Lagos gas explosion: Death toll rises to 10, community identifies victims (Punch)
The death toll in the gas explosion at Baruwa, in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, has risen to 10.
A community leader, Jide Osokoya, who confirmed the development to PUNCH Metro on Thursday, identified nine of the deceased.
Our correspondent had reported that pandemonium broke out on Cardoso Road, Baruwa, after a gas leak at the Bestroof Gas Station led to a wave of explosions last Thursday.
No fewer than 41 buildings, including shops, a church, a school and a hotel, were destroyed, while five residents died on the spot. Read more
Lagos vows to seal illegal gas/petrol stations in residential areas (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Government has said it would seal off all illegal gas and petrol filling stations in densely populated residential areas across the state, to demonstrate its zero tolerance for such acts.
A statement by Mr Mukaila Sanusi, spokesman, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development on Thursday said that the Commissioner in the ministry, Dr Idris Salako reached the decision at a meeting with his top officials.
The statement said the measure was adopted to tame the menace of the incessant explosion of gas filling stations in the state. Read more
Attacks: Lagos protesters hire bouncers to ward off hoodlums (Punch)
The #EndSARS protest continued in different parts of the country on Thursday, with protesters repelling attacks from thugs and security agents.
The attacks forced some protesters to hire bouncers to increase security at the protest grounds.
In Lagos, tragedy struck when two people were crushed to death during the protest in the Alagbado area of the state.
PUNCH Metro gathered that a motorist, Nike Lawal, was driving recklessly when she rammed into a tricycle and killed two people at the AIT Junction, Alagbado. Read more
Lagos bus service suspends operation indefinitely (Guardian)
The Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL) has suspended operations amid allegations that one of its buses was used in conveying thugs to Alausa to disrupt #EndSARS protests as seen in a viral video yesterday.
Managing Director, LBSL, Mr. Idowu Oguntona, said contrary to reports, none of its buses was used in conveying thugs to disrupt protests.
Oguntona said what happened was that the bus was headed for Oshodi when some armed thugs alighted from a yellow commercial bus just next to the BRT. He said in the process, many passengers got scared and began jumping out of the bus. Read more
IG outlines SWAT structure as training begins Sunday (Nation)
Despite the criticism of the setting up of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu has outlined the structure of the new outfit.
He also reaffirmed that the training of men and officers of SWAT will commence next week.
According to a memo from the IG to Deputy Inspectors General, Assistant Inspectors General of Police, Commissioners of Police and Commandants of Police Colleges, the new SWAT outfit will comprise of officers and men that will be selected based on clearly defined criteria. Read more
JP Clark buried at Kiagbodo (Vanguard)
The remains of renowned emeritus professor of literature and poet, Professor John Pepper Clark, was committed to mother earth at exactly 11.30 pm., on Thursday in his island country home in Kiagbodo town, Delta State, after a brief lying in state for few family members.
Clark was buried after few words of prayers by Pastor Ituah Ighodalo represented by Pastor Jolomi Guoti and Pastor Ken Okochu of Trinity House, while surrounded by his widow, children and few family members at the graveside near his parlour, which he had long prepared.
True to his last will, Clark was buried within three days of his transition and was not kept in mortuary or taken to any place of worship for funeral service.
The reknown late literary giant was given a peaceful burial also in accordance to his last wish, as only few family members were allowed into the house during the lying in state. Read more
FG extends COVID-19 National Response third phase by four weeks (Guardian)
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the extension of third Phase of the National Response to COVID-19 by four weeks with effect from Monday.
According to the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, the extension is due to exigencies, including celebration of Nigeria’s independence.
Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, who said this yesterday in Abuja, added that the President approved further relaxation of restrictions in the third phase of the response, while maintaining key limitations to curb the risk of spike in coronavirus cases. Read more
FG agrees to pay ASUU N30bn earned allowance, others (Punch)
The Federal Government has agreed to release N30bn earned academic allowance to the university lecturers.
The money will be paid in tranches between May 2021 and February 2022.
Our correspondent gathered that the FG also promised to spend N20bn on the revitalisation of the education sector as part of concessions meant to end the seven-month strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
These were part of the agreements reached during the ongoing meeting between the FG and ASUU leadership on Thursday. Read more
ASUU strike boosting EndSARS protests, FG laments (Vanguard)
The federal government on Thursday lamented that the continuous closure of Nigerian Universities as a result of the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, over the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS has contributed to the ongoing #EndSARS protest.
The Minister for Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige stated this at a meeting with the leadership of ASUU over the union’s stiff opposition to the IPPIS payment platform.
Senator Ngige also debunked the insinuation that the Federal Government was contemplating replacing the IPPIS platform with University Transparency Account System (UTAS), the platform that the university teachers have come up with against IPPIS. Read more
Wild deer attacks selfie-seeking woman in London park (RT)
Pursuing a perfect photo led one young woman to be attacked by a deer in London’s Richmond Park as she foolishly tried to get close enough to the wild animal to snap a selfie during rutting season.
The moment the woman paid for her senselessness was caught on camera as the deer gave her a firm kick in the back with its forelegs. Royal Parks Police took to Twitter to rebuke the woman for her ill-advised photoshoot, warning that deer are not like the Disney character Bambi and can cause harm.
“This picture, taken on October 11 in Richmond Park, demonstrates why you need to stay 50m away. They are wild animals and can cause you injury #WeAreNotBambi,” the police said. Read more
Coronavirus: France reports more than 30,000 new infections (BBC)
France has reported a large jump in new Covid-19 cases ahead of a night-time curfew being imposed on Paris and eight other cities on Saturday.
A further 30,621 infections were confirmed on Thursday, up from 22,591 the day before.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that tough restrictions are “absolutely necessary” to save lives.
