Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic could face a retrospective ban
for appearing to kick Everton defender, Seamus Coleman in the face.
Coleman had to be substituted 15 minutes after the collision, as he was clearly struggling to continue.
Referee Michael Oliver missed the incident, but the Swede could still be punished and miss upcoming Premier League games
Ibrahimovic had given United the lead in the first half, with a
audaciously lobbed effort from outside the box, that had to be confirmed
by goal-line technology.
The 35-year-old has picked up five yellow cards in 20 games, since he signed for the Red Devils as a free agent in the summer.
The Nigerian Army has dispelled the insinuation in some quarters that “Operation Python Dance” inaugurated on Monday last week in the South-East geopolitical zone was targeted at inflicting harm and hardship on the Igbo.
The Deputy Director, Public Relations,
82 Division, Col. Sagir Musa, stated this on Sunday while conducting
journalists round army checkpoints in Awka and Onitsha, Anambra State.
He said the exercise was to ensure a crime-free Yelutide and free flow of traffic in the zone during the festivities.
Musa said public complaints against the exercise would be addressed where appropriate.
He said the fear being expressed by some people about the exercise was unfounded.
The spokesperson added that similar
exercises had been launched in other parts of the country according to
the peculiarity of their security challenges.
Public condemnation had trailed the inauguration of the Operation Python Dance,
especially among rights groups and pro-Biafran agitators, accusing the
army and the Federal Government of a sinister move to cause hardship on
the people of the geopolitical zone.
Debunking the allegation, the spokesperson said the exercise was not targeted at anybody or group.
He said, “Exercise Python Dance is not targeted at any individual or group of people.
“It is purely a command post and field
training exercises as a way of enhancing troop’s preparedness across
spectrum of contemporary security challenges peculiar to the South-East
geopolitical zone.
“For emphasis and clarity, Exercise Python Dance is not targeted at MASSOB/IPOB or any individual or group.
“ It is only a Field Training Exercise
that is designed to where necessary dovetail into real time activities
such as anti-kidnapping drills, patrols, raids, cordon and search,
checkpoints, road blocks and show of force.
“This is with the aim of checkmating anticipated rising wave of crimes usually prevalent during the Yuletide period.”
It maintained that similar exercises had been conducted in other geopolitical zones of the country.
“Exercise Shirin Harbi was
conducted from 17 to 19 April, 2016 in three Division Area of
Responsibility to take care of the insurgency, cattle rustling and other
sundry crimes in the North-East geopolitical.
“Exercise Harbin Kunama was
held in 1 Division AOR from 9 to 15 July, 2016 to rid the North-West
geopolitical zone of banditry, insurgency and cattle rustling among
other menaces.
“Also, Exercise Crocodile Smile
was conducted from 5 to 10 September, 2016 in the Niger Delta region
with the aim of reducing incidences of illegal bunkering, oil theft, sea
piracy and other peculiar criminalities across the entire region.
“In the same vein, Exercise Python Dance has been planned for the South-East geopolitical from 27 November to 27 December, 2016.
“The prevalent security issues such as
armed robbery, banditry, kidnappings, herdsmen – farmers’ clashes,
communal clashes and violent secessionist attacks among other security
threats in the geopolitical would be targeted.”
He asked the public to disregard “the
unfounded fear and allegations orchestrated by ill-meaning individuals
and groups that the exercise is ‘ a plot to kill IPOB members.”
“This assertion is not only insidious and mischievous but is also devious and should be disregarded,” Musa stated.
The Abuja Carnival began on Saturday with a street procession by participants from about 15 states of the federation.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the procession took
off from the Old Parade Ground through some designated routes to Area
One Roundabout and a final stop at the Eagle Square.
The participants were adorned in beautiful costumes made from beautiful fabrics, shades and colours to behold.
The different states had their rich cultural heritage on display, depicting what they were best known for.
Most of the states had floats mounted on articulated trucks beautifully decorated with various inscriptions.
NAN also reports that security agencies, comprising the police,
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and Vehicle Inspection
Officers were on ground to maintain law and order.
There were also ambulances on ground to handle any emergency that could occur during the event.
Some of the participating states include Gombe, Bayelsa, Yobe, Kogi,
Jigawa, Sokoto, Delta, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Imo, Ogun, Adamawa and Katsina.
The carnival continues tomorrow with Children Fiesta (Children from
the states and the FCT), Durba, food fair/food bar and cultural night
The police in Lagos State have arrested a
woman, Mrs. Bosede Adekunle, for allegedly dumping the corpse of her
son, Kayode, in a cesspit in the Baruwa area of Ipaja
SPLENSIZY learnt that the
decomposing remains of the 34-year-old were found on Saturday, November
26, five days after he was dumped in the cesspit.
It was gathered that Kayode had been
sick for some time and had remained indoors under the care of the
widowed mother and two sisters.
Our correspondent was told that the victim later gave up the ghost under a circumstance that was not clear.
The mother was reported to have taken the corpse and dumped in the cesspit in the community.
However, the stench from the corpse was
said to have caught the attention of a resident who, after searching,
found the body and raised the alarm.
Residents were said to have recovered the remains from the cesspit.
A resident, Bode Osas, said a mob
attacked the suspect before the intervention of policemen from the Ipaja
division who whisked her away to the station.
He said, “The man had epilepsy and he
had been sick for some time. He was said to have died last Tuesday
night. After he died, she and her two children dumped his corpse in a
cesspit behind their house.
“The mistake they, however, made was
that they didn’t know that the cesspit was shallow and almost filled up
with faeces. The odour of the corpse filled the area and five days
after, the body was discovered.”
Another resident, who did not want to be
identified, said Kayode died from the sickness, adding that the mother
was confused on what to do with his corpse and dumped him in the
cesspit.
“She is a widow and she didn’t know what
to do when her son died, so she dumped the corpse in the cesspit. There
was a lot of crowd in the community when the corpse was discovered.
Some people mobbed her before the police intervened,” he added.
Our correspondent learnt that officials
of the Ipaja Local Government Area and the State Environmental Health
Monitoring Unit were contacted.
The residents were, however, reported to have removed the corpse before the arrival of the government emergency workers.
When our correspondent visited the area,
he observed that the victim was buried opposite his mother’s mud house,
which was locked up.
The Baale of Ishaga Olaogun
community, who did not identify himself, said the suspect had been
banished from the community, adding that the case was with the police.
He said, “We don’t want this case to
escalate beyond this and that is why I won’t say anything to you. Sanity
has been restored to our community and the woman that committed the
crime has been banished along with her children. She is in police
custody.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident, adding that investigations were ongoing.
She said, “The decomposing corpse of a
man, Kayode Adekunle, was discovered in a cesspit at Adekunle Compound,
Baruwa, Ipaja. It was later discovered that the corpse was dumped there
by the mother, Mrs. Bosede Adekunle. Kayode was an epileptic patient
and he had fallen sick for some time before he died. Local government
health officials were contacted for evacuation, while the case is under
investigation.”
