Pastor nabbed over alleged killing of church member in Oyo (Leadership)
An Ibadan, Oyo State-based pastor, Peter Oluwalolese, has been apprehended by the police operatives for allegedly killing a member of his church for crowd-pulling ritual.
Oluwalolese, who pastors a church, ‘God Has Done It’ was been arrested in Ibadan for allegedly murdering a female church member, identified simply as Adijat.
According to a viral video, the pastor said the ritual was intended to enhance church membership. Read more
Lagos: Many injured in multiple auto crash (DailyTrust)
Passengers onboard two commercial buses sustained injuries in an accident that occurred at Ijora area of Lagos on Saturday morning.
The accident involved an unregistered articulated truck, and other vehicles, including a white FORD bus, registration number FKJ-476YG, a fully loaded 18 seater NISSAN commercial transit bus, registration number FST-805YH, a gold Toyota COROLLA saloon car, registration number RBC-702BQ, a grey seven seater Grand Caravan space bus, registration number LSD-954CY and a fully loaded 14 seater Volkswagen transporter commercial bus, registration number EPE-381YBD. Read more
Town planners hail Tinubu over Dangiwa’s appointment as minister (Nation)
The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has commended President Bola Tinubu for creating two ministries for the building environment and appointing a professional to manage one of them.
Tinubu’s appointment of Architect Ahmed Dangiwa as pioneer minister of Housing and Urban Development is a smart move, NITP President, Dr. Ogbonna Chime, said at the weekend.
“Appropriate appointments produce appropriate results,” he noted, underscoring the potential for impactful governance under Dangiwa’s new ministry. Read more
Court stops further demolition of Owerri Central market (Vanguard)
An Industrial Court sitting in Owerri has restrained the Imo Government from further demolition of the Owerri Central Market complex, Owerri.
The presiding judge, Hon. Justice I.C. Ibeawuchi who gave the order on Friday, restrained the state government, either through their agents, or any other person acting on their behalf from taking any further steps in the demolition of the market in whole or in part.
Ibeawuchi also restricted the state government from ejection of the occupants of the properties with Form 48 (Order IX, Rule 13), Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Order of Court as applied by the Plaintiffs. Read more
Newly detected XEC COVID-19 variant not in Nigeria, FG clarifies (Channels)
The Federal Government has clarified that the newly detected XEC COVID-19 variant, identified in Australia and some other countries in Europe, is not in Nigeria.
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Kachollum Daju confirmed that a recently leaked letter addressed to the Committee of Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors was precautionary and not intended to cause panic.
Speaking further, Daju noted that the XEC COVID-19 variant has been detected in 29 countries, and due to the festive season, when travellers arrive from various parts of the world, it is crucial for hospitals to implement measures to ensure the country is not caught off guard. Read more
Gunmen kill pastor, woman in Taraba (DailyTrust)
The Taraba State Police Command has confirmed the killing of a pastor and woman by some gunmen in Jalingo, the Taraba state capital.
The spokesperson of the command, SP Usman Abdullahi, said the pastor and the woman were killed on Friday night.
He said the woman was shot in the stomach while studying for examination in her room while the pastor was also shot by the gunmen. Read more
Police arrest 2 over alleged vandalism, theft in Bauchi (Leadership)
Operatives of the Bauchi State Police Command have apprehended two suspects for their alleged links to the vandalism and theft of state government assets worth millions of Naira at ongoing project sites.
The arrested suspects include a 26-year-old truck driver, Ibrahim Mohammed Inuwa and a 17-year-old resident of Karofin Madak, Ukasha Abdulmalik.
The two were caught red-handed on December 5, 2024 while loading a stolen concrete kerbs belonging to Bauchi State Government into a truck. Read more
Edo gov appoints new revenue board members (Punch)
The Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpehbolo, has approved the appointment of Oladele Bankole-Balogun as the Executive Chairman of Edo State Board of Internal Revenue.
