One feared dead as hoodlums attack Lagos cops (Punch)
There was pandemonium in the Akodo area of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, on Monday, when some hoodlums attacked some policemen in the area.
It was gathered that one Wale Kalejaiye had led the policemen to the community to arrest some people.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the policemen arrested three suspects and were on their way out of the community when the informant identified another suspect.
Our correspondent learnt that as the policemen stopped to arrest the new suspect, the hoodlums attacked the team. Read more
Lagos to clamp down on hawkers (DailyTrust)
The Lagos State Government has expressed dismay over indiscriminate dumping of refuse and rising number of hawkers on major highways.
To this end, it has directed the state Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) to dislodge recalcitrant traders on the major highways in the state.
The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello, disclosed this during a working visit to LAGESC.
Mr Bello said, “There is need for the LAGESC operatives to ensure that all the major roads in the state are rid of all environmental nuisances and infractions in order to ensure total cleanliness of the environment.” Read more
Royal family takes over Lagos widow’s property, hoodlums threaten daughter (Punch)
A75-year-old widow, Mrs Kehinde Agbetanmije, has lost her landed property on Adetayo Street, Alake, Ikotun-Idimu Road, after suspected hoodlums invaded the community on Monday.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the men, numbering about 20, allegedly threatened to beat the woman’s daughter who demanded to know their mission.
Our correspondent was told that bricklayers were quickly brought on the one plot, as they began erecting a fence around it. Read more
World Cancer Day: Only 3 public radiotherapy centres in Nigeria (DailyTrust)
Nigerians suffering from cancer have lamented the high cost of treatment and dearth of treatment facilities and specialists.
The patients and medical experts, who spoke ahead of this year’s World Cancer Day called on governments at the federal and state levels to subsidise treatment and save lives.
February 4 is marked as World Cancer Day and this year’s event is themed “I am and I will”.
Medical practitioners who spoke to Daily Trust revealed that there are no more than three functional radiotherapy centres for cancer treatment in Nigeria.
The Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Abuja, Dr Jafaru Momoh, said aside from the hospital he heads, which has two linac radiotherapy machines, only the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), which is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has two of the machines. Read more
US-based Nigerian, abducted by suspected herdsmen, found dead
(Punch)
AN American-based Nigerian, Prince Eloniyo Abuda, has been found dead five days after he was abducted by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
Abuda, who lived in Atlanta, Georgia, was abducted last Saturday with two other men and a woman along the Benin-Auchi road.
He was said to be traveling from his hometown, Fugar in Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State to Lagos to catch a flight to the United States when they were seized by the herdsmen. Read more
Adeniyi tasks Southern, Middle Belt governors, N’Assembly on insecurity (Guardian)
The Convener, Gravitas Group for Good Governance (CGGG), Chief Tola Adeniyi, yesterday, implored governors of the Southern and Middle Belt regions to summon courage and speak out boldly on menace of insecurity that is about to snuff life out of their constituencies.
Adeniyi, in a statement, tasked all the 34 state governors that have kept mute over the insecurity caused by excesses of armed herdsmen and movement of cattle from the North to Middle Belt/Southerner regions for grazing and the need for state and local council police, to endeavour to speak out like Governors Umar Ganduje and Darius Ishaku of Kano and Taraba states. Read more
Nigeria to provide 80m doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 – Govs (Independent)
About 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines would be available in 2021 to cover 40% of the Nigerian population, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, has disclosed.
Dr. Fayemi gave the hint while speaking on the role of Nigeria’s state governments in recovery and responses to COVID-19 linked challenges at a virtual event held Tuesday at Chatham House, London, United Kingdom.
Kayode also disclosed that another 60 million doses were being planned for 2022, adding that beyond government’s procurement of vaccines, the Nigerian government was also a strong proponent of the utilisation of public-private partnerships in vaccine procurement as a means of closing the gap between what is available and what is necessary to achieve herd immunity. Read more
FCT to recover encroached pedestrian walkways (Guardian)
The FCT administration has reiterated its resolve to ensure swift recovery of encroached pedestrian walkways to ease human and vehicular movement, especially in the city.
