I don’t want to see Nnamdi Kanu in this attire again —Judge to DSS (Punch)
Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Department of State Services to allow the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu to change his outfit.
Kanu, who is facing charges bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony, was arraigned in court on Tuesday.
His lead counsel, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, drew the attention of the Judge to the treatment his client was being subjected to in the custody of the DSS.
He said Kanu was still being kept in solitary confinement, adding that inmates who greeted him were also being subjected to the same treatment.
This is despite an order by Justice Nyako for the DSS to allow the IPOB leader to practise his faith, have his bath, change his clothes and eat properly. Read more
Lagos transporters to pay N800 daily levy, excluding RTEAN, NURTW dues (Guardian)
Lagos State government, on Tuesday, introduced a daily ₦800 consolidated informal transport levy for transporters in the state.
The levy is outside the union dues collected by the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
Lagos State finance commissioner, Dr Rabiu Olowo, who revealed this at the agreement-signing ceremony by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), local councils and transport unions, said that the consolidated levy collection will start February 1.
He stated that the harmonized levy became expedient to ensure that the transport sector in the state is organised and fits into a 21st-century economy. Read more
Police, Amotekun after criminals on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (Tribune)
IN response to the agitations and fears of people plying the Lagos-Ibadan highway over attacks by kidnappers, Ogun State Police Command has assured the general public that it has mapped out strategies to outrun the kidnappers and flush them out of their axis of operation.
The axes included Ogunmakin, Onigaari and Ishara where three victims were kidnapped on Sunday morning.
Responding to the move by the command to curb the renewed kidnap attacks, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi said that the command was not just starting operation along Lagos-Ibadan Highway.
“We have been everywhere along the road. We have our Operation Safer Highway, Federal Highway Patrol and teams of anti-kidnapping units there. What just happened was just an opportunistic drive by the hoodlums who saw an opportunity to strike when they saw a broken down vehicle being fixed,” he said.
Oyeyemi recalled the killing of two of the kidnappers at the same axis two months ago, with the recovery of two AK-47 rifles, saying: “We are not resting on our oars because we are not oblivious of the fact that Lagos-Ibadan Highway is one of the busiest roads in the country, and it is our duty to protect the lives of commuters on the road. Read more
Lagos organises retreat for union leaders (VON)
The Lagos State Government has organised a three-day retreat for Union leaders to promote industrial harmony in the State.
The retreat organised by the Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions is with the theme ‘’Employer\Employee Relations in the New World of Work.’’
Speaking at the event held at the Crown City Park Resort and Hotel, Agbara Lagos, Special Adviser to the Governor on Labour and Industrial relations, Mr. Babatunde Williams explained that the retreat, an annual event, was organised to network, socialise and engage in productive interaction with government officials, in order to forge a symbiotic bond.
Williams mentioned that apart from the bond it would create, the retreat would also avail the labour leaders the opportunity to refresh and upgrade their knowledge on current trends in Labor and Industrial relations practices particularly reference to the management of Employer\Employee relations in the dynamic world of work. Read more
Nigerian Idol returns with D’banj, Simi, Obi Asika as judges (Punch)
Popular music reality show, Nigerian Idol, is set to return for its seventh season. Billed to start on February 6, 2022, pop star Dapo Oyebanjo, aka D’banj, and Similoluwa Kosoko, aka Simi, will be the new judges on the show.
They will be joining Obi Asika, who returns as a judge from the previous season.
Speaking on the introduction of new judges for the new season, the Executive Head, Content and West Africa Channels at MultiChoice Nigeria, Busola Tejumola said, “We could not think of a better trio to be the season’s judges than Obi Asika, D’banj, and Simi. The three of them combined bring decades worth of experience in the music and entertainment business, as well as individual mastery of their crafts. We have no doubt that they will keep the viewers entertained in what will be a spectacular season!”
D’banj expressed his excitement at being one of the judges this season saying, “I was out of the country when I found out that I was going to be a judge for this season of Nigerian Idol and I couldn’t contain my excitement. I’m coming in with my own strategy so viewers should expect a bang.” Read more
Nigerian-American rapper, King Joel rewards school with N500,000 (Nation)
Nigerian-American rapper King Joel has rewarded the winner of the maiden Lagos State Inter-Secondary School debate with N500,000.
Agnue Dei Of Little Francis School emerged as the ultimate winner.
Great Trinity College, Alakoto High School, and Body of Christ Comprehensive Secondary School emerged first and second runner-up respectively.
