Wanted Lagos cult leader, one other arrested for robbery (DailyTrust)
The police in Lagos said they have arrested a suspected secret cult leader, Bamidele Moses, alias Badoo, who they alleged had been terrorising residents of the Bariga area and its environs. The arrest of Moses, who was said to have been on the police wanted list for many months allegedly for multiple murders and robbery, followed the earlier arrest of one of his gang members, Sodiq Olowolayemo, 23, with whom he had allegedly conspired to rob a man, Jude Saka, of his Bajaj motorcycle on December 8, 2019. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said that on November 1, 2019, following information received about the activities of some suspected cultists in the Bariga area, the police began investigation on the movement of the gang. Read more
Suspected killers of Moradeun Balogun remanded (Punch)
The Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Ebute Meta, on Tuesday, ordered the remand of the suspected killers of Moradeun Balogun, who was stabbed on her way from work in the Gbagada area of the state.
PUNCH Metro had reported that Moradeun was stabbed in the neck by the robbers around the NCIE bus stop, Gbagada.
It was gathered that the victim was rushed to the R-Jolad Hospital, where she was allegedly not attended to because a police report was not presented by the good Samaritans, who came to her rescue. Read more
Supreme Court sacks Ihedioha, declares Uzodinma governor (DailyTrust)
The Supreme Court yesterday sacked Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State and declared Senator Hope Uzodinma winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship election in the state. A seven-member panel of Justices presided by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad held that Ihedioha was not validly elected as governor by majority of lawful votes cast in the election. The panel therefore ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Ihedioha, while a fresh certificate of return be issued to Uzodinma forthwith and “he should be sworn in as governor immediately.” Read more
Pastor accuses TRACE of withholding motorcycle after paying fine (Punch)
A pastor, Rasaq Adewunmi, has accused the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps of refusing to release his impounded motorcycle after he had paid the fine imposed by the agency.
It was gathered that Adewunmi was arrested by some officers of the corps on June 22, 2019, around the Ijuri bus stop on the Atan/Agbara Road in the state for not wearing a crash helmet.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the team, led by one B. O. Akinwande, impounded Adewunmi’s motorcycle with number plate EKY 104 QF and fined him N5,000. Read more
FG declares Amotekun illegal (DailyTrust)
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, yesterday declared the recently launched southwest security outfit, codenamed “Amotekun”, illegal. The AGF, in a statement by his spokesman, Umar Gwandu, described Amotekun as contrary to the constitution of Nigeria. He said no state government, whether singly or in a group, has the legal right and competence to establish any form of organization or agency for the defence of Nigeria or any of its constituent parts. Read more
Lebanese, lawyer nabbed over trafficking of woman to Lebanon (DailyTrust)
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) yesterday announced the arrest of three suspects in connection with the alleged recruitment and trafficking of a Nigerian woman, Omolola Ajayi, to Lebanon. NAPTIP’s DG, Julie Okah-Donli, said the arrest was made through an inter-agency collaboration with the Kwara State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC). She said yesterday that upon receipt of the information through a video which went viral on the social media, the Intelligence and International Cooperation Unit (IICU) of NAPTIP, immediately swung into action and just about the same time, officers of the Kwara State Command of the NSCDC arrested the suspects in Ilorin. Read more
Man gets ‘Brexit surprise’ on invoice for new Mercedes-Benz (Metro)
A man has no idea how much he will end up paying for his new Mercedes-Benz after a ‘Brexit disclaimer’ was put on it. John Hamill, 65, completed his order on Thursday, only to be handed an invoice with a stamp that said the price could change any time up to delivery day, should a customs duty tariff be put on cars imported into the UK after leaving the EU. The retired company director, from Hamilton in Scotland, was not told the cost could change prior to putting down a £500 deposit. Read more
Democratic debate: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren ramp up feud (BBC)
There have been seven official Democratic debates but this one had a real sense of urgency – in less than three weeks the candidates will face their first test.
The primary season begins on 3 February with the Iowa caucuses, when the Democratic voters in this state will pick who they want to take on Donald Trump in November.
As the six White House hopefuls took to the debate stage in Des Moines, the Republican US president they have in their sights was mocking them at a rally 400 miles east in Wisconsin. Read more
One dead after huge explosion at chemical plant in Spain (Metro)
A massive explosion at a chemical plant in Spain has left one person dead and two others fighting for their lives. A government spokesman for the port city of Tarragona, where the plant is located, said the person who died was inside a nearby flat which collapsed due to the force of the blast. The victim is thought to have been crushed to death, but local town hall sources said flying glass from one of the apartment windows could be to blame. Read more
China needs to show Taiwan respect, says president (BBC)
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has told the BBC that China needs to “face reality” and show the island “respect”.
She was re-elected for a second term on Saturday, winning by a landslide after a campaign in which she focused heavily on the rising threat from Beijing.
The Chinese Communist Party has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and the right to take it by force if necessary.
