Police arraign man for N7m fraud (Punch)
A 44-year-old man, Tasiu Isah, has been arraigned before Chief Magistrate O.I. Raji of the Ogba Magistrates’ Court, Lagos State, for allegedly defrauding one Nuhu Nasiru of the sum of N7m.
The defendant, who allegedly conspired with others at large to commit the offence on August 26, 2022, was arraigned on three counts of obtaining money under false pretences and breach of peace.
The charges read in part, “That you, Tasiu Isah, and others at large, on August 26, 2022, around 2.30pm at Obi Village, Muritala International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony, to wit: obtaining money under pretences.
“That you, Tasiu Isah, and others at large, on the same date, time and place, in the aforesaid magisterial district, did fraudulently trick and obtain the sum of N7m from one Alhaji Nuhu Gozawa Nasiru under the pretext of purchasing goods for him.” Read more
Peter Obi challenges other candidates on educational records, health status (Vanguard)
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi, has enjoined Nigerians to vote for competent persons, who are mentally and physically prepared for the task of providing leadership for a sick nation such as ours.
Obi, made the appeal in an interactive session with students of the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, UNEC, Business School, in Enugu, yesterday. The interactive session was entitled: ‘State of the Nigerian Economy: The Way Forward.”
He also spoke at a rally in Enugu, where he said the LP Obi-Datti ticket was the best equipped and prepared to move the country forward.
In a veiled reference to the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, he said: “In the United States during the election, they go for debates, somebody once asked Barack Obama questions that were personal and he answered. Read more
INEC extends PVC collection deadline by 1 week (DailyTrust)
Ahead of this year’s general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline of the timeframe for collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) nationwide by one week.
Daily Trust reports that INEC had fixed January 22 as the deadline for the PVC collections after it was devolved to the wards and registration areas to ease collection by registrants.
But on Thursday night, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Festus Okoye, said at the end of the commission’s regular meeting, where the ongoing collection of the PVCs and other issues, were deliberated upon, a decision was taken to extend the exercise.
According to him, the commission was encouraged by the turnout of registered voters and the surge in the number of collected PVCs across the country. Read more
No timeline to remove Okupe from watchlist – EFCC (Punch)
The Department of State Services, on Thursday, arrested the former Director-General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Doyin Okupe.
Also, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has said it will expunge Okupe’s name from its watch list following his arrest by the DSS at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The DSS spokesperson, Dr Peter Afunanya, confirmed Okupe’s arrest to our correspondent on Thursday.
Afunanya said, “Okupe was intercepted by the DSS at Terminal 1 of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos this morning at the instance of the EFCC. He has long been handed over to the commisson which requested the action. Okupe was billed to fly to London via Virgin Atlantic.” Read more
Family of deceased lawyer, Abdul Gaya cries for justice (Guardian)
The family of Senator Kabiru Gaya has appealed to the Nigeria Police and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to speedily investigate the murder of their son, Abdul Gaya and bring the perpetrators of the act to justice.
The family, in a petition signed by its lawyer, Hebo-Albert Ekito Afred, of the Chambers of Halima I. Alfa and Associates, asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba Usman to re-arrest those earlier fingered in connection to the alleged murder of their son.
The lawyer alleged that some of the suspects were arraigned before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory but on different charges from the offence of culpable homicide and were granted bail.
The petitioner, on behalf of the deceased’s family and friends called on the Police authority to re-arrest those arrested earlier and “wrongly released” to avert repeat of the offence and for the sake of justice. Read more
Insecurity: How secret Boko Haram victims’ camps operated for 9 years in Nasarawa (Vanguard)
The prevailing insurgency in the North has led to the emergence of displaced persons in many of the states across the region.
Some of those displaced by terrorism have not been able to return to their ancestral homes and have taken up temporary residences in available spaces in Nasarawa State.
Driven away on account of repeated attacks by Boko Haram terrorists and deprived of any means of livelihood, the stranded natives have now pitched their tents in no fewer than ten makeshift camps in Karu, a border town of Nasarawa State with the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. Of course, they have no desire to return to their ancestral homes given what they passed through before ending up in their new abode.
