How SARS operatives broke my spine, trader tells panel (Nation)
A trader, Ndukwe Ekekwe, on Tuesday narrated how his spine was broken in 2018 when operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) threw him down from a two-storey complex at the Alaba International Market in Ojo, Lagos.
Ekekwe testified before the Lagos State Judicial Panel of inquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS-Related Abuses in Lekki, Lagos.
Ekekwe, 34, said he was arrested on February 16, 2018 taken to SARS head office in Ikeja, stripped naked and brutalised in a torture chamber.
He added that the next day, the operatives took him back to his three shops, broke the doors open with hammers and looted phone accessories. Read more
#EndSARS: TV station confirms death of reporter ‘arrested by Lagos task force’ (Punch)
The management of an online channel, Gboah TV, has confirmed the death of one its reporters, Onifade Pelumi, who has been missing since Saturday, October 24, 2020.
In a statement, the medium said young Onifade was covering the scene of a mob attack at a government facility in the Oko Oba axis of Agege Local Government Area when operatives of the Lagos State Task Force stormed the scene and engaged hoodlums who attempt to loot palliatives at the Ministry of Agriculture store in the Abattoir area of the state.
Pelumi, an intern with the online TV, was reportedly wounded during the task force duel with the miscreants who hijacked the #EndSARS protests against police brutality.
The TV station also claimed the wounded reporter was taken away by the men of the Lagos task force and “was later found dead at Ikorodu mortuary after days of searching all police stations and meeting with the Lagos State task force.” Read more
Sanwo-Olu signs executive order to rebuild Lagos (Nation)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday signed an executive order for the rebuilding of the state as a result of the massive destruction inflicted by hoodlums during the #EndSARS protests.
Sanwo-Olu also constituted the Lagos State Rebuilding Trust Fund to oversee the rebuilding of every aspect of the state and also look at the future and healing of wounds. Read more
Owolewa becomes first Nigerian-American elected to US congress (Punch)
Nigerian-American, Oye Owolewa, has been elected as a shadow member of the United States House of Representatives from the District of Columbia.
According to election results on the website of the District of Columbia Board of Elections on Wednesday morning, Owolewa polled 81.59% of the votes, which represents 164,026 votes against Joyce Robinson-Paul, who scored 18,600 votes, and Sohaer Syed with 15,372 votes.
Owolewa, whose father is from Kwara State and mother is from Oyo, was elected on the platform of the Democratic Party in the election.
Congressional elections held Tuesday with all the 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate up for grabs.
The PhD holder in Pharmacy from the Northeastern University, Boston, is one of the nine Nigerian-Americans on the ballot in Tuesday’s general elections in the United States. Read more
Pregnant cadet, others dismissed from police academy (Guardian)
The Nigerian Police Academy, Wudil, Kano, has dismissed 26 cadets for flouting the code of conduct and academic deficiency.
Among those dismissed was a female cadet tested positive to pregnancy.
The commandant of the academy Assistant Inspector General of Police, (AIG) Ibrahim Zanna, revealed the development during the matriculation ceremony of the 7th regular cadets’ course at the academy.
AIG Zanna, who expressed displeasure over the rising spate of indiscipline among cadets, said that the academy was contending with incessant cases of theft, disobedience to lawful order and academic malpractice among the police trainees. Read more
#EndSARS: I’ve not seen my son for over one year, man tells Delta panel (Punch)
A father of one of the victims of police brutality in Delta State has told the judicial panel of inquiry sitting in Asaba that he has not set his eyes on his 33-year-old son, who was whisked away by the police during a raid at Ezenei Avenue, Asaba on August 8, 2019.
The father, Mr Christopher Ukpuru, narrated before the panel that he was at work on the day of incident when neighbours, who witnessed the raid informed him that his son, Mr Councillor Ukpuru, had been arrested by the police.
He said, “I left my place of work immediately to A’ Division Police Station, Asaba, but they refused me access to him, after a police officer confided in me that he was arrested and brought to the station.
