Genevieve Nnaji reveals personal experience with SARS (Vanguard)
Since the #EndSars protests began Nollywood’s leading lady, Genevieve Nnaji has not kept quiet. While she has not made any physical outing anywhere she has made sure her voice was loud and clear.
First to feel her wrath is the governor of Rivers State Nyesome Wike who warned against any form of protest in his State. Next was President Muhhamadu Buhari, to whom she wrote an open letter which she posted on her Instagram page.
In the five paragraph letter, Genevieve gave an account of how she came to know of SARS and their unfriendly tactics.
“ My niece was harassed by SARS for carrying a laptop. Her own laptop. She was slapped across the face for simply asking why her laptop was being seized. At only 13, she had to deal with police brutality. Complaints were made and nothing was done. No one is spared and we are all affected,” she writes. Read more
Youths raise N4.1m to buy prosthetic leg for #EndSARS protester without limb (Punch)
Youths have raised ₦ 4,119,570.00 to buy a prosthetic leg for a lady who joined the #EndSARS protest in Abuja, Jane Obiene.
As of 01.15pm when our correspondent visited the donation page, 727 people had contributed.
Information on the page showed that the target was to raise ₦ 1,500,000 in 30 days but that was surpassed within three hours.
A Twitter user, Aproko Doctor @aproko_doctor, had shared the image of Obiene, asking Nigerians to donate through a link.
The image showed Obiene marching with hundreds of protesters bearing crutches.
He explained that Jane had been unemployed since 2013 over her disability among other reaons. Read more
#EndSARS protesters launch online radio, Soro Soke (Punch)
Youths calling for a total overhaul of the Nigeria Police Force have launched an online radio, Soro Soke, The PUNCH has learnt.
The channel, through effective and timely communication, is expected to aid the coordination of #EndSARS protests nationwide.
When our correspondent tuned in to the station around 1pm on Sunday, programmes and live reports of missing and found #EndSARS protesters were escalated on the radio, https://s4.radio.co/s99d55c85b/listen.
Songs calling for a reformed Nigeria were also heard on the station. Read more
EndSARS: Buhari meets Lawan, Gbajabiamila over protests (Vanguard)
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday was reported to have been in a meeting with the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila over the EndSARS protests across the nation.
This was revealed in a tweet by Bashir Ahmad, the Special Assistant to the President on New Media.
After the meeting, the NASS representatives, Lawan and Gbajabiamila, “appealed to Nigerian youth to end the #EndPoliceBrutality protests across the country as the government heard and accepted their genuine demands and working to address all of them.”
Speaking, the Senate President, Lawan said; “Since the issues [raised by the protesters] have been accepted [by the government] the time has come for the protests to stop, government needs to have time to implement the demands of the protesters”. Read more
NCC arraigns 7 suspected notorious Pirates (Guardian)
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has arrested and arraigned seven suspected and notorious pirates in Court.
Mr. John Asein, Director General (DG) of the NCC, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
(NAN) on Sunday in Yola, where he will present a copyright certificate to a prominent stakeholder in the state.
Asein said that the suspects had “terrorised” authors and owners of other intellectual works in the country.
He said that their arraignment followed intelligence reports on their activities.
“The suspects are not just ordinary people, they are people with huge volumes of piracy works and we have charged them to Court. Read more
North’s stand on SARS validates calls for restructuring – Ozekhome (Vanguard)
Renowned constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Mike Ozekhome has said the position of prominent leaders on the recent disbandment of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad, SARS, by the federal government has again validates the need to urgently restructure the country.
Ozekhome who spoke against the backdrop of remarks credited to the chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum and governor of Plateau state Simon Lalong that the North is against the dissolution of SARS, noted that in preferring to stick with SARS, the nation should now be restructured to enable the component parts decide on what works for them.
Governor Lalong had while briefing President Muhammadu Buhari recently on the issue said: “Some people said they don’t want SARS, some said they want SARS but a reformed SARS. They want a reformed SARS because as far as they are concerned, some of these SARS operatives help them in addressing insecurity. Read more
Attempt on my life during EndSARS protest pre-planned– Oyetola (Guardian)
Gov. Gboyega Oyetola of Osun on Sunday said the attempt on his life by assailants during Saturday’s protest against the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squard (SARS) in the state was pre-planned.