Although they live in squalor in the Internally Displaced Person Camps without basic amenities like water, electricity, hospitals, or schools, the stranded persons still find it more convenient and befitting to dwell in these temporary homes rather than go back to where they could be killed or recruited to fight for the terrorists. They have been living in this horrible state for more than nine years in Karu without the knowledge of local, state and federal governments. Read more
How Atiku oversaw $30m sale of $1.5b Delta Steel – Omo-Agege (Guardian)
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege greets the crowd during one of his ward-to-ward campaigns. Photo: Facebook/Ovie Omo-Agege.
Deputy Senate President and Delta All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has raised questions over the sale of the Delta Steel Complex, set up with the sum of $1.5 billion but sold off for $30m under the supervision of the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, back when he was vice president of Nigeria.
It will be recalled that the steel complex, commissioned by President Shehu Shagari in 1980, was one of the largest steel plants in Africa, and a legacy project of the Shagari administration.
Omo-Agege, on Thursday at Orhuwhorun, Enerhen, and Ugboroke, during the ongoing ward-to-ward campaigns, fumed at the sale of DSC, especially at the successor company, which he said doesn’t seem ready for business.
He described the situation at DSC as unacceptable, because it has destroyed the economic livelihood of the area, and rendered the people even poorer. He promised to revisit the issue when he becomes governor. Read more
Don’t interfere with our elections, Buhari warns foreign governments (Tribune)
With just few weeks to the commencement of the general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday reiterated his warning to foreign governments’ representatives not to meddle in the exercise.
He gave the admonition while receiving letters of credence from Ambassadors of Switzerland, Sweden, Republic of Ireland, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of South Sudan, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said: ‘‘I urge you to be guided by diplomatic practice to ensure that your activities remain within the limits of your profession as you monitor the build-up to the elections and the conduct of thegeneralelectionsitself.
‘‘I wish you all success in your respective tours of duty and at the same time encourage you to take time to enjoy the unique nature and culture at your disposal as you travel across our country.” Read more
Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis, dead at 54 (HuffPost)
Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, has died, her family said. She was 54.
The singer-songwriter, who was the couple’s only child together, was hospitalized Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest in her home.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla Presley said in a statement to The Associated Press. “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.”
She asked for privacy as the family dealt with “this profound loss.”
The news came just two days after Presley attended the Golden Globe Awards, where she watched actor Austin Butler accept the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture for his portrayal of her father. Read more
The Batman 2 details teased by director Matt Reeves (Shortlist)
The future of the DCU may still be a little hazy right now but one superhero franchise which is racing ahead during all of this uncertainty is Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
Before James Gunn was announced as co-CEO of DC Studios, Warner Bros had signed a first-look deal with Reeves, which pretty much guaranteed that his vision of the Batman story would continue on.
So far this has meant a Penguin TV show in the works, with an unrecognisable, and newly Golden Globe winning, Colin Farrell back as the titular character.
It also means a sequel to the incredibly successful The Batman (it hit $770 million at the box office). While we wait to see if there are other Batmen going to crop up in the new DCU, Reeves is busy writing the new film and is more than happy to be working with Robert Pattinson once more.
In an exclusive interview with Collider he notes (while not name-checking The Batman specifically but offering up a pretty big hint): “We are working on a movie. I’ll put it to you that way. Read more
Royals ‘don’t want Harry at coronation in case everything they say is printed’ (Metro)
Prince Harry will not be welcome at the King’s coronation following the release of his bombshell memoir Spare, a source has claimed.
Senior royals are said to be worried their conversations will end up in paperback, The Sun reports.
It is still not clear whether Charles will formally invite his son or whether Harry will actually accept.
In an interview with Tom Bradby on ITV, Harry said ‘a lot can happen between now and then’. Read more
Man who found £6m inside storage unit ended up having to give it back (LadBible)
A man who found more than £6 million in a storage unit he bought for £400 thought all his dreams had come true – until lawyers came asking for the money back.
