Lagos road collapses after downpour, residents groan (Punch)
A section of the road linking the Ikotun roundabout to Ejigbo and other neighbouring communities in Lagos State has collapsed.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the road just by a canal caved in after the downpour on Saturday, September 16.
The damage had since left motorists plying the route in palpable fear over an imminent accident resulting from a total collapse of the section. Read more
Tinubu rings closing bell of NASDAQ stock market (Nation)
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday rang the closing bell of the NASDAQ stock market.
The US Chamber’s bell ringing ceremony with President Tinubu took place on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.- Africa Business Center hosted Tinubu at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square. Read more
Properties worth millions lost as Fire Service battles inferno at Lagos hotel (Channels)
There was a fire incident at Ibis Royal Hotel around Ajao Estate along the Airport Road, Lagos State on Wednesday evening.
Videos shared on social media showed what appeared to be a two-storey building engulfed by raging flames.
Jubril Gawat, the Senior Special Assistant on New Media to the Lagos State Governor, Babjide Sanwo-Olu, in a post on X, stated that the fire was reported at 4:50 pm. Read more
Planned strike: NLC keeps FG in suspense (Nation)
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has kept the government in suspense hours to expiration of its 14 days strike notice.
The strike plan, according to the NLC, is to express displeasure over the painful effects of the removal of petrol subsidy by the Federal Government.
Although, the Federal Government, has given N2 billion each as first installment of the total N5 billion to states for purchase of food items and fertilizers for Nigerians as palliatives for the subsidy pain. Read more
Mohbad: Iyabo Ojo, others storm Lagos Assembly, seek justice (Vanguard)
Nollywood actress, Iyabo Ojo and other stars have staged a peaceful protest to the Lagos State House of Assembly, seeking justice over the death of 27-year-old musician, Ireoluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad.
Ojo, the Convener of the protest, told lawmakers at the assembly complex on Wednesday that the group was at the Lagos Assembly to seek justice for Mohbad.
Recalls that Mohbad, a former singer on Marlian Records, died on Sept. 12 , with many people calling for thorough investigation and inquest into his untimely exit. Read more
CJN Ariwoola bemoans rising litigations (Sun)
Chief Justices of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, has lamented the high level of litigations in the country with mounting pressure on the Supreme Court.
The CJN, who said the nation’s judiciary was witnessing unpleasant times due to the volume of pending cases in court, declared that Nigeria continuously ranks among the most litigious countries in the world.
To address the trend, he canvassed that Nigerians should begin to imbibe the culture of less litigation and more of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms so that courts can be freed of unnecessary burden and depletion of both human and material resources. Read more
Edo Guber: Esan stakeholders kick over attempts to abandon zoning arrangement (Guardian)
People of Edo Central Senatorial District under the auspices of Esan Advocate For Good Governance, yesterday, called on the Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, to exercise restraint and support Governor, Godwin Obaseki to deliver on good governance and development of the state.
The group also urged the deputy governor to resist the temptation to push the governor to yield to pressure to disregard the senatorial zoning arrangement to produce the next governor of the state.
Briefing newsmen in Benin City, the Convener of the group, Bartholomew Okoudo, said the deputy governor’s frequent tirade is to get the governor to endorse his candidacy for the governorship election in the state next year. Read more
Ondo Assembly begins impeachment move of Akeredolu’s deputy (DailyTrust)
The Ondo House of Assembly has served an impeachment notice on Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the state deputy governor, over an allegation of gross misconduct.
The impeachment notice was served on Aiyedatiwa on Wednesday after an emergency plenary session in Akure, the state capital.
The deputy governor was alleged to have approved millions of naira for the purchase of a bulletproof SUV for his personal use. Read more
Judiciary overwhelmed by election, other cases – CJN (Leadership)
The Chief Justices of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has said the nation’s judiciary is at the moment not in a pleasant situation due to the continued rise in cases pending before various courts.
Justice Ariwoola said it is an undisputed fact that Nigeria continuously ranks among the most litigious countries in the world.
