Man impersonates SARS Commander to extort Lagos residents (Vanguard)
A 38-year-old man, Abiodun Ajayi, has been arrested for allegedly masquerading as the Officer in-charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, of the Lagos State Police Command, CSP Peter Gana, to extort Lagos residents.
His modus oparandi as gathered, included writing fictitious petitions against his victim. Thereafter, he would visit the victim’s house pretending to have come to effect his arrest.
But he met his dead end after one of his victims, identified simply as Ariola, who alleged that the suspect had so far extorted N2 million from him, petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, CP Zubairu Muazu. Read more
Lagos confirms three monkey pox cases in one month (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has advised residents not panic over the recent reported outbreak of the infectious monkey pox disease in the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, cautioned residents on Friday at the bio-security update meeting on the situation report of the disease in the state.
Abayomi revealed that three suspected cases of monkey pox were reported by health facilities in the past one month, adding that the cases tested positive for the infectious disease as revealed by reports of laboratory investigation, according the News Agency of Nigeria. Read more
Lagos tackling scarcity, says Sanwo-Olu (NewTelegraph)
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo- Olu, has said the state government is intensifying efforts on the 32metric tons per hour capacity Integrated Rice Mill project in Imota, to ease the scarcity of rice, saying that the project is expected to be completed and commissioned in the next seven months.
The state government also is in the process of acquiring an estimated fresh 32,000 hectares of farmland for rice cultivation in seven states comprising Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Kebbi states. Residents in the state have been lamenting over scarcity rice, especially the LAKE Rice which was introduced by the former governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and sold for N12,000 until it was recently jacked up to N14,000. Read more
Baby factory: Seven rescued pregnant girls due for delivery (Vanguard)
Seven out of the 26 pregnant girls who were recently rescued from some baby factories in Lagos, are due for delivery.
Twenty-two others, whose pregnancies are between four and eight months are presently undergoing ante natal care courtesy of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons, NAPTIP.
Besides, NAPTIP said it had rescued 17,000 victims of human trafficking across the country in 16 years. It therefore charged airline operators to intensify surveillance on their route, by looking out for victims of the worrisome trend. Read more
Jailed wife who beats husband begs for forgiveness (Punch)
There was a melodramatic moment at the Gusau Central Prison, Zamfara State, when a housewife, Malama Talatu Lauwali, who beat her husband till he lost consciousness for attempting to marry another wife, knelt down to ask for forgiveness from her husband.
Malama Talatu has been on trial for some months and sent to Gusau prison on the orders of Shari’a court judge of Magami Upper Shari’a Court as a result of a suit filed against her by her husband for nearly killing him as a result of a severe beating. Read more
Customs Intercept Fuel Tanker Laden with 500 Bags of Smuggled Rice (ThisDay)
Over 500 bags of smuggled rice neatly concealed inside two of three compartments of a fuel tanker was yesterday intercepted along Daura Road in Kano State by officers of Kano/Jigawa Customs Command.
The Customs Comptroller of the Command, Ahmed Nasiru told journalits in Kano yesterday that the impounded rice was valued at millions of Naira.
He expressed disgust at the new trick adopted by the smugglers to beat Customs checkpoints, lamenting the health hazards of using fuel tankers to smuggle food items.
Border closure: Smugglers devise new methods to beat Customs (NewTelegraph)
Notwithstanding the heavy policing and thorough security checks at the land borders, aimed at ensuring compliance with Federal Government’s closure order, smugglers are still plying their illicit trade, as they have now devised new methods and new routes to convey their products, especially bags of rice, turkey and vegetable oil.
Investigations by Saturday Telegraph reveal that the illegal dealers in the commodities now engage the services of motorcyclists and canoe operators to convey bags of rice and cartons of vegetable oil from Benin Republic to Nigeria. An undercover operation by our correspondents, who were embedded among the smugglers, exposes the covert and deadly operation of the men of the underworld, showing how they bypass the borders by going through the sea and land using remote villages. Read more
NUJ to sponsor bill against owing journalists’ salaries – President (Guardian)
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) says he is planning, in collaboration with newspaper owners, to sponsor a bill to penalise media establishments that owe journalists.
