Lagos Assembly considers 21 years jail term for convicted cultists (Guardian)
Lagos State House of Assembly has proposed a 21-year jail term for anyone convicted of belonging to unlawful societies and cultism.
The Speaker, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa and other stakeholders, who spoke during a public hearing on a new bill entitled “A Bill for a Law to Provide for the Prohibition of Unlawful Societies and Cultism in Lagos State and for Other Connected Purposes”, yesterday, said it was right time to deal decisively with members of unlawful societies and cultism in the state.
The lawmakers and other participants at the hearing expressed concern over the dangers and threat unlawful societies and cultism pose to security of Lagos.
Obasa, represented by the Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni, said that the bill was important to the development of the state. Read more
30 injured, 23 buildings, event centre, vehicles razed in Lagos gas explosion (Punch)
Tragedy struck on Thursday at Balogun Bus stop, in the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State, after a tanker conveying gas exploded.
While no fewer than 30 people were injured, 15 vehicles were reportedly gutted by the fire.
PUNCH Metro learnt that two gas tankers were being offloaded at a gas station in the area when one of the tankers, a 30 tonnes LPG tanker, exploded around 3 pm.
It was gathered that the discharging valve of the tanker, which was compromised, led to leakage and ignited fire.
The fire, which spread to adjoining buildings, affected 23 buildings and 35 shops, destroying property worth millions of naira. Read more
Lagos to celebrate World Tourism Day (Guardian)
The Lagos State Government has disclosed its readiness to celebrate this year’s World Tourism Day on Sunday.
At a press briefing held yesterday at the Lagos Theatre in Ikeja, the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, disclosed that a panel, comprising past permanent secretaries, ex-commissioners in charge of the ministry as well as relevant stakeholders, would discuss issues around tourism and rural development in line with the theme of this year’s celebration.
She said: “The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Tourism and Rural Development’ is timely and quite apt considering the need to look inward and develop tourism attractions in rural areas as a strategy to make our domestic tourism more vibrant. Read more
Stray bullets kill two as land grabbers, police clash (Punch)
Pandemonium broke out on Wednesday in Ikogbo community, in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State after stray bullets killed two persons and injured several others, including schoolchildren.
An eyewitness told PUNCH Metro that there had been a land dispute between two communities in the areas: Ikogbo and Imose.
Our correspondent gathered that attempts to enforce a court judgement on the disputed land between the two communities in favour of Ikogbo led to the crisis.
According to the source, the Onikogbo of Ikogbo, Oba Nurudeen Osoja, had invited some policemen to enforce the judgement and seal houses on the disputed land. Read more
School proprietress, other in court over visa scam (Punch)
An Ibadan-based school proprietress, Motunrayo Olasebikan, was on Thursday arraigned before the Oyo State High Court over alleged involvement in a visa scam.
Olasebikan was arraigned alongside one Abideen Tijani, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before Justice Ladiran Akintola on seven counts bordering on conspiracy, forgery and uttering documents.
According to a statement by the anti-graft Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, the defendants were arrested after one Inumidunsola Popoola wrote a petition to the commission on behalf of himself and other victims. Read more
Over 170 million Nigerians without health insurance (Guardian)
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and non-passage of the amended National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Act have further slowed uptake of health insurance packages and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria.
More than 170 million Nigerians are still paying out-of-pocket to access medical services, forcing households and individuals to incur catastrophic health expenditure. This can exacerbate the level of poverty, analysts told The Guardian.
Critics worry that the NHIS has remained abysmal and coverage rate dropped, from over 10 per cent (5.6 million Nigerians) 10 years ago, to just barely 1.72 per cent (one million Nigerians) in updated statistics. Read more
Labour shuns ruling stopping strike, talks with FG deadlocked (Punch)
The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, on Thursday, dismissed the ruling of the National Industrial Court restraining them from going on strike beginning from Monday.
The NLC and the TUC stated this after a meeting between the Federal Government and the workers ended in a deadlock on Thursday evening.
Following the hike in electricity tariffs and fuel pump price, the government and the labour unions had met penultimate Tuesday, but the dialogue ended in a deadlock following the failure of the government to reverse the price increase or offer palliatives to cushion the effects on the workers. Read more
Owasonoye, Ojukwu top shortlisted candidates for SAN rank (Thisday)
Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offence Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasonoye, his counterpart in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mr Anthony Ojukwu, are among 137 successful candidates shortlisted for conferment with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
A press release by the Legal Practitioner’s Privileges Committee (LPPC) on Wednesday said the 137 candidates emerged successful both at advocate filtration stages and academic pre-qualification exercise.
