Lagos task force to prosecute 60 traffic offenders (Punch)
The Lagos State Task Force on the Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit has said it is set to arraign 60 vehicle owners and drivers before the Mobile Court for violating traffic laws in the state.
It was gathered that the violators were arrested in different parts of the state for driving against the traffic, plying the dedicated Bus Rapid Transit lane and causing obstruction on the roads.
The Chairman of the agency, Shola Jejeloye, who led the enforcement team, stated that it was worrisome seeing educated motorists and commercial drivers driving against traffic or causing road obstructions across the state. Read more
Firm fetes underprivileged persons in Makoko (Guardian)
More than 200 residents of Makoko settlement in Lagos Mainland went home with smiles on their faces as they received food items and clothes, courtesy of a travel agency, Touchdown Travels Limited, as part of efforts to celebrate the yuletide with the underprivileged.
Speaking during the outreach on Wednesday, General Manager of the firm, Ibukun Adenuga, described the gesture as the firm’s corporate social responsibility.
She said: “We wanted to show some love to the underprivileged at the slum. We are not buoyant and haven’t recovered from the shocks of the pandemic, but we feel it is important to reach out to the poor. Read more
Fire guts plank market in Lagos (Punch)
Fire has gutted the Ketu Plank Market in the Ketu area of Lagos State, destroying property worth millions of naira in the process.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the fire started from a section of the market on Sunday and spread to adjoining parts, causing severe damage to goods belonging to traders in the market.
The Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, who confirmed the incident, said there was no loss of life, adding that the fire had been curtailed by emergency responders. Read more
Hundreds flee Borno villages as troops battle ISWAP for hours (Thisday)
Hundreds of villagers in communities in Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State have fled their homes following a clash between the military and fighters of the Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) that raged for hours at the weekend.
THISDAY gathered yesterday that the ground troops and the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole launched an attack on Saturday to repel the insurgents who invaded the villages after a similar raid on Garkida and surrounding villages in Adamawa on December 24.
Garkida is located in the Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, a contiguous state to Borno State. Read more
Man kills Kwara worshipper over Christmas banger on mosque premises (Punch)
A 30-year-old man, Abdulkadir Segi, has reportedly been stabbed to death during an argument over the detonation of a banger around a mosque in Ilorin, Kwara State, while the Muslim congregational prayer was being observed on Christmas Eve.
Abdulkadir was alleged to have been stabbed in the chest in the Ita-Nmo area of Ilorin by one Kehinde Oloka of Oke-Agodi area of the town.
It was gathered that the suspect, who is presently at large, was repeatedly detonating bangers in front of the mosque to disturb Muslims worshipers, who were observing their Ishai evening prayer.
Abdulkadir, who was one of the congregants in the mosque, was said to have come out to ask Oloka to move away from the place of worship. Read more
Tomori: Targeted travel restrictions needed to combat COVID-19 second wave (Thisday)
The Chairman of the federal government’s Committee on the Review of Intervention Efforts to Curb the Spread of COVID-19 , Prof. Olawale Tomori, has called for what he called targeted travel restrictions to combat COVID-19 resurgence.
He said the federal government should have considered imposing some travel restrictions, especially for those countries where the new COVID-19 variant was spotted.
He spoke against the backdrop of the rising cases of COVID-19 that have aggregated 2,582 in the last three days, from December 24 to December 26. Read more
Police hold 85-year-old Osun man for allegedly impregnating girl, 12 (Punch)
The Osun State Police Command, on Sunday, said investigation had commenced into the allegation that an 85-year-old man, Rafiu Abimbola, impregnated a 12-year-old girl at Isundunrin in the Ejigbo Local Government Area of the state.
Abimbola was accused by the mother of the victim, Folasade Ola, of having carnal knowledge of her daughter sometime in September, which resulted in pregnancy.
PUNCH Metro learnt that after the matter was reported at the Ejigbo Division of the Nigeria Police Force, the suspect was subsequently arrested. Read more
No ethnic considerations in promotion, says PSC (Nation)
The Police Service Commission (PSC) on Sunday said the promotion of senior police officers was not based on ethnic considerations.
It was reacting to statement by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership faulting the alleged lopsidedness of the promotion, which the organisation said ran contrary to the federal character principle.
The PSC on Friday promoted senior police officers during its 10th plenary meeting.
