Alicia Keys has urged Nigerians not to cease making effort in their quest to knock out injustice and other systems designed to oppress them.
The award-winning artiste sent the strong movitavational message to Nigerians after widespread reports of brutality and extrajudicial killings before and during protests against bad governance and poor policing system in Nigeria.
However, after the protests was hijacked by thugs and what was described as “lack of empathy from Aso Rock”, some Nigerians took to social media to express their desires to seek greener pastures in other countries.
But Alicia Keys recently used her platform to tell them not lose focus and stay hopeful of a better Nigeria that they desired.
Here is her message to Nigeria;
My love goes out to Nigeria, America and everywhere in the world that is fighting to change the systems designed to oppress! #EndSARS #EndPoliceBrutality
Four more police stations have been reportedly burnt down in Anambra State, while a Divisional Police Officer and a station officer were also reportedly killed by rampaging youths.
The burning and killing of the policemen happened on Friday, even while the curfew imposed by the State governor, Chief Willie Obiano was still on.
Reports said that police divisions in Amichi, Osumeyi, Ezinifite and Ukpor, all in Nnewi South Local Government Areas were burnt, while the DPO of Osumenyi and two others were fatally wounded in the process, resulting in his death and the death of one other.
This was confirmed by the Anambra State Police Command’s PRO, SP Haruna Mohammed.
Mohammed said, “On the 23/10/2020 between 8:30am and 6:30pm hoodlums in large number under the guise of “END SARS” protesters attacked Amichi, Osumeyi, Ezinifite and Ukpor Divisions all under Nnewi South LGA of Anambra State. Suspects also attacked Oraifite Area Command/ Division, vandalized and set the facilities ablaze carting away exhibits but NOT Arms and ammunition.
“Meanwhile, the DPO Osumeyi Division and two others were fatally wounded during the attack. The injured police officers were rushed to the hospital for medical attention after which the DPO and the Station officer Osumeyi were confirmed dead by the medical Doctor, while the other police Constable is responding to treatment. Corpses photographed and deposited at the morgue for autopsy.”
He added that, “Consequently, the hoodlums equally torched part of Awgbu Division but were later repelled by the police in collaboration with members of the Communities.”
“However, six suspects were arrested in connection with the recent attack on 3-3 Police Station and effort is being intensified to arrest other fleeing perpetrators in order to bring them to book,” he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his regret at not working longer with a former Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase.
This was revealed by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, in his weekly article.
Arase was appointed by former president, Goodluck Jonathan, in 2015 and worked under Buhari until 2016 when he retired.
He was the 18th IG of Police.
Adesina said Buhari, who has always had it in mind to reform the police, was impressed with Arase’s performance and wished he worked with him “to birth the police of his dreams”.
He added: “Talking of reform of the police, I know the mind of the President on that issue. Sometime in the early days of the first term of the administration, I had dropped into the house one night. And it was a few days to the exit of the then Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, who was going into retirement.
“The President told me how much he had been impressed with Arase and how he regretted that the man spent just about a year with him. He then told me of the police of his dreams.”
There has been unrest across Nigeria over police brutality which triggered the #EndSARS campaign.
Amid the protests, there were calls for the resignation of the current IG of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
Striker Obafemi Martins ended his two-year goal drought as Wuhan Zall played a 1-1 draw with Henan Jianye at the Dongxihu Sports Centre in the Chinese Super League play-offs on Friday.
The former Super Eagles striker opened his goal account after eight appearances this season.
Martins scored his first goal since March 2018, after coming off the bench in the 57th minute to net a stoppage-time equaliser as the home side avoided defeat.
Wang Shangyuan’s 25th-minute opener had given Henan Jianye an early lead before Martins,35, combined with Ivoirian Jean Kouassi to salvage a point.
The strike ended Martins’ 31-month goal jinx, after he grabbed a hat-trick for Shanghai Shenhua in a 4-2 win over Hebei CFCC in March 2018.
Martins has now scored a total of 20 goals in 48 appearances in the Chinese Super League, since he first arrived in the Asian country from Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders in 2016.
Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has imposed 24-hour curfew in Ilorin following violent protest and looting of properties by hoodlums.
The governor announced the curfew late Friday night in a statewide broadcast.
