Rivers reintroduces Christmas discount market (Channels)
After a 10-year suspension, the Rivers State Christmas Discount Market is set to make a comeback, with the State Government assuring residents of access to goods at significantly reduced prices.
The market, slated to commence on Thursday, December 18, will be held at the Elekahia Stadium in Port Harcourt.
Speaking to Channels Television at the venue, the Rivers State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, John Otamiri, revealed that the market aims to ease the financial burden on residents during the festive season. Read more
CBN moves against hawking of mint notes to curb illicit money flow (DailyTrust)
Against the backdrop of widespread reports on hawking of new naira notes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of protecting the integrity of the currency and stopping illicit flow, has said it would impose a fine of N150m on Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) aiding such practice.
A circular issued on Friday, December 13, 2024 and signed by the Acting Director of the Currency Operations Department, Mohammed Olayemi issued the warning to DMBs while frowning at the practice.
The Apex Bank has consistently preached against commodification of naira and it has in a November 13, 2024 circular warned against trading in naira notes by those it referred to as unscrupulous agents. Read more
Gov Sani returns Abacha family’s lands revoked, seized by El-Rufai (Nation)
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has returned two parcels of land in Kaduna city to the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, two years after they were revoked and seized by former governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The reinstated lands include a property located at No. 9 Abakpa GRA, Kaduna, measuring 2,284 square meters, covered by Kaduna State Certificate of Occupancy No. 30575, and another at No. 1 Degel Road, Ungwan Rimi GRA, Kaduna, measuring 3,705 square meters, with Certificate of Occupancy No. 11458.
Reuben Atabo (SAN), the Abacha family’s lawyer, revealed to newsmen that the Right of Occupancy (RO) for the properties was revoked in 2022 during the tenure of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai. Read more
NAFDAC launches legal action against Lung Detox Tea manufacturer (Leadership)
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has initiated legal proceedings against the manufacturer of the unregistered “Lung Detox Tea,“ pledging it will pay for its actions.
This comes after an online video that accused the agency of financial inducement in approving the herbal tea.
NAFDAC’s director-general, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, dismissed the allegations as baseless at a press briefing on Tuesday in Lagos, describing them as a deliberate attempt to tarnish the agency’s reputation. Read more
Ogun: Police arrest 2 suspected ritualists (Vanguard)
Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested two men, Oladeyo Idowu and Monday Ogunniyi, in the Oja-Odan area of the state for allegedly engaging in rituals involving human parts.
The command’s spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday night.
The case unfolded when Idowu initially reported the abduction of one Regina Oladeyo, accusing Ogunniyi of the crime. Police investigations, however, revealed a shocking twist, as Ogunniyi reportedly confessed to the crime and implicated Idowu as his accomplice in the use of human remains for rituals. Read more
Nigeria receives UNESCO certificate for Kano Durbar’s cultural heritage status (Punch)
The Federal Government was on Tuesday officially presented with the certificate on the inscription of the Kano Durbar festival on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
The presentation was made by a delegation led by the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Dr Hajo Sani at the office of the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa in Abuja.
The Kano Durbar has remained a traditional festive event and cultural expression in Northern Nigeria for more than 500 years. Read more
Nigerian Senate passes 2024 Insurance Industry Reform Bill (VON)
The Nigerian Senate has passed the 2014 Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Bill.
This followed the adoption of the report of the Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions at plenary on Tuesday.
The report was presented by the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Abiru Adetokunbo (APC-Lagos). Read more
FG to sanction vehicle owners who damage highways – Minister (Vanguard)
The Federal Government will soon begin penalizing vehicle owners who cause damage to roads across the country, according to the Minister of State for Works, Barrister Bello Mohammed Goronyo.
The Minister issued this warning on Tuesday during an inspection of the 58km road repairs being carried out by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) along the Sokoto-Illela road in Sokoto State.
He explained that the government allocates significant funds each year for road rehabilitation and maintenance and will not tolerate the actions of irresponsible vehicle owners who deliberately damage the roads. Read more
DRC files criminal case against Apple over alleged use of illegal minerals (AfricaNews)
Multinational tech giant, Apple, is in the spotlight after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) filed a criminal case against its subsidiaries in Belgium and France.
Kinshasa accuses the company of illegally using what it described as “blood minerals” in its supply chain.
The allegations against Apple reportedly include war crimes, laundering, forgery, and deception. Read more
Tom Hardy makes kind Christmas gesture to crew of Guy Richie TV show (Variety)
Tom Hardy offered to pay the wages of dozens of set builders who were left out of pocket after the construction company working on a new Guy Ritchie series was unable to make payment in time for Christmas.
The Mad Max actor recently filmed scenes for Ritchie’s forthcoming gangster drama series, titled “Fixer”, which he will star in alongside Dame Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan.
However, around 50 freelance set builders – who completed the work on the set over the summer – were left in the lurch after learning that the set construction business, Helix 3D, would not be paying out the £250,000 it owed in wages. Read more
‘‘Karate Kids: Legends’’ trailer kicks off a new chapter (THR)
Two senseis are better than one in the first trailer for “Karate Kids: Legends”, the feature that unites multiple generations from the franchise.
Ralph Macchio, star of the original trilogy as well as the Netflix revival Cobra Kai, stars alongside Jackie Chan, who played Karate teacher Mr. Han in the 2010 Karate Kid movie.
