The Democratic candidate in the US Presidential election, Joe Biden, has expressed confidence that he will win the election with a clear majority.
Biden is currently leading in crucial battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, coasting him closer to clinching America’s top job.
If he wins the poll, his running mate Harris would make history as the first female Vice-President of the US — also the first black person to achieve this feat.
Biden, while speaking from Wilmington, Delaware in a broadcast said, “My fellow Americans, we don’t have a final declaration of victory yet, but the numbers tell us it’s clear. Tell us a clear and convincing story. We are going to win this race.
“We are going to win this race. Just look at what has happened since yesterday. Twenty four hours we were behind in Georgia, now we’re ahead, and we are going to win that state.
“Twenty-four hours ago, we were behind in Pennsylvania, and we are going to win Pennsylvania. And now we are ahead, but we are winning in Arizona, we’re winning in Nevada, and in fact, our lead just doubled in Nevada.
“We’re on track for over 300 electoral votes, electoral college votes. And look at the national numbers. We’re going to win this race with a clear majority, with the nation behind us.”
The British Prime Minister, Mr Boris Johnson has confirmed the appointment of Helen Grant MP, a British-Nigerian, as the new trade envoy to Nigeria.
Grant’s role will be to provide support to the UK Government’s trade and investment priorities in Nigeria through high-level engagement with Nigerian Ministers by leading trade delegations, engaging key businesses in the market and promoting bilateral trade.
Her duties will also include promoting trade for UK businesses in selected high-growth and developing markets around the world, and support the activities of the UK’s Department of international trade.
Born in London to a British mother and a Nigerian father, Grant is married with two sons. She is a graduate of law from the University of Hull, and set up her own legal practice, specialising in family breakdown and domestic violence before becoming the first female Anglo-African Conservative Member of Parliament, when she was elected MP for Maidstone and The Weald in 2010, winning three consecutive elections since then.
Grant’s impressive political career includes serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice and for Women and Equalities, under former Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition Government, and later, Minister of State for Sport and Tourism.
She also served as Conservative Party Vice Chairman for Communities, focusing on issues concerning diversity, inclusion, equality, social cohesion, racism and discrimination under former Prime Minister Theresa May’s government.
Speaking on her appointment as the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Grant said, “I am absolutely delighted with my appointment. Both countries are close to my heart, my father being Nigerian and my mother English. Now, I have an opportunity to employ my rich dual heritage to help magnify an already strong UK–Nigerian relationship for our mutual prosperity.”
She added: “As the largest and fastest growing economy on the African continent, the potential for trade and investment with Nigeria is stunning. I will do my utmost to help develop that as part of our nation’s collective drive towards an outward looking global Britain.
“As a champion of inclusivity and human rights, in and outside of politics, Grant has also lent her voice to bringing businesses together with people of diverse and under-represented backgrounds as former Chair of the Government’s Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network, and as a former Trustee of both the Social Mobility Foundation and the Human Trafficking Foundation.”
Helen Grant is the second Trade Envoy since the programme launched in 2012, succeeding John Howell MP.
UEFA have asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to change the handball rule to stop “growing frustration” following a spate of penalties awarded for the offence, European football’s governing body confirmed on Thursday.
In a letter to Infantino, UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin asked that football’s lawmakers adjust the handball rule — which has been in place since March last year — so that referees can once again judge whether there is intent when a player handles the ball.
“The attempt to strictly define the cases where handling the ball is an offence has resulted in many unfair decisions which have been met with growing frustration and discomfort by the football community,” said Ceferin’s letter, which was sent on October 27.
The contents of the letter were confirmed to AFP’s sister sports agency in Germany, SID.
The news of the letter comes a day after the latest controversial spot-kick award, which put Chelsea two goals ahead in their 3-0 Champions League win over Rennes on Wednesday.
Rennes defender Dalbert, who had already given away the first penalty which had put Chelsea ahead, was sent off for a second booking following a VAR review when a Tammy Abraham shot bounced off his foot onto his arm.
The decision, and Timo Werner’s cool finish from the spot, effectively killed off the Ligue 1 side’s chances of getting a result at Stamford Bridge in their first ever season in the Champions League.
Rennes president Nicolas Holveck was livid after the defeat in London, calling referee Felix Zwayer “the man of the match”.
