How I killed ex-governor Igbinedion’s mother ― Housemaid (Tribune)
The housemaid of Mrs Maria Igbinedion, the deceased mother of Chief Lucky Igbinedion, former Edo State governor on Tuesday painted a graphic picture of how she killed the 85-year-old woman.
Miss Dominion Okoro, 25, who who was paraded at the Edo State Police headquarters in Benin alongside other suspected criminals confessed that she hit a stool on the octogenarian’s head on an attempt to steal from her.
Dominion said she sneaked into her room and made an attempt to steal her N100,000, gold necklaces and a wristwatch.
She said when she saw that the deceased saw her while trying to steal the items and wanted to raise an alarm, she quickly hit her head with a stool and she died immediately.
The suspected killer said that she hurriedly packed her belongings and ran to stay with her elder sister in Cross River State when she discovered that the woman had died. Read more
2 Lagos robbers arrested with stolen car in Ogun (Punch)
Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested two robbery suspects, Kenneth Akpa and Adebayo Michael, for allegedly stealing a car in Lagos State.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
Oyeyemi explained that the suspects were arrested following information received by policemen attached to the Iperu divisional headquarters.
He added that the police got a tip-off that a stolen Toyota Corolla 2008 model was sighted at a mechanic workshop along the Ogere/Iperu Road, where the suspects were making efforts to fix it.
The police spokesman said, “Upon the information, the DPO, Iperu division, quickly mobilised his men to the scene, where the two suspects were arrested and the vehicle, with number plate, MUS 599 GV, was recovered. Read more
Donations to Lagos security fund reducing, says LSSTF chief (Nation)
Donor fatigue might have hit the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), the Fund’s Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdurrazaq Balogun has said.
This formed part of the major drawbacks observed in 2021, the Fund’s boss said.
Balogun gave the hint while welcoming Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor Dr Kadiri Obafemi Hazmat, Service Chiefs, and Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu.
Traditional rulers, captains of industry and members of the executive council also graced the event which was held at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Lagos. Read more
Magodo: Residents stranded as land grabbers, police invade Lagos estate (Punch)
Hundreds of residents and business owners have been thrown into confusion following their inability to ply the Magodo Phase 2 estate gates to navigate their destinations in and out of the estate located in the Shangisha area of Lagos State.
Our correspondent gathered that the Magodo Residents Association closed the estate gates after suspected landgrabbers led by men of the Nigerian police force invaded the estate to claim possession of property in the estate on Tuesday.
During the invasion, the suspected landgrabbers, while being fortified by the police, used red and brown inks to inscribe possession taken on various property in the estate.
The Legal Adviser, Magodo Residents Association, Tunji Abdulhameed, said the suspected landgrabbers were about invading the estate with a bulldozer when the estate management closed estate gates to prevent the action. Read more
Over 1,000 cargoes trapped at Lagos ports as server records downtime (Guardian)
Over 1, 000 cargoes imported into the country have been trapped at Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports as Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Internet server experiences another round of downtime.
The Guardian learnt that the server, which was down on Monday, has created discomfort among clearing agents operating at the ports causing delays since Monday, as they claim revenues have been lost due to the cargo delays at the ports.
Customs’ server breakdown has become more frequent of late and has become a major bottleneck in cargo clearance at the ports in Lagos. The service provider, Webb Fontaine, has been blamed for inefficiency, as operators noted that server downtime has reportedly made the capture of information and release of cargoes a herculean task for two days.
Since the downtime of Customs’ server hampers trade facilitation by causing delay, and in turn, compels importers to pay millions of Naira as demurrage to shipping companies, and storage to terminal operators, clearing agents have consistently called on the Federal Government to replace the service provider. Read more
Hisbah to grill Shatu Garko’s parents over ‘illegal’ participation in Miss Nigeria (Punch)
The Kano State Hisbah Board, aka Sharia Police, is set to invite the parents of the 44th Miss Nigeria, Shatu Garko, over their daughter’s ‘illegal’ participation in the beauty pageant.
