Lagosians groan over high transport fare, seek Sanwo-Olu’s intervention (Guardian)
Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, strategic measures were taken to curtail its spread. Among these measures was the enforcement of social distancing in public transport. To this end, vehicles carrying four passengers were mandated to carry two passengers while vehicles carrying five passengers were mandated to carry three passengers.
These changes caused a sharp rise in transport fare across the state. But commuters adjusted to the situation given the demands of that moment.
Nevertheless, normalcy has been restored in virtually all sectors of the economy following the flattening of the COVID-19 curve in the country. Business activities are now in full swing and transporters load their vehicles to the brim. But they still collect the COVID-19 fare from passengers. Read more
Lekki shootings: Youth members boycott panel sitting over frozen accounts (Punch)
The sitting of the Lagos State Panel of Judicial Inquiry probing the alleged shooting of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate was frustrated on Saturday due to the absence of the two youth members of the panel, Oluwarinu Oduala, and Temitope Majekodunmi.
Oduala, who is one of the arrowheads of the #EndSARS protest, failed to show up for the Saturday sitting in protest against the freezing of her bank account by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The PUNCH had reported that the CBN obtained a court order freezing the accounts of 20 #EndSARS promoters till January 2021. One of those affected was Oduala. Read more
Ikeja Hotels management clears air on revocation of Opebi land (Tribune)
Ikeja Hotel Plc has shed more light on its earlier claim that it was dragging Lagos government to the court over revocation of it Opebi Gorge land which could cost it N4.63b loss.
In an updated information at Nigeria Stock Exchange on Friday, Ikeja Hotel said the land in Opebi Gorge belonging to Charles Hampton Limited which is its subsidiary with nothing to do with Sheraton Lagos Hotel nor the land on which the hotel is situated.
In the note, Ikeja Hotel said: “It has come to our notice that our statement to the Nigeria Stock Exchange in our bid to provide the market with full information on the developments in our group was misconstrued and misinterpreted by some sections of the press. Read more
Lagos govt urges calm, warns against fresh protests (Guardian)
Against the backdrop of hints of fresh protests, the Lagos State Government has urged all Lagosians to shun any acts that may threaten the peace of the state, which is still battling to recover from the shock of the carnage unleashed by hoodlums who hid under the #EndSARS protests.
The Nigeria Police have also warned that no protest will be tolerated.
In a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, yesterday, the state government said that any protest under any guise will be disrespectful to the memory of those who died in the violence and unfair to ordinary Lagosians, who have remained peaceful, despite the hardship that the original protests sparked. Read more
2 dead, 29 vehicles burnt in Lagos-Ibadan expressway tanker explosion (Thisday)
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has has confirmed that no fewer than two persons died with 29 vehicles burnt at an early morning accident on Kara bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The Corps Marshal, FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi, disclosed this in a statement issued by the Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO) Assistant Corps Marshal (ACM), Bisi Kazeem, on Saturday in Abuja.
Mr Oyeyemi described as unfortunate, but avoidable, the fatal crash that occurred at Kara bridge on the outward Lagos lane of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, stating that the crash involved a single tanker fully laden with PMS. Read more
Anambra: ‘Akwuzu SARS officers told me to remarry while taking my husband away’ (Vanguard)
Mrs Chidinma Edozieuno, whose husband was taken away from their home by officials of the disbanded State Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Akwuzu, Anambra State, in 2017 has narrated to members of the panel set up by Governor Willie Obiano to investigate activities of the defunct police unit, how she was made a widow.
In an emotion-laden voice, Mrs. Edozieuno, whose husband hailed from Aguleri in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State, said she was yet to recover from the shock of being told that her husband, a genuine businessman, was killed by operatives of SARS on the allegation that he was a kidnapper. Read more
IGP orders withdrawal of police escorts from Fani-Kayode, Babachir, 58 others (Punch)
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the immediate withdrawal of police personnel attached to billionaire businessman, Emeka Offor; former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode; some clerics and companies across the country.
The directive affected 60 individuals, corporate and religious bodies including the Christ Embassy, Think Nigeria First Initiative, Uche Sylva International, Stanel Groups, KYC Holding, among others.