The CJN said Nigerians should begin to imbibe the culture of less litigation and more of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms so that courts can be freed of unnecessary burden and depletion of both human and material resources. Read more
The terror attack survivor who plans to climb to Everest base camp (BBC)
Forced to walk on crutches after being shot five times during an attack by militant Islamists on a Kenyan shopping mall exactly a decade ago, Shamim Allu has now set herself the goal of climbing to Mount Everest’s base camp.
“Getting to Everest is very big for me, really big,” the 61-year-old tells the BBC.
“I am going to carry my mere message of peace and hope and courage and forgiveness by getting to Everest.” On 21 September 2013, Ms Allu survived one of the deadliest jihadist attacks in Kenya’s history. Read more
Leslie Jones says racism from Ghostbusters made her cry (EW)
Leslie Jones said the racism she experienced because of her role in the 2016 Ghostbusters movie made her cry and shut down her Twitter account.
“The weakness of muthafuckas amazes me,” Jones writes in her memoir “Leslie F*cking Jones: A Memoir.” “I cried not because I was being bullied, but because this is our world and because I can’t believe anyone would do this shit to someone, anyone, for working. This is awful. I am in a movie. Death threats for something as small as that? The world was not as rosy as I’d hoped it was. But none of that shit was about me.”
Jones, a comic who got her fame on Saturday Night Live, was one of four Ghostbusters, along with comedians Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon, in the all-female 2016 remake of the 1984 original film. In an excerpt from her memoir published on Rolling Stone, Jones wrote that while the all-female Ghostbusters had been the subject of online sexism, she received extra abuse because she’s a Black woman. Read more
Kenya’s anti-gay bill proposes 50-year jail term (AfricaNews)
Kenya is considering the Family Protection Bill 2023, which could lead to 50-year prison sentences for non-consensual same-sex acts.
Sponsored by Homa Bay Town legislator Peter Kaluma, the bill aims to ban homosexuality, same-sex unions, and LGBTQ activities and campaigns. It also intends to prohibit gay parades, assemblies, marches, and public cross-dressing.
According to the bill, individuals engaging in non-consensual same-sex acts could face imprisonment for a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 50 years. Owners of premises used for same-sex relations may be fined $14,000 (£11,000) or serve a seven-year jail term if the bill becomes law. Read more
Hollywood studios, writers near agreement to end strike, hope to finalise deal Thursday, sources say (CNBC)
Writers and producers are near an agreement to end the Writers Guild of America strike after meeting face to face on Wednesday, people close to the negotiations told CNBC.
The two sides met and hope to finalize a deal Thursday, the sources said. While optimistic, the people noted, however, that if a deal is not reached the strike could last through the end of the year.
On Wednesday evening, the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers released a joint statement that the two groups met for bargaining and would meet again on Thursday. Read more
Elon Musk wants Taylor Swift to post “music or concert videos” directly on X (NME)
According to X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk, Taylor Swift should post her music directly onto the social media platform.
Last night (September 20), Taylor Swift revealed details of the back covers and vault tracks for her upcoming release of ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ ahead of its launch on October 27.
Shortly after her post, Elon Musk responded by sharing a suggestion for the pop star. “I recommend posting some music or concert videos directly on the X platform,” Musk wrote. Musk did not follow up his post with any explanation of why he thinks Swift should act on his recommendation. Read more
UN urges Afghanistan’s Taliban government to stop torture and protect the rights of detainees (NewArab)
The United Nations said Wednesday it has documented more than 1,600 cases of human rights violations committed by authorities in Afghanistan during arrests and detentions of people, and urged the Taliban government to stop torture and protect the rights of detainees.
Nearly 50% of the violations consisted of “torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said.
The report by the mission’s Human Rights Service covered 19 months — from January 2022 until the end of July 2023 — with cases documented across 29 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. It said 11% of the cases involved women. Read more
King Charles III begins state visit with wreath-laying ceremony in Paris (France24)
The UK’s King Charles III starts a three-day state visit to France on Wednesday meant to highlight both nations’ friendship, after the trip was postponed in March amid widespread demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension changes.
