Hoodlums guarded by cops, soldiers demolish structures in Lagos slum, youths protest (Punch)
Residents of a slum in Ikota, opposite Soko, in the Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, have lamented the demolition of their structures by some hoodlums reportedly guarded by soldiers and policemen.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the exercise, which started last week, threw landlords and residents into confusion.
The hoodlums, after storming the community with armed security agents, allegedly refused to present official documents authorising their action.
A tenant in one of the affected buildings, Emmanuel Inyang, said youths in the community protested against the demolition, adding that despite the protest, the exercise continued.
He said, “Last week, we noticed that some unknown people came with armed soldiers and policemen to start marking buildings and shanties for demolition. They refused to give us a notice and they never showed us any document to back their action. As they were demolishing, they were sand filling at the same time. Read more
352 inmates currently on death row in Kirikiri – NCoS (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Controller of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Mr Adewale Adebisi, says 352 inmates are on death row at the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre.
Adebisi made the disclosure on Wednesday while delivering his address of welcome at the 2022 Correctional Centres Decongestion Exercise.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Decongestion Exercise aims at freeing inmates in compliance with Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody Special Provision Act.
The exercise is being overseen by the Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Kazeem Alogba.
“The inmates on death row at the Maximum Correctional Centre are 352, and there are categories of inmates.
“We also have a total of 150 inmates serving life jail terms,” he said.Read more
Lagos unveils adopt-a-bin programme with 40,000 bins (Guardian)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, unveiled the Adopt-A-Bin programme with an initial 40,000 standard bins deployed to households and commercial entities.
The programme is carefully designed to promote effective waste management in the state, with emphasis on waste sorting right at the point of generation.
Speaking at the launch at Simpson Transfer Loading Station on Lagos Island, Sanwo-Olu said the gospel of waste sorting at source, is now gaining ground as individual pickers of recyclable items were increasing by the day and recycling firms springing up.
According to the governor, who was represented by the Commissioner of the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, “Today, we are at the threshold of another phase, in our Lagos Recycle Initiative, as we launch standard waste bins, for the “Adopt -a- Bin” project, which is Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA)’s latest baby. Read more
70-year-old Lagos mechanic defiles12-year-old girl (DailyTrust)
A 70-year-old auto-mechanic Olayemi Adenugba was Wednesday charged with defilement of a 12-year-old girl.
The alleged offence was committed sometimes in May 2021 at Town hall road, Igbaye Erodo Epe.
The mechanic’s trouble started when the girl’s father was informed that the accused was seen given money to the 12 year old girl and having unlawful sexual intercourse with her.
In his statement to the police, the accused person said that the girl came to his house and reported that her father drove her out of the house. Read more
Abuja hospital denies issuing Fani-Kayode medical report (Punch)
The Kubwa General Hospital on Wednesday told the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, that a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, was never a patient at the medical facility.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had arraigned the former minister before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe on 12 counts of forgery.
The EFCC accused Fani-Kayode of forging medical reports to mislead the court and procuring documents under false pretences, contrary to Section 369 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
At the resumed proceedings on Wednesday, the Head of Medical Records at the hospital, Bassey Amah, while being led in evidence by the counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, noted that Fani-Kayode did not have any record with the hospital.Read more
Boat Mishaps: NIWA launches search, rescue centre In Lagos (Leadership)
To curb fatalities on the nation’s inland waterways, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has ramped up more safety timelines for Lagos waters by setting up a Search and Rescue centre.
To ensure the centre is adequately manned to respond to emergencies, about 17 staff of the marine department in the Lagos area office, were trained on how to activate, identify and direct safety ecology towards distressed crafts on water.
The NIWA Lagos Search and Rescue team, were also drilled on basic training on Radio Communication skills and how to use the same to strategically network with crafts and other national emergency agencies as specified by International Maritime Organisation (IMO) whenever a save our soul (SoS) operational situation arises on water.