“I would like someone to clearly explain to me the rules for handballs in the box … the score went to 2-0 without Alfred (Gomis, the Rennes goalkeeper) having to make a save.”
It was one of many penalty decisions which have angered players and managers and which Ceferin in his letter suggested was against the “spirit of the game”.
Ceferin wrote to Infantino as it is the FIFA-controlled International Football Association Board which decides on the game’s laws.
FIFA has half of the eight IFAB votes, with the others belonging to the FA’s of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Nigerian Army has filed papers at the registry of the Lagos State Panel of Judicial Inquiry probing the alleged shooting of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki tollgate on the night of October 20.
One of our correspondents saw about three military men on Friday filing papers at the panel’s registry.
Investigations revealed that the army had filed papers ahead of its appearance before the panel.
Among the documents filed by the army are the witness statements of the Commander of 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, Lagos, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Taiwo; the Chief of Staff, 81 Division, Nigerian Army, VI, Lagos, Brig. Gen. Nsikak Edet; Commander, 81 Division Garrison, VI, Brig. Gen. Francis Omata; Commander, 9 Brigade, Ikeja, Brig. Gen. Musa Etsu-Ndagi; and Commanding Officer, 65 Battalion, Bonny Camp, VI, Lt. Col. Salisu Bello.
It said it was also bringing before the panel expended and unexpended blank ammunition, which was used to disperse the crowd by firing into the air on 20th day of October, 2020.
The army has also submitted 13 flash drives containing the recorded videos of the soldiers’ involvement in the incident.
Our correspondent gathered that the testimony of the Army was listed as number one on the panel’s list for Saturday (today).
Confirming the earlier report on the scheduled appearance of the army before the panel, the source added that the army’s testimony was listed as number one on the panel’s list for Saturday (today).
But it is unclear whether the army will still appear before the panel today as scheduled as the panel on Friday adjourned further hearing in the Lekki tollgate shooting till November 10.
The adjournment followed the inability of the panel to watch till the end on Friday the video footage of the incident submitted by the Lekki Concession Company, operator of the Lekki tollgate.
The panel was able to view only four hours of the 20-hour video footage.
#EndSARS Lawyer Clashes With LASG, Others Over CCTV Footage
Before the commencement of the footage viewing on Friday, counsel for LCC, Mr Rotimi Seriki, had suggested that only the portion relevant to the probe should be viewed.
Backing him, counsel for the Lagos State Government, Mr Jelili Owonikoko (SAN), said he had had the opportunity of watching the video and the portion relevant to the probe should be from 5pm of October 20.
But counsel for the #EndSARS protesters, Mr Adesina Ogunlana, insisted that the entire 20-hour footage be viewed on the grounds that “we should not sacrifice quality for speed.”
The panel chairman, retired Justice Doris Okuwobi, ruled that the entire footage be viewed.
Though the panel normally ends its sitting by 4pm, the footage was watched till about 5pm when there was a power outage in the building.
Seeing that after over four hours of viewing, nothing eventful had been seen in the soundless video, Justice Okuwobi asked Ogunlana if he still wanted the entire 20-hour video to be watched, to which Ogunlana responded, “I will wait; it’s a marathon.”
But intervening, Owonikoko submitted that lawyers had a duty to assist the panel, stressing that having viewed the video, the portion relevant to the panel’s mandate would be from about 5pm on October 20.
“We can all agree on what portion of the footage is relevant to this panel,” Owonikoko said, adding that for transparency sake, Ogunlana should be given a copy to also go and watch.
Aligning with Owonikoko, LCC’s lawyer, Seriki, recalled that he had earlier suggested that the viewing should be limited to the portion relevant to the mandate of the panel, explaining that the LCC only made the entire 20-hour footage available to demonstrate transparency.
Seriki argued that the panel could not afford to waste time watching the entire footage because it had only six months to sit and it still had petitions from victims of human rights abuse by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad to contend with.
But Ogunlana maintained his stand, saying every second of the footage was important to him because “people died on my side.”
Facing the lawyers for Lagos and LCC, Ogunlana said, “We lost lives here, you lost money.”
However, intervening, a representative of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Bernard Onigah, urged the panel to narrow the viewing to the relevant portion.
