2 feared dead, many injured as APC primary turns bloody in Lagos (DailyTrust)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries for the forthcoming local government election in Lagos State turned bloody in parts of the state on Saturday with two people allegedly killed in Surulere Local Government Area.
Several people were also injured in many local government areas, including Shomolu, Alimosho, Ejigbo, among others when thugs disrupted the exercise.
Daily Trust reports that there has been tension in the state over the primary election for the 57 chairmanship candidates and 377 councillorship candidates of the ruling party.
Some party members are alleging imposition of candidates by party leaders.
In Surulere, it was gathered that suspected political thugs and cultists had a free day during the exercise leading to attacks on electoral officials. Read more
“Yahoo Boy” nabbed trying to buy N44m Range Rover with Bitcoin (Nation)
The Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested eight internet fraudsters, one of whom allegedly tried to buy a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) worth 44 Million with Bitcoin.
The Nation learnt that Tobiloba Aramide Ogundiyan was accused by EFCC’s Advance Fee Fraud Section of committing online fraud and converting his loot to the cryptocurrency.
An EFCC source said Ogundiyan “acquired his ill-gotten wealth from internet fraud, layered it into a Bitcoin account and finally integrated it by approaching a car shop owner in Lekki to purchase a Range Rover Vela P380 2018 model worth N44,000,000 ($97,626 USD in Bitcoin) sometime in March 2021”. Read more
I didn’t call Arinola Oloko thug, says Remi Tinubu (Punch)
Mrs. Remi Tinubu, wife of All Progressives Congress chieftain, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said she didn’t call an educationist, Arinola Oloko, a thug at the venue of a public hearing on constitutional review on Wednesday.
According to her, she asked Oloko if she was a thug and not that she called her a thug.
The Senator representing Lagos Central made this known on Friday while featuring on TVC breakfast show, ‘Your View’ monitored by The PUNCH.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that viral video showed that Mrs. Tinubu was involved in a shouting match with some Nigerians who attended the event at the Marriot Hotel in Lagos. Read more
Group kicks against detention of mother, baby for 12 years (Vanguard)
A group of human rights lawyers and other stakeholders in Anambra State have raised the alarm over the unlawful detention of no fewer than 18 persons in various Correctional Centres in the State, for offences allegedly committed by their fathers, husbands, brothers or relations.
They also decried the detention of a woman identified as Mrs. Onyekachi Orji, who was pregnant when she was arrested before she delivered in prison and had remained in custody for twelve years with the baby.
The group through its spokesman, Chijioke Ifediora Esq, said they will no longer accept the continued detention without trial of the victims and ask all families and friends concerned, to give this process freeing them a chance, adding that on justice they stand. Read more
Kwara school shut down over ‘evil spirit’ scare (Nation)
Authorities of St Claire’s Anglican Girls Grammar School, Offa, Kwara state have shut down the school over a scare allegedly caused by suspected ‘strange voices of demons’ in the school.
It was gathered that the school authorities have equally urged parents and guardians to take their wards home.
The Nation’s findings revealed that the strange incident caused panic among students and teachers of the school. alike.
The bizarre incident was said to have occurred on Friday this week as some students were shouting at the top of their voices after allegedly hearing strange voices suspected to be from the spirit world. Read more
Greenfield University abduction: 14 students regain freedom (Guardian)
Fourteen abducted students of Greenfield University in Kaduna State have been released, multiple media reports said on Saturday.
Channels Television reports that the students were released on Saturday afternoon at a location along the Kaduna- Abuja highway.
The chairman of the Parents Forum, Markus Zarmai, and few others were expected to receive the students at the drop-off location, the TV station reported.
Kaduna State Government and police authorities are yet to confirm the development.
However, parents of the abducted students said that they paid a ransom, in addition to providing eight new motorcycles to the kidnappers before they agreed to release their children. The parents did not say how much they paid. Read more
Buhari to attend emergency ECOWAS summit on Mali in Ghana (Leadership)
African France Summit
President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Sunday for Accra, Ghana to attend an emergency Extraordinary Summit of ECOWAS, convened to discuss recent political developments in Mali.
According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, on Saturday, the meeting is at the instance of the chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS and President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo.
