Fear grips Lagos community as six kids go missing (Punch)
At least six children have been declared missing in Idi Araba, Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State, as concerns over the safety of kids in the community grow on a daily basis.
The missing children are identified as Abdullahi Mohammed, Umairah Umar, Abubakar Sadiq, one Shittu, Abdullahi Olanrewaju and Abdulahad Ibrahim, who disappeared on Wednesday, January 27.
City Round learnt that the recurring disappearance suspected to be cases of abduction started about two years ago when four of the children went missing successively.
It was gathered that the children usually disappeared while playing with their mates within the vicinity, thereby throwing their parents into confusion.
“He was playing with his mates outside his grandma’s house on Garuba Musa Street that Wednesday,” Ibrahim’s mother, Hadiza, disclosed, her voice overwhelmed by grief. Read more
Tramadol concealed in ceramic tiles intercepted in Lagos (Nation)
The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has intercepted 554 cartons of tramadol and 989 cartons of unwholesome pharmaceutical products concealed in ceramic tiles at Lagos port.
The Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the drugs, according to the Controller of the Command, Mr. Malanta Yusuf was N223.2 million.
He said the drugs were traced from Indian to Port of Lome in Togo before it was finally shipped to Apapa port where it was intercepted.
He said: ‘’Upon 100 percent physical examination to ascertain its true contents, he said it was found to contain 554 cartons of tramadol capsules (120 milligrams) concealed with 1000 cartons of ceramic tiles. Read more
Abolore takes ‘street school’ to Oshodi boys on Valentine’s Day
(Guardian)
“Berger, Tollgate! Berger, Berger! This one don full, enter next one, enter, enter…” an amputee teenage boy wades through the busy Oshodi motor park that hot Sunday afternoon, signaling hurrying commuters into a yellow commercial bus popularly called Danfo. For him, it was just another busy day.
However, not very far from him, it was the most unique experience for the over 60 youths crouched gingerly underneath the Oshodi Bridge engaged in a practical art class. They were freely taught how to screen-print fancy patterns on t-shirts. For them, the magic was beyond receiving free shirts or learning to make them; it was the entire experience that became their perfect Valentine’s Day gift.
“You would find a lot of youths on the street in a time where there are fewer role models. I am trying to use art as a tool for social change – to lure them away from violence,” Sobayo Abolore solemnly notes.
For the art-educator, philanthropist and organiser of the Valentine Street School outreach, this is more than just a street-side masterclass; it was a step to achieving his goal of reducing the number of youth street urchins in the popular Lagos suburb. Read more
Lagos partners EbonyLife, Del-York to train filmmakers (Punch)
The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has entered into a collaboration with two creative firms, EbonyLife Media and Del-York Creative Academy, to empower thousands of filmmakers.
The ministry has officially launched the Lagos State Creative Industries Initiative which will serve as a training platform for practitioners in the creative sector on the use of modern technology, to enhance the content and quality of entertainment in the country.
At least 1,500 practitioners are set to benefit from the partnership which aims to enhance their skills and exposure.
Speaking during the week at the unveiling of the initiative, the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, said, “LACI is a continuation of Lagos State’s commitment to supporting our creative industries, as we drive towards leading Africa in this area and being recognised as a centre of excellence for filmmaking in particular. With a growing pool of practitioners with world-class skills, our creatives can build companies that provide investment and employment for our young people. Read more
Sanwo-Olu, Gbajabiamila, others renew plans on rebuilding Lagos (Nation)
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Assembly Mudashiru Obasa, and other stakeholders, have renewed strategies to rebuild Lagos in the aftermath of Coronavirus outbreak and the #EndSARS protest.
They spoke on Friday at the 16th Executive/Legislative Parley at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, with the theme ‘A Consensus Agenda for Rebuilding Lagos’.
They also urged the people to renew their minds positively so they can have a change of attitude which will help them manage and utilise public infrastructures well. Read more
Ganduje orders immediate closure of 10 boarding schools (Guardian)
Governor Abdullah Umar Ganduje has directed immediate closure of 10 boarding schools in the state as armed criminal gangs continue targeting boarding schools in the North.
Ganduje’s directive came less than 24 hours after the abduction of another 317 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Talata Mafara local Government Area of Zamfara state Thursday evening.
The auction of the Jangebe schoolgirls hit the nation’s security architecture at a time when the 42 persons, including 27 students, kidnapped from a school in Kagara in Niger State, are yet to be released by their abductors.
Kano State commissioner for education Mohammed Sanusi Kiru said the government resolved to shut the public schools which are all located outskirt of the city to ensure safety of the students. Read more
Matawalle Shuts All Boarding Schools In Zamfara (DailyTrust)
Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle on Friday ordered the closure of all boarding schools in the state.
This is as a result of the abduction of students of Government Girls Secondary School Jangebe, Talata Local Government Area of the state.
In a statewide broadcast, Matawalle said his heart is with the families of those affected by the abduction.
