Man seeks divorce over ritual accusation (DailyTrust)
A civil servant, Mr Nnadi Onu, on Wednesday, prayed a customary court, Jikwoyi, Abuja, to grant his divorce prayer on the grounds that his wife, Ogechukwu, accused him of wanting to use her for ritual.
Onu told the court that, “I don’t know why she is accusing me of this kind of thing. This shows there is no more trust between us.”
He further told the court that, “Shortly after the accusation I fell sick and was diagnosed with food poisoning.”
He added that, ”She is also so disrespectful. My family members no longer visited me, so I moved out. It is on these grounds that I seek dissolution of this marriage.” Read more
Army General dies after accident in Lagos (Guardian)
The Director of Finance of the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC), Brigadier General O.A. James, is dead.
It was gathered that the General died on Tuesday night from injuries sustained after a corporal, Abayomi Ebun, hit him with a
Brigadier General James.
The incident happened at about 10:30 p.m. as Brigadier General James was walking to his residence at the NAFRC Barracks in Lagos.
“The general was trekking to his apartment inside the Barracks when he was hit by the reportedly drunk soldier. Read more
11 cultists nabbed for terrorising Lagos neighbourhood (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of 11 suspected cultists terrorising the Agege area of the state.
The Rapid Response Squad, in a statement posted on Twitter, said its officers were on patrol when the suspects were arrested in a hotel, adding that investigation revealed that suspects were members of rival cult groups involved in a clash in the area.
Osun cultists hack rival to death
The statement read, “Around 2.45am, our officers on patrol arrested 11 members of rival cult gangs involved in a violent clash in a hotel in Agege. Four of them were viciously injured with broken bottles during the fight.
“They have been transferred to Oko Oba, Agege Police Division, in line with the directive of our commander, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi.” Read more
Man abducted on way to Lagos airport regains freedom (Vanguard)
A 40-year-old man, Gbenga Maxwell Ajayi, who was abducted on his way to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos State, has regained his freedom.
The father of four was abducted last Friday, on boarding a commercial vehicle from Ijaye area of Lagos.
He regained his freedom the day after his abduction as his abductors noticed that he could not be useful for ritual purpose.
Narrating his ordeal to Vanguard at his Ijaye residence, Gbenga said he boarded a commercial vehicle whose occupants dozed off having inhaled perfume sprayed by the conductor in the bus. Read more
Lekki FTZ plans efficient port system (Punch)
The Lagos Free Zone has called for a stronger port system where state and federal governments will create an ecosystem that encourages diversity of businesses.
The Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Rathi, was quoted in a statement as saying this recently during a breakout session at the 2023 Ehingbeti Lagos Economic Summit in Lagos themed, ‘Confirming Lagos as West Africa’s Leading Trade & Commercial Hub’
Rathi also said that this would help to advance the economic prosperity of not just Nigeria but the entire West African region.
He said with Nigeria already signed on to several trade & investment treaties such as the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, Lagos stood a real chance of becoming the manufacturing hub of Africa. Read more
2023: PDP confident of winning Lagos, 24 other states (Channels)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to win 25 states including Lagos State in next year’s general elections.
PDP National Chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu said this during a meeting in Abuja to receive the report of the Lagos and Osun State PDP reconciliation committee.
“PDP will have a governor in Lagos and several other positions in the Senate, House of Representatives, and the house of assembly,” Ayu said.
He urged leaders of the party who may be having issues to resolve such, noting that when such is done, the “PDP will be celebrating, as I have always predicted, at least 25 governors, and also be having a big victory party in the Presidential Villa”. Read more
Aviation unions knock Sirika over rush to execute numerous projects (Tribune)
Nigeria’s aviation unions have come down heavily on the minister of aviation, Senatir Hadi Sirika over what they described as a plethora of missteps he has taken as they affect the sector.
Speaking on behalf of the unions, the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), the Secretary General of NUATE, Comrade Aba Ocheme accused the minister of rushing to deliver too many critical projects in contrast to the short time remaining for the present government.
While citing such projects which the unions believed can not be executed within the remaining period for the administration to elapse to include: establishment of a national carrier, Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul, aircraft leasing company, agro-allied airports, aerotropolis, and concessioning of the four major international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, the unions declared: “For inexplicable reasons none of the above projects has been delivered up till now. It is therefore not surprising that the Minister is presently in a frenzy in an effort to deliver these projects, being that this administration is at its twilight. Read more
Villagers ‘‘killed’’ in fresh Plateau attack (DailyTrust)
At least 11 residents have been reportedly killed in Maikatako community of Butura District in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State by gunmen.
Daily Trust gathered that the attackers came at about 1am on Wednesday and began shooting continuously and burning houses.
Many people were also said to be injured in the attack apart from those killed and the houses razed down.