He said he just had an emergency security meeting with commanders of various security agencies in the state to assess the situation in the state.
“Over the last few days, I had earlier met with the traditional rulers, opinion leaders, members of the student community, and many other stakeholders in the state.
“Our observation is that what has happened so far today was not a protest. It cannot be defended under any guise.
”It was a pure act of criminality. Some persons are hiding under the nationwide tension to commit crimes,” he said.
Abdulrazaq said the government had a duty to protect law abiding citizens and their properties.
“Lives are being threatened. Businesses are being looted. Public properties have been targeted. This is unacceptable. It is not who we are.
“To curb these acts of criminalities, I hereby declare a 24-hour curfew in Ilorin metropolis from midnight today October 23rd, 2020.
“This is in line with Sections 1, 2 and 4 of the Public Order Act Chapter 382 Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004.
”People are urged to stay indoors in compliance with this curfew. This will be reviewed as we watch developments,” he stated.
The Governor said while the curfew is on, security forces had been placed on the alert to maintain strict compliance, urging citizens to comply by this declaration which was meant to protect lives and properties.
“Finally, we apologise to our people and businesses that have been badly hurt. I urge them to be calm while we stop the criminality now,” he said.
Nigerian multi-talented disc jockey, singer, and rapper Obianuju Catherine Udeh, popularly known as DJ Switch, claimed that about 15 people died after soldiers opened fire on unarmed protesters at Lekki Toll Gate on Tuesday, 20 October 2020.
The songwriter who went live during the shooting of #EndSARS protesters further said the bodies were taken away by the soldiers.
Obianuju’s account is the first by a witness at the scene of shooting and corroborated earlier accounts that the shooters took bodies away.
The Nigerian Army had denied any involvement in the shooting, even stating that videos showing their officers actively shooting at the protesters were photoshopped.
However, DJ Switch in a new video gave a detailed account of how soldiers stormed the venue accompanied by SARS officials.
She also revealed bullets picked at the scene, pointing out particularly to one that would’ve hit her and another removed from someone’s thigh.
“My life was being threatened for speaking up but I just want to clear a few things that I’ve been seeing online. To our leaders, I urge you please do not minimize the suffering of families.
“Do not insult the grief of Nigerians, do not insult the intelligence of Nigerians. Do not insult the pain that families are facing. People were falling left and right.
“Yes, there were soldiers there. Another part that people are not really talking about. The police also came, the SARS people we’re talking about also came minutes after the soldiers left. They were tear-gassing. It’s like Cotonou pepper. Our coconut head generation. They will run and they will come back.
“They switched off the lights and it was pitch black. While the soldiers were running around and picking their shells, we were running around and picking their shells too. The police and SARS were also there, aiming and shooting. Who takes life bullets to a protest? Who does that?”
“Something I think about now, with hindsight, which I wished we hadn’t done was carrying dead bodies and dropped at the feet of soldiers so that they could see what they did to us,” she added.
“When I asked their unit commander or something ‘why are you killing us’? I wish we didn’t do that because they ended up throwing the dead bodies inside their vans. This continued until the next morning.”
She also urges other celebrities and people with parody account in her name in order to gain followership to desist from spreading rumours.
“It is already hard as it is, people put their lives on the line to get me out of a place I called my home, please stop saying things you don’t know, I understand things are hard but at least copy the truth.
“I never said 72 people died, I don’t know that, but what I do know is that when I was doing the live video, seven people have died, when my phone died we had counted about 15 people, I don’t know if it was more than that.”
An Indiana man has been arrested on charges of battery and neglect after he admitted to pushing his girlfriend's three-year-old son down the stairs during an argument about food, shaking and beating him, according to court records.
Antonio Austin Riviera-Manship, 24, of Muncie, on Monday was charged with eight felony counts stemming from an incident that took place on October 8.
According to court documents, Riviera-Manship initially told police that his live-in girlfriend's son had fallen down the stairs while he was in an upstairs bedroom, but he later confessed that he had pushed the toddler.
The child was rushed to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where doctors diagnosed him with two brain hemorrhages.
The first brain bleed had resulted from Riviera-Manship's repeatedly shaking the boy, while the second had been inflicted when he pushed him down the stairs while looking after him, according to documents.
