Igboho accuses FG of plotting his elimination in detention (Independent)
Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Igboho has accused the Nigerian Government of attempting to eliminate him in the Benin Republic.
The Punch reports that Igboho through his spokesman, Olayomi Koiki, in a podcast on Tuesday evening said, “The enemies are trying to eliminate Igboho. Their plan is to eliminate him so that the Yoruba Nation agenda will be silenced, but God has shown that he is above them.”
Koiki also disclosed that Igboho can’t be released through the legal route because the Benin Republic judiciary is not working.
“If you think the legal route is what will set Igboho free, then we are wasting our time. Read more
Sanwo-Olu pledges completion of farm access roads (Leadership)
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said his administration would ensure the completion of the construction of 13.16 kilometers of farm access roads embarked upon by APPEALS Project in four locations in the state by June 2022.
The governor who gave the assurance when he officially launched the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project’s Women and Youth Empowerment Programme (WYEP), listed the farming clusters to include Araga Farm Settlement, Igbodu and Poultry Cluster in Epe; Erikorodo Poultry Estate in Ikorodu and Afowo in Badagry.
He said: “We are strongly committed to enhancing the agricultural productivity of small and medium-scale farmers in Lagos State and improving value addition along with our agricultural value chain, which are the core objectives of the Lagos APPEALS project.
“Agriculture offers our people, especially our youths, an opportunity to make a difference, especially through effective deployment of technology in the sector, for improved productivity and the attainment of our food security and safety goals on one hand, and our job creation agenda on the other. I am a strong believer that the increased involvement of young Nigerians in agriculture will help tackle various long-standing challenges facing the sector. Read more
Police arrest 47 murder suspects in 2 months (DailyTrust)
The Lagos State Police Command yesterday said it has arrested 47 murder suspects out of a total of 1,320 arrests made for various crimes in the state’s metropolis between October and November 2021.
It said the hoodlums were arrested at different locations across the state and that many weapons and illicit drugs were also recovered from the different criminal dens raided.
Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, made this disclosure at a press conference held yesterday at the command’s headquarters, Ikeja.
Odumosu while reading out the command’s score card in the last two months reiterated its determination and commitment to harnessing all available means to reduce crimes and social vices in the state as required of the police.
He said from the month of October to November 2021, the command arrested 66 suspected armed robbers, 72 suspected cultists and 47 murder suspects. Read more
Onpetu stool: High Court deposes Ogbomoso monarch (Sun)
Controversy is currently trailing a judgment delivered by an Oyo State High Court in Ogbomoso, over the deposition of the occupant of the stool of Onpetu of Ijeru Kingdom, Oba Sunday Oladapo Oyediran Lagbami Osekun III, in Ogbomoso South Local Government of the State.
The Oyo State High Court, in the recent judgment, delivered in November 2021, but was obtained this week, ordered the monarch to, henceforth, stop parading himself as the paramount ruler of Ijeru Quarters, Ogbomoso.
The judgment followed a litigation instituted by Chief Popoola Olaniyi Elijah against Chief Oladapo, the Oyo State governor, and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Oyo State over the chieftaincy stool of Ijeru.
The presiding judge, Justice K. A Adedokun, in the judgment mandated the governor of Oyo State and his agents from further recognising Chief Oladapo as the ruler of Ijeru Quarters. The claimant was represented by his counsel, C. I Olinya, while Mr. Femi Oladimeji held the brief for the first defendant. The second and third defendants, according to the judgment, did not make any legal representation.
Man, 68, docked over alleged attempt to steal (Vanguard)
A 68-year-old man, Mr Sunday Adeyemi, was on Wednesday arraigned before an Iyaganku Chief Magistrate Court 6, Ibadan, Oyo State, for allegedly attempting to steal.
Adeyemi is facing a one-count charge of an attempt to steal.
The police said the offence was committed on Dec. 18 at about 5:45 a. m., at First Bank, Molete branch, Ibadan.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. Read more
12,450 applicants subscribe for National Housing Programme – Babangida Hussain (Independent)
No fewer than 12,450 applicants have indicated their interest to purchase completed houses under the National Housing Programme (NHP).