A native of the community, Daniel Isah, said residents were still trying to ascertain the exact figures and the identities of those who lost their lives, adding that the victims were burnt beyond recognition. Read more
Ghostbusters actress and former Playboy model Kymberly Herrin dead at 65 (People)
Kymberly Herrin, a former actress and Playboy model, has died. She was 65.
On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara News-Press published an obituary for Herrin that noted she “passed away peacefully” Oct. 28 in Santa Barbara, Calif., where she was a lifelong resident.
Herrin’s cause of death is unknown, and her niece Theresa Ramirez confirmed Herrin’s death in an Oct. 28 Facebook post, in which she shared a photo of Herrin posing with her two late sisters on a beach, according to Newsweek.
“They are all together now,” Ramirez wrote in a caption alongside the photo. “Aunt Kymberly Herrin. I love you.” Read more
Harry Styles collaboration would be a ”dream” for country artist Shania Twain (Fox)
Harry Styles and Shania Twain shared the stage at Coachella in April and the country singer said she would like to collaborate with the former One Direction member on some music in the future.
During Styles’ Coachella set, Twain joined him on stage and the two sang a duet of Twain’s mega hits “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” and “You’re Still the One.”
Twain was recently on an episode of TalkShopLive, where she talked about singing with Styles and how she would love to work with him in the future.
“I went up onstage with Harry Styles [at Coachella]. He invited me on his stage, which was so wonderful and [he’s a] lovely, lovely person,” Twain told Nancy O’Dell on TalkShopLive about the “As It Was” singer. Read more
Quentin Tarantino slams current movie era for being ‘worst in Hollywood history’ (Metro)
Quentin Tarantino recently turned his nose up at today’s movie pickings, declaring the current era the ‘worst in Hollywood history’.
Taking a walk back through the last few years’ releases, as well as the 1950s and 80s, the famous director revealed his distaste for the genres.
The Pulp Fiction creative debuted in the early 1990s and quickly became known for his unique, sinister takes on stories and gory, violent scenes.
Catapulting to fame following the release of the cult flick that starred John Travolta and Uma Thurman, the filmed was deemed his masterpiece and credited for its unconventional structure and screenwriting. Read more
John Leguizamo says ”it’s unfortunate” that Chris Pratt was cast as Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (DailyMail)
Super Mario Bros. alum John Leguizamo has criticized the casting of Chris Pratt in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
The 62-year-old actor, who portrayed the role of Luigi in the 1993 live-action film, spoke with Indiewire Tuesday on the topic of the animated movie that is due in theaters next year.
He questioned why filmmakers would go ‘backwards’ in not casting an actor of color into one of the roles of Mario and Luigi in placing Pratt, 43, and Charlie Day, 46, in the titular roles.
‘I’m O.G. A lot of people love the original,’ said the Bogotá, Colombia-born star, who performed opposite the late Bob Hoskins in the original film. ‘I did Comic-Con in New York and in Baltimore, and everyone’s like, “No, no, we love the old one, the original.” They’re not feeling the new one. I’m not bitter. It’s unfortunate.’ Read more
1b young people risk hearing loss from loud music (Guardian)
More than 1 billion teenagers and young adults may be at risk of hearing loss because of their use of headphones, earphones and earbuds and attendance at loud music venues, a study suggests.
An international team of researchers estimate that 24% of 12- to 34-year-olds are listening to music on personal listening devices at an “unsafe level”. The findings were published in the journal BMJ Global Health.
They called for governments to “urgently” implement safe listening policies.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 430 million people of all ages worldwide currently have disabling hearing loss. Young people are particularly vulnerable because of their use of personal listening devices (PLDs), such as smartphones, headphones and earbuds, and from visiting loud music venues, amid poor regulatory enforcement. Read more
MH17: Ukraine plane crash murder trial draws to a close (BBC)
In 2014 a passenger jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. Today judges at a high security court near Schiphol Airport will deliver a verdict on three Russians and one Ukrainian accused of mass murder.
The missile attack was one of the most notorious war crimes in Ukraine before allegations of atrocities there became an almost daily reality. Many of the victims’ relatives believe if the world had reacted differently, and taken a tougher stance against Russia eight years ago, the invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical instability that has followed could have been avoided.
On 17 July 2014, 298 people, including 80 children and 15 crew, boarded Malaysia Airlines flight 17 to Kuala Lumpur at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
The plane was cruising at 33,000 feet over Ukraine. It was the early days of Russia’s efforts to control parts of the country.
At the time this was a relatively low-level conflict zone, but fighting had recently expanded into the air. In the preceding months a number of military planes had been shot down. Read more
Xi angrily rebukes Trudeau over ‘‘leaks’’ to media about Canada-China relations (Guardian)
Xi Jinping has angrily rebuked Justin Trudeau after Canadian officials shared details of a previous meeting, highlighting the frosty relationship between the two leaders.
