Lagos shuts down Third Mainland Bridge again on Friday (Nation)
The Lagos State Government will shut down the Third Mainland Bridge for 24 hours from midnight Friday, February 26th to midnight Saturday.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde who made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday, said the total closure of the bridge is to enable the contractors move the equipment used during the rehabilitation process off the bridge and allow both the Oworonshoki and Adeniji bound lanes open fully to traffic.
Read Also: Lagos extends reopening of Third Mainland Bridge
Oladeinde therefore, advised motorists approaching the bridge from Ogudu, Alapere and Gbagada to use Ikorodu Road, Jibowu and Yaba, as alternative routes, while Iyana Oworoshoki-bound traffic from Lagos-Island, Iddo, Oyingbo, Adekunle and Yaba are to use Herbert Macaulay Way, Jibowu and Ikorodu Road as alternative routes.
The Commissioner assured that traffic management personnel would be deployed along the affected routes to minimize and address any traffic impediments during the closure. Read more
Children detain septuagenarian father for 12 months over Lagos property (Punch)
A landlord, Surajudeen Jaji, has been rescued by the police after his children allegedly detained him in a room for more than 12 months at his residence, No. 47 Maria Okor Street, Bucknor area of the Ejigbo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the septuagenarian was confined to a room in his house after his children suspected that he was making plans to sell his property.
To prevent the 77-year-old from carrying out his plan, it was learnt that his children allegedly instructed his maid to deprive visitors access to him, but when questions were being asked about Jaji’s whereabouts, the children reportedly claimed that they were keeping him safe from contracting COVID-19.
PUNCH Metro gathered that trouble started between Jaji and his family when a maid, identified simply as Adija, was employed to cater for him and his wife, Rashidat, at home. Read more
NDLEA intercepts container load of Tramadol in Apapa Port (DailyTrust)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a container load of Tramadol at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
This is as its operatives have arrested 90 persons including an Indian national during raids of some drug cartels in parts of Lagos where a total of 614.396kg of various hard drugs were seized.
The Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, said on Wednesday in Abuja that at the Apapa seaport, about two million capsules of Tramadol (precisely 1,994,400 capsules) tucked in 554 cartons were intercepted in the container, which was falsely declared to contain ceramic tiles.
Babafemi quoted the Apapa seaport Area Commander of the NDLEA, Mr. Samuel Gadzama, as saying that one of the containers bearing the illicit drug had been intercepted and seized in Kenya. Read more
Death toll in Boko Haram on Nigeria’s Maiduguri rises to 16 (Guardian)
Boko Haram jihadists attacked the Nigerian city of Maiduguri in the volatile northeast, killing 16 people, including nine children who were playing football in a field, local militia told AFP Wednesday.
In videos circulating on social media, hundreds of people could be seen rushing to help wounded victims, with one resident speeding off in a car with injured people inside.
Officials said previously 10 people were killed and 47 were injured in Tuesday’s attack on the densely-populated city of three million people when jihadists fired rocket-propelled grenades.
“The death toll has risen to 16,” Babakura Kolo, the leader of a self-defence militia, told AFP. Read more
Abuja air crash victims for burial Thursday (Punch)
The seven Nigerian Air Force officers who died in the Sunday air crash will be buried at the National Cemetery, Lugbe, Airport Road, Abuja, on Thursday.
The NAF disclosed this on Wednesday in an invitation to journalists.
The Beechcraft King Air B350i in which they were flying crashed short of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after reporting engine failure.
The deceased include the Captain, Fl. Lt. Haruna Gadzama; Fl. Lt. Henry Piyo (Co-Pilot); Flying Officer Micheal Okpara (Airborne Tactical Observation System Specialist); Warrant Officer Bassey Etim (ATOS Specialist); Fl. Sgt. Olasunkanmi Olawunmi (ATOS Specialist); Sgt. Ugochukwu Oluka (ATOS Specialist) and Aircraftman Adewale Johnson (Onboard Technician). Read more
Akeredolu sworn in for second term (Punch)
The Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu has been sworn in for a second term in office.
