Outrage over new viral video of assault on policeman in Lagos (Leadership)
An undated viral video which surfaced on Wednesday involving a motorist and a policeman is currently causing public outrage on the social media after the motorist was seen assaulting the armless policeman over an argument in Lagos.
The policeman had apparently insisted on impounding what looks like a mini-truck. Argument ensued between the policeman and a man holding a bottle at the back of the vehicle, who was trying to force the security man to come down from the truck.
Onlookers were also heard from the backgroud prodding the man with the bottle, who is apparently the owner of the vehicle, to assault the policeman and the latter brazenly did by hitting the policeman with the bottle on the head.
A Twitter user APC Support with the handle @APCNigeria, which posted the video, condemned the assault on the policeman. Read more
6 cultists nabbed during initiation in Lagos (Punch)
Six suspected cultists have been arrested by men of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly conducting initiation rites and attacking one Temidire Ogunbajo at Majidun, in the Ikorodu area of the state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement on Tuesday that policemen attached to the Ikorodu Division and local vigilantes arrested one Fatai Kalejaiye, 25, while initiating one Kolapo Ayeobasan, 20, around 7.30pm on April 19, 2021.
“Fatai, who has confessed to being a member of the Eiye Confraternity, was caught while performing rites of initiation on the second suspect, Kolapo,” the PPRO stated.
Similarly, Adejobi said police operatives attached to the Ipakodo Division in Ikorodu arrested four suspected cultists, Sunday Mesagan, 16; Damilade Matiminu, 24; Oladimeji Orimoloye, 19; and Akinmoye Emmanuel, 24. Read more
Lagos CARES to support 125,058 residents in 2 years – Sanwo-Olu (Independent)
The Lagos State Government on Wednesday unveiled its COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (CARES) targeting to support 125,058 residents in 24 months.
Speaking during the unveiling at Lagos House, Ikeja, Lagos state Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the Lagos CARES initiative was part of the Nigeria CARES (N-CARES) Programme for Results (P4R).
Sanwo-Olu said the N-CARES programme, facilitated by the World Bank was an integral part of the national approach adopted to alleviate the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic and enhance the wellbeing of residents.
He said the Lagos CARES programme to be implemented between 2021 and 2023 would provide economic relief and recovery support to identified vulnerable persons. Read more
Poverty alleviation: Lagos domesticates national human devt progs (Vanguard)
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, inaugurated the state Human Development Core Working Group with the charge to improve the lives of residents and provide excellent opportunities to make life more meaningful in line with the National Human Development Plan.
The group is chaired by the Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, with the mandate to ensure the effective coordination and implementation of Human Capital Development Intervention in the state as defined in the National Human Development Plan.
The Special Adviser, Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs and Investment, Mrs Solape Hammond, will serve as the State Coordinator and Focal Person while the Office of the SDGs and Investment will be the Secretariat of the Core Working Group in the state.
Sanwo-Olu, while inaugurating members of the group, held at Lagos House, Ikeja, maintained that the initiative would improve human capital development and help to engender a society in which residents are productive, gainfully employed, healthy and have access to quality education and good nutrition. Read more
Water scarcity hits OAU, students fetch from stream (Punch)
Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Tuesday, called on the management of the institution to find solutions to the stoppage of water supply to hostels on the campus.
The students claimed that water supply to their various halls of residence was cut off on Friday.
According to them, the development has exposed them to untold hardship and they have resorted to fetching water from a stream near their hostels.
Some of the students were seeing with buckets fetching water from a stream. Read more
9 suspected attackers of ex-CBN Gov Soludo arrested (Nation)
Nine suspected attackers of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, have been arrested in Anambra State.
Governor Willie Obiano announced this at Prof Dora Akunyili Women’s Development Centre in Awka
Soludo, the leading governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), was attacked in Isuofia by some gunmen during a town hall meeting with youths last month.
Three of his police orderlies were killed with others injured but Soludo was shielded off the arena unhurt. Read more
Comedienne, Ada Jesus, Is dead (Leadership)
Popular comedienne, Ada Jesus, has died in an Abuja hospital of complications arising from kidney failure.
She suffered a cardiac arrest on Tuesday night and was rushed to the intensive care unit (ICU) where she was placed under close watch of the doctors.
The 22–year-old reportedly died on Wednesday morning.
This is coming weeks after the comedian was taken to controversial Prophet Chukwuemeka Odumeje to beg for forgiveness and healing. Read more
Kaduna says varsity staffer killed in bandit attack, number of abducted students still unknown (ThisDay)
The Kaduna state government has confirmed the killing of a member of staff of the Greenfield University and the abduction of “a number of students”, when bandits invaded the school on Tuesday night.
The commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Kaduna.