An examination revealed that the boy also had bruises on his face, thighs, buttocks and scrotum.
When questioned by police, Riviera-Manship said he became 'overwhelmed' because he and the boy, whom he called his 'step-son' in a recent Facebook post, were arguing about what 'the child would eat,' according to documents.
Riviera-Manship then waited 13 minutes before calling 911, even though he initially lied that he summoned help within five minutes of finding the toddler laying apparently unconscious on the floor.
A pediatrician said the delay in getting the injured boy to the hospital could have made a difference in his current condition and his prognosis.
The three-year-old was put in a medically induced coma as a 'last-ditch effort' to reduce swelling in his brain. It is possible the boy may not recover.
Court documents state that Riviera-Manship revealed that over the past two months, he had shaken his girlfriend's son to 'get him to listen,' pinned him to the floor, repeatedly slapped him on the stomach and thighs, and hit him in the scrotum to show him that it hurt because the boy had struck the man there in the past.
Riviera-Manship now faces two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in catastrophic injury, two counts each of aggravated battery and battery resulting in bodily injury to a person less than 14 years of age, and one count each of neglect of a dependent and obstruction of justice.
Riviera-Manship was previously arrested in January on counts of burglary and auto theft for allegedly breaking into a maintenance building at the Academy of Model Aeronautics, and stealing a van and tools.
The suspect was apprehended after police said he tried to sell the stolen goods on Facebook using his real name.
Five people have died after getting flu shots in South Korea in the past week, authorities said, raising concerns over the vaccine's safety just as the winter jab programme is expanded because of Covid-19.
Authorities said there was no reason to believe the deaths were linked to the vaccine but an investigation including post-mortems is underway.
'It makes it hard for us to put out a categorical statement,' vice health minister Kim Gang-lip told a briefing this week about the deaths, which include a 17-year-old boy and a man in his 70s.
Coming just weeks after the rollout of the national vaccine programme was suspended over safety worries, the deaths have dominated headlines in South Korea.
A 17-year-old boy who died on Friday was the first death noted by officials to follow receipt of the vaccine.
The boy died two days after receiving the flu shot in Incheon, near the capital Seoul.
A man in his 70s, who had Parkinson's disease and arrhythmia, was the most recent case. He died in Daegu on Wednesday, a day after receiving the flu vaccine.
Daegu officials said the man had received vaccines since 2015 with no prior adverse reactions.
Officials last month announced plans to procure 20 per cent more flu vaccines for the winter than the previous year.
They hope to inoculate 30million people in a bid to prevent the health system being overloaded by patients with flu and Covid-19 exposure.
Pope Francis has endorsed same-s.e.x civil unions, saying in a documentary that homosexual people are 'children of God' and that they 'have the right to be in a family'.
His approval came midway through a feature-length film, titled Francesco, which had its premiere at the Rome Film Festival this week.
The film delves into issues Francis cares about most, including the environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and the people most affected by discrimination.
'Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it,' the 83-year-old said in one of his sit-down interviews for the film.
'What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.'
He added that he 'stood up for that' in an apparent reference to his time as archbishop of Buenos Aires when he opposed legislation to approve same sex marriages but supported some kind of legal protection for the rights of gay couples.
The Pope's remarks will come as a shock to millions of Roman Catholics who have long followed the doctrine that gay relationships are sinful and accepted the Church's stand against the worldwide advance of gay rights.
The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but that homosexual acts are.
It also instructs that homosexuals should be treated with dignity.
Francis's predecessors, including Benedict XVI and John Paul II, condemned same-sex marriage during their papal tenure.
Francis himself had opposed legislation to approve same-sex marriages in Argentina when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires a decade ago - but had supported some kind of legal protection for the rights of gay couples at the time.
However, shortly after becoming Pope, he said of gay people that 'we must be brothers'.
He added: 'If a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge him?'
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the long-awaited address by President Muhammadu Buhari on the protests rocking the nation, as disappointing and completely disconnected from the realities of the tragic occurrences in our country in the last two weeks.
Disclosing this in a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary, the party appealed to Nigerians, particularly the youth, to remain calm and allow a return to normal life in the collective quest for peaceful co-existence in the overall interest of our nation.
