Protest in Osogbo over Tribunal Judgement (ThisDay)
Members and Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in their numbers, trooped to the streets of Osogbo, Osun State capital expressing displeasure over the judgement of the Election Petition Tribunal.
The protesters who marched from Jaleyemi area of Osogbo gathered at the popular Olaiya junction at about 4pm on Friday.
No fewer than three PDP branded van were sighted amongst other vehicles including motorcycles as the junction became crowded.
THISDAY noticed that the demonstrators mounted road blockades at the roundabout, hindering free movement of vehicles. Read more
Passengers stranded as train derails in Abuja (DailyTrust)
Less than a week after an Itakpe-Warri train derailed in Kogi, another train on Friday derailed in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The Abuja-Kaduna Train Service, it was gathered, derailed at Kubwa on Friday afternoon leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
The immediate cause of the derailment was not known as of press time but many passengers were seen wondering around the derailed train. Read more
Why ‘Shanty Town’ has so much nudity — Ini Edo (Punch)
Popular actress, Ini Edo, has said there is a lot of nudity in Shanty Town, the new movie series she played a co-lead role in because of its storyline.
In an interview with Saturday Beats, she said, “There are a lot of people, male and female, even children going through these things (such as prostitution and assault shown in the movie). It is a fundamental problem that we are shedding light on, and people are bothered about nudity? How do you talk about prostitution in a realistic way and not show nudity? It makes no sense but a greater part of the people understand. For the few who don’t, they will come around.”
She also stated that while preparing for her role in the limited series, she had to go through rigorous training, especially for the fight scenes. “It stretched me. I had to do kick boxing, martial arts and taekwondo. I was blessed to work with some professionals, who were really good. They had the patience to take me through from the work-out to the art; in order to be precise with my punches. It was fun and I miss it. I think it is something I would take out time to do for myself at some point. I have always been a fighter.” Read more
Hawkers sell redesigned Naira notes at Zaria motor park (Vanguard)
In spite of scarcity of the redesigned Naira notes in circulation, some persons have been seen hawking the new notes at Dadi Motor Park, Sabon Gari-Zaria, Kaduna State, at exorbitant prices.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) saw large wads of different denominations of the notes on display at the entrance of Dadi Motor Park, Kwangila area of Zaria city for prospective buyers.
A check by NAN reveals that a bundle of N200 notes was going for N30,000; N500 notes are being sold at N70,000 and N1,000 notes is sold at N130,000, while N100 is sold at N16,000. Read more
Old Notes: First Bank, GTB to operate on Saturday, Sunday (DailyTrust)
First Bank Nigeria and Guaranty Trust Bank have said their branches across the country will operate on Saturday and Sunday to receive old naira notes ahead of the January 31 deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In a public notice issued by the management of the banks on Friday, they said that the planned weekend operation was for receiving old naira notes only.
“This is to notify the general public that all our branches will be open on Saturday and Sunday just to receive cash.
“All old Naira notes of series 200, 500 and 1000 will cease to be in use from the 31st of January,” First Bank said in a notice. Read more
Amid support by G-5 govs, Enugu PDP unveils candidates for elections (Guardian)
Boosted by the support provided by the G-5 governors, the Enugu State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, unveiled her candidates for the 2023 general elections.
But at the colourful ceremony held at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, where the candidates ranging from House of Representatives to Senate and governorship were presented with flags of the party, former governor of the state and the candidate for Enugu East Senatorial Zone, Chimaroke Nnamani was the only one that did not receive the party’s flag.
His inability to receive the party’s flag might not be unconnected with the suspension order handed down to him by the national leadership of the party last week over his alleged anti-party activities. Read more
New naira: Banks beef up security against customers’ attacks (Punch)
Four days to the expiration of the deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes to cease from circulation, Deposit Money Banks have taken extra security measures to prevent angry customers from attacking their branches and destroying facilities.
Saturday PUNCH reports that customers besieged bank branches in different parts of the country on Friday in attempts to withdraw new notes for use during the weekend and deposit old notes so that they would not be caught napping as Tuesday’s deadline approaches.