According to him, “the actual number of students kidnapped is still being sought from the institution’s records.”
He gave the name of the deceased staff as Paul Ude Okafor. Read more
OAU student’s suicide not linked to academic failure, says PRO (Nation)
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, has said that the suicide committed recently by a student of the university was not as a result of academic failure.
Olarewaju, who stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday, in Ile-Ife, added that failure in life go beyond academic performance.
NAN reports that Emmanuel Adedeji, a 200-level student of Management and Accounting of the University, committed suicide recently.
Olanrewaju asserted that people failed in different human endeavours, noting that whenever such happened, taking one’s life should not be the next thing.
“So, whether you are wealthy, in the middle or lower class of the society, individuals have different challenges in life,” he said.
The university image-maker admonished people to take things easy, saying that excellence in academic performance does not mean that one would make it in life.
“And failure academically doesn’t mean that things would not go well with such a person in the future. Read more
Lizzo posts unedited nude photo to make statement about beauty standards (PageSix)
If Lizzo’s shining, everybody gonna shine.
The “Juice” hitmaker stripped down on social media Tuesday to make a powerful statement about natural beauty, posing completely nude without any filters or photo editing.
“Welcome to Taurus season,” Lizzo began her caption. “To celebrate I wanna give y’all this unedited selfie. Now normally I would fix my belly and smooth my skin, but baby, I wanted show u how I do it au natural.”
The 32-year-old body-normative advocate has partnered with Dove’s Self-Esteem Project — “which is helping to reverse the negative effects of social media and changing the conversation about beauty standards,” as she explained — to keep the momentum going. Read more
Chad president’s death: Rivals reject Déby’s son inheriting power (BBC)
Opposition politicians in Chad have rejected the army’s appointment of President’s Idriss Déby’s son to take over in the wake of his death.
Déby, 68 – who had been in power for three decades – died after being shot as he battled rebels on the frontline.
The rebels have also objected the move, saying: “Chad is not a monarchy.”
Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, also known as “General Kaka”, was in charge of the presidential guard and is to lead the country for 18 months until elections. Read more
Israeli envoy joins Arab ambassadors in planting tree at UAE Embassy in Washington (JTA)
Israel’s ambassador to Washington joined a number of his Arab counterparts in planting an olive tree at the United Arab Emirates Embassy, spotlighting environmental cooperation as part of the recent normalization of ties between Israel and several Arab countries.
“Warmer relations will help get us to a cooler planet,” said Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, said at Tuesday’s ceremony. “Normalization is already accelerating climate cooperation between the UAE and Israel. ”
Israel’s ambassador, Gilad Erdan, said he had raised regional environmental cooperation with John Kerry, the Biden administration’s climate czar who for decades has also been deeply invested in Israeli-Arab peacemaking. Kerry is a former secretary of state. Read more
When you stop wearing underwear, this is what happens to your body (TheList)
For many, deciding to stop wearing underwear may seem like an odd choice. After all, to some, wearing underwear is as much of a routine as breathing. You put it on under your clothes every day before heading to work, school, or the gym. Maybe you prefer rainbow-colored boy shorts over barely-there bikinis or lace thongs — there are a lot of options out there! But why do we wear underwear at all? “There is no one explanation as to why people wear underwear, but the most common reason is that it’s viewed as a societal norm,” Dr. Elizabeth Eden told Good Housekeeping. So, if we’re wearing underwear because that’s what we’ve been conditioned to do, is it really necessary?
More and more women are choosing to forgo underwear for comfort, health, or appearance — no one likes panty lines or wedgies. And while wearing underwear has its benefits, going commando may actually do some good, but the decision to wear underwear or not ultimately comes down to personal preference, as noted by Shape. Medically speaking, however, your vaginal area is “most happy and healthy when it has a chance to breathe,” Dr. Lisa Masterson of The Doctors fame told PopSugar. But before you shout, “Hallelujah!” and ditch your panties, you may want to know what happens to your body when you stop wearing underwear. Read more
South Korea’s Moon urges Biden to engage directly with North Korea (CNA)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged Joe Biden to open up talks with North Korea on its nuclear weapons and build on the ground-breaking talks his predecessor Donald Trump held with Pyongyang.
In an interview with the New York Times published Wednesday, Moon suggested the US president needed to engage directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and not consign denuclearisation talks to lower-level officials haggling over preliminary details.
Moon told the newspaper he favoured “top-down diplomacy.
“The most important starting point for both governments is to have the will for dialogue and to sit down face to face at an early date,” Moon told the Times. Read more
Indonesian submarine goes missing north of Bali (BBC)
An Indonesian navy submarine has gone missing with 53 people on board, military officials say.
