Bench
NJC recommends appointment of 18 justices for Appeal Court, others
The National Judicial Council (NJC) under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, has recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari, the appointment of 18 Justices into the bench of the Court of Appeal. The NJC similarly recommended to eight governors including that of Delta, Rivers, Ebonyi, Kogi, Jigawa and Nasarawa, the appointment of eight judges as Heads of Court in their affected states. The affected judicial officers according to a statement by the Director, Information, NJC, were considered for appointment by the NJC’s Interview Committee at the NJC’s 94th Meeting held on December 17 and 18, 2020. Among those recommended for appointment into the bench of the appellate court are; Justice Bature Gafai, Justice Muhammad Sirajo and Justice Waziri Abdul-Az...
Dimitar Berbatov warns Manchester United’s Shola Shoretire not to relax
Manchester United Double winner, Dimitar Berbatov, has warned Shola Shoretire not to relax. The 17-year-old came off the bench to make his senior debut against Newcastle at the weekend, playing the final minutes in what he described as a “dream come true”. Berbatov told Betfair: “It is a great moment for a player at 17 to make his debut at Old Trafford. He must have shown something in training and the youth teams which made that happen. “He has made the first step and now the difficult thing is to show Ole and the coaching staff that he can back that up. He has to prove he belongs there. He just needs to keep pushing and show himself in the eyes of the coaching staff. “In Shola’s situation, you must train like your life depends on it. “You need to show everyone that you are here and are wa...
Leon Balogun impresses at right back in Europa League for Rangers
Super Eagles center back Leon Balogun impressed in a right-back role as Rangers won in a seven -goal thriller in the Europa League round of 32 clash against Royal Antwerp at Bosuilstadion on Thursday night. With 24 minutes played, the Nigeria international came off the bench to replace Rangers skipper James Tavernier, who was not able to continue due to an injury. The right-back position is not entirely new to Balogun as he has played in that role for the national team, Mainz and Brighton & Hove. In fact, he made his debut for the Super Eagles as a right-back when he replaced Efe Ambrose in the second half of a pre-World Cup friendly against Mexico in March 2014. “I was back to an old role and I was happy I can still play it,” Balogun said at yesterday’s press conference. “I think the ...
Odion Ighalo: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave me the chance to live my dream
Nigeria’s Odion Jude Ighalo will forever be grateful to Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for supporting him to live his dream with the Old Trafford squad. Speaking for the first time after he moved from Saudi Arabian side, Al-Shabab, Ighalo expressed his love and admiration to the coach who believed in him and gave him the chance to live his childhood dream of playing for the Red Devils in any capacity. “Every player wants to play, but I always respect my coach. I’m a hard worker in training and match situations, It’s painful though, but the decision is not yours,” Ighalo informed 88.9 sports radion. “No player wants to be on the bench, particularly when you know you are fit or even better than those selected ahead of you. “But, I respect Ole. He gave me the chance to live m...
Henry Onyekuru grabs brace as Galatasaray beat Gaziantep away
Henry Onyekuru scored twice as Galatasaray beat Gaziantep 2-1 in their Turkish Super Lig clash at the Gaziantep Stadyumu on Friday. It was Onyekuru’s first appearance for Fathi Terim’s side since he linked up with the club from Monaco. The Nigeria international started the game on the bench and replaced Morocco international Younnes Belhanda after the break. The 23-year-old put Galatasaray ahead in the 51st minute after he was teed up by Dutchman Ryan Babel. He scored his second goal of the game 12 minutes from time. His international teammate Oghenekaro Etebo replaced Emre Kılınç in the 75th minute. Former Flying Eagles defender Valentine Ozornwafor was an unused substitute for Galatasaray in the game. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looki...
Leicester edge up to second despite draw vs Crystal Palace
A much-changed Leicester moved up to second in the Premier League thanks to Harvey Barnes’ late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday. Wilfried Zaha’s stunning near post volley put the Eagles in front against the run of play after Kelechi Iheanacho had a first-half penalty saved for Leicester. With little over 48 hours rest between the Foxes’ 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Saturday and the trip to Selhurst Park, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers made seven changes with Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans among those left on the bench. Both were introduced midway through the second-half and Leicester’s pressure was rewarded with an equaliser when Barnes fired in a low shot from the edge of the box for his eighth goal of the season. Despite the upheaval of missing many of their st...