Millions in Europe have been told they must live under strict new measures as governments battle a second wave. Read more
Law school dean mistakenly emails students confidential bar exam results (NYPost)
It was an innocent mistake.
The dean of South Carolina’s largest law school inadvertently sent an email to students containing the names of those who failed the bar exam.
William Hubbard, dean of University of South Carolina School of Law, committed the gaffe by forwarding an official email to students who took the exam that said 82 percent of the class passed.
But unbeknownst to Hubbard, the email contained attachments with the confidential scores of every student. Read more
Twitter: Major outage affects users around the world (BBC)
Twitter has experienced a major outage, with users across the world affected.
The social media giant said the issue was caused by an “inadvertent change” it made to its internal systems.
Users in countries including the US and UK were unable to use the platform for more than an hour, with many receiving error messages.
The service was later largely restored, and the California-based company said the site should soon be working for all of its users. Read more
United Airlines exec still missing 2 months after mysterious disappearance (NYPost)
A United Airlines executive is still missing more than two months after his ex-wife reported his mysterious disappearance, telling 911 that “something was absolutely not right.”
Recordings of the concerned 911 call were released this week in the disappearance of 49-year-old Jake Cefolia, who was reported missing Aug. 8 from his home in Elmhurst, Illinois, news station WMAQ reported.
“I’m filing a missing person report,” said Kristine Cefolia, who was previously married to the sales executive for United Airlines. Read more
Loving v Virginia: Lawyer in famed interracial marriage case dies (BBC)
The lawyer who successfully petitioned the US Supreme Court to strike down anti-interracial marriage laws has died at 86, according to his family.
Bernard S Cohen represented the Loving couple in a lawsuit against the state of Virginia in 1967. Their name ensured it would be a landmark case, he told US media.
The ruling was later used in 2015 as precedent to legalise gay marriage.
Cohen went on to serve as an “unabashed liberal” state lawmaker. Read more
Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan fall in love in heart-wrenching Ammonite trailer (Metro)
The new trailer for Ammonite, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan has been released – and it’s heart-wrenching.
The teaser for the Francis Lee-directed film, which is set to premiere at London Film Festival, shows paleontologist Mary Anning and geologist Charlotte Murchison falling passionately in love – before dealing with the idea that they might have to live their lives apart. Read more
Athletes delighted as FG lifts ban on contact sports (Punch)
Nigerian athletes were in ecstatic mood on Thursday after the Federal Government lifted the ban on football and all other contact sports in the country with effect from Monday Oct 19.
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, in a briefing in Abuja on Thursday, said the FG had decided to ease the restrictions on football and other contact sports in the country.
Aliyu said the decision was arrived at after consultation with the sports ministry and the National Centre for Disease Control.
He however announced that the games would take place behind closed doors. Read more
Chelsea’s Victor Moses joins Spartak Moscow on loan (BBC)
Chelsea midfielder Victor Moses has completed a season-long loan move to Russian side Spartak Moscow.
Spartak said the loan includes the option to buy.
The 29-year-old Nigeria international had spells on loan with Fenerbahce in Turkey and and Italian giants Inter Milan last season. Read more
Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori reveals why he rejected deadline day move to West Ham (Metro)
Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori has revealed why he made a stunning U-turn on transfer deadline day and decided not to join West Ham.
The 22-year-old was set to join the Hammers on a season-long loan but decided against the move just minutes before the window closed.
Speaking on the Chelsea Mike’d Up podcast, Tomori said: ‘I had a plan going into this season going off the back of last season. Read more
New Barcelona boss Koeman credited with steadying ship at La Liga giants (RT)
Ronald Koeman is showing signs of ‘convincing’ Barcelona crop of superstars that he is the right man for the job amid a tumultuous period in the club’s history, according to reports from Spain.
Koeman was installed as the Catalan club’s new head coach in the summer and was tasked with helping the club emerge from rancor within the club which cost former manager Quique Setien his job and led to a cull of the team’s backroom staff.
The Dutchman, a former player at the Camp Nou, landed in the hot seat at a time when Lionel Messi, inarguably the club’s greatest ever player, was attempting to engineer a move away from the Nou Camp…Read more
Giro d’Italia: EF Pro Cycling calls for race to end early amid coronavirus fears (BBC)
A leading team wants the Giro d’Italia to end a week early, citing a “clearly compromised” coronavirus bubble.
EF Pro Cycling – winners of two of the 12 stages so far – wrote to race organisers asking for the race to end this Sunday.
However, cycling’s governing body, the UCI rejected, the request.
On Tuesday, the Mitchelton-Scott and Jumbo-Visma teams withdrew from the tour following positive tests in their camps. Read more
Daryl Morey stepping down as Rockets general manager (NYPozt)
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is stepping down roughly a year after his controversial Hong Kong tweet before the start of the 2019-20 season, according to ESPN.
The report details that Morey approached Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta with the idea of leaving the job following the Rockets’ playoff ouster from the NBA’s Orlando bubble, with both sides quietly organizing an exit agreement to put an end to his 13 seasons running the franchise’s basketball operations.
The 48-year-old Morey isn’t ruling out a return to the league on the team side, per ESPN, but he reportedly has an increasing interest in exploring a different professional path. Read more
Some international friendly fixtures ‘irresponsible’, says Fifpro (BBC)
International friendlies may cause “huge problems” during the coronavirus pandemic, says the world players’ union general secretary.
Fifpro’s Jonas Baer-Hoffmann said clubs and players are concerned about having to isolate should they catch the virus.
He believes “economic pressures” are the reason for some games being played.
“It is very hard to fathom from a sporting and a health perspective that these games would take priority if there are severe risks,” he said. Read more