TheNewsGuru

Tag: New Year’s Day

  • Retired federal civil servant gruesomely killed on New Year’s day

    Retired federal civil servant gruesomely killed on New Year’s day

    Abdulrazaq Ajani, a retired controller of works at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, was on New Year’s Day, tragically killed in Ilorin, Kwara State shortly after returning from a trip to Offa, where he had spent the Christmas and New Year holidays.

    According to family members who spoke with Punch correspondent, the deceased was attacked around 3 pm after he was reportedly trailed by his assailants from Offa to his residence at Dele Gege Street, Aderoju area, off Obafemi Awolowo Road in Tanke, Ilorin.

    The attackers, believed to be young men aged 18 to 22, showed up at Ajani’s compound moments after he arrived with his family.

    “Four young men between 18 and 22 years old, it was not clear how the assassins arrived in the area.

    “A review of CCTV camera recordings showed two of them standing beside the gate of Mr Ajani’s residence, one of them sipping water from a plastic bottle, while the two others strolled into the compound.

    “On noticing the young men from one of the two sitting rooms on the ground floor of the one-storey duplex building, the retired federal officer reportedly rose to meet them at the main door.

    “They appeared to be engaging him in a discussion until he was suddenly lying face down on the ground,” said one of the family members describing what he saw on the CCTV.

    Witnesses described the aftermath as gruesome, with bloodstains on the walls and evidence of severe trauma.

    “Their gruesome task accomplished, the assassins swiftly fled the scene before the howlings of the family members drew the attention of neighbours.

    “The late engineer was attacked and hacked to death in the presence of his wife and children immediately on arrival from Offa where he went for the Christmas and new year break.

    “If you get to his house, there are blood stains on the walls while his brain is also scattered on the floor.

    “Many people have besieged the residence of the man sympathizing with the wife and the children while a team of Police men have visited the scene for investigation,” the witnesses said

    Speaking on the incident, Police Public Relations Officer DSP Ejire-Adeyemi Toun confirmed the attack, stating: “Yes, the incident happened. I can confirm to you that there was a report that a retired controller of works was killed in Tanke area yesterday. Police have waded into the incident and have commenced investigation on it.”

    When asked about arrests, the PPRO stated that no suspects had been apprehended, but investigations were ongoing.

  • Arteta to miss New Year’s Day clash after Coronavirus test

    Arteta to miss New Year’s Day clash after Coronavirus test

    Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be absent for his side’s New Year’s Day clash with Manchester City after testing positive for coronavirus.

    The Spaniard is now isolating and will be unable to attend the tea-time kick-off at the Emirates Stadium.

    A club statement read: “Mikel Arteta will miss our match against Manchester City on New Year’s Day after testing positive for COVID-19.

    “Mikel is isolating in line with Government guidelines and we wish him well.”

    Arteta is still expected to do press duties ahead of the game on Thursday.

    He previously contracted the virus in March 2020, which prompted the shutdown of English football at the start of the pandemic.

    Assistants Albert Stuivenberg and Steve Round will be in charge on match day.

    The Gunners were without a number of players during their 5-0 win at Norwich on Boxing Day due to coronavirus.

    Calum Chambers, Cedric Soares, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ainsley Maitland-Niles among those infected.

    Their game with Wolves on Tuesday was postponed due to an outbreak in Bruno Lage’s squad.

  • New Year’s Day miracle: 52 people escape death in Anambra

    New Year’s Day miracle: 52 people escape death in Anambra

    No fewer than 52 people escaped death in an accident involving six vehicles on Ihiala road, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra as the New Year 2021 began on Friday.

    Mr Andrew Kumapayi, State Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), confirmed the incident in Awka.

    Kumapayi said the accident occurred at about 2 p.m. and that it was caused by speeding and loss of control.

    “The multiple crashes involved a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number AGB268ZT, a Mark Trailer with registration number GWA456YR and another Toyota Hiace bus with registration number NEN106XQ.

    “Others are an Acura MDX Jeep with registration number NZM764LK, a Marcapolo Luxury bus with registration number AKD483XF and a Hyundai Jeep with registration number EG172SMK,” he said.

    The commander said that witness report reaching the FRSC indicated that the driver of one of the vehicles was speeding, lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the other five vehicles.

    “A total of 52 people were involved in the crash – 38 male adults and 14 female adults. No life was lost.

    “11 people out of the 52 sustained some degrees of injuries and were taken to Obijackson Foundation and Our Lady of Lourdes hospitals in Ihiala for treatment by the FRSC rescue team.

    “Meanwhile, the FRSC rescue team from Ihiala were on ground controlling traffic as the obstructions were been cleared,” he said.

    While wishing the injured people speedy recovery, the sector commander warned motorists against speed limit violation and urged them to drive safely and stay safe to avoid accidents.