“My dear good people of Zamfara State, this is not a moment to trade blames. The recent twist in the spate of banditry brings to the fore the need for the adoption of a uniform strategy across all the affected states. Read more
DSS denies alleged attempt to arrest Sunday Igboho (Guardian)
About 40 security operatives including soldiers, policemen and men of the Department of State Service (DSS), yesterday, allegedly attempted to arrest a Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho along Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The incident occurred around 3.15 pm immediately after Ibadan tollgate.
The activist was said to be on his way to Lagos for a meeting with Chief Ayo Adebanjo when the security operatives allegedly overtook his convoy and attempted to whisk him away.
Sources said the activist and his boys resisted the arrest and Igboho continued his journey to Lagos. Read more
Child rights, education take centre stage at Cuppy Gold Dust conference (Guardian)
Nigerian born DJ, artist and producer, Florence Otedola, popularly known as DJ Cuppy, has harped on its renewed commitment towards achieving her goal of tackling issues surrounding child protection, education for girls and persons with disabilities. Cuppy spoke at the maiden edition of her conference, which was held virtually.
The event featured keynote and panel discussions from members of the foundation’s key partner, Save The Children, Mr. Kevin Watkins, CEO of Save The Children UK and members of other notable charity organisations in Nigeria, who gave first hand accounts of how much they have been able to achieve in the past year with help from The Cuppy Foundation. They shed light on challenges faced and how much more work needs to be done.
The conference was a follow up from the Gold Gala, which was held in 2019 and detailed the activities of the Cuppy Foundation in the past year with the funds raised. Read more
Jamal Khashoggi: US says Saudi prince approved Khashoggi killing (BBC)
A US intelligence report has found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the murder of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The report released by the Biden administration says the prince approved a plan to either “capture or kill” Khashoggi.
The US announced sanctions on dozens of Saudis but not the prince himself.
Saudi Arabia rejected the report, calling it “negative, false and unacceptable”. Read more
Daughter of NYPD cop says letter implicating police in Malcolm X’s death is fake (NYPost)
Kelly Wood, daughter of former undercover NYPD officer Raymond Wood, says “my father did not write this letter,”.
Kelly Wood, daughter of former undercover NYPD officer Raymond Wood, says “my father did not write this letter,”.G.N.Miller/NYPost
The daughter of a deceased city police officer claims a letter said to be written by her father — stating the NYPD and FBI were behind the assassination of Malcolm X — is a fraud.
Daughters of the civil rights leader teamed up with Reggie Wood, the cousin of former undercover NYPD officer Raymond Wood, last weekend at the scene of the Harlem murder to make the letter public.
Kelly Wood debunked its authenticity in an interview with NY1 on Friday.
In the letter, Raymond Wood allegedly wrote that NYPD supervisors pressured him into luring two members of Malcolm X’s security detail into committing crimes that led to their arrests, supposedly making the activist an easy target for conspiratorial gunmen at the former Audubon Ballroom in 1965.
Wood’s daughter Kelly now tells NY1 the letter was forged and her father’s cousin read it out loud to the media to gain publicity for himself. Read more
Kenya fires 174 judicial staff over misconduct (DailyTrust)
Kenya’s Judicial Service Commission has sacked 174 court staff since 2018 over gross misconduct, a top official of the judiciary said on Monday.
Chief Registrar Anne Amadi told a judicial forum for station heads in Kisumu, western Kenya, that 30 judicial staff were dismissed three years ago, 72 two years ago and 72 last year.
She said the Judiciary is concerned about the high number of staff engaging in malpractices resulting to such dismissals.
Amadi lamented that the sacked staff have left a big gap in the Judiciary leading to strained service delivery. Read more
Germany gives extra 1.5 bn euros for global vaccine rollout (Guardian)
Germany is donating an additional 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to boost the rollout of vaccines in the world’s poorest countries, the finance minister said Friday, increasing an earlier contribution of 600 million euros.
“Today we want to make clear: we stand with the poorest countries. Germany is providing a further 1.5 billion euros for Covax, WHO and others,” Olaf Scholz said in a statement.
“Vaccines are the only way out of the pandemic.”
The move was announced following a virtual G7 meeting at which leaders pledged to ensure coronavirus vaccines reach everyone in the world. Read more
Lady Gaga’s dog walker Ryan Fischer to make ‘full recovery’ (BBC)
Lady Gaga’s dog walker, who was shot by two men who attacked him and stole the US singer’s two French bulldogs, is expected to recover, his family says.
Ryan Fischer’s family says he “is receiving extraordinary care in the hospital right now and his doctors expect him to make a full recovery”.
Mr Fischer was attacked late on Wednesday in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
In her first public reaction, Lady Gaga – who is currently in Italy – tweeted on Friday: “My heart is sick.” Read more
Griddy banned from Texas power market over payment breach (NYPost)
The Texas energy company Griddy has been banned from participating in the state’s power market, according to a report.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas revoked Griddy’s rights to enter the state’s electricity market on Friday, because of a payment breach, Bloomberg reported.