Read the full statement below:
Mr. President’s address, in the face of the turmoil witnessed, the unrests as well as the killing of young Nigerians, is to say the least, depressing and failing in empathy test.
Our party and, indeed, all lovers of peace in our country, were shocked that Mr. President glossed over the immediate trigger of violent protests – the widely condemned killing at the Lekki Toll Gate by security operatives, a situation which created a global concern and drew the attention of the world to the abuse of human rights going on in our country under his watch.
Painfully too, Mr. President, as the Commander-in-Chief, was silent on the demand by Nigerians for enquires into the involvement of the military in the gruesome killing. Sadly, the long awaited address failed to inspire any hope.
It failed to address the trepidations, the pervading hopelessness, the drifting towards anarchy and provided no concrete steps on how to arrest the situation and rein in bandits, hoodlums and vandals that were let loose to unleash violence on peaceful protesters and innocent Nigerians.
In short, from the letters of the address, there were no correlations between the fundamentals of the crisis situation that we have witnessed and the long-sought reaction of Mr President.
Furthermore, Nigerians had expected that Mr. President will provide the lead for the much- needed overhauling of our security architecture to meet the demands of professionalism and respect for rules of engagement.
Mr. President also failed to use the opportunity to further heal wounds and inspire hope by outlining a roadmap to open up the economy in a manner that will enable our teeming hard working youths to pursue their productive goals as well as address the issue of pervading hunger in the land.
However, in solidarity with Nigerians and in honour to the victims of Lekki Toll Gate killing, our party has directed that our flags in all our offices across the nation be flown at half-mast for a period of one week, beginning from Friday, October 23, 2020.
The PDP urges all men and women of good faith to join forces in praying for our country as well as working towards solutions and peaceful resolution of the crisis that seeks to envelope our dear nation.
The audacity, lmao. Adults have been seen swimming at the vandalized Palace of the Oba of Lagos after hoodlums stormed the palace to destroy it as protests were hijacked in Lagos.
They had invaded the palace on Wednesday and as if that was not enough, they returned with their children -- this time for SWIMMING!
Recall when the palace was invaded, cars,window glasses were all destroyed and his food store also looted. Some young men were also seen taking away his staff of office -- which has remained missing.
Brooklyn Beckham 'has postponed his wedding to Nicola Peltz to 2022 so the couple do not have to limit the number of guests due to the coronavirus pandemic'.
The eldest son of David and Victoria, 21, and actress Nicola, 25, plan to exchange vows at the Beckhams' Cotswolds estate and her home state of Florida to ensure both of their loved ones can attend.
The couple are understood to have originally told guests to save the date for September 2021 but have pushed the celebrations to 2022 because it is 'too risky'.
A source told The Mirror: 'They originally told close friends to save a date in September 2021.
'This week, Brooklyn told his mates they've decided to postpone as it's too risky.'
The source revealed that the couple may choose to tie the knot on their own and have celebrations in 2022.
The Managing Director, Dangote Tomato Processing plant in Kadawa, Kano State, Abdulkarim Kaita, has called on the Federal government to put a total ban on the importation of tomato paste into the country.
He made the call while flagging off the distribution of tomato seedlings to 5,000 farmers under the Anchor Borrowers programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday at Kadawa village in Kura Local Government Area.
“We are appealing to the Federal Government to put a total ban on the importation of tomato like what it did to rice,” Kaita said.
He said the call was necessary to boost local production of the commodity and ensure that Nigeria was self sufficient in tomato production.
According to him, the ban on the importation of tomato paste would lead to the establishment of more tomato processing plants, thereby creating job opportunities for many people in the country.
He lamented that the importation of tomato paste was still thriving as the commodity was being imported from Cameroon and Cotonour in Benin Republic.
According to him, the company had on several occasions visited the Customs Headquarters and met the Controller General with a view to lodging complaint over the issue, but nothing was done to check the ugly trend.
“It is only by putting a total ban on tomato importation that the government can encourage farmers to grow the commodity for the country to be self sufficient,” he said.
Tiwa Savage has replied to Tina Knowles, the mother of R&B superstar Beyonce after she slammed her in a social media rant on Thursday.
Recall that while unleashing her frustrations with the killings of protesters during the ongoing EndSARS protest, Tiwa Savage took to social media to ask the international community, especially international stars (particularly Beyonce) to ring a loud bell about the situation so the reluctant Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari will act immediately.
