Lagos pledges continued support for armed forces (Guardian)
Lagos State Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday pledged the state’s continued support for the armed forces.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the state Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, made the pledge at a Juma’at service to commemorate the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, at Alausa, Ikeja.
He said that the government would continue to pray for and felicitate with the families and colleagues of fallen heroes. Read more
Man bags seven years jail term over land fraud (Punch)
A High Court sitting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, has sentenced a land racketeer, Joseph Adebayo, to seven years’ imprisonment for defrauding one Ikemefune Sunny of N700,000.
Adebayo was on Friday pronounced guilty of one-count charge of obtaining money under false pretences.
The charge, preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibadan zonal office, read, “That you, Joseph Adebayo, on October 16, 2017 or thereabout, in Ibadan, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, fraudulently and with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of N700,000.00 only from one Ikemefune Sunny on the pretence that the money is for a plot of land located at the back of Christ High School, Odo-Ona Elewe, Area, Oluyole Local Government, Ibadan, which you purportedly wanted to sell to him, a representation you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence.” Read more
JAMB suspends use of NIN for 2020 UTME (Guardian)
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has suspended the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for registration of candidates for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
JAMB registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede made the disclosure on Saturday at a press conference held at the board’s headquarters in Abuja,
Oloyede said the decision was to allow more candidates to obtain the NIN before the 2021 UTME. Read more
Reactions trail use of Presidential jet by Buhari’s daughter, Hanan (DailyTrust)
Hanan Buhari arrives Bauchi in Nigerian Air Force jet Nigerians have taken to the social media to react to the news of President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Hanan Buhari, flying in the Presidential Jet. The social media was bombarded with pictures of Hanan disembarking from the Nigerian Air Force plane in Bauchi on Friday and Nigerians are now responding to the development. Hanan, according to reports, was conveyed by the Presidential jet to attend the Durbar in Bauchi on Thursday. Read more
Two vehicles burn as PMS-laden tanker catches fire in Ogun (Guardian)
A tanker loaded with 33,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) leaked some of the inflammable product it was conveying around Ajileti, on Idiroko road, Ogun, causing fire that burnt two vehicles beyond recognition.
The Idiroko unit Command of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Saturday told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ota, Ogun, that the accident happened at about 4.30 p.m. on Friday.
The Idiroko Unit Commander of FRSC, Mr Akinwunmi Olaluwoye, explained that the tanker was loaded with PMS and filled to the brim which leaked and caused the fire. Read more
Umahi becomes first Southeast Gov to pay minimum wage (Nation)
Ebonyi State government on Friday commenced payment of January salaries to workers with the new minimum wage.
Some workers, who spoke to our correspondent, confirmed getting alerts of their January salaries with the new salaries structure.
This followed the directive of Governor David Umahi during the week that the January salaries of workers be paid with the new salaries structure adopted between Organised Labour in the state and government on or before the 10 January. Read more
Blast hits US army vehicle in southern Afghanistan (Guardian)
A Taliban roadside bomb ripped through a US army vehicle in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said, with no immediate details of casualties.
The incident took place in Dand district of southern Kandahar province, where a bomb hit a US armoured vehicle, provincial police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barkzai told AFP.
“Foreign forces were patrolling near the Kandahar airport when they were hit by a blast. We don’t have the details of the casualties because they have cordoned off the area,” he said. Read more
Your dustbin as goldmine for fraudsters – DCP Tunji (Vanguard)
Deputy Commissioner of Police and Commander of Rapid Response Squad in Lagos State, DCP Tunji Disu, has advised Nigerians to always guard their information jealously and stop dumping vital documents that contain personal information in the dustbin.
He urged Nigerians to shred their bank statements, utility bills, old signed Cheques, Documents, used boarding passes after use.
According to the DCP who made this disclosure on twitter, bin raiders search the bins, steal vital information and use them for fraud. Read more
Puerto Rico rattled by another strong quake (Guardian)
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico Saturday, the latest in a series of powerful tremors that have shaken the US territory in recent days, the US Geological Survey reported.
The latest quake occurred at 8:54 am local time (1254 GMT) around 13 kilometers (eight miles) southeast of Guanica, a town on the island’s southern Caribbean coastline that was hard hit by earlier quakes.
The USGS revised its initial report of a 6.0 magnitude quake to 5.9. Read more
Mother beaten to a pulp after going to school to confront her daughter’s bully (Metro)
A mother was ambushed and battered by her daughter’s teenage bully while on her way to talk to the school principal.
Maria Jimenez was left with a broken nose, black eye as well as multiple cuts and bruises after being confronted by the violent teenager at James Logan High School in Union City, California, on Tuesday. Jiminez, partner Eder Rojas and their bullied 16-year-old daughter were confronted by the unnamed tormentor as they arrived at the school for a chat with its boss. Read more
Etebo begins new life in LaLiga, joins Getafe (Guardian)
Super Eagles midfielder Oghenekaro Peter Etebo says he is delighted to be opening a ‘new chapter’ in his career, having returned to LaLiga Santander to join Getafe.Etebo, who has 31 caps for Nigeria has signed for Getafe on loan from English side Stoke City. He has good knowledge of Spanish football following his previous spell at Las Palmas during the 2017/18 campaign.Etebo said his presentation at Getafe’s Coliseum Alfonso Perez that he was prepared to work hard and help his new team to further success in the coming months.
