Family demands justice over man’s death during Lagos protest (Guardian)
The family of Ikechukwu Iloamauzor from Amofiabuzor Amokwe in Udi Council of Enugu State, who was killed by a stray bullet during the #EndSARS protest in Lagos on Monday, is demanding justice.
The traditional ruler of Ibagwa Nike community in Enugu East Council, Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu, an in-law to the Iloamauzor family, has called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.
Speaking to newsmen in Enugu, the monarch called on the Federal Government and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to ensure that justice was done on the matter by bringing the killers to book and paying compensation to the bereaved family.
He said that the deceased, who was not involved in the protest when he was shot, left behind nine dependents. Read more
2 ‘killed’, others injured as SUV runs into crowd (Nation)
Two persons were feared dead and many others injured on Wednesday as a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) ran into a crowd of protesters at Alagbado area of Lagos.
Footage from a viral video posted online showed two bodies being carried away by some youths.
A volunteer medical corps was deployed, especially around Amikanle area, to care for the wounded, who were moved to the Hospital.
Eyewitnesses said the silver SUV ran into the protesters in a bid to scare them off the road. Read more
LASWA begins safety awareness campaign (Punch)
The Lagos State Waterway Authority is set to embark on a massive safety awareness campaign at all major jetties and terminals in the state to sensitise ferry passengers and arouse their safety consciousness.
According to a statement signed by the General Manager, LASWA, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, the sensitisation is expected to start on Thursday (today) as officials from the agency and other safety volunteers will be at all jetties and coastal communities to enlighten passengers as regards safety during the Ember months. Read more
Residents agonise over Lagos-Badagry international highway of potholes (Guardian)
Plying the long stretch of the Lagos-Badagry expressway is torture. Sections of the road have not been graded for long let alone tarred. Added to that are the several craters that dot the road. Yet, the Mile 2-Badagry-Seme road is Nigeria’s gateway to the West African coast. Driving on it at any time of the day takes special driving skills. At night, it is a nightmare for motorists.
With no streetlights, motorists run into potholes. This forces the driver to move at snail speed, while passengers are thrown east and west as the driver meanders through the myriad of potholes.
From Mile 2 to Barracks, the road is motorable with little potholes, but from that spot onward, the deplorable state of the road stares users in the face and could only be imagined. The situation is a bit better between Okokomaiko and Ijanikin. But from Agbara, motorists move zigzag, sometimes intermittently driving against traffic to avoid gullies that could wreck the vehicle. The situation is worse when it rains. Read more
Outrage as thugs attack protesters in Lagos, Abuja, #EndSARS hits Kano (Punch)
The Nigerian Bar Association and civil rights groups on Wednesday strongly condemned hoodlums’ attacks on people protesting against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police.
Some of those who condemned the attacks, in separate interviews with The PUNCH, alleged they were the handiwork of government.
There have been protests in most parts of the country since Wednesday last week by Nigerians, mostly youths, who called for disbanding of SARS, accusing the police squad of corruption, high-handedness and harassment. Read more
New twists in anti-SARS protests (Guardian)
Nationwide protests against brutality by men of the proscribed Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) entered its sixth day yesterday with new twists and turns.
In Abuja, many of the protesters were injured as they came under severe attacks by thugs armed with dangerous weapons. This happened as protesters, numbering over 1000, occupied the Kogi State Government House.
Also yesterday, a pressure group, under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), declared that it would today (Thursday) commence indefinite protests across the 19 Northern states over the high level of insecurity and killings in the north. Read more
Governors, IG parley on raging EndSARS protests (Nation)
After publicly identifying with the EndSARS protesters, governors on Wednesday intervened in the unabating protests despite government’s concession.
They met on Wednesday in Abuja with Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu on the issue and the way forward.
They have also resolved to meet with identified leaders of the EndSARS protesters to end the street rallies.
Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo) attended rallies and spoke in support of the demands by protesters. Read more
NCC prepares to test safety of 5G (Punch)
The Nigerian Communications Commission says it is working in partnership with stakeholders to ensure the safety of 5G networks in Nigeria in preparation for the launch of the technology.
The Executive Vice President, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said the government had started working on a policy that would drive the deployment of 5G.
The EVC spoke at a tech forum themed ‘Multi-stakeholder approach to National Recovery Post-Pandemic’ on Wednesday. Read more
Central Park: Amy Cooper ‘made second racist call’ against birdwatcher (BBC)
A white woman who called police on a black man bird watching in New York’s Central Park made a second call accusing him of attempted assault, prosecutors say.
Amy Cooper appeared in court on Wednesday charged with falsely reporting an incident.
A viral video showed Ms Cooper threatening Christian Cooper, no relation, with the police when he asked her to put her dog on a lead.
This happened on 25 May, Memorial Day. Read more
Matthew Perry ‘hitting the treadmill’ to impress Meryl Streep in new A-list movie (Metro)
Matthew Perry has signed up for his first movie role in over a decade which will see him star opposite the legend Meryl Streep but joked that he needs to get into shape.
The Friends actor joins the seriously star-studded ensemble cast for comedy Don’t Look Up, which also boasts the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill and even Ariana Grande. But there’s no one who Matthew is more honoured to act alongside than the queen and three-time Oscar winner Meryl. Read more
O is good to go? Blood type plays key role in vulnerability to Covid-19, new research claims (RT)
A person’s blood type could play a key role in their vulnerability to Covid-19, with type O people less likely to catch the bug while types A and AB are most at risk, freshly released research has found.
Two independent studies published on Wednesday found that blood type O is something of a security blanket when it comes to coronavirus. Those with this blood type were found to be less likely to catch the disease and also had a reduced risk of suffering severe complications if they do get sick.