The 18-year-old Garko become the first hijabi to win the Miss Nigeria pageant since its inception in 1957.
Hisbah noted that it was legal for her to participate in any beauty contest in the Islam religion.
“We (Hisbah) have confirmed that Shatu Garko is a muslim from Kano state and her parents come from Garko Local government area. Kano is a sharia state and this is why we would not allow the matter to pass. Read more
Senate chickens out of overriding Buhari’s veto on Electoral Act Amendment Bill (Vanguard)
THE Senate Wednesday fell short of the expectations of many Nigerians, especially stakeholders in the electoral process when it could not carry out its avowed readiness to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021.
Before the resumption of the plenary Wednesday, there was palpable tension in the Senate wing following Tuesday’s threat by the Senators that led to the collation of signatures where 70 Senators had shown their determination to override President Buhari’s veto.
The Senate had on Tuesday in one day, dissolved into a closed-door session twice to deliberate on the letter of President Muhammadu Buhari and take a position on the withholding of assent to the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment bill.
The move to break into an Executive session at 1.57 pm which lasted for forty-five minutes was sequel to a point of order raised by Senator George Sekibo, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Rivers East which, therefore, heightened the tension. Read more
HURIWA, Ubani fault Military for detaining Private Akinlabi, skit maker, Cute Abiola (Guardian)
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and the Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law, NBA-SPIDEL, Dr. Monday Ubani have faulted the recent decision by Nigerian Military to punish two of its officers, Private Hannah Sofiyat Akinlabi and popular skit maker Abdulgafar Ahmed also known as Cute Abiola.
While Private Hannah was detained for publicly accepting a marriage proposal by a National Youth Corps member at the Yikpata Orientation Camp in Kwara State., Cute Abiola was detained and punished for almost three weeks for allegedly contravening Navy social media rules.
HURIWA, in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, by its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and National director of media Miss Zainab Yusuf, said it is a pathetic embarrassment to the institution of Nigerian Army to devote its time, energy and resources talking about a frivolity and abandoning serious matters with strategic negative impacts on the credibility and integrity of the Army.
Similarly, in a statement yesterday, Ubani noted that while the Army and Navy deserve the right to maintain discipline amongst its officers, such actions must, however, be guided by the 1999 Constitution , which guarantees the rights of all citizens including military officers. Read more
Senate passes N17.12t Budget for 2022 (Vanguard)
The Senate Wednesday passed an aggregate expenditure of N17,126,873,917,692 trillion naira as budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
The Senate increased the 2022 appropriations from N16,391,023,917,692 to N17,126,873,917,692.
It will be recalled that in the budget “Christened “Budget of Economic Growth and Sustainability”, President Muhammadu Buhari presented the budget estimates before a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Thursday, October 7, 2021.
Originally, the budget consists of Statutory Transfer of N869,667,187,542; Debt Service of N3,879,952,981,550 and Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure of N6,909,849,788,737 and Capital Expenditure of N5,467,403,959 863. Read more
Japanese billionaire urges elites to visit space after ISS trip (France24)
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on Wednesday urged the world’s elites to visit space to give them a new perspective of Earth, speaking after his own voyage to the International Space Station.
Together with assistant Yozo Hirano and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, Maezawa spent 12 days aboard the ISS, where they made videos documenting daily life in space for his one million YouTube subscribers.
“I would like as many people as possible — and as many people with power and influence — to visit space,” Maezawa said at a post-flight press conference on Wednesday.
“They will see Earth differently and treat it completely differently,” he added. Read more
“Matrix Resurrections” revolution: Inside the franchise’s sprawling influence (NYPost)
In 1999, Keanu Reeves chose the red pill to go down the rabbit hole — and modern cinema and pop culture would never be the same.
Even in the landscape of that unforgettable year in film, “The Matrix” was a wholly unique blend of cyberpunk sci-fi, superhero thriller and mind-bending existential drama.
Director-siblings the Wachowskis went for broke with a dystopian nightmare about a hacker-hero named Neo (Reeves) destined to be a savior with the help of a band of rebels headed by cyber-warriors Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne).