“So, I decided to consult a lawyer to help me to see where my son is. Till date, I have not seen my son. Since I gave birth to him, I have never seen him in any criminal activities.” Read more
Court remands mechanic for allegedly biting off wife’s 3 fingers (Guardian)
A Magistrates’ Court in Gwagwalada, FCT, on Wednesday ordered that a 45-year-old mechanic, Amusu Olajide , who pleaded guilty to biting off his wife’s three fingers be remanded in police custody.
The police charged Olajide, who lives in Gui village, Sunka, FCT with two counts of criminal force and assault and causing grievous hurt.
Magistrate Yusuf Ibrahim, ordered that Olajide be remanded until the victim is discharged from the hospital. Read more
Residents groan as collapsed drainage cuts Kwara communities (Nation)
Residents of Oko-Erin and Sawmill areas of Ilorin, Kwara state capital are groaning as a collapsed drainage system has cut them off from the rest of the metropolis.
The collapsed drainage goes through the popular Sawmill garage to Mustapha Sedan Street and links the now reconstructed Oko-Erin Bridge in the metropolis.
Residents of the ever bubbling communities now find it difficult to access their residences due to the collapsed drainage. Read more
Landmine kills 9 troops in northeast Nigeria (Guardian)
At least nine Nigerian troops were killed when a military truck hit a landmine in jihadist-wracked northeast Nigeria, two security sources told AFP Wednesday.
The incident happened on Monday near the town of Malam Fatori on the border with Niger which houses a garrison of soldiers fighting insurgent groups, the sources, who asked not to be identified, told AFP.
“We lost nine soldiers in the incident,” said the first security source. Read more
WhatsApp trick will help free up loads of space on your phone (Metro)
WhatsApp is introducing a new tool to help users free up storage on their devices.
Everyone knows the amount of crap that can accumulate on your phone thanks to WhatsApp.
Soon there will be an easier way to clear out the GIFs, memes, screengrabs, audio files and other documents you get sent.
WhatsApp will start displaying files in size order, letting users preview them before deciding whether or not to delete them without leaving the app. The option will start appearing for users this week in the Storage section of the app. You can also bulk delete items to free up even more space. Read more
Climate change: US formally withdraws from Paris agreement (BBC)
After a three-year delay, the US has become the first nation in the world to formally withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
President Trump announced the move in June 2017, but UN regulations meant that his decision only takes effect today, the day after the US election.
The US could re-join it in future, should a president choose to do so.
The Paris deal was drafted in 2015 to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change.
It aims to keep the global temperature rise this century well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5C. Read more
Joe Biden has slight edge over Donald Trump in Wisconsin and Michigan (NYPost)
President Donald Trump and Joe Biden are neck and neck in Michigan and Wisconsin — key swing states that Trump narrowly won in 2016, early results on Wednesday morning show.
Early vote counts on the morning after Election Day show Biden leading by the slimmest margin in the two battleground states.
In Michigan, 49.4 percent (2,518,923 votes) were going for the Democratic presidential candidate, compared to 49.1 percent (2,500,843 votes) for Trump, with 94 percent of precincts reporting, according to data from the Associated Press as of 9:30 a.m. Read more
Banks urged to refund victims of cyber scams (Metro)
Banks are being urged by a consumer rights group to refund more customers who fall victim to computer takeover scams, as reported losses top £16 million in a year.
Which? says it has heard from people who have lost thousands of pounds, to perpetrators who phone up pretending to be tech support from a reputable firm such as Microsoft or BT.
The fraudsters then attempt to persuade victims to install remote access software – which is used by many legitimate IT workers – that allows them to steal money and personal details.
It comes as Action Fraud received 14,893 computer software service fraud reports between October 2019 and September 2020, with losses predicted to be around £16.5 million. Read more
“The Witches” faces backlash over portrayal of limb impairments (BBC)
The Witches has been criticised for its depictions of limb difference.
The film, which stars Anne Hathaway, features evil characters who have distinct hand and feet impairments.
Comedian Alex Brooker, who has hand and arm impairments, told the BBC that the images “jarred quite a lot” and could “add to the stigma” around disability.
