Questions over disappearance of 36-year-old father in Lagos (Guardian)
It was supposed to be a normal routine for Mr. Wisdom Napoleon, the Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Keke, Lagos, when he woke up beside his wife and two kids, on September 28 and left for work.
The 36-year-old father left for office with a promise to be home on time.
However, it turned out to be a long wait for his wife and family, who are yet to know his whereabout not given up on his return 16 days after.
Also, his sudden disappearance has raised unanswered questions among his neighbours, and close acquaintances, as he was said to have also gone to church for morning prayers on his way to work that fateful day. Read more
Sanwo-Olu commissions 100 housing units in Lekki (DailyTrust)
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday, commissioned a 100 housing unit named Bayview Estate at Ikate-Elegushi in Lekki.
The commissioned project consists of 100 units of 68 terraces of 4-bedrooms with a maid’s room each and 32 flats of 3-bedrooms with a maid’s room.
Speaking at the commissioning, Sanwo-Olu reiterated his commitment to building affordable houses across the state for Lagosians.
The commissioning of Bayview Estate made it the 11th housing estate delivered by the state government in two years.
The Managing Director of LSDPC, Dhikrullah Har-Yusuph, explained that the land on which Bayview Estate sits was formerly a marshy, swampy lowland that is typical of the terrain in the vicinity. Read more
#EndSARS: Policemen indicted by judicial panels to face sanction, says NEC (Punch)
The National Economic Council on Friday said officers indicted by the judicial panels set up to probe police brutality will face prosecution.
It also said the Federal Government and states will set up modalities for the settlement of compensations awarded to victims of police brutality, according to a statement issued by the spokesperson for the vice-president, Laolu Akande.
The meeting was chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
The Federal Government had directed states to set up judicial panels of inquiry into allegations of human rights violations involving police officers, following the #EndSARS protests in October 2020.Read more
NDLEA to appeal against fine option for drug dealers (Leadership)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is set to appeal against N700,000 fine option for drug dealers convicted for 75 years.
This is coming after a major drug dealer, Mike Omoarukhe, his manager and three other workers in his cannabis farms were sentenced to 75 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Benin.
The convicts were charged in July by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in a five count charge number FHC/B/107c/2021 bordering on possession of 183.5 kilograms of cannabis sativa, conspiracy to possess, cultivate and cultivation of 22 hectares of cannabis farms.
Delivering his judgement in the case on Thursday, Justice A.C. Obiozor sitting in Court 2 of the Federal High Court, Benin Judicial Division, sentenced the defendants to 15 years on each of the five counts, bringing the total years of imprisonment to 75 years, which will run concurrently. The judge however gave the convicts an option of N 700,000 fine on all the counts. Read more
Press freedom should be used responsibly – Buhari (Leadership)
President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on the outcome of its seventh triennial delegates’ conference which saw the re-election of Chris Isiguzo for a second term in office as president.
From the outset of this administration, President Buhari according to a statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, made it clear that ‘‘press freedom is an irreducible minimum in a democracy that would flourish, however, such freedom must be used responsibly.”
Considering the formidable role the media plays in shaping and influencing the course of events in any society, the president reminded the NUJ leadership that the country would continue to look up to their members for fair, balanced and objective journalism.
Buhari urged the media to forge greater unity in the union, engage in productive dialogue to resolve any issue inimical to the progress of the association. Read more
‘My husband smokes Indian hemp, beats me after I feed him, pay the rent’ (Tribune)
A Mararaba Upper Area Court in Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, has dissolved the 10-year-old marriage between Mercy Okolie and her husband, Henry Nwaodi on grounds of battery.
Delivering judgement, the judge, Abubakar Tijjani said all efforts to reconcile the parties failed
“This union was dissolved in the interest of peace.
“I also urge the parties to maintain peace at all time. Any violation of this order of the court will amount to contempt with grave consequences,” he said.
