Worry more about your N5.8bn indictment than my tenure, Jonathan tells Osinbajo (Vanguard)

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has asked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to be more concerned over his indictment by the House of Representatives in the N5.8 billion he approved for the National Emergency Agency, NEMA, without due process, than his (Jonathan) sojourn in office. Jonathan, in a statement by one of his aides, Reno Omokri, was reacting to the Vice President’s claim that his government saddled the country with debt and alleged corruption of his administration. Read more

 

 

Osinbajo launches TraderMoni in more Lagos markets (Vanguard)

Vice President, Prof.  Yemi Osinbajo, has launched the Federal Government’s N10,000 interest free loans, otherwise known as TraderMoni in three more Lagos markets. Osinbajo who led other Federal and state government officials to Ikotun, Igando and Ile Epo markets urged the traders to make judicious use of the loans to secure more from Federal Government. Interacting with the traders,  Osinbajo said the objective of the scheme would be defeated if traders do not repay the loan to secure more. Read more

 

 

SARS reform: Public sitting opens in Lagos (Punch)

The Presidential Hearing on the Reform of SARS held its public sitting in Lagos on Tuesday with stakeholders calling on Federal Government to equip and improve the welfare of the police. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the public sitting, organised by Nigeria Human Rights Commission, was attended by security agencies, lawyers, judges and civil society organizations. Speaking at the public hearing, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, said the country could be effectively protected if the police were provided with the right equipment and training. Read more

 

 

Lagos approves use of hijab in schools (Sun)

The Lagos State Government has approved the use of hijab in its public secondary schools. The Muslim faithful had been agitating the use of hijabs in public secondary schools in the state, but the Lagos State Government had bluntly refused. The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) had gone to court to challenge government’s decision to ban hijab in schools and lost at the Lagos High Court. Read more

 

 

Georgia legislator, arrested at work, says she was ‘singled out as a black female senator’ (HuffPost)

Georgia state Sen. Nikema Williams (D-Atlanta) was arrested along with more than a dozen other protesters at the Georgia State Capitol on Tuesday afternoon at a demonstration asking the state to “count every vote” from last week’s gubernatorial election. Protesters shouted “Let her go!” as Williams was handcuffed while the General Assembly was in session. Williams, a civil rights advocate who organized domestic workers for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, was charged with misdemeanor obstruction of justice and spent about six hours at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.“There are countless Georgians who cast their ballots and still don’t feel like their voices are heard,” she said in a statement after being released. “I joined them down on the floor, and I was singled out as a Black female senator standing in the rotunda with constituents.” Read more

 

 

UK significantly closer to delivering Brexit, says May (BBC)

The UK is “significantly closer” to delivering on the result of the Brexit vote, Theresa May has told MPs. The prime minister was speaking before a crunch cabinet meeting where she is seeking her senior ministers’ backing for the UK and EU’s draft agreement. She told the Commons it would give the UK control of borders, laws and money – and also protect business and jobs. But Jeremy Corbyn said the UK would be stuck in an “indefinite half-way house without any real say” over the rules. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, the Labour leader said Mrs May was putting a “false choice” before Parliament between her “botched deal and no deal”. Read more

 

Trump appoints John Abizaid as new ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Aljazeera)

US President Donald Trump has named a former army general with long experience in the Middle East as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, a post that has been vacant since Joseph Westphal left in January 2017. John Abizaid, a retired four-star army general of Lebanese Christian descent, is prominent for his stint as the longest-chief of US Central Command – of which the Middle East is part – starting shortly after the Iraq war in 2003 all the way through to 2007. He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, after which he earned a scholarship to go study Arabic in Jordan, a language he did not speak as a child. Read more

 

 

Stan Lee’s daughter J.C. Lee reveals they created a new Superhero (TMZ)

Stan Lee and his daughter, J.C. Lee, were working on a brand new superhero before he died, and she’s vowing to push forward with the project. J.C. was on Tuesday’s “TMZ Live” to talk about her father’s legacy, and revealed they have a new hero named Dirt Man in the works. J.C. created the character, but she says Stan worked with her on developing him … right up until his last weekend. As for what Dirt Man’s powers are, or his origin story — J.C. would only say “it’s very interesting.” However, she did tell us whether you’ll see him in comics or on the big screen. She got choked up discussing Stan’s love for the fans … something she says started many, many decades ago. J.C. has a specific plan that will keep her dad’s legacy going. As we first reported, Stan died Monday after he was rushed to a hospital from his Hollywood Hills home. Read more

 

Claudio Ranieri replaces Slavisa Jokanovic as Fulham boss (Sky)

Claudio Ranieri has replaced Slavisa Jokanovic as Fulham manager with immediate effect. Ranieri has signed a multi-year contract at Fulham in what is his first job back in the Premier League since managing Leicester City, who he guided to the Premier League title in 2016. Jokanovic has been sacked after one win from Fulham’s opening 12 league matches following their promotion from the Championship, leaving them bottom of the table. Read more

 

Leicester City helicopter ‘did not respond to pilot’s command’ (BBC)

The helicopter that crashed outside Leicester City’s stadium, killing five people, did not respond to the pilot’s command, initial findings show. Club chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others died when the aircraft came down after a match on 27 October. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the helicopter started to turn right “contrary to the pilot’s left pedal command”. It added the cause of the apparent loss of control is still being investigated. Read more

 

 

Céline Dion launches gender-neutral children’s collection to ‘encourage a dialogue of equality’ (People)

Céline Dion is passing on her love of fashion to the next generation.

