Hoodlums invade Lagos church, attack pastor, guards over land dispute (Vanguard)
The premises of Holy Trinity, located at 2 Oba Adeyemi Oyekan Avenue, Ikoyi Lagos was recently invaded by thugs.
The resident pastor, John Delano, a church worker, and two guards narrowly escaped being lynched by thugs who invaded the premises.
The thugs, who were over 30 in number, stormed the church with a bulldozer immediately after an early morning prayer meeting and proceeded to remove the entire front fence of the property, the gates were forcefully removed. Also, three massive trees were uprooted without approval.
During the invasion of the property, Pastor John Delano, David and two guards who were present, were attacked, slapped several times and physically assaulted, while security personnel hired to guard the property was almost lynched. Read more
2023: Get your PVC ready, Ambode charges youths (DailyTrust)
As the 2023 electioneering takes shape, former Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has declared that the “youths are coming.”
Ambode stated this amidst the mixed feelings that have trailed the declaration of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the Presidency of Nigeria.
Some Nigerians have raised the issue of age to disqualify Tinubu as a potential candidate for 2023.
It was not clear what Ambode, who had fallen out with Tinubu, had in mind when he declared his preference for the youth. Read more
FIRS staff hacked to death in Lagos (Vanguard)
Suspected assassins have brutally murdered Mrs Ibironke Oluremi Adefila, a senior staff of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in Ikorodu area of Lagos.
Adefila was reportedly on her way to work in the early hours of Friday, January 28, 2022, when she was accosted by the heavily armed assailants, opposite Awalu group of schools, Powerline Area in Laketu, Ikorodu.
According to an eyewitness (name withheld), one of the armed men was heard saying, “That’s her, that’s her” and immediately they pounced on her with machetes, axe and knife.
By the time Adefila was rushed to the hospital by some residents, she had lost a lot of blood, having suffered severe cuts on different parts of her body including her head and spine which eventually lead t her death.
Lamenting, a relative of the family of the victim, Alaba Jobi said, “what made the crime even more shocking and heartbreaking was that she was to attend a party that same day in the office which was organised to honour her having been promoted to a new level in her office. Read more
UNICEF welcomes release of 4 girls abducted in Chibok (Channels)
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says it has welcomed the release of four girls abducted by terrorists in Kautikari, a village in Chibok Local Government of Borno State.
The released girls were abducted from Kautikari community earlier this month in the Chibok Local Government Area.
UNICEF in a statement on Monday expressed relief over the freedom of the girls and called for the immediate release of all conflict-affected children held in captivity across the region.
“UNICEF is very relieved for the released girls and their families,” UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, said. Read more
Court orders AMCON to unfreeze 17 bank accounts belonging to Benue govt (Sun)
The Abuja division of the Federal High Court on Tuesday ordered the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria(AMCON) to unfreeze 17 bank accounts belonging to the Benue State Government over alleged indebtedness.
The banks are Access Bank Plc; Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Ltd, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd, Heritage Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank, Stanbic IBTC Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Ltd, Suntrust Bank Nigeria Ltd, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Unity Bank Nigeria Plc, Wema Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.
Justice Inyang Ekwo made the order while ruling in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/AMC/74/2021 between Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria(AMCON) against HPPS Multilink Service Ltd and Benue State Government.
The order of the court followed a memorandum of undertaking filed by Counsel to the Benue state government, Douglas Pepe (SAN), dated January 25, 2022.
According to the memorandum of the undertaking, it was agreed by parties that “all other accounts of the Benue State Government frozen by the court vide interim order of October 26, 2021, are to be unfrozen while the account with Zenith Bank Plc shall remain frozen in the sum of the disputed debt, pending the determination or resolution of the dispute.” Read more
Oyo Chief Judge dismisses suit, says selection process of new Olubadan can go ahead (Tribune)
The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola, on Tuesday, declared that there is no court proceeding delaying the selection and installation of the Olubadan of Ibadan again, adding that parties can proceed in the process leading to the selection of a new king.
Justice Abimbola made this known after dismissing a suit filed by Senator Lekan Balogun and seven other Ibadan High Chiefs, contesting the validity of a consent judgment given by a state high court on November 19, 2019 in suit M/317/2017.
