Lagos cart pusher stabs colleague to death during fight (Punch)
A cart pusher, simply identified as Mudasiru, is currently on the run after allegedly using a broken bottle to stab his colleague, Umaru, to death during a fight. The incident happened in the Sabo, Yaba area of Lagos State on January 17, 2019. PUNCH Metro gathered that Umaru, who sustained life threatening injuries during the fight, was on his way to the police station to report a case of assault against him, when he fell to the ground. Mudasiru, who was chasing after him, allegedly pounced on him and stabbed him repeatedly. Read more
Atiku in Jigawa, urges supporters to escort votes to collation centres (Guardian)
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has charged his supporters in Jigawa State to vote for all candidates of the PDP from President to House of Assembly and ensure that they wait to protect their votes and escort them to the collation centres. Atiku, who spoke at a campaign rally in Jigawa yesterday, urged the people to vote for PDP so that as president, he could fulfil the request of the party leader and former Governor Sule Lamido for the rehabilitation and dredging of Hadejia/Jamare River Basin, which had been abandoned for over 40 years. He said for the people to exit the present poverty and hunger, they should vote en-masse for all candidates of the PDP. Read more
Those who pulled out of strike will regret it – ASUU (Punch)
Since the Academic Staff Union of Universities commenced its nationwide strike on November 5, 2018, at least six universities have pulled out of it and opened their doors to students. When our correspondent contacted the ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, for his reaction to the development and the perceived disunity in the union’s ranks, he said the institutions that pulled out of the strike due to pressure from their vice-chancellors, or governing councils, would regret their actions in the future. Ogunyemi said, “Those universities perceived as pulling out are certainly not against what we are asking for. Our members are in institutions like the Obafemi Awolowo University, which decided to work against us and deliberately sabotaged our efforts to reposition the universities. Read more
I gave Fayose $5m, Obanikoro tells court (Guardian)
Former minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, yesterday, told a Federal High Court, Lagos how he gave $5 million to the immediate past governor Ayodele Fayose, three days to the 2014 Ekiti guber polls in his hotel room in Ado-Ekiti. Obanikoro, who appeared as the fifth prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), testified before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun in the ongoing trial of the erstwhile governor, who is facing a N6.9 billion fraud charge. The anti-graft agency arraigned Fayose on October 22, 2018 alongside his company, Spotless Investment Limited, on 11 counts. Read more
Private school driver rapes four-year-old girl in Osun (Punch)
A driver with an unnamed private school in Osogbo, Osun State, Oluwatomisin Oyelakin, has been arraigned before a Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Osogbo for allegedly having carnal knowledge of a minor. It was learnt that Oyelakin was a driver in the school being attended by the four-year-old victim and allegedly committed the act after school hours. On the day the suspect allegedly committed the offence, it was gathered that he dropped off the other pupils in his vehicle at their various homes and he was left with the victim. Read more
INEC uncovers alleged new vote-buying plans (Guardian)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has uncovered new plans by some politicians to buy votes through food vendors around polling units in the forthcoming general elections. Food vendors are employees under the Home Grown School Feeding arm of the Social Intervention Programme of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, disclosed this yesterday during a meeting with the European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria, led by Ketil Karlsen and Chief Observer, EU Election Observation Mission to Nigeria, Maria Arena, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. Read more
Rangers get two Tunisian top sides in CAF Confederation Cup draw (Guardian)
Nigeria’s representative in the CAF Confederation Cup, Enugu Rangers were yesterday drawn against two top Tunisian sides, Etoile du Sahel and CS Sfaxien, as well as Burkina Faso’s Salitas in the group stage of the competition. Rangers defeated Bantu FC of Lesotho by 4-2 on aggregate to qualify for the group stage of the competition. They will now play in Group B alongside former African champions, Etoile du Sahel and their compatriots, Sfaxien. Salitas is the unknown quantity in the group, but coming thus far means they are not a side to be written off. Read more