Month: April 2019

Neymar Sees Three Match Ban Following Man Utd Penalty Rant.

Neymar has been banned for three European matches by UEFA for his social media outburst following Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League defeat to Manchester United.

The Brazilian, who missed both legs of the last-16 tie in March due to injury, posted an angry message on Instagram after United were awarded a penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Diogo Dalot’s shot struck Presnel Kimpembe on the arm.

Marcus Rashford converted from 12 yards after referee Damir Skomina consulted VAR to award the spot-kick, which sent the visitors through to the quarter-finals on away goals with a 3-1 win.

Neymar said on Instagram after the match: “This is a disgrace, they put four people that know nothing about football in charge of looking at the replay for VAR.

“There is no penalty. How can it be a handball when it hits his back! Go **** yourselves!”

After opening an investigation into the post, UEFA has now decided to suspend the forward for three European matches.

“The Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) has decided to suspend the Paris Saint-Germain player Neymar Junior for three (3) UEFA competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible, for insulting match officials,” a statement read.

The decision means Neymar will now miss half of the Champions League group stage next season.

Emiliano Sala’s Father Dies Three Months After His Son’s Death.

The father of Premier League footballer Emiliano Sala, who was killed in a plane crash earlier this year, has died three months after his son.

Horacio Sala, 58, suffered a heart attack on Friday, his friend and president of his local club confirmed.

Daniel Ribero, from San Martin de Progreso, told C5N TV channel that Mr Sala had passed away before doctors arrived at his home in Progreso.

Emiliano Sala’s plane crashed en route to Cardiff after leaving from France.

The Argentine footballer was on his way to joining his new club Cardiff City from French club Nantes in a club record £15m deal when the crash happened over the English Channel.

Progreso mayor Julio Muller led the tributes to Mr Sala, telling La Red radio station: “Horacio could not overcome Emi, we thought that after the discovery he would be able to close that circle.”

In a statement, Cardiff City said the club offered its “deepest condolences” to Mr Sala’s friends and family.

“They are very much in the thoughts of us all at this difficult time,” a spokesman said.

The Piper Malibu N264DB plane carrying Sala and pilot David Ibbotson went missing over waters near the Channel Islands on 21 January and it took rescuers two weeks to find the wreckage.

The football star’s body was recovered on 8 February after a private rescue team took over the search for the missing plane.

The father-of-three, a long-distance lorry driver, spoke to the BBC two weeks ago and pleaded “that justice be done” for his son.

He told the BBC Wales Investigates programme he wanted to “continue investigating all the things that we have to know and that we can know.”

“That is all I can ask,” added Mr Sala, who had split-up from his son’s mother Mercedes.

Air accident investigators are still looking into why the Piper Malibu plane carrying Sala to Cardiff for his first training session crashed.

The light aircraft was piloted by Mr Ibbotson, from Crowle, North Lincolnshire, whose body has not been found.

he legality of Sala’s flight has not yet been established, but a preliminary report from air accident investigators in February said the pilot was not licensed to carry fee-paying passengers and the plane was not registered for commercial flights.

Cardiff City have said the club “wholeheartedly” backs the Air Charter Association’s (BACA) calls “to secure a review of illegal flights”.

In the three months since the crash, BACA said it had received reports of illegal flights happening in the UK at a rate of almost one per day.

Sala started his career at his hometown club San Martín de Progreso – in Argentina’s Santa Fe region, about 350 miles (563km) from the capital Buenos Aires – and his father retained close links with the club.

A wake was held at the club before his funeral in Progreso in February.

The club confirmed Mr Sala’s death and president Mr Ribero added: “At dawn he felt a pain in his chest, they called the doctor but when he arrived, Horacio had already passed away.”

Otedola Bridge Fire: Police Delaying Tanker Driver, Owner’s Prosecution.

The Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem (SAN), said on Thursday that the state was determined to prosecute the driver and the owner of the fuel-laden tanker, which fell and exploded on the Otebola Bridge last year, after suffering brake failure.

Kazeem said the delay in the prosecution of the tanker driver and its owner was because the police had yet to identify them.

The incident, which happened in the evening of June 28, 2018, led to the burning of no fewer than 54 cars and loss of lives.

While briefing journalists on Thursday in Alausa, Ikeja on the scorecard of his tenure as Attorney General in the last four years, Kazeem denied that the case had been abandoned.

He said, “Yes, we said we were going to prosecute the people that caused that disaster. One of the challenges then was how to identify the perpetrators of that crime. We had said the driver and the owner (of the tanker) needed to be identified. There were all kinds of theories out there, (including) whether the driver had perished in the fire.

“But as we understand, the police traced the owner to Kano and the whole idea was that at the end of the day they would complete their investigations and get the file here in the ministry, so we can commence the prosecution process. Unfortunately, that process has not yet been concluded.”