Any fan of Storage Wars will know that it’s luck of the draw when it comes to exploring the storage units, with some containing a multitude of hidden treasures while others are packed to the brim with rotting furniture and useless papers.
The host of the US TV show, Dan Dotson, knows this all too well, but he had no idea he’d sold one of his most valuable lockers ever until he was approached by a stranger some time later. Hear his encounter below:
Dotson was at a Cars, Stars and Rock N’ Roll charity auction event in Indio, California in 2018 when he heard the news, and later recorded a video of himself explaining the situation.
In the clip, he said: “This lady comes up to me and she says, ‘I want to tell you this story. My husband works for a guy and he bought a unit from you, and it had a safe in it…’ Read more
John Fogerty reclaims Creedence Clearwater Revival Catalog after 40-year fight (Consequence)
“I’m the dad [of these songs],” John Fogerty said, and now the fortunate dad is bringing his songs home. As Billboard reports, Fogerty has purchased a majority interest in the Creedence Clearwater Revival catalog after a more than 40-year fight.
Fogerty relinquished the rights to Saul Zaentz’s Fantasy Records in 1980 in order to get out of an onerous contract, which he had signed in 1968. Zaentz is a famous, if not infamous, figure in entertainment. While, as Fogerty said, “I tried really hard” to get the CCR catalog back, Zaentz played hardball, even going so far as to sue Fogerty for plagiarism (he lost). Zaentz also used CCR royalties to finance a string of successful films, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus, and The English Patient, all of which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Concord bought Fantasy Records in 2004, and as a good-faith gesture, restored Fogerty’s artist royalties. Fogerty was set to regain another portion of the US rights under US copyright law when the songs turned 56-years-old, and his wife and manager Julie Fogerty took advantage of that leverage to negotiate for majority control of worldwide rights as well. Read more
Huge rare earth metals discovery in Arctic Sweden (BBC)
Europe’s largest deposit of rare earths – which are used from mobile phones to missiles – has been found in Sweden.
No rare earths are mined in Europe at the moment and a Swedish minister hailed the find as a way of reducing the EU’s dependence on China.
The discovery is also being seen as “decisive” for the green transition, given the expected rise in demand for electric vehicles and wind turbines.
Some 98% of rare earths used in the EU in 2021 were imported from China.
Over one million tonnes are reported to have now been found in Sweden’s far north. Read more
Grenade that could ‘detonate any moment’ removed from Ukrainian soldier’s chest (Metro)
A live grenade has been removed from the chest of a Ukrainian soldier in an operation officials said would ‘go down in medical textbooks’.
Surgeons found the bomb lodged only centimetres below the man’s heart, Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Monday.
Two combat engineers oversaw the operation to take out the VOG grenade, designed to be fired from launchers with a lethal radius of nearly 20 feet.
Maliar said in a Facebook post: ‘This is a shock. Not every wound in the heart is deadly! Read more
Osimhen awarded Power Horse Emerging Player of the Year (DailyTrust)
Victor Osimhen, the Nigerian striker currently playing for SSC Napoli has received the Power Horse Emerging Player of the Year award for his outstanding performance during 2022.
The 13th edition of the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, organized with the Dubai Sports Council, was held in Dubai on 17 November 2022.
Stars of international football gathered with celebrities and guests to celebrate the annual event and recognize the winners in 21 categories.
Dubai Globe Soccer Awards also welcomed POWER HORSE® as a new sponsor, introducing the Power Horse Emerging Player of the Year award, recognizing young players who stood out in the last season with their incredible performances. Read more
No Nigerian as FIFA list nominees for Best Football Awards 2022 (Guardian)
As expected, there was no single Nigerian player, as World Football governing body, FIFA, yesterday, revealed the candidates shortlisted for The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022.
Not even Super Falcons player, Asisat Oshoala, who distinguished herself with FC Barcelona Women’s team could get a mention on the FIFA’s list.