Charles and Queen Camilla were greeted by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne at Paris-Orly airport, before heading to the city centre for a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in the presence of Macron and his wife, Brigitte.
Both nations’ hymns will be played during the ceremony before a review of French troops and a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to “mark the shared sacrifices of the past and an enduring legacy of cooperation”, according to Buckingham Palace. Read more
Oparanozie calls for higher wages for women league players (Guardian)
Former Super Falcons striker, Desire Oparanozie, has called on owners of clubs featuring in the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL), to ensure their players are well paid to encourage more young girls to take football as a career.
Speaking recently after retiring from national team and club football, Oparanozie said that the welfare of players could go a long way to improving the standard of the women’s league.
The ex-Wuhan Jianghan University of China FC striker also called on football administrators to keep organising grassroots football championships across the country to discover more female players. Read more
Sunday Oliseh hails ‘‘world-class’’ striker Terem Moffi (Guardian)
Former Super Eagles midfielder, Sunday Oliseh, has hailed Terem Moffi as a world-class striker following his goalscoring heroics to help OGC Nice to a memorable 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Moffi continued his impressive run against PSG on Friday night as he contributed to all the three goals by scoring a brace and weighing in with one other assist in the French Ligue 1 encounter.
The Nigerian striker took his tally to three goals for the season as he has four career goals against PSG, his favourite Ligue 1 opponents and has seven goal contributions in his last six games. Read more
Bayern beat Manchester United as Real Madrid, Arsenal win in Champions League (France24)
Harry Kane was among the scorers as Bayern Munich beat Manchester United 4-3 in their heavyweight Champions League clash on Wednesday, while Jude Bellingham snatched a dramatic late winner for Real Madrid and Arsenal began their campaign with a big victory.
The meeting between German champions Bayern and a struggling United side, a repeat of the 1999 final, was the biggest game of the opening round of matches in this season’s competition and it did not disappoint.
Leroy Sane gave Bayern the lead at the Allianz Arena with a shot that squirmed through the grasp of United goalkeeper Andre Onana, and Jamal Musiala set up Serge Gnabry to make it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark. Read more
Roger Federer eyes future captaincy for Europe at Laver Cup (StraitsTimes)
Retired tennis legend Roger Federer, who helped Europe win three Laver Cups, hinted he might one day want to take on the captaincy at the team event.
The 42-year-old Swiss star will be the subject of a tribute on Friday at Rogers Arena to celebrate the first anniversary of his final match in doubles alongside Rafael Nadal at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.
The World Team, with John McEnroe as captain, will try to defend the trophy it first captured last year when the sixth Laver Cup begins on Friday at Rogers Arena. Read more
Rafael Nadal says Novak Djokovic is the best tennis player‘ ‘in history’’ (CNN)
Rafael Nadal believes long-time rival Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player of all time and says “there is nothing to discuss” about the sport’s GOAT debate.
The Serb recently won a record-extending 24th grand slam singles title at the US Open, taking him two clear of Nadal in second place.
Djokovic can also boast a record 39 Masters 1000 titles, three ahead of Nadal, and the most weeks spent at world No. 1 with 392, 82 weeks more than Roger Federer in second place. Read more
Chris Billam-Smith confident of Lawrence Okolie win but doubts appeal of rematch (BelfastTelegraph)
Chris Billam-Smith believes broadcasters would struggle to sell a rematch against “not the most entertaining” Lawrence Okolie but insisted he would stop his rival inside 12 rounds if the pair were to meet again.
Billam-Smith won the WBO cruiserweight title after beating reigning champion Okolie by majority decision during their May showdown at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, taking the 33-year-old’s record to 18 wins in 19 fights.
Okolie has activated the rematch clause in his contract but Billam-Smith believes the Londoner’s clinch-heavy fighting style which saw him deducted two points in their first meeting may put off television companies. Read more