The Chief Judge in his brief judgment on the suit declared that the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration of 1957 stands unmoved like the rock of Gibraltar and is unaffected by any step taken so far.
He added that he was dismissing the suit and not striking it out as requested because issues have been joined and argued in the matter which he said was a result of the order of the appellate court pursuant to Section 16 of the Court of Appeal Act 2004. Read more
Senator Murray-Bruce loses Mum (Leadership)
Mother of Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Mrs Margaret Murray-Bruce is dead.
Ben Murray-Bruce, who is the founder of Silverbird Group, once represented Bayelsa East in the Senate between 2015 and 2019 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The businessman cum politician took to his verified social media handles on Tuesday morning to announce his mother’s death.
Murray-Bruce wrote: “Life. Indeed, like sand in the wind, today it’s here, tomorrow it’s gone. My mum is gone. She died at 4:40am this morning. Read more
US initiates ‘no-interview’ visa renewal for Nigerians (Punch)
The United States Embassy in Nigeria on Tuesday said it’s expanding its services to assist qualified nonimmigrant visa applicants.
It stated that it commenced a visa interview waiver programme with the pilot project commencing at the US Consulate in Lagos for applicants.
Speaking during a press conference on Tuesday at the US Consulate in Lagos, the US Mission Country Consular Coordinator, Susan Tuller, noted that the project was no-interview visa renewals.
Tuller stated that it would be limited initially and applied only to applicants for academic exchange, work, study and tourist visas seeking renewal. Read more
Firm laments incessant Police harassment (Independent)
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Emotan Global Ventures Ltd, Madam Emotan Shine, has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, to halt what she described as incessant illegal raid and arrest of her staff in Abuja.
She made this known at a press conference in Abuja, Mrs Shine said masked policemen have continued to invade her office, harassing staff at will without any justifiable reason.
She said that whereas, officers of the Nigeria Police Force were positioned by the Constitution to uphold the law and hence should not be the ones openly breaking it without any form of regard.
She said that officers who invaded her office on Friday, January 28, 2022, also cart away two of her employees who are still in police custody without charge or any indication of any crime. Read more
Marilyn Manson is working with Kanye West on rapper’s ‘Donda 2′ album (Loudwire)
As Marilyn Manson continues to face several lawsuits stemming from allegations of sexual assault, he has been in the studio collaborating with Kanye West on the rapper’s sequel to last year’s Grammy-nominated Donda album.
In the latest development in the series of allegations made against Manson by numerous former partners, actress Evan Rachel Wood claimed in her Phoenix Rising documentary that Manson had “essentially raped” her on the set of the music video shoot for “Heart-Shaped Glass,” which Manson’s lawyer denied in a response statement.
This claim is one of many in a long line of unsettling accusations against Manson, levied by multiple women in recent years and a timeline of the events can be viewed further down the page.
Amid the legal entanglements and the disturbing reports that have continued to surface, West (who legally changed his name to Ye in the fall of last year) seems to have developed a friendship with Manson. The disgraced shock rock musician appeared onstage at Ye’s Donda listening party in late August, alongside embattled rapper DaBaby. Shortly after, it was uncovered that Manson’s voice appeared on the album track “Jail, Pt. 2.” Read more
Bobbi Brown’s over-50s make-up looks are going viral on TikTok (Vogue)
Among the videos of teens dancing to god-knows-what, feta pasta and pop lyric challenges, is perhaps a more useful type of TikTok video that’s going just as viral. The woman behind them is Bobbi Brown, make-up artist and founder of Jones Road Beauty, whose videos discussing over-50s make-up and hacks on how to deal with hooded eyelids are making waves in a space that some would assume was only for Gen-Z.
“TikTok may have started as a Gen-Z platform, but its demographic has definitely expanded,” she tells Vogue. “There is a strong and very vocal 50+ audience on TikTok and that community has been very supportive of me. For over 30 years, my message has consistently been about being authentic and yourself, and the TikTok audience seems to be craving that message. We all need to hear more positive messaging around self-care and self-love right now, and it’s definitely struck a chord on my TikTok.”