Mr Christopher Isiguzo, National President of NUJ, stated this in Makurdi at an interactive session with members of the union in the state, to appreciate members for electing him and also know their challenges.
The members had also complained of regular intimidation, harassment, and detention, over their reports like ordinary criminals. Read more
We were kidnapped, renamed and sold – Kano rescued children (DailyTrust)
“I was playing with my friends in front of my family house one evening when one man (who I later came to know as Mr. Paul) grabbed my hand and I started shouting. But he covered my mouth with his other hand and took me to an isolated place. A woman (Paul’s wife) later came and took me away from that place. When I got to their house, I saw Paul. And then, Paul took me from Kano to Onitsha. “I was afraid when Paul’s wife took me away. I thought she would kill me, but after Paul took me to Onitsha, I become comfortable staying there. I was the first person Paul took to Onitsha. I was handed over to Madam Ebere, who I was told was my mother. Whenever a new set of children was brought to Madam Ebere, people come around to buy them from her
Woman escapes third kidnap attempt in Bayelsa, sends SOS to security agencies (Guardian)
A middle-aged woman, Miss Lucky Akuna, 38, who reportedly escaped yet another kidnap attempt, the third abduction in a year, has sent a Save Our Soul message to security agencies in the state.
The middle-aged women, who survived a third attempt to kidnap her in her residence in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, appealled to security agencies yesterday to come to her aid to forestall a recurrence of the incident.
It was gathered that gunmen suspected to be kidnappers stormed her residence in Yenizue-Gene, a suburb of the state capital, about 7 pm last weekend, apparently to abduct her again, but failed, as she was not at home. Read more
Bad federal roads may cut off several communities from Nigeria – Okowa (Vanguard)
Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, aka Road master, has raised the alarm that with the manner federal roads were collapsing nationwide, many communities stand the risk of being cut off from the rest of the country, in the next five years, if the federal government failed to tackle the worrisome predicament.
Senator Okowa, who briefed journalists at Asaba, the state capital, however, confessed that both the federal and state governments were practically overwhelmed at the rate of disintegration of rods across the country, saying it was a huge problem. Read more
Mixed feelings over oil discovery in the north (DailyTrust)
Barambu and neighbouring communities in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State, near the border with Gombe State, came into limelight again last week following the announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of the discovery of hydrocarbon (oil and gas) deposits in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough, Gongola Basin.
On February 2, 2019, the same site caught the attention of the world when President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned drilling for oil and gas at the Kolmani River II Well. The activity eventually yielded fruit on October 10. At about 18:02hours, one of the reservoirs of the well was perforated and hydrocarbon started flowing to its head at 21:20hours. The gas component was then flared to prevent air charge around the rig. Read more
Semi Ajayi: Playing against Brazil has Boosted My Confidence (ThisDay)
West Bromwich Albion defender Semi Ajayi admitted his confidence has received a boost after helping Nigeria secure a 1-1 draw against Brazil last Sunday.
The 25-year-old was handed a starting role in the encounter, partnering William Troost-Ekong at the heart of the Super Eagles defence.
The former Rotherham United defender shone in the game, keeping the star-studded attack of the South Americans at bay to help the West Africans secure a famous draw against the five-time world champions. Read more
More than one billion fans watched France 2019 Women’s World Cup, says FIFA (Guardian)
FIFA has published the key findings of a comprehensive audit of the final audience data for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019.A combined 1.12 billion viewers tuned into official broadcast coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 across all platforms – a record audience for the competition.
Linear TV accounted for the majority of the global audience, with 993.5 million viewers watching at least one minute of coverage on a TV set at home, an increase of 30% on the audience for the 2015 edition held in Canada, which reached 764.0 million.
An estimated 481.5 million people accessed coverage of France 2019 on digital platforms, equivalent to 43% of the total audience reach. The digital audience, which overlaps with the linear TV audience, was up considerably on the estimated 86.0 million in 2015. Read more
Federer to play French Open, Olympic next year (DailyTrust)
Former world number one tennis player, Roger Federer Roger Federer has confirmed he will play at the French Open and Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.