Dr. Babangida Hussaini, Permanent Secretary,
Federal Ministry of Works and Housing gave the statistics in Kano during a local Radio live programme “Duniyar mu A Yau”.
Dr. Babangida Hussaini said that 5,000 houses are ready across the 34 states of the federation, as he added that the ministry has approved 425 applicants who applied through the ministry`s portal https://nhp.worksandhousing.gov.ng.
Dr. Hussain explained that the National Housing Programme (NHP) was designed to accommodate the interest of Nigerians and those in the civil service. Read more
Family of Edo teacher, Elohor, seeks justice over daughter’s murder (Punch)
The family of a 29-year old lady, Elohor Oniorosa, is seeking justice over her alleged murder. Elohor Oniorosa was a teacher in a private school, who was allegedly killed during a visit to her boyfriend,Osaretin David, a truck driver. The incident occured in Iguadolor community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area, Edo State, on Christmas eve,December 24,2021.
Elohor’s parents explained that she decided to go visit her boyfriend who was reportedly ill. After waiting for hours for their daughter to return home after the visit to her boyfriend’s house, they began to call her phone line but received no answers. They decided to visit the apartment that evening.
Elohor’s mother, Comfort Oniorosa, said her daughter left the house for her boyfriend’s place thinking that his illness would have gotten worse.
Comfort Oniorosa also lamented that the victim didn’t brush as she uregntly left to her boyfriend’s house
after receiving a call from him, on Christmas eve. Read more
Candidates under 18 not required to produce COVID-19 vaccination card —JAMB (Tribune)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has clarified that candidates, clients and other members of the public below the age of 18 years are not required to produce any vaccination card before being allowed access to its facilities.
The board said these categories of persons are not covered by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) vaccination policy.
Spokesperson of JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, who gave the clarification on Tuesday said this became expedient in view of the misinterpretation of the board’s policy of no vaccination card, no entry into any of its facilities nationwide earlier announced.
Earlier, the board had announced a policy of no vaccination card, no entry into any of its facilities nationwide.
The board had earlier said: “In line with this entry protocol, staff and visitors or clients are to present acceptable evidence which is: COVID-19 vaccination card, any identification card connecting the holder to the vaccination card, preferably the national identity card, driver’s licence, or International Passport. Read more
COVID-19: Garba Shehu gives update on status (Independent)
The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu has said he has recovered from COVID-19 infection.
Garba had on Saturday, revealed that he tested positive for the virus.
In an update on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday, Mr. Garba expressed gratitude to those who prayed and reached out to him when his COVID-19 status was disclosed in the media.
He wrote, “I thank Almighty Allah for my speedy recovery from COVID-19. My prayers and deepest respect are for all of you, who called or texted expressing your concerns for me.
“May all of our countrymen and women still afflicted with the virus fight this scourge with all their might and get well soon”. Read more
Dr. Dre to pay ex-wife Nicole Young $100m in divorce settlement (PageSix)
Dr. Dre and Nicole Young have settled their bitter divorce battle by finally ironing out finances.
The famed music producer will pay his ex-wife $100 million, TMZ reported Tuesday. Dre will pay the first $50 million now and the second half a year from now. He’s estimated to be worth $820 million.
Dre will also keep their real estate properties and rights to his music and stock options, including the money earned from his sale of Beats by Dre.
Young, meanwhile, will keep four vehicles: a Rolls Royce, Cadillac Escalade, motorcycle and Range Rover. She’ll also keep her clothing, jewelry, bags and furs, which are estimated to be worth millions.
A source connected to the rapper, 56, told the outlet that Young could’ve gotten a larger piece of his estate if she had settled a year ago. Read more
Crypto platform gets approval from central bank (Nation)
Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, has received initial approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain to be the service provider of crypto assets in the Gulf country, Bloomberg reported.
