NDLEA arrests drug dealer over officer’s death (DailyTrust)
The Sokoto State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a drug dealer for allegedly masterminding the killing of one of their operatives in January this year.
The dealer was arrested in Bagarawa village on Thursday following a joint operation involving other security agencies.
The commander of the agency, Iro Mohammed, told newsmen that the operative was killed during a raid of the suspect’s hideout around January this year. Read more
Nnamdi Kanu: Abaribe calls for calm over Supreme Court verdict (Guardian)
Former Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has called for calm and implored Ndigbo not to despair over what he called “the unfortunate outcome at the Supreme Court” concerning the non-release of Nnamdi Kanu.
He expressed the belief that “this current federal government will do something very fast to release Nnamdi Kanu, if for no other reason, but for national cohesion and unity of the country.”
“As Leaders, we shall continue to press for a solution that will be the best in the circumstance,” Abaribe assured. Read more
Tinubu inaugurates N1b intervention project in Bauchi State University Gadau (Sun)
President Bola Tinubu on Friday inaugurated the Tertiary Education Tax Funds (TETFUND) N1 billion 2,000 sitting capacity Central Library Complex in the Bauchi state University, Gadau.
Represented by the member House Committee on TETFUND Honourable Bappa Misau, member representing Misau
He noted that apart from the Bauchi State University, Gadau, other public tertiary educational institutions in Bauchi State such as Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) and Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, College of Education Azare, College of Education kangere have not been exempted from the giant strides recorded in the Nigerian tertiary educational space as a result of the intervention efforts of TETFund. Read more
Over 40% of power positions in Nigeria tainted by corruption — ICPC (Leadership)
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offence Commission (ICPC) has raised alarms over the prevalence of corruption, asserting that 42% of high-ranking positions within the three arms of government and the private sector have been plagued by corruption between 2022 and 2023.
Speaking at the validation meeting of the Nigeria Corruption Index (NCI) Survey in Abuja, Prof. Tunde Babawale, the Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, highlighted that the findings revealed a disturbingly high level of corruption across the Legislature, Judiciary, Executive arms of government, and the private sector.
“Although at the level of the state, the score differs from one state to the other, but the bottom line is that there is an overall score that we found – over 42% in our own scale is highly corrupt for the entire country,” Babawale emphasised. Read more
Uzodimma warns against politicising Kaduna bombing error (Nation)
Imo state governor, Hope Uzodimma, has cautioned against politicising the Kaduna bombing error, emphasising the importance of unity and survival of Nigeria.
He has called on politicians to refrain from playing politics with the incident.
The Kaduna bombing incident resulted in a tragic loss of civilian lives, and Uzodimma’s warning is aimed at preventing the exploitation of this unfortunate event for political gain. Read more
Lawan assures on speedy passage of N340b Zulum’s 2024 Appropriation Bill (Vanguard)
The Speaker Borno State House of Assembly (BOSHA), Rt. Hon. Abdulkarim Lawan has said that the legislative Arm under his leadership will carefully study the 2024 Budget amounting to over N340 billion which was presented to the floor of the House by Governor Babagana Zulum in order to have speedy passage for the benefits and development of the people in the state.
Lawan stated this yesterday while briefing Journalists on the steps taken to ensure the budget is passed into law on or before the end of this year.
He said, given the success stories recorded by the State Government in the area of Health, Education, Poverty Alleviation, Youths and Women empowerment, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement of millions of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs and the relative peace witnessed in 2023 fiscal year under the present administration, the House will continue to collaborate and sustain the cordial working relation between the Executive and the Legislative Arm for the betterment of all citizens across the 27 local government areas in the state. Read more
3 more commissioners dump Fubara (Punch)
The gale of resignations from the Rivers State Executive Council continued on Friday with three more commissioners joining the fray.
They are Commissioner for Transportation Dr. Jacobson Nbina; Commissioner for Housing, Dr. Gift Worlu; and Commissioner for Environment, Austen Ben-Chioma.