The attorney general, however, gave the assurance that the case would not be swept under the He said, “I want to assure you that this Otedola Bridge disaster will not be swept under the carpet. Once we get the facts properly on investigations, we will commence the process of prosecuting the suspects in that matter.”

Asked why fuel tankers and other articulated vehicles, which movements were restricted to the night after the accident, were back on the road in the daytime, Kazeem said the state had to review the directive, having realised some of its implications, including security.

He said, “I recollect that that directive was given. It was enforced at some point in time but the practicality began to dawn on the state government and that issue had to be reviewed. That review is still ongoing because it is not a straightforward issue; it has all kinds of implications, including security issues.”

Ola And Abel Osundairo File Defamation Suit Against Jussie Smollet’s Legal Team.

Ola and Abe Osundairo, brothers, co-casts and former trainers of Empire actor Jussie Smollet have filed a defamation lawsuit against his legal team.

The brothers who were dropped by several talent agents as a result of Smollett attorney statements in the days following Smollet’s charges, have legally filed a defamation lawsuits against Jussie Legal team.

According to report, Mark Geragos claimed that Ola one of the brothers had a sexual relationship with Jussie Smollett on a podcast but the filed Lawsuit strongly denies those claims, adding that Ola was in a reationship with a woman at the time.

Geragos & Geragos called the lawsuit “comical” and characterized it as an attempt by the brothers “to stay relevant and further profit from an attack they admit they perpetrated.”

Hoping to find a rectification the brothers hinted “We have sat back & watched lie-after-lie being fabricated about us in the media only so one big lie could continue to have life. We will see this out and make sure those who tried to tarnish our images pay for it.

OAU Student, Enoch Adegoke, Clinches Gold at African Athletic Championship.

Enoch Adegoke, a final year Geography student of Obafemi Awolowo University, won gold at the men’s 100m semifinals of African U-20 and U-18 Athletic Championship, which took place in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

Enoch came first in Heat 1 with a time of 10.59s while Gershon Omubo and Alaba Akintola placed 3rd & 4th respectively in Heat 2. Luke Davids from South Africa won Heat 2 with a time of 10.55s.

Recall that Mr. Enoch represented Nigeria at the 2018 commonwealth games, which took place in Gold Coast and also won the men’s 100m finals at the West African University Games hosted by the University of Portharcourt in 2018.

Despite arriving a day before the start of the tournament, Team Nigeria came up with an outstanding feat at the African championship by five medals in the short sprints alone.

In the U-18 Men’s High Jump event, Best Erhire Omamuyovwi jumped 2.08m to win the gold medal and also recorded a new Personal Best from his previous record of 2.05m he jumped to win the bronze medal at the National Sports Festival in Abuja in December.

Onaara Obamuwagun jumped a personal best of 12.78m to win the gold medal in the U-20 women’s triple jump event, while Grace Oshiokpu jumped 11.87m to win the Bronze medal at the U-18 women’s triple jump event.

Anita Taviore was second in the Girls’ 100m semis Heat 1 while Nigeria’s Shedrack Akpeki dominated his 400m semis with a time of 47.31s.

Nigeria Excluded As 360,000 African Children Get World’s First Malaria Vaccine.

Some 360,000 children a year in three African countries will receive the world’s first malaria vaccine as part of a large-scale pilot project, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

Malawi has started vaccinating children under two years of age and Kenya and Ghana will begin using the vaccine in the coming weeks, with health ministries in these countries deciding where it will be used, the WHO said.

The vaccine offers partial protection from the disease, with clinical trials finding that the vaccine prevented approximately four in 10 malaria cases, according to the WHO.

“We have seen tremendous gains from bed nets and other measures to control malaria in the last 15 years, but progress has stalled and even reversed in some areas. We need new solutions to get the malaria response back on track, and this vaccine gives us a promising tool to get there,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press statement.

“The malaria vaccine has the potential to save tens of thousands of children’s lives.”

Malaria is a parasitic disease transmitted through the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is both preventable and treatable, yet an estimated 435,000 people die of it each year.

Children under five are at the greatest risk of its life-threatening complications and according to the WHO, it claims the life of one child every two minutes. Most of these deaths are in Africa, where more than 250,000 children die from the disease every year.

The vaccine, RTS,S, also known as Mosquirix, was created by scientists at the British pharmaceutical giant GSK in 1987. It has undergone years of testing and was supported by numerous organizations including PATH, a non-profit organization.

From 2000 to 2015, there was a 62% reduction in malaria deaths, according to the WHO, and a 41% reduction in the number of cases. However, more recent data suggests that malaria is making a comeback, with 219 million cases in 2017, compared with 217 million in 2016.

“It’s a difficult disease to deal with. The tools we have are modestly effective but drugs and insecticides wear out — after 10, 20 years mosquitoes become resistant. There’s a real concern that in 2020s, [cases] are going to jump back up again,” said Adrian Hill, a professor of human genetics and director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford.

