Lagos CP orders probe of molested #OccupyLekki protesters (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has condemned the inhumane act levelled against some individuals arrested during the protest at the Lekki tollgate area of the state on Saturday.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement on Sunday that the office-in-charge of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, DCP Adegoke Fayoade, had been ordered to analyse a trending video showing the arrested suspects being subjected to dehumanising conditions.
He stated that the persons responsible for the act would be brought to book.
Adejobi said, “The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to a viral video where some arrested “Endsars protesters” were being molested in a bus by some individuals after their arrest. Read more
LASG warns against development on Magodo wetlands, vows strict penalty (Guardian)
The Lagos State Government has warned property owners and developers in the Magodo Residential Schemes to immediately desist from any development on the wetlands in the area, or face sanctions, a government statement issued on Sunday has said.
Dr Idris Salako, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, who handed the warning in the statement, said it was worrisome seeing people trying to take advantage of the sign-off of the Revised Schemes, by attempting to build houses on the wetlands without approval from relevant government agencies.
He said that the state government was committed to the planning standards as contained in the painstaking Revised Magodo Schemes document and would go all the way to ensure total compliance in the interest of a sustainable Lagos State. Read more
We must handle #EndSARS protest with caution, says Lagos Rep (Nation)
The member representing Epe Federal Constituency of Lagos state in the House of Representatives, Hon. Wale Raji, has appealed for caution in the handling of the renewed #ENDSARS protest at the Lekki tollgate, saying there was the need to learn from the experiences of the immediate past.
Raji also thrown his weight behind calls for restructuring of the country, saying the time has come when power should be devolved to the states to control resources available in their areas, adding that a situation where states run to Abuja monthly to share from the federation accounts is not the best.
Speaking in an interview with The Nation, Raji said dialogue should be used to settle whatever grievances there may be, adding that allowing another round of protest may cause grave damages for the country. Read more
Gunmen storm Ughelli church, kill policeman during service (Vanguard)
A gang of unidentified gunmen said to be terrorising Ughelli and environs in the past few weeks struck again yesterday at a church in the town killing a police inspector and taking away his rifle.
The incident happened at the premises of a popular pentecostal church located along Oviri-Ogor road in Ughelli, headquarters of Ughelli North local government area of Delta State.
According to security sources, the late Police Inspector identified as Mr. Ninyel Nwangwang was attached to the PMF 31, Ogwashi-Uku and was on escort duty to the church when he was killed. Read more
Members lock out Pastor in Benue (Nation)
Members of Congregation of NKST Church Achusa gave their resident Pastor a shock valentine treatment on Sunday as they asked him to vacate his seat and leave the church.
The warring church members also stopped the embattled pastor from conducting service.
Worshippers, who turn out service, were stranded as the warring factions put the church under lock and key.
When The Nation visited the church located in one of the new lay out in Makurdi , worshippers were seen milling around the gate which was locked up by warring members.
There was however uneasy calm as the pastor and his supporters were adamant, saying he will stay put.
NKST is a predominantly Tiv church with its synod headquarters in Mkar, Gboko .
The Nation gathered some members of the church have. Read more
Mohammed commisserates with victims of plaza inferno, pledges support (Guardian)
Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State on Saturday sympathised with victims of inferno which engulfed one of the biggest shopping complexes in the state, ‘Bababa shopping plaza’.
Goods worth millions of naira were destroyed by the fire.
The governor promised the victims of the fire incident that the state government would provide them with capital to restore their businesses.
This is contained in a sympathy message to the victims of the inferno made available to newsmen in Bauchi by Mr Mukhtar Gidado, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the governor on media. Read more
Adultery scandal: Pastor asks CAC to suspend, probe Apostle Suleman (Punch)
A pastor, Mike Davids, who was formerly with Omega Fire Ministries, has written a letter to the Corporate Affairs Commission asking the CAC to suspend the General Overseer of the church, Apostle Johnson Suleman, and appoint an interim manager in line with Section 839 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020.
Davids, who had accused Apostle Suleman of sleeping with his wife in the presence of his young daughter, said the CAC should also probe the church’s finances, Apostle Suleman’s lifestyle and alleged the purchase of a private jet.
