Two unemployed men allegedly steal seven goats in Lagos (Vanguard)
Two unemployed men, Sheyi Ajayi and Ismaila Olalekan, who allegedly stole seven goats, on Thursday appeared before an Ejigbo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State.
Ajayi, 29, and Olalekan, 27, are standing trial on a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and breach of the peace.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty.
According to the prosecutor, Insp. N. Simon, the duo and two others at large committed the offences on Nov. 11, at 3:00 a.m. in Ijeododo community of Lagos State. Read more
Lagos asks residents to identify corpses of missing relatives at LASUTH (Thisday)
The Lagos State Chief Coroner, Justice Mojisola Ayoka Dada, has called on residents looking for their missing loved ones to contact the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to identify such corpses.
Justice Dada, in an advertorial in some national newspapers, personally signed by him stated: “This is to notify the General Public that the Chief Coroner of Lagos State, Justice M. A. Dada pursuant to Section 15, Coroner’s System Law of Lagos State, 2015 the Pathology Team would want all those who have lost loved ones between October 19-27, 2020 (that is, next-of-kin of the victims) to provide relevant information that would assist the identification exercise. Read more
Gridlock, chaos as truck overturns in Lagos (Vanguard)
Several motorists and commuters were stranded in traffic gridlock in the early hours on Thursday for several hours, following a lone accident involving a truck conveying HDF boards (plywoods) at Ojuelegba Bridge, outward Stadium, Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Fortunately, there was no loss of life or casualty recorded in the incident.
Motorists were seen stranded in the standstill traffic situation in the axis while others made frantic effort to detour to alternative routes.
There were long queues of vehicles as they got stuck in the standstill traffic situation while the recovery operation lasted. Read more
Lagos Assembly begins 3-day public hearing for EndSARS victims (Guardian)
The Lagos State House of Assembly has met with some EndSARS victims from the Lagos Central Senatorial district to determine the level of compensation for the victims.
The Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni, made this known during a three-day public hearing on the victims of the aftermath of the EndSARS protest in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, had on Oct. 26, constituted a nine-man Ad Hoc committee headed by Eshinlokun-Sanni. Read more
Court orders arrest of 3 over 10 missing children (Punch)
A Kano State High Court presided over by Justice Dije Aboki on Wednesday ordered the arrest of a principal suspect, Amina Ibrahim, alias Gara, and two others, Zainab Salisu and Umar Aliyu, in connection with the disappearance of 10 children in the state.
The three suspects were out of the 10 suspects dragged before the court by the Kano State Government on two counts bordering on conspiracy and kidnapping of the children.
At the commencement of the Wednesday’s court sitting, the prosecution counsel, Tijjani Ibrahim, informed the court that he did not know why the three defendants were not in court. Read more
Jonathan, an epitome of selfless leadership, says Ekweremadu (Thisday)
A former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has described former President Goodluck Jonathan as an epitome of selfless leadership.
Ekweremadu, in a tribute to the ex-president as he marks his 63rd birthday Friday, hailed Jonathan for his democratic temperament and selfless leadership.
He commended the former president for not only the electoral reforms recorded under his administration, but also for providing the right democratic atmosphere to ensure that the reforms were implemented by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant agencies and stakeholders. Read more
ASUU disowns notice of resumption on Twitter (Guardian)
Dr John Edor, the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Calabar (UniCal) branch, has debunked rumours that the union has called off its eight months old strike.
Edor debunked the rumour in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Thursday.
He was reacting to a statement on Twitter purportedly credited to the union, calling off the strike. Read more
Strike: Private varsities recruiting our members – ASUU (Punch)
The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, on Thursday, says the union is losing its members to private universities due to the inability of the Federal Government to meet its demands.
Ogunyemi, who spoke while featuring on a television programme in Abuja today monitored by The PUNCH, also said the government cannot threaten the university lecturers with court action.
He said, “Talking about options, whether they want to go to court and intimidate the union to surrender. You don’t do that with scholars, no country has ever survived it because we have options too. Read more
Websites crash as desperate gamers try to snag PS5 on launch day (Metro)
Retailers are having trouble filling the demand from ravenous gamers wanting to get hold of a PlayStation 5 on launch day. Video games have seen a huge boom during lockdown and the launch of a next-gen game console is apparently too much for some websites to handle. Reports are emerging that the likes of Tesco, GAME and John Lewis are all suffering as would-be PS5 gamers try desperately to hand over hundreds of pounds for the new system. Due to lockdown, gamers are forced to shop for the new console online rather than heading down to the shops to get one. Read more
Mutant COVID-19 strain that jumped from minks to humans is ‘most likely’ extinct in Denmark – health ministry (RT)
Denmark’s health ministry has said that the strain of coronavirus that mutated in mink and infected humans is “most likely” extinct, less than two weeks after a strict lockdown was put in place in the afflicted region.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Danish Ministry of Health declared that a new virus variant, which mutated in mink, had not been registered in the human population since September 15.
Following an assessment by the Statens Serum Institut, it was deemed that the variant, known as Cluster 5, has most likely become extinct in Denmark. Read more
Judge in South African graft probe rejects Zuma’s bid for recusal (Guardian)
The head of a South African panel investigating rampant state corruption under Jacob Zuma shot down Thursday a bid by the former president to have him step aside.
Zuma, seeking what he called an “impartial” judge, had accused Judge Raymond Zondo of bias and demanded he recuse himself.