Other persons on the list include former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; Sen Lado Yakubu, Amb. Yuguda Bashir, Uche Chukwu, Sen. Boroface Ajayi, Mutiu Nicholas, Sen. Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Edozie Madu, David Adesanya, Chris Giwa, Chief Godwin Ekpo, Chief Pius Akinyelure and others. Read more
Police probe northern actress for posting ‘indecent’ photo on Twitter (Punch)
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Umar Muri, to investigate Kannywood actress, Rahma Sadau, who caused a controversy earlier in the week for posting a photo of herself on social media wearing a backless dress and not covering her hair in contravention of Islamic canons.
The probe is sequel to a petition written to the IG by one Mallam Lawal Gusau.
Sadau, who has been banned by the northern movie industry, had on Monday posted the photo which caused a heated debate on social media. Read more
Trump denies Biden victory, promises legal action (RT)
President Donald Trump has refused to acknowledge Joe Biden’s apparent victory, and promised to start prosecuting cases to ensure “the rightful winner is seated.”
The Associated Press declared Biden the winner on Saturday morning, after the former vice president expanded his lead over Trump in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. Victory there pushed Biden over the 270 electoral votes necessary to secure the White House.
In a statement released through his campaign, Trump said that “Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner,” with the help of his “media allies.”
Trump insisted that Biden’s win was fraudulent, and that ballots for Biden were “fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters,” and announced that his legal team would “start prosecuting our case in court” on Monday.
“Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media,” Trump stated. Read more
Newlywed couple drowns on Caribbean honeymoon days after marriage (NYPost)
A newlywed Manhattan couple drowned on their Caribbean honeymoon last week — just four days after tying the knot, a new report said.
Muhammad Malik, 26, a Big Apple corporate attorney, and his 29-year-old wife, Dr. Noor Shah, a surgeon in the city, died on Oct. 28 while honeymooning at a Turks and Caicos Islands resort, family members told Newsday.
“It’s a devastating loss,” Malik’s father, Maqbool Malik, told the newspaper.
“This is a shock beyond belief. And it’s a tragedy of different dimensions when you have to lay two children to rest in a joint funeral.” Read more
Opposition leader Pascal Affi Nguessan arrested for sedition in Ivory Coast (BBC)
Ivory Coast opposition leader Pascal Affi Nguessan has been arrested for announcing the creation of a parallel government after boycotting last month’s presidential election.
The former prime minister was said to be detained in the town of Akoupe.
His arrest has not been publicly confirmed by Ivorian authorities.
Several opposition leaders face charges of terrorism and sedition after rejecting President Alassane Ouattara’s re-election.
They say he violated the constitution by seeking a third term.
But President Ouattara has defended his decision, saying a new constitution in 2016 restarted his mandate, meaning he could run again. He won 94% of the vote in the 31 October poll. Read more
Facebook restricts election posts as it scrambles to curb misinformation (NYPost)
Facebook is reportedly imposing new restrictions on election-related content amid a surge in misinformation on the platform as officials continued to count votes.
The social network took steps Thursday to demote misleading election posts and slow the spread of content after seeing “more reports of inaccurate claims” after Election Day, according to multiple reports.
“While many of these claims have low engagement on our platform, we are taking additional temporary steps, which we’ve previously discussed, to keep this content from reaching more people,” a Facebook spokesperson told The Verge in a statement. Read more
China sends world’s first 6G test satellite into orbit (BBC)
China has successfully launched the world’s first 6G satellite into space to test the technology.
It went into orbit along with 12 other satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the Shanxi Province.
High-speed technology will be trialled, which will be one of the core elements of sixth-generation communications. Read more
3 charged in connection to beheading of French history teacher (NYPost)
A rose is seen at a makeshift memorial as people gather to pay homage to Samuel Paty.
A rose is seen at a makeshift memorial as people gather to pay homage to Samuel Paty.
Eric Gaillard/Reuters
French officials have charged three more suspects in the killing of French history teacher Samuel Paty, according to a report.
Paty, 47, was decapitated in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine last month after showing students cartoons of Prophet Muhammad as a way of discussing freedom of speech in a class discussion. His killer, Abdullakh Anzorov, 18, was shot dead by police.