Jonathan Entwistle directs Legends, which stars Ben Wang as a young karate student. Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight and Wyatt Oleff also on the call sheet. It has a script from Rob Lieber. Read more
Bluey animated film announced by Disney+ and BBC (BBC)
Bluey, the puppy and star of the Bafta-winning children’s TV show, is hitting the big screen in her first feature film.
It will arrive in cinemas in 2027 and will then stream on Disney+, ABC iView and ABC Kids in Australia.
BBC Studios, the BBC’s commercial arm, is teaming up with Disney for the project.
Bluey is a blue heeler dog, who lives with her mum, dad and little sister, Bingo. She turns everyday events in her life into adventures.
Robert Smith credits late brother for “the idea that I could do whatever I wanted” and pursuing The Cure full-time (NME)
Robert Smith has credited his late brother for encouraging him to pursue The Cure full-time, instead of enrolling in further education.
The frontman recently appeared on Radio X for a track-by-track run-through of the band’s first album in 16 years ‘Songs Of A Lost World’, which was released on November 1.
Smith penned the track ‘I Can Never Say Goodbye’ about his brother’s death, and previously said that doing so had “helped [him] enormously”. Read more
Chief of Russia’s nuclear protection forces killed in Moscow bomb blast (AlJazeera)
A senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces in Moscow has been killed by a bomb hidden in an electric scooter, Russia’s investigative committee said.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who was chief of the Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence, was killed on Tuesday outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt.
“Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, and his assistant were killed,” the investigative committee said. Read more
Powerful earthquake hits Pacific island of Vanuatu, bodies seen in street (France24)
A powerful earthquake hit the Pacific island of Vanuatu on Tuesday, severely damaging buildings in the capital Port Vila including one housing foreign embassies, with a witness telling AFP of bodies lying in the street.
The 7.3-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 57 kilometres (35 miles), some 30 kilometres off the coast of Efate, Vanuatu’s main island, at 12:47 pm (0147 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey.
The ground floor of a building housing the US and French embassies had been crushed under higher floors, resident Michael Thompson told AFP by satellite phone after posting images of the destruction on social media. Read more
‘An incredible achievement’ — Lookman talks up CAF Award success (CompleteSports)
Ademola Lookman says winning the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year is a reward for hard work.
Lookman received the trophy at a glittering ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday night.
The Atalanta winger succeeds compatriot Victor Osimhen, who won the award last year. “It is an incredible achievement and an incredible moment,” Lookman said.Read more
Gusau dedicates Super Falcons’ award to Nigeria’s First Lady (Nation)
Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) President Ibrahim Gusau has dedicated the Super Falcons’ Team of the Year award to Nigeria’s First lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for her tremendous support for development of women’s football in the country.
Apart from Ademola Lookman being crowned as Men’s Player of the Year, Super Falcons’ goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie retained the Goalkeeper of the Year award while the Super Falcons again won the Women’s National Team of the Year award as they did last year.
Gusau, who collected the Women’s National Team of the Year award on behalf of the Falcons, dedicated the prize to Senator Tinubu even as he pledged that his administration will continue to support women’s football in all its ramifications. Read more
NPFL fines Ikorodu City N3m for match security breach (Leadership)
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has slammed the fine of N3million on Ikorodu City for the security breach in their last weekend’s home clash against Remo Stars at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena which ended in a 1-1 draw.
The league body, in a statement released on Tuesday by the Chief Operating Officer, Mr Davidson Owumi, ruled that the Lagos based breached its Rule B13.52 of the Frameworks and Rules by failing to provide adequate security during the South West derby clash.
NPFL ruled that Ikorodu City breached Rule B13.52 of its Frameworks and Rules in the match by failing to provide adequate and effective security “which resulted in unauthorised persons gaining access to restricted areas and the assault of the Remo Stars Coach, Mr. Sulaimon Kamil.” Read more
Tottenham lose Bentancur ban appeal for racist comment about South Koreans (AlJazeera)
Tottenham have lost their appeal against the severity of Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match ban for making an offensive comment about South Koreans in relation to a remark about Spurs teammate Son Heung-min.
The Football Association said Tuesday that Spurs’ appeal was dismissed following a hearing and the sanction stands, with the reasons for the decision published soon.
Bentancur has already been suspended for five domestic games, and will miss the English League Cup quarterfinal match against Manchester United on Thursday as well as the visit of Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday. Read more
Vinicius Jr named Fifa Best men’s player of the year (BBC)
Real Madrid and Brazil winger Vinicius Jr has been named the men’s player of the year at the Fifa Best Awards.
The 24-year-old and his club boycotted the recent Ballon d’Or ceremony after missing out to Manchester City’s Rodri – but he picked up this prize in Doha.
Vinicius played a key role in Real’s Champions League and La Liga-winning campaign in 2023-24, scoring 24 goals and providing 11 assists. Read more
Fallon Sherrock crashes out of World Darts Championship (DailyMail)
Fallon Sherrock has crashed out of the World Darts Championship with a 3-2 defeat by Ryan Meikle.
The ‘Queen of the Palace’ took the first set before Meikle won the next two amid a six-leg winning streak, but Sherrock took the fourth set to set up a decider. Unfortunately for her that went the way of Meikle, whose average of 83.53 bested hers of 81.81 at Ally Pally. Read more