Their resignations were contained in separate letters sighted by our correspondent and addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. Read more
Remi Tinubu meets with state governors’ wives (Channels)
The First Lady of Nigeria, Oluremi Tinubu, has met with wives of state governors in Abuja.
Addressing the governors’ wives on Thursday in a statement signed by her SA Media, Busola Kukoyi, Senator Tinubu noted that it has become imperative for the forum to be held so that she can update them on issues especially as they affect the Nation.
“In recent times, I have been sharing experiences from the First Ladies of other nations to help me position myself appropriately for the task ahead. Some of the things I discovered were that HIV/AIDS is still very prevalent in Nigeria”. Read more
Nicki Minaj goes off on elliott wilson for allegedly trying to ‘Tarnish’ her image (HipHopDx)
Nicki Minaj has put Elliott Wilson on blast and accused the veteran Hip Hop journalist of trying to “tarnish” her image.
Wilson appeared to take a shot at Nicki on Thursday (December 14) when he posted a photo of the rapper twerking during her appearance on Kai Cenat’s Twitch livestream and captioned it: “Hip Hop journalism.”
The Rap Radar Podcast host has been critical of Hip Hop artists in recent months for allegedly snubbing rap media outlets and instead doing interviews and podcasts with people he labels “outsiders.” Read more
Imelda Staunton was “inconsolable” when Queen Elizabeth II died (FilmNews)
Imelda Staunton has revealed she was “inconsolable” when Queen Elizabeth II died.
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, the actress, who played Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s The Crown, recalled that she was filming the royal drama when the monarch died in September 2022.
“Lesley Manville and I were filming and were told there might be some sad news and were asked if we wanted to carry on,” Imelda, 67, said. “We carried on and finished the day.” Read more
Prince Harry reacts to lawsuit win: ‘I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned’ (People)
“My commitment to seeing this case through is based on my belief in our need — and collective right – to a free and honest press,” the Duke of Sussex said in a statement
Prince Harry is speaking out after his lawsuit win against a U.K. newspaper publisher over allegations of phone hacking and other unlawful acts.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, who was awarded over $180,000, was unable to be present in London’s High Court on Friday “due to the short notice” of the hearing, according to his lawyer David Sherbourne. However, Harry issued a long and powerful statement that was read aloud outside the courthouse by Sherbourne following the ruling. Read more
Kenya secures 2,500 jobs in Saudi Arabia – president (BBC)
Kenya has reached an agreement to export workers to Saudi Arabia, the country’s President William Ruto says.
Under the deal reached on Thursday, Kenya will send nurses and other skilled workers to the Middle Eastern country, with 2,500 workers planned for the first deployment.
“Previously, we only sent domestic workers, but now we can export skilled labour to Saudi Arabia and other countries,” President Ruto said on Friday, adding that the workers will receive a monthly salary of 200,000 Kenyan shillings ($1,300; £1,000). Read more
Niger: “Content” of transition “agreed” before ECOWAS opinion (AfricaNews)
The Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs in mediation in Niamey affirmed Thursday to have “agreed on the content” and “timing of the transition” in Niger with the Prime Minister of this country led by a military regime since a coup d’état, before the notice of other West African countries.
The head of Togolese diplomacy, Robert Dussey, said on Nigerien national television Télé Sahel having “worked and agreed on the content and timing of the transition” with “the Prime Minister”, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, and “the Minister of Foreign Affairs” Nigeriens, Bakary Yaou Sangaré.
“We will already present to the heads of state mediators and to the ECOWAS Commission (Economic Community of West African States) this content (…) agreed together”, he added. Read more
Israel continues Gaza onslaught despite US envoy’s ‘new phase of war’ (AlJazeera)
Israel has continued to pound Gaza despite a senior United States official saying that Tel Aviv has agreed to end widespread bombing and ground operations and move towards precision targeting of Hamas.
Despite mounting international calls for restraint, Israel on Friday pressed on with its offensive in Gaza. Air strikes across the strip killed dozens of people, according to local authorities.
