PDP laments NURTW’s activities in Lagos (ThisDay)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lagos State, yesterday expressed concerns at the activities of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in different parts of the state.
The party, also, vowed to reclaim five million non-participatory eligible voters in the state, noting that such inactive citizens lost confidence in government since their plight was aggravated.
The Chairman of Lagos PDP, Mr. Adedeji Doherty made this remark at a virtual town meeting yesterday to enlighten the youths on the need to participate in the electoral process.
Specifically at the meeting, the party chief decried the activities of NURTW in the state, describing their activities as frustrating and debilitating to road users in some parts of the state. Read more
UNILAG set for non-physical post-UTME test, collapses 2020/21 session with 2021/22 (Nation)
The Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has appealed to public-spirited Nigerians to assist indigent candidates to get tablets, as the university gets set for the non-physical post-UTME test.
Ogundipe made the appeal during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
According to him, in the face of the resurgence of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, all academic activities of the institution, including examinations, will be online.
”We are to conduct our post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME) test on Feb. 15 to Feb. 23; that is, it will run for about nine days. Read more
ABU suspends monday’s resumption, awaits directives from Kaduna gov’t (DailyTrust)
The Management of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) has suspended its planned resumption of academic activities earlier scheduled for Monday, 25th January 2021.
It said that it was still awaiting directives from the Kaduna State Government before the resumption academic activities.
A statement issued by the school’s Director, Public Affairs Directorate, Auwalu Umar, stated that the state government had sent a verification team to the institution on January 20th, 2021 to assess ABU’s compliance with the COVID-19 preventive protocols.
The statement assured all students, parents and other stakeholders that whatever decision communicated to the institution by the state government will be immediately conveyed.
However, Daily Trust reports that the Kaduna State Ministry of Health in a memo to the state Commissioner for Education has recommended the suspension of resumption of schools across the state until readiness assessment for COVID-19 are conducted. Read more
Pirates kill sailor, kidnap 15 off Nigeria (Guardian)
Armed men killed one sailor and abducted 15 from a Turkish cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported Sunday.
That left three crew members to sail the Liberian-flagged Mozart owned by a Turkish company, the state agency said. The dead man was Azerbaijani.
Turkish news channel NTV spoke to a sailor still on board who said several crew members were wounded.
The Mozart had been en route from the Nigerian economic capital Lagos to Cape Town in South Africa when it was boarded on Saturday. It was now on course for nearby Gabon. Read more
Gunmen kidnap 8 orphans, 3 others in Abuja orphanage invasion (DailyTrust)
Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have invaded Rachael’s Orphanage Home opposite UBE Junior Secondary School in Naharati, Abaji Area Council, Abuja, and abducted seven orphans, including a security guard of the home in the area.
Daily Trust learnt that three persons, which comprised of two house wives, Rukaiyyat Salihu, Suwaiba Momoh and Momoh Jomih, who reside behind the orphanage home were also abducted by the Kidnappers.
Bandits kill 6, injure 8 in Kaduna
Anambra police arrest 3 armed robbery suspects
The names of the kidnapped orphans were Elizabeth Andrew, Dayo Udeh, Jacob Ukpas, Melody Ijeh, Benard Itim, Issac Mathew and Laruba Emmanuel as well as the security guard of the home, Joseph Matthew.
A resident of the area who preferred anonymity, said the incident happened on Saturday around 1:am when the gunmen in their large numbers with sophisticated weapons invaded the orphanage home.
He said the gunmen gained entrance through the main gate. Read more
NURTW crisis: Police arrest Umahi’s aides, LG boss, lawmaker, others (Punch)
The Ebonyi State Police Command has arrested the Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Clement Odah, and the member representing Ohaukwu North State Constituency, Mr Chinedu Awo.
PUNCH Metro reports that their arrest may not be unconnected to the recent killings and destruction of property in Effium and Ezza Effium communities, in the Ohaukwu Council area of the state.
The new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Aliyu Garba, effected their arrest on Sunday.
Also arrested were some 30 other major stakeholders from the communities, including Coordinators of Effium and Effium South Development Centres, Mr Sunday Agbo, and Mrs Eucharia Ogwale, respectively. Read more
Police confirm abduction, killing of Taraba LG boss, nephew (Guardian)
The Police Command in Taraba on Sunday confirmed the kidnapping and killing of the Chairman of Ardo Kola Local Government Area of the state, Mr Salihu Dovo, and his Nephew.
DSP David Misal, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Jalingo.