But Zondo tossed out the application, saying it “failed to meet the test for a reasonable apprehension of bias.” Read more
Hong Kong: ‘Eyes will be plucked out,’ China warns West (BBC)
China has strongly rebuked the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada after being accused of a concerted effort to silence critics in Hong Kong.
The countries, which form the Five Eyes alliance, criticised China’s imposition of new rules to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong.
They urged Beijing to reverse course.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman warned countries to stay out of China’s affairs saying: “They should be careful or their eyes will be plucked out.”
“The Chinese never make trouble and are never afraid of anything,” Zhao Lijian told journalists in Beijing on Thursday, saying it did not “matter if they had five or 10 eyes”. Read more
Cardi B claps back at criticism after she’s crowned Billboard Woman Of The Year ‘for one song’ WAP (Metro)
Cardi B has set the haters straight after copping criticism following her crowning as Billboard’s Woman of the Year amid the massive success of WAP. The 28-year-old rapper shared some home truths on Instagram overnight after she was bombarded with comments about her only releasing one song in 2020. Granted it was the chart-topping hit WAP, alongside Megan Thee Stallion, it seemed fans didn’t feel queen Cardi was worthy of such an accolade. To that, Cardi reminded the haters of the success of the hit, which was her fourth No1 in the US, and also extended her record as the female rapper with the most chart-toppers in Billboard Hot 100 history. Read more
Brexit talks suspended after positive Covid test (BBC)
The EU and UK chief negotiators have stepped back from post-Brexit trade talks after a member of the EU team tested positive for Covid-19.
The EU’s Michel Barnier said his UK counterpart Lord David Frost had agreed to suspend negotiations between them for a “short period”.
Mr Barnier added their teams would continue discussions in “full respect” of safety guidelines. Read more
Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman 1984 to land in cinemas and on HBO Max at Christmas (Metro)
Wonder Woman 1984 will be released in cinemas and on HBO Max this Christmas.
The sequel, starring Gal Gadot as the titular superhero, has been repeatedly delayed by the pandemic. Warner Media has now announced that the film, directed by Patty Jenkins, will be available to watch both on the big screen and HBO’s shiny new online streaming service on December 25. Read more
Nwora, 7 other Nigerian-Americans selected for 2020 NBA draft (Punch)
Eight players of Nigerian descent have been selected in the 2020 NBA draft held via videoconferencing on Thursday, with two of them making the Top 10 pick.
Six of the players – Isaac Okoro, Onyeka Okongwu, Precious Achiuwa, Zeke Nnaji, Udoka Azubuike and Desmond Bane were selected in the first round, while Daniel Oturu and Jordan Nwora were selected in the second round.
This is the first time Nigeria will be having eight players in the draft. The previous record was in the 2017 draft where five Nigerians – Bam Adebayo (14), OG Anunoby (23), Wesley Iwundu (33), Semi Ojeleye (37) and Ike Anigbogu (47) were picked. Read more
Pep Guardiola: Manchester City boss signs new two-year deal (BBC)
Pep Guardiola has signed a two-year deal that will see him remain as Manchester City manager until the summer of 2023.
The 49-year-old has won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and three League Cups since joining in 2016.
Guardiola told City’s website: “We have achieved a great deal together, scored goals, won games and trophies, and we are all very proud of that success.
“Having that kind of support is the best thing any manager can have.” Read more
Fedor Emelianeko says Russia’s passion for MMA will continue, despite Khabib’s retirement (RT)
Legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko says that Russian mixed martial arts will continue to prosper long after the retirement of UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov – but who will eventually fill the void when Khabib steps away?
Emelianenko remains one of the most influential figures in Russian combat sports owing to a near-flawless run in his prime in which he established himself as the consensus best heavyweight in the sport’s history.
‘The Last Emperor’, 44, remains an active fighter and last competed in December where he earned a first-round finish of fellow PRIDE alum Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. Read more
Ovie Ejaria awaits Fifa clearance to play for Nigeria (BBC)
Former England youth international Ovie Ejaria is waiting for clearance from Fifa in order to play for Nigeria at senior level.
The 22-year-old Reading midfielder, who spent six years at Liverpool but only made eight senior appearances for the Premier League champions, helped England win the 2017 Under-20 World Cup.
The Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick has confirmed that the process for him to swap allegiances has been started.
He is eligible to play for the Super Eagles through his parents, but he will have to wait until next year while Fifa ratifies his switch from England. Read more
FIFA announce reforms to protect pregnant footballers (Guardian)
FIFA plans to introduce a series of measures to protect pregnant footballers including mandatory maternity leave “of at least 14 weeks”, the sport’s world governing body announced on Thursday.
“We want to see more women play football but in the same time have a family,” Sarai Bareman, FIFA’s chief women’s football officer, explained to journalists.
The body said it would put a series of reforms forward for approval by the FIFA Council next month, making them immediately applicable across all of its 211 member federations. Read more
NBA draft: First pick Anthony Edwards set for Minnesota Timberwolves (BBC)
Anthony Edwards paid tribute to his late mother and grandmother as he was named the NBA’s number one draft pick with a move to Minnesota Timberwolves.
Both family members died of cancer and the Georgia guard, 19, sat next to paintings of the pair as the announcement was made.
“It’s an indescribable feeling – I can’t even describe it,” Edwards said.
“My family is emotional. I’m sure when I get off of here I’m going to get emotional.” Read more
