Good morning Nigeria, welcome to the The Herald roundup of major Nigerian newspaper headlines today, Friday, 19th January 2024.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles defeats Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to become 2nd in Group A.
The Herald reports that a second-half penalty from William Troost-Ekong was the sole difference as Nigeria beat the host country at the Olympic Stadium Ebimpe, Abidjan, on Thursday evening.
With the Super Eagles victory, Ivory Coast are in third position with 3 points, Equatorial Guinea are on top of the group with goals difference ahead of Nigeria, while Guinea-Bissau are in fourth position with no point.
The Supreme Court has set judgment date for Friday, January 19, in the dispute over the last governorship election in Gombe state.
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jibrin Barde, and the party had filed an appeal to challenge the election of Governor Muhammad Yahaya of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and seek its nullification.
A five-member panel of the apex court, headed by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, declared the date for judgment after lawyers representing the parties adopted their written briefs on Thursday morning.
The court rejected the appeal filed by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Nafiu Bala, as his lawyer, Herbert Nwoye, withdrew it upon realizing that the appeal was deemed a futile exercise, wasting the court’s time.
The Leader Of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Ayodele has announced that he is set to build a multi-million naira mosque in Lagos.
This announcement was made available to the press in a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin.
Primate Ayodele who initially spoke about his plans for the mosque in December made it known that the reason behind his decision isn’t for self glorification but to eliminate religion and embrace humanity.
The cleric explained that Jesus Christ didn’t preach religion but humanity therefore; it doesn’t matter whether one is a Christian or Muslim. “We are first human before anything else.”
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has denied validating a memo purportedly from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President which authorised N3 billion to verify the National Social Register.
Onanuga spoke through his X handle on Thursday.
The presidential aide was reacting to a media report that quoted him as saying that President Bola Tinubu had approved the release of N3 billion to verify the National Social Register under the former administration of Muhammadu Buhari.
He also allegedly validated a memo dated December 18, 2023, from the Office of Chief of the Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, titled ‘Conveyance of approval; Re: appeal to use N3,000,000,000.00 (three billion naira) from the Covid-19 palliative fund for verification of the national social register’.
Former Senator for Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani has raised the alarm over the plight of the kidnapped former school principal in Birnin Gwari local government area of Kaduna State.
Sani, an activist-cum-politician, first drew attention to the ex-school principal’s plight in a Tuesday post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In his Tuesday post, Sani said that the ex-school principal, whose name he did not state, had been in bandits’ captivity for three days after he volunteered to deliver ransom money demanded by them for some kidnap victims but ended up being abducted by the same bandits.
In Thursday’s post, the ex-lawmaker said that the villagers had raised money demanded as ransom by the bandits but no one has volunteered to deliver it because of the fear of being kidnapped.
Mabel Makun, the wife of the well-known Nigerian comedian AY Makun, has taken to Instagram to express her concerns about an alleged threat to her life. In a post made on Thursday, Mabel revealed that she has endured mental abuse for an extended period and is now taking decisive action by heading to the police station to file a report.
While Mabel did not disclose the identity of the individual responsible for the alleged threats and mental abuse, she made it clear that if anything were to happen to her, there would be just one person to hold accountable. The Instagram post hinted at the severity of the situation, indicating that she has reached a breaking point after enduring mental and all-encompassing abuse for an extended period.
The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, on Wednesday, said it had arrested a man in the Mushin area whose pregnant wife fainted after being allegedly assaulted by the man.
According to the agency, neighbours rescued a pregnant woman from her husband in an alleged domestic violence case.
The agency, in a statement, said the neighbours rushed the survivor, who lost consciousness in the process of the assault, to the General Hospital for medical attention.
DSVA said it received a distress call on the matter from “a mandated reporter” in the early hours of Wednesday and swiftly contacted the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command to intervene in the situation.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, has launched a special intervention squad for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, to curb the menace of insecurity in the Nigerian capital.
The Herald recalls that Abuja has, in recent weeks, witnessed an upsurge in abductions and attacks by bandits infiltrating the FCT from neighbouring states.
In response to the incidents, IGP Egbetokun launched the special squad, urging the officers to root out criminal elements in Abuja.
He also stated that the squad has the full support of the Nigerian government and some foreign governments.
The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, revealed on Wednesday night that foreigners were behind the illegal mining activities that led to the explosion that rocked the state on Tuesday night.
According to the Governor who made the revelation on ChannelsTV’s Politics Today, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) certificate of the mining company which is linked with the Tuesday night’s explosion that happened in the Bodija area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, showed some foreign names as owners.
Makinde further revealed that another of the victims of the tragic incident has died in the hospital increasing the death toll from two to three persons.
He further revealed that about 60 persons from the 77 people who were rushed to the hospital had been discharged after proper medical attention.
The Appeal Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has affirmed the election petition tribunal’s decision to annul the victory of Honourable Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo, the representative for Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives from Akwa Ibom State.
Justice Abba Mohammed, in delivering the verdict, asserted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) violated the clear provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, Regulations, Guidelines for the conduct of the 2022 Election, and Manual for Election Officials 2023 in declaring and returning Ukpong-Udo.
The tribunal, in its ruling, not only nullified the election but also mandated a supplementary election in the polling units where the initial election was not held within the Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency. A total of 33 polling units are slated for the supplementary election to determine the rightful winner.
That’s The Herald roundup of top Nigerian newspaper headlines. Read more Nigerian news on The Herald . See you again tomorrow.