The cartoons ran in the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in September to mark the start of a trial of the 2015 attack on the magazine’s staff by gunmen. Read more
Joe Biden takes down Donald Trump in viral Avengers election parody (Metro)
The US election has inspired memes and parodies galore as it’s decided if Donald Trump or Joe Biden will be the next President – but one has beaten them all. An Avengers: Endgame parody, starring Biden as Captain America and Trump as villain Thanos, has gone viral and given everyone a much-needed laugh. Barack Obama, the late Ruth Bader-Ginsburg and Bernie Sanders appear in the ridiculous clip, with the political figures’ heads being edited onto the superheroes’ bodies. The dramatic scene, taken from the final battle in Endgame, begins with Trump’s Thanos claiming he’s won the election, with Biden’s Cap striding up and telling him: ‘Will you shut up, man?’ Read more
AFCON qualifiers: Absent teams to forfeit games (BBC)
Any national team unable to play in upcoming qualifying matches for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations due to Covid restrictions will be deemed to have lost the game 2-0, new guidelines say.
The guidelines, put out by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), also say a team will be considered to have lost 2-0 if it is unable to field the minimum number of players required – 11 plus four substitutes.
Normally, squads for these qualifying matches would be much larger, but some national team managers have expressed concern about their ability to get players, especially those based in Europe, to play in Africa amidst fears they could get Covid. Read more
Jose Mourinho takes aim at Arsenal coach over Gareth Bale (Metro)
Jose Mourinho says he is ‘uncomfortable’ with the prospect of Arsenal coach Albert Stuivenberg looking after Gareth Bale on Wales duty in the absence of Ryan Giggs. The Dutchman is expected to take on a bigger role with the national team after Giggs was stood down from the side’s three upcoming matches following his arrest on suspicion of assault. Stuivenberg has been part of Giggs’ coaching team since 2018 before also taking up a role under Mikel Arteta at the Emirates last year. Read more
Bahrain GP limits spectators to frontline health workers (BBC)
Bahrain’s two Grands Prix this season will be held “predominantly without spectators” as a result of coronavirus.
The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) said there would be “a limited number” of seats for “families of frontline health workers and first responders”.
The decision was made by Bahrain’s Crown Prince “to recognise their incredible contribution and commitment in responding to the pandemic”. Read more
Mikel Arteta explains why Willian has struggled at Arsenal since Chelsea move (Metro)
Mikel Arteta believes there are a number of factors behind Willian’s inconsistent form since joining Arsenal this summer but backed him to become a force for the club. Willian joined Arsenal on a free transfer from London rivals Chelsea and got off to a flying start, providing three assists on his debut against Fulham. However, he has struggled to replicate that form since – failing to add to those early goal contributions. But Arsenal boss Arteta is not concerned by his dip in form. Read more
Fernandes double as Man Utd beat Everton (BBC)
Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Manchester United came from behind to beat Everton at Goodison Park.
Bernard slotted through Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s legs for Everton’s opener before Fernandes headed an equaliser.
The United midfielder’s chipped cross – intended for Marcus Rashford – then flew in off the inside of the far post to make it 2-1.
Substitute Edinson Cavani added a third deep in stoppage time after Lucas Digne had earlier struck the post. Read more
Messi benched for must-win Barcelona clash as injury rumours swirl (RT)
A troubling season for Lionel Messi has taken another twist after the Barcelona superstar was benched for the Spanish giants’ La Liga showdown with Real Betis on Saturday afternoon.
The 33-year-old’s campaign has been overshadowed by his revelation – before the season began – that he was keen to leave the Camp Nou for pastures new, and despite subsequently reaffirming his commitment to the club, he’s yet to rediscover his top form.
Messi has scored just once in six Spanish top flight games so far this season, failing to register a single assist, and will have to make do with a place on the bench for Barca’s meeting with Betis on Saturday evening. Read more
Real Madrid duo Eden Hazard and Casemiro test positive for coronavirus (BBC)
Real Madrid duo Eden Hazard and Casemiro have both tested positive for coronavirus and will now undergo a period of self-isolation.
The 29-year-old Belgium forward and the 28-year-old Brazil midfielder will now miss Sunday’s trip to Valencia.
In a statement, Real said that they were the only positive results after testing on Friday.
Real’s Brazil defender Eder Militao is also ruled out after testing positive earlier this week. Read more