Acting Chief Registrar of Supreme Court/Secretary, Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee, Hajo Sarki, stated: “All qualified candidates shortlisted are graded under the category system of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee Guidelines, 2018.” Read more
Yemi Alade Wants To Help Women In New UN Role (Guardian)
Yemi Alade plans to use her new role as a United Nations goodwill ambassador to help vulnerable people, most especially women.
Alade, 31, on Wednesday joined a list of celebrities including actor Antonio Banderas and footballer Didier Drogba as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to raise awareness of poverty, inequality and climate change.
The singer gained global fame after becoming the first female Afro-pop artist to get more than 100 million views on YouTube, winning multiple music awards and featuring on Beyonce’s “The Lion King: The Gift” album last year.
“Women are among the 4 billion people who are trying to survive COVID-19 without any form of social protection,” Alade said in a video statement. Read more
Cardinal Becciu: Vatican official resigns unexpectedly (BBC)
High ranking Vatican official Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu has unexpectedly resigned from office, the Holy See has announced.
He previously worked as the second most senior official in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.
Cardinal Becciu became involved in a controversial deal to buy a luxury London building with church funds as an investment. The deal has since been the subject of a financial investigation.
He denies any wrongdoing.
“The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and from the rights connected to the Cardinalate, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu,” a statement from the Holy See said.
It gave no further details. Read more
Republican leader vows peaceful power transfer, splits with Trump (Aljazeera)
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell joined other Republicans to reject US President Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power following the November 3 election, defending the US system of constitutional democracy.
“The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th. There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792,” McConnell wrote in a tweet.
“The peaceful transfer of power is enshrined in our Constitution and fundamental to the survival of our Republic. America’s leaders swear an oath to the Constitution. We will uphold that oath,” Representative Liz Cheney, who leads the House of Representatives Republican Conference, wrote on Twitter. Read more
Coronavirus: Helsinki airport trials sniffer dogs as Covid-19 detectors (BBC)
Sniffer dogs are a familiar sight at airports all over the world, where border agents use them to detect illegal substances and contraband.
Now some dogs are using their noses for a different purpose – coronavirus.
Dogs specially trained to detect Covid-19 have this week started sniffing passengers as part of a trial at Finland’s Helsinki-Vantaa airport.
Volunteers are training a team of 15 dogs and 10 instructors for the research programme. Read more
Facebook suspends fake Russian accounts, warns of US vote threat (Aljazeera)
Facebook has said it dismantled three networks of fake accounts which could be used by Russia’s intelligence services to leak hacked documents as part of efforts to disrupt the upcoming US election.
The company said on Thursday that the accounts, which it suspended for using fake identities and other types of “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”, were linked to Russian intelligence and people associated with a St Petersburg-based organisation accused by US officials of working to sway the 2016 presidential vote.
The Russian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations of election meddling and said it does not interfere in the domestic politics of other countries. Read more
Church sues pro-BLM DC mayor Bowser over ‘celebrating mass protests’ while keeping ban on 100+ outdoor worships (RT)
A Baptist church in Washington, DC, has sued Mayor Muriel Bowser, alleging she has discriminated against churchgoes by endorsing and attending mass protests while refusing to lift restrictions on outdoor religious services.
Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC), a leading Baptist congregation in DC, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, naming Bowser, known for her vocal support of the Black Lives Matter protests, and the District of Columbia as plaintiffs.
In its complaint, the church says that it “takes no issue” with the DC officials’ decision to greenlight mass BLM rallies, since they are “themselves protected by the First Amendment,” but “takes exception to Defendants’ decision to favor certain expressive gatherings over others.” Read more
Kremlin critic Navalny’s ‘bank accounts frozen, apartment seized’ (Aljazeera)
Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny’s bank accounts were frozen and his Moscow apartment seized as part of a lawsuit while he was recovering from suspected poisoning in a Berlin hospital, his spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Navalny was flown from Russia to Germany last month after falling ill on a domestic flight in Siberia.
Tests in Germany, France and Sweden found he was poisoned with a nerve agent.
His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said in a video posted on Twitter Navalny’s assets were seized on August 27 in connection with a lawsuit filed by the Moscow Schoolchild catering company.
The politician and his allies have been involved in a long-running dispute with the company. Read more
Uncle Ben’s is rebranding, but Master P has his own Black-run rice company (CBC)
For years, Percy Miller bought Uncle Ben’s rice because he thought it part of African-American culture.