Akeredolu was sworn in alongside his deputy, Mr Lucky Ayedatiwa, at the International Culture and Events Centre, Akure, the state capital.
The ceremony was performed by the state Chief Judge, Justice Olanrewaju Akeredolu.
Akeredolu promised to revolutionise agriculture by taking practical steps towards harnessing the full potential of the state. Read more
Nigeria now largest producer of cassava in the world- FG (Guardian)
The federal government on Wednesday in Bauchi declared that Nigeria is now the largest producer of cassava in the world.
Mrs Karima Babangida, Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Abuja, made the disclosure at a workshop on cassava production organised by the ministry.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop tagged “Capacity Building of Farmers to Address Yield Gap in Cassava Production’’ was organised for youths farmers in the North-East.
Babangida, who was represented by Regional Director, North East, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Umar Mohamed, said that Nigeria “is still the world’s leading producer of cassava, compared to others like Thailand.’’
She said that Nigeria was leading in spite of the low yield which is below 10 tonnes per hectare. Read more
Biotech firm launches Lassa vaccine trial in West Africa (Punch)
A biotechnology company, INOVIO, says the first participant in Lassa vaccine trial has been dosed in a Phase 1B clinical trial for INO-4500, its DNA vaccine candidate for Lassa fever.
The clinical trial is being done in Ghana, the firm says, adding that INOVIO is focused on bringing to market precisely-designed DNA medicines to treat and protect people from infectious diseases and cancer.
The Phase 1B clinical trial (LSV-002), ongoing at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Accra, Ghana, is the first vaccine clinical trial for Lassa Fever to be conducted in West Africa, where the infection is endemic. Read more
Community, church bicker over land in Edo (DailyTrust)
The Enogie of Irue N’Owina, Iyekogba community, Oredo local government of Edo State, Chief Efemwenkiekie Eresoyen and the St. Paul Catholic Church are trading blames over counter-allegations of land grabbing.
The Enogie is accusing the church of conniving with some persons in his community to annex several plots of ancestral land for the church’s expansion.
In letters by his counsel, Olayiwola Afolabi, to the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, Most Rev Augustine Akubeze and the Parish Priest of St Paul Catholic Church, Rev Fr. Nosakhare Omorogbe, the Enogie said the church illegally purchased the land in connivance with some people parading themselves as community development association in the community.
“They took over our client’s community lands including our client’s ancestral home which was utterly destroyed and bulldozed,” one of the letters alleged. Read more
Court orders man to pay wife for housework in landmark case (BBC)
A Beijing divorce court has ordered a man to compensate his wife for the housework she did during their marriage, in a landmark ruling.
The woman will receive 50,000 yuan ($7,700; £5,460) for five years of unpaid labour.
The case has generated a huge debate online over the value of domestic work, with some saying the compensation amount was too little.
The ruling comes after China’s introduction of a new civil code. Read more
Ghana receives world’s first free Covid-19 vaccines under Covax scheme (France24)
Ghana has become the first country in the world to receive vaccines acquired through the United Nations-backed COVAX initiative with a delivery Wednesday of 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India.
The vaccines, delivered by UNICEF, arrived at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport early Wednesday and are part of the first wave of COVID-19 vaccines that COVAX is sending to several low- and middle-income countries. Ghana is among 92 countries that have signed onto the COVAX program, according to a statement by Ghana’s acting Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
The West African nation of 30 million has recorded 81,245 cases and 584 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to figures from Ghana’s Health Services Tuesday.
Ghana’s vaccination campaign will begin March 2 and will be conducted in phases among prioritized groups, beginning with health workers, adults of 60 years and over, people with underlying health conditions, frontline executive, legislature, judiciary, and their related staff, said Nkrumah. Read more
Iran and world powers hint at talks over nuclear deal (AlJazeera)
Unofficial talks between Iran and world powers that signed an ailing 2015 nuclear deal appear to be the only way forward as neither side seems willing to take the first step.
