Why we released Dowen College housemaster, others — Police (Tribune)
The police in Lagos State have explained the reason for the release of a housemaster of Dowen College and other members of staff of the school who were held in connection with the death of Sylvester Oromoni.
The Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, also said the police were already awaiting the result of a toxicology test to determine the next line of action in the case.
Odumosu said the police had to release the housemaster and others when the autopsy test conducted on the body of the deceased did not indict them of murder.
He added that the police released them when the court order, which gave the police the legal right to detain them, elapsed.
Odumosu, who was recently promoted to the rank of AIG, said: “Based on the result of the autopsy, the court order that we got elapsed and we released the housemaster and the others on bail.” Read more
Gunshot: It could’ve been a different story, Teni breaks silence on Rivers’ event (Punch)
Nigerian artiste, Teniola Apata, also known as Teni, has broken silence over a gunshot scare that disrupted her performance in Rivers state.
In a viral video which surfaced on Sunday, the singer fled the event which held at Buguma Town, Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Reacting to the incident, the singer took to her Instagram story on Monday to state that it could’ve been a different story.
She wrote, “(It) could have been a different story entirely but I’m grateful to God. Read more
COVID-19: Lagos announces availability of Moderna, Pfizer vaccines (VON)
The Lagos State Government has made available m the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines at the designated public and private vaccination centres in the state.
This announcement was made by the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, through his official Instagram account, following the receipt of a new batch of vaccines from the National Primary Healthcare Board.
Prof. Abayomi urged all eligible Lagos residents to proceed to designated public and private vaccination centres to get vaccinated accordingly.
He also announced the availability of booster doses in all designated public and private vaccination centres across the state. Read more
Don’t berate Bakare over N9b loan, Ex-Lagos CPC guber candidate tells Nigerians (ThisDay)
The 2011 gubernatorial candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) in Lagos state, Ambassador Abayomi Nurain Mumuni, has called on Nigerians to desist from criticizing Pastor Tunde Bakare, for the loan he reportedly took to build his cathedral.
This is just as he described those who had been escalating the matter as enemies of Bakare, who were envious of his successes.
Bakare who is the General Overseer of Citadel Global Community Church, formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly, was reported in the media to be swimming in a debt of N9 billion which he allegedly collected from WEMA Bank.
But Mumuni, in a statement made available to to journalists, said those behind the circulation of the news were Bakare’s adversaries who were not only envious of his successes but want to embarrass him, stating that there is no crime in collecting loan, especially for business purposes. Read more
TUC assures completing its housing project, warns oppressive employers (Sun)
The Lagos State Council of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has reassured it members that its housing project would soon be complete, and warned oppressive employers to repent forthwith.
In a new year message delivered by the Council’s chairman, Comrade Gbenga Ekundayo, TUC reaffirmed its commitment to vigorously pursue its Housing projects for workers as a way of addressing the housing challenges its members are facing in Lagos State.
“I wish to report that we are making serious progress in that direction and we are strongly committed to moving to site in the new year upon completion of all necessary documentations. We have physically identified location and have received the electronic survey. The developers should present designs and pricing soon. Therefore, I want to urge all our members to position themselves properly to enable them tap from these housing projects.
Ekundayo called for a stronger tie between TUC and other labour Unions particularly in the private sector and frowned at every unhealthy relationship between employers and Employees, saying, the relationship between employees and Employers in the economy in recent times can best be described as toxic, based on the attack on workers’ rights in the work place by some employers who willfully push workers’ rights to the back burner. Read more
Vitafoam reports N7.34b PBT, declares N1.88b dividend (ThisDay)
Vitafoam Nigeria Plc has announced a 30.02 per cent increase in profit before tax to N7.34billion in its audited full year result and accounts for period ended September 30, 2021 as against N5.65billion reported in the prior full year ended September 30, 2020.
The household company on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) profit after tax for 2021 financial year also grew by 12 per cent to N4.59 billion in 2021 from N4.11 billion reported in 2020.
The increase in profits was driven by 51.02 per cent growth in revenue to N35.40billion in 2021 from N23.44billion reported in 2020 and finance income that gained 139 per cent to N254.86million in 2021 from N106.51 million in 2020.
Sales of goods (foams and other products) in Nigeria thrust revenue, while Interest on time deposit impacted on finance income in the financial year under review. Read more
He was a true nationalist, Buhari mourns Bashir Tofa (Channels)
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday led the nation in mourning Bashir Tofa, a politician who the president has described as a “true nationalist”.