The ambitious storytelling was equalled by lush visuals: dripping green lines of computer code, a post-apocalyptic field of battery-humans encased in pods, androgynous protagonists sporting S&M-tinged virtual wardrobes and defying the laws of physics to dodge bullets. Read more
“No Time To Die” and “Dune” lead Oscars shortlist ahead of 2022 awards (Metro)
No Time To Die and Dune are leading the nominations in the first round of films shortlisted for the 94th Academy Awards ceremony.
Both films were shortlisted in four categories after 10 were announced on Tuesday ahead of the Oscars 2022.
Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond was shortlisted for make-up and styling, music (original song), sound and visual effects.
Meanwhile, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune, starring Timothee Chalamet and Oscar Isaac, was shortlisted for make-up and styling, music (original score), sound, and visual effects. Read more
Curled up dinosaur embryo found ready to hatch from fossilised egg in China (France24)
Scientists on Tuesday announced the discovery of an exquisitely preserved dinosaur embryo from at least 66 million years ago that was preparing to hatch from its egg just like a chicken.
The fossil was discovered in Ganzhou, southern China and belonged to a toothless theropod dinosaur, or oviraptorosaur, which the researchers dubbed “Baby Yingliang.”
“It is one of the best dinosaur embryos ever found in history,” University of Birmingham researcher Fion Waisum Ma, who co-authored a paper in the journal iScience, told AFP.
Ma and colleagues found Baby Yingliang’s head lay below its body, with the feet on either side and back curled – a posture that was previously unseen in dinosaurs, but similar to modern birds. Read more
Libya elections: Delay called for in presidential poll (BBC)
Libya’s election commission has called for the country’s first presidential poll, due to take place on Friday, to be postponed for a month.
It proposed the new date of 24 January after “liaising” with parliament, the commission said.
A parliamentary committee had earlier said that it would be “impossible” to hold elections on Friday.
The run-up to the poll has been marred by disputes over the eligibility of candidates and growing security fears. Read more
Armie Hammer features in first role since sexual assault allegations as Death on the Nile trailer released (Metro)
The trailer for Death on the Nile has been released, with Armie Hammer starring in his first film role since sexual assault allegations were levelled against him earlier this year.
Some viewers have claimed his scenes have been ‘cut around’ in the trailer for the upcoming movie, which also stars Black Panther star Letitia Wright, and Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot.
Sir Kenneth Branagh stars as Hercule Poirot in the adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel, with the actor taking a prominent role in the trailer as he tries to pinpoint the murderer on board the ship.
Hammer, who denied the allegations, doesn’t appear much in the clip, with viewers reacting on social media. Read more
Covid-19: Israel plans to give fourth dose of vaccine to over-60s (BBC)
An expert panel has recommended giving a fourth vaccine dose to health workers and those over 60
A government panel of experts in Israel has recommended a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine for all people aged over 60 and healthcare workers.
The move was welcomed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who said it would help the country get through a potential wave of the Omicron variant.
The Israeli health ministry has so far confirmed 341 cases of Omicron.
The overall Covid-19 infection rate is also back on the rise, with 903 new cases recorded on Tuesday. Read more
NBA: Los Angeles Lakers beaten by Phoenix Suns in third straight defeat (BBC)
The Los Angeles Lakers were beaten 108-90 by the visiting Phoenix Suns as their losing streak stretched to three games.
The Suns recorded their 24th victory in 26 games as Devin Booker scored 24 points in his second game back from a hamstring injury.
LeBron James added 34 points for the Lakers but injured his ankle with six minutes remaining.
Suns’ Deandre Ayton also claimed 19 points with 11 rebounds during the win.
The Lakers were without head coach Frank Vogel, plus players Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, Avery Bradley and Austin Reaves, who all remain unavailable under the NBA’s Covid-19 health and safety protocols. Read more
Rugby player, Daniel Igbinedion, jailed three years for beating, strangling girlfriend (Punch)
A UK court has jailed Nigerian-born professional rugby player, Daniel Igbinedion, 26, for beating and strangling his 35-year-old girlfriend, Katy Lyles.