Iran says the United States, which in 2018 unilaterally abandoned the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), must first return to full compliance under the accord by lifting all economic sanctions it imposed.
President Joe Biden has said former US leader Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign has failed, but nevertheless insists Iran must first reverse steps to reduce its commitments under the deal in response to the sanctions.
This week, Iran said it is considering an offer by the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to hold unofficial talks with the P4+1 – China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany minus the US – that would also include the US as a “guest”. Read more
Biden to call Saudi Arabia’s King Salman about Khashoggi report (AlJazeera)
President Joe Biden is expected to call Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on Wednesday, ahead of the scheduled release of a US intelligence report detailing the disappearance and murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Citing a source, the news website Axios reported late on Tuesday that the “imminent release of the explosive report” could entangle one of the king’s sons without mentioning any names.
Should it proceed as scheduled, the call would be the first conversation between Biden, as US president and King Salman.
Other issues are likely to be discussed but the Khashoggi case could dominate the headlines, the report added. Read more
Along with COVID, France’s hospitals battle cyberattacks (VOA)
Government officials in France say a number of hospitals have been hit by malware attacks, slowing down operations as they struggle to deal with COVID cases. French President Emmanuel Macron last week announced a plan to defend health facilities from cyber threats.
Security experts are worried about the never ending list of recent cyberattacks against French hospitals: mid-December in Evreux, Normandy, last week in Dax near the Atlantic Ocean and the latest one in Villefranche-sur-Saône near Lyon, where Dr. Herve Bontemps, a hospital pharmacist, says the attacks have slowed down operations.
He says the lab can operate and machines work but staff cannot process the results through computers so they send notifications on paper manually and deliver them to each service in the hospital.
Hospitals are forced to deal with these attacks by doing things like postponing non-emergency procedures or canceling X-rays. The measures have put an even bigger burden on health workers already dealing with COVID-19, which has killed more than 80,00 people in France. Read more
US, Canada pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 (AlJazeera)
United States President Joe Biden says that he and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have agreed to work towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
“We’re launching a high-level, climate-ambition ministerial and to align our policies and our goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050,” Biden said in a speech on Tuesday following a bilateral meeting with the Canadian leader.
US Special Climate Change Envoy John Kerry and his Canadian counterpart, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, will host the ministerial effort.
The partnership comes after Biden revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported 830,000 barrels a day of carbon-intensive heavy crude from Canada’s Alberta to Nebraska in the US, on his first day in office last month – one amid a flurry of executive orders aimed at curbing climate change. Read more
Man accused of cutting neighbour’s heart out, feeding it to his family (NYPost)
Lawrence Paul Anderson is suspected of murdering three people has confessed to killing his neighbor, cutting her heart out and then cooking it to feed his family.
Lawrence Paul Anderson, who is suspected of murdering three people, confessed to killing his neighbor, cutting her heart out and feeding it to his family.Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
An Oklahoma man suspected of murdering three people has confessed to killing his neighbor, cutting her heart out and then cooking it to feed his family, authorities said.
Lawrence Anderson allegedly stabbed Andrea Lynn Blankenship, 41, to death in her Chickasha home on Feb. 9, The Oklahoman reported.
“He took the heart back to 214 West Minnesota, Chickasha,” an agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation wrote in a search warrant obtained by the outlet.
“He cooked the heart with potatoes to feed to his family to release the demons.” Read more
Enyimba coach optimistic for Africa’s Confederation Cup (Punch)
Coach Fatai Osho has expressed confidence over Enyimba becoming the first Nigerian club to win the CAF Confederation Cup.
The two-time African champions are in a tough-looking Group A alongside Orlando Pirates of South Africa, Algeria’s Entente Sportive Setif and Al Ahli Benghazi from Libya.