The late presidential candidate, who ran ‘in a two-horse race’, was also described by President Buhari as a promoter of Islamic culture and civilization.
According to the president, Tofa was noted for his untiring commitment to public enlightenment and was unafraid to speak the truth all the time that he lived.
“He set up the Bureau for Islamic Propagation, BIP in the mid-80s that helped to unite Muslim scholars in the Northern states, narrowing the differences that characterized their relationships. Read more
Soludo: Obiano didn’t give conditions to support my governorship ambition (DailyTrust)
Anambra State Governor-elect, Prof. Charles Soludo, has denied the allegations that Governor Willie Obiano gave him conditions which he accepted before supporting him to become governor of the state.
According to Soludo, Obiano has not discussed any condition with him, during and after the primary or the governorship election.
The governor-elect made the clarification on Sunday, during a thank you visit to Governor Obiano at his country home in Aguleri, Anambra East Local Government Area.
“Governor Obiano’s interest is to project Anambra high. Read more
Kalu lauds NFC over establishment of Cinematography Centre in Abia (Sun)
Senate Chief Whip Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC – Abia North) has commended the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) for the establishment of a Cinematography Centre in Abia State.
Kalu described the initiative as laudable and capable of building the capacity of the nation’s budding filmmakers wishing to specialise in cinematography.
The former Abia governor stated these when he laid the foundation for the construction of a Cinematography Centre at Asaga Ohafia in the Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia.
Represented by the Executive Secretary, Orji Uzor Kalu Foundation, Rev Jemima Kalu, the Senate Chief Whip commended the Managing Director of NFC, Dr Chidia Maduekwe, for being creative and initiating programmes to transform the entertainment industry. Read more
Bachelorette Michelle Young and fiancé Nayte Olukoya reunite with former suitor Joe Coleman in smiling photo (People)
It’s a Bachelorette season 18 reunion!
On Saturday, Michelle Young shared a photo on her Instagram Story of herself, fiancé Nayte Olukoya as well as ex Joe Coleman. In the since-expired shot, captured by E! News, the trio is seen flashing wide smiles.
Coleman, who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, made it into the top three on Young’s season of the ABC dating series, which aired in the fall. The school teacher, 28, previously opened up to PEOPLE about her strong connection with Coleman, especially given their shared hometown.
“We both understood so many things about each other without having to necessarily talk about those things because of how we were raised, because of the basketball community, because we had similar passions,” Young said in November. “And so that’s somebody who I felt just understood a piece of me that none of the other guys did.” Read more
‘This is huge for me’: DJ Hlo speaks out after tweeps question her award (TheSouthAfrican)
South Africans were left feeling all sorts of perplexed after DJ Hlo won Ukhozi FM’s Song of The Year Award for 2021. This is mainly because not many people have heard of her or one of her songs. She has since spoken out about how winning the award has changed her life despite the backlash.
The question on many people’s lips for the last few days has been “who exactly is she” after hearing that DJ Hlo was the recipient of Ukhozi FM’s Song of the Year Award. The young DJ was announced as the winner on 31 December last year and this shocked many.
Ever since then, DJ Hlo has been trending as locals questioned how and why she won when no one knows her or her music. “We all went to sleep confused and woke up more confused,” wrote @Lithamsanqa after hearing the news.
She has since spoken to TshisaLive regarding her win: Read more
North Korea defector returns to Kim Jong-un’s draconian rule after fleeing south (Metro)
A North Korean defector has climbed over a barbed-wire fence to return to Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship in an extremely rare case.
A man was caught by surveillance equipment on New Year’s Day entering North Korean territory via the 155-mile-long southern border, which is guarded by land mines, tank traps and combat troops.
He is likely a defector who slipped through the same heavily fortified frontier in the other direction to settle in South Korea in November 2020, South Korea’s military said on Monday.
Information on the citizen, who identified himself as a former gymnast, is still being confirmed. Read more
‘Is this a thing?’: Ariana Grande’s reaction to ‘That’s My Jam’ game tickles host Jimmy Fallon (USAToday)
Jimmy Fallon is giggling gleefully because President Joe Biden has shared the “Tonight Show” host’s pandemic-themed holiday song, just hours before Biden gave Fallon his first late-night interview as commander in chief.
“The president just tweeted about my song so I’m freaking out,” Fallon says of “It Was A … (Masked Christmas),” an upbeat track promoting COVID-19 booster vaccines featuring Fallon, Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion.