In the end, it was agreed that a copy of the footage should be given to Ogunlana, so he could go and view after which he should decide whether the panel needs to view the entire footage.
Justice Okuwobi approved Ogunlana’s request for 48 hours to view the footage and then adjourned till November 10 for further proceedings into the Lekki incident.
#EndSARS Protesters Appear Before Lagos Panel, Demand Audience
Meanwhile, three of the #EndSARS protesters on Friday appeared before the panel, demanding, through their lawyer, Ogunlana, to be granted an audience.
Ogunlana, on behalf of the protesters – Victoria Oniru, Dabira Ayuku and Perpetual Kamsiyuchukwu – said he intended to cross-examine the Managing Director of the Lekki Concession Company, operator of the Lekki tollgate, Abayomi Omowuwa, who started his testimony before the panel on Tuesday.
Though counsel for the Lagos State Government, Owonikoko, and LCC lawyer, Seriki, earlier opposed Ogunlana’s appearance on the basis that “#EndSARS” is not an entity known to the law, they later withdrew their objection when Ogunlana called out his three clients.
“I am not representing spirits or ghosts. We’re here to tell the truth. These are part of the people running underground, being threatened,” Ogunlana said in response to the objection by Owonikoko and Seriki.
Owonikoko had described #EndSARS as a nebulous entity with no structure or leader, questioning where Ogunlana got his instruction to appear before the panel.
Seriki, on his part, had said since the LCC Managing Director was before the panel on a subpoena, “he cannot be cross-examined by every Tom, Dick and Harry.”
Following the withdrawal of an objection to Ogunlana’s appearing, Justice Okuwobi, in a ruling, admitted the protesters as a party and allowed their lawyer’s appearance.
LASG Rejects FoI Request For CCTV Footage
The Lagos State Government has rejected a Freedom of Information request for the CCTV footage of the shooting of unarmed protesters at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020.
This is contained in a letter written by Deyemi Bamgbose on behalf of the state Attorney General.
A human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, had written a letter to the state government last week invoking the Freedom of Information Act 2011.
Effiong had in the letter addressed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, requested the CCTV footage in the interest of the public.
However, in a response dated November 3, 2020, titled, ‘Re: Urgent Request Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2011’, the state government said it could not make the CCTV footage available because the FoI Act was a federal law and it didn’t apply to states.
The government also cited a 2018 Court of Appeal judgement to back its claim.
The letter read in part, “I am further directed to inform you that the laws of Lagos State do not include the Freedom of Information Act which is a federal law that is not applicable to the state. As such, your request cannot be granted.”
The state government said in the case of EDOSACA vs Osakue and others in 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled, “My strong view on it is that given the provisions of the said Act as presently enacted vis a vis Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution and Items 4 and 5 of Part 2, 2nd schedule thereof, the applicant is not bound to comply with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2011.”
Saturday PUNCH, however, reports that another Court of Appeal in Akure in April 2018 had ruled that the FoI Act was applicable to all states of the federation but the Lagos State Government selected the ruling that could justify its decision not to honour the FoI request.
The FoI Act, which was signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, makes it mandatory for public records to be made available to those who request it.
However, Lagos State and many others have in the last few years refused to honour FoI requests even as civil society groups accuse them of running an opaque government.
The Lagos State Government is known for ignoring FoI requests on its activities from journalists and civil society organisations.
An FoI request by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project to the state government to explain how a $90 million World Bank loan for the upgrade of public schools was spent was rejected by then Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), in 2014.
Sanwo-Olu Meets Buhari, Presents Document On Destruction
Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, on Friday met with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, joined the meeting, which held behind closed doors inside the President’s office.
The agenda of the meeting was not made public. But the Presidency, in a tweet posted on its Twitter handle, @NGRPresident, said Sanwo-Olu presented to Buhari documents detailing the violence unleashed on the state in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests.
The message read, “President @MBuhari this afternoon met with Governor @jidesanwoolu of Lagos.
“The governor presented a report on the extent of the destruction suffered by Lagos State in the aftermath of the EndSARS protests.”
The message was accompanied by pictures depicting where the governor was presenting the report to the President and where Buhari, the governor and Gambari were going through the report.
Sanwo-Olu did not grant any press interview at the end of his meeting with the President.
