‘Okada’ riders attack, injure task force officials in Oshodi (Nation)
Officials of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Taskforce) were attacked by 14 commercial motorcycle riders at Oshodi under bridge on Wednesday night.
Chairman of task force, Olayinka Egbeyemi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, disclosed in a statement that a distressed call was received that about 14 illegal commercial motorcyclists attacked the enforcement team of the Agency and wounded a paramilitary officer, Mr. Innocent Okoro and damaged operational vehicles.
Egbeyemi disclosed further that immediately after the officials were attacked the culprits, 14 of them ran into a compound at Igbehinadun street around Oshodi and locked themselves. Read more
Man burnt to death in freak accident at Lagos church (Guardian)
A man was burnt to death on Thursday after a pastor mistook petrol for water during a healing service in Lagos, the emergency services said.
“The pastor picked a keg believing it contained water not knowing it was filled with petrol,” said Ibrahim Farinloye of the National Emergency Management Agency.
“In the process of emptying the contents on the man, a lit candle nearby sparked fire that engulfed both of them,” Farinloye told AFP.
The church fire in the Baruwa area in the north of the sprawling city spread to nearby oil pipelines, which burst into flames, he added. Read more
Science & Technology Research: Lagos State govt. releases 250m (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said on Thursday that N250 million had been released as seed money to the State Science Research and Innovation Fund.
Sanwo-Olu spoke while declaring open a 2-day Art of Technology Lagos 1.0 (AOT Lagos.) conference, in Victoria Island.
The conference, with the theme: “Bridging the Gap’’, was organised by Eko Innovation Centre and sponsored by First City Monument Bank, Microsoft, Malta Guinness, Oracle, among others. Read more
N210bn illegal deductions: FIRS denies auditor-general’s claims (Punch)
The Federal Inland Revenue Service on Thursday denied claims made by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation that FIRS illegally deducted and failed to remit N210bn into the Federation Account.
Speaking on the sidelines of the third annual meeting of the Nigerian Tax Research Network in Abuja, the Executive Chairman, FIRS, Babatunde Fowler, told journalists that his agency did not know where the Auditor-General for the Federation, Anthony Ayine, got his (Ayine) information.
On Wednesday, an audit report signed by Ayine and released by the OAGF stated that out of the N6.4tn generated by revenue collection agencies in 2017, about N1.5tn was deducted and not remitted into the Federation Account in violation of the provisions of the Constitution. Read more
Ajanaku’s death shocking, says Obasanjo (Nation)
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday, expressed shock over the death of his erstwhile Presidential Adviser on Women Affairs, Chief (Mrs) Titilayo Ajanaku, saying her loyalty and commitment to women affairs development was exemplary and worthy of emulation.
Mrs. Ajanaku, a registered nurse and founding member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State died on Thursday morning at the age of 76.
Until her passing, she was the Otun Iyalode of Egbaland and former Chairman of old Abeokuta Local Government, having been the pioneer female elected Council boss in Ogun State. Read more
Don’t handcuff me in public, Kalu begs prison warders (Nation)
Former Abia State Governor, Orji Kalu, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud, has suggested that he has a role to play in the national politics of 2023.
Kalu, who is the Senate’s Chief Whip smiled at reporters and said, ‘2023, here we come’ as he was led out of the courtroom by Correctional Services officials after his sentencing.
He was also seen asking prison warders, “where are you taking us to?”.
Kalu then begged the prison warders not to handcuff him in public. Read more
Customs disowns online lists of shortlisted applicants (Nation)
Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Wednesday dissociated itself from some lists of “successful applicants” for its recruitment. It described the release of the lists as the handiwork of fraudsters.
Joseph Attah, NCS National Public Relations Officer, announced this in a statement to The Nation.
He described it as an “attempt to deceive and extort unsuspecting applicants”.
The spokesman warned that such recruitment websites are fake and should not be patronised by the public.
Attah, a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, said: “The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service has again been drawn to the unrepentant activities of internet fraudsters despite several scam alerts by NCS. Read more
At least 38 killed in Burundi landslide (Punch)
At least 38 people died in a landslide that occurred in Cibitoke province, northwestern Burundi, following Wednesday’s heavy rain, an official said on Thursday.
The death toll is recorded from three localities of in the province, north of the commercial capital Bujumbura, said spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Security Pierre Nkurikiye said at a news conference.
The authorities discovered 22 dead people in Nyuempundu, three in Gikomero and 13 in Rukombe hill, due to the landslide caused by heavy rain happening on Wednesday. Read more
UK’s Johnson plans for victory with Brexit Party boost (Guardian)
One week before Britain’s election, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was confident enough to publish a plan on Thursday for his first 100 days in office, boosted by an endorsement from Brexit Party MEPs.
Jeremy Corbyn’s main opposition Labour party is struggling to close the gap in opinion polls with Johnson’s governing Conservatives, which remains at around 10 points.
Meanwhile, the electoral threat posed by Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party receded further with the decision of four of its European Parliament MPs to endorse the prime minister.
Johnson has promised to get Britain out of the European Union on January 31, after years of turmoil sparked by the 2016 referendum vote for Brexit. Read more
Trump impeachment to go ahead – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (BBC)
Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House of Representatives will file impeachment charges against US President Donald Trump for alleged abuse of power.
“Our democracy is what is at stake, the president leaves us no choice but to act,” the top elected Democrat said.
Mr Trump said Democrats have “gone crazy” and urged them to move quickly if they were going to impeach him.