The vaccine will be given in four doses: three doses between five and nine months of age and the fourth dose provided around the 2nd birthday.

The WHO said the vaccine was a “complementary malaria control tool” to be used in addition to bed nets treated with insecticide, spraying indoor areas with insecticides as well as prompt diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Alena Pance, senior staff scientist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said the vaccine was not “overwhelmingly effective.”

“But it is very important to bear in mind that 40% protection in the most endemic part of the world, Africa, is better than no protection at all. Ultimately, this is the only vaccine that has some efficacy that we currently have and has taken decades to develop, this is in itself good news,” Pance said.

Hill said that there had been “stops and starts” about whether it was worth going forward with the vaccine but it would be a useful addition in the fight against the disease.

He said it would be particularly important to make sure that children received all four doses of the vaccine to maximize its efficacy.

Doctors Are Free To Leave Nigeria, We Have Surplus – Chris Ngige.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Ngige has said that he is not bothered about the decision of medical doctors who choose to leave Nigeria to practice outside the country.

Ngige who was a guest on Channels TV Sunrise Daily said the practice is not alien to Nigeria, because he was taught by Indians in secondary school.

“I’m Not Worried, We Have Surplus (Doctors), if we have a surplus, we export. I was taught Biology and Chemistry by Indian teachers in my secondary school days.

“They are surplus in their country. We have a surplus in the medical profession in our country. I can tell you this. It is my area, we have excess. We have enough, more than enough, quote me.”

Ngige, when asked if nothing was wrong, owing to his position as a qualified medical doctor, said there was nothing wrong in their choice to practise overseas, at the detriment of Nigeria’s health sector.

“There is nothing wrong, they go out to sharpen their skills, earn money and send them back home here. Yes, we have foreign exchange earnings from them, not from oil.”

The minister said the move does not amount to brain drain when asked.

https://twitter.com/scribblesurban/status/1121039201653407747?s=21

Presiding Officers: We Transmitted Results Directly To INEC Server.

Thirteen Presiding Officers (POs) in Borno and Yobe states have so far told the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja that they transmitted the results of the February 23 Presidential election in their various units and wards to the official server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The POs in their respective Witness Statement of Oath in support of the petition filed by the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, challenging the election of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC), stated that the election body had, during their training, instructed them on how to transmit the results to its server.

The submission of the POs was to lay credence to the petition of Atiku and PDP, wherein they alleged that the INEC pulled down the official results from its server and consequently replaced it with a doctored one to favour President Buhari. The position of the POs, however, contradicted the submission of INEC who had stated in its reply to the petition that results were not sent to its server. All these were, however, contained in Atiku’s reply to the objection filed by APC, who is the 3rd respondent, to his (Atiku’s) petition before the Presidential tribunal, wherein he is challenging the election that produced Buhari.

INEC had declared President Buhari as the winner of the February 23 election, having polled 15,191,847 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Atiku, who polled 11,262,978. But, Atiku in his 139- page petition before the tribunal stated that from the data in INEC’s server, the true, actual and correct results showed that he (Atiku) secured a total of 18,356,732 votes against Buhari’s 16,741,430 votes. On its part, INEC stated that there was no result in its server and that the presidential election results were not transmitted electronically. However, in reaction to paragraph 29 of the 3rd Respondent’s reply, the petitioners aver that the data and scores in the 1st Respondent’s Server were as transmitted by the 1st Respondent’s officials and those scores are valid, and legitimate. Atiku, through his team of counsel, led by Dr. Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), had listed about 13 Presiding Officers from different wards in Borno State and also attached their witness statement on oath. According to one of the POs, “I was employed as an ad hoc staff and trained for three days by the 1st Respondent at the Government College, Maiduguri, Bomo State to serve as a Presiding Officer (PO) at Waliri Polling Unit with Code 003, of Shehun Barna Ward, Bomo State on the 23rd February, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) elections. ”

The training covered the duties of all 1st Respondent’s ad-hoc staff at the polling units and the procedure for the conduct of election which includes accreditation, verification, authentication, collation and transmission of results as well as the use of Smart Card Reader (SCR), amongst others. “At the 1st Respondent training, we were specifically instructed that the use of the Smart Card Reader for accreditation, verification, authentication, collation and transmission of results is mandatory and that any election conducted without the use of the Smart Card Reader would be invalid.

“I took part in the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) elections of 23rd February, 2019 where I served as the Presiding Officer (PO) and I ensured the use of the Smart Card Reader for accreditation, verification, authentication, collation and transmission of votes in my polling unit. “At the end of voting, the information on the Smart Card Reader with the results inclusive, were collated by me in the presence of the party agents and other ad-hoc staff of the 1st Respondent after which my Assistant Presiding Officer (AP0-1) transmitted the result electronically in my presence to the 1st Respondent’s server, using the Smart Card Reader (SCR) and the code provided by the 1st Respondent.”