“It’s true, the chairman was abducted by gunmen at his residence in the early hours of Sunday in Jalingo and later killed him in the bush with his brother’s son whose name we are yet to get.
“We have so far arrested one person in connection with the incident and we are hoping that he will give us leading information to enable us to arrest the rest of the killers.
“We are doing serious investigations and we shall communicate to you as soon as we unravel all the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he said. Read more
Kidnapped Taraba LG boss found dead (Punch)
The Chairman of Ardo-Kola Local Government Council in Taraba State, Hon. Salihu Dovo, has been killed by his abductors.
Dovo was kidnapped by gunmen at his Jalingo residence in the early hours of Sunday.
Barely six hours after his abduction, the kidnappers called an official of the Local Government to announce the killing of the Local Government Council Chairman, according to a family source.
“They called an official of the council to go and search for the Chairman’s corpse in the bush.
“Immediately, members of the community went into the bush and started looking for his body which was found close to the river,” the source said. Read more
PDP endorses Delta government’s decision to legislate on gas plant location (Guardian)
The PDP on Sunday described Delta government’s decision to legislate on location of gas plants in the state as a step in the right direction.
Commiserating with families of last Friday’s gas explosion at Agbor, PDP’s South-South National Vice-Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, said such legislation would enable the state government to mete stiff penalties on illegal gas plant operators.
He described the gas explosion which led to loss of lives and destruction of property as unfortunate and said that measures should be taken to regulate the location of gas plants.
“We believe that such step will also tackle the issue of negligence on the part of gas plant operators. We must take steps to protect the people,’’ he said. Read more
Man has world’s first double arm and shoulder transplant decades after accident (Metro)
An Icelandic man has received the world’s first double arm and shoulder transplant more than 20 years after a devastating accident that forced doctors to amputate. Felix Gretarsson, 48, is said to be recovering well after going under the knife for the pioneering 14-hour surgery nine days ago in Lyon, France. The operation has been hailed as a success although doctors are waiting to see how the dad-of-two responds. But it will be a ‘life-changer’ if he can ‘recover the possibility to actively bend his elbow’, lead surgeon Aram Gazarian told a news conference yesterday. Read more
Cyclone Eloise brings floods to Mozambique’s second city Beira (BBC)
Parts of central Mozambique have been flooded after Cyclone Eloise struck near the port city of Beira with wind speeds of up to 160km/h (100mph).
Beira received 250mm (10 inches) of rain in 24 hours, according to Mozambique’s National Institute of Meteorology (INAM).
Local officials and aid agencies are assessing the scale of the damage so they can help those affected, and trying to restore power and communications, which were cut off in some areas.
Several people are reported to have been killed. Read more
WHO warns of diseases spreading in Tigray because of conflict (VOA)
The World Health Organisation is warning that conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray province and the consequent disruption of health services could lead to the spread of deadly diseases there.
Ethiopia’s November military assault on Tigray has caused a major break in the humanitarian pipeline there. The United Nations estimates that over 4.5 million people, about half of them children, need assistance.
The WHO and other agencies have been granted only limited access to the region. WHO officials who recently visited the area say many hospitals and clinics are only partially functioning, health care workers have been displaced and essential services have been disrupted.
WHO health emergency officer Teresa Zakaria warns the disruption of essential health services has severe consequences for the population, particularly children. Read more
China mine rescue: 11 miners brought to surface alive (BBC)
Rescuers in China have freed 11 gold miners who were trapped hundreds of metres underground for two weeks.
TV footage showed the first miner, who was blindfolded to protect his eyes from the light, being lifted out as emergency workers cheered.
Rescue efforts are continuing to locate another 10 workers still missing inside the mine.
The entrance tunnel to the Hushan gold mine in Shandong province collapsed after an explosion on 10 January. Read more
South African jazz ‘giant’ Jonas Gwangwa dies aged 83 (VOA)
South Africa jazz trombonist and composer Jonas Gwangwa, whose music powered the anti-apartheid struggle, died Saturday aged 83, the presidency said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa led the tributes to the legendary musician who was nominated for an Oscar for the theme song of the 1987 film “Cry Freedom.”
“A giant of our revolutionary cultural movement and our democratic creative industries has been called to rest,” Ramaphosa said.