The Director, Development Control Department, Murktar Galadima, who made the assertion yesterday during its weekly routine site monitoring exercise, expressed disappointment on the level of incursion into public infrastructure.
Galadima said the practice runs contrary to the Abuja master plan. He noted that the department had the backing of the provisions of the FCT Act of 1976, as well as the Urban and Regional Planning of 1992 to enforce strict compliance with the Abuja master plan. Read more
Teen who fell into coma before the pandemic, waking up in a new world (CNN)
Joseph Flavill slipped out of one world and woke up in another.
On March 1, 2020, when the 19-year-old was struck by a car in Staffordshire, central England, the United Kingdom had recorded just 23 cases of a concerning new virus. The vast majority of Covid-19 infections were still confined to China, and the United States had confirmed just one death.
Sporting events, bars and restaurants teemed with life. And in Flavill’s home country that day, newspaper front pages were leading not with the spreading disease, but on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that he and his fiancée were expecting a child.
Weeks later, the world had ground to a halt. But everything that has happened since March 1 has passed Flavill by, even though he caught Covid-19 while unconscious. Read more
Proud Boys: Canada labels far-right group a terrorist entity (BBC)
Canada has designated the far-right group Proud Boys as a terrorist entity.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the decision was influenced by the group’s “pivotal role” in the 6 January riots at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
The designation allows the Proud Boys’ assets to be frozen, and members of the groups could be charged with terrorist offences if they commit violent acts.
The group is all-male and anti-immigrant, and has a history of violent political confrontations. Read more
Several Malian troops killed in suspected jihadist attack in central Mopti region (France24)
Ten troops were killed in Mali’s troubled central region early on Wednesday when their camp came under attack from jihadists, security sources said.
Their position at Boni, located between Douentza and Hombori in the Mopti region, was attacked by “heavily armed individuals in armoured vehicles”, one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Several soldiers were injured, the source said, an account confirmed by another security official and a local government official.
The 10 bodies had been brought back to the airport in Sevare, near the town of Mopti, by a helicopter from the UN’s MINUSMA peacekeeping force, while the injured were taken to hospital, local officials said. Read more
Nuclear-powered rocket could get astronauts to Mars faster (CNN)
By 2035, NASA wants to land humans on Mars. But reaching the red planet, on average around 140 million miles away, will be a mammoth feat.
Colder than Antarctica and with little to no oxygen, Mars is a hostile environment. The longer it takes astronauts to get there and the longer they stay, the more they are at risk.
That’s why scientists are looking at ways to reduce trip time. Seattle-based company Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies (USNC-Tech) has proposed a solution: a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) engine that could get humans from Earth to Mars in just three months. Currently, the shortest possible trip for an unmanned spacecraft is seven months, but a crewed mission is expected to take at least nine months. Read more
US country star Morgan Wallen dropped by his record label over racial slur (BBC)
US country star Morgan Wallen has been dropped by his record label, after a video emerged of him using a racial slur.
Nashville’s Big Loud Records said it had “made the decision to suspend Morgan Wallen’s recording contract indefinitely” in light of the video.
In the footage, reportedly filmed by a neighbour last weekend, the 27-year-old is seen saying goodbye to some friends and calling one of them the N-word.
He has apologised for the incident.
“I’m embarrassed and sorry,” he told TMZ, which first published the footage. Read more
Paris court finds French state guilty in landmark lawsuit over climate inaction (France24)
A Paris court on Wednesday found the French state guilty of failing to meet its commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions in a landmark ruling hailed by activists as a “historic victory for climate”.
A group of NGOs backed by two million citizens had filed a complaint accusing the French state of failing to act to halt climate change, in what has been dubbed the “case of the century”.
In its ruling on Wednesday, the Paris administrative court recognised ecological damage linked to climate change and held the French state responsible for failing to fully meet its goals in reducing greenhouse gases.