Ms Tsai insisted that the sovereignty of the self-governing island was not in doubt or up for negotiation. Read more
17 children injured after airliner coming in to land dumps fuel on playground (Metro)
Seventeen children and nine adults were reportedly injured after an airliner coming in to land dumped its fuel on a playground, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The plane is said to have sprayed the fuel over the playground at Park Avenue School in Cuhady, California, as it made its final approach towards Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Tuesday afternoon. Approximately 70 firefighters and paramedics rushed onto the scene to treat anyone with skin irritation or breathing problems, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department and School District. The fire department said that the injuries were all minor. Read more
Barty survives scare to stay alive in Adelaide (DailyTrust)
World No 1 Ashleigh Barty survived a scare on Tuesday before battling through her opening match at the Adelaide International to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three tough sets. The top seed, who had a bye in the first round at Memorial Drive, faced a struggle to get past her experienced Russian opponent 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 and book a place in the quarterfinals. The Australian was joined in the last eight by second seed Simona Halep, who made her 2020 competitive debut with a 6-4, 7-5 defeat of Ajla Tomljanovic. Read more
Bushfire Smoke: Dalila Jakupovic collapses during Australian Open match (Metro)
Slovenian ace Dalila Jakupovic was forced into retiring from her Australian Open qualifying match against Stefanie Voegel after collapsing on court with a coughing fit. The 28-year-old was close to victory but had to abandon her match against the Swiss after struggling to breathe due to the stiffling heat and poor air quality in Melbourne. The tournament has been given the go-ahead in Victoria, despite the ongoing bushfires that have swept through Australia since the New Year. Read more
Tottenham beat Middlesbrough in FA Cup (BBC)
Tottenham gained a hard-fought victory over Championship side Middlesbrough in their FA Cup third-round replay.
Spurs were gifted a second-minute lead when Boro goalkeeper Tomas Mejias passed the ball to Giovani lo Celso, who cut inside a challenge and scored.
Lamela doubled the hosts’ advantage after 15 minutes when he flicked the ball past Mejias after a fine run.
George Saville pulled one back late on for Boro with a low strike from 20 yards out, but it was not enough. Read more
Gauff aiming for magical time at Australian Open (DailyTrust)
A little magic may help Coco Gauff go a long way in next week’s Australian Open main draw, with the American teenager entering her first Grand Slam tournament solely on her own merits. Gauff arrived in Melbourne on Monday after playing in Auckland with a world ranking of 66 and eligible for the main draw at Melbourne Park. Her only other appearance at Melbourne was in the junior tournament in 2018. Read more
Judd Trump describes loss to Shaun Murphy in Masters first round as ‘flattering’ result (Metro)
Defending champion Judd Trump has been beaten 6-3 in the first round of the Masters by Shaun Murphy, in what he described as a flattering result for the Magician. The world number one rolled in three centuries and looked superb in the contest, but Murphy did enough to pinch six frames from him and book a quarter-final spot. It is the fifth straight victory for the lower-ranked player at this year’s tournament as the shocks continue at Alexandra Palace. Read more
Australia fires: Australian Open qualifying matches delayed by three hours (BBC)
Australian Open organisers have imposed a three-hour delay to the start of qualifying matches on Wednesday because of the “very poor” air quality from ongoing bushfires in the country.
It is the second successive day the start of play has been delayed because of the conditions in Melbourne.
On Tuesday, Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic had to be helped off court after retiring from her match. Read more
Ndidi set for one-month injury lay-off (Punch)
Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi may need surgery and could be out for up to a month with an unspecified injury.
The Leicester player was ruled out of the Foxes’ Carabao Cup semi-final first leg with Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Boss Brendan Rodgers revealed Ndidi suffered an injury in training – although did not specify what – on Tuesday and may face an operation.
Before the match, Rodgers said, “Wilf took a knock in training yesterday, which unfortunately means he might need a slight operation tomorrow (Wednesday). Read more
Koepka plays down world No 1 battle (DailyTrust)
Brooks Koepka has played down the significance of retaining his world No 1 ranking as he prepares to return to action after three months out. Koepka headlines a heavyweight field at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, his first competitive outing since undergoing treatment on a knee injury that had first surfaced in March last year. Read more
Bruno Fernandes’ agent drops fresh Instagram hint over Manchester United transfer (Metro)
Bruno Fernandes’ agent has dropped an enormous hint that the midfielder could be set for a move to Manchester United. United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward held advanced talks with Sporting Lisbon president Frederico Varandas in London last week with a view to reaching an agreement for Fernandes. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to add a creative player to his squad and believes Fernandes, 25, can provide the spark plus the goalscoring ability his side have been missing in midfield. However, the two parties are some distance apart with regards to Fernandes’ valuation and discussions have stalled with just over a fortnight remaining of the January transfer window. Read more
Okoye relishes Eagles experience (Punch)
Fortuna Dusseldorf goalkeeper Maduka Okoye says he is ready to challenge Daniel Akpeyi’s for the No. 1 shirt in the Super Eagles in the absence of injured first-choice Francis Uzoho.
The Nigeria international earned rave reviews after his debut appearance for the Eagles against Brazil last October.
Okoye revealed that he had issues when he was first invited to the team but has since integrated well into the team. Read more
West Ham’s Fabianski out for up to two weeks (DailyTrust)
West Ham United goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski will be out for up to two weeks due to inflammation of the scar tissue in his hip following surgery, the Premier League club said. The 34-year-old underwent surgery for a muscle problem that he sustained in September and returned to action late last year, but he was substituted after only 13 minutes in last Friday’s 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United. West Ham said scans confirmed the Pole suffered irritation of scar tissue, which is common after surgery. Read more