The submarine was conducting a drill north of the island of Bali on Wednesday, but it failed to report back and contact was lost.
Indonesia’s military chief said warships had been dispatched to find the KRI Nanggala-402 vessel.
Officials have called on Australia and Singapore to help in the search. The countries have not publicly commented. Read more
Climate change: EU to cut CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 (BBC)
The EU has adopted ambitious new targets to curb climate change, with a pledge to make them legally binding.
Under a new law agreed between member states and the EU Parliament, the bloc will cut carbon emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels.
The EU parliament had pushed for a higher target of a 60% reduction.
“Our political commitment to becoming the first climate neutral continent by 2050 is now also a legal one,” said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. Read more
Virus surge may delay Olympics fan decision till June (Guardian)
Tokyo Olympics organisers said Wednesday they may put off an announcement on how many fans can attend the Games until May or June, as surging coronavirus infections play havoc with preparations.
Athletes are also likely to face daily virus testing, rather than once every four days as originally planned.
Organisers have already barred overseas fans from the pandemic-delayed Games and were expected to announce an upper limit on domestic spectators sometime in April.
But Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said they are now only likely to “decide a direction” this month, and the decision could come as late as June — possibly just a month before the Games open on July 23. Read more
Brazil face Germany in Olympics football group stage (Punch)
Reigning champions Brazil were on Wednesday drawn with 2016 runners-up Germany, the Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia in the Tokyo Olympics men’s football group stages.
Hosts Japan, who have never won a medal in the men’s event, will play France, South Africa and Mexico in Group A.
Group C includes Egypt, Spain, Argentina and Australia while Group B has South Korea, New Zealand, Romania and Honduras.
The tournament starts on July 22, a day before the opening ceremony of the Games that were postponed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more
Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, ends 18-year Nike partnership (RT)
The widow of Kobe Bryant, Vanessa, has ended the late basketball legend’s 18-year relationship with sports apparel giant Nike, telling fans that she will “continue to fight” for fans to be able to wear his hugely popular shoes.
Their partnership began in 2003 when the LA Lakers star, then the NBA’s hottest property, left Adidas.
Releasing 11 signature basketball sneakers with Nike, he reportedly signed a five-year contract extension with the company when retiring in 2016, which continued to run following his death in a fatal helicopter crash alongside daughter Gianna at the beginning of 2020.
Following the tragedy, resellers jacked up the price of the footwear and Nike also produced re-releases. Read more
LeBron James can’t believe Raiders tweet after Derek Chauvin verdict (NYPost)
LeBron James, like many pro athletes, was in disbelief over a tweet shared by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday — after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd.
LeBron James, sports figures react to Derek Chauvin guilty verdict
As the sports world reacted to the verdict, the Raiders did so by sharing an image that read, “I CAN BREATHE,” with the date of the trial verdict underneath.
Last May, Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, told officers “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times while Chauvin knelt on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell said during the trial.
James — who previously reacted to the verdict by tweeting, “ACCOUNTABILITY” — had this to say about the Raiders’ controversial tweet:
“This is real???? Nah man this ain’t it at all. The F^%K!!!!” Read more
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic in war of words over grand slam ‘obsession’ (NYPost)
Novak Djokovic has rejected Rafael Nadal’s claim he is “obsessed” by the grand slam race, saying he is simply motivated to reach his potential.
Nadal said in a recent interview with Metro UK the world No. 1 is “more focused” about chasing major titles than anyone else on tour, but maintained he didn’t mean it “in a negative way.”
“He’s more focused on just these things and it means a lot to him, all of this stuff,” Nadal said. “He’s always saying and talking about these records and well done for him … but it’s not my approach to my tennis career.
“I have a healthy ambition. Of course, I am ambitious, if not I would never be in the position I am today but I have probably a different kind of ambition than him, for example.
“I just keep going, keep doing what I’m doing and just try to put myself in a position to keep enjoying the tour and, of course, try to achieve as much as possible.”
Djokovic has made no secret of his desire to win the most grand slam singles titles of any male player in tennis history. Read more
NBA ace says cops see ‘black people as a threat’, hails Chauvin guilty verdict in George Floyd trial (RT)
NBA star Draymond Green has said it was “really great” to see killer cop Derek Chauvin tried for the killing of George Floyd but warned that he sees a long road ahead before widespread social justice is achieved in the US.
Found guilty on all three charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the case, Chauvin is facing up to 75 years behind bars when he is sentenced in two months.
Despite justice seemingly being served at the conclusion of the high-profile case, three-time NBA champion Green has warned that there is still plenty of work to be done to see African-Americans treated fairly in society.”I think it’s great that we finally saw a cop get tried,” Green told TMZ when he was asked if Chauvin’s conviction was positive news for the US. Read more