As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency had yet to issue a statement on the meeting.
Ministers from the South-West during the week called on the Federal Government to assist the Lagos State Government in restoring some of the public facilities destroyed in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests in the state.
They identified 15 police stations, the state High Court building and others as parts of facilities destroyed during the period.
The ministers also urged the government to investigate the involvement of the army in the reported shooting of protesting youths at the Lekki tollgate.
Don’t Embark On New Protest, Lagos Warns Youths
The Lagos State Government on Friday warned the youths to shun any act that might threaten the peace of the state, which it said was battling to recover from the shock of the carnage unleashed by hoodlums who hid under the #EndSARS protests.
The state government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said there were hints of a new protest, saying that the police had warned that no protest would be tolerated.
The statement read, “Any protest under any guise will be disrespectful to the memory of those who died in the violence and unfair to ordinary Lagosians, who have remained peaceful, despite the hardship that the original protests sparked.
“It is clear that the original protests, despite their good intentions, have caused more havoc than they were planned to resolve.
“The government hereby appeals to our patriotic youths to shelve any plan for a protest and join the practical efforts to find a solution to the problems that have been thrown up by the actions taken in recent weeks.”
The state government enjoined parents and guardians to advise their children not to be used “as tools of destruction by enemies of our society.”
It said anybody who had any grievance against the disbanded SARS should approach the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution to make their case.
“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu advises all Lagosians to remain calm and confident that the government will guard jealously the emblem of peace that Lagos is famous for. Any person or group of persons who plans to fuel any crisis in Lagos should drop such thoughts or be ready to face the law,” the statement added.
Dahiru Buba, a citizen who trekked from Gombe to Abuja for 15 days after President Muhammadu Buhari won in 2015, needs help.
Daily Trust reports that he has serious limb pains and is asking for assistance to get treated.
Buba is an indigene of Dukku Local Government Area of Gombe State.
He urged Governor Inuwa Yahaya and the All Progressives Congress (APC) members to offer a helping hand.
“Since the time I conducted the trekking, the limb pain is growing by the day. I am appealing to my governor, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State and the party leadership to help me look for medical assistance,” Buba said.
Buba added that with his situation, he cannot pay his children’s school fees, among other responsibilities.
The Nigerian Army, contrary to its decision last week, will appear on Saturday before the Lagos State Panel of Inquiry probing the alleged shooting of #EndSARS peaceful protesters by soldiers on October 20 at the Lekki tollgate.
Sources close to the retired Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel confirmed to The PUNCH on Thursday that the army had acknowledged the panel’s invitation and the panel had fixed Saturday (November 7) for its appearance at the hearing taking place at the Lagos Court of Arbitration, Lekki.
Recall that for two weeks last month, youths calling for the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police protested across the country.
In Lagos, the protests assumed a tragic dimension when soldiers shot protesters at the Lekki tollgate.
The shootings have attracted local and international condemnations with Amnesty International saying that no fewer than 12 people were killed.
Sunday PUNCH on November 1 reported that the Lagos State panel had invited the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, whose soldiers were alleged to have carried out the shootings.
But the spokesman for the Nigerian Army, 81 Division, Lagos, Major Osoba Olaniyi, said the army would not honour a summons from the panel as the army believed that it was not the panel’s “duty” to invite the army.
Olaniyi had stressed that the military would only appear before the panel if it received an invitation directly from the Lagos State Government, rather than the panel.
“If we receive a letter from the state, we will go. Are we not under civil authorities? Are we not part of Nigerians? Have you forgotten that we did not go there (Lekki tollgate) on our own?.
“It is the state government that constituted that panel of inquiry. So, if anybody needs to get in touch with us to come, it is still the state, not the members,” Olaniyi had said.
But on Thursday, multiple sources confirmed to The PUNCH that the army had changed its position and would be presenting its case before the panel on Saturday.
One of the sources close to the panel, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Contrary to its earlier posture of resistance, the Nigerian Army seems to have bowed to pressure in respect of the invitation to appear before the Lagos panel on SARS. The Army will appear before the panel on Saturday. That is the day the panel has fixed for the Army to appear.
“You know the panel was set up with the approval of the National Executive Council and President Muhammadu Buhari has always assured Nigerians and indeed the international community of full cooperation with the panel, so the Army cannot afford to ignore the invitation from the panel duly signed by its chairperson, who is a judicial officer.