He directed the parties to collect their divorce certificate from the registrar’s office. Read more
Woman impregnated twice by her twin brother insists on marrying him (Nation)
If it were possible to turn back the hands of the clock, Amos Kunde would be the happiest man on earth. He would do anything to reverse an adventure that culminated in getting his twin sister Juliana pregnant twice, culminating in her being delivered of two babies for her twin brother.
The 29-year-old native of Guma Local Government Area, Nasarawa State is in a dilemma as he says he is thoroughly embarrassed by the development while his twin sister and mother of his two children insists that she is married to him and has reached her destination as far as marriage is concerned.
Born to the family of the late Patrick Kunde and his wife Torkwase, the family had settled in Awe LGA of Nasarawa State as farmers until the couple and other relations were killed during the farmers/herders crisis in Nasarawa State in 2013. The twins, however, survived the attacks because some merciful ones among the herdsmen who attacked their community decided to spare their lives.
Orphaned and without any formal education, Amos and Juliana adopted farming as their source of livelihood. But because of the unsafe nature of Awe area at that time, they decided to relocate to Doku, a village in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State sharing border with Benue State. Read more
Innoson boss: What I want to achieve for African automobile industry (Guardian)
Driving through the streets of Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Council of Anambra State shows the preponderance of motorcycles on the road. On random count, it is possible that 70 per cent of the bikes are being used for commercial purposes.
As one who was around during the ‘great exodus’ in the early eighties, when Nnewi indigenes staged a walkout on Onitsha landlords in protest of outrageous and whimsical increases in rents, this reporter marveled at the great mileage the people of Nnewi have been able to orchestrate for their area forty years after.
Nnewi traders pioneered the importation of motorcycles, taking over from Buolos Enterprises, a Lebanese company that specialised in motorcycles and machine service parts. Those days in Onitsha, it was a common sight to see women bestride ladies’ motorcycles, such that the bikes came to be known as Nwanyi Nnewi.
Women like Apunanwa, Madam Volvo and Aruka-akwa (alias Ofee Onugbo), who had shops along Bright Street, New Market Road and Bida popularised the ladies motorcycle in Onitsha. But, while such women were using their prized means of mobility within Onitsha to signpost their success story in their businesses, in Nnewi, it was commonplace. Read more
Felabration lights up Lagos (Guardian)
From the way he rushed to the stage, one could tell that Femi Kuti was enraged. “Bring them back,” he bellowed to the organisers immediately, as the fraternal highlife duo, Cavemen, exited the stage after their 10-minute performance.
For Femi, their energetic performance was too mesmerizing to end so briefly. And within minutes, the singing brothers were back on stage, energizing the hundreds of people present at the New Afrika Shrine this Wednesday night, dishing one of the most intriguing performances of the Felabration festival this year.
For the past five days, the city of Lagos has been agog with multiple celebrations of the Felabration Festival, which eulogises the late Afrobeat progenitor, Fela Kuti. While events have been held simultaneously at the Freedom Park and Bature Brewery, in Lagos, respectively, as well as in Abeokuta where Fela is originally from, the main groove has been at the renowned New Afrika Shrine.
Several superstars such as Waje, Oxlade, Dremo, Idahams, Pasuma, Dr. Sid, Aramide, among others, have graced the hallowed stage to perform their biggest hits. Read more
Sir David Amess killing was terrorist incident, Met Police say (BBC)
The killing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess has been declared a terrorist incident by police.
Sir David was stabbed multiple times at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex on Friday.
The Metropolitan Police said there was “a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism”.
A 25-year-old British man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder, and police said they were not seeking anyone else over the death. Read more
Covid infection rate in England rises again to one in 60 people (Independent)
About one in 60 people in England had Covid-19 last week, according to estimates published on Friday.
The prevalence of infection was up for a third straight week, having been at about one in 70 the previous week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
At the peak of the second wave in early January, about one in 50 people were estimated to have coronavirus. The latest estimate of one in 60 equates to about 890,000 people.
While the government has continued to insist it will rely on vaccines rather than lockdowns to navigate a difficult winter, some experts have expressed concern about the rise.