In a brief remark during the training outing for the Lagos safety team and inauguration of the S and R Center, Area Manager, Lagos NIWA Office, Engr. Sarat Braimah, expressed deep appreciation to the managing director of NIWA, Dr. George Moghalu, for approving and setting up the Search and Rescue Center, barely few weeks after unveiling navigational buoys to guide and roadmap safe water transportation in Lagos. Read more
EKEDC, NDPHC sign deal to improve power supply (Guardian)
Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has signed an agreement with the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) towards improving electricity supply to Agbara, Lekki and other areas within its operational network.
A statement issued on Monday in Lagos by Mr Godwin Idemudia, Head, Corporate Communication, EKEDC, said the deal was signed recently during a visit of the company’s Chairman, Mr Oritsedere Otubu, to the NDPHC’s office in Abuja.
It said the agreement signed by the two companies was to ensure the improvement and upgrade of certain distribution infrastructure within EKEDC’s franchise area.
According to the statement, it will set the foundation, to ensure the availability of reliable and quality power supply of up to 200MW to customers within Eko Disco’s network, including tertiary institutions. Read more
Delta police arrest four officers for killing colleagues over alleged N20,000 bribe (Guardian)
Delta State Police Command has arrested and detained four officers attached to the Anti-Kidnap Squad, for allegedly shooting dead their colleague, one inspector Chidi, around ADP, Ibusa Road, near Asaba, in Oshimili North Local Council of the state.detai
The Guardian learnt that the killing occurred on Monday at about 6:30p.m .during an argument between the policemen and a commercial driver over the collection of N20,000 bribe. The driver, one Nicholas, said he was stopped at a checkpoint by the policemen, who demanded N50, 000, while he was driving from Ibusa to Asaba in search of fuel.
He said: “As I was returning at about 5:30 p.m., I met a team of policemen along the Ibusa Road, Asaba and they stopped me for a search. After checking my car and particulars as demanded, nothing incriminating was found in me and all my car documents were up to date. But still, they demanded N50,000 from me or I would be arrested and detained.
“All my pleas fell on deaf ears as they insisted that I must give them N50,000. I told them I don’t have money with me here, and they asked how much do I have? For fear of being arrested, I told them, I had N20,000 at home. “ Immediately I said that, two of them were asked to follow me home to collect the N20,000. On our way to Ibusa, my car ran out of fuel and it stopped. Then, an argument ensued between us. And they started shouting at me. Read more
2,038 persons died from air crashes in Nigeria between 1969 and 2022 – AIB (Channels)
The Accident and Investigation Bureau (AIB) has said 2,038 persons died from air crashes in the country in 1969 and 2022.
This is according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AIB, Akin Olateru. He made the remark in Abuja on Sunday during an occasion to mark the International Day for Commemorating Air Crash and Victims and their Families.
“In Nigeria, from the year 1969 to 2022, a total of 2,038 (1996 on board passengers and 42 on ground) lives have been lost to air crashes,” Olateru said during the event.
“When an aircraft accident or serious incident occurs, it is always an unexpected and mostly fatal event that causes great distress and loss to the victims and their families.” Read more
Dame Helen Mirren reveals fears about transforming into Geordie housewife for The Duke (Metro)
Dame Helen Mirren has proven that even Oscar-winners still get nervous, as she revealed she was terrified of giving a ‘believable’ Newcastle accent for her new film The Duke.
The legendary actress stars alongside Jim Broadbent in the comedy based on the true story of bus driver Kempton Bunton who was accused of stealing Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from London’s National Gallery in 1961.
While Jim stars as Kempton, Dame Helen undergoes a complete transformation to star as housewife Dorothy.
‘I was very, very nervous about this, because the accent is a challenge. Newcastle is not easy,’ she told Metro.co.uk.