However, people with types A and AB were not so lucky, as scientists found that they were more likely to suffer more severely than people from the other two blood groups (O and B). Blood groups are defined by their numbers of antigen and antibody proteins. Read more
EU leaders weigh up hard choices over Brexit trade deal (BBC)
The threat was implicit.
On the eve of their two-day summit in Brussels, the prime minister reminded EU leaders of his words back in early September.
A trade deal had to have been agreed between the two sides by 15 October for it to be in force by the end of the year, he’d said.
If not, he added: “I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on.”
In other words – end negotiations and walk away.
Yet, Boris Johnson moved the goalpost himself on Wednesday evening. Read more
Daniel Craig’s James Bond replacement has not been found yet says producer Barbara Broccoli (BBC)
The next James Bond actor has yet to be chosen to replace Daniel Craig, producer Barbara Broccoli has confirmed.
No Time To Die will be Daniel’s final outing as the suave spy, and despite huge speculation about who could take on the role next, there is nobody in the frame just yet.
Barbara told Total Film: ‘I always say: you can only be in love with one person at a time. Read more
Coronavirus: France to impose night-time curfew to battle second wave (BBC)
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a night-time curfew in Paris and eight other cities to try to curb the rapid spread of coronavirus.
The measure – from 21:00 to 06:00 – will come into effect from Saturday and last for at least four weeks, Mr Macron said in a televised interview.
A public health emergency has also been declared. Read more
Fans disown Ice Cube for working on Trump’s ‘Platinum Plan’ for black America (RT)
Rap icon Ice Cube is getting a frosty reception from liberal fans, after the Trump campaign revealed he contributed to the president’s ‘Platinum Plan,’ a four-year investment project for the black community.
In a video posted to Twitter on Sunday, the rap megastar behind NWA’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’ said that he’d recently met with both Republicans and Democrats, and concluded that “the system” was rigged against black Americans, and that he wouldn’t join his fellow entertainers on the Joe Biden “gravy train.” Neither party, he said, had ever “done right by us.” Read more
Rohr counts positives from friendlies as Eagles set for AFCON qualifiers (Guardian)
While most Nigerians were left wondering where their beloved national team, the Super Eagles, were headed after two unflattering outings against Algeria and Tunisia in Austria, the team’s manager, Gernot Rohr is breathing easy, saying the team has given him enough reason to dream of big things.
Nigeria lost 0-1 to Algeria in the first match on Friday and managed a 1-1 draw with Tunisia on Tuesday. After the game, some analysts said the results were not as bad as the Eagles’ performances in the two games, adding that after almost five years, Rohr has not been able to give the country a team to be proud of. Read more
Said Benrahma: West Ham close in on signing Brentford winger (BBC)
Said Benrahma has already scored against Premier League opposition this season, with two goals against Fulham in the Carabao Cup
West Ham are set to complete the £30m signing of Brentford forward Said Benrahma before Friday’s transfer deadline.
It is understood the Hammers have agreed to pay £25m up front, with another £5m in add-ons.
The 25-year-old flew back from international duty with Algeria on Wednesday and is set to replace Felipe Anderson in David Moyes’ squad. Read more
Liverpool and Manchester United forced to scrap Project Big Picture (Metro)
Manchester United and Liverpool have been forced to scrap Project Big Picture after Premier League clubs rejected the proposal at an emergency meeting on Wednesday. The plan proposed a £250 million bailout for the EFL and a larger share of broadcast revenue in return for the Premier League’s top-six clubs being given significant power.
However, Premier League clubs outside the top six raised their concerns during an emergency meeting and will not push ahead with the proposal. Read more
Maguire sent off as England lose to Denmark at Wembley (BBC)
Harry Maguire’s miserable start to the season continued with a red card as England had two men sent off for the first time in their Nations League defeat by Denmark.
Manchester United’s captain suffered a 31-minute nightmare, shown a yellow card for a reckless early challenge on Yussuf Poulsen and then dismissed by Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano after he brought down Kasper Dolberg trying to retrieve his own poor touch.
England’s night got worse four minutes later when Christian Eriksen scored his 34th goal for Denmark on his 100th appearance after Kyle Walker was harshly adjudged to have fouled Thomas Delaney. Read more
Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith praises ‘brilliant’ IPL star Jofra Archer (Metro)
Steve Smith praised ‘brilliant’ England fast bowler Jofra Archer after Rajasthan Royals were beaten by Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. Archer claimed figures of 3-19 from four overs as the Royals restricted Delhi to 161-7 in Dubai on Wednesday. England all-rounder Ben Stokes then scored 41 and Jos Buttler smashed 22 from nine balls but Rajasthan still fell 13 runs short of victory as they slipped to a fifth defeat of the season. The loss sees Smith’s side remain second from bottom while Delhi Capitals return to the top of the table with six wins from their eight matches. Read more
Iceland 1-2 Belgium: Romelu Lukaku scores twice in Nations League win (BBC)
Romelu Lukaku scored twice as world number one side Belgium beat Iceland to move top of Nations League group A2.
Inter Milan striker Lukaku got both goals in the first half, one a penalty, to take him to 55 goals for Belgium.
Birkir Saevarsson had equalised for Iceland but the hosts are looking at relegation to League B after losing all four games in the group so far. Read more
Skate Canada International cancelled amid COVID-19 concerns (RT)
The second stage of the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix Series – Skate Canada International – has been cancelled amid rising Covid-19 cases in Ontario, where the event was set to take place.
The tournament organizers said that it would be impossible to stage the competition during the Covid-19 crisis, stressing that the health of participants remains their main priority.
“In consultation with the City of Ottawa and the Government of Ontario, Skate Canada made the difficult decision to cancel the event. Read more