Music, at the heart of Fallon’s new game show “That’s My Jam,” has been a constant in his life. He remembers being raised on radio.
“My dad had me and my sister climb into our attic and hang speaker wire to build a giant antenna for our house (to get radio reception),” says Fallon, 47. “Probably not the safest thing for children. The whole house is basically a microwave.” Read more
David Bowie’s estate sells his publishing catalog to Warner Chappell (Variety)
After months of negotiations, David Bowie’s estate has sold the singer’s formidable publishing catalog to Warner Chappell Music for a price upwards of $250 million, sources confirm to Variety. The catalog spans six decades and includes such songs as “Heroes,” “Changes,” “Space Oddity,” “Fame,” “Let’s Dance,” “Rebel Rebel,” “Golden Years,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “All the Young Dudes,” his 1981 collaboration with Queen “Under Pressure” and hundreds more.
The deal, which sources say was the highest multiple for a song catalog to date, brings nearly all of Bowie’s music into the Warner system. Last September, the estate announced a global partnership with Warner Music that will bring the late artist’s vast recorded-music catalog from 1968 through 2016 under the company’s umbrella; the deal includes Bowie’s albums from 2000 through 2016, which were originally released via Sony Music.
The publishing announcement comes amid the “Bowie 75” celebration, surrounding the late singer’s 75th birthday on Saturday, Jan. 8. The campaign also includes pop-up stores in New York and London and the release in November of the “Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001)” boxed set and, on Friday, his previously unreleased “Toy” album, comprising re-recorded versions of relatively obscure songs dating from early in his career; while that album is available as part of the boxed set, it will be released separately on Friday.
In November, Variety broke the news that a new Bowie film culled from thousands of hours of rare performance footage, most of it previously uncirculated, is in its final stages and could premier as soon as the Sundance Film Festival later this month. Brett Morgen, the director behind “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” “Jane” and “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” has been working on the project for four years, sources say, with longtime Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti is serving as music director. Read more
David Lee Roth cancels 2 farewell shows due to Covid-19 case in his band (MetalSucks)
David Lee Roth canceled the first two shows of his planned Las Vegas “farewell” residency due to a case of Covid-19 in an unnamed member of his backing band.
The December 31 and January 1 shows at the House of Blues Las Vegas were affected. As of now, the shows on January 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22 will still go on as planned.
Roth’s current band includes lead guitarist Al Estrada, rhythm guitarist Frankie Lindri, bassist Ryan Wheeler, keyboardist Danny Wagner and drummer Mike Mussleman.
The iconic former Van Halen singer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in October that he’d soon be calling it quits, before announcing the residency (and later adding more shows): Read more
UK musicians granted visa-free travel to only one EU country (FarOut)
In devastating news of UK musicians, it has been revealed that only one EU member state has signed a post-Brexit deal that would have stopped musicians from being forced to purchase expensive work permits to the continent.
This is just the latest batch of bad news for a sector that has been especially hard-hit by the government’s less-than-fruitful post-Brexit negotiations. Indeed, since the UK left the EU in January 2021, the government has continually tried and failed to secure visa-free travel and Europe-wide permits for touring musicians. Now, it has transpired that only Spain will allow musicians from the UK to tour the country without the need for a visa.
In light of this new development, The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) has called for newly-appointed Brexit minister Liz Truss to resolve the issues once and for all with the same “hardline approach” that her predecessor, Lord Frost, took before his resignation.
In a letter to the government, Deborah Annetts, the ISM’s chief executive noted: “All the problems first identified as facing the creative sector due to the TCA, in the Brexit trade deal, still remain.” After arguing that the music sector is facing what they described as “mountains of red tape”, she maintained: “The proposed solutions such as bilateral agreements with EU states have not materialised, apart from with Spain, and there are serious issues with cabotage, carnets, and designated ports.” Read more
Floyd Mayweather is giving Anthony Joshua advice ahead of his high-stakes rematch against Oleksandr Usyk (Insider)
Floyd Mayweather is giving Anthony Joshua advice ahead of his high-stakes boxing rematch against Oleksandr Usyk later this year.
The former five-weight world champion Mayweather has a long-standing relationship with popular British heavyweight “AJ.”
Joshua once visited the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas. Mayweather and Joshua were seen together promoting an event in London. The American also flew by private jet to watch Joshua fight in a pandemic-era bout in 2020.