Right she is. Some of Brown’s videos have been viewed over 2.3 million times, which isn’t surprising given they are nothing if not life affirming – championing inner confidence and happiness over covering up one’s skin with make-up. They span from easy (and quick) hacks on how to look sunkissed in January to what confidence really is – they’re straightforward, with no frills, and are positive and highly entertaining to watch. Read more
The Tinder Swindler: Ex-girlfriend tricked out of £188,000 by scam artist (Independent)
An ex-girlfriend and victim of the subject of Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler has revealed that she lost around £188,000 to his scam.
An upcoming documentary series on the streaming platform will tell the story of the victims of Shimon Hayut, an international con artist accused of using dating app Tinder to seduce and emotionally exploit women for financial gain.
It’s currently estimated that Hayut has defrauded women across the world of at least $10m (£7.4m).
Cecilie Fjellhøy dated Hayut some years ago after they matched on the app. At the time, she believed him to be Simon Leviev, the son of a diamond mogul and billionaire. Read more
Whoopi Goldberg apologizes after saying the Holocaust ‘isn’t about race’ on ‘The View’ (USAToday)
Whoopi Goldberg received backlash on social media for comments she made about the Holocaust on “The View.”
During Monday’s episode of the ABC daytime talk show, the EGOT winner, 66, received pushback from her co-hosts — and later from users on Twitter — after claiming the Holocaust, which involved the murder of 6 million Jews and other victims, was not “about race.”
Goldberg posted a statement expressing her “sincerest apologies” later on Twitter Monday, also echoing a statement from Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt who wrote that the Holocaust “was about the Nazi’s systematic annihilation of the Jewish people – who they deemed to be an inferior race.”
“On today’s show, I said the Holocaust ‘is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man.’ I should have said it is about both,” she wrote. “I stand corrected. The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waiver. I’m sorry for the hurt I have caused.” Read more
Caroline Flack fiancé Andrew Brady admits harassing Dan Wootton (BBC)
The former fiancé of late TV presenter Caroline Flack has admitted harassing journalist Dan Wootton by calling him a sex offender and murderer.
Andrew Brady, 31, used social media to send threats and abuse to Mr Wootton between February and April last year, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
Brady admitted harassing the GB News presenter and telling him he would “settle the matter by violence”.
He was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on Friday. Read more
Don Broco and Jamie Webster battling for this week’s Number One album (NME)
Don Broco and Jamie Webster are battling for this week’s UK Number One album.
The Bedford rock band are currently ahead of the solo artist from Liverpool in the midweek chart after their fourth album ‘Amazing Things’ was released on vinyl, CD and cassette. It originally came out in October last year.
Webster meanwhile, is not far behind with his second album ‘Moments’. His debut ‘We Get By’ previously peaked at Number Six in the UK albums chart.
He recently announced details of his biggest headline UK and Ireland tour this year. Read more
Johannesburg Zoo denies its staff infected animals with Covid-19 (TheSouthAfrican)
The Johannesburg Zoo has hit back at claims that their lions and pumas tested positive for Covid-19 after interacting with staff after a Pretoria University study revealed that such took place at a private zoo in Gauteng.
The study revealed that Covid-19 Delta variants were transmitted from humans who had mild symptoms to animals.
Data from the study titled “SARS-CoV-2 Reverse Zoonoses to Pumas and Lions, South Africa” suggested that SARS-CoV-2 was circulating among staff during the time that the lions got sick, and suggested that those with direct contact with the animals were likely responsible for the reverse zoonotic transmission.
The Johannesburg Zoo veterinary team which is led by Dr Arnold Kanengoni has verified that the big cats at the Joburg Zoo have not been infected and neither contracted the Covid-19 virus since the start of the pandemic. Read more
Dele Alli wants to be ‘happy’ again after Everton move (Guardian)
Dele Alli said he wanted to rediscover the joy of playing football after securing a move to Frank Lampard’s Everton in an effort to revive his faltering career.
The England midfielder signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at Goodison Park, bringing his seven-year stay at Tottenham to an end late in the transfer window, which closed on Monday.
Alli, 25, was a member of Gareth Southgate’s 2018 World Cup squad but has struggled under a succession of managers at Spurs in recent seasons and fallen out of the England reckoning.
“I’ve had a few good conversations with him (Lampard) already and he’s a player I’ve admired watching his whole career,” Alli told Sky Sports.