Jurgen Klopp: Mo Salah is happy at Liverpool
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp moved to dismiss speculation over Egypt forward Mohamed Salah’s future saying on Thursday he is happy at the Premier League champions. The 28-year-old gave an interview in Spain last week in which he said Barcelona and Real Madrid were top clubs and “who knows what will happen in the future”. This led to speculation over whether he was seeking a new longer-term contract beyond 2023 or he was upset Trent Alexander-Arnold had been given the captain’s armband for the Champions League group match with Midtjylland. “We do not speak about deals — well, not with you (the media). Why should we start now?” said Klopp at his press conference ahead of Sunday’s game with struggling West Brom. “Mo is in a good mood, always a good moment. He is in really good shape and that ...
Wafu B Cup: Ghana edge Burkina Faso to win tournament
Ghana have been crowned winners of the 2020 Wafu B Cup of Nations following a 2-1 triumph over Burkina Faso in Saturday’s final in Benin. Kouame Jean Fiacre Botue scored first for the Young Stallions but captain Daniel Afriyie and Precious Boah hit back for the Black Satellites at Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto-Novo. Abdul Karim Zito’s outfit not only leave Benin with the trophy but also have a qualification ticket for the 2021 Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania. Afriyie was among the returnees to the coach’s line-up for the final, taking back his place – at the expense of Issah Huda – after dropping to the bench for the semi-final 5-3 penalty shoot-out win over Niger. Ofori McCarthy was also a new face in the starting set-up, replacing Abdul Mugees Zakaria. Burkina Faso opened the ...
Pep Guardiola: Kun Aguero not ready to start Manchester derby
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Sergio Aguero won’t start Saturday’s derby against United at Old Trafford. The Argentine, who has been troubled by knee injury and hamstring issues this season came off the bench to score Manchester City’s 3-0 win against French club Olympic Marseille on Wednesday night. Aguero has featured in five games across all competitions for the Citizens this season. Guardiola has said he will not take risks with the 32-year-old and will not be tempted to throw him in from the beginning at Old Trafford. Asked if Aguero could start the derby, Guardiola simply said: “No.” On his general performance, he added: “His instinct to score will always be there. He’s had three or four training sessions and the reaction was good. “He had 25 minutes and scored a goal. S...
Al Ahly complete historical treble, win Egypt Cup via penalties
Egyptian football giants, Al Ahly, crowned an extraordinary season by winning the 2019-20 Egypt Cup title on Saturday. By so doing, they completed a historical treble, having previously taken the 2019/2020 Egyptian Premier League trophy and the 2019/2020 Total CAF Champions League titles. On Saturday, after the tie against Talaea El Geish ended in a 1-1 draw, Al Ahly needed penalty shootouts which they won 3-2 at the Alexandria based Borg El Arab Stadium to extend their record by winning their 37th Egypt Cup title, ten more than arch-rivals Zamalek. Substitute Mahmoud Abdel Moneam “Kahraba” came from the bench to give Al Ahly the lead after 65 minutes. Only for Nasser Mansy to equalize for El Geish two minutes into injury time. As no more goals cake in the extra time, the game headed to pe...
Jerusalem church suffers damage in arson near Garden of Gethsemane
Israeli police on Friday arrested a man for trying to set fire to an east Jerusalem church by the Garden of Gethsemane, the site revered by Christians as the place where Jesus prayed before he was crucified. The 49-year-old Israeli suspect poured flammable liquid inside the Church of All Nations, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The man then set it alight, a separate police statement said, before the church guard detained him. “Preliminary investigation and the suspect’s details strengthen the assessment that the background to the incident was criminal,” police said, suggesting investigators believed it was not a hate crime. Reuters pictures showed a charred bench and a small blackened portion of the mosaic floor of the Catholic church, which overlooks Jerusalem’s walled Old City. “T...
Thomas Tuchel defends outburst following Champions League win
Thomas Tuchel says he “understands” criticism of Paris Saint-Germain but dismissed its credibility when coming from fans and journalists watching from a “sofa”. PSG were out of sorts in the Champions League on Tuesday, as last season’s beaten finalists scraped a narrow 1-0 win at RB Leipzig. The decisive goal, an 11th-minute Neymar penalty, was one of just three shots on target mustered by PSG over the course of the match. Tuchel said after the game that he would not apologise for winning in a somewhat ugly fashion, with Leipzig enjoying 63 per cent of possession and managing 15 shots in total. He put the underwhelming performance down to fatigue caused by the team’s packed schedule, though it was not their only unimpressive display in recent months. Before Tuesday, PSG had lost three of t...
