5 years in captivity: Christian leaders berate Buhari over Leah, calls for her release (Tribune)
Christian leaders have expressed disappointment over the inability of President Muhammadu Buhari to keep to his promise of releasing a Christian girl, Leah Sharibu who was adopted in Yobe State.
Recall that in February 2018, about 110 girls were kidnapped from the Government Girls Science and Technology College, Dapchi, Yobe State by a terrorist group, Boko Haram.
It was reported that the girls were released afterward while Leah Sharibu, was not released for reportedly refusing to denounce Christianity. Read more
ASSBIFI suspends strike, orders banks to resume operation (Punch)
The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions has announced that banks should begin operations from Monday, February 20, 2023.
The association disclosed this while suspending its plans to commence strike action on Monday.
It will be recalled there had been several cases of protests and destruction of bank facilities across the country over the naira scarcity.
The President of the association, Olusoji Oluwole, disclosed this on Sunday. Read more
Yoruba Nation group declares support for Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu (Vanguard)
The Yoruba Self Determination Coalition called ‘Yoruba Nation’ has declared total support for the Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu as the nation approaches the general elections.
The Yoruba Nation being the foremost group agitating for the actualization of Yoruba liberation had its representatives from all states in the Southwest, Kogi and Kwara States converged on 58/60 Oduduwa Crescent, GRA Ikeja, for the sole purpose of showing their solidarity to the course.
The Director General of Tinubu/Shettima and Sanwo- Olu/ Hamzat Independent Campaign Council (ICC), Mr. Tayo Ayinde expressed his appreciation for the Yoruba Nation for finding time to stop at the campaign office. Read more
Lagos men remanded for stealing, arms possession (Punch)
A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Yaba, Lagos State, has remanded two suspects, Giwa Owolabi and Adeniyi Oyedeji, for alleged theft using arms and charms in the Lekki area of the state.
The Lagos State Police Command arraigned the suspects before Magistrate O.Y Adefope on three counts of armed robbery and unlawful possession of cartridges.
The duo, alongside a fleeing suspect identified simply as Inspector, had on December 30, 2022, carried out a robbery attack using a white minibus, charms and 11 rounds of live cartridges at Lekki, in the Ajah area of the state. Read more
8 injured in Lagos-Ibadan road crashes (DailyTrust)
At least eight passengers sustained injuries in three accidents on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Sunday.
Our correspondent gathered that the first accident occurred at about 4am, the second around 5am, while the third occurred around 6am, all at the Kara Bridge.
The spokesman of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ogun State, Florence Okpe, said 35 persons and 14 vehicles were involved in the crashes. Read more
APC NWC, governors to AGF, CBN: obey Supreme Court ruling (Nation)
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday advised the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to respect the Supreme Court ruling on the implementation of the currency redesign and swap policy.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, at a meeting with the governors elected on its platform and presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the APC headquarters in Abuja, maintained that the order of the apex court “is still subsisting”.
The meeting also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently intervene and halt the current sufferings, occasioned by the faulty implementation of the monetary policy. Read more
Naira Crisis: APC urges FG, CBN to obey S-Court order, seeks Buhari’s intervention (Vanguard)
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has asked the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to comply with the interim order of the Supreme Court which asked parties to maintain the status quo with regards to the naira redesign policy of the apex bank.
This was the outcome of a meeting between state governors of the party, the National Working Committee, NWC and APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, which held yesterday in Abuja.
The party also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently intervene and halt the current sufferings of the people. Read more
All Quiet on the Western Front wins 7 awards, including best picture, at 2023 BAFTAs (PBS)
Antiwar German movie All Quiet on the Western Front won seven prizes, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, building the somber drama’s momentum as awards season rolls toward its climax at next month’s Oscars.
Irish tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin and rock biopic Elvis took four prizes each.
All Quiet, a visceral depiction of life and death in the World War I trenches based on Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel, won Edward Berger the best director award. Its other trophies included adapted screenplay, cinematography, best score, best sound and best film not in English. Read more
Ukraine posts video of Russian tank erupting in flames before explosion (Newsweek)
The Ukrainian Armed Forces shared a video on Sunday of a Russian tank bursting into flames before it exploded.
In its Facebook post, the Ukrainian Armed Forces uploaded a video of a tank that was moving across a large field that was covered in patches of snow. The clip, which was filmed at a significant distance, shows the armored vehicle on fire as it continues across the field before coming to a halt.
Seconds later, a larger flame could be seen coming from the tank with smoke being carried over the field. The video then cuts to show the same tank exploding with a large plume of black smoke being launched into the sky. Read more
Ant-Man opens big at box office with $104M for Quantumania (VancouverSun)
Phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have gotten off to a rocky start, but Ant-Man is bigger than ever at the box office.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opened with $104 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, easily surpassing the box-office debuts of the previous two Ant-Man films. The Walt Disney Co.’s Quantumania added another $121.3 million overseas to give the pint-sized hero a $225 million global launch.