The image of a smiling, elderly Black man in a bow-tie on the box tricked generations of African-Americans into thinking the brand was Black-owned or in some way connected to the Black community, says Miller, a U.S. rapper and businessman better known by his stage name, Master P.
“My grandparents made me buy that product because when they see, you know, Black faces on that, it connected to us as a culture,” he told As It Happens host Carol Off. Read more
Oshoala wants better support for women football (Guardian)
Ahead of the kick off of the CAF Women’s Champions League billed to start in 2021, sports philanthropist and General Overseer of Love of Christ Generation Church, Rev. Mother Esther Ajayi, has donated a bus to FC Robo of Lagos to help the club plan and successfully participate in the competition.
The donation, made through the Asisat Oshoala Foundation, is another effort by reigning CAF’s Female African Footballer of the Year to improve the transport logistics of home-based women players. Read more
Okpala, others want Pinnick to contest CAF presidency (Punch)
Some football enthusiasts have backed the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, to contest for the presidency of the Confederation of African Football in 2021.
Football-loving Nigerians said Pinnick possessed the pedigree to challenge for the position of CAF presidency given his achievements in Nigerian, African and global football.
The former Delta FA boss played a significant role in the ouster of Cameroonian Isa Hayatou, who reigned for 29 years, and the emergence of Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad as CAF boss in 2017. Read more
Martinez scores extra-time winner as Bayern beat Sevilla to win Super Cup (BBC)
Bayern Munich were taken to extra time by a durable and resilient Sevilla in front 15,180 fans in Budapest before adding the Uefa Super Cup to their Champions League trophy.
The showpiece was watched by supporters inside the 67,000-capacity Puskas Arena, the first major European match to allow fans since the coronavirus pandemic forced the game into lockdown.
And they witnessed a hard-fought encounter which saw Sevilla take the lead from the penalty spot on 13 minutes when Lucas Ocampos scored an outrageous “no look” penalty after Ivan Rakitic was bundled over by David Alaba. Read more
Dayot Upamecano speaks out on his future amid Manchester United transfer speculation (Metro)
Dayot Upamecano has poured cold water on rumours that he could be set for a move to Manchester United and insists he remains fully ‘focused’ on playing for Leipzig for the time being. United head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to bring in a central defender with pace to make up for Harry Maguire’s lack of mobility and has reportedly identified Upamecano as his priority target in this position. The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the finest young centre-backs in European football and his performances in last season’s Champions League, most notably his outstanding display against Atletico Madrid, made clubs across the continent sit up and take notice. Read more
King Kazu’ sets new football record after Japan appearance (Aljazeera)
“King Kazu” has done it again.
Japanese football legend Kazuyoshi Miura, 53, set a new record on Wednesday when he became the oldest starter in the history of the country’s elite division.
Despite his achievement and 56-minute playtime, the Yokohama FC forward regretted not scoring a goal in his team’s 3-2 defeat to league leaders Kawasaki Frontale.
“I was able to receive the ball in the middle of the pitch but couldn’t work a lot around the penalty area, which made me feel that I left something to be desired,” Miura, who began his career in Brazil in 1986 because Japan did not have a professional league at the time, said after the game. Read more
Tottenham advance to Europa League play-off after scare (BBC)
Jose Mourinho successfully complained to Uefa about the size of the goalposts before Tottenham’s Europa League play-off victory against Shkendija in North Macedonia.
Goals by Erik Lamela, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane earned Spurs a 3-1 victory, with boss Mourinho playing his own unique part before the match after keepers Joe Hart and Hugo Lloris pointed out the irregularity during the warm-up.
“Before the game was a funny situation because my goalkeepers told me that the goal was small,” explained Mourinho.
“I went by myself and of course the goal was small. The goalkeepers, they spend hours and hours and hours in the goal so they know when the goal is not the right dimension.
“I am not a goalkeeper but I know football since I was a kid and I know when I stand there and I spread my arms and I know the distance, so I felt immediately that something was going wrong. Read more
New York basketball prospect Terrell Wigfall dead after stabbing in Hell’s Kitchen (RT)
A young basketball prospect has died after being stabbed in New York. Bronx Community College star Terrell Wigfall died after being knifed in a fight in Hell’s Kitchen in August, police announced Thursday.
Police say Wigfall was involved in a violent altercation at the corner of 11th Avenue and West 54th Street in Hell’s Kitchen in the New York borough of Manhattan just after 10pm on August 22.
The 24-year-old was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries on September 16, police said on Thursday, and the incident is being treated as a homicide, according to the New York Post. Read more