Lagos cab driver returns passenger’s missing laptop, valuables (Punch)
A taxi driver at the Ikeja Central Park, Lagos State, Matthew Okotie, has been commended for returning a laptop and other valuables left in his car by a passenger.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Okotie picked the passenger, Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, from the Babatunde Fashola Railway Terminus at Agege, en route to Ikeja, where the latter had made a hotel reservation.
On arrival at his destination, one of the hotel workers who picked the luggage was said to have left a bag containing the laptop and other valuables in the car.
Okotie told our correspondent that the moment he saw the bag, he decided to return it because he knew the owner would have been worried. Read more
Ebute Metta: Residents lament loss of toddler, properties to fire (Guardian)
It was lamentation galore yesterday as Ebute Metta residents lamented the loss of a toddler and property in the Oko Baba fire incident that ravaged the area on Wednesday.
The residents, who were discussing the incident in clusters, when The Guardian visited, yesterday, lamented that they are starting the new year in sorrow.
Some women were seen making tents with wrappers for their children, while some young men were trying to construct makeshift shelters out of the debris.
Speaking with The Guardian, a resident, Mohammed Rasaq, who claimed a toddler was lost to the incident, said: “The fire began around 10 a.m. on Wednesday while I and other residents who are commercial tricycle riders were away; Read more
Lagos community decries cemetery invasion by suspected ritualists, robbers (Punch)
Residents of Otuja Harmony Estate in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State have decried the continuous invasion of the Eyita Sabo Cemetery by suspected ritualists and robbers.
According to the residents, while ritualists harvest human organs in the cemetery, robbers use it as a hideout for criminal activities.
PUNCH Metro gathered that a suspected ritualist, Kolawole, was arrested on December 10, 2021 with a human hand and heart which he exhumed from a grave in the cemetery.
The secretary of the estate association, Adebisi Badejo, who alleged that the criminals operated unchallenged, said various solutions proposed to the local government chairman were not implemented. Read more
Oromoni: Lagos yet to decide on reopening of Dowen College (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Government is yet to decide on the reopening of Dowen College, Lekki, which was shut down following the death of Sylvester Oromoni, 12, allegedly as a result of being manhandled by some fellow students.
The social media was abuzz on Thursday night following a statement credited to the Ministry of Education that the state government had decided to reopen the school on some conditions.
However, a statement by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Education, Mr Ganiu Lawal, said the media should wait for the final position of the government on the matter.
The statement, posted on the social media platform of the ministry through which it interacts with its media partners read, “Dear Colleagues, Following the press release just issued by the Ministry. We kindly request that you disregard and step down as a new development will be issued soon. Read more
My success will open gates for more youths – Kaduna’s youngest agency boss (DailyTrust)
Khalil Nur Khalil graduated with a First Class in Economics from the Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus. He joined Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) as a youth corps member and at 28, he was appointed by Governor Nasir El-Rufai to head the agency, just recently. In this interview, he speaks about his journey and how this opportunity will inspire other youths.
Said he: “We are trying to ensure that KADIPA becomes a world-class investment promotion agency, we want to be able to see Kaduna State put on the global map. It’s just not enough for us to market ourselves nationally, we want to go international without losing the local touch. So, we will continue to promote Kaduna State to get domestic direct investment but at the same time, see how we can leverage 21st century skills and outlook in terms of our vision and how to integrate Kaduna into the global economy in the next 100 years or so”. Read more
Missing female student of UNIJOS found dead with eyes plucked out (Guardian)
A 300 level female student of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) was found dead yesterday in a hospital with both eyes plucked out.
The victim, identified as Jennifer Anthony, was earlier declared missing on December 31, 2021, according to a family member.
A snap chat video and picture of Jennifer and a guy while driving in his car have been trending.
Several social media users, especially residents of Jos have taken to the internet space to post and tag the young man seen in the video as a wanted person.
The story is that the young man allegedly knows about Jennifer’s death. Read more
N50 fare hike: UNIBEN students lament as management discharges shuttle bus drivers (Vanguard)
The students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) might have to prepare themselves for getting to class on foot following the decision of the school management to discharge the shuttle bus drivers over the increment of their fares to 50 naira.
The University of Benin management has made three coaster buses available for transport within the school premises following the action taken by the shuttle bus drivers to increase their fares to 50 naira.
The school management discharged the bus drivers who have been maintaining a fare of N30 for the past couple of years.
The new buses have been put in place to convey over 70,000 students within the school premises with a lower fare. Read more
Cooking gas price drops, supply rises, govt projects further decrease (Punch)
The Federal Government on Thursday said it was putting measures in place to ensure further reduction in the cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas.
It disclosed this while reacting to the recent marginal drop in the cost of cooking gas.
According to findings, the price of 12.5kg LPG has dropped from N8,800 to between N8400 and N8200. In some outlets, the price of the commodity dropped to between N7,800 and N8,000 as of Thursday.