“To have the opportunity to work with him now is very exciting and hopefully I’m sure we’re going to do great things together.” Read more
Everton eye summer move for Osimhen, Koulibaly (Punch)
Everton have set their sights on a summer move for Nigeria international Victor Osimhen, and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly after their January bid for the duo was reportedly turned down by the Serie A club, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
According to Il Mattino, the Toffees made requests to Napoli for Osimhen and defensive stalwart Koulibaly but the Italians were quick to turn them down as they hope to fight for the Scudetto this season.
Napoli have been quiet in the January transfer window as reports say Luciano Spalletti is happy with his current squad.
While Everton have failed to sign the duo in January, hitc.com claims that “there is a good chance that the Toffees make a new attempt to sign the duo in the summer, especially if new manager Frank Lampard can get the club back on their feet.”
Osimhen joined Napoli in the summer of 2020 for a club and African record €81m plus add-ons and had been in superb form this season scoring nine goals in all competitions before suffering a facial fracture in the club’s 3-2 loss to Inter last November. Read more
Dele Alli snubs Conte and Mourinho as he sends Pochettino message after Everton transfer (Express)
Everton’s new signing Dele Alli has paid tribute to former boss Mauricio Pochettino and his staff during an emotional statement as he bids farewell to Tottenham after seven years in north London. The attacking midfielder, who first burst onto the scene in 2015 after signing from MK Dons, won two PFA Young Player of the Year awards during the early stages of his career at White Hart Lane, establishing himself as a regular for England.
However, following a series of injuries, Alli appears to have lost his way after struggling to nail down a place in the Spurs side under Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
The Italian was happy to show Dele the door in the January transfer window and deadline day switch to Everton has since materialised.
Dele has signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the Toffees, who will pay £10million once he makes 20 appearances for the club and £40m should he make 80 apps within that time frame. Read more
Canadian men’s national team uniting country in FIFA World Cup quest (VancouverSun)
The sight of goalkeeper Milan Borjan draped in a Canadian flag for his post-game media availability Sunday, was symbolic for millions of immigrant soccer fans across the country.
Borjan, 34, was born in Croatia, moved to Canada as a teenager, and now represents his adopted country proudly; backstopping it to a 2-0 win against the United States in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton on Sunday.
The men’s national team is uniting the country in its quest to qualify for its first World Cup since 1986. Soccer fans who grew up cheering for the national teams of their berth nations or that of their ancestors, are now draping themselves in the Maple Leaf as Canada sits first in the final round of Concacaf qualifying with four games left.
Canada travel to face El Salvador on Wednesday in the third and final game of this international window. Read more
Dominic Thiem tour comeback delayed after fresh injury setback (Tennis Head)
Dominic Thiem is set for a prolonged period on the side-lines after pain in his hand forced him to withdraw from the Cordoba Open.
2020 US Open champion Thiem has been absent from the ATP Tour since June after he sustained a wrist injury at the Mallorca Championships.
This absence saw him miss a number of prestigious tournaments, including Wimbledon and the US Open as well as missing out on the chance to represent Austria at the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The former World number three was scheduled to play at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition in the off-season but withdrew saying he “wasn’t yet ready to compete at the highest level.” Read more
Ferrari reveals official appellation for 2022 car (F1i)
Ferrari’s all-new 2022 F1 contender has a name, one that pays tribute to the legendary Italian manufacturer in the year of its 75th anniversary.
The Scuderia’s new car which will be unveiled by the team on February 17 will be called F1-75.
Ferrari’s new machine is the 68th F1 car produced by the House of Maranello since founder Enzo Ferrari fired up the engine of its first car – the Ferrari 125 S – on March 12, 1947.
“Formula 1, with its spirit of competition and innovation, has always been a fundamental part of Ferrari, driving the technological development of our road cars,” commented Ferrari Chairman John Elkann. Read more
Tom Brady announces retirement from NFL (SportsMole)
Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady has announced his retirement from the NFL after 22 years.
The 44-year-old was consistently grilled over his future during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ playoff bid, with their Super Bowl hopes ending in defeat to the Los Angeles Rams.
Brady was forced to deny reports over the weekend claiming that he had taken the decision to retire, but the quarterback has now confirmed that his glittering NFL career has come to an end.
“This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention,” Brady said in a statement released on social media. Read more