Supreme Court affirms Sanwo-Olu’s election (Punch)
The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Sanwo-Olu’s victory was upheld by the tribunal and Appeal Court in the state.
The kernel of the case of the Labour Party candidate in the election, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, is on Sanwo-Olu’s running mate qualification.
He claimed that the deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat, had renounced his citizenship as a Nigerian. Read more
Tinubu meets APC governors in Aso Rock (Nation)
President Bola Tinubu is currently meeting with governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), under the aegis of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF).
The chairman of the PGF, who is also the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, led fourteen others of his colleagues into the meeting.
The other governors include those from Kwara, Benue, Kaduna, Ekiti, Cross River, Ogun, Borno, Yobe, Kebbi, Jigawa, Ondo, Kogi, and Sokoto, are in attendance. Read more
In fresh attacks, 40 bandits kidnap 23 Abuja residents (Sun)
About 40 gunmen suspected to be bandits, on Thursday, stormed Kawu community in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and abducted 23 people.
The community shares boundaries with two states, Niger and Kaduna.
The Councilor representing the area, Abdulmumini Zakari, who doubles as the deputy speaker in the council, said the bandits arrived in the community on Wednesday from the Kuyeri Forest in Kaduna State. Read more
Zulum’s spokesman Isa Gusau is dead (Guardian)
Borno State Governor Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum has lost his Special Assistant on Media and Strategy Isa Gusau.
The Borno State Government announced Gusau’s death in a statement on Friday.
“We regret to announce that Mallam Isa Gusau died in the early hours of Thursday in a hospital outside the country after battling a heart problem,” the government said. Read more
Supreme Court reinstates Gov Mutfwang of Plateau State (Vanguard)
The Supreme Court, on Friday, reinstated Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, whose election was nullified by the Court of Appeal.
The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel of Justices, vacated the judgement of the appellate court, which sacked Muftwang of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Nentawe Goshwe, as the valid winner of the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18, 2023.
The court upheld the return of Muftwang as the winner of the election. Read more
Supreme Court upholds election of Francis Nwifuru as Ebonyi governor (Guardian)
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the election of Francis Nwifuru as the governor of Ebonyi.
Justice Tijjani Abubakar, who delivered the judgement, dismissed the appeal by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Chukwuma Odii.
Justice Abubakar described the appeal as lacking in merit. Read more
Policeman tortured by soldiers seeks Army Chief’s intervention (DailyTrust)
A Nigerian policeman identified as Edet Inwang is currently in hospital receiving treatment after he was allegedly tortured and brutalised by some soldiers in Asaba, Delta State.
In a post via X, Edet’s lawyer, Inibehe Effiong revealed that the attack happened on December 9, 2023 when his client was going to his place of work.
He decided to park at a store very close to the Nigerian Army’s Brigade to purchase some items. Read more
Supreme Court affirms Lawal’s election as Zamfara Governor (Channels)
The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Zamfara Governor.
The apex court set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal Abuja, which had declared the Governorship Election as inconclusive and ordered a re-run in three Local Government Areas of the state.
The Court of Appeal had in November nullified the election of Lawal’s election. Read more
Kali Uchis expecting first child with Don Toliver (UPI)
Kali Uchis is going to be a mom.
The 29-year-old singer is expecting her first child with her boyfriend, singer and rapper Don Toliver.
Uchis announced her pregnancy by unveiling her baby bump in her music video for the song “Tu Corazón Es Mío / Diosa,” released Thursday.
The video shows Uchis baking in the kitchen with Toliver as home movie footage from their childhood plays. Read more
A$AP Rocky fires back at Drake on Kid Cudi ‘INSANO’ album after Rihanna diss (HipHopDx)
A$AP Rocky has responded to Drake dissing him and Rihanna via Kid Cudi‘s new album.
Cudi dropped his latest offering INSANO on Friday (January 12) and it features a collaboration with the Harlem rapper called “WOW.”
On the track, A$AP Rocky appears to fire some shots in Drizzy’s direction, rapping: “These n-ggas can’t stomach me, gotta go get a mandrake.” Read more
Burundi closes border with Rwanda in latest East Africa row (AlJazeera)
The Rwandan government says Burundi had decided to shut its border with the East African nation, weeks after its president accused Kigali of hosting a rebel group.
In late December, Burundi’s president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, accused Rwanda of hosting and training the Red Tabara rebel group, which claimed responsibility for an attack near Burundi’s western border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Rwanda has rejected his allegations.
A Rwanda spokesperson said on Thursday that the government learned about Burundi’s border closure through media reports, adding that it violated the principles of a regional bloc both are members of. Read more
After 17 years of marriage – and a divorce – couple surprise daughters by remarrying (People)
As it turns out, divorce is not always the end of the road.
