Lagos hoodlums hack NURTW boss at home, shoot him dead in hospital (Punch)
A leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Lagos State, Kunle Ajibade, has been murdered by suspected hoodlums in Ijeshatedo, in the Surulere area of the state.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the assailants stabbed the 28-year-old at his house and trailed him to a hospital where he was receiving treatment.
They were said to have shot him multiple times.
The victim’s brother, Kehinde, who urged the police to investigate the killing, said his brother was being rushed to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital when he gave up on the way. Read more
Customs impounds timber, charcoal worth N7b from smugglers in Lagos (Leadership)
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has extended the date of penalising late filing of Company Income Tax (CIT) by another one month.
FIRS had said it going to sanction late filing of tax returns by companies in Nigeria.The information on the extension of penalty for defaulters was contained in the agency’s Tax Pro-Max portal on Tuesday.
FIRS said the affected companies have until 31 December 2021 “to submit all outstanding returns and pay the resulting tax liabilities, including previous years’ assessments.” The revenue agency said additional extension of the waiver of penalties and interest on outstanding 2021 YOA returns is a welcome development and further demonstrates FIRS’ commitment to providing reprieve to taxpayers following migration to Tax Pro-Max for tax filing and compliance,” the revenue agency added.
“It is expected that the additional extension will afford affected taxpayers sufficient time to file their outstanding 2021 YOA CIT returns and pay their related liabilities to enable them to enjoy the waiver,” FIRS said in the statement on its TaxPro -Max. Read more
Lagos girls’ school’s alumni donate N32m building to alma mater (Tribune)
All is set for New Era Girls’ Secondary School, Surulere, Lagos, to inaugurate the multi-purpose building donated to the school by its old students association.
The one-storey building erected at the cost of N32 million has an audiovisual hall, e-learning section, offices, as well as toilets and was also furnished with computers, chairs, tables, fans and a standby generator.
The president of the old students association, Dr Tamra Runsewe-Abiodun, who is an associate professor at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, explained to newsmen at a pre-launch media briefing what informed the donation of the building to the school and how the money was raised among the members.
According to her, the building, which will be inaugurated on December 7, is a way of giving back to the 74-year-old alma mater that produced them to serve three major purposes. Read more
Lagos urges PWDs to register with LASODA for available opportunities (Guardian)
The Senior Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Persons Living With Disabilities, Adenike Lawal, has urged Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) to register with the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) to enable them get all information on opportunities.
This was disclosed at the launch of the first ever African comic book on disability, “The Iredians,” produced by The Irede Foundation (TIF) in Lagos.
She, however, said that there were lots of ongoing projects held by LASODA, which include education, women, agriculture empowerment, health, wealth creation, financial aids and others that had been running through the course of the year.
On the book’s launch, Lawal noted that The Iredians was a step in the right direction and an x-ray of what the realities are when it comes to disability education in the country. Read more
Kogi gives late escort rider’s family 2 houses (Leadership)
Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has presented keys to the two houses he acquired in Abuja for the wives of his late police escort out rider, Inspector Aminu Salihu.
As preparations for the 2022 armed forces remembrance commences nationwide with emblem launch and fundraising, Bello also appealed for honest support for the aged, sick and families of the fallen heroes.
Governor Bello made the call yesterday in Lokoja, the state capital, during the launch of the 2022 emblem for armed forces remembrance coming up on the 15th January, 2022.
While eulogizing the late police inspector, Governor Yahaya Bello who praised his professional conduct and expertise said the loss of Inspector Aminu Salisu was a personal loss to him “Inspector Aminu’s death came when the nation needed him most, he was a gentleman, diligent and highly professional. He brought finesse and dexterity to policing. This is a personal huge loss to me and the country at large,” he said. Read more
2.9b people still have never used Internet – UN report (Vanguard)
Some 2.9 billion people still have never used the internet globally and 96 per cent live in developing countries, making the world’s poorest left far behind, a new UN report has found.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the estimated number of people who have gone online in 2021 actually went up, to 4.9 billion, partially because of a “COVID connectivity boost”.
This is good news for global development, but ITU said that people’s ability to connect remains profoundly unequal – as many hundreds of millions might only go online infrequently, using shared devices or facing connection speeds that hamper their internet use.
“While almost two-thirds of the world’s population is now online, there is a lot more to do to get everyone connected to the Internet,” Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General said. Read more
Military seeks review of NHIS Act to cover wounded-in-action personnel (ThisDay)
The military authorities yesterday called for a review of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cover the treatment of personnel wounded in theatres of war.
