Ikoyi prison rot: Aregbesola commends undercover investigation (Nation)
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has commended one of Nigeria’s foremost investigative journalists, Fisayo Soyombo and the publisher of The Cable Newspaper, Simon Kolawole for their undercover investigation at the Ikoyi Correction Center.
The ministry through its official twitter handle further said, “While we await the outcome of the investigation to determine if what was reported was right or wrong, the intention of the publisher, undercover reporter and everyone involved in the reportage is worth celebrating”.
Aregbesola further condemned the dehumanisation of inmates, saying maltreating them hinders their reformation as productive members of society. Read more
Alleged N1.4bn fraud: Court further adjourns NBA President’s trial (Punch)
A Federal High Court Lagos has on Thursday further adjourned hearing in the alleged N1.4billion fraud case filed against President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Paul Usoro,
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charged Usoro before Justice Rilwan Aikawa on 10 counts bordering fraud.
He was first arraigned before Justice Muslim Hassan in December 2018, but the case was re-assigned to Justice Rilwan Aikawa. Read more
Court stops rape victim’s father from withdrawing case (Punch)
An Osun State Magistrates’ Court sitting in Osogbo, on Wednesday, stopped an attempt by the father of a rape victim from withdrawing from the case against the accused persons.
The accused, Adebayo Ayanwale, 21, and Segun Adeleke, 27, allegedly defiled the 16-year-old victim.
According to the details of the charges, Ayanwale and Adeleke allegedly defiled and indecently assaulted the victim on March 13, 2019, at No.1 Ade Festus Street, Jaleyemi area of Osogbo. Read more
Army refutes “operation show ID card” exercise (Guardian)
The Nigerian army has refuted claims that it has deployed troops across the states of the federation to begin ‘Operation Positive Identification’ (OPI) exercise.
A number of Nigerian organisations issued travel advisories to their staff concerning the military operation.
A company identified as Bricks told its staff “that residents should move around with valid means of identification, and obey all directives by security agents,” as the army was about to launch a nationwide “Operation Positive Identification”. Read more
Ex-corper poses as FCT minister, defrauds victims of N52m (Punch)
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested a 27-year-old former serving member of the National Youth Service Corps, Mohammed Bello Kolo, who allegedly posed as the Minister of the FCT, Muhammed Bello, to defraud his victims of over N52m.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested by personnel attached to the State Intelligence Bureau of the command following a complaint received on October 28.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma, at a briefing on Wednesday, said the ex-corps member had so far defrauded his victims “of N52m, which he allegedly received in instalments under the pretext of awarding them contracts.” Read more
How I opened several bank accounts for Maina – EFCC witness (Independent)
The trial of former Pension Reform Task Team chairman, Abdulrasheed Maina commenced on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, before Justice Okon Abang with the first prosecution witness, Mairo Muhammed Bashir of United Bank for Africa, UBA revealing how she opened several bank accounts for the defendant.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, M.S Abubakar, Bashir informed the court that she is the business manager of United Bank for Africa, UBA and oversees the affairs of the Business Section of the bank, including sales, operations, generation of deposits, giving of loans to individuals and corporate bodies. Read more
Another fuel tanker falls in Onitsha (Nation)
An articulated tanker loaded with PMS reportedly fell into a ditch along Onitsha/Enugu expressway in Onitsha, Anambra state.
The tanker was said to have split its content along the drainages, close to Chipex filling station.
There was record of casualties as at time of filing this report.
The police spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed PPRO, confirmed the incident.
He advised residents of the area to stay clear from the premises in order to prevent any disaster. Read more
Oyo pilgrim absconds after 2019 Hajj (Nation)
The Oyo State Pilgrims Welfare Board says a female pilgrim, Ms Anifat Saheed, absconded in Jeddah during the 2019 Hajj operation in Saudi Arabia.
Prof. Sayed Malik, the Chairman of Muslim wing of the board made the disclosure on Thursday, in Ibadan, during the presentation of the 2019 Hajj report to Gov. Seyi Makinde.
He said she was one of the 914 pilgrims that took part in the 2019 Hajj from the state.
According to Malik, the disappearance of Anifat, was noticed when the board was preparing the last batch of pilgrims for their journey to King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah on Sept.1 and all efforts to locate her proved abortive. Read more
Jeremy Corbyn taunts Boris over Brexit failure and pledges People’s Vote (Metro)
Jeremy Corbyn has launched Labour’s ‘ambitious and radical’ election campaign, vowing to take on the ‘tax dodgers, rogue landlords, polluters and bad bosses.’
He has pledged to create a country that works for the ‘many not the few’ and formally declared that Brexit would be put back to the people.
Mr Corbyn’s speech comes on the day Boris Johnson failed to live up to his ‘do or die’ promise to deliver Brexit on Halloween. Read more
Trump impeachment: House votes to formalise inquiry (BBC)
The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution to formally proceed with the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
The measure detailed how the inquiry will move into a more public phase and was not a vote on whether to impeach the president.
The vote was the first formal test of support for impeachment in the Democratic-controlled house.
The White House condemned the vote, which passed along party lines. Read more
North Korea fires unidentified projectiles: South’s military (Guardian)
North Korea fired two projectiles on Thursday, the South’s military said, with nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington at a deadlock.
The weapons were launched from South Pyongan province in an easterly direction over the sea, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, without specifying the type of device involved.