Binance still needs to complete an application process, CEO Changpeng Zhao wrote in an email to Bloomberg News.
If successful, this will mark the first regulatory approval for the cryptocurrency exchange in the Middle East and North Africa. Binance is expanding its regional presence, as executives prepare to set up potential headquarters in the Gulf countries.
Bahrain has been one of the Middle East’s early adopters of digital assets. The Gulf’s smallest economy approved the first licensed crypto-asset platform in the region, Rain Financial, in 2019, and granted another license to Manama-based CoinMENA earlier this year. Read more
Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay addresses ‘film blunder’ (Metro)
Adam McKay has responded to fans who spotted an apparent blunder in film Don’t Look Up, insisting the moment was meant to feature in the Netflix movie.
The 53-year-old director helmed the satirical sci-fi flick, which features an all-star cast headed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence and tells the story of a comet that is about to destroy Earth.
However, as punters gorge themselves on the flick, they’ve spotted one scene in which masked crew members can be seen milling about the back of a shot featuring Lawrence and Timothee Chalamet.
This was shared by filmmaker Ben Kohler on TikTok with the title ‘oopsy’ as others speculated that an editing error may have taken place. Read more
North Carolina police officer accidentally shoots teen son in head (NYPost)
A North Carolina police officer accidentally shot and seriously injured his 15-year-old son Monday night, a report said.
The teen was struck in the head in the shooting at a home in Onslow County, WCNT reported, citing authorities.
“This is a tragic event, and this matter remains under investigation by the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office,” District Attorney Ernie Lee said in a statement.
The boy remained hospitalized at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville on Tuesday.
The teen’s father is an officer with North Carolina’s Jacksonville Police Department.
The department said it is cooperating with an investigation led by the sheriff’s office. Read more
Covid: US reports record infections as Europe’s Omicron cases also soar (BBC)
The US and several European countries have reported their highest daily rises in Covid cases since the pandemic began, as the Omicron variant spreads.
More than 440,000 new cases were recorded in the US on Monday, health officials said.
France, Italy, Greece, Portugal and England have also reported record numbers of daily infections.
Officials have said the high figures could be due in part to reporting delays over the Christmas period.
Studies suggest that Omicron is milder than the previously dominant Delta variant, but fears remain that the sheer number of cases stemming from the highly infectious Omicron could overwhelm hospitals. Read more
James Webb Space Telescope completes crucial next step, NASA says (Metro)
Nasa confirmed that its most powerful space telescope that was launched on Christmas Day completed a crucial step involving its most unpredictable and complicated component: the sunshield.
Three-and-a-half days into its mission and around 320,000 miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope is now gradually opening up from inside the rocket.
The two components called the Forward and Aft Unitised Pallet Structures contain five carefully folded sunshield membranes, plus the cables, pulleys, and release mechanisms that make up Webb’s sunshield.
The operations team completed the deployment of the forward pallet at approximately 6.21 p.m. UK time, after a process that took four hours. The team will now move on to deploy the aft pallet. Read more
Valentina Orellana-Peralta: US teen shot dead by police ‘died in mother’s arms’ (BBC)
A mother whose 14-year-old girl was accidentally killed by a stray police bullet in Los Angeles says her daughter “died in my arms”.
Valentina Orellana-Peralta was with her mother in a clothes shop on 23 December when an officer opened fire on a suspect.
The bullet pierced a wall and hit her.
Soledad Peralta wept as she described begging officers to help her daughter, but that they “just left her laying there”. Read more
Ademola Lookman strikes to earn Leicester City all points against Liverpool (DailyTrust)
Nigerian-born forward, Ademola Lookman, came from the bench to earn Leicester City a hard-fought 1-0 victory against title-chasers Liverpool, on Tuesday.
The defeat is Liverpool’s second English Premier League (EPL) of the season.
Liverpool dominated the first half against an injury-hit Leicester City and looked set to take a deserved lead.