Prior to the Extraordinary Summit, the President had met with the Special Envoy and ECOWAS mediator in Mali, former President Goodluck Jonathan, who briefed him on the latest developments in the country following his meeting with key political actors in the West African country.
Adesina said, “as the situation in Mali continues to evolve, Nigeria had condemned the May 24 military coup, the subsequent detention of the president and prime minister by soldiers, and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilian officials detained. Read more
Owerri residents obey IPOB’s sit-at-home order (DailyTrust)
Economic and social activities in Owerri, the Imo State capital, and its environs have been grounded to a halt as residents of the state obey a sit-at-home order given by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
This was despite assurances of safety given to them by the Imo State government.
10 killed as terrorists attempt to attack army formation
Five soldiers gunned down as IPOB’s sit-at-home order flops in Anambra
Shops, malls, supermarkets and markets were completely closed and roads empty as motorists and pedestrians stayed off the streets.
The famous Eke Onunwa and Relief markets were ghosts of their former selves as most traders and buyers stayed away. Read more
Fiscal discipline, superior planning, reasons for my success – Okowa (Vanguard)
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Saturday, said adherence to fiscal discipline and superior planning accounted for the successes recorded by his administration in the last six years.
Speaking to Journalists in Asaba during the celebration of his sixth anniversary as Governor of the State, Okowa said that his administration’s success in the last six years was borne out of greater coordination in administration and superior thought-process.
Recalling that prior to his administration, the state’s budget hovered around the N400 billion mark, with naira exchanging at N180 to a dollar as against the current budget of the state being in the N300 billion mark, with the exchange rate at N492 to a dollar, he said that following the devaluation of the naira over the years, there was less value the naira could impact on projects. Read more
Prison guards ‘didn’t notice’ that Satanist tortured, beheaded cellmate (NYPost)
California prison guards “didn’t notice” that a self-described Satanist decapitated and dissected the body of his cellmate, a state investigation found.
Why the officers at Corcoran State Prison didn’t discover the grisly scene until the following morning is not detailed in the reports, the Los Angeles Times reported. A lawsuit filed by the dead inmate’s family claims the cell bars were covered with a sheet and accuses the guards of not checking the cell.
The mutilated corpse of Luis Romero, 44, was discovered the morning of March 9, 2019, in the cell he shared with Jaime Osuna, 31.
Osuna was serving a life sentence for torturing and killing a woman at a motel in 2011 and had a history of attacking fellow inmates. He had never had a cellmate before. Read more
Canada mourns as remains of 215 children found at indigenous school (BBC)
A mass grave containing the remains of 215 children has been found in Canada at a former residential school set up to assimilate indigenous people.
The children were students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia that closed in 1978.
The discovery was announced on Thursday by the chief of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was a “painful reminder” of a “shameful chapter of our country’s history”. Read more
“Midnight Cowboy” producer Jerome Hellman dead at 92 (NYPost)
Jerome Hellman, the Oscar-winning producer of the groundbreaking 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy,” has died. He was 92.
Over the course of his career, Hellman also worked on 1964’s “The World of Henry Orient,” 1966’s “A Fine Madness,” 1975’s “The Day of the Locust” and 1986’s “The Mosquito Coast,” all in collaboration with a variety of notable directors.
Also notable was his work as a producer for the 1978 Vietnam War film “Coming Home,” which landed an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, as well as Best Actress and Actor Oscars for cast members Jane Fonda and “Midnight Cowboy” star Jon Voight. Read more
Thousands rally against abortion in Croatia (RFI)
Thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday in Croatia, a largely Catholic country where human rights activists say reproductive rights are increasingly under threat.
The marchers in capital Zagreb, most of whom did not wear masks, waived Croatian flags, sang patriotic songs and carried banners such as “Unborn lives matter, too”.
“It’s our duty to advocate for protection of every human life, including unborn children”, said Luka Hudincec, one of the organisers of the rally.
Various left-wing and feminist groups opposed the march by standing on the sidewalk, chanting while wearing bloody aprons and carrying clothes hangers — a reference to illegal abortion. Read more
Bus blast kills three university staff in Afghanistan (BBC)
At least three teachers have died and 15 more people have been wounded after a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying university staff in Afghanistan.
Professors and staff from Al-Biruni university were travelling through Charikar, the capital of Parwan province, about 70km (43 miles) north of the capital Kabul.
