Reconstruction: Anger as gridlock grounds Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (NewTelegraph)
Motorists were held for several hours yesterday as gridlock grounded vehicular movements on the ever-busy Lagos-Ibandan Expressway.
The hold-up forced some commuters to abandon their vehicles and trek for several kilometres.
Those who could not leave their vehicles groaned in traffic for several hours because of the traffic diversion on Kara Bridge by the construction firm, Julius Berger, handling the rehabilitation of the expressway.
As early as 6a.m., motorists and commuters moving in and out of the state were stranded as their vehicles got stuck in the traffic jam for several hours. Many of those heading to Lagos found the slow pace of vehicular movement from Ibafo which run through the entire stretch of Long Bridge frustrating while those moving out of Lagos experienced the traffic from Iyana-Oworo end of the 3rd Mainland Bridge. Read more
Friends tell court how Kolade Johnson was allegedly killed by policeman (Tribune)
Three friends of Kolade Johnson, on Wednesday, narrated to an Ikeja High Court how the 35-year-old man was allegedly killed by a Police Inspector, Ogunyemi Olalekan, at a viewing centre in Lagos State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three friends – Messrs Ismail Folorunsho, Samuel Nana and Omotayo Dairo – were led in evidence by the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr Yhaqub Oshoala.
They testified at the beginning of Olalekan’s trial for murder.
The trial lasted for more than three hours.
Giving evidence as the first prosecution witness, Folorunsho, 29, an employee of a media company, said that on March 31, 2019, he was accosted by some policemen at a bus stop at Mangoro, Lagos, while he was heading to Ikeja to use an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Read more
Sanwo-Olu to empower widows of slain heroes (NewTelegraph)
As the nation remembered the fallen heroes yesterday, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has pledged that his administration would be catering for the spouses of fallen soldiers through empowerment scheme of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The governor, who also charged Nigerians to always make sacrifice for peace and desist from actions that may divide the country along its fault lines, said the citizenry had a responsibility to keep Nigeria on the path of sustainable prosperity and unity, saying such remained the best way to honour the patriotism and bravery of men of the Nigerian armed forces, who died in the course of protecting the country. Speaking after he laid the wreath in commemoration of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day held at Remembrance Arcade at Tafawa Balewa Square, Sanwo-Olu observed that labour of the fallen heroes would not be in vain if citizens remained resolute in defending the unity of Nigeria. He said: “Today’s event is very significant, because it is being held in honour of those who laid down their lives to defend our country and keep it united. We will continue to celebrate their bravery and appreciate them for their efforts. As a nation, we must continue to ensure that all their efforts did not go unnoticed. Read more
Lagos Police confirms death of lady in viral video (Tribune)
The Lagos State Police Command, on Wednesday, confirmed that a lady was killed by an unknown soldier.
The soldier was said to have been invited by the deceased’s elder sister to beat up a neighbour in the Ajah area of the state.
The image maker in charge of the state police command, Bala Elkana, while speaking with Tribune Online said that the police in the state was “already aware of the incident.”
A video of the ill-fated incident had, on Tuesday, gone viral on the internet while the killer soldier was said to have escaped from the scene of the incident. Read more
N32.9bn fraud: Mompha’s trial resumes (NewTelegraph)
Trial of internet celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha aka Mompha for alleged N32.9 billion fraud continued yesterday before a Federal High Court in Lagos State.
Mompha is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 14-count bordering on fraud, money laundering and operation of a foreign exchange business without the authorisation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He was arraigned alongside a firm, Ismalob Global Investment Ltd.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of N100 million with one surety in like sum. Read more
LASG deploys technology to aid delivery of precision healthcare (Guardian)
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said the State government will deploy technology to aid precision, faster and smarter healthcare services in all healthcare facilities as a means of achieving its Health and Environment mandate.
Sanwo-Olu who disclosed this while declaring open a three-day Smart Health Technical Symposium on e-Health themed: “Lagos State Smart Health Information Platform, SHIP” stressed that the present administration is prepared to leverage on technology to improve health care delivery in the state.