It also called for coverage of high tech diagnostic surgeries and cardiovascular cases not captured by NHIS.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting with military secondary health care providers in Abuja, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Defence Health Maintenance Limited, Rear Admiral A.B Afolanyan (rtd) called for the institution of functional NHIS committees in Health Care Providers (HCP) to avoid misappropriation of disbursed funds by Health Management Organisations (HMO).
Also speaking at the event, Chief of Medical Services, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Olabode Babalola, said the treatment of personnel wounded in military operations were not captured in the NHIS. Read more
12 Bayelsa women arraigned for allegedly using ‘juju’ to stop road construction (Punch)
No fewer than 12 women from Agobiri community in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have been arraigned by the police for allegedly plotting to scuttle the ongoing construction of the Yenagoa-Oporoma Road by the state government with juju (charms).
The accused women are Nerisa John, 43; Christiana Famous, 36; Dolphina Ochai, 34; Flora Clinton, 55; Ayibanua Lucky, 33; and Motoko Oyibadoemi, 54.
Others are Amilo Brandy, 30; Tuebi Romeo, 25; Ayibaegben Godbless, 40; Becky Williams, 37; Ayababy Kwoli, 50; and Falaba David, 30.
The women were said to be carrying out a demonstration demanding that the road should pass through their community to give residents a sense of belonging. Read more
Anambra upgrades Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital to College (Tribune)
Anambra State government has upgraded the Chukwuemeka Odummegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital School of Nursing, Nkpor to College.
Governor Willie Obiano announced this during the matriculation and capping ceremony of the 2020 and 2021 set of student Nurses and Midwives held at the college premises in Nkpor, Idemili North local government Area, on Monday.
The Governor, represented by the Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr Joe Akabuike, congratulated the matriculants and extolled the remarkable achievements the school has recorded under the administration of the Health Commissioner, Dr Vincent Okpala.
The Governor also disclosed that the School of Nursing was given full accreditation in September 2021, with an increase in the intake from fifty to seventy-five students. Read more
UNIBEN’s Best Graduating Student gets N250, 000 award (ThisDay)
The overall best graduating student in the just concluded 46th and 47th convocation of the University of Benin, Mr. Henry Ogorchukwu Abanum, has been honoured with the ‘Osasere Osifo Prize for Academic Excellence’ award.
The Academic Excellence Prize is an initiative of Osasere Favour Osifo, a former President of the UNIBEN Students’ Union, who is currently the vice-president of the University of Benin Alumni Association North America (UBAANA) chapter, and also a member of the United States Airforce.
The award presentation ceremony took place at the University of Benin Students’ Affairs Division, and Abanum, who graduated with a First Class (4.97 GPA), from the
Faculty of Pharmacy, was honoured with the sum of N250, 000 by Osifo in recognition of his academic excellence.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Osifo declared that celebrating mediocrity and shunning excellence was fast becoming a norm in today’s society, hence, the coming on board of the Osasere Osifo Prize for Academic Excellence to change the narrative. Read more
Nicole Scherzinger finally performing on ‘The Masked Singer’ in duet (TMZ)
The Pussycat Doll is taking the stage for the first time on “The Masked Singer” … Nicole Scherzinger is getting out from behind her judge’s table and grabbing the mic.
Production sources tell TMZ … Nicole will perform on the FOX singing competition show after 6 seasons of fans begging to see her show off her pipes.
It sounds like this will be a duet … we’re told Nicole will join the stage with the Queen of Hearts.
While the performance is a long time coming, our sources say it wasn’t exactly easy to pull off. Read more
Alec Baldwin says he didn’t pull trigger on film set (DW)
Alec Baldwin has told US broadcaster ABC that he did not fire the gun that killed a cinematographer on the set of the film Rust.
“Well, the trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger,” Baldwin said in an interview to be aired on Thursday. The actor could be seen breaking down in tears in an excerpt released ahead of the broadcast.
On October 21, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded on the set of the Western movie Baldwin was making near Santa Fe. Baldwin had previously called the incident a “tragic accident.”
When asked by ABC how a live round ended up on set, Baldwin said: “I have no idea. Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.” Read more
Michigan prosecutor says U.S. is ‘desensitized to school shootings’ after four students are killed (Fox)
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said Wednesday that the United States has become “desensitized to school shootings” as she announced terrorism and murder charges against 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, who is accused of shooting and killing four students and wounding seven others at Oxford High School.
“We have to do better. How many times does this have to happen? How many times? Everyone knows, we have become desensitized to school shootings,” she said.