Through his gym and his events company, Mayweather Promotions, the 44-year-old wields significant influence over the fight game and its combatants. Read more
ANFASSC storms Garoua, mobilises supporters for Super Eagles (Sun)
As part of the preparation for the forthcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON), holding in Cameroon, President of Authentic Nigeria Football and Allied Supporters Club (ANFASSC), Abayomi Ogunjimi and a couple of members stormed Garoua, Cameroon ahead of the tournament.
The president, who went as part of the advance team that will the check facilities that will be used by his members, was happy with what he saw and said Cameroon is ready to host the continent
“I had to visit Garoua ahead of time to meet with our members and plan on how to strategies ahead of the Nations Cup and also look at the accommodations and transportation arrangement for our members.”
“The visit was very timely in that it helped me to make proper arrangements and also meet with the chairman of ANFASSC in Cameroon, Chief Kenneth Chukwuma, who was quite elated that Cameroon is hosting the continent and that the Super Eagles will not be short of support.” Read more
Arsenal and Tottenham target Dusan Vlahovic is coy over possible move away from Fiorentina (DailyMail)
Dusan Vlahovic has refused to rule out a contract renewal with Fiorentina, but hinted at a strained relationship with the club president Rocco Commisso.
The Arsenal and Tottenham target has scored 16 goals in Serie A this season and matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for the most goals netted in a calendar year with 33.
As a result, a host of elite club are trying to peruse Vlahovic, but the striker has remained coy about his future, saying ‘only God knows what will happen next’.
Speaking about his future at Fiorentina during an interview with Politika.rs, Vlahovic told the world: ‘I’ve said it several times so far. Read more
Russell Martin hopeful Swansea City-Southampton FA Cup tie will happen after Covid outbreak (BBC)
Russell Martin is hopeful Swansea City will return to action against Southampton on Saturday after a Covid-19 outbreak which saw the Championship club close their training ground.
Swansea have not played since defeat to Nottingham Forest on 11 December having seen four games postponed.
Martin is “looking forward to getting everyone back together” having had only 10 players available last week.
“Hopefully we are over the worst of it,” said the Swansea head coach. Read more
Alexander Zverev: Didn’t expect to have best match of my life in first match of 2022 (TennisWorld)
Alexander Zverev said he didn’t expect to play his best tennis in his first match of the year but he was glad he started the new season with a win. Zverev took on last year’s Indian Wells Masters champion Cameron Norrie at the ATP Cup and claimed a 7-6 (2) 6-1 win.
Zverev struggled a bit in the first set but he saved a set point on his serve in the 10th game, before dominating the tie-break to win a tight opener. “The first match of the year is never going to be the best match of your life,” said Zverev, per the ATP Cup website.
“But I’m pretty happy as I did my job. We’re here to try and win”.
“Yeah, the matches are difficult,” Zverev said before the match. “I’m playing Cameron Norrie… to start the year off against the World No. 12, it can only be in this event for me. It is a great challenge. I will know exactly where I am at after the first few matches”. Zverev skipped the Davis Cup Finals but made himself available for the ATP Cup. Zverev made it clear he came to the ATP Cup to win the title. Read more
Alonso admits he’ll miss Raikkonen: We laugh about the fake world of F1 (RN365)
Fernando Alonso takes up the mantle of Formula 1’s elder statesman in 2022, with Kimi Raikkonen calling time on his career after two decades of racing at the top level of motorsport.
Raikkonen and Alonso made their debuts in 2001, lining up as rookies on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix. Both would win World Championships in the mid-2000s, with Alonso beating Raikkonen to the 2005 title and Raikkonen getting his revenge two years later.
Pairing up as teammates at Ferrari in 2014 saw Alonso give Raikkonen a drubbing as the Finn struggled for speed in the first year of the hybrid era, while their later seasons have seen some tremendous wheel-to-wheel racing between the pair.
With Raikkonen walking away, Alonso looked back at the man whose career largely intertwined with his own. Read more
Harry Maguire out of Manchester United’s clash against Wolves (Metro)
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire will miss his side’s Premier League clash against Wolves after an injury meant he was left out of the squad for tonight’s clash at Old Trafford.
The England defender failed to meet up at the team hotel with the rest of his team-mates after sustaining an injury in United’s 3-1 win against Burnley last week.
The severity of the injury is yet to be determined but the Athletic claim Maguire is definitely out of tonight’s game, leaving United desperately short of options.
Victor Lindelof is currently isolating after testing positive for Covid-19, while Eric Bailly was not seen at the team hotel as he prepares to represent his country at AFCON. Read more