The event with the theme: “Building a better Nigeria: The responsibility of the parents or The Government?” was held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium with six schools battling for the prize. Read more
Gombe Government promises to investigate shooting of tanker driver (VON)
The Gombe State Government has appealed to the residents of the state to remain calm, as the government, in collaboration with security agencies and other stakeholders are working to ensure law and order, following a misunderstanding at a police checkpoint, which led to the shooting of a Tanker Driver by a police officer.
The incident took place along Dukku-Darazo Road, at about 6:30 am on the 17th of January.
The Gombe State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Julius Ishaya, told journalists that the government swung into action with the Gombe State Police Command, arresting the suspected police officer; Mr. Urbanus Ishaku, who was now undergoing interrogation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, CID.
Mr. Ishaya said the government had rallied all stakeholders to the scene, which was blocked for some time but cleared for use by other commuters. Read more
2023 Presidency: My refusal to support Tinubu not an act of betrayal – Ojudu (Independent)
Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Affairs, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, on Tuesday said that his refusal to support former Governor of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in his presidential bid in 2023 is not an act of betrayal.
In a message he posted on his social media page on Tuesday sighted by Daily Independent, Ojudu, one of Tinubu’s loyalists, said he is following his mind and his decision is his personal conviction.
Ojudu, who works directly in the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo also has been receiving threats and abuses since his refusal to support Tinubu’s bid.
He wrote: “I have seen a statement made by me, many years ago, to celebrate the 60th birthday anniversary of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu making the rounds. Yes, I did make that statement. And more of such will come in my autobiography. We, together, have seen good days and bad days. Read more
Runsewe eulogises late iconic golfer, Kolawole Jacobson (Leadership)
President of the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe has extolled the virtues of Late Kolawole Jacobson, a renowned golf icon in Nigeria.
In a condolence message to the family, Runsewe described Late Jacobson as an accomplished Nigerian, a talented golfer and lover of children who was passionately concerned about the grooming of young Nigerians in the game of golf.
He said Late Jacobson made a very remarkable contribution to the development of golf in Nigeria. “He was an outstanding Nigerian known for his honesty, integrity and committed hard work,” NGF boss stated, lamenting that he will be missed for the several good things he stood for.
Consoling the family, Runsewe said that in this moment of grief, the consolation should be that he slept in the Lord as a man of good conscience and therefore shall be received in heaven by God Almighty. Read more
Kid Cudi soundtracks trailer for Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’ (HipHopDX)
Kid Cudi has found himself among the excitement for Marvel’s Moon Knight following the trailer being released on Monday (January 17).
Premiered during the NFL Super Wild Card matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals on ABC/ESPN, the trailer for the Oscar Isaac-starring series is soundtracked by Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘N’ Nite,” as the title character struggles to tell the difference between dreams and waking life.
“The series follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life,” the synopsis reads. “Steven discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc’s enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt.”
Moon Knight is set to premiere March 30 on Disney+, consisting of six 40–50 minute episodes. Ethan Hawke also stars in the series alongside Gaspard Ulliel and May Calamawy. Read more
Valerie Bertinelli on Eddie Van Halen, writing ‘cathartic’ book: ‘Love isn’t a big enough word’ (USAToday)
Valerie Bertinelli is learning to ignore her inner critic.
Her journey to self-acceptance inspired her new book “Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today” (available now). Throughout the collection of essays giving insight into her self-doubt, relationship with rocker Eddie Van Halen and the troubles plaguing her second marriage, the actress and Food Network star also documents her preoccupation with her size. At 13, she started weighing herself twice daily “without ever being happy or satisfied with the number I see.” Dieting began at 15, her age when her show “One Day at a Time” premiered.
Bertinelli, 61, tells USA TODAY that shedding her old ways of thinking is a process, as a connection between weight and worth was formed early on.
“I learned at a very, very young age that gaining weight made me unlovable,” she says. “I watched my dad not love my mother as much when she gained weight. I had an elementary school teacher point at my belly and say ‘You’d better watch that.’ Before that, I wasn’t even aware of my body. I’m doing my best to get that and scrape it all out of me. But it takes time.” Read more
Canadian province tells Nigerian appointed justice minister to step aside (Guardian)
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has asked justice minister and solicitor general Kaycee Madu to step back from ministerial duties pending the completion of an investigation.