The stylish singer, 50, partnered with the gender-neutral children’s line NUNUNU to create her own collection featuring over 70 stereotype-free styles for kids aged zero to 14Y. She worked on her line, aptly named CELINUNUNU, with the brand’s founders Iris Adler and Tali Milchberg, and simultaneously announced and released the capsule on Tuesday. (Check it out on celinununu.com.) “I’ve always loved NUNUNU and what they represent,” Dion said in a statement. “Partnering with Iris and Tali to encourage a dialogue of equality and possibility makes so much sense.” Read more

 

 

TechCrunch returns to Africa with Startup Battlefield (Vanguard)

Towards its effort to identify best innovators, makers and technical entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa region, TechCrunch Startup Battlefield in partnership with Facebook, is set to take place in to Africa. The event will have senior partner at TLcom Capital, Omobola Johnson, as keynote speaker as well as other industry leaders such as senior partner at TLcom Capital, and Lexi Novitske of Singularity Investments. Following the success of last year’s Startup Battlefield Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, the 2018 competition will unfold in Lagos, Nigeria. Startups from across the Sub-Saharan Africa will be competing to be crowned the continent’s best startup on 11 December, following in the footsteps of 2017 overall winner, Kenya based Lori Systems, who built a logistics platform, revolutionising the cargo-transport value chain in Africa. Read more

 

 

FG seeks $500m tech innovation fund from AfDB (Guardian)

As part of efforts aimed at increasing the competitiveness of Nigeria’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, the Federal Government is seeking the sum of $500 million technology innovation fund from the African Development Bank (AfDB). The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, disclosed in an interview with journalists, at the just concluded first Africa Investment Forum (AIF), organised by AfDB, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Read more

 

 

Pokemon Go creator’s Harry Potter: Wizards Unite delayed until 2019 – gets new logo (Metro)

Wizards Unite, the mobile game from Pokemon Go developer Niantic, has been delayed until 2019. The new AR title was originally pinned with a 2018 release window, but has now been pushed back till next year with a new logo to soften the blow. While it looks fairly standard on the surface, avid Potter fans will notice the three wands in the logo are actually those belonging to Harry, Ron and Hermione. The announcement post on Pottermore also details how the scratched lettering is intentional too, confirming the game will ‘infuse elements’ from the spin-off Fantastic Beasts franchise. Read more

 

 

Actor Aremu Afolayan apologises to Buhari, Ambode (PMNews)

Actor, Aremu Afolayan has apologised to President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and others for the harsh words used while venting about his experience with immigration officials at the Murtala Mohammed Airport. The younger brother to Kunle Afolayan could not hide his frustration some days ago as he took to social media to shared a video expressing his frustration in the hands of immigration officials. Read more

 

 

Irish outcry over teenager’s underwear used in rape trial (BBC)

A series of protests over sexual consent are planned in Ireland, a week after a man was acquitted of raping a 17-year-old. In the trial, the defence lawyer told the jury: “You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front.” The 27-year-old man was found not guilty of rape shortly afterwards. The controversy led one Irish MP to hold up a lace thong in parliament to highlight “routine victim-blaming”. Ruth Coppinger produced the blue lacy underwear in the Dáil (Irish parliament) from her sleeve on Tuesday. “It might seem embarrassing to show a pair of thongs here… how do you think a rape victim or a woman feels at the incongruous setting of her underwear being shown in a court?” Read more

 

Court jails man for stealing microfinance bank’s N935,000 (Vanguard)

An Ota Magistrates’ Court in Ogun on Wednesday sentenced a 29-year-old man, Dotun Akande, to one year in prison for N935.000 belonging to Orisun Microfinance Bank. In a ruling, Senior Magistrate G. E. Akan, however gave the convict an option to pay N20,000 fine. Akande, who lives at No. 28 Ayantunde St., Iyana-Iyesi, Ota, had pleaded guilty to stealing. Earlier, Mr Chudu Gbesi, the prosecutor, had told the court that the accused committed the offence sometimes between May and August, 2016. Read more

 

 

An 18-year-old said she was raped while in police custody. The officers say she consented (BuzzFeed)

When Anna said she was raped by two on-duty cops, she thought it would be a simple case. She had no idea she lived in one of 35 states where officers can claim a detainee consented. Anna was sitting in the parked car with two friends when a charcoal gray van pulled up and flashlight beams momentarily blinded her. The 18-year-old had grown up in south Brooklyn and spent many Friday nights like this driving around the city with friends, looking for places to hang out away from home. On this night, though, September 15, 2017, sometime between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., she crossed paths with the cops. Read more