Twelve of the officers were from the Northwest, eight from the Northeast, seven from the Southwest, five from the Southsouth, four from the Northcentral and just one from the Southeast region. Read more
Reps mull imprisonment for farmers, sellers, smokers of Indian Hemp in Nigeria (Vanguard)
Soon, the prisons will be a home for cultivators, sellers and smokers of cannabis otherwise called Indian Hemp in Nigeria should a new bill currently before the House of Representatives eventually become a law. ADVERTISING By Clever Advertising Essentially, the bill is seeking to amend the contemporary Indian Hemp Act to provide for stiffer punitive measures against promoters of the substance. It is titled “Indian Hemp Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (HB. 1081) sponsored by the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Alhassan Ado Dogowa. Read more
Trump signs COVID relief bill amid pressure, but adds conditions (AlJazeera)
US President Donald Trump, on holiday in Florida, has finally signed a $2.3 trillion financial package that is crucial to millions of jobless Americans, after coming under pressure from legislators, but imposed a number of conditions.
The White House confirmed the outgoing president had signed the bill shortly after he tweeted: “Good news on Covid Relief Bill. Information to follow.”
Trump, who has been pictured playing golf at his Mar-a-Lago resort over the Christmas weekend, had been under pressure from legislators on both sides to stop blocking the pandemic aid and government funding bill, which had been approved by Congress last week. Read more
Pope Francis proclaims upcoming year dedicated to the family (CBC)
Pope Francis on Sunday proclaimed an upcoming year dedicated to the family as he doubled down on one of his papal priorities and urged renewed attention to his controversial 2016 document on family life.
Francis announced the upcoming year of the family would begin on March 19, the fifth anniversary of his document “The Joy of Love.” Among other things, the document opened the door to letting divorced and civilly remarried couples receive Communion, sparking criticism and even claims of heresy from conservative Catholics.
The Pope penned the document after summoning bishops from around the world to debate how the Catholic Church can better minister to families. While the divorce-remarriage issue dominated headlines during the back-to-back synods, the discussion also touched on ministering to gay people and other “non-traditional” families. Read more
Niger holds historic elections despite jihadist violence (France24)
Voters in the Sahel state of Niger go to the polls on Sunday for an election that could seal the country’s first-ever peaceful handover between elected presidents, despite a bloody jihadist insurgency.
The West African country has been chronically unstable since gaining independence from France 60 years ago, and is ranked the world’s poorest country according to the UN’s Human Development Index.
Around 7.4 million people are registered to vote for the ballot for presidency, which coincides with legislative elections.
President Mahamadou Issoufou, who was elected in 2011 after the country’s last coup in 2010, is voluntarily stepping down after two five-year terms. Read more
UN, WHO seek better measures against pandemics (Guardian)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, yesterday, urged the world to start thinking about the next pandemic as it strives to recover from the current one.
In a message to mark the maiden International Epidemic Preparedness Day, Guterres stressed the need for countries to strengthen disease prevention capacities.
His words: “With COVID-19 having now killed more than 1.7 million people, devastated economies, upended societies and exposed the world’s vulnerabilities in the starkest ways, the value of health emergency preparedness has hit homes like never before. Read more
Alec Baldwin fires back at Twitter user who exposed Hilaria Baldwin’s background (PageSix)
Alec Baldwin trashed the Twitter user who questioned his wife’s claim of Spanish heritage in a bizarre rant on Instagram Sunday, comparing her to “used coasters with the rings on them and the stains on them.”
The 62-year-old “30 Rock” star also took aim at Twitter, where Leni Briscoe started a thread Monday that questioned Hilaria Baldwin’s claim she was born in Mallorca.
“Just a lot of s—t,” Alec Baldwin said on Instagram. “You have to kind of hack your way through the debris of Twitter. Twitter is just a vast orchard of crap.
“And I have certainly slung some crap in that orchard myself every now and then with things I’ve said. So, that’s not lost on me that I’m guilty of that as well.”
“But I would publicly dump Twitter tomorrow,” he said. Read more
Nashville bomber officially identified as Anthony Warner (RT)
Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, has been officially named as the suspect behind the Christmas morning bombing in downtown Nashville, who apparently acted alone and died in the blast. His motives, however, still remain unclear.
Investigators used DNA evidence gathered at the explosion site and the RV’s vehicle identification number to implicate Warner, following a search at his house in suburban Nashville over the weekend. The 63-year-old Tennessee man is believed to have been the only perpetrator. He perished in the explosion and authorities are not looking for any other suspects.
His motives remain a mystery, with authorities saying it was “still early in the investigation” for a definitive conclusion. Officials have already received hundreds of tips and leads, and are continuing to ask the public for additional information. Read more
Chinese games billionaire dies after poisoning (BBC)
A Chinese tycoon who died on Christmas Day was poisoned, Shanghai police say.
Lin Qi, 39, was the chairman and chief executive of games developer Yoozoo, best known for the Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming strategy game.