“The whole world is watching us and all eyes are on the panel, especially in respect of the Lekki Tollgate. The Army is critical to the work of the panel and it will erode public confidence in the government if any of its institutions snubs the panel with impunity. After all, the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, so how can the army openly defy the Panel that its own Commander-in-Chief has endorsed?”
The source dismissed the fear that the panel might not be objective since it was set up by the Governor of Lagos State, whom the Army said called for the soldiers who engaged the peaceful protesters at Lekki tollgate.
When contacted on the telephone, the spokesman for 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Olaniyi, said, “If you have any question, go and meet the panel, don’t come and ask me. The panel is carrying out the investigation, go and meet the panel. I don’t have any comment.”
Further efforts to get Osoba to answer other questions were rebuffed as he hung up the call during the telephone conversation.
Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari says he looks forward to his exit as presidential spokesman.
Adesina, in a piece on Friday titled, ‘We have different paths to tread in life,’ said “even life does not last forever”.
He, however, said only God knows his terminal time and “it’s in the womb of time. But the longest is 2023…We have our entrances and exits. I look forward to mine.”
Adesina, who expressed concerns over certain comments by his detractors, stressed that nobody could determine his destiny after 2023.
In the piece published on his website, www.femiadesina.com, he listed those who served as image-makers to the nation’s heads of state since 1976, noting that they all succeeded after office and his is not going to be an exception.
He also wrote about his professional odyssey from a reporter to the status of a newspaper editor-in-chief before his appointment by the President in 2015.
The former President of Nigerian Guild of Editors stated, “On the very first day in my current office, I already handed over the last day to God. The last day would always come. Even life does not last forever.
“Why have I decided to write this piece? The ill will, malediction I hear from some tiny, envious quarters. He is now anti-people, because he’s S.A to the President. He will go down. He will come back to meet us, unheralded, unsung. He will be uncelebrated. Really? I dey laff. Who are they talking about. Me? No. It can’t be me, because my destiny was long hidden in Christ and in God.
“Those who served before me have all succeeded in their different ways, no matter what people choose to believe, or say of them. They served their principals faithfully. I will do same to mine. Nobody will determine what happens next. Only God will do. We have different paths to tread in life. And it is determined by the higher powers.”
Protesters have marched through the streets of several American cities in response to President Donald Trump’s ‘aggressive’ moves to challenge the outcome of the US presidential election.
In Minneapolis, New York, protesters blocked a freeway, prompting arrests.
In Portland, a large crowd gathered on the waterfront to protest Trump’s attempted interventions in the votes currently being counted.
About 150 pro-Trump protesters, some of them armed in Phoenix gathered outside the county recorder’s office where a closely watched count of votes that could help determine the outcome of the election was being conducted, New York Times reports.
Also some suspected supporters of the United States President, Donald Trump, said to be armed, protested at Maricopa County Election Department, Arizona, saying that Adrian Fontes, the county official who oversees elections in Maricopa County, was improperly failing to count some ballots, thereby, costing Trump votes in Arizona.
However, there is no evidence yet that any ballots had been improperly tossed.
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has told the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to publicly condemn the actions of pastors and church leaders.
NSCIA accused some clerics of inciting their followers against Muslims in the country.
The body is led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III.
In a statement on Thursday, NSCIA Head of Communication, Ibrahim Aselemi, noted that some pastors hide under the rights to free speech to spread anti-Muslim messages.
Aselemi also accused CAN leadership of paying lip service to religious harmony and tolerance.
“The persistent anti-Islamic rhetoric whipped up by some clergymen of the Christian faith in recent times in Nigeria is most worrisome and has become a source of grave concern.
“These Church leaders have developed a penchant for inciting Christians against Muslims in every time the opportunity presents itself while hiding under the umbrella of free speech and religious freedom.”
NSCIA stressed that the silence of CAN means complicit.
The statement said this was disappointing, double standard, self-indicting and morally unconscionable.
The Islamic leaders added that they await the outcome of the police investigation and prosecution of those found culpable of instigating violence.
Aselemi appealed to Muslims in the South-East and other regions not to take laws into their hands and continue to be law-abiding.