The requests are contained in a letter sent to the Registrar-General of the commission, Garba Abubakar, which was received by the CAC on February 12, 2020. Read more
NYSC lauds corps medical personnel on fight against COVID-19 (Guardian)
The National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) has commended members of corps medical personnel in the scheme for their commitment to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
The Coordinator of NYSC, Mr Kehinde Aremu, Coordinator of NYSC gave the commendation at the NYSC Orientation Camp, Umuawulu, at a get together organised for corps members and officials of the scheme in Anambra on Saturday.
Aremu said the corps medical personnel adhered religiously to the COVID-19 testing and prevention strategies in the state. Read more
Bandits kill two NAF personnel in Kaduna (Punch)
Bandits have killed some Nigerian Air Force personnel in an ambush in Kaduna State.
The incident occured, on Saturday, when the troops of the 271 NAF detachment foiled an ambush set up by a group of over 100 bandits at Ungwan Laya near Birnin Gwari.
Disclosing this in a statement on Saturday, the NAF spokesman, AVM Ibikunle Daramola said the troops were able to fight their way through the ambush “killing dozens of bandits in the process.”
“Unfortunately, some NAF personnel paid the supreme price during the operation, while a few others sustained varying degrees of injuries. The injured personnel are currently receiving treatment at the NAF Hospital in Kaduna,” he stated. Read more
Star Wars celebrates Black History Month with John Boyega homage (Metro)
John Boyega has become the face of Star Wars’ messaging for Black History Month, leading to a mixed response from fans. The British actor famously played Finn alongside Daisy Ridley as Rey in the most recent Star Wars trilogy, which ended in 2019. In celebration of Black History Month in the US, the official Star Wars Twitter account posted an illustration of John’s character Finn by artist Mel Milton. It also featured a quote from the artist, who is also Black, which said: ‘Storytelling is at the heart of being human and black representation in all media gives us the opportunity to feel like we are a part of the world we are living in. Read more
UAE Hope mission returns first image of Mars (BBC)
The United Arab Emirates’ Hope mission has returned its first picture of Mars.
The spacecraft entered into an orbit around the Red Planet on Tuesday, making the UAE the first Arab nation in history to have a scientific presence at Earth’s near neighbour.
This first image will be followed by many similar such views of Mars.
Hope was put in a wide orbit so it could study the planet’s weather and climate systems, which means it also will see the planet’s full disk. Read more
More than 150 injured in strong Fukushima earthquake (DW)
The cleanup is underway from a 7.3-magnitude earthquake off Japan’s eastern coast. The tremor came nearly 10 years after a huge quake that sparked a tsunami and nuclear meltdown.
The clean-up operation in Japan continued Sunday after a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Japan during the night.
Around 150 were injured, according to officials.
Most injuries were reported in the quake-prone Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, close to the epicenter. But tremors were felt as far as capital Tokyo. Read more
Model Beverly Peele alleges women ‘couldn’t leave’ Nygard sex parties (PageSix)
Former model Beverly Peele is making more disturbing allegations against Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard.
In an exclusive interview with Page Six, she described his so-called “Pamper Parties” at his Bahamas mansion as a place where women were virtually held prisoner.
“It was like a p–y casting — a bunch of girls parading [around] for Nygard to pick. He’d promise them modelling contracts and campaigns in New York. He would disappear with two of them and after he was done, he’d return and say, ‘OK, OK. who’s next?’”
Peele claimed that “he’d collect their passports and they’d be stuck in the mansion, and these rooms would have codes and they couldn’t leave,” she said. Read more
Mix your own romantic cocktail this Valentine’s Day (CBC)
‘Celebrate Sunday night with the kind of organic intimacy that can only happen in the comfort of your own home,’ says food and drink blogger Yvonne Langen. (Yvonne Langen)
If there’s an upside to being in the midst of a pandemic on Valentine’s Day, food and drink blogger Yvonne Langen says it’s surely this:
“You won’t be subjected to the pressure of performing romance in a roomful of other couples trying to turn on the intimacy for the occasion,” Langen noted.
“Instead, celebrate Sunday night with the kind of organic intimacy that can only happen in the comfort of your own home.” Read more
Navalny supporters hold Valentine’s Day protests (DW)
Supporters of the jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny held novel candle-lit minidemonstrations in residential courtyards across Russia on Sunday.
