Gridlock builds as trailer overturns on Otedola bridge (Punch)
A trailer carrying a crane on Thursday overturned on the Otedola bridge near the Alausa secretariat in Lagos causing traffic to build in the area.
Our correspondent who passed by the bridge noticed that security operatives consisting of the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Army, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority were present at the scene
All vehicular movement from secretariat have been diverted from the Lagos-Ibadan expressway to CMD-Magodo road to link underneath Otedola bridge back to Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
According to reports, there was no death recorded but the driver of the trailer sustained an injury on his right ankle. Read more
13 Chibok rescued girls-turned mothers unveiled as rehabilitation of victims takes centre stage (Guardian)
The rehabilitation and reintegration of women and children victims of the years-long Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast region of Nigeria is receiving accelerated attention.
This is just as 14 rescued members of the abducted Chibok girls, but one was united and unveiled for the first time after their escape or capture by troops of the Nigeria Army.
The fourteenth escapee could not join her other lucky colleagues as she was put to bed weeks back in Maiduguri.
In her remarks during the unveiling of the young women, who are now mothers, Borno State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, said the rescued victims have been undergoing rehabilitation.
She noted that her ministry initiated action through mental health and psycho-social support, stressing that the Borno Model of integration had ensured that the victims are regaining their normal frame of mind and sense of society. Read more
IGP bars police officers from carrying lethal weapons at polling booths (Tribune)
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, has said that on no account should policemen carry lethal weapons like guns at the venue of political events or voting centres/polling booths during the 2023 electioneering campaign and elections, except batons.
In his lecture, titled, “Engendering Security and Public Safety Among Stakeholders Towards Peaceful 2023 General Elections in Nigeria,” at the maiden distinguished personality lecture of the Centre for Peace and Security Studies of the faith-based varsity, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin on Thursday, the IGP also said that Police is the major actor in providing security in the conduct of elections, “in collaboration with other sister agency and some relevant stakeholders.”
The IGP, who said that involvement of Police at political gatherings shall be limited to the maintenance of peace and orders and enforcement of extant laws, added that “Officers shall at all times exercise maximum restraint while covering political gathering or deployed at voting/collation centres”.
Represented by the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Zone 8, Lokoja, Mr. Ashafa Adekunle, the IGP also said, “Police personnel shall use tact and persuasions to resolve issues when dealing with or confronted by agitated persons, and avoid escalation where there is tension.” Read more
Anchor University celebrates excellence at 2nd convocation (Guardian)
Anchor University, Ayobo, Lagos is set to graduate two academic sets of 2021 and 2022 at a convocation ceremony slated for the school premises on December 8 and 9.
To mark the forthcoming second ceremony, Anchor University management has lined up a series of events.
Commenting on the ceremony, the Registrar, Mr Moses Salami, dubbed this year’s convocation as a celebration of excellence, saying the programme is loaded with a series of events to showcase the graduating students as peculiar pearls and the uniqueness of the institution.
Salami stated that the three-day ceremony will kick-start with a media briefing on December 6, while the convocation lecture titled: ‘Building A Culture of Entrepreneurship As The Panacea For Youth Unemployment’, is scheduled for December 8; as Chief Executive Officer, Stanel Group, Dr Stanley Uzochukwu, is billed to deliver a lecture at the occasion. Read more
World AIDS Day: 2.7m young people living with HIV – UNICEF (Vanguard)
As the world marked International AIDS Day on Thursday, UNICEF has raised alarm over the neglect of HIV/AIDS treatment in children, saying the battle against HIV/AIDS was yet to be won.
UNICEF made this known on Thursday in a statement made available by the Communication Officer of UNICEF Enugu field office, Mrs Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe on the sideline of World AIDS Day.
The statement said around 110,000 children and adolescents between the ages of 19 years died from AIDS-related causes in 2021, while another 310,000 were newly infected, bringing the total number of young people living with HIV to 2.7 million.
UNICEF warns that progress in HIV prevention and treatment for children, adolescents, and pregnant women has nearly flattened over the past three years, with many regions still not at pre-COVID-19 service coverage, “This comes on top of an existing and growing gap in treatment between children and adults. Read more
Kano eases transportation challenges, offers 50 cars to tricycle operators (ThisDay)
The Kano State Government has offered 50 Toyota Corolla cars to tricycle and commercial taxis operators, for the public transport system in the metropolis.
The Managing Director of Kano State Investment and Properties, Dr. Jubrilla Mohammad, disclosed this to journalists yesterday immediately after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government and leadership of tricycle and taxis operators.
Mohammad said the intervention is to ease the pain of commuters as a result of restrictions placed on tricycles.
He explained the intention of the government to transform Kano into a mega city required a reformation of its public transport system, which warranted the restriction of tricycle operations in some areas of the metropolis. Read more
Alleged Defamation: Aisha Buhari to testify against university student (Channels)
The First Lady of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari, is billed to testify against Aminu Adamu, a student of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, for allegedly defaming her.