The court ordered the state to pay the symbolic sum of 1 euro in compensation for “moral prejudice”, a common practice in France. Read more
“Fantastic Beasts 3” production shut down as ‘team member’ tests positive for Covid-19 (Metro)
Production on Fantastic Beasts 3 has been shut down after a ‘team member’ tested positive for Covid-19. The third installment of the Harry Potter spin-off franchise has been filming at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, with stars including Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law. However, it has been confirmed that production has been paused after a team member was put into isolation. A statement shared with Metro.co.uk read: ‘A team member from Fantastic Beasts 3 has tested positive for Covid-19. The diagnosis was confirmed as a result of required and ongoing testing that all production employees receive, and the team member is currently in isolation. Read more
Ogunkoya confident emerging Nigerian sprinters will rule Africa (Punch)
Two-time 100m African champion, Seun Ogunkoya, says the present crop of the country’s sprinters can dominate the African scene.
The former Nigerian record holder said the present sprinters had talent, but lacked quality training.
“I was in Akure for the recently concluded All-Comers meet and I was surprised by the display of Enoch Adegoke, who won gold in 10.16s. This was a very fast time – a world lead time. It shows that if these athletes are introduced to more training facilities, they will take the world by storm,” Ogunkoya said.
“Nigeria still has the best crop of sprinters across the world, just like (Divine) Oduduru, what he just needs is encouragement from the government. Read more
Arsenal set to submit appeal against David Luiz’s red card in Wolves defeat (Metro)
Arsenal will submit an appeal to the Premier League over David Luiz’s suspension for a red card received in the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Tuesday. The Brazilian was sent off on the stroke of half-time after Craig Pawson gave a penalty for a challenge on Willian Jose. Contact appeared to be minimal but as Luiz was deemed not to have made a challenge for the ball, the referee saw fit to give him a straight red card. The dismissal means Luiz would miss Saturday’s game against Aston Villa but Arsenal have submitted an appeal in the hope that the decision will be reversed. Read more
Brighton win leaves Liverpool seven points off top (BBC)
Brighton boss Graham Potter praised his side’s “courage, quality and togetherness” as they stunned Liverpool at Anfield to move 10 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
Steven Alzate got a fortuitous but deserved winner for Brighton, who are now unbeaten in four league matches, while the Reds’ recent struggles at home continued.
Liverpool, who are seven points behind leaders Manchester City having played a game more, have not won at home since 16 December and have failed to score in three consecutive games at Anfield for the first time since October 1984.
After going 68 games without a league defeat at their home ground, Jurgen Klopp’s side have now also lost back-to-back games there. Read more
Al Ahly’s ‘Chosen One’ coach draws strength from Nelson Mandela (CNN)
He might be known as the “Pep Guardiola” of African football, but Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane’s mantra is one coined by the iconic Nelson Mandela.
“It always looks impossible until somebody does it,” Mosimane tells CNN Sport. The 56-year-old coach is sitting in his office at the Cairo giants, with Al Ahly’s famed red, black and white colors emblazoned on the walls around him.
Mosimane won a record five league titles in seven years with South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, was part of the Bafana Bafana coaching staff at the inaugural FIFA World Cup hosted on the continent and became Al Ahly’s first ever Black coach in 2020. Read more
Rory McIlroy says volunteer stepped on his ball during search (BBC)
Rory McIlroy says his embedded ball at last week’s PGA Tour event was the result of a volunteer stepping on it during a search but not telling him.
The Northern Irishman took a free drop after thinking his ball had embedded in the ground after he hit a shot.
The incident occurred during Saturday’s third round but the volunteer did not let the PGA Tour know until Monday.
“The volunteer said something like ‘I’m so sorry Rory has been dragged into this scenario’,” added McIlroy. Read more
Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield talks ramp up for £200m trilogy fight in Dubai (Metro)
Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield are reportedly in talks over a £200m trilogy fight in Dubai. At 54, Tyson returned to the ring after a 15-year absence in November last year, taking on another boxing great in Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition bout that ended in a draw.
‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ has made little secret of his desire to fight again. Last summer, Holyfield revealed his plans to come out of retirement to fight in charity bouts with talk of a third meeting between the heavyweight legends growing ever since. The Sun now report two are now in discussions over a multi-million pound battle in the Middle East, which has become a major player in the battle to host the biggest fights in combat sport. Read more