Oyetola, in a state broadcast on Sunday in Osogbo, said preliminary investigation revealed that the commando style in which the assailants carried out their attack justified his claim that the act was pre-planned.
According to him, the attempt on his life could not have been planned by the youths who constitute over 60 per cent of the voters who elected him into office. Read more
Operation Crocodile Smile: ASCAB threatens to drag Buratai to ICC if military kills any #EndSARS protester (Thisday)
A leading coalition of labour and civil society groups, Alliance for Survival of COVID-19 and Beyond, (ASCAB), has warned that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai or any of his men risk facing the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague if any of the #ENDSARs protesters is killed.
In a statement on Sunday by its Chairman, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), the group urged the Federal Government to withdraw plans to use soldiers to quell the protests that have rocked major cities across Nigeria.
The Nigerian Army had announced plans to commence its annual military exercise tagged Operation Crocodile Smile nationwide Tuesday. Read more
Vietnam landslide: Rescuers search for survivors at barracks (BBC)
A frantic search is under way in Vietnam to find 11 soldiers whose barracks were buried by a huge landslide as the country battles its worst floods for years.
Eleven bodies have so far been pulled from the remains of the barracks in the central province of Quang Tri.
One official says he heard landslides “exploding like bombs” in the night.
Heavy rainfall has hit much of Vietnam in the past week. Floods and landslides have killed at least 70 people. Read more
Deadly car bomb attack outside Afghanistan police headquarters (AlJazeera)
At least 12 civilians have been killed and more than 100 people wounded after a car bomb targeting an Afghan police headquarters in the western province of Ghor went off on Sunday.
The attack took place in Feroz Koh, the capital of Ghor, a province that has not seen much violence compared with some other regions of the conflict-wracked country.
The ministry of interior said the car bomb detonated in front of Ghor police headquarters at about 11am local time (06:30 GMT).
“The terrorists detonated an explosives-filled car… as a result 12 civilians were killed and more than 100 people were wounded,” the interior ministry said. Read more
NYC authorities break up 200-person party at Queens catering hall (NYPost)
The New York City Sheriff’s Office busted a party of more than 200 people who were flouting coronavirus restrictions at a Queens catering hall early Saturday.
Deputies crashed the bash at the Queens Luxe Banquet Hall on Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park at 1:35 a.m. — and said they found some 215 maskless revelers dancing, drinking and smoking hookah inside.
“Patrons were not social distancing, not wearing proper face coverings, and not adhering to the Mayoral and Gubernatorial COVID-19 Emergency Executive orders,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Read more
Dame Julie Walters reveals she wants to quit acting after cancer battle (Metro)
Dame Julie Walters reveals she has quit acting for good after battling cancer but says Mamma Mia is the only film that could entice her back. The 70-year-old screen icon was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in 2018 and battled the disease for 18 months before beating it. Her health ordeal made Dame Julie reevaluate her career and she is convinced work-related stress was responsible for her cancer.
Speaking to The Times, the actress explained: ‘The oncologist said to me, “What do you think has caused the cancer?” ‘And the first thing that came to my mind was acting. ‘Acting caused it, because of the way I approach it — I have to be totally in it. It’s very stressful. You’re being judged. It’s a stressful job and I don’t sleep when I’m working. It’s not good for me.’ Read more
Russia among top 10 countries leading global digital banking revolution (RT)
A new survey by Deloitte has found that Russian banks are among the world leaders in terms of digitalization of their services, exceeding the global average in five out of the six key indicators.
The so-called global benchmarking study on digital banking maturity provided a comprehensive outside-in ’mystery shopper’ assessment of 318 retail banks in 39 countries.
According to the report, Russia is among the top ten countries leading the way in global digital banking, along with Japan, Singapore, Norway, Spain, Belgium, Turkey, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The research showed that in terms of information availability to the client, the average value of the index in the world is 45 percent, while in Russia it is 51 per cent. Read more
Trump rally crowd chants ‘lock her up’ about Michigan Gov. Whitmer, target of alleged kidnapping plot (USAToday)
President Donald Trump slammed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during a rally in the state Saturday, prompting repeated chants of “lock her up” from the crowd weeks after the FBI foiled a kidnapping plot aimed at the Democratic leader.
