It is still travelling in pain on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway more than 100 days after Sanwo-Olu’s swearing-in (Guardian)
With a promise-full campaign season before the last general elections, Lagos residents anticipated a state free of stress, especially in the area of traffic gridlocks since the swearing-in of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. But only little seems to have changed more than 100 days since the new administration began its tenure. Lagos residents in different areas across the five divisions of the state – Ikorodu, Badagary, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe – have continued to spend needless hours on the road due to traffic, contrary to Sanwo-Olu’s promise. Read more
Taxation remains the country’s lifeline for development, says FIRS (Punch)
Dr Babatunde Fowler, Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service, says taxation remains the country’s lifeline for economic development. Fowler made this known on Tuesday night in Abuja, at the investiture of Hajia Kudirat Abdul-Hamid, as the 3rd National Chairperson of Society of Women in Taxation. Fowler was represented by an FIRS official, Mr Abiodun Aina. Read more
Reps recommend Air Peace boss Onyema for ‘higher national’ honour (Guardian)
Nigerian lawmakers Wednesday recommended the cheif executive officer of an airline, Air Peace, Allen Onyema for “higher” national honour. “We hereby commend Mr Allen Onyeama and recommend him to the federal government for higher honours in Nigeria,” Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila said. Read more
I didn’t ask anyone to write petition against Justice Tsoho —Fani-Kayode (Punch)
A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has denied writing a petition against the acting Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho. He also denied asking the purported writer to do it. Fani-Kayode, in a statement on Wednesday, described the purported petition as fake and called on the Presidential Advisory Council Against Corruption, led by Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), to disregard it. Read more
Tribunal sacks PDP lawmaker Obinna Onwubuariri (Punch)
The National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal in Owerri on Wednesday sacked a member of the House of Representatives, Obinna Onwubuariri. Until the nullification of his mandate, Onwubuariri represented Isiala Mbano/Onuimo/Okigwe federal constituency of Imo State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. He was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2015. Read more
Ekiti APC rejects tribunal verdict on Senator Adeyeye (Punch)
The Chairman, Ekiti South Senatorial District of All Progressives Congress, Akin Akinbobola, said on Wednesday that the sack of the Senate Committee Chairman on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, by the Election Petitions Tribunal in Ado Ekiti amounted to truncating the people’s desire. Read more
I’ll personally ensure rapists are punished – Fintiri (Nation)
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State has vowed to be personally involved in the fight against rape by seeing to it that all rape suspects are duly prosecuted. The governor who made the vow while receiving members of a coalition of nongovernmental organisations who conducted an anti-rape street rally in the state capital on Wednesday, said he had known about no fewer than 10 reports of rape since he was sworn in as governor and the trend must stop. Read more
Niger police nab five over alleged murder of suspected abductor (Punch)
The Police Command in Niger State has arrested five persons for alleged criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide in Kontagora Local Government Area of the state. The command’s Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, in Minna. Read more
NDLEA boss emerges 1st vice chairman Africa’s drug enforcement agencies (Punch)
The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Rtd. Col. Mustapha Abdallah, has emerged the 1st Vice Chairman of the Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Africa. News Agency of Nigeria reports that HONLEA is the umbrella body of all African countries’ Drug Law Enforcement Agencies. Read more
NEMSA allays fear over congestion of meter test station (Nation)
The Nigerian Electricity Management Service Agency (NEMSA) on Wednesday revealed that it has decentralized its meter testing activities with the operationalization of the Kaduna and Port Harcourt Meter Test Stations. Its Managing Director, Engr. Peter Ewesor made this known at the agency’s meeting with electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and Meter Assets Providers in Abuja. Read more
UN picks 13-year-old Nigerian for International High Level Conference (Punch)
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes has selected 13-year-old Blessing Eijindu, of the Battle Axe Academy, Lugbe, Abuja, to participate in the October 7 International High-Level Conference in Vienna, Austria. Mr Marco Teixera, Senior Programme Officer and UNODC’s Global Programme Coordinator, made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja. Read more
Panic as suspected cultists raid shops in Uyo (Nation)