Enyimba qualified at the weekend when they pipped Nigerian rivals Rivers United 5-4 on penalties after the two-legged tie finished 1-1 on aggregate.
‘The People’s Elephant’ open their group campaign at home on March 10 against Ahli Benghazi. Read more
Brooklyn icon Harden gets nod as a reserve for 70th NBA All-Star showcase (France24)
James Harden headlined the list of 2021 NBA All-Star Game reserves announced on Tuesday, joining Brooklyn teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to mark the first time the Nets have had three All-Star selections.
Irving and Durant were previously named starters for the 70th All-Star Game, to be played March 7 inside the pandemic bubble in Atlanta, Georgia.
Durant will serve as captain of one select squad against Team LeBron James in the contest, where reserve players were selected by league coaches.
Harden, the NBA’s top scorer each of the past three seasons, was named an All-Star for the ninth straight year and Chris Paul also got the nod, making him an 11-time All-Star. Read more
Jamal Musiala: Bayern Munich youngster picks Germany over (BBC)
Bayern Munich forward Jamal Musiala says he will choose to represent Germany over England or Nigeria at international level.
Musiala, who turns 18 on Friday, scored his first Champions League goal for Bayern Munich on Tuesday as the holders beat Lazio 4-1 in Rome to take control of the last-16 tie.
The Stuttgart-born forward, who has represented both England and Germany at youth level, says he has thought about his international future “a lot”.
He told The Athletic: “What is best for my future? Where do I have more chances to play? Read more
Knicks stars were not happy over ‘lopsided’ officiating (NYPost)
The Warriors shot 24 free throws. The Knicks shot 22 free throws.
That didn’t stop the Knicks from voicing concern about the officials after the first Garden game this season with fans.
Derrick Rose was the most vocal after he felt he got fouled on a few forays to the hoop. The Knicks shot 39 percent and faded in the second half — a recent trend.
“I felt we were getting good shots,’’ said Rose, who scored 16 points, eight assists but missed nine of his last 11 shots. “To be honest, we weren’t getting the calls. It felt like guys were going into the lane and we weren’t getting the same calls. It makes it hard when it’s that lopsided.’’ Read more
Tiger Woods awake and responsive after crash, police investigating cause (VOA)
Police on Wednesday sought to determine what caused Tiger Woods to swerve off a Southern California road in his sport utility vehicle, colliding with a tree and rolling down a hillside in a crash that left the golf great seriously injured.
Woods, 45, was pried from the wreckage by rescue crews and rushed by ambulance from the scene of the Tuesday morning crash outside Los Angeles to nearby Harbor-UCLA Medical Center suffering what his agent described as “multiple leg injuries.”
A statement posted on Woods’ official Twitter account on Tuesday night said he had undergone a “long surgical procedure” to his lower right leg and ankle and was “awake, responsive and recovering in his hospital room.”
Compound fractures of his tibia and fibula – the two bones of his leg below the knee – were stabilized with a rod, and screws and pins were used to stabilize additional injuries to his foot and ankle, Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA, said in the tweet. Read more
Benjamin Acheampong: ‘They can’t treat us like animals,’ says player ‘duped’ out of $1m (BBC)
Benjamin Acheampong says he has been duped out of $1m by a football club once, and he is determined it will not happen again – especially by the same organisation.
The Ghanaian has been deprived of more than $1m (£710,000) in a row with Egyptian giants Zamalek dating back to 2018, and despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) ordering the five-time African champions to pay him a similar sum two months ago, he says he is yet to receive a cent.
“This is not right – this is what I do to feed my family,” the 30-year-old told BBC Sport Africa. “They can’t treat people like animals. We are humans and we came here to work.”As one of Africa’s biggest clubs allegedly ‘exploited’ the contract of a player it no longer wanted, it has been accused – by Cas itself – of “immoral”, “intimidating” and “merciless” behaviour. Read more