“It is like a new chapter for me, a new beginning,” he said. “I was in Spain before, with Las Palmas last year, so this is a new beginning. It is for me to make sure that I do my best and give my all for Getafe.
“It is not going to be easy, there will be hard work between now and the end of the season. Let’s see what I am going to bring to the team,” he stated. Read more
Red Card: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to miss Arsenal’s clash against Chelsea (Metro)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will miss Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea later this month following his red card against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Aubameyang’s goal in the first half had given the Gunners the lead but Jordan Ayew pulled Palace level in the 54th minute. But the Arsenal striker was given his marching orders in the 67th minute for a dangerous foul on Max Meyer. Referee Paul Tierney initially only gave a yellow card to Aubameyang for his challenge on the Palace midfielder. Read more
Suarez to undergo another knee surgery say Barcelona (Guardian)
Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez will undergo another knee operation on Sunday, Barcelona has announced.
The club issued a press release Saturday saying the surgery was for an “injury to the external meniscus of the right knee”.
It will not be his first knee operation. Read more
Confederation Cup: Amutu targets more goals (Nation)
Former Nigeria U-23 ace Austin Amutu will be hoping to increase his goal haul as Al-Masry battle Pyramids tomorrow in the Confederation Cup.
Amutu currently has the same number of goals (three) with Pyramids Mohammed Farouk after three rounds matches.
The clubs head into the fourth round of games this weekend desperately seeking to earn a place in the quarterfinals. All the eight matches will be played on Sunday.
Group A leaders Pyramids FC have the most points after winning all their three games. Read more
Nadal’s Spain to meet Djokovic’s Serbia in ATP Cup final (Guardian)
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will face each other in the final of the inaugural ATP Cup after winning epic three-set matches Saturday to steer Spain and Serbia into the decider.
World number one Nadal ground down pumped-up Australian Alex de Minaur to guide the Davis Cup champions through their semi-final while Djokovic battled past Russia’s Daniil Medvedev.
Under the format of the innovative team event in Sydney, the top-ranked singles players from each country play each other, ensuring the two legends clash for the 55th time since their first showdown in 2006. Read more
Dare plans to revive National Sports Commission (Punch)
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has said he is fully in support of the National Sports Commission bill, adding that there is a need to return to that era after it was scrapped by the President, retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s regime in 2015.
Speaking as a guest on Sports Parliament programme hosted by Segun Odegbami on Thursday night, Dare said that he was working closely with some Federal lawmakers to move the bill from an executive one to a member bill.
He said, “Yes, beyond the Nigeria Football Federation bill that is waiting assent from the President, there is also the sports commission bill. I am in full support of it and it has gone through the first reading. Read more
Barty looks to kickstart season in Adelaide (Guardian)
Ashleigh Barty plans to use next week’s ATP-WTA Adelaide International to put the final polish on her Australian Open preparations after a shock defeat in Brisbane.
The world number one headlines the new event starting Sunday, part of a revised calendar in the run-up to the opening Grand Slam of the year which begins on January 20.
The Australian star will be desperate for court time after crashing at the first hurdle this week to American qualifier Jennifer Brady at the Brisbane International. Read more
Mourinho’s Spurs pose tricky test for Liverpool (DailyTrust)
Spurs manager Jose Mourinho would love to be the one who ends Liverpool’s year-long unbeaten run in the Premier League, and Saturday’s game could be closer than the standings suggest. The late match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be the first between Jurgen Klopp’s men and a Mourinho side since Manchester United dismissed the Portuguese after a 3-1 defeat at Anfield in December 2018. “Don’t sack Mourinho,” the crowd chorused mockingly during that 2018 humiliation, so revenge in North London would be sweet. Read more
Pliskova sees off Osaka in epic Brisbane semi-final (Guardian)
World number two Karolina Pliskova will defend her Brisbane International title after edging Naomi Osaka in an epic three-set semi-final at Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday.
Pliskova triumphed 6-7 (10/12), 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 win in a two hour, 48-minute marathon and will play eighth seed American Madison Keys in the decider.
She was forced to come from a set down, then save a match point at 5-6 in the second, before seeing off the reigning Australian Open champion. Read more
Lyon’s Dembele on Tottenham’s radar with Kane out till April (Vanguard)
Tottenham are looking into the possibility of signing Lyon star Moussa Dembele after learning that Harry Kane faces a lengthy injury lay-off.
Kane suffered a serious setback on New Year’s Day when he limped off the field during Spurs’ 1-0 defeat against Southampton.
He played no role in his side’s next clash, a 1-1 FA Cup third round draw away to Middlesbrough, as subsequent tests revealed that the forward had sustained a ruptured tendon in his left hamstring, promising a lengthy lay-off. Read more