Madu was appointed in August 2020. He is stepping aside following reports he was accused of calling Edmonton’s police chief to rescind a ticket fine for using his phone while driving.
“In the interim period, I have asked Minister Madu to step back from his ministerial duties,” Kennedy tweeted on Tuesday. “Minister Sonya Savage will act as Minister of Justice and Solicitor General during Minister Madu’s leave of absence.”
In March, media reports said the Nigerian-born minister was pulled over on March 10, 2021 and fined $300 for being on his cellphone while driving in a school zone. Read more
Focus Media to produce Lana Barić’s directorial debut ‘Eve After The Fall’ (Variety)
Focus Media is set to produce “Eve After The Fall,” a contemporary drama set against the backdrop of the Zagreb earthquake of 2020. The female-driven film will mark the directorial debut of well-known Croatian actor-writer Lana Barić (“Tereza37”).
Named after the titular Rodin sculpture, “Eve After The Fall” is set to star Olga Pakalović (“Halima’s Path”) as Zana, a woman who reevaluates her life after a natural disaster and attempts to start it all over again. Irena Marković is producing the film at Focus Media.
Barić previously wrote and starred in Danilo Šerbedžija’s “Tereza37” (pictured), last year’s official Croatian entry for the Academy Awards’ International Feature Film category.
“Lana has demonstrated that she is a fierce champion of women’s stories,” said Marković. “She is already considered one of the strong new voices of Croatian cinema. Her fresh approach to the stories of women resonates with not only women from the region, but universally.” Read more
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson mocks guitarists who use roadies to tune their instruments (PlanetRock)
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson has poked fun at guitarists who use roadies to look after their instruments, calling them “wimps.”
Celebrating the upcoming release of Jethro Tull’s new album ‘The Zealot Gene’, Ian Anderson recently appeared on the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz and he was asked about his long standing reputation of being someone who doesn’t shake hands with people.
Anderson explained that he’s always been wary of viruses – even before the coronavirus pandemic – as he has been prone to severe throat infections and upper respiratory tract infections since a young age.
“I’ve been an inveterate hand washer for many years,” Anderson said. “Playing the flute or the guitar, the last thing you want is greasy hands either from shaking hands or opening doors or doing whatever. You really want to have dry, clean hands when you’re playing instruments. Read more
‘Scandal!’s’ Sivenathi Mabuya chats about Shona Ferguson & her big break (TheSouthAfrican)
Housewives and Scandal! actress Sinevathi Mabuya who is known for playing Xolile says her acting dream turned into reality when she met the late Shona Ferguson.
Mabuya opens up about how she pursued her dreams and turned them into reality in an interview with Sowetan.
Scandal! and Housewives actress Sivenathi Mabuya who is known for her role as Xolile has always dreamt of being a superstar from a young age.
She completed matric in 2010 left her hometown for Johannesburg and worked as an assistant at a media monitoring company. Read more
Pilot of medical helicopter crash speaks: ‘Had God as my co-pilot’ (NYPost)
The pilot of a medical helicopter that crash-landed on a church lawn outside Philadelphia said he “had God as my co-pilot” – after all four people aboard, including an infant patient, survived.
Danial Moore, 52, was at the controls of the LifeNet Eurocopter EC-135 chopper, which crashed about 1 p.m. Jan. 11 near Drexel Hill United Methodist Church in Delaware County on its way to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia from Maryland.
The former military pilot – who suffered seven broken ribs, five broken vertebrae and a cracked sternum – was released from Penn Presbyterian Medical Center on Sunday, Fox 29 reported.
“I’m kind of loopy, as you can probably imagine. I’m just feeling fortunate. I had God as my co-pilot that day, and we took care of the crew and we landed in His front yard, so that was kind of nice,” Moore told reporters before an ambulance carried him home, according to NBC Philadelphia. Read more
Russia to shorten Covid-19 isolation period to 7 days (ABC)
Russian authorities said Tuesday that the government is shortening the required isolation period for people infected with the coronavirus from 14 to seven days.
The move comes as Russia faces another surge of COVID-19 cases, this time driven by the rapid spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.
Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who runs the country’s coronavirus task force, said health officials were “optimizing our approaches to quarantine and testing of our citizens, including shortening the quarantine period to seven days.”
Golikova added that other policy changes will be adopted in the coming days, without going into details about what these changes might be. She also didn’t explain the rationale for cutting the isolation period. Read more
Emma Raducanu reacts to Australian Open win over Sloane Stephens (Metro)
Emma Raducanu says she was ‘very pleased’ with her first win at the Australian Open as she breezed past Sloane Stephens.