No group has claimed responsibility.
Afghanistan has seen increasing violence in recent weeks as the US and Nato prepare to withdraw all troops. Read more
Kidnapped teen found two years later thanks to broken car light (NYPost)
A Tennessee teen who was kidnapped and drugged by her father was found safe Friday — after being missing for nearly two years, authorities said.
Alabama cops accidentally stumbled upon Daphne Westbrook around 1:30 a.m. in the city of Samson, where an officer stopped the now 18-year-old for driving with an expired tag and busted light, according to Chief Jimmy Hill.
The officer realised who she was after running her name through police computers, Hill said.
Westbrook was driving through Alabama to the beach with her dog. Read more
NBA play-offs: Jayson Tatum stars as Boston Celtics take 2-1 lead over Brooklyn Nets (BBC)
Jayson Tatum scored a play-off career-high 50 points as his Boston Celtics side beat the visiting Brooklyn Nets 125-119 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Tatum threw five three-pointers and hit 13 of 15 free throws, as well as contributing seven assists.
He is the first Celtics player to score a post-season 50 since Isaiah Thomas in the 2017 Eastern Conference semi-final.
“I had a tough two games so I tried to redeem myself and do anything I can to win,” said Tatum. Read more
Quartararo claims fourth straight pole in Mugello (RFI)
Championship leader Fabio Quartararo will start on pole for the fourth successive race after dominating Italian MotoGP qualifying with a new lap record at Mugello on Saturday.
Francesco Bagnaia had been fastest in all the first three practice sessions for local team Ducati, setting a new lap record in FP3 on Saturday morning.
Quartararo bettered that in final practice and kept the home favourites at bay again in qualifying.
The French Yamaha rider took pole in style, lowering the record Bagnaia set only hours earlier, with a new fastest time at the circuit of 1min 45.187sec. Read more
Messi to pen new Barcelona deal (Nation)
Barcelona are reportedly confident that Lionel Messi will sign a new deal to stay with the club, after his participation with Argentina at the Copa America.
The 33-year-old is currently training with his national side, who are to host the tournament which kicks off on June 13 with a game in Buenos Aires against Chile.
Messi is aware that the Catalan club could face a Champions League ban from UEFA, following their persistence to remain in the European Super League.
However, according to the Daily Mail, Barcelona still expect the six-time Ballon d’Or winner to put pen to paper on a new deal, even if they are not competing in Europe’s elite competition next season. Read more
Brentford beat Swansea to reach Premier League for first time (BBC)
Brentford will play in the top flight next season after a 74-year absence courtesy of victory over Swansea
Brentford will play in the Premier League for the first time next season after beating Swansea City 2-0 in the Championship play-off final.
Ivan Toney’s penalty put them on the road to the top flight before Emiliano Marcondes’ crisp far-post finish.
Thomas Frank’s team will play at the highest level for the first time since 1946-47 having eased past a Swansea side who finished with 10 men.
Victory could be worth about £178m to the west London club. Read more
Julius Randle, RJ Barrett flop in Knicks’ blowout Game 3 loss to Hawks (NYPost)
Tom Thibodeau can change the Knicks’ starting point guard, but he can’t change what his team has been built around this season: Julius Randle and RJ Barrett as a dynamic 1-2 punch.
In their playoff debuts, however, the pair have been duds, and now the Knicks are facing a dose of reality as they trail the Hawks 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
For the third straight game, Randle and Barrett underperformed and the Hawks rolled with an emphatic 105-94 victory Friday in Game 3 in front of an announced crowd of 15,743 at a rowdy and red State Farm Arena
Randle and Barrett combined to shoot 4-for-24 from the field (3-for-12 from 3-point range). Randle, hounded by double-teams all night, finished with 14 points on 2-for-15 shooting with two assists, and Barrett had just seven points. Read more
Napoli name Luciano Spalletti as Gennaro Gattuso’s successor (BBC)
Napoli have appointed former Roma and Inter Milan manager Luciano Spalletti to succeed Gennaro Gattuso.
Gattuso left Napoli after finishing fifth in Serie A and failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League. He has since taken over at Fiorentina.
Italian Spalletti, 62, returns to management for the first time since he was sacked by Inter in 2019.”Welcome, Luciano – we’ll do great work together,” said Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis. Read more