Her plea backfired as Tina threw shots at her by reminding her that her daughter, Beyonce is not a political leader who needs to intervene in the ongoing crises. When this new development came to the attention of the former Marvin Record signed artiste, she simply said,
Paul Okoye also known as Rudeboy fainted at his home after watching the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari’s address to the nation over the unrest in Nigeria.
President Buhari addressed nation to speak on the matters currently ongoing in Nigeria and the way forward on Thursday evening, October 22.
Reacting to his address, Rudeboy expressed hopelessness, and in a video shared on hi Instagram page, he was seen lying on the flow as if he went unconscious and screamed.
Captioning the video, he wrote;
“Rewind am first, you will get more information. You missed some important points 😂”
Love was certainly in the air at Kim Kardashian's surprise 40th birthday celebration.
And Khloe Kardashian seemed smitten with Tristan Thompson as the pair stayed closed together throughout the night to celebrate her sister's big day while cameras were rolling for Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
The 36-year-old reality star was on the receiving end of a kiss on the cheek from the professional basketball player as they giggled in a photo booth at the sparkling soiree.
Khloe was all-smiles sitting next to Tristan in the backseat of an SUV as she arrived at the bash with Kourtney and her ex, Scott Disick.
The Good American designer was dressed to the nines in an all-black ensemble to match Tristan's dapper blazer.
Once inside, Tristan wrapped his arm around Khloe and went in for a kiss before partying the night away with the family.
A dressed-down Jennifer Aniston has been seen in public for the first time in eight months as she ran errands in Beverly Hills.
The Friends star was spotted by DailyMailTV on Tuesday afternoon in gray sweat pants, white flats and designer shades. She also had a mask on to protect herself.
The last time Jen was last seen in public was while being chauffeured to her 51st birthday party back in February.
However, she's appeared in various Zoom meetings during lockdown – most memorably alongside ex husband Brad Pitt in a table reading reunion of 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High'.
Jen has been holed up in her palatial $21million home in LA's exclusive Bel Air neighborhood.
Her pad has plenty of space with two huge wings and a large living area overlooking a long, rectangular-shaped swimming pool. The property has seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, including 'his 'n' hers' outdoor bathrooms at the back of the house.
The keen meditator also has a zen-style garden scattered with Buddhist statues to keep her calm in these troubled times.
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has said he was disappointed by the speech delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari on the #EndSARS protest.
He said one was getting convinced that something must be wrong somewhere.
Buhari briefed Nigerians on Thursday and vowed to defend the unity of the nation, lamenting the wanton destruction of lives and properties.
Fayose said nothing else could be lifeless than the president’s speech.
“Mr President has never disappointed me. Nothing else can be lifeless than the President’s Speech. Those who brought this CHANGE should enjoy the NEXT/NEW LEVEL while it lasts,” he tweeted.
Fayose had on Wednesday attacked Buhari, saying no true president of a nation would wait to be compelled to speak to his people at this critical time.
President Muhammadu Buhari has accused #ENDSARS protesters of being behind the looting and killings in the country in recent days.
This is despite video and pictorial evidence revealing #ENDSARS protests have been peaceful and have not caused any harm.
The President in his nationwide broadcast on Thursday night, said protesting Nigerians abused the democratic rights to demonstrate and are engaging in vandalism and destruction of properties.
Buhari noted that there was no way whatsoever to connect these bad acts to legitimate expression of grievance of the youth of Nigeria.
He said, "The result of this is clear to all observers: human lives have been lost; acts of sexual violence have been reported; two major correctional facilities were attacked and convicts freed; public and private properties completely destroyed or vandalised; the sanctity of the palace of a peacemaker, the Oba of Lagos has been violated.
"So-called protesters have invaded an international airport and in the process disrupted the travel plans of fellow Nigerians and our visitors.
"All these executed in the name of the ENDSARS protests. I am indeed deeply pained that innocent lives have been lost. These tragedies are uncalled for and unnecessary."
Recall that government-sponsored thugs seized the protests to foment trouble in different states across the country.
Many peaceful demonstrators were killed in the process while public properties were damaged by the thugs.