‘At the same time, you’ve got to do it well enough that it’s believable. But you can’t go all the way because the audience have to really get what you’re saying. So that’s a sort of balance. Read more
Cillian Murphy reveals how he perfected his Peaky Blinders accent (Independent)
Cillian Murphy has revealed how he mastered a Brummie accent for his lead role as Tommy Shelby on Peaky Blinders.
The 45-year-old actor admitted that he recorded pub goers in Birmingham, together with the show’s creator Steven Knight, to convincingly turn his Cork accent into that of a Peaky Blinder.
In a new interview with Radio Times, Murphy said he doesn’t “share one thing” – including his accent – with the brutal and unforgiving head of the Shelby family.
“I hung out with Steve, and we went to the actual Garrison pub in Birmingham with his Brummie mates,” he said. “And we’re just drinking Guinness there, and they’re singing Birmingham City songs and telling all sorts of stories, and I was recording on my iPhone, and then I took that home, and used it to try and track the accents, you know.”
Murphy said he would then call Knight and leave him voicemails in the accent to “see how close I was to it”.
He also discussed the struggles he experienced while portraying a character with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), explaining that he had to make lifestyle changes to physically transform himself.
“I’m not a very physically imposing person,” he said. “So I have to eat a lot of protein and lift a lot of weights and do all that stuff. So that takes a while, which I hate.”
During his interview, Murphy touched upon the grief that the entire production experienced following the death of Helen McCrory, who played Shelby family matriarch Polly Gray on Peaky Blinders. Read more
Facebook accused of blacklisting OnlyFans’ rivals (BBC)
Facebook has been accused of colluding with OnlyFans to blacklist rival adult websites in a lawsuit filed in the US.
This week, BBC News revealed that OnlyFans was being sued over claims it directed a social media company to disable accounts of adult entertainers by placing their content on a terrorism database.
Facebook has now been named as the company alleged to have conspired with OnlyFans in a class action filing. Its parent company, Meta, says the claims are “without merit”.
UK website OnlyFans – best known for hosting pornography – has grown hugely in recent years. It lets users share video clips and photos with subscribers in return for a monthly fee. Read more
Jennifer Lawrence gives birth, welcomes first child with Cooke Maroney: report (PageSix)
Jennifer Lawrence is a new mom!
The Oscar-winning actress welcomed her first child in Los Angeles County, according to public records obtained by TMZ Wednesday. The exact date she gave birth — and the sex of the baby — are unknown.
Page Six has reached out to Lawrence’s rep for confirmation.
This is Lawrence’s first child with her husband, art gallery owner Cooke Maroney, whom she married at the famed Belcourt of Newport mansion in Rhode Island in October 2019. Page Six broke the news of Lawrence and Maroney’s relationship in June 2018; a source explained that the “Hunger Games” star’s BFF, Laura Simpson, had introduced them. Read more
Jamal Edwards: Fans mourn music pioneer at Acton vigil (BBC)
Fans and friends of music pioneer Jamal Edwards gathered at a vigil in west London on Monday evening to pay tribute to the 31-year-old, who died on Sunday.
Edwards was the founder of SBTV, an online grime and rap platform that helped launch the careers of artists like Dave, Skepta and Ed Sheeran.
“He was the hero of Acton,” Zachary Thomas told the BBC at the event.
“He was the guy who showed you could make it out without… getting involved in crime or anything.”
Edwards started filming local MCs after his parents gave him a video camera as a Christmas present when he was 15.
That led him to start SBTV, which became a launchpad for some of the biggest names in British music.
One friend at the vigil, Dominic Magliore, told the BBC: “It’s hard to accept it. I heard about it yesterday and I saw him on Friday. We was hugging, laughing and having a good time and everything seemed OK.”
The mourners paid their respects on Acton High Street in front of a mural of Edwards, which was commissioned in 2019.