“The trombone that boomed with boldness and bravery, and equally warmed our hearts with mellow melody has lost its life force” the president added. Read more
Jennifer Lopez recreates “Love Don’t Cost A Thing” video and she hasn’t aged at all (Metro)
Cast your minds back to 2001 and Jennifer Lopez was topping the charts with Love Don’t Cost A Thing – the lead single from her second album J Lo that soared to number one in the US album charts. That was 20 years ago and to celebrate just how far she’s come since then – grossing $3.1billion (£2.2billion) in the film industry and racking up 70million record sales – Jennifer decided to give her fans a little (ok, huge) treat. Taking to Instagram, Jennifer – who was recently seen performing at President Joe Biden’s inauguration – shared a video of her recreating her iconic music video to Love Don’t Cost A Thing and it is everything. Y’know the one, where she sassily struts down to the beach just casually taking off her expensive clothes and throwing away her jewellery just to prove a point that she can’t be bought. How could we forget. Read more
New Zealand reports first COVID-19 case in the community in months (BBC)
New Zealand has reported its first case of Covid-19 outside of a quarantine facility in more than two months.
Health officials said a 56-year-old woman who had recently returned from Europe tested positive 10 days after completing a compulsory two-week period of managed isolation.
Contact tracing efforts are under way, and authorities have published a list of locations the woman visited.
New Zealand has been widely praised for its response to the pandemic. Read more
Mesut Ozil completes Fenerbahce move (Nation)
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has joined Turkish side Fenerbahce on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
The 32-year-old former Germany international joined the Gunners from Real Madrid for £42.4m in 2013.
He won three FA Cups with Arsenal and scored 44 goals in 254 appearances in all competitions for them, but has not played for the first team since March.
“It is difficult for me to put into words the love I feel for the club and the fans,” Ozil said in an open letter.
“How could I possibly describe eight years of gratitude in a single letter? Read more
FA Cup: Abraham’s hat-trick eases pressure on Lampard, Chelsea advance (Punch)
Tammy Abraham eased the pressure on under-fire Frank Lampard as the Chelsea striker’s hat-trick sealed a 3-1 win against Luton in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
In just his second season in charge at Chelsea, Lampard is fighting to avoid the sack after a wretched run in the Premier League.
An embarrassing FA Cup exit against Championship opposition would have pushed Lampard closer to the axe, but Abraham’s clinical display gave his manager some much-needed breathing space.
Abraham scored twice in the first half before Jordan Clark got one back for Luton after yet another blunder from Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Read more
NBA: Steph Curry moves to second on all-time three-pointers list (BBC)
Steph Curry has scored 67 three-pointers this season in total
Steph Curry moved up to second on the NBA’s all-time three-pointers list in the Golden State Warriors’ 127-108 defeat by the Utah Jazz.
Curry scored five three-pointers, with his fourth moving him ahead of Reggie Miller in the NBA’s record books.
In total, the 32-year-old has made 2,562 three-pointers, now trailing only Hall of Famer Ray Allen who hit 2,973.
Donovan Mitchell top-scored for the Jazz with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists in just 27 minutes.
The Los Angeles Lakers continued their unbeaten run on the road this season with a 101-90 win over the Chicago Bulls. Read more
Women referees make African football history at CHAN (VOA)
Three women referees created history Saturday at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) quarterfinals.
Ethiopian referee Lidya Tafesse and her assistants, Malawian Bernadettar Kwimbira and Nigerian Mimisen Iyorhe, became the first women to control a match at a senior CAF male tournament.
The breakthrough came two years after women referees handled matches at the African under-23 and under-17 Cup of Nations tournaments.
Tafesse, a former professional basketball player, tolerated no foul play as she yellow-carded three Tanzanians within 10 minutes during the second half. Read more
Australian Open: WTA creates new tournament exclusively for players in hard quarantine (BBC)
The WTA has created a tournament exclusively for the players unable to leave their rooms during quarantine for the Australian Open.
The 28-player draw will start on 3 February, allowing players four days of practice before the main tournament.
Victoria Azarenka, Bianca Andreescu, Angelique Kerber and Britain’s Heather Watson are among those eligible.
The ATP events scheduled for the week before the Australian Open will be pushed back 24 hours.
Seventy-two players are currently confined to their rooms after positive cases on the chartered planes that brought them to Australia. Read more
Dana White questions Conor McGregor’s ‘hunger’ after defeat to Dustin Poirier (Metro)
Dana White has questioned Conor McGregor’s appetite after the Irishman suffered the first knockout defeat of his career to Dustin Poirier. The Dubliner was stopped in the second round after a flurry of punches from Poirier left McGregor on the canvass to earn the American a shot at the lightweight title. McGregor has retired three times and his return against Poirier was his first time back in the octagon in over a year since beating Donald Cerrone. The Irishman’s defeat raises question marks over his future in the sport as hope of a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov ended with defeat in Abu Dhabi. Read more