The Shanghai police statement pointed to one of Mr Lin’s colleagues – identified only by his surname Xu – as the main suspect.
Mr Lin was believed to have a net worth of around 6.8bn yuan (US$1bn, £780m), according to the Hurun China Rich List. Read more
NBA: Los Angeles Clippers suffer mammoth 51-point defeat by Dallas Mavericks (BBC)
The Los Angeles Clippers suffer the biggest loss in their history after finding themselves 50 points adrift of the Dallas Mavericks at half-time.
The Clippers were 77-27 down at the interval – the largest half-time points difference since the shot-clock era began in the mid 1950s.
The hosts improved in the second half, but still ended up on the wrong end of a 124-73 scoreline.
Dallas’ Luka Doncic scored 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Read more
Ola Aina: How Scott Parker turned us into winning side (Nation)
Nigeria and Fulham right back Ola Aina has been talking about his brilliant left-footer screamer that sealed a 2-0 win over West Brom. It was his first English Premiership goal and the victory marked Fulham’s first in the season. The goal was also picked as the best strike for the month of November.
Fulham has been struggling this season condemned to relegation zone until the win catapulted them out. This is followed by elating 2-1 away win over Leicester and home draw with champions Liverpool.
Special on the November Goal of the Month, Aina says: “It was a good strike from me. The ball came to my left and I felt very comfortable to strike hard and that’s it. Since my young age I’ve been working on it to ensure that when an opportunity comes I can also use my left leg very well and achieve good result. When the ball came to my left leg, it seems more natural to me to strike with it even though I am a right footer because I’ve been working hard on it. Read more
Ukrainian tennis ace Tsurenko reveals horrific online abuse from haters who tell her they want her to die (RT)
Tennis player Lesia Tsurenko has detailed the vicious abuse she has been sent by accounts from across the world, claiming that she has been told by trolls that they wished she had cancer in diatribes she describes as “pure anger”.
2018 US Open quarter-finalist Tsurenko keeps in touch with fans via social media, sharing photos of her gym sessions and training as well as relaxing in skimpy outfits when the Ukrainian is not competing.
Now the committedly upbeat 31-year-old has spoken out on the darker side of her online interactions, speculating that the poisonous messages she regularly receives could come from people furious that they have lost money after betting on matches involving her. Read more
Activist, champion: Naomi Osaka named AP Female Athlete of Year (CBC)
With tennis, like so much of the world, shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, Naomi Osaka found herself with time to read and think.
And while she won the U.S. Open for her third Grand Slam title, she also stood out for speaking out about racial injustice and police brutality.
As noteworthy in 2020 for her activism away from the tennis court as her success on it, Osaka was selected by The Associated Press as the Female Athlete of the Year in results revealed Sunday after a vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers. Read more
Late Ajayi header secures point for West Brom at leaders Liverpool (BBC)
Semi Ajayi scored a dramatic late equaliser against leaders Liverpool to earn struggling West Brom their first point since Sam Allardyce took charge.
Jurgen Klopp’s side looked to be going five points clear at the top of the table when Sadio Mane chested down Joel Matip’s long ball forward and fired past Sam Johnstone.
Liverpool dominated for long periods without adding to their lead but the Baggies improved after the break and equalised in the 83rd minute. Read more
Neymar under fire for reportedly ‘hosting 500 guests at five-day party’ (RT)
Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar has been slammed online amid reports that the Brazil star hosted a five-day long party over the Christmas period at his mansion near Rio de Janeiro as the county’s Covid death toll increases.
The party, which Brazilian outlet O Globo reports is still ongoing, is understood to have begun on Christmas Day and is to extend all the way to the new year, with the footballer said to have pulled out all of the stops – including soundproofing sections of his mansion – to prepare for it.
Guests have also reportedly had their phones confiscated on entry to prevent any videos or images from the party being released online, while a band has been hired to perform for the duration of the five-day long party. Read more
Roger Federer to miss Australian Open, agent says (CBC)
Roger Federer is withdrawing from the Australian Open while he continues preparing to return to action after two operations on his right knee, his agent told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Tony Godsick — Federer’s long-time representative and CEO of their management company, TEAM8 — said he is working on putting together a 2021 tennis calendar for the 20-time Grand Slam champion, who plans to get back on tour soon after the year’s first major tennis tournament.
“Roger has decided not to play the 2021 Australian Open. He has made strong progress in the last couple of months with his knee and his fitness. However, after consultation with his team, he decided that the best decision for him in the long run is to return to competitive tennis after the Australian Open,” Godsick said in a statement released to the AP. Read more