However, most of the customers were disappointed as they could not make withdrawals through the Automated Teller Machines as most of the machines had been shut due to non-availability of new notes, while the few ATMs that were dispensing cash had long queues of desperate customers. Read more
Wale Adenuga, others inducted into Comedy Hall Of Fame (Sun)
Chairman/CEO of Wale Adenuga Productions (WAP), Mr Wale Adenuga has been inducted into the Comedy Hall of Fame at the 2nd edition of The Humour Awards held in Lagos. He was honoured for “his immense contributions to the growth of the Comedy Industry in Nigeria.”
The event also awarded other individuals who have made notable marks in Nigerian Comedy; including Nkem Owoh, Sunday Omobolanle (Aluwe), Ngozi Nwosu, Mr Macaroni, Hafiz Oyetoro (Saka), Chinedu Ikedieze, Nosa Rex (Baba Rex), Real Warri Pikin, and others.
Managing Director of WAP, Wale Adenuga Jnr. who received the award on behalf of Mr Wale Adenuga said, “We appreciate the organisers of this impressive event for acknowledging people, like our Chairman/CEO, who have contributed to the growth of Nigeria’s Comedy Industry. Read more
Reneé Rapp: The pop star who willed herself into existence (BBC)
You might know her from the Mean Girls musical or HBO’s teen drama The Sex Lives Of College Girls – but Reneé Rapp isn’t too fussed about being an actress.
Her entire life, “from the second I had a thought”, has been about the pursuit of one thing: music.
“There’s videos of me before I could talk, sitting on a coffee table in my parents’ house, making up songs and playing a harmonica,” says the 23-year-old.
“It was always this. It was always this.” Read more
US on edge over video of fatal Memphis police beating (France24)
The southern US city of Memphis braced itself for unrest Friday as authorities prepared to release a video depicting the fatal assault of a Black man by five police officers who, the victim’s mother said, “beat him to a pulp.”
The police officers, who are also Black, were charged with second-degree murder in the beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who died in hospital on January 10, three days after being stopped on suspicion of reckless driving.
“They had beat him to a pulp,” Nichols’s mother RowVaughn Wells told CNN, sobbing as she described him in hospital. “He had bruises all over. His head was swollen like a watermelon. His neck was bursting because of the swelling.”
“I knew my son was gone,” Wells said. Read more
Rita Ora releases wedding-themed video with Kristen Stewart, Lindsay Lohan and more (Metro)
Rita Ora has dropped a star-studded music video for new track You Only Love Me after finally confirming her marriage to filmmaker Taika Waititi.
The musician, 32, and Taika, 47, set rumours of a wedding alight last year when they were spotted wearing wedding bands on their left hands.
However both remained quiet about the speculation, choosing not to comment as they continued their loved-up affairs on red carpets and sunkissed holidays. Read more
Kanye West suspect in battery investigation after throwing woman’s phone away: report (PageSix)
Kanye West is reportedly under investigation after he allegedly yanked a woman’s phone out of her hand and tossed it when she refused to stop filming him.
According to a viral video, the rapper-turned-fashion designer was leaving his daughter North’s basketball game when he noticed that he was being followed by paps.
Kardashians are confused, concerned about Kanye West’s new marriage
Although unclear if the woman was a pap or simply a fan, he allegedly got out of his car and confronted her while she filmed him from inside her own vehicle. Read more
7 shot dead at Jerusalem synagogue (BBC)
Seven people have been shot dead at a synagogue in East Jerusalem, the most killed in an attack of this kind for years. At least three more people were injured.
The incident happened in the city’s Neve Yaakov neighbourhood at about 20:15 local time (18:15 GMT).
Police described the attacker as a “terrorist” and said he had been “neutralised”.
Local media identified him as a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem. Read more
Avatar: The Way of Water blasts pass Avengers: Infinity War as highest-grossing film (Metro)
Avatar: The Way of Water has an Infinity War on its hands after surpassing the Avengers blockbuster to become the fifth highest-grossing film of all time.