  • Guber candidates, Agbaje, Sanwo-Olu ring in 2019 in unity [Photos]

    Guber candidates, Agbaje, Sanwo-Olu ring in 2019 in unity [Photos]

    Governorship candidates, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Jimi Agbaje of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ‎rang in 2019 in unity attending New Year’s Day mass together in Lagos state.

    Agbaje and Sanwo-Olu sing along during mass at Holy Cross Cathedral
    Agbaje and Sanwo-Olu sing along during mass at Holy Cross Cathedral

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the two Lagos state governorship candidates attended the 2019 New Year’s Day mass held at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos Island, on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.

    Agbaje and Sanwo-Olu seated at the Holy Cross Cathedral
    Agbaje and Sanwo-Olu seated at Holy Cross Cathedral

    The PDP and APC candidates, who will battle it out for who becomes the next governor of Lagos state in the 2019 elections, were both pictured together at the Holy Cross Cathedral, where they marked the beginning of the year.

    Agbaje and Sanwo-Olu clap during mass at the Holy Cross Cathedral
    Agbaje and Sanwo-Olu clap during mass at Holy Cross Cathedral

    The candidates were also pictured with the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins; Lady Neta Nwosu, President, Catholic Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria (CAMPAN), Lagos Archdiocese, and Dame Marie Fatayi-Williams, CAMPAN Patron.

    Lady Nwosu, Sanwo-Olu, Martins, Agbaje and Dame Fatayi-williams at Holy Cross Cathedral
    Lady Nwosu, Sanwo-Olu, Martins, Agbaje, and Dame Fatayi-Williams at Holy Cross Cathedral

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections for Saturday, 16th February.

    The Governorship and State Assembly/Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council elections have been scheduled for Saturday, 2nd March 2019.

     

  • Obaseki demands Police investigation of New Year’s day shooting in Benin

    Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo has urged the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Johnson Kokumo, to investigate the shooting incident at Ring Road, Benin, the state capital on New Year’s Day.

    In a statement, issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy , Mr Crusoe Osagie, the governor assured that anyone found culpable would be brought to book.

    Obaseki demanded for a clear report on what actually transpired and the condition under which the reported shooting took place.

    He said the administration placed high priority on the security of lives and property with the huge investment in the recently launched state’s security architecture and trust fund.

    “Unconfirmed reports trending on some news platforms claim the incident at Ring Road happened during the frenzied celebration of the cross-over to the New Year.

    “It is alleged that a life was lost, but we are yet to get the details of the incident from the Police and other concerned security agencies,” he said.

     

  • Over 25,000 babies will be born in Nigeria on New Year’s Day

    An estimated 25,685 babies will be born in Nigeria on New Year’s Day, UNICEF said today, with Nigerian babies making up 6.5 percent of the estimated 395,072 babies born on New Year’s Day globally.

    Within Africa, Nigerian babies will account for almost 40 percent of all those born in West and Central Africa, and more than 23 percent of those born in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Globally, over half of the world’s births are estimated to take place in just eight countries, including Nigeria:

    At current life expectancy rates, a child born in Nigeria today is likely to live only to the year 2074 – 55 years of age. A child born today in Denmark is likely to live until the 22nd century.

    Only children born in three countries today have a lower life expectancy than that of Nigerian children: Central African Republic, Chad and Sierra Leone.

    “We can and must do more to ensure that children born in Nigeria survive their first day of life – and are able to survive and thrive for many months and years to come,” said Pernille Ironside, UNICEF Nigeria’s Acting Representative.

    Globally in 2017, about 1 million babies died the day they were born, and 2.5 million in just their first month of life.

    In Nigeria, each year, about 262,000 babies die at birth, the world’s second highest national total, while every day in Nigeria, 257 babies die within their first month of life.

    Among these children, most died from preventable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis and pneumonia, a violation of their basic right to survival.

    “In Nigeria today, only one out of every three babies is delivered in a health centre, decreasing a newborn baby’s chance of survival,” said Pernille Ironside. “This is just one of the issues that need to be addressed in order to improve the chances of survival of those babies born today and every day.”

    “This New Year Day, let’s all make a resolution to fulfill every right of every child, starting with the right to survive,” said Pernille Ironside. “We can save millions of babies if we invest in training and equipping local health workers so that every newborn is born into a safe pair of hands.”

    2019 also marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which UNICEF will be commemorating with worldwide events throughout the year. Under the Convention, governments committed to, among other things, taking measures to save every child by providing good quality health care.

    Over the past three decades, the world has seen remarkable progress in child survival, cutting the number of children worldwide who die before their fifth birthday by more than half. But there has been slower progress for newborns. Babies dying in the first month account for 47 per cent of all deaths among children under five.

    UNICEF’s Every Child Alive campaign calls for immediate investment to deliver affordable, quality health care solutions for every mother and newborn. These include a steady supply of clean water and electricity at health facilities, the presence of a skilled health attendant during birth, ample supplies and medicines to prevent and treat complications during pregnancy, delivery and birth, and empowered adolescent girls and women who can demand better quality of health services.