There is panic among residents of Udoette street and other nearby areas close to the University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom state following an attack on shop owners by suspected cultists on Monday night. The Nation exclusively reported last week that some streets close to the University of Uyo and the Uyo City Polytechnic were under siege by hoodlums suspected to be cultists. Read more
How Plateau village head was assassinated —Family member (Punch)
Mr Inusa Yaktol, a member of the family of late Mohammed Bayero, the village head of Kadunu, in Plateau State, who was killed by gunmen, has revealed how the traditional ruler was murdered. Bayero, who was the village head of Kadunu in Mangu Local Government of Plateau State, was assassinated on Sunday at his residence. Read more
EFCC arrests Prison’s staff, five others for ATM fraud (Nation)
Operatives of the Kaduna Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Kaduna, have arrested six fraudsters who allegedly specialize in defrauding innocent Nigerians by using bank details obtained through sim swaps and Automated Teller Machines (ATM). Read more
EKSU student allegedly kills boyfriend over N2,500 (Punch)
A 300-level student at Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Bukola Odeyemi, has allegedly stabbed her 22-year-old lover and fellow student, John Iju. The stabbing reportedly resulted in Iju’s death. Sources said the incident happened at Iworoko-Ekiti at about 10pm on Monday at one of the private hostels being used by off-campus students at the university. Read more
Victims of deadly Ethiopia crash seek documents on 737 MAX (Guardian)
A lawyer representing relatives of victims killed in an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash said Tuesday he was seeking documents from manufacturer Boeing and US regulators on the decision not to ground the aircraft after a previous deadly accident. The October 2018 crash of a Lion Air 737 MAX in Indonesia killed 189 people, while 157 died in the accident in Ethiopia five months later. Read more
Liberia school fire leaves many children dead near Monrovia (BBC)
At least 27 people, many of them children, have been killed in a fire at a boarding school in a suburb of the Liberian capital Monrovia. The fire is believed to have broken out in the early hours of the morning, when Koranic school students were sleeping in a building near their mosque. Police have told the BBC that they are still looking for bodies in the building in the Paynesville area. Read more
Mugabe gets low-key farewell in Zimbabwe home village (Guardian)
The remains of former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, who died on September 6, arrived in his home village on Monday for a subdued farewell at a dusty sports field after a weekend state funeral with African leaders in the capital. Mugabe, who died aged 95 on a medical trip to Singapore, stayed in power for nearly four decades until a 2017 coup ended his increasingly autocratic rule. Read more
US, UK asked South Africa for help to remove Mugabe —Thabo Mbeki (Punch)
Former president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki has said that the United Kingdom and the United States of America, had sought the help of his country to remove the late President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe from office. According to Eyewitness News, Mbeki said this at the memorial service organised by the African National Congress party in honour of the late Mugabe in South Africa. At the memorial service, Mbeki recounted how the British and American governments sought his assistance to remove Mugabe from power. Read more
Robert O’Brien: Trump names new national security adviser (BBC)
US President Donald Trump has named a new national security adviser to replace John Bolton, who was fired last week. Robert O’Brien, who has been serving as the special envoy for hostage affairs at the Department of State, has been chosen for the role. Mr O’Brien would be Mr Trump’s fourth national security adviser of his presidency. Read more
Donald Trump says homeless people are ruining the ‘prestige’ of wealthy US cities (Metro)
Donald Trump says homeless people sleeping rough on the streets of wealthy US cities are ruining those areas’ ‘prestige.’ The President of the United States said rough sleepers were living on ‘our best highways, our best streets, our best entrances to building(s).’ Trump, who worked as a property developer before becoming president added: ‘People in those buildings pay tremendous taxes where they went to those locations because of the prestige.’ Read more
Brexit: Talks ‘should not be a pretence’ warns Barnier (BBC)
The UK and EU “should not pretend to be negotiating” a Brexit deal if there are no new proposals on the table, the EU’s chief negotiator has said. Michel Barnier said the UK telling the EU what it does not like about the current agreement was “not enough”. He cast doubt on a UK proposal to give Northern Ireland a future veto over EU rules, saying all parts of the UK would have to sign up to the terms of exit. Read more
Venezuela parliament ratifies Guaido as interim president (Guardian)
Venezuela’s opposition-dominated National Assembly on Tuesday ratified Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president until new elections can be held. The endorsement came a day after the government of President Nicolas Maduro said its lawmakers would return to the legislature, which they abandoned three years ago. Read more
Saudi Arabia says weapons debris shows Iran behind oil attacks (BBC)