It’s easily the largest opening of the year so far. And Quantumania did so despite an atypically poor reception for the 31st MCU film. Quantumania, starring Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, sits at 48. Read more
Law & Order: SVU Family mourns Richard Belzer (Deadline)
Richard Belzer was a cornerstone of Law & Order: SVU when the L&O spinoff launched in 1999; he was a main cast member, playing a character fans already knew and loved, cynical detective John Munch who had originated on Homicide: Life on the Street. Following the news of Belzer’s death at age 78, his SVU co-costars and producers took to social media to remember him.
“Goodbye my dear, dear friend,” series star and executive producer Mariska Hargitay said. “I will miss you, your unique light and your singular take on this strange world. I feel blessed to have known you and adored you and worked with you, side by side, for so many years.”
Hargitay also referenced comedian Belzer’s famous sense of humor. “How lucky the angels are to have you. I can hear them laughing already.” Read more
Pink denies throwing ‘shade’ at Christina Aguilera after criticising “Lady Marmalade” video (MusicNews)
Pink has denied throwing “shade” at Christina Aguilera after reflecting on the making of the video for “Lady Marmalade”.
During a recent interview for BuzzFeed UK, the So What hitmaker was asked to rank her “most iconic” music videos, and she placed the 2001 clip – which was recorded for the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack in 2001 – at number 12.
“It wasn’t very fun to make; I’m all about fun, and it was a lot of fuss. There were some…personalities…Kim and Mya were nice,” she told the outlet, referring to co-stars Lil’ Kim and Mya but leaving Christina out. Read more
Dozens dead amid heavy rains in Brazil; cities cancel carnival (VOA)
Brazilian authorities said on Sunday that at least 26 people died in two cities in north Sao Paulo state amid floods and landslides, and the number could rise.
Sao Sebastiao officials confirmed 25 people died, and the mayor of Ubatuba said a 7-year-old girl was killed.
The cities of Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela and Bertioga, some of the hardest hit and now under state of emergency, canceled their Carnival festivities as rescue teams struggled to find people missing, injured and feared dead in the rubble. Read more
Group leaders, Insurance, Lobi Stars end 1st round on high (DailyTrust)
Group leaders, Bendel Insurance and Lobi Stars of Makurdi yesterday recorded victories in the final matches of the 2023 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) abridged season first round.
While Group A leaders, Bendel Insurance extended their lead to nine points after defeating second placed Enyimba FC 1-0 in Benin City to remain the only unbeaten side, Lobi Stars, leaders of Group B also edged past newly promoted Doma United 2-0 to take their points to 19, four more than second placed Sunshine Stars.
Leading goalscorer, Imade Osehenkhoe, was the hero for Insurance once again as he scored the only goal in the 23rd minute to take his tally in the current campaign to six. Read more
Body of Ghana star Atsu killed in Turkey earthquake flown home (France24)
The remains of former Ghana international footballer Christian Atsu who died in a devastating earthquake in Turkey were being flown home on Sunday, the country’s foreign ministry said.
Atsu, 31, was caught up in a 7.8-magnitude quake that rocked Turkey and Syria on February 6, killing more than 44,000 people in both countries.
There were initial reports the former Chelsea and Newcastle player had been rescued a day after the quake, but these turned out to be false and his body was found on Saturday. Read more
Barca restore Liga lead, Griezmann earns Atletico win (RFI)
Robert Lewandowski and Sergi Roberto’s goals helped Barcelona beat Cadiz 2-0 and restore their eight-point lead at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Elsewhere Antoine Griezmann’s superb strike helped Atletico Madrid earn a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao to tighten their grip on fourth place.
Champions Real Madrid’s win at Osasuna on Saturday pulled them closer to Xavi Hernandez’s Barca, who had one eye on Thursday’s Europa League play-off second leg against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Read more
Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving are 1st to be picked by Team LeBron at the NBA’s All-Star Game (DailyMail)
After being initially left out as a starter in this year’s voting for the All-Star game, Joel Embiid was the first name selected by LeBron James along with ex-teammate Kyrie Irving, as Utah’s Lauri Markkanen was the last among starters to be chosen by Team Giannis.
In Salt Lake City, Utah, James and Antetokounmpo – this year’s captains – took turns drafting from the pool of 22 players voted into the All-Star field. First, they picked from the 14 All-Star reserves, then from the eight All-Star starters.
The draft featured several entertaining bits, including Giannis trying to select Ja Morant, of the Memphis Grizzlies, with a reserve pick before being reminded that the point guard was actually voted as a starter. Read more
Jon Rahm returns to No. 1 after ‘pretty incredible’ victory (ABC)
Jon Rahm returned to No. 1 in the world Sunday by winning the Genesis Invitational with a performance that left no doubt who’s playing the best golf.
Caught in a battle with hometown favorite Max Homa at Riviera, Rahm delivered two big moments with a 45-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 14th and then a tee shot to 2 feet for birdie on the par-3 16th.
He closed with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot win over Homa.
“Pretty incredible,” Rahm said. “[To win] at a golf course with this legacy, this history and hosted by Tiger Woods, is such an honor.” Read more