Mr Adamu was alleged to have published a defamatory statement on his Twitter handle against Mrs Buhari.
The tweet was posted on 8 June but Mr Adamu was trailed by a team of detectives and arrested on November 18 at Dutse, Jigawa State and brought to Abuja.
The police says the alleged offence bordering on defamation and cyberstalking, contravened Section 391 of the Penal Code. Read more
Court nullifies Abia APGA governorship primary (Independent)
Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, nullified the Abia APGA Governorship Primary election held on
May 29, 2022.
Consequently, the trial judge has ordered that a fresh primary election be conducted within 14 days.
Justice Nyako made the order in a judgment on a suit filed by Chief Chikwe Udensi challenging the outcome of the APGA gubernatorial primary election, purportedly won by Professor Greg Ibe.
The judge observed that from the evidence and testimonies of witnesses, the May 29 APGA gubernatorial primary election in Abia state was “flawed and marred by irregularities”. Read more
Harry and Meghan’s intimate pictures released as part of Netflix trailer (Metro)
A trailer for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s upcoming Netflix documentary has appeared online.
It’s the first glimpse of the highly anticipated series which the couple have been working on since moving to the US.
The minute-long teaser features private photographs of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the first shots of them speaking to the camera.
Harry is seen saying: ‘No one sees what’s happening behind closed doors…I had to do everything I could to protect my family.’ Read more
Will Smith joined by Jada Pinkett Smith and glamorously dressed children for first red carpet post-Oscars (Standard)
Will Smith’s family put on a sparkling front last night, as they rallied together to support the actor at his first red carpet appearance since the Oscars eight months ago.
The actor, who infamously slapped 2022’s Academy Awards host Chris Rock, put on a spotless display as his career comeback begins, and he promotes his new film, “Emancipation”. It began confidently at yesterday’s LA premiere.
All five pulled out the stops, led by Will in a three-piece burgundy suit and a light pink shirt which featured a statement, deconstructed collar and diamond fastening. For a little symmetry, his eldest son Trey, whose mother is Will’s former wife Sheree Zampino, picked a matching colour overcoat paired with a pink sweater and navy slacks. Read more
Brendan Fraser defends wearing prosthetics to play obese man in The Whale (NME)
Brendan Fraser has defended wearing prosthetics to play an obese man in “The Whale”.
The actor stars in Darren Aronofsky’s new A24 film as Charlie, a reclusive writing instructor who weighs 600 lbs.
Fraser recently praised the process and said he would “absolutely” be willing to transform for another role in future.
“I think it’s one of the more exacting ways you can create a character and body,” the actor told People of the process. Read more
YouTube reveals top 10 US songs streamed in 2022 (Variety)
Disney’s “Encanto” has conjured more musical magic — notching two spots on YouTube’s Top 10 Songs list in the US for 2022.
Breakout hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” performed by the “Encanto” cast, took the No. 1 spot overall on the YouTube year-end ranking. The animated movie’s “Surface Pressure,” performed by Jessica Darrow, landed at No. 3.
The soundtrack to “Encanto,” which premiered on Disney+ in December 2021, features eight original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks — and was the first song from a Disney movie to hit No. 1 in nearly three decades (since “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin” did so in 1993).
Globally on YouTube, the official “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” music video has racked up more than 500 million views since it was uploaded Dec. 29, 2021, and the video for “Surface Pressure,” uploaded Dec. 24, 2021, has more than 290 million views. Read more
Drake reveals the artiste he’s listened to most in 2022 (HipHopDX)
Drake has revealed the artist he’s listened to most in 2022.
With Spotify unveiling its 2022 Wrapped feature on Wednesday (November 30), Drizzy took to his Instagram Stories to reveal 2Pac was his most-played artist of the year on the streaming platform.
The OVO Sound boss listened to ‘2 Pac for a total of 246 minutes and was among the top seven percent of the late rapper’s listeners in 2022.
As for Drake himself, he was the most-streamed artist on Spotify in the U.S. this year, while also being the third most-streamed artist globally behind Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift. Read more
Top Royal aide Lady Susan Hussey resigns over ”racist” exchange with charity boss Ngozi Fulani (Sky)
The Queen’s longest-serving lady-in-waiting has stood down after she repeatedly questioned a black British charity boss about where she was “really from”.
Lady Susan Hussey, Queen Elizabeth II’s close confidante and godmother to Prince William, allegedly probed Ngozi Fulani about her nationality at a palace reception on Tuesday.
Ms Fulani, founder of domestic violence charity Sistah Space, was one of 300 guests invited to the event which celebrated campaigners who work to eradicate violence against women.