Democrats say Mr Trump corruptly made military aid to Ukraine conditional on it investigating his rival, Joe Biden. Read more
CAF awards: Ighalo, Osimhen, Oshoala, Chukwueze make final list (Nation)
Chukwueze and Asisat Oshoala, have made the final shortlist in different categories of the 28th edition of the annual CAF awards to be held on January 7 at the Albatros Citadel Sahl Hasheesh, Hurghada, Egypt.
Ighalo who retired from the Super Eagles after this year’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) IN Egypt will vie against the likes of Mohammed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool) and Saido Mane (Senegal and Liverpool) for the player of the year award.
The Shanghai Shenhua striker who has 10 goals in 17 matches this season will be hoping to win the award for the first time.
The duo of Osimhen and Chukwueze will battle for the Young Footballer of the Year Award. Osimhem has been in impressive from for the Eagles and his French club. He has scored 10 goals in Ligue one and the UEFA Champions League, while also scoring three goals in the AFCON qualifiers. Read more
Spurs star Son feels the pain after Man United defeat (Punch)
Son Heung-min said he and his Tottenham Hotspur team-mates would have to work hard because he did not like experiencing the pain he felt following Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat by Manchester United.
The 27-year-old Korean star gets his chance to bounce back on Saturday at home to Burnley.
However, last season’s Champions League finalists are nine points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea — who occupy the final Champions League spot — and can ill afford any more slip-ups. Read more
Lampard happy, but wants more from Chelsea (Guardian)
Frank Lampard said he was happy but wants more from his Chelsea side after they got back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday to consolidate the fourth spot in the Premier League.
Back-to-back defeats by Manchester City and West Ham United had followed six straight league wins, but the return of striker Tammy Abraham proved crucial against Villa.
He headed the opening goal for his 11th of the season and set up the winner for Mason Mount with a neat chest-off three minutes after the break.
Lampard, Chelsea’s record scorer who won three Premier League titles during his playing career at Stamford Bridge, said his side should have won more easily. Read more
Hazard to miss Clasico after tests reveal ankle fracture (Punch)
Eden Hazard is set to miss the Clasico against Barcelona after further tests revealed a fracture in his right ankle, Real Madrid confirmed on Thursday.
Hazard was forced off during the draw with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last week and despite Zinedine Zidane saying after the match he had suffered a “bad twist”, Madrid announced the Belgian had been diagnosed with “bruising”.
But further tests have shown a fracture, with Hazard now expected to be out for around four to six weeks. It would mean he will sit out the Clasico at Camp Nou on December 18. Read more
Amazon make low-key live Premier League debut (Guardian)
US e-commerce giant Amazon’s entry into the live broadcasting of Premier League football was expected to be full of glitz and innovation but instead, they played safe in sticking to a tried and tested formula.
Amazon is the first of the tech giants to dip their toe into the Premier League after paying £90 million ($118 million, 106.6 million euros) for 20 games a year over three years, breaking up the duopoly of Sky and BT Sport.
But in the matches, shown on Amazon Prime, the seller’s premium service available for a fee, the pundits and commentators were familiar faces and Amazon branding was far from evident. Read more
There’s no fear in my heart – Joshua (Punch)
Anthony Joshua has admitted “it feels different” since losing but sent a powerful message to Andy Ruiz Jr with an intense first face off of the week.
The world heavyweight championship rivals were able to ramp up the mind games at Wednesday’s press conference before their rematch on Saturday.
“I didn’t lose heart or fire in my belly,” Joshua said about losing to Ruiz Jr earlier this year. “There is no fear in my heart, my eyes or my mind.
“I didn’t lose any commitment. Read more
UEFA president criticises VAR use, says football needs uncertainty (Guardian)
Football needs uncertainty, the head of European soccer body UEFA said, as he criticised the way the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology had changed the character of football matches.
Aleksander Ceferin said that UEFA would propose soccer’s rulemaking IFAB make changes to the way the VAR system, officially introduced in 2018, was being implemented, though he did not want to give more details.
The use of system, where match officials use video replays to check decisions by the referee on the pitch and flag possible mistakes, has been surrounded by controversy over the last few months.
Critics say the system goes far beyond its original remit and that decisions are taking too long. Read more
Ministry clears air on N850m counterpart funding for AAC (Nation)
PERMANENT Secretary of the Ministry of Sports, Adesola Olusade has said N850m government counterpart funding for the 2018 Africa Athletic Championship was not released due to the inability of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and Local Organising Committee (LOC) to present their expenditure and deficit documents.
Olusola said the presentation of the documents would have aided the release of that fund after the successful completion of the championship.
He also explained that $150, 000 released by Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) according to records in the Ministry revealed that the bulk of the money was spent between May and August 2017, but the other was spent in 2019 without any reference to the Ministry, adding that it was paid into a private account in 2018. Read more
Juventus midfielder Khedira out for three months after knee surgery (Vanguard)
Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira has been ruled out for three months after undergoing knee surgery, the Italian champions said on Wednesday.
The 2014 World Cup winner had surgery in his native Germany.
“The operation was perfectly successful and the player will be able to start rehabilitation immediately,” Juventus said in a statement. Read more
Everton boss Marco Silva faces the sack after derby thrashing at Anfield (BBC)
Everton manager Marco Silva faces the sack, with the club’s board expected to decide his future on Thursday – and former boss David Moyes under consideration as an interim replacement.
Toffees majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri was scheduled to arrive in Liverpool on Thursday afternoon to confirm a decision on the future of the 42-year-old Portuguese after the 5-2 thrashing in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Anfield left them in the relegation places.
Silva has already survived one round of emergency talks among the club’s hierarchy after the home loss to Norwich City on 23 November but it is increasingly unlikely he will be spared a second time. Read more