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry has shown off what it says is wreckage of drones and cruise missiles that prove Iranian involvement in weekend attacks on two oil facilities. It said 18 drones and four cruise missiles struck from a direction that ruled out Yemen as a source. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels had said they were behind the attacks. Read more
Three killed in Monte Carlo-Venice boat speed record attempt (BBC)
Italian champion speed boat racer Fabio Buzzi and two other people have died after a power boat crashed near the Italian city of Venice. The boat hit an artificial reef near the end of an attempt to break the offshore speed record from Monte Carlo. The crash took place near the finish line at the Lido di Venezia, propelling the boat over the reef and back into the water on the other side. Read more
Robber turned himself into bandage-wrapped mummy before targeting bank (Metro)
A robber disguised himself as a bandage-wrapped mummy before pulling off a bank heist. Police and the FBI are now on the hunt for the man who they have dubbed the ‘Mummy Marauder.’ The robbery took place at the First Convenience Bank in Harris County, Texas on Friday the 13. Read more
Iran’s Rouhani may skip UN meet over US visa delay (Punch)
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation could be forced into skipping next week’s UN General Assembly because the United States has yet to issue them visas, state media said on Wednesday. Rouhani and his delegation had been scheduled to travel to New York for the annual UN gathering on Monday, but that was now looking unlikely given the lack of visas, state news agency IRNA said. Read more
Barack Obama fist bumps with Greta Thunberg and tells her ‘we’re a team’ (Metro)
Barack Obama called teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg ‘one of the planet’s greatest advocates’ when they met this week. The former US president told her she was ‘changing the world’ before they sat down to chat about the school strikes she helped inspire. Read more
Ecuador legislature votes against decriminalizing abortion (Guardian)
Ecuador’s National Assembly voted Tuesday against decriminalizing abortion in all cases of rape and for fetal malformation. A decriminalization proposal fell five votes short of the 70 required for its approval, with 59 assembly members voting against and six refrainings. Read more
Wife says she still loves ‘loving, tender, gentle’ pervert husband even after he murdered woman (Metro)
A wife defended her ‘loving, tender and gentle’ pervert husband ahead of his release from prison for molesting and murdering a woman. Desiree Rainwater defended spouse Brian amid outrage that he is to be freed from jail just 10 years after being convicted of the 2005 murder of his colleague Jackie Casserati. Read more
India e-cigarettes: Ban announced to prevent youth ‘epidemic’ (BBC)
India’s cabinet has announced a ban on the production, import and sale of electronic cigarettes, saying they pose a risk to health. An executive order had been approved banning vaping products because of their impact on young people, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. It is not clear if the order will also prohibit the use of vaping equipment. Read more
Two sisters die within hours of one another after suffering bleeds on the brain (Metro)
A family has been left heartbroken after two sisters died from brain haemorrhages in different countries within 24 hours of one another. Amanda Williams, 54, was preparing to fly to Ingolstadt, Germany to visit her sister Jacqueline, 57, who was in a critical condition in hospital, when she collapsed in Shepshed, Leicestershire. Read more
Baby Pia: Almost 1m Belgians pay for life-saving drug (BBC)
More than 950,000 Belgians have responded to a couple seeking €1.9m ($2m; £1.7m) to cover the cost of their baby’s life-saving treatment. Nine-month-old Pia, who has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and lives in Antwerp, requires the drug Zolgensma, which has not been approved for use in Europe but is available in the US. Her parents have now raised enough for a single course of treatment. Read more
Dictionary adds ‘they’ as a gender pronoun for first time (Metro)
One of the most popular English language dictionaries has added the gender neutral pronouns ‘they’ and ‘themself’ to refer to non-binary people. Merriam-Webster has decided to list the term because of the growing number of people who don’t identify as either male or female. Read more
Nick Carter gets restraining order against brother Aaron (BBC)
Backstreet Boy Nick Carter has been granted a temporary restraining order against younger brother Aaron after alleging he threatened to kill Nick’s pregnant wife. The singer, 39, said the legal move came “in light of Aaron’s increasingly alarming behaviour”. Aaron, 31, must now stay at least 100 feet (30 metres) away from Nick, his family and their Las Vegas home. Read more
Mac Miller’s $11 million estate divided between close friends and family (Metro)
Mac Miller’s estate has officially been totalled up with his family to receive the bulk of his fortune and a handful of friends getting some valued possessions. The rapper (real name Malcolm James McCormick) died in September last year from an accidental drug overdose. It’s taken over a year to divide his estate between his close friends and family in accordance with his will. Read more