The Governor who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, stated that the essence of the eHealth symposium organised by the State Ministry of Health is to enhance the already existing e-health platform to ensure Lagos remain in tune with modern technology. Read more
We owe our armed forces immense gratitude, says Akeredolu (Guardian)
Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has said that the nation remains grateful for the selfless service of the Armed Forces through their unquantifiable efforts to ensure global and internal peace and security of lives and property.
The governor described the yearly Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration as a unique opportunity to reflect on the contributions and sacrifices made in the past years by the Nigerian Armed Forces.
He spoke yesterday at the parade and wreath-laying ceremony for the 2020 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration held at the Alagbaka Cenotaph, Akure, the state capital. Read more
Hope Uzodinma sworn-in as Imo governor (Tribune)
Few hours after receiving the Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Hope Uzodinma, has been sworn in as the Governor of Imo State.
Uzodinma was sworn in by the Chief Judge of the state, Paschal Nnadi, on Wednesday evening.
This is barely twenty-four hours after a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court declared him the winner of the election held in March 2019. Read more
Student cries in court on seeing alleged defiler (NewTelegraph)
A student with special needs (name withheld) yesterday cried out in court on sighting a school proprietor who allegedly defiled her six years ago.
The mild drama occurred at an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, when the defendant, Timothy Onyiriuka, stood in the dock.
The student, who has speech impairment and learning difficulty, collapsed in the witness box upon seeing the 45-year-old Onyiriuka. Read more
DSS rescues aid workers from ISWAP terrorists (Tribune)
Operatives of the Department State Services (DSS) and other critical stakeholders have rescued five aid workers from the captivity of notorious terrorists in North-Eastern Nigeria on Wednesday’s evening.
The aid workers were abducted by the Islamic State West Africa Province, popularly known as ISWAP terrorists on December 22, 2019 along Monguno-Maiduguri Road in Borno State.
PRNigeria gathered that the rescue operation involved the DSS operatives in collaboration with other critical stakeholders in military and intelligence services. Those rescued are: Jennifer Samuel UKUMBONG (Alliance for International Medical Action, (ALIMA); Asabe Cletus MUSA, Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA); Adamu Auwal OZESHI; Arthur Ibojekwe CHIMA ( Solidarity International) and George Danbaba MICHEAL (International Organisation for Migration, IOM). Read more
UFC 246: Holly Holm at crossroads before facing Raquel Pennington (BBC)
Holly Holm has been here before. She knows what it takes to pick herself up off the floor and dust herself down.
A veteran of 77 recorded professional fights – across boxing (38), kickboxing (22) and mixed martial arts (17) – this is not the first time ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ has stood at the crossroads in her fighting life.
The former UFC bantamweight champion, who climbed on top of the MMA world with her unforgettable 2015 head-kick knockout of Ronda Rousey, faces off against a familiar foe in Raquel Pennington at UFC 246 in Las Vegas. Read more
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer blasted over Australian Open qualifying woes (Metro)
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are ‘a little bit selfish’ for failing to speak out on behalf of lower-ranked players struggling in smoky conditions and are too busy ‘thinking about their legacy’ rather than what’s good for tennis.
That’s the view of Canada’s Brayden Schnur, who has called upon the two sporting greats to step up and protest against playing conditions during Australian Open qualifying. The poor air quality in Melbourne – a direct result of the bushfires that have been ravaging Australia – forced Slovakia’s Dalila Jakupovic to retire from her qualifying match against Stefanie Voegel as she collapsed to her knees with a coughing fit. Read more
Rally for Relief: Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic play in charity match (BBC)
A number of tennis greats played in a charity match to take the amount of money raised for the bushfire appeal to over 4m Australian dollars.
Home player Nick Kyrgios raised A$1,600 (£954) in aces alone at Wednesday’s Rally for Relief, while Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – who between them have won 39 Grand Slams – joined together to donate A$250,000 (£132,285).
The firefighters in attendance were given a lengthy, standing ovation by the crowd, while one joined Nadal on court to play doubles.