“We are maintaining readiness and monitoring in case of additional launches,” they added.
It is the latest in a series of launches by the North but the first since October 2, when it fired a sea-launched missile in a provocative move — a submarine-based missile capability would change the military balance. Read more
California fires: Goats help save Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (BBC)
A hungry herd of 500 goats has helped save the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library from the California wildfires.
In May, the library hired the goats to clear flammable scrub surrounding the complex as a preventative measure.
The goats ate the brush, creating a fire break that slowed the flames and gave firefighters extra time to react.
The library near Los Angeles was threatened by the Easy Fire, the latest in a spate of fires causing evacuations and power cuts across the state. Read more
Barcelona, AC Milan monitoring Nigeria’s Osimhen (Independent)
Barcelona have reportedly joined Bayern Munich and AC Milan in monitoring Nigerian international and Lille Metropole striker Victor Osimhen.
According to Soccer Link, Osimhen has attracted interest from several of Europe’s top clubs as he continues to impress for Lille this season.
The 20-year-old joined the French Ligue 1 side in August as a replacement for Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe, having made a name for himself in the Belgium Pro League with RSC Charleroi. Read more
Jose Mourinho open to replacing Unai Emery as Arsenal manager (Metro)
Jose Mourinho would be keen on replacing Unai Emery as Arsenal manager and reportedly prefers a move to the Emirates over Borussia Dortmund, who he has also been linked with. The Portuguese coach has been out of work since departing Manchester United last year and has been carefully plotting his next move, though he is becoming increasingly restless to return to management. His list of suitors is growing, with Lucien Favre under pressure at Dortmund, while north London rivals Emery and Mauricio Pochettino are also under increasing scrutiny. Read more
ITTF tips Quadri to lead African charge in Tokyo (Nation)
Following the exploit of Aruna Quadri coupled with his growing profile globally; the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has tipped the Nigerian to lead the continent’s charge at the 2019 Team World Cup in Tokyo.
12 top teams including continental champions will compete at the tournament which serves as test event for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games from November 6 to 10 with Nigeria and Egypt representing Africa in men and women events. Read more
Premier League considers ban on heading for youths amid dementia fear: reports (Guardian)
The Premier League has written to its clubs to tell them they are considering whether to ban some academy players from heading a football amid dementia fears.
According to British media reports on Wednesday, Premier League chiefs have emailed all 20 top-flight teams in the wake of a recent study into the link between football and dementia.
Last week, a report published and titled ‘Football’s Influence on Lifelong Health and Dementia Risk’ found footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to suffer from degenerative brain conditions than the general population. Read more
Eaglets reveal winning secret against Ecuador (Nation)
Golden Eaglets’ duo of defender Usman Mohammed and striker Akinkunmi Amoo have both revealed how Nigeria bounced back from an imminent defeat to edged out Ecuador 3-2 in their second game at the FIFA U-117 World Cup Brazil 2019.
Despite coming from behind in their two group matches to berth into the Round of 16 of the lads said they weren’t ready to slow down as they are yearning for another win in tomorrow’s tie against Australia.
Defender Usman Mohamed who netted a goal in their first game against Hungary admitted that the South American side made the tie difficult for them but said: “We played very well against the Ecuadorians because we don’t want to go home even when they were leading 2-1 and it remained 10minutes. We raised our game and that is the reason why we came out victorious.” Read more
Klopp threatens Liverpool League Cup pull-out over fixture pile-up (Guardian)
Jurgen Klopp has warned Liverpool could pull out of the League Cup if the English Football League do not help with their hectic fixture schedule.
Klopp’s side moved into the quarter-finals after an incredible 5-5 draw against Arsenal and 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory at Anfield on Wednesday.
Liverpool trailed 3-1, 4-2 and then 5-4 in the final seconds before Divock Origi’s equaliser forced a shoot-out that was won by locally born teenager Curtis Jones.
It was a superb advert for the tournament, but Liverpool might not be appearing in the League Cup again this season unless Klopp’s fears over a fixture pile-up are soothed. Read more
Chelsea’s Kante set for return to training, says Lampard (Punch)
France’s World Cup-winning midfielder N’Golo Kante is due to return to training with Chelsea after almost a month on the sidelines, said Chelsea manager Frank Lampard.
The manager is counting on the 28-year-old’s return to ease the workload being shared by Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, who both played the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 League Cup fourth-round defeat by Manchester United on Wednesday.
The defeat ended Chelsea’s seven-match winning streak and Lampard suggested that the setback was due to a shortage of midfield options. Read more
Fukushima: How baseball and Tokyo 2020 are helping the region recover from 2011 disaster (BBC)
Mr Kumagami sits cross-legged on his tatami floor flipping through reams of photos.
There’s a picture of a silver car, a family gathering, a snow-dusted garden.
Then there are windows covered with blue tarpaulins, a buckled wooden floor, a hallway with the ceiling caved in, piles of stuffed bin bags. Read more
Manchester United scouts urge Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to move for ‘generational talent’ Sandro Tonali (Metro)
Manchester United’s Italian scouts have urged the club to sanction a move for Brescia teenager Sandro Tonali.
The 19-year-old is one of the most highly-rated midfielders in Europe and has already made 61 Serie A appearances for Brescia.
Solskjaer has lost Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini since joining the club and has made no secret of his desire to strengthen in midfield. Read more