The court was told that Igbinedion dragged his insurance broker girlfriend out of a club and tore off her SmartWatch so she couldn’t dial 999 before threatening her with a blade.
The court also heard how after a night out in Leeds, Igbinedion attacked Lyles at his home in Bingley where he “kept her prisoner” and strangled her with both hands around her neck, leaving her unable to breathe.
The 6ft 2inch player who played recently for Oldham Roughyeds, Dewsbury Rams and Featherstone Rovers met his love interest when he started as a personal trainer at Nuffield Gym in, Shipley, West Yorkshire, which was opposite her workplace, reports UK’s Daily Mail. Read more
Man City footballer Benjamin Mendy charged with further count of rape (Metro)
Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been accused of another count of rape.
Mendy, 27, who was already accused of a series of sex offences, was charged last week with a further count of rape, but this was subject to reporting restrictions.
The restrictions were lifted today as Mendy appeared at Chester Crown Court for a hearing ahead of his trial next year.
The charge relates to a new complainant and is alleged to have taken place in July this year. Read more
Jordan Henderson: Liverpool captain concerned player welfare not taken seriously (BBC)
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson says he is “concerned” that “nobody really takes player welfare seriously”.
Including Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham, the Reds will play five games within two weeks despite Covid-19 cases and injuries.
Premier League clubs chose to fulfil festive fixtures at a meeting on Monday despite a rise in Covid-19 cases.
“I don’t think people can appreciate how intense it is until you actually see it first hand,” said Henderson.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he added: “Football to us is everything and we want to be able to perform at the highest level every time we set foot on the pitch. And unfortunately, in this period it is difficult to do that. Read more
3rd Nets game postponed with roster still ravaged by COVID (NYPost)
The Nets have seen a third straight game postponed, with the NBA announcing that Thursday’s tilt in Portland is the latest to be scratched due to COVID-19.
Despite having signed four hardship replacements, Brooklyn is so hard-hit it still doesn’t have the league-required eight available players to proceed with the game against the Trail Blazers. It was supposed to tip off a three-game West Coast road swing, and the highly anticipated Christmas Day clash at the Lakers is now in doubt.
The NBA had already postponed the Nets’ prior two games — Sunday at home against the Denver Nuggets and Tuesday vs. the Washington Wizards — due to the rising spike in COVID-19 infections. But despite the havoc being wrecked by the omicron variant, the league is adamant it wants the Christmas slate to go forward.
Nets-Lakers at Crypto.com Center is the NBA’s most expensive regular-season ticket at an average price of $780, according to TickPick. And with the league having already booked somewhere between $25 million and $30 million in advertising, per Sportico, it’s easy to see why they’re so intent on plowing ahead. Read more
Manchester United reopen training ground after Covid outbreak (Guardian)
Manchester United on Tuesday reopened their Carrington training ground following a coronavirus outbreak that forced the postponement of two Premier League matches.
United closed Carrington for an initial 24 hours eight days ago and their matches at Brentford and at home against Brighton were subsequently called off.
“Manchester United’s players have started a return to training at Carrington on a staggered basis,” the club said in a statement.
“The complex was closed for first-team operations last week due to a Covid-19 outbreak at the club but opened again (on Tuesday) morning.
“Hence, this will now give interim manager Ralf Rangnick and his squad time to prepare for our next fixture — the Premier League meeting with Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Monday, December 27.” Read more
Barcelona complete signing of Ferran Torres (Vanguard)
Barcelona have completed the signing of forward Ferran Torres on a five-year deal from Manchester City for €55m plus €10m add-ons.
The move for the Spaniard, 21, is a return to the league he competed in with Valencia before the 2020 switch to Premier League football.
The deal is a push by the Catalans to bolster their squad following exists by forwards Antoine Griezmann and Lionel Messi that has left the club suffering this season.
Barca have won just seven of their eighteen league matches and sit in the 7th position. Read more