“We’re going to hold the people responsible accountable and we’re going to receive justice for these victims. And hopefully, we’re going to start a long-going conversation and move the needle on appropriate gun control.”
Oxford High School, which had undergone active shooter training, went into lockdown as soon as Crumbley allegedly opened fire. Read more
North Korea’s Kim warns of ‘very giant struggle’ next year to boost economy (VOA)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said the country must be prepared for a “very giant struggle” next year to continue to make progress in areas including defense, agriculture and construction, state media reported on Thursday.
Kim made the remarks on Wednesday at a meeting of the central committee of the ruling Worker’s Party’s politburo, which decided to hold a plenary meeting of the committee next month.
Kim said that while the country still faces economic difficulties, the party has had success in pushing to meet policy targets and implementing the five-year economic plan he unveiled earlier this year, the official KCNA news agency said.
“It is very encouraging that the positive changes were made in the overall state affairs including politics, economy, culture, and national defense as evidenced by the stable management of the state economy and big successes made in the agricultural and construction sectors,” Kim said. Read more
Survivors of severe COVID-19 may have an increased risk of dying over the next 12 months, study suggests (Fox)
Patients who had severe COVID-19 may be twice at risk of dying over the following year, compared to patients who had a mild or moderate case, or individuals not infected by the novel coronavirus, according to a new study.
The alarming findings suggested the increased risk of dying was greater for patients under the age of 65, according to the report published in Frontiers in Medicine. Researchers from the University of Florida stated, “The risk of 12-month mortality among adults under 65 who are hospitalized with COVID-19 is increased by 233% over those who are COVID-19 negative.”
The study also found that common complications due to COVID including respiratory failure and clotting disorders were responsible in only 20 percent of the severe Covid-19 patients’ deaths. These findings suggest that the patients who survived severe cases of COVID-19 were left vulnerable to other illnesses due to an overall deterioration in their health, according to the authors of study. The researchers defined a severe COVID-19 case as a patient who needed to be hospitalized within the first 30 days of testing positive for the infection.
“Since we now know that there is a substantial risk of dying from what would likely be considered to be an unrecognized complication of Covid-19, we need to be even more vigilant in decreasing severe episodes of COVID-19,” Professor Arch Mainous of the University of Florida who is the lead author of the study said in a news release. Read more
Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Key accuser ‘Jane’ recalls meeting Trump at Mar-a-Lago with Epstein during gruelling cross-examination (Independent)
The key prosecution witness in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial told a federal court in New York how Jeffrey Epstein had driven her to Mar-a-Lago to meet Donald Trump when she was just 14 years old.
The accuser, testifying under the pseudonym “Jane”, faced a gruelling cross-examination by Ms Maxwell’s defence team on the third day of her trial.
A day earlier Jane had described in vivid detail being subjected to years of sexual abuse by Epstein at properties in Palm Beach, New York and New Mexico between the ages of 14 and 16, and how Ms Maxwell had joined in on multiple occasions.
Ms Maxwell faces six charges: one each of enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking of a minor, and three counts of conspiracy related to the other counts. Read more
Man jailed after supergluing lock on vaccination centre in Gorleston (Sky)
A man who superglued shut the lock to a COVID-19 vaccination centre has been handed a three month prison sentence.
Hayden Brown squirted glue into the keyhole of the door to a pharmacy in Lowestoft Road, Gorleston, Norfolk, preventing more than 500 people from getting their booster jabs.
The 53-year-old, of Burgh Road in Great Yarmouth, was arrested on Tuesday after he was identified by covert cameras that had been put in place following two previous incidents on 12 November and 20 November.
Brown admitted criminal damage and pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance at Norwich Magistrates’ Court, Norfolk police said. Read more
As Israel awaits Omicron confirmations, one likely case sparks cautious optimism (TimesofIsrael)
The number of Israelis officially confirmed to have caught the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is expected to rise significantly by the end of the week, pending results for four people who have reportedly already tested positive for the highly mutated strain once, as well as over a dozen more suspected cases.
But even as officials wait for the official results, which are expected to be confirmed, they are beginning to learn tentative lessons from at least one of the patients, who may have contracted the variant in the UK days before it was flagged in South Africa, and who apparently did not infect almost any of the dozens people he shared close quarters before testing positive.
The Health Ministry on Wednesday clarified that only two people in Israel have been confirmed so far to have contracted Omicron, contradicting Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv, which announced Tuesday that two cardiologists there had tested positive for the virus, adding another two cases on top of two women already confirmed to be carrying the strain.