Best FIFA Men’s Player:
Julián Álvarez (Argentina / Club Atlético, River Plate / Manchester City FC), Jude Bellingham (England / BV Borussia 09 Dortmund), Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid CF), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium / Manchester City FC), Erling Haaland (Norway / BV Borussia 09 Dortmund / Manchester City FC), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / Paris Saint-Germain FC), Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern München / FC Barcelona), Sadio Mané (Senegal / Liverpool FC / FC Bayern München), Kylian Mbappé (France / Paris Saint-Germain FC ), Lionel Messi (Argentina / Paris Saint-Germain FC), Luka Modrić (Croatia / Real Madrid CF), Neymar (Brazil / Paris Saint-Germain FC), Mohamed Salah (Egypt / Liverpool FC) and Vinícius Junior (Brazil / Real Madrid CF). Read more
Quadri dims Chinese’s Sun, moves into WTT Contender round of 16 (DailyTrust)
African Champion, Aruna Qaudri’s stroking power came into action yesterday as he convincingly waltzed through to the round of 16 after defeating his Chinese opponent, Sun Wen, at the ongoing World Table Tennis, WTT Contender in Durban.
The Nigerian who is the highest ranked African and 15th in the world began his campaign with a convincing 12-10, 15-13, 11-13 and 11-8 and 3-1 victory against the highly rated Wen in the men’s singles.
Aruna’s opponent in the round of 16 would be determined after the encounter between Kilian ORY of Germany and Felix Lebrun of France.
The $75,000 prize money tournament has Brazil’s Hugo Calderano and Germany’s Nina Mittelham as number seeds in men’s and women’s singles. Read more
We’ll change face of NPFL, Elegbeleye assures (Guardian)
The chairman of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Gbenga Elegbeleye, has said that the body is out to change the face of the league.
For the first time, each of the 20 clubs featuring in the NPFL got N10 million as take off grant, a move many football-loving Nigerians see as a step in the right direction.
Speaking with The Guardian in Benin City, Edo State during the unveiling of new set of jersey for both Bendel Insurance and Edo Queens, Elegbeleye said that the IMC would deplore all right mechanism to put the league in good shape.
“We are out to do things different from what we used to have in the past,” he said. “I know that it is a great task to correct some of the things we have noticed in the league, but with the cooperation of Nigerians, we will achieve it.” Read more
Ranking all 14 NFL playoff quarterbacks: Strengths, weaknesses (ESPN)
When the NFL playoffs for the 2022 season kick off Saturday, we will see some of the league’s best talent under center. Eleven of the top 15 finishers in Total QBR made the field. Eight of the 14 playoff teams’ projected starters were first-round picks (along with two of the backups). All seven AFC teams could start quarterbacks under the age of 30, and up to six passers could make their first playoff start, per ESPN Stats & Information research.
These guys will all be big factors in whether their teams go on deep playoff runs, and I see a lot of quarterbacks here who can compete for a Super Bowl title this year.
Ranking all 14 of the starting signal-callers isn’t easy. I based the following 1-14 list on how each passer is playing at the moment and what I expect from them as we head to the postseason. I tried to remove the surroundings for each quarterback and weigh their abilities and recent form on their own, unattached to team strength, playcalling or supporting cast on offense. This is just how I would stack the quarterbacks right now based on watching each on tape over the course of the season.
The first name of the list wasn’t too difficult to place, but it got harder from there. Read more
Saudi club target Messi – Friday’s gossip (BBC)
Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal, rivals of Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr, are targeting 35-year-old Argentina and Paris St-Germain forward Lionel Messi in a $300m-per-year (£245.9m) deal. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish)
Arsenal are back in for Juventus and Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic, 22, who is valued at 110m euros (£97.7m) (La Repubblica – in Italian)
The Gunners have submitted a new bid for Shakhtar Donetsk’s Ukrainian winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, 22, with a deal moving closer. (Fabrizio Romano)
Tottenham are interested in signing Belgium winger Leandro Trossard, 28, from Brighton. (Evening Standard)
Clubs in Spain, France, Germany and Italy are monitoring the situation of Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo, 28, after he lost his regular place in the Manchester City side. Read more