“Be careful of her and her attorney general because you know they’re like in charge of the ballot stuff,” Trump said during a rally in Muskegon, Michigan. “How the hell do I put my political and our country’s political life in the hands of a pure partisan like that?”
Trump has frequently attacked Whitmer for her administration’s effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 by imposing strict lockdowns of gatherings in the state, which the Republican president believes went too far. Read more
Ariana Grande launches countdown to new album with Positions release date teaser Metro)
Ariana Grande has launched the countdown to her new album with a mysterious teaser. The singer tweeted a link to her website, which takes you to a black page with two countdowns under the word Positions.
While she didn’t confirm whether this is the album title, the countdowns suggest the single and the album will have the same title, with the former dropping first. At the time of writing we have four days to go until we hear what Ariana’s been cooking up.
It follows the teaser she posted on social media herself typing out ‘positions’ frustratingly slowly. Read more
Egyptian grandfather sets new record as the world’s oldest professional footballer (RT)
Egyptian grandfather Ezzeldin Bahader is officially the world’s oldest professional footballer after the 74-year-old completed his second full match as a pro.
Bahader’s achievement was officially recognized by Guinness World Records on Saturday event after he played for his team, “6th October,” in their 3-2 defeat to Al Ayat Sports in Egypt’s third division.
Bahader’s achievement was a welcome diversion from his performance as he missed a penalty during the game.
The former amateur player, who turns 75 on Nov. 3, netted from the spot on his debut back in March. He was all set to play in his second 90-minute outing later that month to claim the world record, but the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic put his quest – and the football season – on hold. Read more
Brighton snap up former Manchester United and Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck (Metro)
Former Manchester United, Arsenal and England striker Danny Welbeck is back in the Premier League after Brighton snapped him up on a free transfer. The 29-year-old was released by Watford earlier this month following their relegation from the Premier League and Brighton have pounced to bring him in on a one-year deal.
Welbeck, who has 42 England caps to his name, was at Watford for just one season, scoring three goals in 20 appearances across all competitions.
Across his Premier League career at United, Arsenal, Watford and a loan spell with Sunderland, Welbeck has scored 44 Premier League goals in 224 appearances. Read more
Teofimo Lopez overcomes Vasyl Lomachenko in Las Vegas (BBC)
Lomachenko by a unanimous points decision in Las Vegas to become the undisputed world lightweight champion.
The American’s win over the Ukrainian means he now adds the WBA, WBO and WBC ‘Franchise’ titles to his IBF belt.
Lopez, 23, dominated the first half of the fight and, despite a late rally by Lomachenko, was awarded a 116-112, 119-109, 117-111 win by the judges.
“I am ready to take over the world,” Lopez said. Read more
Sancho would have been allowed to go for the right fee – Watzke (Vanguard)
Jadon Sancho did not leave Borussia Dortmund for Manchester United because the Red Devils “misjudged” the situation, according to Hans-Joachim Watzke.
England winger Sancho was said to be United’s number one target during the transfer window but Dortmund refused to budge from a reported €120million asking price.
The failed lengthy pursuit led to renewed criticism of United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and his dealings in the market. Read more
Lyon back on track after Depay triple assist (Guardian)
Captain Memphis Depay set-up three goals as Lyon beat Strasbourg 3-2 away in Ligue 1 on Sunday to claim their first win since August.
Netherlands’ attacker Depay was the provider for Tino Kadewere and twice for Karl Toko Ekambi in the first half before Habib Diallo and Jean-Eudes Aholou scored for the hosts.
Depay’s side move up to eighth with their first three points since an August 28 win over Dijon. Strasbourg remain in 18th with just one victory this season.
Zimbabwe forward Kadewere opened the scoring after a quarter of an hour, firing home first time from Depay’s long ball. Read more
Alan Shearer and Ian Wright criticise Sergio Aguero for grabbing Sian Massey-Ellis (Metro)
Ian Wright and Alan Shearer have condemned Sergio Aguero after the Manchester City striker grabbed assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis during the side’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal.
Aguero was making his first appearance of the season after being sidelined for four months with a knee injury and the 32-year-old lasted 65 minutes at the Etihad on Saturday, as Raheem Sterling’s first-half strike sealed all three points for City.
The Argentine produced a tidy performance up front given his recent lack of first-team football but has received widespread criticism over an incident which took place just before half-time. Read more