At least not for Julie Shore and Scott Gaede, who decided after nearly 10 years apart that their love story deserved another chapter. For the couple, who first met at 24 years old, it was about much more than just reigniting a flame — it was about bringing their family back together again.
In the midst of watching her parents fall back in love and through all the logistics of planning an engagement and wedding, Rachel Gaede, 24, has chronicled the journey on TikTok through several videos garnering tens of millions of views. Read more
Former Kenyan minister detained in Uganda over alleged gold smuggling (AfricaNews)
Ugandan authorities are currently detaining Stephen Tarus, Kenya’s former Assistant Minister for Internal Security, on charges of smuggling gold into the country using counterfeit documents.
Arrested last week, Mr. Tarus was brought before a Ugandan anti-corruption court on Wednesday to face accusations of falsifying export documents, as stated by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The URA revealed that the use of fraudulent trade documentation resulted in significant financial losses for the Ugandan government.
The charges against Mr. Tarus specifically pertain to the forgery of export documents related to 13 kilograms of gold valued at $30,000 (£24,000). The URA suspects that the gold was intended for Dubai as part of an illicit smuggling operation. Read more
UK pledges to send thousands of drones to Kyiv as Sunak visits Zelensky (Independent)
The UK has pledged to send the highest number of military drones of any country to Ukraine as Rishi Sunak makes a surprise visit to Kyiv.
The government announced on Friday that Britain would be increasing its support for Ukraine’s fight against Putin to £2.5 billion next financial year – an increase of £200 million.
The move geared towards helping Ukraine purchase new military drones including surveillance, long-range and sea drones. Read more
Turkey providing documents for genocide hearings against Israel -Erdogan (StraitsTimes)
Turkey is providing documents for a case brought by South Africa against Israel at the U.N.’s top court on a charge of committing genocide against Palestinian civilians, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Turkey would continue to provide documents, mostly visuals, on Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
“I believe Israel will be convicted there. We believe in the justice of the International Court of Justice”, Erdogan said. Read more
AFCON 2023: Uzoho, Nwabili, Ojo in fierce battle for Super Eagles number 1 spot (CompleteSports)
Super Eagles goalkeepers, Francis Uzoho, Olorunleke Ojo and Stanley Nwabili put up a good showing during the team’s training session at the Ecole Nationale de la Police on Thursday.
The trio are battling for Super Eagles number one spot ahead of the 2023 Africa as aCup of Nations.
Uzoho was number one choice during the qualifiers but his position is under threat following his poor displays in recent outings for the Super Eagles. Read more
2023 AFCON: Onuachu replaces Sadiq Umar in Super Eagles squad (Leadership)
The Super Eagles have officially announced that Trabzonspor striker Paul Onuachu has replaced injured Sadiq Umar on the AFCON squad.
Onuachu, who scored Thursday night for his club in the Turkish Super Lig, has been on top form since his loan transfer to Turkey this season.
Real Sociedad striker Sadiq Umar suffered a knee injury during the team’s AFCON warm-up match against Guinea in Dubai this week. Read more
Kylian Mbappe and David Beckham watch Cleveland Cavaliers beat Brooklyn Nets in Paris (BBC)
Paris-St-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe and former England captain David Beckham were among the stars sat court side as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets in Paris, France.
The Cavaliers won 111-102 at the Accor Arena in front of nearly 15,000 fans.
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 21 of his season-high 45 points in the fourth quarter, along with 12 rebounds. Read more
2024 Australian open Women’s Singles draw (NBC)
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland and American Coco Gauff, who won September’s U.S. Open at age 19, are in opposite halves of the Australian Open, which starts Sunday.
Swiatek, a 22-year-old with French Open and U.S. Open titles, regained the No. 1 ranking after winning November’s WTA Finals.
She goes into the Australian Open, where her best result was a semifinal in 2022, on an overall 16-match win streak dating to Oct. 1. Read more
Ten Hag wishes Sancho good luck after Man Utd exit (France24)
Erik ten Hag insists he wants Jadon Sancho to impress at Borussia Dortmund after the Manchester United winger’s loan move back to his former club.
Sancho’s troubled spell at Old Trafford has come to an end, temporarily at least, after the breakdown of his relationship with United boss Ten Hag.
The 23-year-old joined United from Dortmund in 2021, but he struggled to make an impact before clashing with Ten Hag over his lack of playing time. Read more
Rising MMA star Fariyar Aminipour, 23, dies after horrific motorbike crash in Thai tunnel (Mirror)
The 23-year-old Iranian was riding his motorbike through a tunnel in Phuket when police believe he lost control and hit a curb, suffering severe head injuries which saw him rushed to hospital and later pronounced dead.
Rising MMA star Fariyar Aminipour has been killed after a motorcycle crash Thailand.
The 23-year-old was riding his motorbike through a tunnel at the side of the Chaofa West Road, in Phuket, where he crashed and suffered a major head injury on Thursday morning. Read more