This was when they were awarded a 16th-minute penalty kick, only for Egyptian Mohamed Salah to see his kick saved by home goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
The chances kept coming for the visitors, with Sadio Mane blazing over when he should have scored early in the second half. Read more
Usman named Fighter of the Year (Punch)
UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, has been named the Fighter of the Year by ESPN and respected Mixed Martial Arts website, MMAfighting, beating Charles Oliveira, Ciryl Gane, Julianna Pena, Rose Namajunas and Kayla Harrison to the award.
According to MMAfighting the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ polled a total of 107 points to win the award while Oliveira finished second with 87 points and Gane garnered 53 points coming third.
Usman had an explosive 2021 winning all three fights he went into the octagon for. He defeated former teammate Gilbert Burns via knockout in February before claiming second victories against Jorge Mashvidal in April via knockout and Colby Covington via unanimous decision in November.
The Nigerian has also been ranked the best pound-for-pound fighter in the franchise after earning knockout (punches) victory in three of his last five fights. He beat Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya to the accolade. Read more
Ronaldo statue causes controversy in India (Nation)
A new statue of footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has sparked controversy in the Indian state of Goa.
Locals in Goa are objecting to a Portuguese footballer being honoured instead of a player from India.
Michael Lobo, a minister in the Goa state government, tweeted that the statue had been supposed to promote football as a sport and inspire young people to play the game.
Instead, the day after the unveiling of the 400-kilogramme statue, protesters carrying black flags converged on the site to protest, according to Indian news agency IANS on Wednesday. Read more
Novak Djokovic withdraws from ATP Cup amid Australian Open uncertainty (BBC)
World number one Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from Serbia’s ATP Cup team.
There remains uncertainty over whether the 34-year-old will compete at the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on 17 January.
All players and staff at the 2022 Australian Open must be vaccinated or have a medical exemption granted by an independent panel of experts.
However defending champion Djokovic has not spoken publicly about his vaccination status.
The nine-time Australian Open winner has been replaced by world number 33 Dusan Lajovic for Serbia in the 16-country ATP Cup, which begins in Sydney on Saturday. Read more
Mikel Arteta to miss Manchester City clash after testing positive for Covid-19 (Metro)
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will not be on the touchline for his side’s Premier League clash against Manchester City after he tested positive for Covid-19.
The Spaniard’s side have been in a rich vein of form and he was looking forward to pitting his wits against his old employers, who are currently top of the table.
However, Arteta must now self-isolate for at least seven days after he tested positive for coronavirus.
Arteta was the first high profile figure in the Premier League to test positive for coronavirus in March 2020, which led to the postponement of the Gunners’ clash with City. Read more
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trashes LeBron James over COVID meme (NYPost)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar believes LeBron James tarnished his legacy by sharing a COVID-19 meme on Instagram.
On Monday, the Lakers legend wrote a blog post blasting James, titled, “Dear LeBron: Here’s the COVID-19 Help You Requested in Your Spider-Man Meme.”
Two days prior, James shared the aforementioned meme that showed three Spiderman characters pointing at each other, labeled, “COVID,” “Flu” and “Cold.”
The Lakers star captioned his Instagram post, “Help me out folks.”
Abdul-Jabbar described the meme as “uninformed,” and said, “LeBron has encouraged vaccine hesitancy which puts lives and livelihoods at risk.” Read more
Dembele, Gavi, Umtiti Test Positive For COVID-19 (Independent)
Barcelona will be without Ousmane Dembele, Gavi and Samuel Umtiti for Sunday’s match with Real Mallorca after they returned positive COVID-19 tests.
It is a significant blow to Xavi’s side, who will already be without Clement Lenglet, Dani Alves, Jordi Alba and Alejandro Balde for that game.
That quartet of players posted positive tests earlier in the week.
A Barcelona statement read: “The footballers O. Dembele, Umtiti and Gavi are positive for COVID-19 after PCR tests on the squad.
“The players are in good health and self-isolating at home.
“The club has reported the cases to the relevant authorities.” Read more