In November, The PUNCH exclusively reported that the cost of LPG kept rising in 2021, jumping by more than 240 per cent between January and October 2021. Read more
Ladoja acknowledges Balogun as next Olubadan (Guardian)
Former Governor of Oyo State and Osi Olubadan of Ibadan, Rashidi Ladoja, yesterday, said there was no controversy on who succeeds the late Oba Saliu Adetunji as Olubadan based on tradition. The throne became vacant following the demise of the last occupant on January 2, this year.
There have been insinuations on the purported obstacles to Senator Lekan Balogun’s emergence as 42nd Olubadan of Ibadanland.
However, 10 of the 11-member Olubadan-in-Council, Wednesday, endorsed Balogun, at a press conference held at the famous Mapo Hall, Ibadan.
Speaking with The Guardian in Ibadan, Senator Ladoja said there “is no controversy on who is the next in line to the throne of Olubadan. Read more
Denzel Washington recalls Chadwick Boseman being ‘weak and tired’ while filming his final movie (Metro)
Denzel Washington has opened up about his experience working with Chadwick Boseman on the late actor’s final movie and said he was completely unaware the star was gravely ill.
Black Panther actor Boseman died in August 2020 aged 43 following a private battle with colon cancer.
His death was just as much a shock to his peers as much as fans as Boseman chose not to disclose his health battle to anyone in the film industry.
The actor’s final movie, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, was released in December just a few months after his death. Washington, 63, served as a producer on the critically acclaimed drama, which also starred Viola Davis, and said he noticed Boseman was frail at times but didn’t think it was that serious. Read more
Julia Fox says Kanye West bought her a hotel suite full of clothes for date night (PageSix)
Father stretch my credit!
Kanye West bought Julia Fox an entire hotel suite’s worth of clothing for their recent date night, the “Uncut Gems” actress revealed in Interview Magazine.
“I met Ye in Miami on New Year’s Eve and it was an instant connection,” Fox’s blog-style feature, accompanied by a photo spread, begins. Describing West’s “energy” as “so fun to be around,” Fox explains the pair “decided to keep the energy going and fly back to New York City to see ‘Slave Play.’”
Noting that West, 44, arrived on time for the play, despite the curtain rising only an hour after his plane touched down, Fox, 31, continued, “after the play we chose to do dinner at Carbone which is one of my favorite restaurants.” Read more
Sopranos actor Peter Bogdanovich dies aged 82 (Metro)
Oscar-nominated director and actor Peter Bogdanovich has died at the age of 82.
Bogdanovich, who was best known for directing films such as The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon, died of natural causes shortly after midnight, his daughter Antonia confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
Reacting to the news, Bogdanovich’s friend and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro tweeted in a lengthy statement: ‘He was a dear friend and a champion of Cinema. He birthed masterpieces as a director and was a most genial human. He single-handedly interviewed and enshrined the lives and work of more classic filmmakers than almost anyone else in his generation. Read more
Russian troops fly in amid violent Kazakh crackdown (BBC)
Russian-led forces have arrived in Kazakhstan at the request of the country’s authoritarian president, amid a violent crackdown on anti-government protests.
Officials have reported deaths of police and protesters after days of unrest sparked by a fuel price hike.
A BBC journalist in the largest city Almaty shared video of heavy gunfire overnight on Thursday.
The UN, US, UK, and France have called on all sides to refrain from violence. Read more
Woman dies day after cancer diagnosis, symptoms dismissed as ‘hormonal’ (NYPost)
A 27-year-old woman died of cervical cancer just one day after her diagnosis — and months of troubling symptoms that went ignored by her doctors.
UK woman Porsche McGregor-Sims first reported unusual abdominal pain and bleeding to her primary care doctor in December 2019. She was referred to a gynecologist a month later, Solent News reported.
Her tragic trajectory marks a disturbing trend that many women experience in the health care system: Often, their symptoms are written off by doctors as psychological or hormonal.
McGregor-Sims’ gynecologist, Peter Schlesinger, didn’t initially see that she had an aggressive form of cervical cancer, after the clinician deemed that further examination would yield “no benefit” at her age. She had recently stopped taking regular birth control injections, which they presumed was a “hormonal” shock to her system. Read more
Deadly Omicron should not be called mild, warns WHO (BBC)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against describing the Omicron variant as mild, saying it is killing people across the world.
Recent studies suggest that Omicron is less likely to make people seriously ill than previous Covid variants.
But the record number of people catching it has left health systems under severe pressure, said WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
On Monday, the US recorded more than one million Covid cases in 24 hours. Read more
Man gives birth to baby conceived on a one-night stand
author image (Metro)
A man has shared how he fell pregnant while transitioning after a one-night stand.
Ash Patrick Schade has spent the last two years transitioning, taking testosterone and oestrogen blockers.
However, the 28-year-old discovered he was pregnant in February 2020 after a ‘Grindr hook-up’.