Sam Borelli said: “Jamal was the guy that showed kids from low-income households that you are not limited to what your grades might tell you. He made the musicians that made me, if you know what I mean, with a camera he got for Christmas.” Read more
Russia takes military action in Ukraine as UN meets (AlJazeera)
A major Russian military operation is underway in multiple cities across Ukraine after Vladimir Putin announced he had authorised a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine at the same time as the United Nations Security Council met for its second emergency meeting this week.
Russian media reported President Putin saying he had given approval to a “special military operation” in the Donbas region of Ukraine, where Moscow earlier recognised rebel-held territories in Luhansk and Donetsk and said they had asked for its “help”. Clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces were only a matter of time, he added.
Shortly after Putin spoke, Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, who is in Kyiv, said there were explosions in the capital and power had been cut.
It appeared to be a “full scale attack”, he said, targetting the airport and key buildings. There was “chaos” in the city centre, he added. Read more
Britney Spears lands ‘record-breaking’ book deal for tell-all memoir (Guardian)
Britney Spears has landed a “record-breaking” publishing deal for a tell-all memoir about her rise to fame, her relationship with her family and her experience living under a conservatorship for more than a decade.
Page Six reported on Monday that publisher Simon & Schuster had secured the deal for the pop star’s memoir for as much as US$15m (£11m, A$20.8m) after a massive bidding war involving multiple publishers.
An unnamed source told Page Six that “the deal is one of the biggest of all time, behind the Obamas”. The president and first lady signed a deal worth an estimated US$65m to write multiple books for Penguin Random House in 2017.
Guardian Australia has reached out to Simon & Schuster for comment.
The deal comes months after Spears successfully fought a court-ordered conservatorship, which had been put in place by her father, Jamie Spears, for almost 14 years. The conservatorship, typically for older or infirm people who can no longer make decisions for themselves, was instigated in 2007 after a period of mental illness for Spears. Rumours spread that the singer was being held in the conservatorship against her will, which lead to the creation of the #FreeBritney movement. Read more
Super Falcons fly into Morocco 2022 AWCON, beat Lady Elephants 1-0 (Guardian)
Super Falcons celebrate their qualification for Morocco 2022 African Women Nations Cup
Super Falcons of Nigeria, yesterday, beat Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 to qualify for the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations billed to hold in Morocco. The Nigerian girls won the first leg played in Abuja 2-0 to qualify for the competition on a 3-0 aggregate.
At the encounter played at Stade Robert Champroux in Abidjan, Esther Okorokwo’s 87th minutes goal gave the Super Falcons the only goal after goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie had earlier prevented the Lady Elephants from scoring in the 34th minutes.
The Ivoirians were awarded a penalty by referee Zouwaira Souley from Niger Republic, but Nnadozie pulled off a stunning save to deny the Lady Elephants from the spot.
The game flowed back and forth for large swathes of the first half. Coach Randy Waldrum made two changes to the starting line-up from the first leg, bringing in midfielder Regina Otu and forward Francisca Ordega.
The lively Ordega thought she had given Nigeria the lead halfway into the first period, but the Nigerien referee ruled it out. Read more
FIFA celebrates Eagles World Cup debut (Punch)
Football governing body, FIFA, on Wednesday celebrated Nigeria’s superlative World Cup debut in 1994 in the United States, where they reached the round of 16 before being eliminated by Italy.
The Eagles, managed by Dutchman Clemens Westerhof, were in Group C alongside Bulgaria, Argentina and Greece with the debutants emerging shock winners of the group, after 3-0 and 2-0 triumphs over Greece and a 2-1 defeat to a Diego. Maradona-inspired Argentina.
On their official website, FIFA celebrated Nigeria and other African countries at the World Cup with a video of late striker Rashidi Yekini celebrating the country’s maiden World Cup goal on the website.
“That was like watching the great Brazilian sides,” former England striker of Nigerian descent, John Fashanu, told FIFA, after the Eagles 3-0 win over Bulgaria at the Foxboro Stadium, Atlanta. Read more
CAF shifts Super Eagles/Black Stars’ clash (Guardian)
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Monday informed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that the Super Eagles will now take on Ghana’s Black Stars on new dates.