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms Mason Greenwood and Axel Tuanzebe will start against Astana (Metro)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed he will make changes for Manchester United’s Europa League clash against Astana on Thursday with Mason Greenwood and Axel Tuanzebe set to start. Greenwood, 17, has made four appearances for United in the Premier League this season but all have come from the substitutes bench and totalled just 47 minutes overall. Read more
I deserve more Ballon d’Or awards than Messi, says Ronaldo (Punch)
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo said he deserves to end his soccer career with more Ballon d’Or awards than Barcelona counterpart Lionel Messi and hopes to establish himself as the greatest player of all time. Ronaldo, 34, has won the renowned France Football magazine trophy for the world’s best player five times – as many as Messi – but is eager for more as he moves into the twilight of his career. Read more
Charlie Nicholas slams Unai Emery’s decision to stick with ‘dreadful’ Nicolas Pepe against Watford (Metro)
Charlie Nicholas has criticised Unai Emery for substituting Mesut Ozil and Dani Ceballos instead of Nicolas Pepe during Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Watford. The Gunners looked to be cruising towards their third Premier League victory of the season as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a quickfire double in the first half at Vicarage Road. Read more
Neuer considering retirement after Euro 2020 —report (Punch)
A spat between Germany’s number one goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and contender Marc Andre ter Stegen could soon be settled off the pitch, with the former considering international retirement next year, according to a SportBild magazine report on Wednesday. Bayern Munich’s Neuer, who has 90 caps, has been the undisputed number one since 2010, but Ter Stegen’s form with Barcelona in recent seasons has made him a strong challenger ahead of Euro 2020. Read more
Unai Emery set to name strong Arsenal XI against Frankfurt (Metro)
Unai Emery is expected to field a strong XI for Arsenal’s opening Europa League clash away to Frankfurt, with the side’s final training session almost exclusively featuring senior players. The Gunners – who made the final of the competition last season – have been drawn in a competitive group and travel to Germany to take on last year’s beaten semi-finalists. Read more
Victor Lindelof: Man Utd defender signs deal to 2024 with option for further year (BBC)
Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof has signed a new contract through to the summer of 2024, with the option of a further year. The Sweden international, 25, has made 74 appearances for the club since joining from Benfica for £31m in June 2017. “Since the day I arrived at United it has felt like home,” said Lindelof. Read more
Pat Nevin explains why Ross Barkley was wrong to take penalty vs Valencia (Metro)
Pat Nevin believes Ross Barkley shouldn’t have taken the late penalty against Valencia in what could potentially be a damaging Champions League loss for Chelsea and that Jorginho should have been the man to step up instead. The England international blazed his spot kick over the bar as he failed to salvage a draw on Frank Lampard’s managerial debut in Europe’s premier competition, with Chelsea going down 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. Read more
Eight Lille fans in custody after Ajax unrest (Punch)
Amsterdam police were holding eight Lille fans on Wednesday, a day after arresting more than 300 supporters of the French club ahead of its Champions League game against Ajax. The other supporters, arrested after flares were set off at a metro station and fans walked along train lines, were all released overnight, police in the Dutch capital said. Read more
‘Racism rot is deep’ in Italian football, says anti-discriminatory body Fare (BBC)
Italian football authorities and their disciplinary systems to combat racism are “not fit for purpose”, says the chief of anti-discriminatory body Fare. The claim has been made after Cagliari were cleared of racist chanting towards Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku in a Serie A match. Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants by Cagliari fans when he scored a penalty for his side in a 2-1 win. Read more
Juan Manuel Correa: Formula 2 driver remains in induced coma (BBC)
Formula 2 driver Juan Manuel Correa – injured in the accident that killed French driver Anthoine Hubert – remains in intensive care in an induced coma. Correa, 20, suffered a spinal injury and broken legs in the crash at Spa, in Belgium, on 31 August. His leg injuries “remain an important concern” and he will undergo surgery when his lungs are “strong enough”. Read more
Iran banned after ordering Saeid Mollaei to withdraw from World Judo Championships (BBC)
Iran has been banned by the International Judo Federation after it ordered Saeid Mollaei to pull out of the World Championships in Japan. Defending champion Mollaei ignored calls to withdraw from his match against Russia’s Khasan Khalmurzaev to avoid the prospect of facing Israel’s Sagi Muki later in the tournament. Iranian athletes are prohibited from competing in any sport against Israel. Read more