Film studio Warner Bros said it was “deeply saddened” to learn the movie “could upset people with disabilities”.Read more
Christopher Nolan speaks out on Tenet’s pandemic box office performance (Metro)
Christopher Nolan has spoken out about the box office performance of his much-delayed film Tenet. Like many blockbusters Tenet was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, which caused Tenet to be ‘delayed indefinitely’ before it was eventually released in August. Despite the crisis it had an impressive opening weekend, banking $50 million (£37.5m), but it perhaps might not have been the total expected for a big-budget movie directed by a big name. Read more
All the celebrities considering leaving the country if Trump is re-elected (PageSix)
Fool me once …
Celebrities are once again claiming they will flee the country if President Trump beats former Vice President Joe Biden — four years after a similarly vowed glitterati exodus.
When polls predicted a landslide victory for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, more than a dozen celebs, including Jon Stewart, Cher, Miley Cyrus, Samuel L. Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg and Snoop Dogg, declared they’d be heading for the hills if Trump won.
Chelsea Handler was the only star to come close to making good on the promise with a preemptive purchase of a home out of the country. But she later flip-flopped, the Hollywood Reporter wrote in 2016 after Trump’s win. Read more
COVID-19: No fans for Eagles, Sierra Leone clash, ministry insists (Punch)
The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 have advised the Edo State Government and the Nigeria Football Federation against allowing fans into the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, during the 2021 AFCON qualifier between the Super Eagles and Sierra Leone on November 13.
This is coming after the Edo State Government announced that the gates would be thrown open for fans to watch the game at the refurbished Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
The ministry said admitting fans into the match venue would amount to a breach of the COVID-19 protocols. Read more
Arsenal provide positive update on David Luiz’s fitness ahead of Molde clash (Metro)
Arsenal have confirmed David Luiz is fit to play in Thursday night’s Europa League clash against Molde after recovering from a thigh injury. The Brazilian was forced off the pitch in the 1-0 loss to Leicester City on October 25 and subsequently missed the victories against Dundalk and Manchester United. Mikel Arteta initially feared that Luiz would be out for ‘a few weeks’, but the club have stated that he is now back in first team training and available for selection. Read more
Judge cites Instagram money post to throw Adrien Broner in jail after lawsuit failure (NYPost)
Adrien Broner was thrown in jail by a judge who wasn’t buying claims that the former boxing champ is unable to pay a woman he sexually assaulted in a nightclub, saying the “jig is up today.”
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy Margaret Russo gave the body shot to Broner, 31, during a hearing Monday after holding him in contempt of court in connection to a civil lawsuit filed by a then-35-year-old Ohio woman who said Broner sexually assaulted her at a Cleveland nightclub during the 2018 NBA Finals, Cleveland.com reported. Read more
Gyan eyes Black Stars call-up and coaching role upon Ghana return (BBC)
Asamoah Gyan says his return to Ghana to sign for local side Legon Cities does not mean he is planning to retire.
The former Black Stars captain signed for his new club as a free agent after a stint in India came to an end earlier this year.
“Somebody might say ‘he is about to retire or something’, but I am not listening to that and I am just focussing on my playing career and then I will see what happens,” he told BBC Sport Africa. Read more
Mikel Arteta ‘fed up’ with William Saliba’s situation at Arsenal, open to loan deal (Metro)
Mikel Arteta claims he is ‘fed up’ with William Saliba’s situation at Arsenal following reports that the defender is keen to leave the club in January. The 19-year-old, who was signed in a £27 million deal from Saint-Etienne, is yet to make his debut for Arsenal and has only featured for the club’s Under-23s so far this season.
Saliba’s chances of a regular role at Arsenal have also been reduced after Arteta left him out of his Europa League squad.
Reports in France this week have claimed that Saliba is unhappy with his lack of playing time at Arsenal and is now seeking a return to Saint-Etienne on loan in the next transfer window. Read more
Messi is not difficult to manage – Koeman (BBC)
Ronald Koeman has dismissed claims that Lionel Messi is difficult to manage before their Champions League Group G match against Dynamo Kyiv.
Former Barca manager Quique Setien suggested that he found the forward hard to handle during his brief tenure.
“I don’t agree [with Setien] but I respect his opinion and what he has experienced,” said Koeman.
Messi put in a transfer request in August but was unable to force a move from Barcelona.
“Messi is a very good player, the best in the world,” Koeman said. “I see his ambition but he is not a player I have difficulty managing. Read more