Ahmed during the filming of Sound of Metal.
In the movie, Ahmed plays Ruben, a heavy metal drummer who is rapidly losing his hearing and reluctantly learns sign language while staying at a rehabilitation clinic for members of the deaf community.
The actor, known for roles in films such as Rogue One and Nightcrawler, spent six months studying American Sign Language (ASL) with instructor Jeremy Lee Stone for the role.
Lee, who plays Ruben’s roommate, Jenn, quickly gelled with Ahmed and worked with him to improve his sign language skills.
“To go from zero to 60 in such a short amount of time is evident of his passion and his ability,” she said. Read more
Why Nigerians see Anthony Joshua as one of their own (BBC)
On Saturday evening in London, Anthony Joshua will step in to a boxing ring for the first time in a year as he faces Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev.
With the global Covid-19 pandemic taking its toll on sport just 1,000 lucky fans will be in the SSE Arena to see Joshua defend his three heavyweight titles.
While the arena will be virtually empty, millions of fans around the world will be following the fight on radio or TV and it is fair to say he will be getting a lot of virtual support from Nigeria.
The 31-year-old may have won his Olympic gold for Great Britain but he is also an idol in Nigeria, and nowhere more so than he quiet south-western town of Sagamu, where his family originates from. Read more
Europa: Kayode among top scorers as Chukwueze’s Villareal make record (Punch)
Super Eagles’ striker, Kayode Idowu, has ranked among the top scorers in the 2020 UEFA Europa League.
Though Pizzi of Benfica and Lille’s Yusuf Yazıcı top the scoring chart with six goals each, Olarenwaju Kayode, who plays for Sivasspor, has scored four goals to rank among the top scorers.
On his part, Pizzi ended the UEFA Europa League group stage at the top of the competition’s scoring charts after coming off the bench to grab his sixth goal.
According to UEFA, the Europa League leading scorers after the completion of the group stages on Thursday are – 6: Pizzi (Benfica), Yazici (Lille); 5: Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen), Ishak (Lech Poznan), Julis (Sparta Prague), Malen (PSV Eindhoven), Nunez (Benfica); 4: Acolatse (Hapoel Beer Sheva), Dabour (Hoffenheim), Gouiri (Nice), Kayode (Sivasspor), Liendl (Wolfsberg), Manu (Ludogorets), Nsame (Young Boys), Paco Alcacer (Villarreal). Read more
Real aim to end Atletico’s unbeaten start in Madrid derby (Guardian)
Real Madrid, having avoided a disastrous Champions League exit, face city rivals Atletico on Saturday looking suddenly well-equipped to ruin their unbeaten run.
Karim Benzema scored twice against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday to end any fears that Real would fail to progress to the group stage after they had started the match with their hopes in the balance.
With Sergio Ramos back to lead the defence and Benzema clinical in front of goal, Real eventually went through as group winners with a comfortable 2-0 victory meaning they will avoid many of the big guns in the last 16 draw.
Coach Zinedine Zidane, whose job has been the subject of speculation after a turbulent start to the season, seems safe for now. Read more
Steve Bruce says Newcastle missing ‘big chunk’ of players for West Brom game (BBC)
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce will be without a “big chunk” of his squad for Saturday’s game with West Brom because of the club’s coronavirus outbreak.
The Magpies’ match against Aston Villa on 4 December was postponed because of a rise in cases, and their training ground was shut down for over a week.
Bruce would not reveal how many players had the virus, but said it was a “significant number” of people.
He also mentioned two staff who are “really poorly”. Read more
Edo govt dissolves all sub-committees for Nat’l Sports Festival (Thisday)
Edo State government on Thursday dissolved all the sub-committees set up for the organisation of the National Sports Festival (NSF), tagged: Edo 2020.
The dissolution of the committees was contained in a letter dated December 9, by the Secretary of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the festival, Dr Emmanuel Igbinosa which was obtained by THISDAY.
The letter based the dissolution on the fact that no actual date has been fixed for the festival by the Federal Government.
The National Sports Festival earlier scheduled to hold between March 22 to April 1, suffered several postponement owing to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. Read more
Inter Milan seek Serie A lift after Euro flop (Guardian)
Inter Milan turn their focus back to Serie A after their Champions League flop with a trip to Cagliari awaiting on Sunday following their group stage exit midweek.
“There’s no time to sit and mope,” warned captain Samir Handanovic with his side out of Europe after finishing bottom of their Champions League group.
Antonio Conte’s side are second in Serie A, five points behind leaders AC Milan, with the two city rivals trying to deny Juventus a 10th consecutive league title. Read more
Manchester City set to block Arsenal’s move for John Stones (Metro) Manchester City have no intention of entertaining Arsenal’s interest in defender John Stones and will offer the England international a new deal to stay at the Etihad. Stones’ current deal expires in 2022 and Arteta has always been an admirer of the former Everton centre-back, who he worked with for three years before moving to the Emirates. Arteta wants both of his centre-backs to be comfortable in possession and to be able to bring the ball out of defence, which he feels he’s found in Gabriel since the defender joined from Lille in a £22million deal. The Spaniard had been keen to pair Gabriel with a right-sided centre-back and he has long admired Stones’ ability to take responsibility in building from the back. Read more