The two doctors are still awaiting the results of genetic sequencing to confirm that they are carrying the new Omicron strain and not the Delta variant or any other version of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to Channel 12 news. Read more
Sports ministry plans 3 mini stadia for N90m (Punch)
The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development is planning to build three new mini stadia in the country for N90m, The PUNCH reports.
This was contained in the 2022 budget submitted by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to the National Assembly on October 7.
The sports ministry proposed the sum of N193,315,083,317 to be spent in the 2022 fiscal year.
According to the budget breakdown which was seen by our correspondent, the sports ministry is set to commence the construction of new mini stadia with two in Anambra and one in Oyo State. Read more
Pep Guardiola hails Bernardo Silva as Premier League’s best player after Aston Villa win (Mirror)
Pep Guardiola claimed Bernardo Silva is the best player in the Premier League after his wonder goal fired Manchester City to victory.
City midfielder Silva netted a brilliant volley after a lightning counter attack as the reigning champions inflicted a first defeat on new Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard.
When quizzed whether Silva was among the best players in the Premier League on form, City boss Guardiola said: “The best. When we made 98 points two or three years ago, he was the best, too. Take the videos and you will see.
“It was an incredible finish. The goal was good, it was quick. To beat them was an incredible step for us. Read more
Rafael Benitez defiant as Everton suffer humbling loss to former club Liverpool (Independent)
Defiant Everton manager Rafael Benitez insisted his side would improve despite a humbling 4-1 Merseyside derby defeat at home to Liverpool making it eight matches without victory.
Two goals from Mohamed Salah were sandwiched between Jordan Henderson’s opener and Diogo Jota’s 79th-minute strike as the hosts were completely outclassed.
Demarai Gray had briefly made it 2-1 just before half-time – their first goal in a month – but in reality the gulf in class and application was huge and when the fourth goal went in, home supporters streamed for the exits.
Of those that remained, one fan ran onto the pitch to confront players at the final whistle, while there were chants of “Sack the board” and abuse directed at chairman Bill Kenwright and director of football Marcel Brands. Read more
Women’s tennis tour suspends China events over Peng Shuai’s safety (NYPost)
In the strongest public stand against China taken by a sports body, the head of the women’s professional tennis tour announced Wednesday that all WTA tournaments there would be suspended because of concerns about the safety of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a former government official of sexual assault.
Peng dropped out of public view after raising the allegations about former vice premier Zhang Gaoli in a Nov. 2 social media posting that was quickly taken down by Chinese authorities.
“Unfortunately, the leadership in China has not addressed this very serious issue in any credible way,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon wrote in a statement distributed by the tour. “While we now know where Peng is, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe, and not subject to censorship, coercion, and intimidation.”
Simon has made repeated calls for what he termed Wednesday a “full and transparent investigation — without censorship” of Peng’s accusations. He said the move to put a halt to his tour’s play in China, including Hong Kong, came “with the full support of the WTA Board of Directors.” Read more
Alpine skiing: Bad weather, Omicron threaten to disrupt World Cup calendar (Metro)
Bad weather and the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant threatened to wreck havoc with the World Cup ski calendar on Wednesday as the top women skiers were left wondering where and when they might race again.
After heavy snowfalls and high temperatures wiped out two-of-three men’s World Cup races last week at the bucolic Lake Louise resort in the Canadian Rockies, the first speed events on the women’s schedule were disrupted when training was cancelled.
Organisers will try to get in a training run on Thursday ahead of a downhill doubleheader set for Friday and Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.
But storm clouds of a different kind are looming on the horizon, with the World Cup set to shift to Europe and races in Switzerland, which has imposed new restrictions to check the spread of the Omicron variant. Read more
Displacing Foster at Watford will be tough – Okoye (Punch)
Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has admitted that it will be tough to displace Ben Foster as Watford’s first choice next season, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Okoye, 22, signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with Premier League club, Watford for a fee understood to be in the region of €6m.
The deal will begin on January 1, 2022.
Foster, 38, who is Watford’s first choice is currently recovering from a groin injury has made 372 appearances has kept 88 clean sheets. Read more
Mohamed Salah fires Liverpool past Everton as Ballon d’Or point made (Mirror)
It was a fine night for Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah as he helped the Reds to a barnstorming 4-1 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night.
The ‘Egyptian king’ netted twice as he made it 19 goals in as many appearances so far this season.
His first was a beautifully-crafted curling shot across Jordan Pickford into the far corner but his second was all about a predatory instinct.
Salah brilliantly seized on a mistake by Everton captain Seamus Colemanto race away from the halfway line and roll a shot past Jordan Pickford. Read more