Furthermore, in the witness statements of the Presiding Officer of Daza Primary School Code 001,Daze Marte Ward of Borno State, who was coded as BU; the Presiding Officer of Mustapha Ali Bama, Code 036, Mafoni MCC Ward, who was coded IM; the Presiding Officer of Binkalion Code 003, Maisandari Damaturu ward Yobe, coded as AB and APO of Kafan Sarki Code 007, Yabir-Gujba of Yobe state, coded as AW; they all admitted that the results of the Presidential election were transmitted electronically to INEC’s server. In a similar development, Atiku had insisted that Buhari did not submit any academic certificate to INEC before contesting in the February 23 election.

He added that the claim of APC that Buhari was eminently qualified to contest the election to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is spurious and devoid of substance as Buhari never submitted any certificates to INEC regarding his educational qualification. According to him, “Having not submitted any certificate to the 1st Respondent (INEC) regarding his educational qualification, the 2nd Respondent (Buhari) did not and could not have complied with the requirement of the law regarding qualification for election to the office of the President. “The question of the 1st Respondent being satisfied with the information and materials submitted to it by the 2nd Respondent with respect to the qualification of the latter did not arise because the 2nd Respondent did not submit any certificate.

“The claim of the 3rd Respondent at paragraph 498 of its reply that the declaration sworn to by the 2nd Respondent before Commissioner for Oaths at the Federal Capital Territory High Court Registry on 8th October, 2018 as being distinct and separate from the general form of affidavit explaining the whereabouts/location of 2nd Respondent’s academic qualification documents is utterly ridiculous especially as both documents were submitted to the 1st Respondent by the 2nd Respondent simultaneously and without factual backup by any known certificate of qualification of the 2nd Respondent.

“The issue of qualification of the 2nd Respondent to contest election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a mandatory statutory and/or Constitutional requirement that cannot be waived by the petitioners as erroneously averred in paragraph 499 (d) of the 3rd Respondent’s reply.” Atiku, however, challenged Buhari to produce the originals or Certified True Copies of his purported certificates obtained from Elementary School, Daura and Mai’adua, Middle School, Katsina and Katsina Provincial Secondary School and all other institutions pleaded in paragraphs 500 and 501 of 3rd Respondent’s reply.

Atiku further added that his petition is competent and meritorious and the return of the 2nd Respondent by the 1st Respondent is undue and wrongful. He added that the 3rd Respondent’s reply does not answer the points of substance in the petition, but same is full of extraneous facts, contradictory, diversionary, evasive, speculative and vague assertions.

The former vice president also stated that he is a bona fide Nigerian. “Contrary to the allegations contained in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the 3rd Respondent’s reply, the petitioners state that the 1st petitioner is a citizen of Nigeria by birth and thus qualified to vote and be voted for and returned in the election to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, held on Saturday 23rd February, 2019 going by the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). “That all averments concerning Germany, British Cameroons, League of Nations and Plebiscite are false and misleading in relation to the 1st Petitioner and, therefore, completely irrelevant more so that the 1st Petitioner is a Nigerian by birth within the contemplation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). “The averments in the aforesaid paragraphs are indeed fabricated, contrived, made in bad faith and designed to embarrass the 1st Petitioner,” Atiku said.

Briton Among Two Gunned Down At Kaduna resort – UK Govt.

A British national, Faye Mooney, was among the victims of the attack on Kajuru castle in Kaduna last Friday by unknown gunmen who also abducted three others.

The victims were said to have travelled from Lagos to have some fun at the resort when they were attacked around 11pm.

Mooney, who worked with a non-governmental organisation,  Mercy Corps, was killed alongside Mathew Oguche, a staff member of an international NGO, Safety Organisation.

The British High Commission in a statement by the Head of Communications, Policy & Corporate Lead, Department for International Development, David Smith, in Abuja on Sunday,  explained that the deceased Briton’s next-of-kin had been notified.

The Commission stated that it was offering consular assistance to her family while also engaging with the Nigerian authorities on the incident.

While offering its sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of the victims of the attack, the Mission said it would not comment or speculate on the motive or nature of the attack ‘at this time.’

The statement said, “The British High Commission is aware of an incident involving the death of a British national and a Nigerian national in Kaduna State, late on Friday evening.

“Mooney was killed on Friday, 19 April 2019 in an attack at Kajuru Castle, near Kaduna, alongside a Nigerian national,  Oguche.

“Mooney was employed in Nigeria with the NGO Mercy Corps. Oguche worked for the International NGO Safety Organisation.

“Her next-of-kin has been notified and we are offering consular assistance to her family. We are engaging with the Nigerian authorities, and we understand an investigation is underway.”