In a clip recorded by the media pool at the G20 summit in Indonesia, a visibly frustrated Xi pulls the Canadian prime minister aside and says it was “not appropriate” for details about a previous conversation between the two leaders to have been shared with media, suggesting Trudeau lacked “sincerity” in his approach.
“Everything we discuss has been leaked to the paper, that’s not appropriate,” Xi says to Trudeau through a translator. “And that’s not the way the conversation was conducted,” he added.
The testy exchange came a day after government sources briefed that during a previous conversation on the margins of the summit, Trudeau had raised “serious concerns” with Xi over China’s increasingly aggressive “interference activities”. Read more
Ailing Nwosu flown out of Asaba (Sun)
Ex-Nigerian football star, Henry Nwosu, has been taken out of Asaba Specialist Hospital (ASH), Delta State, where he has been undergoing treatment in the past six weeks.
Though his condition had remarkably improved following the intervention of the Delta State government, his family insisted on taking him out of the facility.
Nwosu was taken to Asaba Airport where he boarded a Lagos bound flight on Wednesday.
A gifted midfielder in his hay days, Nwosu was the poster boy and the youngest member of Nigeria’s Green Eagles squad that won the 1980 African Nations Cup. Read more
Portugal a good test for Super Eagles’ progress, says Peseiro (Guardian)
Super Eagles’ Manager, Jose Peseiro, has promised to field a competitive team in Nigeria’s international friendly against Portugal in Lisbon, today.
Portugal is hosting Nigeria in their last test game before their opening game of the Qatar 2022 World Cup against Ghana on Thursday, next week.
The 2016 European champions have been preparing their challenge for the only international competition they are yet to win.
With one of the world’s best stars of his generation, Cristiano Ronaldo, nearing the end of his career, Portugal sees Qatar 2022 as a good opportunity to join the only six countries to win the World Cup.
And they believe the Super Eagles will give them the right gauge of their readiness for the Copa du Mundo. Read more
Man Utd ‘do not accept’ 2 Cristiano Ronaldo claims in explosive Piers Morgan interview (Express)
Manchester United have taken issue with two particular points from Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent interview with Piers Morgan. The former Real Madrid and Juventus star made particularly damning remarks about Erik ten Hag and the Glazers, with speculation surrounding a January exit from Old Trafford at an all-time high.
Ronaldo is seemingly prepared to burn his bridges with the Red Devils after a frustrating start to the current campaign. Having been their top scorer last term, he has started just four Premier League games this time around with the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial preferred up top.
Rumours of friction between himself and Ten Hag have been commonplace in recent weeks, and the relationship appeared to hit a new low when Ronaldo refused to come on as a late substitute and stormed down the tunnel during United’s win over Tottenham last month.
The former Los Blancos superstar felt compelled to tell his side of the story and did so in an explosive interview with Talk TV host Piers Morgan this week. Read more
England star James Maddison sends confident World Cup message amid searing Qatar heat (Mirror)
James Maddison insists England’s players go into the World Cup full of belief they can win it.
Maddison says they are ready to take “one more” step and lift the trophy after Gareth Southgate took them so close in the last two major tournaments. Leicester midfielder Maddison claimed England would have no chance unless they truly believed they could go all the way – and the squad has total faith.
Maddison said: “It has almost been like a journey for England. The manager, Gareth, has been in the job a long time now and done a brilliant job and we are almost on that trajectory from 2018 to the Euros to then now.
“If it stays like that, it will be brilliant for us because that will mean it goes up one more. We know it’s difficult, we know there are a lot of good nations but I think you have to go into a tournament like this with the belief you can win it because if you don’t believe that, you can’t win it. Read more
Tom Brady, Naomi Osaka and Steph Curry at centre of US lawsuit against defunct crypto exchange (Sky)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady are among a host of clubs and athletes named as defendants in a lawsuit filed against cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Along with Brady and the Buccaneers, Naomi Osaka, Steph Curry, Shaquille O’Neil, Udonis Haslem, and the Golden State Warriors are named in the lawsuit.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Baseball stars Shohei Ohtani and David Ortiz are also named as defendants.
FTX was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange until it ended up with billions of dollars worth in losses and filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday. Read more
UFC star Israel Adesanya arrested for carrying brass knuckles at JFK: police (NYPost)
Mixed martial arts superstar Israel Adesanya was arrested at JFK Airport Wednesday after allegedly trying to board a plane with brass knuckles, authorities said.
The former UFC champion was attempting to walk through security around 2 p.m. when he was taken into custody by Transportation Security Administration staff who found the banned item in his possession, according to Port Authority police.
Brass knuckles are illegal to carry in New York and considered a Class A misdemeanor.
Adesanya, who was on his way home when he was stopped, was gifted the metal knuckles by a fan and cooperated with authorities throughout the ordeal, his manager Tim Simpson told TMZ in a statement. Read more