The bombardment came after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Read more
Liberals seek ouster from Wisconsin judicial ethics panel of Trump lawyer who advised fake electors (NBC)
Liberals are calling for former President Donald Trump’s Wisconsin lawyer to step down from a state judicial ethics panel, saying he is unsuitable due to his role advising the fake Republican electors who admitted to taking part in an effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Jim Troupis, a former judge, was deeply involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn Wisconsin’s 2020 election results. He remains a defendant in a lawsuit filed against him, Trump’s attorney Ken Chesebro and the 10 fake Republican electors.
The electors agreed to a settlement in the lawsuit, but Troupis and Chesebro remain defendants. Read more
Leverkusen shop for Boniface replacement (Punch)
With the Africa Cup of Nations at the beginning of 2024, Bayer Leverkusen are set to lose several key players and they are beginning to prepare for the departure of striker Victor Boniface and may enter the market for an additional attacker as reported by Kicker.
PUNCH Sports Extra had reported that the 22-year-old and his compatriot Nathan Tella are among Leverkusen’s five potential absentees when the tournament kicks off in January. Others are Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast), Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso) and Amine Adli (Morocco).
The tournament will be played in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11. Read more
In my deepest mind, I still have regrets over my football career –former Super Eagles forward, Nwofor (CompleteSports)
Uche Nwofor, a former Super Eagles forward, has exclusively and sensationally told Completesports.com that deep in his heart, he still has regrets over the whole of his footballing career.
Nwofor has nine caps and three goals for Nigeria’s senior national team, the Super Eagles, and had a fairly illustrious career at club level that spanned through Holland and Germany, amongst other European nations.
The former Shooting Stars Sports Club and Rangers International forward looked over his shoulders and recalled that injuries blighted his flourishing career, forcing him to quit the stage contrary to his ambition. Read more
Director opens door for £20m Arsenal ace to leave Emirates in January (HitC)
Roma are reportedly interested in Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior and director Tiago Pinto appears to have thrown open the doors to a January move for the £20 million Premier League benchwarmer.
Handed a rare start by Mikel Arteta in midweek – only his sixth of 2023/24 – the Poland international certainly didn’t do his hopes of more regular action much good in Eindhoven.
Yes, Jakub Kiwior was fielded at left-back rather than in his favoured centre-half role. But the sight of the Arsenal man chasing shadows as Johan Bakayoko turned him inside out during Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with PSV will not have had Gabriel Magalhaes fearing for his spot. Read more
Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington is technique against tenacity at UFC 296 (Independent)
In becoming and remaining UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards has battled an old rival, his own demons, the Utah altitude, and in-ring penalties. On Saturday, the Jamaican-born Briton will battle tenacity incarnate, as he defends his title against Colby Covington at UFC 296.
When Edwards dethroned Kamaru Usman in August 2022, he earned vengeance for a loss eight years prior, but also vindication for years spent crafting one of the best-rounded skillsets in MMA. In the first round, Edwards showed how significantly his grappling had improved, as he became the first opponent to take down the then-No 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC. And in the final round, after struggling against the conditions in Utah and suffering under the relentless wrestling of Usman, Edwards showed how superior his striking really was, knocking the champion out cold with a picture-perfect head kick – with just one minute left on the clock. Read more
Phil Taylor rents property to Robbie Williams’ dad and makes Christmas gesture (Mirror)
Darts legend Phil Taylor is set for a busy Christmas period with family members staying at his house, as well as helping to keep an eye on pop superstar Robbie Williams’ father
Phil Taylor has revealed that he brings Christmas dinner to Robbie Williams’ father and spends time speaking with him on Christmas Day.
The Power will retire from professional darts after next year’s World Senior Darts Tour. Before his final run on the circuit though, Taylor will be kept busy with a full house in his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent over the festive period. Read more
‘His life is different now’: Michael Schumacher update given by close friend (Independent)
Former Ferrari boss Jean Todt has spoken once again about close friend Michael Schumacher – nearly 10 years since the F1 icon was last seen in public.
Schumacher suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident in Meribel, France, in December 2013.
The seven-time word champion’s health condition has been shrouded in secrecy in the decade since, with his wife Corinna insistent on protecting his privacy as he continues to recover. Read more