Ademola Olajire, NFF’s Director of Communications, disclosed in a statement that the 2022 FIFA World Cup play-off round fixture between Nigeria and Ghana would not hold on the earlier announced dates.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two matches were earlier scheduled for March 24 and March 27.
“The opening leg of the fixture at the Cape Coast Stadium will now take place on March 25, starting from 7:30 p.m Ghana time, which will be 8:30 p.m in Nigeria.
“The return leg match will now hold at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on March 29, starting from 6 p.m Nigeria time,” Olajire stated.
NAN reports that the winners over the two legs will advance to the 2022 FIFA World Cup billed for Qatar from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18. Read more
FIFA U17 WWC India 2022: CAF turns down NFF’s request to host Congo in MKO Stadium, Abuja (Vanguard)
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has turned down Nigeria’s request to host the African qualifiers for the FIFA U17 WWC India 2022 match between Nigeria and Congo DR at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
The NFF had scheduled the Nigeria vs Ghana World Cup playoff about the same period and CAF frowned at this, saying to preserve the pitch, no match should be played there before the all-important World Cup playoff.
Accordingly, the continental football governing body has asked the NFF to look for an alternative venue for the U17 Women World Cup qualifier match scheduled for the 19th of March 2022.
In a letter to the NFF and signed by Muhammad Sidat, Club Licensing Senior Manager, Development Division states that “we noted that your association has selected the MKO Abiola Stadium as the venue to host the match in question, nonetheless, please note that unfortunately, the selection of MKO Abiola Stadium to host the aforementioned match cannot be approved by CAF, since this same stadium will be used by NFF for its match against Ghana around the same period for the Playoff round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers.” Read more
Allegri: ‘Too much pressure on Vlahovic, I must protect him’ (FootballItalia)
Massimiliano Allegri says that Leonardo Bonucci is available but may start on the bench against Villareal and explains why he ‘must protect’ Dusan Vlahovic, who will make his Champions League debut tomorrow.
The Italian tactician previewed tomorrow’s European clash at a press conference in Turin before Juventus‘ trip to Spain. Juventus picked up a 1-1 draw against Torino on Friday, causing criticism for the Tuscan tactician. Vlahovic failed to find the net and was subbed off in the second half.
“It was a hard-fought game. During a season, there are some matches where you don’t have many opportunities, but Juventus played a good game,” said Allegri.
“We’ve turned into title contenders in twenty days, but balance is needed. We need to take a step at a time and be calm. Read more
Harry Kane hailed ‘best centre-forward of his type’ as Harry Redknapp makes sly dig at Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku (TalkSport)
Harry Redknapp believes Harry Kane is one of the ‘best centre-forwards of his type’ and people got ‘carried away’ talking about his previous poor form.
Former Tottenham manager Redknapp was thrilled by the England captain’s showing in their 3-2 win over Man City and even aimed a sly dig at Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.
After a slow start, Kane now has seven goals in 22 Premier League games, with six in his last nine appearances.
Against league leaders City, Spurs’ no.10 showed exactly why no one should write him off, with two excellent goals in their thrilling 3-2 win at the Etihad on Saturday night. Read more
John Terry reveals the real reason why he left Aston Villa (BirminghamWorld)
John Terry has revealed that family time was the biggest reason for deciding to leave his role as assistant head coach of Aston Villa.
Terry, then working as part of former boss Dean Smith’s coaching team, departed Villa Park in July last year.
Over the weekend, Terry took to Instagram to host a question and answer session with, among others, Villa fans and was asked ‘Real reason for leaving Villa?’.
The Chelsea legend and former England centre-back said: “I wanted to spend some time with my family. My kids are 15 and going into their GCSEs and I was never here for them.” Read more