The 38-year-old returned to Roland Garros this summer for the first time since 2016 but lost in the semi-finals to Rafael Nadal. Read more
Rashford tipped to kick-start season against Liverpool (DailyTrust)
Manchester United striker, Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford can kick-start his Manchester United season with a match-winning performance against Liverpool on Sunday, according to Darren Fletcher.
Rashford has endured a difficult start to the season having only scored one goal from open play for Manchester United so far this term, but his goal and performance for England in their 6-0 win over Bulgaria on Monday showed signs of promise Read more
Premier League launches BAME advisory group (Guardian)
The Premier League has launched an advisory panel to give a platform for black, Asian and minority ethnic players and managers to voice their opinions.
Doncaster manager Darren Moore will lead the eight-person group of past and present players and managers, including former Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi.
It comes as the Premier League steps up its No Room For Racism campaign after another season marred by the problem. Read more
FG applauds Gov. Obaseki on refurbished Ogbemudia Stadium (Vanguard)
The Federal Government has applauded the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on his administration’s commitment to deepening sports development by investing in the revamp of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and other sporting facilities in the state.
The Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, made the submission during an inspection of the ongoing refurbishment of facilities at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, in Benin City, Edo State.
He expressed satisfaction with the progress on the project, which is in the final stage of completion, noting that the state was prepared for the hosting of the 2020 sports Festival in Edo State. Read more
Guardiola calls for European help to ease Catalan crisis (Punch)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has called for European intervention to ease tensions in his native Catalonia since nine pro-independence leaders were sentenced to imprisonment on Monday.
Guardiola has been an outspoken campaigner for the independence movement and was chosen to read out a video message recorded in English by the “Democratic Tsunami” organisation that has been behind public protests in the region in recent days.
On Friday, Barcelona’s El Clasico meeting with Real Madrid, that was due to take place in the Catalan capital on October 26, was postponed due to the protests and security fears. Read more
Football: 2019/20 NPFL season set to kick-off November 3 (Vanguard)
The League Management Company (LMC) has announced November 3, 2019, as the kick-off date of the 2019/20 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) with match slated at all ten venues.
This followed a consultative meeting between the LMC and heads of the 20 participating clubs in Abuja on Monday, October 14, during which the Chairman of the LMC, Shehu Dikko presented a comprehensive briefing to bring the clubs’ officials up to date on situations in the NPFL, especially, the commercial activities and more robust business plans that are being pursued to resolve the recent challenges faced by the league. Read more
Bulgaria manager resigns after racist taunts at England match (Punch)
Bulgaria’s Krasimir Balakov resigned as coach of the Bulgarian national football team on Friday, drawing the consequences from a racism scandal engulfing his squad.
“I said that if I’m the problem with Bulgarian football, I won’t think about it for a minute and submit my resignation,’’ state television quoted him as saying.
In the Euro 2020 qualifier against England on Monday, black English players were subjected to racist abuse, with fans making monkey noises and some giving Nazi salutes. Read more
Can Man Utd Dent Liverpool Unblemished Premier League Start? (ThisDay)
Two of England’s most successful clubs will on tomorrow go head-to-head in the Premier League as Manchester United take on Liverpool. The Reds will be hoping to extend their eight-point lead at the top of the table while also looking to increase the widening chasm between themselves and United. However, the Devils will be hoping to dent Jurgen Klopp’s unblemished start.
History beckons for Liverpool at the home of their greatest rivals on Sunday when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford looking for a record-equalling 18th consecutive top-flight win. Read more
Lagos Open Tennis: Gallant Oyinlomo Qaudre loses to Ukrainian star (NewTelegraph)
The only Nigerian standing in the ongoing 2nd leg Lagos Open Tennis, Barakat Oyinlomo Quadre was unable to survive the superior power of her Ukrainian opponent, Strakhova Valeriya in their quarter final match decided Friday afternoon at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan. Morroco-based Quadre, who had on Thursday broken a record as the only Nigerian woman player to have qualified to the quarter final level of the ITF World Tour in Lagos, played a determined game against the Ukrainian. This earned her a 7-5 win in the first set; an early break that she failed to sustain and consolidate on. Strakhova, however, forcefully came back to take the game out of Quadre as she won the remaining two set, 6-3, 6-1. Read more