The British No.1 defeated her American opponent 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 that saw her take the first set in just 17 minutes.
Raducanu, competing in only her third ever Grand Slam, showed glimpses of the form she put on when she made history by winning the US Open last year, but will be looking to cut out her double faults and unforced errors in the next round.
It was also the first time Raducanu went the full three sets in a Grand Slam, but the 19-year-old took it all in her stride to set up a second round meeting with world No. 98 Danka Kovinic. Read more
“Nigeria showed the character of a champion” – Ghana legend tips Super Eagles for AFCON title (Soccernet)
The three-time Afcon kings have not conquered the continent in nine years but a former BBC African Footballer of the Year sees them go all the way in Cameroon.
Former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan has tipped Nigeria to power past all oppositions to win the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Not much was expected from the Super Eagles heading into the 33rd edition of the Afcon due to several issues, including replacing long-time coach Gernot Rohr weeks before the competition and the withdrawal of leading stars, notably among which is Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
But the 2013 champions have been one of the most entertaining sides in Cameroon, dispatching Egypt and Sudan with relative ease while scoring four goals and conceding one. Read more
Manchester City defender Esme Morgan signs contract extension (Sky)
Manchester City defender Esme Morgan has signed a three-year contract extension with the Women’s Super League club until 2025.
The 21-year-old, who made her City first-team debut aged 16 after progressing through the youth ranks, suffered a broken leg against Tottenham in September.
Aside from a loan spell at Everton, Morgan has spent her entire career at City.
She told the club’s official website: “I’m so excited to sign a new contract. Read more
Crystal Palace face battle for Celtic starlet as Eagles sweat on contract offer (TeamTalk)
Crystal Palace are one of three Premier League sides reported to have offered a contract to Scotland Under-16s left-back Mitchel Frame.
Frame, who is currently in the books of Celtic is just 15 years old. The youngster is reported to be one of the top prospects in Celtic’s academy.
The left-back is yet to sign a professional deal with Celtic. As such, he could accept a contract offer from another side with no funds changing hands.
Frame is reported to be of interest to Palace, as well as Tottenham and Wolves, per Football Transfer Tavern. Read more
Arsenal optimistic Carabao Cup semi-final with Liverpool will go ahead (Independent)
Arsenal are optimistic their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool will go ahead as planned on Thursday night.
The Gunners successfully appealed to the Premier League to have Sunday’s north London derby away to Tottenham called off in the absence of a number of players.
Injuries, suspension, coronavirus cases and losing players to the Africa Cup of Nations saw Mikel Arteta’s ranks depleted enough for the league to postpone their scheduled fixture.
However, it is understood there have been no additional Covid-19 cases in the past two days and a couple of players are now likely to be fit following short-term injury problems. Read more
Munguia: Adames wasn’t ready to fight February 19, we moved forward with Ballard (BoxingScene)
Jaime Munguia entered his most recent fight under the impression that his next one would come in a final eliminator.
A string of events prevented that from happening, with the unbeaten former WBO junior middleweight titlist instead settling for activity rather than waiting on perhaps the more significant opportunity.
Next up for Tijuana’s Munguia (38-0, 30KOs) is a true homecoming versus unbeaten American middleweight D’Mitrius Ballard (21-0-1, 13KOs). The bout will take place February 19 on DAZN from Plaza Monumental de Tijuana, marking Munguia’s first fight in his hometown since July 2017.
The event comes in lieu of a WBC middleweight title eliminator. Such hopes were dashed by the recent loss suffered by former title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko, who dropped a ten-round decision to Dominican Republic’s Carlos Adames (21-1, 16KOs) last December 5 in Los Angeles. Read more
Novak Djokovic: Serbian PM makes promise to Aussie sports stars in dig at their country (Express)
Serbia’s president insisted he will not take his frustration on the animosity between his nation and Australia out on Australian sports stars. The Australian Opals basketball team are set to receive a hostile reaction from Serbian fans when they play in a World Cup qualifying tournament in Belgrade next month.
Novak Djokovic was deported from Melbourne following his frustrating 5saga ahead of the Australian Open.
Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open on nine occasions, was sensationally deported from Australia on Sunday following a dramatic saga between the world number one and the country’s national government.
He could be banned from re-entering for three years after his visa was cancelled. Read more