Prevalence was highest once again in secondary school pupils, prompting Prof Christina Pagel, the director of UCL’s clinical operational research unit, to reiterate criticism of preparations for the return of children to schools. An estimated 8.1% of all secondary pupils were infected, up from 6.93% the previous week. Read more
Sir Elton John scores first number one in 16 years (BBC)
Sir Elton John has topped the UK singles chart for the first time in 16 years with a little help from Dua Lipa, making him the first artist to score a top 10 single in six separate decades.
Their collaboration, Cold Heart (Pnau Remix), made it to number one on Friday after three weeks at number two.
He last topped the singles chart in 2005 when he appeared on US rapper 2Pac’s posthumous single Ghetto Gospel.
Cold Heart scored 64,000 chart sales, thanks largely to 5.9 million streams. Read more
EU Official: Iran not ready to return to nuclear talks (Independent)
Iran is not ready to return to talks with world powers over its nuclear programme yet and its new negotiating team wants to discuss the texts that will be put forward when it meets with the EU in Brussels in the next few weeks, a senior EU official said today.
According to Reuters, EU political director Enrique Mora, the chief coordinator for the talks, was in Tehran yesterday to meet members of Iran’s nuclear-negotiating team, four months after discussions broke off between Iran and world powers.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has so far refused to resume indirect talks with the United States in Vienna on both sides returning to compliance with the deal, under which Iran curbed its nuclear programme in return for economic sanctions relief.
Diplomats from France, Britain, and Germany, who are party to the accord along with China and Russia, said ahead of Mora’s visit that it came at a critical time and things could not be deemed “business as usual” given escalating Iranian nuclear activities and the stalling of negotiations. Read more
Daniel Craig prefers going to gay bars to avoid ‘aggressive d**k swinging’ of hetero establishments (Metro)
Daniel Craig may have No Time To Die, but he also has no time for hetero bars.
The actor – who most recently hung up his tux playing James Bond in the latest 007 instalment – is a fan of a gay bar and has revealed the reason(s) behind why he chooses to frequent the establishments.
Turns out one of the main reasons is in the effort to avoid ‘the aggressive d**k swinging in hetero bars’.
Speaking on the Lunch with Bruce podcast on SiriusXM, 53-year-old Daniel said: ‘I’ve been going to gay bars for as long as I can remember. One of the reasons, because I don’t get into fights in gay bars that often. Because the aggressive d**k swinging in hetero bars, I just got very sick of as a kid.’ Read more
US health panel recommends booster shot for Johnson & Johnson vaccine (VOA)
A panel of US health advisers has recommended the US Food and Drug Administration authorise a second shot of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for anyone who has received the single-dose inoculation.
The panel expressed concerns Friday that Americans who received the shot are not as protected as those who were given a two-dose vaccination from drugmakers Pfizer or Moderna.
Last month, the FDA authorised a third booster shot for the Pfizer vaccine for seniors as well as adults who are at high risk for COVID-19. On Thursday, the FDA advisory panel recommended a similar course of action for Moderna boosters, except using lower doses.
Johnson & Johnson is the only COVID-19 vaccine approved in the United States that is only one dose. Initially, it was hailed for its ability to take effect quickly, but soon ran into concerns that it led to a rare blood clot disorder and a neurological disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome. It is now facing criticism that it is less effective than rival brands. Read more
Adele reacts to Ed Sheeran releasing new album weeks before her (Metro)
Musicians were quaking in their boots and scrambling to reschedule release dates when Adele announced her new album would be out next month.
And the Easy On Me singer reckons even other chart heavyweights should be breaking out in a cold sweat.
Adele joked that Ed Sheeran should be ‘panicking’ that his fourth studio album is coming out around the same time as 30.
Where is the lie? Read more
I grew up cleaning gutters, fetched water for A living – Osimhen (Punch)
Super Eagles and Napoli star, Victor Osimhen, in an interview with compatriot William Troost-Ekong on YouTube has opened up on his journey to becoming a professional footballer and how he did menial jobs to survive.