“Back home in Canberra, I couldn’t even go outside. It was emotional,” said Kyrgios, who made the first pledge to the appeal. Read more
Conor McGregor predicts Tyson Fury will win rematch against Deontay Wilder (Metro)
Conor McGregor thinks Tyson Fury will beat Deontay Wilder if he can stay focused on his game plan in their rematch next month. Fury goes to war with WBC champion Wilder on 22 February in Las Vegas and many boxing fans are split on who will win the rematch after a thrilling first encounter in 2018. McGregor returns to action in Vegas himself this weekend at UFC 246 and gave his prediction for the big heavyweight clash. ‘He’s got a good tough fight, Deontay is a powerful guy,’ McGregor told BT Sport about Fury. Read more
Australian Open: Serena Williams seeks 24th Grand Slam; Djokovic, Federer & Nadal head men’s field (BBC)
Serena Williams is the firm favourite to win the Australian Open as she again bids for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title.
The 38-year-old American is aiming to match the record set in 1973 by Australia’s Margaret Court, who will be recognised at the tournament on the 50th anniversary of her calendar Grand Slam.
Old guard Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are still expected to be the men to beat in Melbourne, while Britain’s former world number one Andy Murray is missing because of a pelvic injury. Read more
Marcus Rashford sends emotional message to Manchester United fans after injury against Wolves (Metro)
Marcus Rashford insists he did his ‘very best’ to continue during Manchester United’s FA Cup win over Wolves and was ‘gutted’ to be forced off at Old Trafford. The 22-year-old has been suffering with a back problem after a knock against Manchester City last week, but scored a brace at home to Norwich before making a cameo substitute appearance versus Wolves.
Rashford was named among United’s substitutes for Wednesday’s FA Cup third-round replay and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would ideally have left the forward on the bench for the entire match. However, Solskjaer threw Rashford on as United pushed for a winner in normal time – and the high-risk substitution almost immediately backfired. Read more
Mbappe scores twice as PSG go eight points clear (BBC)
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain beat Monaco 4-1 in a rescheduled game to move eight points clear at the top of Ligue 1.
The two sides had drawn 3-3 at the Parc des Princes just three days ago but PSG dominated this encounter.
Mbappe turned in Angel di Maria’s excellent ball to open the scoring before Neymar converted a penalty. Read more
India and Australia dominate as ICC announce Test and ODI Teams of the Year (Metro)
England all-rounder Ben Stokes is one of only three players who have been named in both the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year. Stokes took home the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy after being voted Player of the Year, while Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins was named the Test Player of the Year. India opener Rohit Sharma bagged the ODI award.
Only Stokes, India captain Virat Kohli and Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc were named in both teams. Cummins, who took 59 wickets in 12 Test matches during the voting period and helped Australia retain the Ashes last summer, said: ‘It’s a tremendous and unexpected honour. Read more
Kim Clijsters on Australian Open air quality, her comeback & doing the splits (BBC)
She has been retired for more than seven years, has a hectic life as a mum of three and is not as “fit and fast” as she used to be, but Kim Clijsters believes she will still be competitive on her return to tennis.
The former world number one, 36, is making her comeback in March after a knee injury put the brakes on plans to return at next week’s Australian Open.
In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Sport, she explains what motivated her to take to the court once again, which players she is looking forward to facing and what she makes of the air quality issues the players are facing at the Australian Open. Read more
Arsenal begin transfer talks with Layvin Kurzawa (Metro)
Arsenal have initiated talks with Layvin Kurzawa with a view to signing the PSG defender on a free transfer in the summer. The 27-year-old is out of contract in less than six months and is unlikely to be offered a new deal by the French champions.
Kurzawa is currently free to speak with any potential European suitors and according to RMC, Arsenal have already registered an interest in the experienced left-back. Despite Arsenal’s remote hopes of finishing in the top four this season, Mikel Arteta is unlikely to spend heavily, if at all, in the January window and will plan for the summer market instead. Read more