Griddy had previously said it would challenge the prices set by ERCOT during the crisis.
The company has come under fire recently for spiking energy bills as high as $17,000 per customer during the deadly winter storm last week. Read more
Haiti prison escape: Hundreds of inmates flee from Croix-des-Bouquets jail (BBC)
More than 400 prisoners are on the run in Haiti after escaping from a jail near the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Authorities said 25 people following Thursday’s mass escape from the Croix-des-Bouquets prison, including the prison director.
The victims included bystanders who were caught up in the violence, officials said.
One of those who fled, a powerful gang leader named as Arnel Joseph, was killed hours after escaping. Read more
D’Tigress’ Amukamara begs FG for funds ahead of Olympics (Punch)
Point guard, Promise Amukamara, is confident in the ability of D’Tigress to compete favourably at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but has made a passionate plea to the Nigerian Basketball Federation and the Federal Government to provide adequate funds for the team, Saturday PUNCH reports.
Otis Hughley’s side will face world champions USA for the third time in as many years after the two sides were drawn in Group B along side hosts Japan and France.
“My expectation from the federation and the government is for them to provide us with the right funding so that we can prepare well for the Olympics,” Amukamara told the NBBF media team.
“I know on our schedule, we have a lot of preparatory games before the Olympics and the games will be beneficial to us. Read more
Turkish Tourney: Ihezuo relishes first goal for Waldrum’s Falcons (Nation)
Super Falcons forward Chinwendu Ihezuo is excited after scoring her first goal for the national team at the just concluded Festival Women’s Trophy otherwise known as the Turkish Women’s Cup.
The 23-year-old China-based striker was on target for the Falcons last week, scoring the teams’ only goal in their 1-0 friendly victory over CSKA Moscow Ladies at the Emir Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey.
“I will say the tournament was really good after a long time without gathering together for games,” Ihezuo told NationSport.
“For the first goal, I feel very excited and happy to score for my team. I am glad I got the opportunity and I used it effectively.”
The Henan Jianye in the Chinese Women’s Super League star also said new Falcons manager Randy Waldrum is performing well and expressed how happy she is working with the 64 year-old American. Read more
Frankfurt’s 11-match unbeaten run ended by Bremen (Guardian)
Eintracht Frankfurt’s 11-match unbeaten run came to an end on Friday, a 2-1 defeat at Werder Bremen coming just a week after they had stunned Bayern Munich.
Andre Silva gave fourth-placed Frankfurt a ninth-minute lead with his 19th Bundesliga goal of the season.
Only Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski with 26 goals has had a more prolific season.
Bremen, who started the match in 12th place after going three games without a win, levelled in the 47th minute through Czech star Theodor Gebre Selassie although the goal needed to be cleared by VAR. Read more
Kazim-Richards earns Derby point against Forest (BBC)
Colin Kazim-Richards struck a thunderous volley to earn Derby County a point in the 108th East Midlands derby, denying Nottingham Forest a third-straight win in the Championship.
Having almost given away a penalty when Yuri Ribeiro looked to have handled a shot from Kamil Jozwiak, Forest went ahead against the run of play through James Garner’s first senior goal, volleyed past David Marshall, but failed to build on that despite a string of chances.
Anthony Knockaert was at the heart of their creative play, but his header went wide and another from Garner was straight at replacement keeper Kelle Roos.
While it was still 1-0, Derby always had a chance and so it proved when, with the Rams increasing the pressure on Forest, Kazim-Richards brought the ball down, recovered a ricochet off Forest defender Tobias Figueiredo and volleyed past Brice Samba. Read more
Kevin Durant is going to be out longer than expected for Nets (NYPost)
The Nets are going to remain “The Big 3 Minus KD” for at least the next three games.
Kevin Durant will not return from his left hamstring strain until after the NBA’s All-Star break, the team announced during Friday’s practice. The determination that he needs a longer recovery period was made after a routine follow-up MRI exam.
“He’s going to be back this season,” coach Steve Nash said, “and we’ll all be grateful when that time comes — but not until he’s ready.”
It’s a quick reversal from earlier this week when Nash said he expected Durant would rejoin the red-hot Nets before the All-Star Game on March 7. What changed? Read more
WGC-Workday Championship: Brooks Koepka holds one-shot lead after day two (BBC)
American four-time major winner Brooks Koepka holds a one-shot advantage after the second round at the WGC-Workday Championship at Concession, Florida.
Koepka, 30, carded a six-under-par 66 despite bogeying the 18th to stand 11 under for the tournament.
Compatriots Billy Horschel and Collin Morikawa, and Australian Cameron Smith, are tied second going into the weekend.Rory McIlroy, bidding to complete a full set of World Golf Championship titles, is six shots off the pace. Read more