On Valentine’s Day evening, people stood outside for 15 minutes. They used the flashlight function on their smartphones and arranged candles in the shape of a heart.
The action went ahead under the motto “Love is stronger than fear.”
Organisers described it as a response to the “unprecedented wave of violence and repression” by security forces at past rallies in support of Navalny. Read more
More than 15m vaccinated as UK hits target a day early (Metro)
More than 15 million people have now received their first dose of a Covid vaccine in the UK, it has been confirmed. Boris Johnson previously pledged that the Government would reach the target by February 15, so schools could start reopening from March 8. But the goal was achieved today, one day ahead of the deadline, while more than half a million people have now received their second doses as well. Boris Johnson hailed the ‘extraordinary feat’ in a video message. Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi also praised the UK’s ‘amazing team’ and pledged not to rest until every adult was offered a vaccine. Read more
Novak Djokovic refuses to confirm extent of Australian Open injury (Metro)
Two nights ago in Melbourne, Novak Djokovic declared on court he had ‘definitely’ suffered an abdominal tear but after his Australian Open fourth-round win over Milos Raonic his condition was shrouded in mystery. Djokovic didn’t appear too hampered, despite the odd grimace here and there, on court as he beat Milos Raonic – an opponent he now holds a 12-0 record against – in four sets to set up a quarter-final meeting with Alexander Zverev. The world No. 1, an eight-time champion at this tournament, said he wasn’t sure he would be ready for the last-16 tie with big-serving Canadian Raonic and admitted he would have withdrawn from the event if it was anything other than a Grand Slam event. Read more
Veretout scores twice as Roma beat Udinese to reclaim third (Guardian)
French midfielder Jordan Veretout struck twice on Sunday as Roma beat Udinese 3-0 to climb back to third in Serie A.
One week after losing to Juventus, who jumped into third, Roma took advantage of the reigning champions’ loss to Napoli on Saturday night.
Roma continued their strong form at the Stadio Olimpico even without Edin Dzeko, who returned from his brief exile when he came on for the last 21 minutes. They are the only team in Serie A unbeaten at home this season. Read more
Dayot Upamecano: RB Leipzig defender to join Bayern Munich in summer (BBC)
Bayern Munich have signed RB Leipzig centre-back Dayot Upamecano, with the Frenchman set to join the German champions on 1 July.
RB Leipzig say Bayern paid Upamecano’s buy-out clause, worth a reported 42.5m euros (£38m).
Upamecano, 22, has agreed a five-year deal with Bayern.
“We’re convinced that Dayot will be a very important member of our team in the coming years,” said Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic. Read more
Arsene Wenger raises concerns over Harry Kane after Spurs defeat (Metro)
Arsene Wenger revealed he has concerns over the fitness of Harry Kane after Tottenham Hotspur’s latest defeat. Wenger thought the Spurs striker Kane was off the pace as City cruised to a 3-0 victory courtesy of goals from Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan. Kane was forced off against Liverpool last month having taken knocks to both of his ankles but miraculously returned to the starting XI a week later to face West Bromwich Albion. He featured off the bench in the 5-4 Carabao Cup defeat to Everton before returning to the starting line-up against Manchester City. Read more
Kevin Durant leads Brooklyn Nets to victory with 20 points against Golden State Warriors (BBC)
Kevin Durant fired the Brooklyn Nets to a 134-117 victory against former team the Golden State Warriors, scoring 20 points.
The two-time NBA champion was returning after missing the past three games while in quarantine.
“I loved my time here, I loved playing for this team, but I’m glad we got a good W,” said Durant.
The forward spent three seasons as a member of the Warriors before leaving in 2019. Read more
Halep gains revenge on Swiatek, plays Serena in quarters (Guardian)
Simona Halep exacted revenge on French Open champion Iga Swiatek with a comeback three-set victory Sunday, setting up a blockbuster quarter-final with Serena Williams at the Australian Open.
The world number two was thrashed by the 19-year-old at Roland Garros, winning just three games, but turned the tide 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 50 minutes at a crowd-less Rod Laver Arena.
“I knew she would hit strong, but after the first set I tried to make her run and she started to miss,” said Halep, who hit 19 winners.Halep now faces 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams, who she beat in the 2019 Wimbledon final. Read more