Osimhen, who was born in Lagos, completed an €80m deal to move from Lille to Napoli in the summer of 2020 becoming the most expensive African player of all time.
The 22-year-old, a product of Ultimate Strikers Academy made his breakthrough when he signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Wolfsburg in 2017.
He then moved to Belgium and France playing for Charleroi and Lille.
He scored 18 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions with the Ligue 1 side before moving to Napoli on a permanent deal. Read more
Nigeria, Sierra Leone clash ahead of Cricket World Cup qualifiers (Guardian)
Nigeria’s men’s cricket national team, the Yellow-Green, has lined up series of T20 matches with the Sierra Leonean national team as part of their build-up to the Cricket World Cup qualifiers in November.
Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) President, Uyi Akpata, said the Bilateral Series with Sierra Leone scheduled for the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Cricket Oval, is an essential part of the team’s World Cup plan.
“The African Regional T20 World Cup Qualifying Series in Rwanda later in November is a major event for us and the build-up to the event has been going on steadily.
“From Tuesday, October 19, the preparation would enter a new phase with the Bilateral Series with Sierra Leone where Six T20 matches will be played,” he said. Read more
Julius Randle’s buzzer beater lifts Knicks over Wizards to cap perfect preseason (NYPost)
Julius Randle ended the preseason in style.
Randle capped a fourth-quarter comeback by connecting on an 18-foot buzzer beater from the right side to lift the Knicks to a 115-113 victory over the Wizards and a 4-0 preseason at a raucous Garden on Friday night.
The Garden crowd chanted “Let’s Go Knicks’’ and “De-fense’’ across the wild fourth quarter. And the games don’t even count yet.
After trailing by double digits most of the night — including by 15 after the third quarter — the Knicks made a spirited fourth-quarter comeback. Before Randle’s game-winner, Derrick Rose led the rally with 28 points as Kemba Walker, who struggled on defense, sat out for the final period. Read more
Marcus Rashford: Manchester United forward ‘needs to prioritise football’ says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (BBC)
Marcus Rashford needs to “prioritise his football” if he is to meet the twin challenges of playing for club and country, says Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The 23-year-old forward has earned huge praise for his off-field work around food poverty among children.
But Solskjaer said: “He is coming into the best age for a footballer and he’s got a challenge on his hands here at Manchester United – and has a challenge on his hands to play for England.”
Rashford became an MBE in 2020 and this month received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester. Read more
Indian Wells: Dimitrov, Norrie battle for final spot as Jabeur makes history (Guardian)
New British World number one, Cameron Norrie, yesterday, booked his place in the ongoing Indian Wells tournament semifinals with an impressive straight-sets win against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman. He will meet Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals.
The 26-year-old Brit, who has always struggled for form, has been excellent recently, making the finals of San Diego Open earlier this month and reaching the business end of a Masters 1000 event for the first time, battling past Tommy Paul in three sets. Winning 6-0, 6-2 in a little over an hour, he would replace Dan Evans as the British no1 on Monday when the new rankings are released.
His opponent, Dimitrov, is enjoying his best season so far after beating world number two and reigning USO champion, Daniil Medvedev, in a match many didn’t expect him to take. Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, he was quickly again in trouble against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who easily took the first set. Following a late break in the second, Dimitrov forced a decider but failed to serve for the match at 5-3 in the third and so, the winner had to be decided in a tiebreak.
Putting himself in control in the tiebreak, he eventually closed it out 3-6 6-4 7-6(2) in a gripping contest that lasted almost three hours. Read more
Tottenham duo test positive for coronavirus ahead of Newcastle clash (Metro)
Two Tottenham players have tested positive for coronavirus ahead of their trip to Newcastle United on Sunday.
The two unnamed players trained with the group on Thursday but have both tested positive in the last 24 hours and must now isolate for the next 10 days.
It immediately rules the pair out of Sunday’s trip to St James’ Park, Thursday’s Europa League Conference clash with Vitesse Arnhem and the London derby against West Ham United next weekend.
According to PA, the club are confident now other players will have to isolate. Read more