It’s been just over a month since director James Cameron finally released the long-awaited sequel to his iconic sci-fi, after leaving fans waiting for 13 years.
The latest instalment sees Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington reprise their roles as Neytiri and Jake Sully respectively, and follows them as parents who must fight an ancient threat while exploring the regions of Pandora. Read more
EU’s Borrell urges South Africa to get Russia to end Ukraine war (VOA)
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited South Africa on Friday, urging Pretoria to use its ties with Russia to convince Moscow to stop its war on Ukraine.
Borrell’s trip to South Africa is the latest in a whirlwind week that has seen visits by both Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Analysts say the flurry of diplomatic activity comes as the West and Russia both seek South Africa’s support regarding the war in Ukraine. Pretoria has strong historic ties with Moscow and has taken an officially neutral stance on the conflict, to the dismay of Washington and Brussels. Read more
Joshua urged to knockout Franklin (Punch)
Former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew has urged Anthony Joshua to knock out Jermaine Franklin ahead of their proposed bout in London.
Joshua will fight Franklin April 1 at the O2 Arena, as he looks to bounce back from back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk and record his first win in the ring since 2020.
This will be the first time since 2015 that Joshua has not had a world title on the line in one of his fights, as he currently sits outside of contention for the belts in the heavyweight division. Read more
Ake’s goal edges Man City past Arsenal in FA Cup (BBC)
Manager Pep Guardiola called Nathan Ake an “exceptional guy” after he sent Manchester City into the FA Cup fifth round with the winning goal in a narrow victory over Premier League title rivals Arsenal.
The Gunners have established an impressive lead in the league but it was City who shaded a tight contest thanks to Ake’s precise 64th-minute finish after good work from Jack Grealish.
Arsenal had chances of their own, especially in the first half when City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, deputising for Ederson, saved well from Takehiro Tomiyasu and new signing Leandro Trossard. Read more
Garba lauds ‘dynamic’ Odibo after debut NPFL goal (Nation)
FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning coach , Manu Garba has described Remo Stars’ Godwin Odibo as a ‘pocket battleship’ after the former Golden Eaglet’s recruit grabbed his maiden Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) goal in the mid-week game against Shooting stars Sports Club (3SC)of Ibadan.
The 25-year-old youngster who narrowly missed a spot in Garba’s squad to both the 2013 U-17 AFCON in Morocco and the U-17 World Cup in the UAE, came off the bench to score Remo Stars’ second goal in the 2-0 win over the Oluyole Warlords.
“Godwin Odibo was small in size by dynamic in movement and one of the best when it comes to goal scoring,” Garba recalled the player’s humble beginnings. “Even when he’s playing for Nath Boys he was their top scorer and it’s not surprised to see him open an account for his first goal in the NPFL.” Read more
Sabalenka faces Rybakina in Australian Open final (DailyTrust)
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will clash in what promises to be a bruising Australian Open final on Saturday after both won in straight sets in the last four.
Big-serving Wimbledon champion Rybakina defeated two-time Melbourne winner Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 at a blustery and chilly Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Thursday.
Powerful Belarusian Sabalenka then marched into the championship match with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 win over unseeded Magda Linette. Read more
Kenyan road runner banned for five years over doping (Guardian)
Kenyan road runner, Betty Wilson Lempus, has been banned for five years from competing after being found to have twice violated World Athletics anti-doping rules.
Lempus, 31, is best-known for smashing the Paris women’s half-marathon record on September 5, 2021 – the date that a sample she gave tested positive for the banned metabolite Triamcinolone Acetonide.
She then falsified medical documents to explain the presence of the metabolite, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) found in a report. Read more
Conor McGregor ‘lucky to be alive’ after being hit by car while cycling (Metro)
UFC legend Conor McGregor says he could have died after being hit by car while cycling.
McGregor, 34, was cycling through the Irish countryside on Friday when a car drove into him from behind.
The MMA superstar, who intends to return to the octagon this summer, was sent flying off his bike but appears to have emerged from the scary collision with minimal injuries. Read more