In a post shared to Twitter the following day, Ms Fulani claimed she was approached by Lady Hussey who moved her hair to view her name badge and asked her to explain where she was from. Read more
People hand in unlicensed arms, ammunition to police in France (AlJazeera)
French gun owners are handing over their weapons at police collection points across the country this week as part of a campaign to round up unlicensed firearms, often heirlooms lying in attics or forgotten at the back of cupboards.
Gun ownership in France is nowhere near as prevalent as in the United States, for instance, and gun crimes are relatively rare, but France is keen to limit the number of illegally owned firearms – as many as six million, authorities estimate.
“They were my dad’s and I didn’t know what to do with them,” Lionel said at a police station in Nice in southern France where he handed over his weapons. “I don’t really like guns, and since there’s a way to get rid of them cleanly, there’s a moment you have to get rid of such souvenirs.”
Rifles, handguns, ammunition, knives and grenades have been handed in at 300 collection points across France since the start of the Ministry of Interior’s campaign on November 25.
Ogenyi emerges Kano Pillars new technical adviser (DailyTrust)
Former Nigerian Professional Football League champions, Kano Pillars FC, have signed a new Technical Adviser Evans Ogenyi, ahead of the 2022/2023 Nigeria National League season.
As at time of reporting, the former Warri Wolves coach is being unveiled at the Kano State Sports Commission by the Acting Chairman of the club Dr. Ibrahim Galadima.
According to Galadima, 31 applications were received with 14 being shortlisted. Out of the 14 shortlisted, five were from foreign countries which included one from Mexico, two from Ghana, one from Cote d Ivoire and Togo respectively.
The former Premier League club found themselves in relegation waters last season, a situation that prompted the management to sack the coaching crew of the Sai Masu Gida and called for the submission of applications from interested persons to take up the job. Read more
Germany needs vital win to avoid embarrassment at Qatar 2022 (CNN)
After a poor start to its World Cup campaign, Germany is now staring down the barrel of elimination heading into its last Group E game at Qatar 2022.
Its shock defeat to Japan on the opening day put the Germans in a difficult position, but it rallied in its second game against Spain to earn a hard-fought draw.
It means the 2014 world champion, which sits bottom of the group on one point, now needs to beat Costa Rica on Thursday and hope Spain beats Japan in order to progress into the knockout stages of the competition.
A draw in the group’s other game could be enough for Germany but its fate would then depend on goal difference. Read more
Suarez only apologises to Chiellini, not Ghana after World Cup dirty tricks (FootballItalia)
Uruguay legend Luis Suarez sees no reason to apologise for the handball on the line against Ghana in the 2010 World Cup, but did admit to a ‘‘mistake’’ when biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini.
With Uruguay set to face Ghana again in the tournament tomorrow, the incident from that quarter-final has come back to the fore.
Suarez was sent off after using his hand to effectively save Dominic Adiyiah’s header in the final minute of extra time, but Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty and Ghana were eliminated.
“I don’t apologise about that, I did the handball, but the Ghana player missed the penalty, not me,” Suarez said at a press conference. Read more
Portugal boss draws definitive line under Cristiano Ronaldo – Bruno Fernandes goal row (Mirror)
An exasperated Portugal boss Fernando Santos dismissed any suggestions that he should somehow intervene in Cristiano Ronaldo’s quest to be awarded his side’s first goal against Uruguay.
Ronaldo claimed to have got a touch to a Bruno Fernandes cross nine minutes into the second half of the clash on Monday night, and ran away celebrating the goal with his arms aloft.
The strike was initially credited to him by many, only for the scoreboard at the Lusail Stadium to display that it was in fact Fernandes’ goal.
The Manchester United man would go on to score Portugal’s second from the penalty spot after his now ex-clubmate Ronaldo had been taken off, and after the match he admitted that he wasn’t sure who had scored the opener. Read more
Judy Murray’s Saudi role branded ”sportswashing” (BBC)
Judy Murray’s role as a tennis coach at a tournament in Saudi Arabia next week would be used as sportswashing, a human rights organisation has said.
Murray, mother of Grand Slam winners Jamie and Andy, agreed to hold tennis classes for girls in Saudi Arabia during the Diriyah Tennis Cup.
Amnesty International urged her to to use the opportunity to speak out about The Gulf kingdom’s human rights abuses.
Murray has said she wanted to remove barriers to tennis participation. Read more
Olympics will see Tour finish moved from Paris to Nice (RTE)
The final stage of the Tour De France, traditionally held on Paris’s Champs Elysees, will be moved to the southern city of Nice in 2024 when the capital hosts the Olympics.
“It’s with some emotion that I am announcing the final stage of the Tour De France 2024 will be held in Nice”, Christian Estrosi told a news conference.
The finale of cycling’s biggest race has not been moved in the last 100 years, but the 2024 edition will come as Paris prepares to host the Summer Olympics, starting just a few days after the Tour ends.
The capital’s Champs Elysees boulevard is to be transformed into an Olympics venue. Read more