According to a statement on Saturday by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Ikhilor, other executive directors of the board are Deacon Idiake Patrick Akhimien (representing Edo Central), Hon. Mike Ohio Ezomo (representing Edo North) and Hon. Engr. Jackson Eribo (representing Edo South).
The statement reads, “It is hereby announced for the information of the general public, Senator Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State, has approved the nomination of Oladele Bankole-Balogun for appointment as Executive Chairman, Edo State Board of Internal Revenue. Read more
Ariana Grande reacts to viral ‘‘holding space’’ Wicked interview meme (People)
Ariana Grande is addressing that “popular” Wicked meme!
The singer and actress, 31, admitted in a new interview that she “didn’t know” the meaning behind the “holding space” comment made in the now-viral interview she took part in with Cynthia Erivo during their Wicked press tour.
“So I had no idea what any part of it meant,” Grande told Variety, referring to the interview with Out.com that created social media buzz after being posted on the outlet’s Instagram on Nov. 19. Read more
Kenya denies police resignation claims in Haiti (AfricaNews)
Kenya’s top police official has denied reports that officers serving in the United Nations-backed multinational peacekeeping mission in Haiti have gone unpaid for three months.
The police inspector general, Douglas Kanja, on Thursday said officers in Haiti had been paid “up to the end of October.” He was reacting to Kenyan media reports citing deployed officers who complained that their salaries had not been paid for three months.
Kenya is leading a contingent of foreign police in the troubled Caribbean country to help quell gang violence. The Kenyan officers deployed in June marked the fourth major foreign military or police intervention in Haiti. Read more
Jamie Foxx reveals he was in a coma during health scare on new Netflix special (DailyMail)
Jamie Foxx reveals that he was in a coma during his health scare according to an audience member who was in attendance live for the filming of his new Netflix special.
The 56-year-old Oscar winner filmed his upcoming special – titled Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was… – in Atlanta, Georgia back in October.
An attendee named Demecos Chambers told People magazine on Friday that Jamie told the audience he was ‘literally seconds and moments away from death’ when he collapsed in April 2023. Read more
Inmate ‘handed curtain instead of £900 in property after his release’ (Metro)
A prison allegedly failed to return almost £900 of clothes and property to an inmate after his release, handing him back a curtain, a drawer, and a cell telephone instead.
Former magistrate Georgia Swift said when she and her partner went to collect his things from HMP Winchester, they were given a bag with his name on but nothing inside which actually belonged to him.
Ms Swift has been campaigning for better conditions at the jail in Hampshire, saying it is chaotic, unsafe, and rife with drugs. Read more
South Korea’s ruling party lawmakers boycott vote to impeach president (ABC)
As lawmakers debated a motion to impeach South Korea’s embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol over his declaration of martial law on Tuesday, all but two members of Yoon’s own People Power Party walked out of the National Assembly session even before voting began Saturday evening.
This means the motion, jointly proposed by the opposition parties that control 192 of the South Korean legislature’s 300 seats, will likely not reach the required 200 votes — including at least eight votes from the ruling party — to pass, as the numbers don’t seem to be there for the motion to pass.
Opposition leaders have said that if the bill fails, they plan to revisit it again on Wednesday. Read more
Enormous rally calls for Yoon’s ouster ahead of South Korean impeachment vote (UPI)
A massive rally of protesters assembled near the National Assembly building in Seoul on a bitterly cold Saturday to call for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s removal from office ahead of an impeachment vote over his short-lived martial law declaration.
A crowd that appeared to be in the hundreds of thousands filled the main boulevard leading up to the National Assembly, snaked up and down side streets and spilled into a park over half a mile away. As the 5 p.m. opening of the parliament’s plenary session neared, throngs of people continued to emerge from subways and public transportation hubs, bundled up and carrying signs calling for Yoon’s arrest and impeachment.
“We are here to protect our civil rights and have our voices heard,” 27-year-old J.R. Kim said. “It was important to come here today.” Read more
Bride regrets choosing friend of over 10 years to be her bridesmaid, wants her to ‘step down’ (People)
A regretful bride is asking Reddit users: “Should I ask a bridesmaid to step down?”