The mental health worker and PHD student, from Huntington, West Virginia, US, was shocked by the news at first but then paused hormone treatments to give birth to his daughter, Ronan Shiva. Read more
Long-awaited Africa Cup of Nations to kick off under strict Covid rules (France24)
Workers are applying final touches to the fan zones in Yaounde ahead of the long-awaited launch this weekend of Africa’s biggest sporting event.
Beset by months of problems and uncertainty, the month-long Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) gets under way on Sunday when host nation Cameroon play Burkina Faso.
Preparations to get the giant screens, shops, restaurants and fan space ready for thousands of supporters in the nation’s capital are definitely in last-minute mode.
“We Cameroonians love to leave everything to the last gasp,” laughs Simon Atangana, a former national player who is part of an organisation setting up the fan zones. Read more
Eagles will cage Egypt’s Salah — Okocha (Guardian)
Former Super Eagles captain, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, has said that the team to Cameroon 2022 AFCON have enough talents to cage Pharaohs of Egypt in Tuesday’s Group opening match in Garoua.
In particular, Okocha, a member of the Technical Support Group recently put in place by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to help the team’s campaign in Cameroon, said the Eagles have what it takes to stop Liverpool top striker, Mohammed Salah from causing havoc in Tuesday’s match.
“Salah is one of the biggest stars that will be on parade in Cameroon,” Okocha told The Guardian in a chat in Lagos. “But also remember that the Super Eagles is loaded with top stars. We have players who can cage Salah, even, if it means deploying two players to mark him out. The first match matters a lot for Nigeria, and I know that coach Austin Eguavoean will want to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians.”
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles landed in the Cameroonian town of Garoua, the venue of their Group D matches on Wednesday night. Read more
Manchester United make one final attempt to keep Paul Pogba with eye-watering contract offer (Metro)
Manchester United bosses have not given up hope of keeping Paul Pogba at the club and have made an enormous final salary offer to convince the contract rebel to stay, according to reports.
The Frenchman has entered the final six months of his deal with the Red Devils after rejecting talks over an extension and is now able to discuss a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs ahead of a free transfer.
Pogba had been widely expected to leave Old Trafford in the summer but he has not received as much interest from other clubs as he was expecting, providing one last opportunity for United.
Manchester United make one final attempt to keep Paul Pogba with eye-watering contract offer. Read more
Barcelona could sign Haaland this summer – Balague (BBC)
Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland could join Barcelona in the summer despite them being more than a billion euros in debt, says Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
The 21-year-old Norwegian has a 75m euros (£62.6m) contract release clause that could see him leave Dortmund at the end of the season.
“Barcelona need to get rid of big wages and big players, but it’s possible and they’re confident they can do it,” said Balague on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Euro Leagues podcast.
Barcelona, despite the promise from the new president Joan Laporta to keep him, had to let Argentina forward Lionel Messi leave on a free transfer last summer because of La Liga’s financial fair play rules, but also because they did not fully believe Messi was the future of the club. Read more
Dad charged for breaking referee’s nose at son’s 8th grade basketball game (NYPost)
A Washington father was charged with assault after he allegedly shoved an elderly referee at his son’s 8th grade basketball game, breaking his nose.
Mark McLaughlin, 31, stormed the court at Kenmore Middle School on Dec. 16 when he disagreed with a call. He slammed the 72-year-old ref from behind, breaking his nose and cheekbone when he hit the hardwood floor face-first, according to the Seattle Times.
He turned himself into authorities the next day, and pleaded not guilty to the second-degree assault charge on Jan. 3, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said.
McLaughlin, who is 6’6” and 215 pounds, is a former standout basketball player at Central Washington University, where he averaged 22.4 points per game in the 2012-2013 regular season, the Times reported. He attended nine different schools in six years, including Seattle University and the University of Washington. Read more
Tyson Fury’s next fight date confirmed as Dillian Whyte negotiations continue (Metro)
Tyson Fury will return to the ring on 26 March, promoter Frank Warren has confirmed.
‘The Gypsy King’ has fought just once in the last 23 months – his thrilling win over Deontay Wilder in their trilogy epic last October.
Eager to make up for lost time, the WBC heavyweight champion is now set to return in the coming months although no opponent has been decided yet.
‘Tyson wants to fight by the end of March,” Warren told IFL TV. ‘We’re all as a team looking at other situations as well. Read more
Giroud goal helps secure Milan win despite Abraham strike for Roma (BBC)
AC Milan closed the gap on Serie A leaders Inter Milan to a point after a home win over Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
The hosts took an eighth-minute lead when Olivier Giroud converted a penalty following a handball by former Chelsea team-mate Tammy Abraham.
Milan made it 2-0 with Junior Messias’ follow-up after Giroud hit the post.
England striker Abraham pulled one back, steering in Lorenzo Pellegrini’s shot, but substitute Rafael Leao broke clear to score Milan’s third goal.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a chance to add a fourth in injury time, but saw his penalty, awarded after Leao had been brought down by Gianluca Mancini, saved by ex-Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio. Read more