The bride getting married in August 2025 explained in a post on the platform’s “Wedding” forum that in order to have the same number of bridesmaids and groomsmen, she ended up inviting a person she’s been friends with for over 10 years to join her bridal party — but it turned out to be a decision she soon regretted.
“I was wary about choosing this particular friend because we sometimes have disagreements and she is extremely anxious, therefore if I do anything she doesn’t like it’s a massive, massive deal,” the bride wrote. “She asks me to be more open and honest with her but I can’t because she tells her partner everything (which is totally fine), but then he goes and gossips and spreads rumors about my partner and I.” Read more
Aina wins Nottingham Forest’s November POTM (CompleteSports)
Nigeria defender Ola Aina has been voted Nottingham Forest Player of the Month for November.
Aina enjoyed an impressive November – a month which saw him score his first Forest goal in some style against West Ham United.
The 28-year-old also helped Forest keep two clean sheets during the month, with his electric displays on either flank. Read more
Siasia opposes foreign manager for Super Eagles (Channels)
Former Super Eagles head coach, Samson Siasia has revealed that the country’s senior men’s national team can do without a foreign manager.
This is coming as the Nigeria Football Federation is mulling the appointment of a foreigner to tinker the three-time African champions for the remaining 2926 FIFA World Cup qualification next year.
The Super Eagles are currently fifth behind Rwanda, South Africa, Benin Republic and Lesotho in the 6-team group with three points from four games having drawn three and lost one. Read more
‘I’m just a kid’ – 16-year-old breaks 200m record in 20.04secs (BBC)
Australian teenage sensation Gout Gout has entered the record books by becoming the fastest 16-year-old in history over 200m.
He ran the distance in 20.04 seconds during the Australian schools championships in Brisbane on Saturday, breaking the national record set by Peter Norman when he won silver at the 1968 Olympics.
Gout’s time is the fastest ever by a 16-year-old and the second fastest by an athlete under the age of 18 – behind Erriyon Knighton’s 19.84 as a 17-year-old in 2021. Read more
Man Utd boss claims his side must ‘run like mad dogs’ if they want to win the Premier League (SkySports)
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has claimed his side are a “massive club but not a massive team” and has highlighted their work-rate off the ball as an area that needs improvement.
United secured two wins across Amorim’s opening three games in charge of the club – against Bodo/Glimt and Everton – but suffered their first defeat under the new boss against Arsenal in midweek.
Goals from Jurrien Timber and William Saliba handed Mikel Arteta’s side a 2-0 victory, with United now slipping into the bottom half of the Premier League table ahead of their upcoming match against Nottingham Forest, live on Sky Sports, on Saturday (5.30pm kick-off). Read more
Didier Drogba claims to have answer to stop Arsenal scoring from set-pieces (Independent)
Chelsea legend Didier Drogba claims he has the answer on how to stop Arsenal scoring from set-pieces – and it’s remarkably simple.
The Gunners have become set-piece specialists over the past couple of years with no team in Europe having scored more than their 22 goals from corners since the start of last season.
Their 2-0 midweek victory over Manchester United that kept them right in the thick of the Premier League title race saw Jurrien Timber and William Saliba both score from corners. That led Arsenal fans to sing “set-piece again, ole, ole, ole.” Read more
Lewis Hamilton suffers nightmare last Mercedes F1 qualifying session at Abu Dhabi GP (Mirror)
Lewis Hamilton hoped to end his Mercedes career with a better qualifying result than has been the case, but instead hit a bollard and had to settle for 18th on the grid
Lewis Hamilton suffered a Q1 exit in his final ever qualifying session for Mercedes.Hamilton went into qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix hoping to set up a fairytale ending to his Silver Arrows career. Instead, it looks set to be another underwhelming weekend after he qualified just 18th at Yas Marina. Read more
